My pool has a leak, and it is a bad one. It is in the filtration pipes, and it loses several inches of water a day. I have to keep filling the pool with tap water in order to keep the filter pump from burning up when it kicks on. If I don’t filter the water, it will quickly turn green, and the pool will become a useless health hazard, rather than a recreational device. The secret to keeping the water fresh and clean is found in the pump that forces all the water through the filter to remove impurity. For the believer, understanding God’s holy character is like implanting a filter on our lives. In other words, knowing God’s character should change my choices, my priorities and my practices.
Moses needed to know WHO God was before he could go to Pharaoh. Pharaoh asked, Who is the LORD that I should listen to Him? Scripture seems to repeat the idea that one needed to know WHO God is to really serve His purposes!
There are a number of places in Scripture where God revealed His character in word pictures. Perhaps the most famous of those was when Moses had come down from the mountain of the Law, and found the people involved in sin. After the people involved were dispatched (read: killed), Moses found himself somewhat disgusted with the whole mess of his people (Exodus 32). The Lord told him to get the people and move on. Then the Lord dropped the bombshell… I am not going. I will send an angel with you. Moses pleaded, “Oh Lord, You MUST go with me!” He further pleaded, “Show me who YOU are!” (Exodus 33). God agreed to show a part of Himself to Moses, while he was tucked in a crevice of rock. God marched by and shouted out His character in eleven statements (cp. Exodus 34).
We have a list like this in Nahum 1:
The text opens with the proclamation that a burden (massaw: load) that must be lifted of guilt and oppression from God’s people. Nahum prophesied 100-150 years after the time of Jonah. Under Jonah’s preaching the Ninevites repented and God turned away His wrath. Within years, the repentance “wore off” and they sunk deeply back into sin. Nineveh represented both unparalleled wickedness and unequaled wealth and convenience – living on the plunder of subdued nations.
God was about to act, but He first sent a voice to lift the hearts of His own ravaged and depressed people. Why did He reach out to them? God said:“It is NOT because My people are good, or better than those who oppress. It is NOT because My people would not do exactly the same things being done to them. It is NOT because of My people at all”.. it was because of God’s character! For the believer, understanding God’s holy character is like implanting a filter on our lives. In other words, knowing God’s character should change my choices, my priorities and my practices. It should remind me that when injustice occurs, God will level the playing field. It should reassure me that no harsh word against me will be overlooked. It should bring a level of peace to my heart to know that I needn’t right every wrong against me or against His people – He will judge in His time!
What is God like?
1. Rooted in Truth: God is jealous (kannaw: used only of God; a function of honesty – 1:2). God wants to be first in your life because He is FIRST in the universe! Any other place is the WRONG place for Him. His jealousy is a function of His integrity. It is like He is watching someone go out of ice that will not hold them. He is crying out to them, not to stop them from getting where they want to go, but because He knows they cannot get there by that means. He stands by and watches us reach for fulfillment and love while seeking it in some place that is NOT HIM, all the while knowing that will not happen. He weeps over our lives as Jesus did over a Jerusalem that would reject Him and not understand the price!
Implication: You are most like your Father when you walk in the truth, uphold the truth, cast the light on the truth. You are most like his enemy when you rationalize untruth.
2. An Advocate for real Justice: God is avenging (“takes vengeance” – nawkam: judicially fulfills retribution and “reserves wrath” – khaymaw: from kham or heat – 1:2b). There is a wonderful story told by historian Shelby Foote. A young soldier was brought before General Robert E. Lee. The soldier had deserted his post. He was young and tired and frightened. He was trembling almost uncontrollably. General Lee tried to reassure the young man, saying, “Don’t worry son. You’ll find justice here.” To which the young soldier replied, “That’s what I’m afraid of.” (higherpraise.com). God told us not to avenge ourselves (Matthew 5:38-39), but to be servants of men (5:43-44). That alone would leave us frustrated when wrong occurs. The truth is, that we resist evil, but we place limits on ourselves in doing so. God chooses our circumstances and trials; we choose our attitudes and reactions to them. I’m reminded of an affirmation found written on a cellar wall in Germany where Jews hid from the Nazis: “I believe in the sun even when it is not shining. I believe in love even when I am feeling it not. I believe in God even when He is silent.” He tells me that He avenges so I can rest in His character in spite of opposition that is unfair.
Implication: When I walk through trials I should put off any desire to retaliate, for my Father will care for these things in His time. I should spend my energy on my reactions, not on griping over the conditions…
3. Rooted in Patience: God is slow to anger (1:3). This is the identical phrase found in Exodus 34 “I Am Longsuffering” (Awrake Aphim: long nosed; slow to flare up) This causes me to cry out to God for patience when I lose it with others! He is not quick to jump in and make right, because His nature is to patiently allow even the worst of us to get it together. Nineveh got spared. They got forgiven. Then they got careless and presumptive. And so do some of us!
