Nahum 1:4-5: The Mountains

Nahum’s Jealous and Avenging God

So what I'm going to do is I'm going to just read the first few verses of Nahum chapter 1. An oracle concerning Nineveh the book of the vision of Nahum of Elkosh. The Lord is a jealous and avenging God.

The Lord is avenging and wrathful. The Lord takes vengeance on his adversaries and keeps wrath for his enemies. The Lord is slow to anger and great in power and the Lord will by no means clear the guilty.

His way is in whirlwind and storm and the clouds are the dust of his feet. He rebukes the sea and makes it dry. He dries up all the rivers. Bashan and Carmel wither the bloom of Lebanon withers. The mountains quake before him the hills melt.

The earth heaves before him the world and all who dwell in it. Who can stand before his indignation? Who can endure the heat of his anger. His wrath is poured out like fire and the rocks are broken into pieces by him.

Now again, that's strong language. We generally don't get to hear too much of that nobody really preaches on Nahum, right. We never heard a Service on the book of Nahum not here anyway, and certainly not in other churches.

So these are very strong words and everything God tells us about himself. We need to understand and know that this is God's revelation of who he really is. So these are tough words that we don't generally get to hear so I want to concentrate on what God is telling us in this book.

Creation as a Revelation of the Spiritual Realm

So I just want to reiterate. About whirlwind and storm clouds and what this means. Okay, psalm 92 7 verse 2 through 5. Clouds and thick darkness all around him. Righteousness and justice are the foundation of his throne.

Fire goes before him and burns up his adversaries all around his lightnings light up the world. The earth and the sea trembles. The mountains melt like wax before the Lord before the Lord of all the earth.

Isaiah 19 1 an oracle concerning Egypt. Behold the Lord is riding on a swift cloud and comes to Egypt and the idols of Egypt Will tremble at his presence and the heart of the Egyptians will melt within him.

The claws the clouds are the dust of his feet has particular relevance in the book pertaining to Assyria. The Assyrian military caused dread and fear wherever it appeared a city's first sign of danger came from the dust of thousands of feet.

Human and horse rising into the sky as terror approached Nahum marks God's coming with a much more magnificent dust cloud. The Assyrian army's tool of terror now comes against them on a cosmic scale. So last year.

Last year last week. I used the word figurative. Okay, and I said these are figurative examples of what's going on and they are. So I want to reiterate that the whirlwind and storm is literal in a spiritual sense but not necessarily in a physical sense.

When the armies would come and Come to attack a city because of the horse and the men you would see a dust cloud. So this language is bringing us to a physical understanding to point to a spiritual reality.

In fact, the reality of the spiritual realm is more real than the physical side. All right, the physical side reveals the spiritual. I'm going to show you that in a minute. But for now when we see the Assyrians armies tool of terror now comes against them on a cosmic scale.

It just reminded me of Proverbs 26. He who digs a pit will fall into it and he who rolls a stone it will come back on him. Remember that what we do we're going to be as we judge with whatever we measure we use.

That's going to be what is measured used when it's measured against us. Okay, so we have to be careful about that. We want to make sure that we're doing things in love towards our neighbor. So Let me just explain to you what I mean the entire world reveals God to us.

Romans 1 20 for ever since the creation of the world his Invisible attributes his eternal power and divine nature have been clearly seen through what has been made. Right. So what God is telling us is there's a physical reality that is mimicking or Reflecting a spiritual reality behind those things.

So the spiritual reality existed before the physical reality, right? We know Genesis 1 1 in the beginning God created the heavens and the earth, right? So before the heavens and earth were created there was a spiritual realm that existed already that God existed with the angels.

Okay, so the spiritual reality comes first then the physical reality we see this in Psalm 19. The heavens declare the glory of God and the sky above proclaims his handiwork day-to-day. Pours out speech and night to night reveals knowledge.

So the creation is constantly Revealing God to us in a way that we can understand because we exist in the physical world. John frame says it like this. Everything in creation bears some analogy to God.

All the world has been made with God's stamp on it revealing him to us. Creation is his temple. Heaven is his throne. The earth is his footstool. Thus scripture finds analogies to God in every area of creation in Inanimate objects.

God is the Rock of Israel. Christ is the door of the sheep. The Holy Spirit is as wind or breath. Plant life is like God's strength the cedars of Lebanon. Christ is the bread of life. Even with animals.

Christ is the Lion of Judah and the Lamb of God. In regard it relates to human beings. God is King landowner lover. Christ as prophet priest King servant son friend. Even abstract ideas. God is spirit love light.

