Nahum 2:1-3

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May 15, 2022

The prophecy of Nahum is a short book that is packed with details about the nature of God. Join us as we dive into chapter 2 and learn about how God is sovereign, will scatter Asyria, and save His people. There's always more there than meets the eye!

00:10: So if you would if you want to turn in your Bibles, we're going to be reading the last verse of chapter 1 and then the first verse of first several verses of chapter 2
00:24: So Nahum 1 15 through to 2 13 God's Word says behold on the mountains the feet of him who brings good news who announces peace
00:34: Celebrate your feasts. Oh Judah pay your vows for never again. Will the wicked one pass through you?
00:40: He's cut off completely The one who scatters has come up against you man the fortress watch the road strengthen your back summon all your strength
00:50: For the Lord will restore the splendor of Jacob like the splendor of Israel Even though devastators have devastated them and destroyed their fine branches
00:59: The shields of his mighty men are colored red the warriors are dressed in scarlet The chariots are enveloped in flashing steel when he is prepared to march and the cypress spears are brandished
01:10: The chariots race madly in the streets they rush wildly in the squares Their appearance is like torches.
01:17: They dash to and fro like lightning flashes. He remembers his nobles They stumble in their march.
01:22: They hurry to her wall and the mantlet is set up The gates of the rivers are opened and the palace is dissolved it is fixed.
01:32: She is stripped She is carried away and her handmaids are moaning like the sound of doves beating on their breasts
01:39: Though Nineveh was like a pool of water throughout her days now. They are fleeing stop stop
01:45: But no one turns back Plunder the silver plunder the gold for there is no limit to the treasure
01:51: Wealth from every kind of desirable object. She is emptied Yes, she is a desolate waste
01:58: Hearts are melting and knees knocking also anguish is in the whole body and all their faces are grown pale Where is the den of lions and the feeding place of the young lions where the lion
02:09: Lioness and Lions Club prowled with nothing to disturb them the lion tore enough for her cubs
02:15: Killed enough for her lionesses and filled his lairs with prey and his dead dens with torn flesh
02:22: Behold, I am against you declares the Lord of hosts I will burn up her chariots and smoke a sword will devour your young lions
02:30: I will cut off your prey from the land and no longer will the voice of your messengers be heard
02:37: That is those are scary words for those who would come against the Lord.
02:42: So this morning I talked that the title was scatterers
02:49: Salvation and God's sovereignty. So we're going to see all three of those themes throughout this chapter
02:55: Especially God's sovereignty. So a real quick recap The introductory verse to Nahum chapter 1 the oracle or the burden of Nineveh The book of the vision of Nahum the
03:06: Elkishite and remember the word Nahum means comfort Okay, and the book of Nahum is actually
03:13: Jonah part 2 so Jonah anyone remember what Jonah's name means? dove
03:22: Who's the dove in the scripture the Holy Spirit? What does Nahum's name mean?
03:29: Comfort. All right, so we see the theme running through this is the Holy Spirit There's the sovereignty of God who's going to comfort his people and destroy his enemies first after chapter 1
03:41: Describes the severity and the goodness of God, right? God is good to those who trust in him, but to those who oppose him.
03:48: He's going to be a fierce enemy to them Nahum 1 to a jealous and avenging
03:53: God is the Lord the Lord is avenging and wrathful The Lord takes vengeance on his adversaries and he reserves wrath for his enemies 1 7 the
04:02: Lord is good though a stronghold in the day of trouble and he knows those who take refuge in him
04:08: So he would see the severity of God towards his enemies yet the goodness of God towards those whose faith and trust is in him
04:17: Second half of chapter 1 describes what that will look like for Nineveh and what that will look like for Judah 1 8 but with an overflowing flood
04:28: He will make a complete end of its sight and will pursue his enemies into darkness again God when he judges, okay, it's always synonymous with a flood
04:38: When God flooded the entire earth, it was judgment upon the earth and its inhabitants and he saved but eight people
04:47: Verses 13 12 to 13 thus says the Lord though they are at full strength and likewise many even so They will be cut off and pass away though.
