Nahum 3 and The Destruction of Oppressors

Welcome to No Compromise Radio, a ministry coming to you from Bethlehem Bible Church in West Boylston. No Compromise Radio is a program dedicated to the ongoing proclamation of Jesus Christ, based on the theme in Galatians 2, verse 5, where the Apostle Paul said, �But we did not yield in subjection to them for even an hour, so that the truth of the gospel would remain with you.

In short, if you like smooth, watered-down words to make you simply feel good, this show isn�t for you. By purpose, we are first biblical, but we can also be controversial. Stay tuned for the next 25 minutes as we�re called by the Divine Trumpet to summon the troops for the honor and glory of her King.

Here�s our host, Pastor Mike Abendroth. Welcome to No Compromise Radio, a ministry.

Twitter, Social Media, and the Show's Resources

Mike Abendroth here, 1052 a .m. on Saturday, January 16th, in the year of our Lord, 2021. I hear the chainsaws in the background. How do we get rid of that noise? What�s going on? I can�t go find a place to record my show.

Homes is loud. Church is loud. So I guess I�ll have to be louder. It was about a week ago I thought, you know what? In light of all the stuff that�s going on with Twitter, Facebook, social media, everything else no longer posting on Facebook or Twitter, there will be some show things posted once in a while if there�s a new video or there�s a show that needs to be posted.

I guess that will be on there, but my day-to-day stuff, I just have other things to do. The world can live without the Abendroth snark comments, suggestions. I think there were some things that I put on there that were probably good and edifying.

Other things are just, I don�t know. It�s kind of my guilty pleasure just laughing at the tweets. My view on Twitter is I think lots of people want to argue, and I think I just put data out there, truth out there, facts out there, and then sometimes make fun of myself.

I mean, I think in general, we Christians, we Christian leaders, I wouldn�t consider myself a thought leader. What�s a thought leader? I just take ourselves too seriously, and therefore I try to mix it up a little bit.

You can still follow at NoCo Radio for Twitter or Facebook. Probably the best thing we have is the YouTube channel, No Compromise Radio YouTube channel, with 100 and I believe 65 videos. A lot of them are newer that Ben has filmed excellently.

I guess we�ll have to find a new platform if Facebook kicks us off, and we have to deal with those things. If you want to write me, mike at nocompromiseradio .com. We still have the special that�s kind of an ongoing special.

If you order Sexual Fidelity, you get a free copy of Things That Go Bump in the Church. So, just go to the website. You can pull that up, and it�s not going to say free, but I�ll put a free one in there.

So, I�m the one that ships in packages, and Pastor Justin just gave me an order for 20 books of Sexual Fidelity, and that�s a good book to work through with maybe a men�s group or a Saturday morning group or something like that.

Anyway, I�ll help you with the price if you want to do that. I want to talk a little bit more today about the book of Nahum, because I preach on Nahum tomorrow. And this isn�t my practice, but this is fine-tuning.

That�s what we should call it, fine-tuning. By the way, last weekend we had about 25 men here from New England, pastors and elders and people who want to be leaders and preachers, for a preaching tune-up, the New England Shepherds Fellowship, and I taught that day.

And that was a long week. I�m not as young as I used to be. Obviously, no one is. So, why does anybody say that? Got a shot in the back, feel a little bit better. So, anyway, off we go. The book of Nahum.

Nahum as a Book of Judgment on Oppressors

As you know, I�ve been teaching through the book of Nahum on Sunday mornings, and that means it has been spilt over into some no-compromise radio shows. And there�s a lot of people who don�t like the book of Nahum, right?

I guess those that want to live in sin, they don�t like it. Certain Bible critics, they don�t like it. Those that don�t want any type of patriotism, nationalism, they don�t like it because here�s this deity, of course, for us, the triune God.

Here�s this deity, they would say, the critics, who, you know, he�s just jealous and he�s a nationalistic and he doesn�t care about the Ninevites, Assyrians, and he destroys them with, you know, furious wrath, and they don�t like that.

Other people say they don�t really like Nahum as much because it�s boring. It�s monotonous. It�s one theme. God judges wicked, sinful people. That�s the theme. I mean, the very first lie, of course, in the Bible was about judgment, right?

Satan with Eve. God�s not going to judge. I mean, certainly, surely, you�re not going to die. And therefore, if this is a one-string guitar for judgment, well, don�t we need that? And of course, whatever God gives us in his word, he wants us to know, yes, God does judge the wicked, and that is the purpose of the author, but not quite.