Christ as the way the truth and the life wisdom righteousness sanctification redemption. Those are all words that are describing God but from a physical standpoint when we say God is the Rock of Israel.

What are we saying? He's immovable. He's he's the the one upon which we can build and not be shaken. So it those are all things in the physical realm that point to the spiritual realm. The spiritual realm Exists and there's a literal reality to the spiritual realm.

That's Figured in creation. We can use creation to point to the spiritual realm, which is the reality upon which everything stands. James Jordan says it like this it called this can be boiled down to a simple fact the universe and everything in it Symbolizes God.

That is the universe and everything in it points to God. This means that the Christian view of the world is and can only be fundamentally symbolic. The world does not exist for its own sake, but as a revelation of God to us.

Does that make sense anybody had any questions about that? So I don't. I don't want to Misunderstand this. I thought I was clear last week, but there was some questions. So I just wanted to make sure that we understand when I when I use the word figurative or literal and I say God Wasn't literally riding on a cloud.

What I'm saying is in the physical realm. We don't see God riding on a cloud in the spiritual sense. It has meaning but it makes. Through the it makes sense through the our physical understanding of things.

Is it we're comprehending that's good we can fall okay good. All right, just wanted to clear that up didn't want any misconceptions, okay now we can get into Verse 4 he rebukes to see and makes it dry.

He dries up all the rivers bashing and karma wither the bloom of Lebanon withers. So the military image of dust clouds leads into this image. Which recalled two of God's greatest military interventions in Israel's history Egypt and Canaan?

Alright, God rebukes the sea and makes it dry. He dries up all the rivers in Egypt. Remember God dried up the Red Sea culminating the event of the Exodus bringing both deliverance to the Israelites and judgment on the Egyptians.

Israel found freedom from bondage by walking between the walls of water. This is supernatural miraculous. Egypt received a final demonstration of God's justice as the Egyptian soldiers drowned. And what Nahum is saying in this is that Assyria your justice is coming.

Okay, God will deliver his people and bring justice upon you that happened in the Exodus now in the Jordan River God also dried up that as a precursor to Israel's conquest of Canaan again, this action brought both deliverance and judgment.

God delivered Israel into its own land. He had promised to come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land. To a good and broad land a land flowing with milk and honey and remember milk and honey is figurative.

All right, even in the spiritual sense. There's not literal milk and literal honey happening, but spiritually that's a spiritual reality. What is honey? Sweet, what is milk nourishes children? So that spiritual realm is a realm of nourishment of sweetness.

Remember the scripture tells us taste and see that the Lord is good. Right. We're not physically biting into a sandwich and saying hmm. This is good. Right. It's a it's a it's a figurative word to describe a spiritual reality.

Okay in Exodus and Joshua God's dramatic sovereignty over water brought life and death freedom and Destruction and later on in Nahum. We'll see that he's gonna prophesy that God will use water in this same way again.

Okay, so this is a precursor. He's letting a Syria know that he is the God of all the physical elements that we see he's God over them. So he talks about bashing anybody remember where we hear about bashing Psalm 20.

Yes the bulls right. God gave the command and the Red Sea and the Jordan River dried up. Bashing known for its plush pasture lands. David spoke of the strong bulls of bashing that surrounded him that was Psalm 22.

These bulls were large and strong because they grazed on the abundant vegetation in bashing. It was north and east of the Sea of Galilee. We also hear in Amos the cows of bashing. Speaking of the women who were getting fat on the luxuries.

They were enjoying in the land without taking care of the poor so God is basically saying Bashing this beautiful pasture land. I'm gonna wipe it out. Carmel. Carmel is the mountain where Elijah met with the prophets of Baal in first Kings.

It's located near the Mediterranean coast it overlooks the modern Israel city of Haifa. It attains a maximum of elevation about 1700 feet. Carmel meaning garden or fruitful field was proverbial for its beauty a garden spot.

Here again. God is gonna take a beautiful spot on the earth and wipe it clean. We're gonna go through why in a second Lebanon? Lebanon was also noted for magnificent forests. Particularly its cedars of Lebanon.

Yet a harsh word from Israel's God could make these beauty spots wither and fade. All right, why do you think this is why would God wipe out something so beautiful coffee? Yes. Certainly you can get gets the Israelites.

Attention right when you see something so beautiful be wiped out, but then again It's beautiful on what level. Maybe on a human level right. What is what is the scripture warn us about it says that? Satan masquerades as an angel of light.