04:56: I have afflicted you. Okay, meaning Judah I will afflict you no longer see now.
05:02: I will break his yoke bar from upon you and tear off your shackles so the yoke that The Assyrians had on Judah is going to be broken by God and we remember what
05:14: Jesus says You know, my yoke is easy. My burden is light. He's gonna tear off their shackles the shackles were internal The internal sinfulness of the
05:25: Judeans and humanity in general we have an internal Compulsion against the things of the
05:32: Lord we're dead to the things of the spirit spirit but alive to the things of the flesh until God Circumcises us he takes those shackles off and now we come to him
05:43: Verse 15. This was the good news behold on the mountains the feet of him who brings good news who announces peace shalom
05:51: Celebrate your fee so Judah pay your vows for never again. Will the wicked one pass through you? He's cut off completely Okay, so we see that the difference between how
05:59: God is going to rescue his people and how he's going to destroy and scatter his enemies
06:05: So let's get into the first verse It starts off the one who scatters has come up against you
06:13: So now the you here the one who scatters has come up against you the you is not
06:18: Judah It's now Nineveh again the Assyrians. So the one who scatters has come against you
06:25: Meaning he's coming against Nineveh against the Assyrians From the land he
06:31: Nimrod went into Assyria and built Nineveh where have both ear Kalha and resin between Nineveh and Kalha that is the great city.
06:40: This is Nineveh who which was started created by Nimrod We can read considerable detail about Nineveh in the prophecy of Jonah This is important because we're gonna we're going from Jonah to Nahum.
06:53: Nahum again is Jonah part two right in Jonah 1 and 3 we are told about the importance and the size of the great city use that term great many times
07:04: By the time Jonah was sent to Nineveh. It had been a center of wickedness for many years
07:09: We know the the reputation that the Ninevites had However, however after Jonah had preached in the city the people had apparently changed their ways and repented of their sin
07:20: Even the king takes off his robes Right his kingly robes and puts on sackcloth and ashes
07:27: He calls for a fast for all the people in Nineveh, even all the animals the cows were called to fast
07:33: That's how serious he was about this However, this is not what Jonah wanted to happen at the end of his prophecy
07:40: We have a glimpse of the Lord speaking to Jonah and pointing out to him that it was God's prerogative to save a city or Destroy it and on this occasion
07:48: God said should I not be concerned about that great city? So God had mercy on Nineveh for a while and this would serve to help the
07:57: Israelites Who who Assyria was going to come in and take over? Sadly by the time we get to Nahum now
08:05: It appears that the turning away or the repenting from sin on the part of the Ninevites was short -lived
08:11: Otherwise, we would not read of Nahum telling the people of Israel that this great and powerful city would be utterly destroyed
08:17: This is the point of Nahum. So what happened? Why was it that Nineveh repented?
08:23: And now is turning back and coming against Judah again So let's take a look
08:31: Explaining how Nineveh fell to the scatterer begins in ancient history even from Nahum's perspective
08:36: Nahum chose the word scatterer Intentionally it links Nineveh's coming coming judgment to the one of the distant past He meant to take us back to Genesis chapter 10 and 11
08:49: After the flood Noah's descendants traveled east and settled in Mesopotamia and began to build cities
08:54: Right, who knows what tower they tried to build? Babel right good. That was an easy one.
09:01: Yeah, Genesis chapter 10 verses 8 through 12 Cush fathered Nimrod. He was the first on earth to be a mighty man.
09:08: He was a mighty hunter before the Lord Who else do we know who was a mighty hunter before the Lord? Who's a mighty hunter?
09:14: Yes Esau exactly you said that You were thinking it.
09:19: Okay good He was a mighty Nimrod was a mighty hunter before the Lord Therefore it is said like Nimrod a mighty hunter before the
09:28: Lord the beginning of his kingdom was Babel Eric Akkad Calna in the land of Shinar from that land
09:35: He went into Assyria and built Nineveh where her both ear Calha and resin between Nineveh and Calha.