It�s God judges the wicked because those wicked people are oppressing God�s chosen ones, and therefore, God, for his own honor, and God, because he loves his people, will judge the people, the wicked oppressors of his people.

And I don�t really think that�s a redundant sermon. I like that. One writer said, quote, �Why would a pastor ever dedicate a series of sermons to Nahum, only to make his congregation listen to him repeat week after week that God will judge the wicked nations

And the answer is, it�s in the Bible. I want to teach the full counsel of God. And there�s a lot of wicked nations, and there�s a lot of wickedness in our nation, and therefore, we should say, you know what?

God knows. God cares. And it�s one thing for God to judge unrighteousness, ungodliness, and it�s another thing to judge that because he really loves his people, and therefore, we have that extra layer of, oh, isn�t the Lord great?

I love the book of Nahum because it talks about God�s people are so important to him that he comforts them by saying, in the future, these oppressed people will pay. And in fact, they did, not that long after this message was given by the prophet Nahum.

This is a very relevant book. Why do I like all the Bible? Well, it is, to use the word, transchronological. It is always relevant. It is only relevant because, well, God is relevant. Sin is relevant.

Oppression is relevant. Is God�s holy reputation relevant? Yes. I love this book because you see the world and you see powerful nations through the lens of God. That is, this is a picture, a portrait of how God sees things.

I see things wrongly, and I measure how powerful someone is or strong based on numbers and chariots and horses and nuclear bombs and army sizes and all that stuff. But I need to see things through the lens of the triune, almighty, righteous God.

I love the book of Nahum because I see sin in other people and don�t like it. I see sin that�s identified in this book, and I don�t like it. And therefore, I think, Lord, I want to make sure I don�t like my own sin, right?

It makes me want to hate my own sin. I love this book because it makes me say, I am thankful and I appreciate Jesus. I mean, can you imagine this wrath? And this wrath here in Nahum, of course, is only temporal wrath, but still, it�s bad enough.

And we�re not even talking about eternal issues, but the wrath of God displayed in the book of Nahum. Wow. It makes you think, what if I had to stand before this God? Who could stand before his indignation, to quote the book of Nahum?

Maybe I could put it this way. Dear listener, is God pleased with you? You say, well, so far, so good today. Has he been pleased with you? Has he ever been pleased with you? Will he ever be pleased with you?

That�s really something we have to discuss when it comes to the book of Nahum. And of course, all the Bible, is God pleased with me? Hmm. How do I answer that? Well, remember Luke 2, and in the same region, there were shepherds out on the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.

And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with great fear. And the angel said to them, fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people.

For unto you this day is born the city of David, a Savior who is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign for you. You will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger. And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of heavenly hosts praising God and saying, glory to God in the highest and on earth, peace among those with whom he is well pleased.

There's peace between God and those that he's pleased with. Obviously, his enemies, his foes, there's going to be a problem. But what about those that he's well pleased in? And how are you well pleasing to the Lord?

I mean, we realize we're sinful, but we are simultaneously just and sinful. Therefore, God sees us in one perspective, of course, that we fall short. But in the other perspective, through the lens of the Lord Jesus, we're united to him.

We're with him. We're in union with him. And we have, in addition, his righteousness credited to our account. And therefore, since he's well pleased with the Son, he's well pleased with every single Christian.

Chastened when we sin, yes, but well pleasing. And on earth, peace among those with whom he is well pleased. When I look at the book of Nahum, I think I am so thankful. God is well pleased with me because there's only going to be judgment if he's not.

I'm going to need to have someone represent me who can withstand this kind of judgment, not just temporal judgment seen in Nahum, which is ferocious, but also eternal wrath of God. My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?

And of course, we know the answer, why the Father, as it were, turned his back on the Son when he was judging his beloved Son. We, when we read the book of Nahum, ought to say, I'm so thankful for Jesus and that I don't have to pay for these sins of mine that I committed and I can blame on no one else.

B .B. Warfield talked about the appreciation that Christians should have for the Lord Jesus, there's nothing in us or done by us at any stage of our earthly development, because of which we are acceptable to God.

We must always be accepted for Christ's sake, or we cannot ever be accepted at all. This is not true of us only when we believe, it is just as true after we have believed. It will continue to be trust as long as we live.