Right sometimes what looks beautiful on the outside is not beautiful on the inside. Right so these cities that were built up and look beautiful. They were built by under under pagan Auspices right it was pagan rule.

Yes that the land brought forth vegetation and stuff. But these people were were not worshiping God so beautiful. Yes in one sense, but not beautiful with the underlying current below it. Okay, so sometimes we look at things like in our world today.

That's beautiful yet. It has no Beauty on it on an inward sense these things were not done in faith towards God. So yes unbelievers can bring about beautiful things, but if these beautiful things lead us away from the God Who were supposed to worship?

They're not beautiful. So we have to be we have to be on guard all right to guard ourselves from following something that looks beautiful. But really on the inside will corrupt us. How many things do we we see in this world today?

Supposedly look beautiful that will lead us down a dark path. We have to be careful. God is showing the Israelites that he can take something beautiful that the world created. They get a Tower of Babel.

I mean probably a beautiful tower that they built not in God's sight. They were trying to make a name for themselves. God is concerned about his he's jealous for his name. He's jealous for his people.

He's not gonna allow that to prosper. So these these towns bash in Carmel Lebanon. We're leading people away from God. Okay into a secular understanding of things. Okay. Let's continue God. God's way is one of great power.

The clouds which brings the weather and with it agricultural blessing or curse are at his feet. Right when when the scriptures say something is at the Lord's feet. It's a biblical symbol of complete control.

But he has dominion over all of it. The sea We've learned before is a symbol of chaos and power that is also under Yahweh's control. He turns the sea back. He rebukes it and it becomes dry. Something we see daily with the tides.

The tides come in and they go out right the rivers of the land run dry according to Yahweh's common order and as they do in dry season the place is known for the Agricultural abundance bastion bastion Carmel and Lebanon.

Wither and fade in his presence as they do after the harvest. God is sovereign over all those things. So do you think this? Him rebuking the sea has any application in the New Testament anyone. Anyone recall anything in the New Testament where the sea was rebuked?

It was a softball for everyone all right. All right mark four and a great windstorm arose and the waves were breaking into a boat so that the boat was already filling. But he was in the stern asleep on a cushion and they woke him and said teacher Do you not care that we are perishing.

And he awoke and rebuked the wind and said to the sea peace be still and The wind ceased and there was a great calm. He said to them why you were so afraid. Have you still no faith. And they were filled with great fear and said to one another who then is this?

That even the wind and the sea obey him. So we see in Nahum 1 chap chapter 1 verse 4 that the Lord Rebukes the sea and makes it dry. And here we see in the New Testament Jesus Rebuking the sea and making it calm.

Again this points to the deity of Jesus that he's in sovereign control over all these things. In fact He is not the God of the wind. He's not the God of the sea. He's not the God of the land. He is God over them all.

He is sovereign over every inch of the world as we know it. Remember back then they had a God for the sea. They had a God for the Sun. They had a God for the rivers. They had a God for the rain. They had a God for everything.

What this is telling us is that there's one God and he's sovereign over all those things. There's not a multiplicity of gods. This is the one God who created everything rules over everything and will destroy everything if it doesn't work for his people.

Okay, so again Nahum is a message that's gonna bring a great destruction on Assyria. But should bring great comfort to his people. His name Nahum means comfort. Right so when we see these things it's like oh my goodness.

God is fierce. Yes, he's fierce for his people and that's why we need to keep him first and foremost in our minds. Okay. So the mountains quake before him the hills melt the earth heaves before God the world and all who dwell in it.

Does that sound familiar to anybody. Does that verse? Ring any bells. Maybe the study that was done before Nahum Micah. Micah 1 4 it's almost verbatim and the mountains will melt under him. The valleys will split open like wax before the fire.

The waters poured down a steep palace place palace place. Right. So Nahum's basically repeating what Micah said now the verse before Micah 1 4 is 1 3. Behold. The Lord is coming out of his place and will come down and tread upon the high places of the earth.

And we're like, oh good God come God tear down all those all those but you know. Trounce your enemies come to conquer over them. The problem is this. All this was done for the transgression of Jacob and for the sins of the house of Israel.

What is the transgression of Jacob? Is it not Samaria? What is the high place of Judah? Is it not Jerusalem? Right, so this these words are used for God to come down against his own people. Who set up false a false temple in Samaria?

Who would not worshiping in Jerusalem the way they were supposed to? Case and now Micah takes place when a Syria is coming in and conquering the northern tribes. So Mike is telling the northern tribes and the southern tribes.