09:41: That is the great city All right, so We're getting a little history about how
09:46: Nineveh came to be and why Nahum's choosing to use this word scatterer Nineveh will be founded in a time characterized by United human rebellion they all gathered together
09:58: Okay Congregated together to build the Tower of Babel to what make a name for themselves
10:06: All right. This was not about God's name, even though God said Fill the earth subdue it which we're going to get to in a second
10:13: Okay Remember when the flood ended God commanded Noah to be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth
10:21: Basically, he's not he's saying look don't just stay here. Okay. I want you to completely
10:27: Take dominion over the entire earth and in direct rebellion to that command
10:32: Noah's descendants decided to build a city and a tower with it with its top to reach the heavens
10:39: This is in rebellion in disobedience to what God told them to do They agreed together.
10:45: Let us make a name for ourselves Lest we be dispersed over the face of the whole earth
10:51: Maybe you could see where this is going Rather than trusting God and obeying his word these early people sought security in numbers and buildings and the reputation that came from both
11:04: So rather than trusting in God and doing as he said, oh, let's get together There's safety in numbers why because the human heart wants to trust in itself doesn't want to trust
11:14: God Nineveh was always a city that lived to make a name for itself in defiance of God in Genesis 11 5 the
11:24: Lord came down and he will do so again in Nahum verses 2 through 8 in Genesis God Dispersed them many centuries later.
11:34: Nineveh would receive the same treatment the word dispersed in Genesis 11 4 and 8 and The name scatterer used in Nahum 2 1 come from the same
11:44: Hebrew verb We are meant to read Nahum 2 through the lens of Babel Okay, so God is coming against Assyria Okay coming against Nineveh and he's going to scatter them because they were the ones who says let's scatter
12:00: Let's be this lest God disperse us Throughout the land. Let's gather together together to build the
12:07: Tower of Babel So God is telling Assyria through Nahum that he the
12:13: God who scatters is Back and is once again against them to overthrow their plans
12:19: Make sense see the corollary between that word scatter so the next
12:27: Part of the verse man the fortress watch the road Strengthen your back summon all your strength.
12:33: He's addressing Assyria right now With biting satire Nineveh is encouraged by the
12:39: Prophet to do everything she can to prepare for the coming conflict For she will need much preparation in Sharp -clipped staccato commands like gasps from an exhausted but frightened leader come these pieces of advice
12:54: Man the fort watch the road Strengthen your flanks for to fortify your power mightily
13:01: But the truth of the matter is that all of this would have been too late and in vain No amount of preparation could help
13:07: Assyria because she was up against God Doesn't matter what you man yourself with or what you try to amass if God is
13:17: Coming for you. You've you've got a big problem Your command at that point in time would be to repent and trust in him ask him for mercy ask him for forgiveness
13:27: What makes the urging for more preparation seem all the more ridiculous is that Sinatra had already spent six years
13:35: Building an armory that covered 40 acres in the city, so he's armed himself to the hilt
13:42: Ur Shaddan had enlarged it by adding more chariots wagons horses mules bows quivers arrows and similar equipment
13:51: Even the Royal Road inside the city had been enlarged to a width of 78 feet facilitating troop movement
13:58: But when God is against the nation no amount of material resources will avail or ensure victory
14:05: Okay, you cannot come up with a material solution to solve an immaterial problem Fleshly solutions can solve fleshly problems.
14:13: You need a supernatural a spiritual Weapon or a spiritual solution that's going to stop the spiritual problem it reminded me of that verse in Romans 8 that we
14:24: Didn't really get to when we went through well Actually, we might have gotten through when we went through the the book all things together for good
14:30: God says if God is for us who can be against us But think of the contrary if God is against us who or what could be for us?
