You Won’t Believe It

Behold ye among the heathen, and regard, and wonder marvellously: for I will work a work in your days, which ye will not believe, though it be told you.

Habakkuk 1:5

Be it known unto you therefore, men and brethren, that through this man is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins: and by him all that believe are justified from all things, from which ye could not be justified by the law of Moses.  Beware therefore, lest that come upon you, which is spoken of in the prophets; Behold, ye despisers, and wonder, and perish: for I work a work in your days, a work which ye shall in no wise believe, though a man declare it unto you.

Acts 13:38-41

God tells His people in the book of Habakkuk that He is going to perform a great work.  It is going to be a wonderful work, and they are told to watch for it and be ready for it.  It is going to be so great and wonderful that they are not going to believe it, even though someone will tell them about it.  This prophecy comes true in the book of Acts, with the Apostle Paul preaching to the Jews in Antioch, telling them about Jesus Christ and the wonderful work He had wrought.

This wonderful work is this: “through this man is preached unto the forgiveness of sins: And by his all that believe are justified from all things, from which ye could not be justified by the law of Moses.”  Under the law, there were many things for which there was no justification.  If you broke certain commandments, you died.  Period.  There was not forgiveness, no justification; only condemnation.  Then Jesus came.

Now, by believing on Him, we can be forgiven and “justified from all things, from which you could not be justified by the law of Moses.”  What a great and marvelous work Jesus wrought on the cross for us!  Forgiveness and justification almost sound too good to be true.  The Lord warned His people about this several hundred years before His coming.  He surely has done a marvelous work among the heathen, me included!  My ancestors were among the barbarians of northern Europe and Scandinavia.  They were not part of God’s chosen people.  Yet here I sit, clothed in the very righteousness of Jesus Christ!  What a wonderful work and wonderful Saviour!

To the Enemies of the Lord…

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.  The LORD is good, a strong hold in the day of trouble; and he knoweth them that trust in him. But with an overrunning flood he will make an utter end of the place thereof, and darkness shall pursue his enemies.

Nahum 1:6-8

We looked yesterday at the fact that the Lord is good and that He is a strong hold in the day of trouble.  We also noted the comforting and encouraging fact that the Lord “knoweth them that trust in him.”  He knows who trusts in Him and who believes in Him.  He also knows who His enemies are.  Verse 8 describes their existence.  Contrast the condition of the enemy of the Lord in verse 8 with those who trust in Him in verse 7.  The difference is literally night and day.

To those who trust in Him, the “Lord is good.”  To those who are His enemies, an “overrunning flood” will pursue them.  To those who trust in Him, He is a “strong hold in the day of trouble.”  To those who are His enemies, “His fury is poured out like fire.”  To those who trust in Him, He knows them and cares for them.  To those who are His enemies, “darkness shall pursue” them.  Think of that contrast.  The Bible speaks of believers as being “in the light” and as “walking in the light.”  But unbelievers are “in darkness.”  This verse tells us that darkness will pursue them.  Can you imagine darkness following you everywhere you go?  What a terrible existence.  But such is any life without the true Light.  Such is any life without the Lord.

What a difference the Lord makes!  What a difference knowing Him and trusting in Him makes!

To Those Who Trust In Him…

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.  The LORD is good, a strong hold in the day of trouble; and he knoweth them that trust in him.

Nahum 1:6-7

Verse 6 asks us “Who can stand before his indignation?”.  And in light of the verses before it, the simple answer is “nobody.”  There is no one who could stand before His anger or vengeance.  It would be a fearful thing to find yourself under His wrath.  But that is not the case for those who trust in Him.  In the midst of several verses dealing with the power and terror of the Lord being unleashed on His enemies, He reminds us that we can trust in Him.  He also reminds us that He knows those who trust in Him.

Sometimes we may feel alone or even that God has forgotten about us.  But He knows those who trust in Him.  He isn’t going to forget us; He isn’t going to let us get “lost in the shuffle.”  It is a great comfort and an encouragement to know that the Lord knows us and knows that we trust in Him.

He is also described as a “strong hold in the day of trouble.”  When we find ourselves facing the problems and trials of this life, we know that we can go to Him and depend on Him.  We know that, as the Psalmist said, He is our refuge.  We have nothing to fear from the world, for He knows us and is our strong hold in the day of trouble.

I like the fact that this verse starts out by saying “The Lord is good.”  When we read about all of the judgments that evil men will bring on themselves, it’s easy to become fearful ourselves.  The Lord is a powerful God and it is fearful to enter into His wrath.  But He gently reminds us here: “The Lord is good.”

What a great comfort and what a great encouragement!

Great In Power

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.  He rebuketh the sea, and maketh it dry, and drieth up all the rivers: Bashan languisheth, and Carmel, and the flower of Lebanon languisheth.  The mountains quake at him, and the hills melt, and the earth is burned at his presence, yea, the world, and all that dwell therein.  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.