This is a God who's going to come down and destroy your high places. You need to repent and come back to God. Why? Because judgment begins with the house of God. Right. Thankfully we read early in in this in this study that King Hezekiah had a son Manasseh.

Who was the most evil king in all of all of Israel? In fact tradition says he was the one who sawed a Isaiah in half. What happens when he's deported to Babylon. He falls to his knees he repents Lord forgive me and God grants him repentance because God is faithful to his covenant.

This is gonna have application to what we see in the world today. Okay, God judges his people first judgment begins with the house of God. It's the same God who will come in and discipline his children will also come in and crush his enemies.

Okay. Let's so we've heard this language before. Right. What's a mountain anybody want to take a guess on what a mountain is biblically more coffee. You guys got brewing decaf in the back. What's going on?

Get ahead Sarah Temple sure. That's one of the things. Absolutely. Yes. Meeting place. Absolutely those that's right. Chris you were saying kingdom definitely kingdom nation. Government these are all things that that mountains Represent.

I'm glad you guys said that. Mountains are sometimes a symbol of refuge and security. All right, the name of the Lord is a strong tower strong mountain the righteous run into it and are saved. Sometimes they're a threatening place of military slaughter at the base of the mountain in Mount Sinai when they worship the golden calf.

You know God told Moses slaughter them. Right. At times mountains are inaccessible. Barren uninhabited mountains are nonetheless places where God's people will dwell in abundance as Sites of religious experience mountaintops are also places of pagan worship that God denounces.

He says remove the high places. What's a high place? It's a mountain where people would go to worship a false God. All right, the mountains and hills of the Bible are both physical phenomena and spiritual symbols.

Again, we see mountains in the physical world that reveal the spiritual realm to us. Okay, so when God when Moses meets God on a mountain. That's depicting something in the spiritual realm. Right. God created the earth as his temple as a mountain of the Lord.

Okay, so the physical reveals to us what's going on in the spiritual realm. Mountains are sacred sites almost from the beginning of the Bible. Mountains are sites of transcendent spiritual experiences.

Encounters with God or appearances by God. Ezekiel 28 places the Garden of Eden on a mountain. Right the rivers flowed down. Abraham shows his willingness to sacrifice Isaac and then encounters God on a mountain.

God appears to Moses and speaks to him from the burning bush on Horeb the mountain of God and Encounters. Elijah at the same site. Most impressive of all is of all is the experience of the Israelites at Mount Sinai.

Which Moses ascends in a cloud to meet God? And if you haven't heard a couple months back, I did a sermon on worship and how it's Ascending the mountain of God. Remember in the Psalms. We have psalms of ascent.

What does ascent mean? Moving upward so as they were. Walking up the mountain to get to Jerusalem. They were singing psalms of ascent as they approached and moved up to God. Mountains can symbolize temples places of worship holy places ladders to God where men meet with God.

And again, it also encompasses encompasses government's kingdoms. Edom was a temple on a mountain. Okay, we're good. Let's move on another picture emerges from the New Testament where Jesus is also associated with mountains.

Jesus resorted to mountains to be alone. Right. He went there to pray Matthew 14 and to teach his listeners. It was on a mountain that Jesus refuted Satan's temptation, right? Satan brought him up to a to a high place.

He was also transfigured on a mountain. He died on a hill and he ascended into heaven from the Mount of Olives. Right. So all these things are again are pointing us to the spiritual realities behind us.

It's depicted in a physical sense so that we can see it. Mountains and hills are a master image of the Bible through which one can trace the whole course of biblical history and doctrine in microcosm.

They are literal landscapes in which a broad spectrum of human activity occurs as Symbols, they declare the nature of God as the place where humans encounter the divine. They epitomize how God and people relate to each other both in history and in the eschaton.

Okay, so mountains are very very important. Let's continue. So what prophets spoke about a great mountain? Isaiah, yeah, who else? Isaiah is one Daniel. Daniel. Who else. I referred to him a couple minutes ago.

Yes, and no the study we did before Nahum Micah, all right. Here we go. Okay. So let's look at what Daniel says about mountains. He says that then the iron the clay the bronze the silver and the gold all together were broken in pieces and Became like the chaff of the summer threshing floors and the wind carried them away so that not a trace of them could be found but the stone that struck the image became a great mountain and Filled the whole earth right.