14:42: Right if God is against you Okay, if you haven't repented and turned for your sin and trust in Jesus God's wrath abides on you neither turn from that Okay, this especially for these
14:54: Syrians. God said I'm coming for you, and he's taunting them by saying yeah Man the forts right watch the road summon up all your strength get ready.
15:05: Let's see how you're gonna do Scary Remember God is a jealous and avenging
15:13: God. He's not gonna let his bride Be beat up by a bully
15:19: He's gonna come in and he's gonna take control. He's going to fight against the Assyrians the Ninevites the next
15:28: Sentences for the Lord will restore the splendor of Jacob like the splendor of Israel In the case of his own people the
15:36: Lord does the impossible The eminence that once belonged to Israel in the hour of highest glory
15:42: Shall now return in all its fullness the contrast between the eminence or glory of Jacob and that of Israel is not a contrast between The relative majesty of the northern and southern kingdoms
15:54: Instead the contrast is between the time of Israel's glory under the United Monarchy and the time of the nation's
16:00: Humiliation as it passed through God's judgments leading leaving Judah alone intact
16:06: Nahum is envisioning a day in which the same kind of transformation worked in the patriarch Jacob shall characterize the nation as a whole
16:14: The devious Jacobean side of the people led to their devastation But they shall experience fullness of restoration and shall revel in the kingdoms being raised again to glory
16:25: Right. So Jacob was the one who tricked his dad into giving him the blessing
16:32: In the same way the kings of Judah would make covenants with the surrounding nations
16:38: Right kind of trying to play both both sides, right? Well, we have the covenant with God, but you know what?
16:45: We should have a covenant with these powerful nations around us too, which doesn't work, right?
16:50: You want you want your covenant with God and God alone, right? You we trust in the Lord We do not trust in chariots or horses
16:59: The Lord made a comforting promise to the people of Judah In stark contrast to the bleak future of Nineveh the prospects for Judah were bright
17:08: God promised to restore the splendor of Jacob. That was good news because politically
17:15: Economically and militarily Judah could not even be considered a second -class nation during Nahum's day the glory days of David and Solomon were long gone yet with Nineveh's fall a
17:28: Syrian domination would end and renewed Prosperity would ensue
17:33: Okay. So again God's going to come in. He's going to protect his people. He's gonna Destroy those who are against him.
17:41: In fact, I wanted if you have your Bibles open I want you to look at Psalm 35 and I think this is something that we should probably
17:50: Pray about on Wednesday nights. We can pray God's Word Even you know from the pulpit
17:56: Psalm 35 verse 1 and 2 Contend O Lord with those who contend with me
18:02: Fight against those who fight against me Take hold of buckler and shield and rise up for my help
18:09: Draw also the spear and the battle -axe to meet those who pursue me say to my soul
18:14: I am your salvation. Let those be ashamed and dishonored who seek my life Let those be turned back and humiliated who devise evil against me
18:23: Let them be like chaff before the wind with the angel of the Lord driving them on Right Lord fight against those who fight against me
18:33: Contend O Lord with those who are contending with me. I think that should be one of our ongoing prayers
18:40: Right. Do we see what's going on in the world? You see the the the flesh rising up against the spiritual
18:47: You know the the children of the flesh rising you up against the children of the spirit. This goes back to The garden right the seat of the serpent against the seat of the woman
18:58: Right, so it's not a bad thing to pray Lord contend with those people Have mercy on them, but contend with them change them change their hearts or remove them
19:09: And watch what happens with this Hebrew word restore the Hebrew verb restore is a prophetic perfect a grammatical form the prophets often used to show that the prophet felt so sure of the coming restoration that he spoke of it as already having occurred
19:26: The prophets knew that the Lord does his work among his people if God purposed to restore
19:31: Israel Then the people could count Count the act as an accomplished fact though the work of God might occur far in the future
19:39: God would do this do his work of restoration as he determined to do All right.