Nahum 1:3-6

Verse 3 tells us that the Lord is “slow to anger.”  This is a very good thing, because the next several verses go on to show that, as it also says in verse 3, the Lord is “great in power.”  If the Lord were not slow to anger, He would likely have destroyed the entire Earth and everything in it long ago.  Look at these demonstrations of His power:

-“the clouds are the dust of His feet.”

-“He rebuketh the sea and maketh it dry.”

-He “drieth up all the rivers.”

-“The mountains quake at him.”

-“The hills melt [at Him]”

-“The earth is burned at his presence, yea, the world, and all that dwell therein.”

-“His fury is poured out like fire.”

-“The rocks are thrown down by him.”

After we read all of these things, we surely can not help but say with the prophet: “Who can stand before his indignation? and who can abide in the fierceness of his anger?”  The Lord is loving, longsuffering, merciful and good.  But the Bible also tells us that He will “take vengeance on his adversaries” and that He “reserveth wrath for his enemies.”  Thanks be to God that we, as Christians, are not counted among those adversaries and enemies!

Slow to Anger

God is jealous, and the LORD revengeth; the LORD revengeth, and is furious; the LORD will take vengeance on his adversaries, and he reserveth wrath for his enemies.  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.

Nahum 1:2-3

If there is one thing for which we should be thanking the Lord today, it is that He is “slow to anger.”  I have often thanked Him for His mercy and His blessings and other things.  But I don’t know how often I have actually thanked Him for being slow to anger.  If He were not slow to anger, I would not know of His mercy and blessings, for I would have been destroyed long ago.  I know that I have often done things to make Him very angry, and I regret every one of them.  But again, He is “slow to anger.”

At the time that Nahum was writing this book, God had been giving Israel second chance after second chance.  Reading the earlier books of the Old Testament, you find that the children of Israel would reject God and turn to idols.  They would be judged, they would repent and God would deliver them.  Then the cycle would start all over again.  Over and over this happened, maybe nowhere more obvious than in the book of Judges.  During Nahum’s time, it had been at least 700 years since the nation of Israel had turned away from God for the first time in the Promised Land.  For 700 years, they repeated this cycle of disobeying, being judged, repenting and being delivered.  For over 700 years, God tried to get them to love Him with their whole heart.

He has not worked on any of us for 700 years, but what does He have to do to us to bring us to Himself?  He has surely been merciful and slow to anger with us.  Let us thank Him for it and, with His help, not give Him cause to be angry with us!

Hallelujah for the Cross (Hymn)

Hallelujah for the Cross
Horatius Bonar (1882)

The cross, it standeth fast—
Hallelujah, hallelujah!
Defying every blast—
Hallelujah, hallelujah!
The winds of hell have blown,
The world
its hate hath shown,
Yet it is not overthrown—
Hallelujah for the cross!

Refrain

Hallelujah, hallelujah,
Hallelujah for the cross;
Hallelujah, hallelujah,
It shall never suffer loss!

It is the old cross still—
Hallelujah, hallelujah!
Its triumph let us tell—
Hallelujah, hallelujah!

The grace of God here shone
Thru Christ,
the blessèd Son,
Who did for sin atone—
Hallelujah for the cross!

Refrain

’Twas here the debt was paid—
Hallelujah, hallelujah!
Our sins on Jesus laid—
Hallelujah, hallelujah!

So round the cross we sing
Of Christ, our offering,
Of Christ, our living King—
Hallelujah for the cross!

I came across the words to his hymn, and, while I had never heard it, wanted to post it.  It has such great words.  I like the thought that no matter how hard the world may try, it can never defeat the cross.  I wish I knew the tune, but I can sing it still: “Hallelujah for the cross!”

God Is Jealous

The burden of Nineveh.  The book of the vision of Nahum the Elkoshite.  God is jealous, and the LORD revengeth; the LORD revengeth, and is furious; the LORD will take vengeance on his adversaries, and he reserveth his wrath for his enemies.

Nahum 1:1-2

The book of Nahum, as with many other prophets’ books, is a book of judgment.  God is not pleased with His people and He gives them some reasons in this book.  But He starts out by saying “God is jealous.”  That got me to thinking – why would God Almightly be jealous?  What would He have to be jealous of?  The Bible tells us many times (at least 10 times, if I counted right) that God is a jealous God.  So what does that mean?

God’s jealousy is not like our petty jealousy.  We might get jealous over something that someone else has or over something that someone else gets to do.  We often get jealous over small, petty things.  God is not like that.  The first of the Ten Commandments shows us what God’s jealousy is like: “Thou shalt have no other gods before me.”  Matthew 22:37 tells it like this: “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.”  Mark 12:30 and Luke 10:27 also tell us the same thing.  It was said many times to the Israelites in the Old Testament, and it is said several times to Christians in the New Testament.  We are to always put God first, and love Him with everything that we have.  Anything less is not acceptable.