Our need of Christ does not cease with our believing, nor does the nature of our relation to him or to God through him ever alter. No matter what our attainment in Christian graces or our achievements and behavior may be, it is always on his blood and righteousness alone that we could rest.

And that's good news for us as Christians, not just for salvation, but also sanctification. You read the book of Nahum and his, as some say, it's gruesome. And then we realize there's the ultimate Nahum, the ultimate comforter, the ultimate prophet, who's also a priest and king.

And he has taken all the judgment that we deserve, and we never have to pay for that judgment. For our sake, he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him, we might become the righteousness of God.

That is great news, is it not? You are blameless. You are spotless. You are well-pleasing to God. That is amazing. Well, my name is Mike Ebendroth. This is No Compromise Radio Ministry. Martin Luther said, thus God covers them with an infinite sky of grace and does not account their sins against them for the sake of Christ.

When you read the book of Nahum, I hope you immediately, with reflex, knee-jerk responses, say, I am so thankful for Jesus. I love the book of Nahum because I say to myself, I don't need to make everything right in the universe.

I can't, and I don't need to. I can desire for righteousness. I could pray for uprightness in the nation, in the country, in my home, other places, in my neighborhood. But God will eventually, God will inevitably judge wicked people.

He will destroy. He will overthrow the people singularly and the people nationally. And we don't have to worry about that. We can receive comfort. I love that. I mean, his name, Nahum, comfort. God is my comfort.

And isn't really that the book? Isn't really that all of the Bible, God can be our comfort because he will judge enemies and God can be our comfort. Furthermore, as we read the New Testament, that God had his son be judged in our place.

God cares for people. God loves people. And God justifies the ungodly. God loves his enemies so much so that you receive grace and mercy. Um, because of this great love. Well, I know you would agree with me that you love the book of Nahum.

And so that's what you want to do is regularly read Nahum. Now, so far at Bethlehem Bible Church, I have preached Nahum 1 and Nahum 2, and I want to say I'm four messages in, and I think I'll have two remaining, two messages in chapter three.

Nahum 3, Ashurbanipal, and the Fall of Nineveh

And chapter three is really a continuation of chapter two. This God who is just, who is righteous, who is sovereign, who is a warrior, who is a king, who is the Lord of hosts. This God is going to judge people who oppress his people, and he's not going to let them get away with it.

And you can just study the history of the world with Assyria. If you say Assyria, um, certain ways your phone might turn on. Siri might say, waiting. I can't find that contact in your phone directory.

This oppression that those in Jerusalem and Judah were receiving, it was bad. I mean, Assyrians were bad. But during this time, they had maybe the most oppressive, the most violent king ever. And his name was Ashurbanipal, and he, um, according to one Assyriologist, if you've ever said that word before, Assyriologist, quote, Ashurbanipal slashed the face of a dead enemy, desecrated tombs of the dead he had not been able to punish when living, spared the lives of captive kings that he might humiliate them better living than dead.

It is not the historian's part to lay blame, but the historian must record and malice as a driving force behind the later Ashurbanipal is a fact of history. If you read what these Ninevites would do, what the Assyrians would do to people, um, you might have your stomach upset a little bit.

Uh, you might be a little uneasy. You might be, uh, queasy. How often do you say the word queasy? I saw it in my notes here. Queasy. You can read inscriptions of what Ashurbanipal said. I pierced his cheeks with a sharp edged spear, my personal weapon by laying the very hands on him, which I had received to conquer opposition against me.

I put the ring into his jaw, placed a dog collar around his neck and made him guard the bar of the East gate of Nineveh. No wonder Nahum 2 .13, I am against you. No wonder Nahum 3 .5, I am against you.

No wonder Nahum preaches the judgment of God. Remember Jonah shows up and God's merciful, but now it's judgment. Jonah arrives on the scene, repent, and now we just see the obliteration of Nineveh. No wonder you had, uh, Jonah who says, you know what?

Here's who God is. Um, and here's what he tells you to do. And then we have the final death blow after God's long suffering and patience in the book of Nahum. This is the prophesied fall of Nineveh and therefore Assyria shall not the judge of the universe do right.

Woe, Woke, and the Importance of the Local Church

Here's what we're going to do. We're going to look at Nahum chapter three, and there's two sections in the first seven verses that, uh, we'll talk about a little bit, probably only a little bit today.

