Pilgrim Traveller

When Jonah took God’s message to Nineveh the people repented and turned to God. But did their change of heart last?

Read Nahum 1: 9-15

Although both prophets were sent to take God’s message to Nineveh, capital of the Assyrian Empire, Jonah and Nahum never met.

Jonah carried God’s message to Assyria in around 780 BC. The people heard the message and responded with repentance and turning to God. In the years that followed the Assyrian Empire grew and prospered, but as it did so, the people forgot about God and returned to the violence and oppression that God had sent Jonah to condemn.

So, more than a hundred years later, in about 630 BC God sent Nahum to remind the Assyrians that he’s been watching and waiting, patiently giving them time to remember and repent again. But he also tells them that time is running out.

Intertwined with the prophecy against Assyria, there are also words of hope and encouragement for the people of Judah, who have looked on in horror at the atrocities committed by Assyria, with a sinking feeling that they may be next.

They watched as Assyria conquered the kingdom of Aram in 732 BC, then later destroyed the northern Kingdom of Israel, in 722 BC, wiping the kingdom from the map and carrying off the survivors to Assyria. Then in 701 BC they themselves come within a whisker of being completely defeated and overrun by the Assyrians. That time they were saved by a last-minute miracle (read about it in 2 Kings18: 13 to 19: 37). Judah was thankful for the reprieve but knew it would only be a matter of time before the Assyrians returned.

So, Nahum’s reminder that God may be patient but he’s also powerful, and well able to sort out evil Assyria, is a message of hope for Judah. Soon, they will see the sudden and unexpected downfall of the mighty Assyrian Empire, and this time there will be no escape, their “injury is fatal”.

When we hear the things God says to us, we may respond in a variety of ways:

“The farmer plants the Word. Some people are like the seed that falls on the hardened soil of the road. No sooner do they hear the Word than Satan snatches away what has been planted in them.

[16] “And some are like the seed that lands in the gravel. When they first hear the Word, they respond with great enthusiasm. But there is such shallow soil of character that when the emotions wear off and some difficulty arrives, there is nothing to show for it.

[18] “The seed cast in the weeds represents the ones who hear the kingdom news but are overwhelmed with worries about all the things they have to do and all the things they want to get. The stress strangles what they heard, and nothing comes of it.

[20] “But the seed planted in the good earth represents those who hear the Word, embrace it, and produce a harvest beyond their wildest dreams.”

Mark 4:14,16,18,20 MSG

I guess for the Assyrians, their response to God’s message was something along the lines of verses 16 and 17. Are there any areas of my life where I may be guilty of the same kind of responses.

Some people say, “How can a God of love judge and punish people. Is this not a contradiction?”

Read Nahum 1: 2-6

When you read the prophets, sooner or later you’re confronted by the fact that they talk a lot about God’s judgement. Like many others today I have struggled to reconcile the God of love with the God of judgement. God is so insistent that his character is defined by love. Jesus, God’s most perfect revelation of what he’s like was also defined by his love and compassion, although he did get angry with the religious and the oppressors of the poor.

So why all this talk of judgement? Many atheists portray God as capricious and cruel, and love v judgement seems to be a real barrier to some people coming to faith. This is something I’ve had to wrestle with.  I don’t hold the view, that I’ve heard others express, that, “God is God and can do whatever he chooses”. I can’t go along with that is because I believe that God would never do something that contradict his character and his self-revelation.

Two things in particular come to mind; the first has to do with justice, and the second with God’s concern for people.

The world would be a terrible place without justice .People would be able to do just as they pleased and there would be little protection for the weak and powerless. God’s love and judgment are not opposed to each other, his judgement flows from his love and his desire to be just. Some people simply will not choose to do what’s right, constantly preying on the weak, the vulnerable and the poor. Justice demands that they are stopped. The reason Jesus came into the world was to deal with evil in the world, an evil that resides in the human heart. Jesus rescues and frees people from the power of evil at every opportunity, but some people are so resistant to God having any say in their life that they will not allow themselves to be freed from evil and ultimately are destroyed by it.

So why doesn’t God just stop them straight away? Surely, he has the power to do that, as verse 3 suggests. Why do evil people often seem to prosper? Once again, the Bible gives a reason and an explanation: Verse 3 says, “The LORD is slow to get angry”.

Joel gives a similar message in chapter 2: 13, “ “Don’t tear your clothing in your grief, but tear your hearts instead.” Return to the LORD your God, for he is merciful and compassionate, slow to get angry and filled with unfailing love. He is eager to relent (or show mercy) and not punish.”

Or in 2 Peter 3: 9, “The Lord isn’t really being slow about his promise, as some people think. No, he is being patient for your sake. He does not want anyone to be destroyed but wants everyone to repent.”

 God doesn’t want to lose a single precious human being, but he must honour the freedom of choice he gives each one. So, he waits, in the hope that people will want to surrender their evil hearts and be changed.

[See also Exodus 34:6 NLT, 2 Peter 3:9 NLT, 1 Timothy 2:3-4,6 NLT]

Are you praying for someone who seems resistant to God? Don’t give up…remember this story that Jesus told. Maybe you’re like the person who looked after the vineyard!

Luke 13:6,8-9 NLT

Then Jesus told this story: “A man planted a fig tree in his garden and came again and again to see if there was any fruit on it, but he was always disappointed. [8] “The gardener answered, ‘Sir, give it one more chance. Leave it another year, and I’ll give it special attention and plenty of fertilizer. [9] If we get figs next year, fine. If not, then you can cut it down.’”