That is where God’s jealousy comes in to play.  When we are not serving Him and loving Him with our whole heart, we have let something come between us.  God does not want things to come between us.  Whatever we have in our lives that causes us to not love Him with our whole heart needs to be eliminated.  Let us not forget that God is a jealous God.

Who Is A God Like Unto Thee?

Who is a God like unto thee, that pardoneth iniquity, and passeth by the transgression of the remnant of his heritage?  he retaineth not his anger for ever, because he delighteth in mercy.  He will turn again, he will have compassion upon us; he will subdue our iniquities; and thou wilt cast all their sins into the depths of the sea.

Micah 7:18-19

These are some of my favourite verses in the entire Bible.  They ask a good question: “Who is a God like unto thee?”  That truly is a good question.  Is there any other “god” out there like God?  Is there any other “god” out there who would “pardon iniquity?”  Most other “gods” would seem bent on vengeance and judgment.  But not our God.  He “delighteth in mercy…”  Think of that!  Not only is God longsuffering and gracious, but He even “delights” in having mercy.  He wants to have mercy on us!  He doesn’t forgive us and have mercy on us out of a sense of duty, but He is happy to forgive us and have mercy on us.  What other “god” is like that?

As I have said before, I am ever grateful for a merciful, forgiving God.  If our God did not delight in mercy, I would have been cast off long ago.  I am grateful that He is compassionate.  I am grateful that He “pardoneth iniquity.”  I am grateful that, as these verses say, He will “cast all their sins into the depths of the sea.”  What a wonderful thought!  Those black sins that stain our minds and our hearts will be cast into the depth of the sea!  Those humiliating failures will be in the depth of the sea; put there not by us but by the God Who “delighteth in mercy.”

Is there any other “god” who could “subdue our iniquities?”  Our fleshly sin nature is strong.  We can not defeat it alone.  But He can help.  Our God can subdue our iniquities.  Can any other “god” do that?  There is no God like unto Thee!  What a tremendous thought!

A Tough Pill to Swallow

I will bear the indignation of the LORD, because I have sinned against him, until he plead my cause, and execute judgment for me: he will bring me forth to the light, and I shall behold his righteousness.

Micah 7:9

It is our human nature to want to always stand up for ourselves and defend ourselves whenever we find ourselves in trouble.  It starts when we are children and we try to find somebody, anybody, to blame when something goes wrong.  If we can’t find someone else to blame, we at least try to spin the situation so as to put it in as positive a light as we possibly can.   It is a very, very difficult thing to admit that we are wrong.  And it doesn’t get any easier as we get older.  We still don’t like to admit that we were wrong.

Micah says in this verse that he will “bear the indignation of the LORD, because I have sinned against him…”  He has sinned, and is apparently being chastised by the Lord.  And instead of trying to justify himself or make excuses for his sin, he says that he will bear the indignation.  While being chastened for our sin is a tough pill to swallow, it is a necessary one.

There is a reason for Micah patiently bearing the Lord’s indignation.  The end of the verse tells us that, once the chastisement is over, “he will bring me forth to the light, and I shall behold his righteousness.”  If we will admit that we have sinned, ask the Lord for mercy and forgiveness, and wait on Him, He will bring us back to the light.  And we will behold His righteousness.  Sometimes admitting that we have been wrong is hard, but think of the beauty of the Lord that we will behold because of it.

The Difference

Therefore I will look unto the LORD; I will wait for the God of my salvation: my God will hear me.  Rejoice not against me, O mine enemy: when I fall, I shall arise; when I sit in darkness, the LORD shall be a light unto me.

Micah 7:7-8

I think that there is an important principle regarding the difference between a Christian and his “enemy” found in verse 8.  In this verse, Micah tells his enemy to “rejoice not against me…”  Christians are often mocked for their belief in the Bible and their faith in the Lord.  But our enemies are told to not rejoice against us.  The reason is simple:

1. “When I fall, I shall arise.”
-Christians still have a sinful flesh nature and will never be perfect in this life.  They are going to stumble and fall from time to time.  As is the non-Christian.  The difference is that the Christian will get up again.  Proverbs 24:16 tells us that “…a just man falleth seven time, and riseth up again: but the wicked shall fall into mischief.”  The just man is going to fall (and he is going to fall more than once), but he will get back up.  The wicked just falls.  Our enemies might try to rejoice when they see a Christian fail, but what they don’t understand is the fact that a Christian will “arise.”

2.”When I sit in darkness, the LORD shall be a light unto me.”
– Proverbs 4:19 says “The way of the wicked is as darkness: they know not at what they stumble.”  The wicked will never have light.  They stumble continually in darkness.  The Christian, even when it seems that they are “in darkness,” have the light of the Lord to guide them.  The Psalms describes the Bible as “a lamp unto our feet and a light unto our path.”

The difference between the saved and unsaved is simple: the saved have Jesus Christ and all that He is, a helper and a light.  What a wonderful blessing!