19:45: So when the prophet spoke it and it came from God, it was a guarantee It's going to happen very similar when we when we repent and trust in Jesus We're justified were made right in God's sight and the scripture talks about three different things
20:00: You have been saved are being saved and will be saved But if you're justified truly made right declared innocent in God's sight the end is just as certain as the beginning
20:12: So we have that promise from God Everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord will be saved right if you believe in your heart
20:19: Okay, you will you will be saved confess with your mouth The Holy Spirit is our guarantee he's the seal that seals us for the day of redemption and and for our inheritance
20:30: Thank goodness for that So the same way God promises to save us.
20:36: He promised to restore Israel. It's a guarantee It's also guarantee that God's enemies will be destroyed and cut off forever
20:47: So says name goes on to say even though Devastators have devastated them and destroyed their vine branches
20:54: Verse 2 is an aside directed to now the people in Jerusalem and its countryside
20:59: Assyrian troops have had laid waste and ruined vines Literally the empty ears emptied the land and they're pruning disfigured the vines
21:10: Not only taking the produce of the land, but also destroying Judah's vineyards and olive groves
21:16: Judah's potential for return to prosperity had been stripped Nonetheless Yahweh Promises to return their former splendor
21:23: He is the creator and the destroyer of his creation will be destroyed the destroyers of his creation will be destroyed
21:31: So is this does this ring a bell for you? Like how does God describe?
21:36: How does God refer to Israel in the Old Testament? Obviously, I'm even aiming at something but he describes
21:45: Israel with a lot of different words. I know what we're gonna say With regards to what we see there laid waste and ruined vines
21:54: Pruning disfigured the vines All right
22:01: Israel is a luxuriant vine Okay, God describes Israel as that vine and we'll go on to see what else that means
22:09: Jeremiah 2 yet. I planted you meaning Israel a choice vine holy of pure seed
22:15: How then have you turned? Dennett Degenerate and become a wild vine though You wash yourself with lying use much soap the stain of your guilt is still before me declares the
22:26: Lord Right. So God's the one who brought Israel up like a vine. He's pruning the vine
22:32: But obviously the human heart turns against God's at enmity with God You need they tried to walk.
22:39: He's saying use much so you wash yourself with lying use much Soap what's that cleaning outside right the outside of the cup?
22:46: His is is dirty the outside of the cup is clean, but the inside needs to be clean Thus says the
22:53: Lord of hosts behold the man whose name is the branch For he shall branch out from his place.
22:59: He shall build the temple of the Lord It is he who shall build the temple of the Lord and shall bear royal honor and shall sit and rule on his throne
23:07: This is the solution. Who's the branch? No, Jesus is the branch behold the man whose name is the branch right
23:15: Jesus is that branch he's divine, right? He's the root in the stump. He's the whole he's the whole enchilada
23:26: Jesus says I am the true vine right? This is John chapter 15 And what does he say?
23:32: I will build my church and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it So even though Assyria is trying to cut down the vine right cut down the
23:41: Israelites We know we have the promise from God that Jesus is divine and he is going to build his church
23:48: He is that righteous branch that will bring about the descendants of spiritual
23:53: Israel his people Why is God attacking the city because the
23:59: Lord is about to restore Israel the pride of Jacob Which has been ravaged by its plunderers
24:04: Jacob's restoration can only occur upon the destruction of Assyria Much like the liberation of the
24:10: Hebrew slaves came about at the expense of Egypt's might right when God Delivered the
24:16: Israelites out of Egypt. He also destroyed the Egyptian army that came after them
24:21: He destroyed Pharaoh's house by killing his firstborn. He sent the plagues on all the
24:27: Egyptians Nahum is a realist enough to know That we are caught up in a tangled web of sin.
24:34: It's the depravity of the human heart However configured or disturbed Distributed sinful power is invariably used to demoralize and abuse others
24:44: That is an inescapable fact of the sinful tragedy of the human condition The liberation of a people will always upset the balance of power, right?
