WHEN GOD IS AGAINST THEE?

Text: NAHUM 2:1-13

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INTRODUCTION:

1. One of the most comforting Scriptures in the Bible is found in Paul’s epistle to the Romans: "If God be for us, who can be against us?" (8:31).
2. These words encourage those of us that are saved – God is for us. And since God is for us, "who can be against us?"
3. But on the other hand, God is not for those that are not saved. Psalm 7:11 says that "God is angry with the wicked every day."
4. What a terrifying thought – God is against those that are against Him. Each and every day that they reject Jesus Christ and disobey His Word brings them one step closer to the fierce wrath of eternal damnation.
5. Years ago I started this series in the book of Nahum and I preached a message entitled, "When God Gives Up On a Nation." The nation was Assyria. Nahum’s prophecy describes the destruction of Nineveh, the capitol city of Assyria.
6. God gave them up just like He gave up on Babylon (cf. Jer. 51:24,25). I am convinced that God has just about given up on the USA.
7. Nineveh was an ancient city, going back to the days of Nimrod, who also built Babylon (Gen.10:8-11), in the days following the flood.
8. Please take note of those words, "Behold, I am against thee…" (Jer.51:25; cf. Nahum 2:13; 3:5).
9. My message today is entitled, "When God is Against Thee."

1. WHEN GOD IS AGAINST THEE, YOU HAVE TO "WATCH THE WAY" (2:1).

1. I would hate to have God against me. Every step I would take I would be afraid He would strike me down dead. Most unsaved people do not believe in a God of righteousness and judgment. They have conceived in their mind that God is just like them – lenient, selfish, indulgent, fickle, and so on. But their God is not the God of the Bible (1:2,3,6,14). As Moses said, "Their rock is not as our Rock" (Deut.32:31).
2. Here in 2:1, the prophet Nahum is referring to the Medo-Babylonian forces that came up against Assyria and destroyed it in 612 BC, approximately 100 years later.
3. Nahum is apparently being sarcastic when he tells the proud and haughty Assyrians – "keep the munition (ammunition and weapons), watch the way, make thy loins strong, fortify thy power mightily" (2:1).
4. The Assyrians were cruel and barbaric; they spared no one – women, children, the sick or the elderly. They thought their capital city of Nineveh was impregnable, and so Nahum warns them to watch out, they were going to be destroyed – "He that dasheth in pieces is come up before thy face" (2:1).
5. Nineveh had been the instrument used by God to punish "the excellency of Jacob" (2:2). But now it was time for God to punish them. The designations "Jacob" and "Israel" indicate both the southern and the northern kingdoms.
6. Verses 3-5 is a striking picture of the frantic disorder and chaos that prevailed when the fierce Babylonians and Medes raced into Nineveh in their chariots.
7. In the midst of this terrible onslaught, the king of Nineveh tried in vain to rally "his worthies" (2:5), but they were all drunk (cf. 1:10; 3:11,12). These drunken leaders stumbled to the city walls but the walls were not strong enough to hold back the enemy (2:5; 3:11-13).
8. Heavy rains caused the Tigris River to rise up and it caused a flood, which broke down the walls of Nineveh. The floodgates were opened, the walls washed out, the palace was dissolved, "and Huzzab shall be led away captive" (2:6,7). There seems to be some question as to the identity of Huzzab, perhaps she was the queen of Nineveh.
9. Her maids led her away, crying "with the voice of doves," beating upon their breasts in anguish. Two Scriptures come to mind: "Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap" (Gal.6:7); and "The way of transgressors is hard" (Pro.13:15).
10. A murderer named Gerald Chapman was about to be executed, and as he walked down the hall to the electric chair he kept muttering something over and over. The warden was curious so he walked up close to Mr. Chapman and heard him say over and over, "The way of transgressors is hard, The way of transgressors is hard…"

2. WHEN GOD IS AGAINST THEE, YOU WILL NOT HAVE TIME TO LOOK BACK (2:8; cf. Jer.46:5; 47:3).

1. The Tigris River rose up and the floodgates were opened. The walls washed out and the city of Nineveh was flooded and "like a pool of water" (2:8). We have seen pictures of towns and cities right here in America that were flooded out. People were seen rowing down Main Street in canoes and rafts.
2. I wonder how many repented of their sin and got right with God. How many people that were living in sin? How many that were dishonest? How many that thought they could get away with their sin?
3. We think of those who were killed down in Central America when Hurricane Mitch swept through, destroying everything and everyone that got caught up in his path? Most of them had no time to look back. They had to run fast and not look back (2:8).
4. The military leaders of Nineveh commanded the people not to flee. They shouted, "Stand, stand," but the panic-stricken people fled (2:8).
5. God instructed the invading armies to take "the spoil of silver, take the spoil of gold" (2:9,10). People today are not trusting in God. They are trusting in their homes, their money, their jobs, and their possessions – everything but God. That’s why God must oftentimes have to take drastic steps to get their attention.
6. I recall visiting a lady in LIJ Hospital who was dying with AIDS. She told me that she did not like my preaching but now that she was only hours from eternity she realized she was wrong. What will it take for God to get your attention?
7. I read about a wealthy Hollywood man who was driving east on the LIE out to his weekend home in the Hamptons when a huge pole flew up in the air and hurtling down through his windshield and through his head.
8. He died instantly. He had no time to look back, no time to say his prayers, no time to repent, no time to get things right with God – he went straight to hell!
9. Nineveh had been a wealthy city with vast treasures of silver and gold. Now "she is empty, and void, and waste" (2:10). That rich Hollywood man had everything money could buy, but in a moment he was dead – empty, void, and waste. How tragic is a life without God!

3. WHEN GOD IS AGAINST THEE, YOUR HEART WILL MELT AND YOUR KNEES WILL SMITE TOGETHER (2:10-13).

1. Our Lord used similar language to describe the end-times, the days preceding His second coming (cf. Luke 21:25-28).
2. Today when we talk of people being scared we might say that they turned "white as a ghost." But Nahum says "the faces of them all gather blackness" (2:10; cf. Joel 2:6). Perhaps the NKJV is more clear. It says, "all their faces are drained of color."
3. Assyria and Babylon, like Great Britain today, both used the lion as a symbol of their empires. Archaeologists have discovered art and sculpture depicting lions with men’s heads and men with lion heads, etc. They thought of themselves as fierce lions.
4. So the Lord asked them, "Where is the dwelling of the lions?" (2:11). Verses 11 and 12 vividly describe the butchery and atrocities of the Assyrians – "The lion did tear in pieces…" (2:12).
5. Comparing Nineveh to a lion’s den, Nahum emphasizes their cruelty and God’s judgment. The word "lion" is used eight times in the last three verses.
6. The LORD of hosts was against them (2:13). It was too late for Nineveh. God would burn up her impressive chariots. They would be destroyed and cut off "from the earth" (2:13), to be heard from no more.
7. How much more time does America have?

CONCLUSION:

1. I was driving in my car and listening to a talk-radio program. The talk-show host was discussing the sorry condition of our nation. He recognizes that there are some serious problems facing us today but as an unbeliever he cannot understand the real problem.
2. Caller after caller called up, each one offering their own explanation for why the USA is going down the tubes. Some had some good insight but they all ignored the primary problem – America has turned its back on God and therefore America is under the judgment of God.
3. God gave up on Nineveh and He said to them, "Behold, I am against thee" (2:13). Is God against thee? Have you considered it?
4. Our Lord said in Matthew 12:30, "He that is not with me is against me."