Daniel speaking to us about something here. Daniel Continues in there at verse 39 another kingdom Inferior to you shall rise after you and yet a third kingdom of bronze which shall rule over the earth and there shall be a fourth kingdom strong as iron because iron breaks into pieces and shatters all things and Like iron that crushes it shall break and crush these all these right.

So these kingdoms are opposed to the mountain of God. The mountain of God is also a kingdom. And you saw the feet and toes partly of potter's clay and partly of iron. It shall be a divided kingdom but some of the firmness of iron shall be in it just as you saw iron mixed with soft clay as.

And as the toes of the feet were partly iron and partly clay. So the kingdom shall be partly strong and partly brittle. These are kingdoms that are going to come against God's kingdom. In fact, they're in the past right.

God established his kingdom here now. So that's the mountain of the Lord. Let's continue watch how God speaks of Babylon in this verse. Jeremiah 51. I will repay Babylon and all the inhabitants of Chaldea before your very eyes for all the evil They have done in Zion declares the Lord.

And watch this. Behold, I am against you. Oh destroying mountain Declares the Lord which destroys the whole earth. I will stretch out my hand against you and roll down from the crags and make you a burnt mountain.

Right. So you see how the kingdoms of the earth are considered mountains and God's kingdom is considered a great mountain. God's kingdom will eventually cover the entire earth. He's that's the great mountain that Daniels talking about.

Zechariah, who are you? Oh great mountain before Zerubbabel. You shall become a plain and she shall bring forward the top stone amid shouts of grace grace to it. Now Zechariah is speaking about a time when Jesus comes.

He's talking about the great. Bring forth the top stone. Who's the top stone? Christ right. He's speaking about as Zechariah speaking about Israel or Rome being mountains that come against God's kingdom.

Isaiah 40. A voice cries in the wilderness. Prepare the way of the Lord. Make straight in the deserts a highway for our God. What comes after this? Every valley shall be lifted up and every mountain and hill be made low and The glory of the Lord shall be revealed and all the flesh shall see together for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.

God's kingdom is going to destroy all the other mountains. Okay, his is going to be the biggest mountain the greatest mountain on all the earth all the other kingdoms. These little mountains and hills are going to be done away with because God established his here on the earth by the power of God.

Okay, I want to continue this. And I say I might it shall come to pass in the latter days that the mountain of the house of the Lord shall be Established as the highest of the mountains and shall be lifted up above the hills and all the nation shall flow to it and many People shall come and say come.

Let us go up to the mountain of the Lord to the house of God of Jacob. That he may teach us his ways and that we may walk in his paths. So when is this gonna happen? Anyone has this happened already? Yes.

How do we know? Yes. Because Jesus came. Okay, that's that's a good reason right? He's the king. He's he established the kingdom. He set it up. We just we would we're preaching a series through this right now, right.

Hebrews. But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the Living God the heavenly Jerusalem and to innumerable angels in festal gathering at the assembly of the firstborn Who are enrolled in heaven and to God the judge of all and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect and to Jesus the Mediator of a new covenant and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.

Okay, God has set his kingdom upon the earth and he's ruling and reigning until what he makes his enemies a footstool. For his feet. So yes, this has happened already and we have come to that mountain spiritual mountain of God his kingdom on earth as it is in heaven, right.

And We are being built into a spiritual house, which I'm going to show you in a second, right? The church is what what does Peter say? We're a holy nation nation government kingdom see the language. Matthew 21.

Jesus answered them truly. I say to you if you have faith and do not doubt. You will not only do what has been done to the fig tree. But even if you say to this mountain be taken up and thrown into the sea.

It will happen and whatever you ask in prayer you will receive if you have faith. So now she's talking about speaking to physical mountains and casting them into the sea. No, he's talking about the spiritual reality behind that the mountains of Babylon.

You know the the governments and the kingdoms that are working against God's kingdom and he says they'll be they'll be thrown into the sea. What is C symbolic of? Say again. Yes the Gentiles to work chaos.

Right. Israel is known as the people of the land. All right. We stand on firm footing right when you're in the when you stand in God's kingdom. You're in a kingdom that can't be shaken. You build your house upon the rock.

It won't be shaken. So when the storms come your house is still going to be standing the chaos of the of the seas. Those kingdoms are going to be cast into that and how do we do that? We do that through prayer, right?

We pray the imprecatory Psalms. All right we pray that God's kingdom will come on earth as it is in heaven that he would take out his enemies and Save those whom he will if it's if his will is to save them save them.

We pray Lord. If if the president the vice president these people are not ruling according to your take them out of the way. Replace them with people who are gonna rule according to your law. Right. Did you have something?