And then I'll record another show in just a few minutes and you'll hear that tomorrow. We're going to look at woe and wow. We're going to look at the woe, W-O-E, not the woke. Everybody wants to look at the woke.

Um, by the way, we are not woke here at No Compromise Radio, and we will call people out and you have to be very, very careful of every single Christian teacher these days who has a platform, who is a celebrity, who has a lot of followers, who runs seminaries, who was, uh, the leader of organizations and coalitions.

You have to be very, very careful. I'm not saying every person is bad, uh, but I am saying every celebrity is a celebrity. I mean, 2020, everybody wants to talk about COVID and the pandemic and all those things.

And rightfully so. How about, how about the year that the Christian celebrity died, dead and gone? Um, I, I don't know what it's like to be a Christian celebrity. Uh, I do know what it's like to speak at places and right, you're at your home church and, and people are like, oh yeah, that's just Mike.

And, you know, we're thankful that he teaches the Bible, but he's just a regular guy and he just Mike. And then you go someplace else and, and you're the teacher and, oh, then they want to buy your books and they want to talk to you and, you know, all this kind of stuff.

So I only have a little taste of it. If there are A-list celebrities, I am a, what am I? A J-list. You say your thoughts of yourself are too high. Oh, I know that's true. Q, a Q-list, a queasy list.

But anyway, you just ought to be very careful, right? Discernment, discernment is both commended Acts 17 and commanded first Thessalonians. Therefore you ought to pay attention to what I say. You ought not to just say, well, he's on the radio.

I mean, anybody can do this. You can have a headphones and you're a computer and you can do this. Be very, very careful. Doesn't mean you have to be so suspicious of every single person, but these days, most people's outline for this would not be the woe and the wow, it would be the woe and the woke and the wow.

I have no idea what people are doing, except if I, I guess I could summarize it by you take your finger and you put it in your mouth to get your fingertip wet. And then you hold your finger above your head to see which way the wind's blowing.

And then you get on that train. That's the only thing I can think of. You need to fill seminary, seminaries with students. You need to get endowments. I don't know. Do you need George Soros money? Et cetera.

I have no idea what people are thinking, except I realized that, you know, the Lord eventually shows forth what's really going on. And then just time happens and we see organizations, you know, go up and go down and this, that and the other.

And therefore, if I have to land the plane now for the show, it would be therefore your local church is not to be underestimated for all the conferences, for all the coalitions, for all the seminaries, for all the groups, for all the websites, for all the, you know, whatever it is you ought to say to yourself, I, as a Christian need to pour my life into my local church where the pastor is just an average preacher.

The congregants are just average. There's lots of trouble, lots of inadequacies. And I really think, I know we're turning this into a church show now, but I really think that churches can't ever get it all together, A, because, you know, we're not glorified yet, but it's kind of built into the system.

What do you think of this idea? It's built in the system because then when anything good happens in a local church context and setting, who gets the credit? Well, not the leadership that doesn't know.

We have leadership decisions here at the church. We don't have any idea how to solve a problem. Sometimes sin is so messy, so muddy, so entangling that I have no idea. I can just say, well, I do know who the Lord is and he's faithful.

He won't leave you. There's a way out and maybe the way out is glory one day because the consequences are so severe or whatever, but I just don't know the answer. Therefore, we're just going to have to rest in the Lord and see what he does.

We're going to have to walk by faith. I mean, that really is the missing art these days of Christianity. We want so many things to do when often, not just for salvation, we need to rest, but also when it comes to sanctification, there is a working, there is a toiling, there is a sweating, there is a diligence, there is a spare no effort, but there's also that has to come from when it comes to our salvation and our security and our justification, a resting, and therefore then we still need the Lord like B .B. Warfield said.

So, before we get into the woe and the woke and the wow, my name is Mike Abendroth. This is No Compromise Radio. Why don't you give us a review if you'd like, or you can write us info at nocompromiseradio .com.

Announcer No Compromise Radio with Pastor Mike Abendroth is a production of Bethlehem Bible Church in West Boylston. Bethlehem Bible Church is a Bible-teaching church firmly committed to unleashing the life-transforming power of God's Word through verse-by-verse exposition of the sacred text.

Please come and join us. Our service times are Sunday morning at 1015 and in the evening at 6. We're right on Route 110 in West Boylston. You can check us out online at bbcchurch .org or by phone at 508 -835 -3400.