Implication: When I slow down my reactions, and make them deliberate responses, I become like my Heavenly Father. The ability to remain under is a developed and prayed through sign of maturity (hupmeno).
4. Inexhaustible in Power: God is great in power (1:3). God is huge! God is the First and Last, He is the Beginning and the End! He is the keeper of Creation, the Architect of the universe, the Manager of all time. He always is… Unmoved, Unchanged, Undefeated, never Undone! He was bruised and broken and He brought healing! He was pierced and eased pain! He was imprisoned and brought freedom! He was crushed and brought life! He was killed… but yet He brings power! He reigns and brings Peace! I serve Him because His bond is love, His burden is light, and His goal for me is abundant life. I follow Him because He is the wisdom of the wise, The power of the powerful, The ancient of days, the sovereign Lord of all that was and is and is to come. And if that seems impressive to you, try this for size. His goal is a relationship with ME! He will never leave me, Never forsake me, Never mislead me, Never forget me! When I am weak, He is strong! When I am lost, He knows the way! When I am afraid, He is my courage! When I stumble, He picks me up! When I am hurt, He heals me! When I am broken, He mends me! When I am blind, He leads me! When I am hungry, He feeds me! When I face trials, He is with me! When I face persecution, He shields me! When I face problems, He comforts me! When I face loss, He provides for me! When I face death, He wisks me Home! He is God, the great and powerful One – and He is faithful. I am His, and He is mine! Some day my Father will cast aside the prince of this world. All things created will one day bow before His might! If you’re wondering why I feel so secure, understand this…There is no power greater than His. There is no boundary to His love for me. The Word says it clearly: God is in control, I am on His side, and That means all is well with my soul. Everyday is a blessing for I have had an EXPERIENCE with My Father, and He has made me a promise to care for all things. God is powerful!
Implication: When I am prepared to trust His power and character I become useful to His cause!
5. Firm in Righteousness: The Lord will not leave the guilty unpunished (nawkaw: acquitted -1:3). Because there is nothing that escapes His view, God offers a way of grace to people, and then gives them time. He is sovereign, and He alone knows how this works on the individual level. Yet, many refuse to turn an follow Him. When they refuse, He holds their guilt up to them in the light of His absolute justice. No rape will go unpunished. No angry parent that hurts a helpless child in a drunken rage will be overlooked. Every sin will be paid for – by the sinner or by the substitute. For God will not allow the guilty a free pass. In the case of those who have found peace with God through the work of Jesus, God accepted the penalty of death, given on our behalf!
Implication: I needn’t right every wrong, especially when it is against me. I can let some wrongs pass into the hands of my Father. My rights are not always the most important thing!
6. Utterly Untamed by External Influence: God moves in whirlwinds and storms and uses the clouds.(1:3b). This is an image that shows a number of things about God. I don’t believe the writer has in mind that God is trying to judge each individual through a specific storm. I think he is making the point that God moves in ways that are like a vast storm, with all the power or these vast systems at His disposal to use at any time. The whirlwind is a dust tornado that can often be seen passing through the desert. Storm clouds also seem to be sculpted by God and formed and moving at His command. The writer chose things that were a) huge, b) powerful and c) untamed.
Implication: I need to be careful about thinking that I truly can understand the path of the Mighty Lord. Moses didn’t know, Paul couldn’t always discern. We can’t either.
7. Controller of the Planet (1:4-5): He pushes the sea from place to place (1:4). (rebukes the sea: gaw’ar: to correct and dry out land). The image is that of a misplaced sea, that God pushes back to the place where it belongs. In Exodus 14:15, a “strong wind blew all night” and may have pushed the water from where it did not belong.
Controller of the Planet: He is Provider for the World: He dries up rivers and the great mountain streams (1:4b). Bashan (the current Golan Heights) and Carmel are both areas that were well watered by natural rainfalls. When Amos referred to the cows of Bashan, he was saying they are well fed because the land had snow and rainfall. Carmel is “vineyard of God”. A vineyard was not irrigated but grew from natural rainfall. These two area were symbols of productivity. 1 Kings 18 is set in the story of when Ahab was searching for water for his donkeys, and was a Carmel story. God dried up these streams LAST. The point is that God would carry the judgment to the extremes and close all the loopholes.
