Nahum 1:3 “The LORD is slow to anger, and great in power, and will not at all acquit the wicked: the LORD hath his way in the whirlwind and in the storm, and the clouds are the dust of his feet.”
My heart goes out to semi truck drivers! Have you ever seen a little car whip around a semi truck and then stop quickly behind another car or at a stoplight? For some reason, people think that because semis are slow to reach their cruising speed, they can stop quickly and easily. That is so far from the truth! Any little car that whips around a semi and then expects it to stop on a dime is flirting with disaster. In much the same way, we are reminded here in Nahum that we must never underestimate God or His power and judgment.
The first truth in verse 3 is that God is “slow to anger.” We serve a very patient God. He delights in showing mercy. The prophet Jonah, in fact, was angry with God for showing mercy to the Ninevites. Jonah grumbled, “For I knew that thou art a gracious God, and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repentest thee of the evil.” (Jonah 4:2b) Because the Ninevites of that day heeded the warning and repented, God did not judge them; instead He showed them mercy.
The book of Nahum was written one hundred years later. Guess who the book was written to? The people of Nineveh! You see, within the one hundred years since seeing God’s mercy, the people of Nineveh started to presume upon the mercy of God. They mistook the patience of God for weakness and returned to their wicked ways.
God is slow to anger, but He is also “great in power.” Just because God chooses to be patient with us does not mean that He has a weak attitude toward sin. Notice the power of God that follows in Nahum: He has control of the whirlwind (verse 3b), He can make fertile land dry and desolate (verse 4), and all nature melts in His presence (verse 5). As verse 6 summarizes it, “Who can stand before his indignation? And who can abide in the fierceness of his anger? his fury is poured out like fire, and the rocks are thrown down by him.” How can anyone mistake God’s patience for weakness?! Make no mistake about it, God “will not at all acquit the wicked.”
Secondly, though we are patient with others, we must be vigilant with ourselves. Remember that God is slow to anger but also of great power. He will not acquit the wicked-He will punish sin.
Make sure that you are not the “little car” stopping in front of the semi truck-don’t flirt with disaster by mistaking God’s patience for weakness. Never get to the point where you presume upon God’s mercy.
Prayer Requests: – New York City Evangelistic Outreach next month (Jan. 5-9, 2009) |