Right. He's taken that He. Yes, and Israel Israel who rejects the Messiah is going to be taken out of the way. Right. Yeah, absolutely. Absolutely written that particular but I mean there are the mountains that we pray against.

Okay, so let's move. But here's the promise of God to his people. Though the mountains be shaken and the hills be removed yet My unfailing love for you will not be shaken nor my covenant of peace roved.

So as we see the things that are going on in the world today We see the world shaking right us standing in the kingdom should not be shaking. We shouldn't be. What's the word we shouldn't be fearful we should be confident knowing that God is shaking things out.

We need to be obedient to his word if we're obedient to his word. We're gonna see the kingdom come on earth as it is in heaven, right? We need to be witnesses. We need to shine in the darkness. Let our light shine.

And While earthly kingdoms come and go there's one kingdom that will both destroy and outlast them all the eternal kingdom of God. Again in Daniel's vision that kingdom is pictured as a great rock. It struck the statue and became a huge mountain and filled the whole earth.

So God's kingdom will Eventually cover the whole earth. Right. God's kingdom is going to be worldwide. Blessed are the meek for they shall inherit the earth. The whole earth is ours. Exodus 19 on the third new moon and after the people of Israel had gone out of the land of Egypt on that day came Into the wilderness of Sinai they set out from Rephidim and came into the wilderness of Sinai and they can't encamped in the wilderness.

There is really camp before the mountain while Moses went up to God. The Lord called him out of the mountain saying thus you shall say to the house of Jacob and tell the people of Israel. You yourselves have seen what I did to the Egyptians how I bore you on eagles wings and brought you to myself.

Now therefore if you will indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant. You shall be my treasured possession among all the peoples for all the earth is mine. And you shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.

These are the words that you shall speak to the people of Israel. So now sometimes we're we feel like we're in a wilderness. Right. What do we have to remind ourselves? Look what God's done in the past.

Look at how he delivered his people out of the Egyptians hands. Right if we're faithful if we do what God told us to do, we're gonna see things change. We have to pray. We have to trust in Christ. We have to build his kingdom.

We're co-laborers with Jesus. Right, and how does this apply to what we are as the church? Because of Jesus you are chosen race a royal priesthood a holy nation a people for his own possession. That You may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light once you were not a people.

But now you are God's people. Once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. Beloved. I urge you as sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh which were against your soul.

Remember earlier I told you about bashing Carmel and Lebanon things that look beautiful. Right things that look beautiful on the outside, but on the inside can corrupt you. This is what we have to be careful of the passions of the flesh.

Some things may look beautiful. They may be very very dangerous for us. So I want to encourage you look at what this the New Testament says about us. Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you whom you have from God?

We are the house of God. You yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house. To be a holy priesthood to offer spiritual sacrifices. Acceptable to God through Jesus. So yes, we may be in a wilderness right now.

We may see the chaos of the nations around us, but God has not done right we have to we have to press it. Continue doing what we're doing and expand the kingdom while we're alive. Leave everything out on the field for the kingdom.

God Alone Brings Deliverance and Judgment

Nahum's words indicate that God will now have to intervene. He comes to deliver his people and to judge. Accumulated sin. However Nahum God comes alone. He says I have trodden the winepress alone and from the people's no one was with me.

Verse 5. I looked but there was no one to help. I was appalled. But there was no one to uphold so my own arm brought me salvation and my wrath upheld me. Nahum gives us no Moses. No Joshua only God works deliverance in this book.

Afflicted by Judah played afflicted Judah plays no part. God alone brings salvation. Deliverance from bondage and destruction of evil may not come by means of Israel. Now what do we have that they didn't the Holy Spirit.

We have the written word, right? We have Jesus who came died who was raised to life we he's the firstfruits of the kingdom and he came to transform the world to Bring it restore it back to what it was when when God first sent Adam who failed.

Jesus is not going to fail. Right, so we have so much more. What's the Great Commission? All right, behold, I will be with you always even to the end of the age. All right, Jesus is with us as we co-labor with him to bring the kingdom.

So yes, we have God the Holy Spirit and his church here on earth to bring the kingdom. We just have to get to work, right? Exodus 19 now Mount Sinai was wrapped in smoke because the Lord had descended on it in fire.

The smoke of it went up like the smoke of a kiln and the whole mountain trembled greatly, right? This is when God comes what happens? The mountain nation government kingdom known as Assyria will quake and dissolve as the Lord visits her in judgment.