24:53: So this is a balance of power. You have the seat of the serpent raging against the seat of the woman Who truly has the power the
25:01: Lord who truly has the power? Hello Thank you God's people right we have we have
25:08: God's spirit living inside of us That's why I keep telling you over and over again. You need not be afraid of someone who doesn't know what a woman is
25:14: Please don't be afraid of these people They are afraid of us That's why they're pushing so hard against the things that we stand for.
25:24: That's why they're pushing for abortion That's why they're trying to redefine humanity. That's what they're trying to redefine marriage
25:31: They know who has the power we just have to act in accordance with what we have inside of us
25:39: Okay, fear of man is a snare The righteous are bold as a lion
25:45: Right. We have to remind ourselves that every day we walk by faith not by sight
25:50: You keep looking outside watching the news reading the newspaper You're gonna be demoralized open your Bible and read it read what he said what he's gonna do to these
25:58: Syrians You think the Judeans had the power to overthrow the
26:04: Assyrians no No, this is going to be done by the power of God and he'll use another nation to do it
26:12: Right. So we have to stop being afraid of man. We have to boldly proclaim the gospel
26:17: We have to be faithful to what God told us to do take Dominion Like I tell you every week Long Island is
26:23: Christ Island whether you believe that or not is a different story You need to believe that you need to believe that he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world
26:33: Fear is not from God Okay, it's only of the power of God that can restore
26:40: Israel So we get to verse 3 we're chugging along Wow The shields of his mighty men are colored red.
26:49: The warriors are dressed in scarlet Okay, so this is a description of the armies that would be attacking
26:56: Nineveh After the section dealing with the comforting of Judah as the promised comforting of Israel I'm sorry
27:03: Yes the Prophet returned to the theme of the destruction of Nineveh in Graphic terms
27:08: Nahum described the swiftness of the attack and the decisive defeat of Nineveh the attackers display total utilization of the most modern most sophisticated strategies of Warfare right the
27:21: Assyrians had the best that that could be offered at that point in time Just as the
27:27: Hebrew verb restore is a prophetic perfect guaranteeing Israel's restoration. It's also guaranteeing
27:34: Nineveh's defeat Nineveh is not going to win a Syria is going to be destroyed.
27:40: They're going to be completely cut off You know if you're looking like on a map Judah's like the size of a quarter
27:47: And a Syria is the size of the rest of this screen? It's inconceivable to think that Judah is going to win
27:55: But for the power of God and what he said The men in the red shields and the scarlet uniforms are the color of the
28:04: Medes and they were already at the gates So certain is the prophet of the course of this battle that he describes it with vividness rare even for those who view actual battles
28:14: Nahum writes all of this in the prophetic perfect tense, which means that it had not yet happened as yet But so sure is
28:22: Nahum of God's triumph that the following that that following the custom for Old Testament prophets
28:28: He uses a verb tense that describes completed action. It's as if when he said this it's already done
28:36: You need not worry. It's done. God said he's going to do this. It's done already
28:41: The reference to the red shields may be interpreted in a variety of ways
28:48: They could be reddened by the blood of victims of past conflicts Or by the reflection of the
28:53: Sun on a copper shield or by the use of a decorative die But the context of determined assault by a most powerful adversary
29:01: Suggests that this redness comes from the blood of the resistance offered by Nineveh The fact that assault the assaulting army had not yet broken into the city proper would not preclude
29:13: Preliminary skirmishes as the territory about the city came into dispute in any case these reddened shields serve as an awesome
29:20: Foreboding of the sentence now to be executed on all and none of his inhabitants, so they're seeing these red shields
29:27: Some of the redness on those shields is the blood of their brothers and sisters who died in The initial skirmishes as a serious coming in so they've seen these red shields saying oh my goodness
29:39: That's going to be our blood our people are being killed already Details given by the
29:45: Prophet have led some commentators to deduce that Nahum's words Must have come from a time after the fall of Nineveh in 612
29:53: BC How could someone to describe the battle in such a with it vivid and clear way very detailed?