Controller of the Planet: Sculptor of the Earth: Volcanoes spew out of the ground because of Him (“hills dissolve” cp. 1:5). The quaking here seems to be related to the spewing, suggesting volcanic activity. Minor volcanic activity was noted along the Golan, and in the eastern Aegean Sea from the period. Even the materials that made up their cities and houses were easily changed and destroyed by his might.
Implication: God knows His purposes, and God delivers His Sovereign plan. Nothing stands in His way. Our concern must be to respond as He unfolds His plan, with grace and a desire to use everything to honor Him!
8. Judge of Mankind’s actions (1:6): People cannot stand before His denunciation (zah’am), and nothing competes with the power (heat) of His judgment (1:6). In the end, Ninevah was crushed so completely that archaeologists only uncovered the remains of this once mighty power in 1845. In 2:6 we read, “The river gates are thrown open and the palace collapses.” In fact, the Babylonian army laid siege to Nineveh for 3 months. After a period of heavy rainfall, the river overflowed and broke down part of the city wall. The ruler of Nineveh and all his concubines perished in his burning palace. The invaders sacked and utterly destroyed the city. So complete was the destruction that armies have actually marched over the city of Nineveh without knowing the ruins of this once proud city lay beneath their feet.
Judge of Mankind’s actions: Victor over Idolatry: The power of the cliffs (rocks: tsoor – cliffs of idolatry) are shattered (1:6b). In places above cities (akropoli) the worship centers were carved in niches (as in Caesarea Philippi). These niches were carved to place idolatrous statues. All would be destroyed in His victory!
Implication: We must deliberately remember God in our daily decision making. Remember, the enemy doesn’t make us HATE God when we sin, just FORGET Him and His character.
9. Effective Protector (1:9-14): God is good (effective) – the place of hardened protection (stronghold: maw-oze: metallurgy term for making bronze castings) in troubled times (1:7). This word was used of the sword making work when hardening a worked piece of iron. This suggests the author was trying to show how God had created the weapons for defense that would be necessary.
Effective Protector: He is effective because He is Personal: He is intimate with each who comes to Him for rescue (1:7b). One who comes under his protection is carefully observed and well known to Him.
Effective Protector: He is effective because He is Thorough: With a flood He can wash out the memory of a place and pursue His enemies even in the darkness (1:8). Nothing is too difficult, and no one too tricky for His ability. The warden of a state prison said, “My hardest job is to convince a young delinquent that he has done anything wrong.” We live, as did Nineveh, in a culture that thinks ethics are arbitrary, that we can make our own rules, and there is no right or wrong. This is a terrifying worldview. The Russian author Dostoyevski said, “If there is no God, anything is permissible.” When we turn away from God and reject authority and accountability, we in effect become our own gods. What is God’s response to this lawlessness? 3:5, “’I am against you,’ declares the Lord Almighty.” He goes on to say (vss 6-7) that those who walk their own path will be stripped of their glory and made defenseless. His thorough approach is illustrated in that – Whatever a man will use to stand against the Lord, He will crush it and it will not be renewed (1:9).
Effective Protector: He is effective because He is patient and consistent: Interwoven and slowly overtaken, God will finish them (1:10). Like the creeping vine, or the effect of alcohol, God is carefully changing things constantly and almost imperceptibly!
Effective Protector: The one who has brought evil to the weak will be judged (1:11).
Effective Protector: He is effective in His results: Though strong in appearance and number, the whole shall be cut down (1:12).
Effective Protector: He is Deliberate in His Aim – Though some have been using their strength against my people, I will cut off their power and deliver My people away! (1:13). The Lord commands them cut off along with their foolish idols and rebellious religion (1:14).
Implication: We are called to trust One who is able to care for us. Confidence in the face of the storm (as well as preparation) is in order. Don’t take preparation for granted, but don’t think that ultimately you are in charge!
10. His Call is Clear: A beautiful word has come! Good news (1:15)! It is time to worship the Lord, and to do what we promised when strained under the tough persecutions, for He is removing the weight of the oppressor! (1:15b).
Implication: He is worthy of praise when I know WHO He is!
Who is God? He jealously guards the truth of His preeminence, Flawlessly avenges the downtrodden, patiently waits for judgment to offer mercy, is unparalleled in power, firm in righteousness, and untamed by any external force, He is provider and controller for all things on the planet, He is the sculpting artist of the world, judge over mankind, victor over idols, the effective protector of His own, deliberate in aim. His call is clear to worship and stand honestly in my commitment before Him. God wants us to encounter Him daily, and walk with Him daily. His Presence is one of the key blessings of our life! For the believer, understanding God’s holy character is like implanting a filter on our lives. In other words, knowing God’s character should change my choices, my priorities and my practices.