30:00: He was why because this is what the Lord showed him and the Lord can't be wrong That's how we know what a true prophet is when he when he says the words and then they come to pass
30:11: In fact Nahum describes the battle scene in more graphic detail than even the actual account given by the
30:17: Babylonians So there was a historical record Taken by Babylon that described this battle
30:24: Nahum's prophecy before the battle happened was more detailed than what the Babylonians wrote that's how
30:32: Perfect God's prophecy is that's how perfect his foreknowledge is he's he perfect.
30:38: He's omniscient He knows everything he decreed that Nineveh Assyria was going to be destroyed and anything
30:45: God decrees or says is going to come to pass Right. Do you believe that the mountain of the
30:52: Lord is going to cover the entire earth? Do you believe? That Jesus is
30:58: Lord ruling and reigning right now until his enemies are made a footstool for his feet You need to believe that it's one thing to say it.
31:06: It's another thing to believe it Belief action follows belief if you believe it you're gonna act on it
31:13: Okay, we need to act on these things faith without works is dead do not be a hearer of the word only be doers of the word
31:24: The chariots are enveloped in flashing steel when he's prepared to march and the cypress spears are brandished
31:32: The besiegers of Nineveh will muster their forces and array them for the attack upon the fortified city
31:38: Seemingly secure behind its moats and its high walls with their many towers The shields of the
31:43: Medo -Babylonians will be painted red and their valiant men will be dressed in scarlet Their chariots will be lined up for attack and will appear as flaming torches as the rays of the
31:53: Sun are reflected from their metal parts to terrify the defenders the infantry of the attacking forces will branches their fur their cypress spears made of wood
32:05: The chariots flash like a flame The word translated flash is a word which does not occur anywhere else in the
32:12: Hebrew Bible and whose meaning is unknown Do you know what it's called when a word appears only once in the
32:18: Bible maybe know what that term is? The only reason I know is because I hit dr.
32:24: White say it all the time hat packs legomena All right, it's it's a word that only It's a word that only appears once in the entire
32:32: Bible, right? Some scholars think this word means steel and speaks of the material from which the chariots were made
32:39: Others related to a word of similar spelling which means torches other see see instead a word which means flash the
32:46: TV Which is today's English version translate their chariots flash like fire
32:52: This may again be a reference to the Sun reflecting off the polished metal of the chariots Chariots were light two -wheeled carts pulled by horses used in battle.
33:01: So all this stuff with flashing and and lightning Is is leading us towards something?
33:09: Yes, it could it very well could
33:25: Mm -hmm. Well put this way Elijah would be a
33:31: Minister of God, which is what we're gonna see in a second. I think I gave it away again Psalm 104
33:37: He lays the beam of his chambers on the waters. He makes the cloud his chariot. He rides on the wings of the wind
33:42: He makes his messengers winds winds his ministers a flaming fire
33:48: So when we see flames fire flashing, okay, this is how
33:53: God describes his ministers Reminder a Syria was
33:58: God's chosen instrument to discipline Israel God is sovereignly working to redeem and restore his people
34:05: He will also be defeating and destroying his enemies. His ministers are as a flaming fire
34:11: So God comes with fire again to judge When we talk about hell we hear any of the things about she oh hell
34:18: Hades it talks about flames Right burning the the the smoke of their torment went up forever and ever it uses these metaphors or imageries of fire
34:29: Isaiah 10 Woe to a Syria the rod of my anger. So here a
34:35: Syria is basically in God's hand He's the one who's bringing a Syria against Judah Right, and you're like, why would he do that?
34:44: A Syria is brutal Yeah, serious brutal, but you to compromise itself. They hoard after other gods
34:50: They made treaties with other Kings where they should have been faithful to their King their
34:55: God They weren't so God's gonna bring a Syria in this is highlights the sovereignty of God We have to recognize that God's in control of everything that's happening right now
35:05: Okay, so woe to a Syria the rod of my anger the staff in their hands is my fury
35:11: Against the godless nation Judah. I send him and against the people of my wrath
35:16: I command him to take spoil and seize plunder and to tread them down like the mire of the streets
35:22: But a Syria went too far in his heart in a serious heart to destroy and cut off nations not a few
35:31: God goes on to say when the Lord Isaiah God through Isaiah when the Lord has finished his work on Mount Zion and on Jerusalem He will punish the speech of the arrogant heart of the king of Assyria and the boastful look of in his eyes
35:43: For he says by the strength of my hand. I have done it and by my wisdom. I have understanding
35:49: So Isaiah this part was written before Nahum, okay, and he's he's saying
35:55: That God is going to use Assyria to come in and punish Judah But at a later point in time, he's going to punish
36:00: Assyria because their hearts went too far Isaiah 10 15 through 16 shall the axe boast over him who who's it use it or the saw magnify itself against him who wields it as If a rod should wield him who lifts it or as if a staff should lift him who is not wood therefore the
36:23: Lord God of hosts will send wasting sickness among his stout warriors and under his glory a burning will be kindled like the burning of fire
36:32: Okay. So again these this imagery of fire and flashing and shields and red shields and blood, okay, and and the
36:41: The the shield that glimmers as the Sun hits it This would be as if God's people
36:47: God's ministers were a flame of fire So here Assyria is boasting in its own power how it came it's going to destroy all the nations around it now
36:57: It's going to destroy Judah yet. God was the source of their power. He was the one
37:04: Who had Assyria in his hand like an axe? All right. Could you imagine an axe?
37:10: Talking and boasting look at the trees that I cut down not realizing it was the hand who held the axe
37:16: That's cutting down the trees Isaiah 10 he goes on the light of Israel will become a fire and his
37:25: Holy One a flame and it will burn and devour his thorns and briars in one day the glory of his forest and of his fruitful land and the
37:34: Lord will destroy both soul and body and it will be as when a sick man wastes away The remnant of the trees of his forest will be so few that a child can write them down Any questions at this point?
37:46: We're good The sovereignty of God and the power of God are on full display
37:53: Scattering his enemies and saving his people so This goes all the way back to Genesis 10 when those people
38:02: Gathered together. Okay, they didn't they didn't heed God's command to be fruitful amount by multiplied to disperse over the entire earth
38:10: Instead of scattering they congregated and God comes back and says now I'm going to scatter you for for your sin
38:20: Nahum 1 6 Who can stand it before his indignation? Who can endure the burning of his anger yet?
38:27: The Lord is good a stronghold in the day of trouble. He knows those who trust in him So as we see even today this battle raging on between the seed of the serpent and the seed of the woman
38:39: The question is what side are you on? Right when Jesus was crucified there was two two two two criminals one on each side one looked and was mocking the people and Crying yelling at Jesus.
38:54: Come on. Get us down from here. If you're if you're the Messiah the Son of God At first right both of them were and then one came to his senses
39:03: By the power of God. All right, and he says surely this man is innocent Lord.
39:08: Remember me when you come into your kingdom So the question is what side of the cross are you on?
39:14: Right. Are you on the side that repents recognizes Jesus is the Messiah and that he is Lord of all
39:20: You repent of your sin You recognize that your sin is is worthy of God's wrath and trust in the only solution to it
39:28: Or are you going to continue to rail against God? Okay Any questions at this point, we're good.
39:39: We're kind of like right on time, too All right, if there's no questions just remember
39:45: What I had told you before I want to I want to encourage you again We shouldn't be afraid of the people around in the world
39:53: Who were doing these wicked things, although? It can be painful in our flesh. We have to remember
40:00: Who's in charge? We have to remember the power of God? On the earth and inside of us and the fact that he is
40:07: Lord and he is ruling and he is reigning After we think we have to remind ourselves of that Often because our flesh can easily be overcome by the things that are going on around us
40:17: All right, so get out of your flesh Get in the spirit get in your Bible and read what it says and know that God's in control