The Goodness and Severity of God Text: Nahum 1:7-11
Introduction: Two Sides of the Same Coin
We live in an age that has tried to domesticate God. Modern evangelism, in a desperate attempt to be winsome, has presented us with a God who is all marshmallow and no backbone. He is a celestial grandfather, endlessly indulgent, a divine therapist whose only job is to affirm our choices. He is, in short, a God who is only good, as we define goodness. But a God who is only "good" in this sentimental sense is not good at all. A God who is indifferent to wickedness, who pats evil on the head, is not a God of love but a God of moral apathy. He would not be worthy of our worship.
The prophet Nahum will have none of this. His name means "comfort," but the comfort he brings is not a cheap, superficial comfort. It is a rugged, blood-bought comfort, forged in the fires of God's absolute holiness and His unyielding justice. The book of Nahum is the necessary sequel to the book of Jonah. About a century before, Nineveh, that great and wicked city, repented at Jonah's preaching, and God in His mercy relented. But their repentance was short-lived. A few generations later, they had returned to their old ways of violence, idolatry, and arrogance, becoming a terror to God's people. And so, God sends Nahum with a different message. It is a message of final, irrevocable judgment.
This passage before us today places two truths side by side that our modern sensibilities try to keep miles apart: the goodness of God and the severity of God. We are told that Yahweh is a stronghold for those who trust Him, and in the very next breath, we are told that He will pursue His enemies into darkness with an overflowing flood. These are not contradictory truths; they are two sides of the same glorious coin. God's goodness to His people requires His severity toward those who would destroy them. His love for righteousness necessitates His hatred of sin. To try and have one without the other is to create a theological monstrosity. It is to worship an idol of our own making. We must take God as He has revealed Himself, in both His kindness and His wrath.
The Text
Yahweh is good, A strong defense in the day of distress, And He knows those who take refuge in Him. But with an overflowing flood He will make a complete destruction of its place And will pursue His enemies into darkness. Whatever you devise against Yahweh, He will make a complete destruction of it. Distress will not rise up twice. Like tangled thorns, And like those who are drunken with their drink, They are consumed As stubble fully dried up. From you has gone forth One who devised evil against Yahweh, A vile counselor.
(Nahum 1:7-11 LSB)
The Stronghold of Goodness (v. 7)
We begin with one of the great summary statements of the gospel in the Old Testament.
"Yahweh is good, A strong defense in the day of distress, And He knows those who take refuge in Him." (Nahum 1:7)
In the midst of a prophecy filled with fire, flood, and fury, we find this anchor for the soul. "Yahweh is good." This is not a statement about His mood; it is a statement about His nature. God's goodness is the sum total of His perfections. It is the unchangeable reality from which all other good things flow. But this goodness is not an abstract philosophical concept. It has teeth. It is a "strong defense in the day of distress." The word for strong defense is a fortress, a citadel. When the enemy is at the gates, when the world is unraveling, when distress comes upon you, God's goodness is not a flimsy sentiment; it is a stone wall. It is a place to run, a place to hide, a place of absolute security.
And how does one get inside this fortress? By taking refuge in Him. This is the language of faith. It is the act of a soul that has abandoned all self-reliance and has thrown itself completely upon the mercy and strength of God. It is to say, "I cannot save myself. My own righteousness is a filthy rag. My own strength is a broken reed. I trust in You alone."
And the great comfort is the final clause: "He knows those who take refuge in Him." This is not mere intellectual awareness, as though God simply has a file on you. The word "knows" here is the word for intimate, personal, covenantal relationship. It is the same word used for a husband knowing his wife. God does not just know about you; He knows you. He has set His affection upon you from before the foundation of the world. In the midst of a world in turmoil, for the believer, this is bedrock. Your security does not depend on the strength of your grip on Him, but on the strength of His grip on you. He knows you, and He will not let you go.
The Flood of Justice (v. 8)
But the tone shifts dramatically and immediately. The same God who is a fortress for His people is a flood to His enemies.
"But with an overflowing flood He will make a complete destruction of its place And will pursue His enemies into darkness." (Nahum 1:8)
This is the other side of His goodness. The security of the fortress requires the destruction of those who lay siege to it. God's justice is not passive. It is an "overflowing flood." This imagery is potent. A flood is irresistible, total, and cleansing. It sweeps away everything in its path. This is not a partial judgment. He will make a "complete destruction." The Hebrew is "a full end." There will be nothing left of Nineveh's proud rebellion.
And notice the personal, active nature of this judgment. God "will pursue His enemies into darkness." This is not some impersonal karmic force. This is the holy God of the universe, actively hunting down unrepentant sin. There is no escape. The darkness they loved and in which they plotted their evil will become their eternal prison. The psalmist asks, "Where shall I go from your Spirit? Or where shall I flee from your presence?" (Psalm 139:7). The answer for the wicked is nowhere. You cannot outrun the justice of God. If you will not run to Him as a refuge, you will not be able to run from Him as a judge.
The Futility of Rebellion (v. 9-10)
The prophet now turns to address the enemies of God directly, mocking the foolishness of their pride.
"Whatever you devise against Yahweh, He will make a complete destruction of it. Distress will not rise up twice." (Nahum 1:9)
This is the ultimate statement of divine sovereignty. Men, in their arrogance, sit in their council rooms and plot against God and His people. They "devise" their schemes. They think they are the masters of their fate. But God looks down from heaven and laughs (Psalm 2:4). Their most intricate plans, their most powerful alliances, are nothing to Him. He will make a "complete destruction" of it all. To plot against God is the ultimate exercise in futility. It is like a flea plotting to overthrow an elephant.
And the result of this judgment will be final. "Distress will not rise up twice." When God deals with a problem, He deals with it permanently. The Assyrian threat to God's people will be so utterly annihilated that it will never be a threat again. This is a promise that looks forward to the final judgment, when God will once and for all remove sin and evil from His creation. There will be no second rebellion in the new heavens and the new earth.
Verse 10 gives two powerful similes for the ease with which God will accomplish this.
"Like tangled thorns, And like those who are drunken with their drink, They are consumed As stubble fully dried up." (Nahum 1:10)
The enemies of God are like "tangled thorns." They are a nuisance, they are sharp and dangerous to men, but to a consuming fire, they are nothing but fuel. They are also like drunkards, soaked in their own drink. They are arrogant, incoherent, and unstable. Their confidence is a drunken stupor. And what happens to them? They are consumed as "stubble fully dried up." A wisp of dry grass before a forest fire. That is the power of the wicked before the wrath of a holy God. Their destruction is effortless and total.
The Vile Counselor (v. 11)
Finally, the prophet identifies the source of this rebellion. It is not an abstract force, but flows from a wicked heart.
"From you has gone forth One who devised evil against Yahweh, A vile counselor." (Nahum 1:11)
The "you" here is Nineveh. The "one" is likely a reference to a specific Assyrian king, perhaps Sennacherib, who blasphemously challenged Yahweh at the walls of Jerusalem (2 Kings 18-19). But it points to a deeper principle. Rebellion has a source. It begins with a mind that "devised evil against Yahweh." It starts with a wicked imagination that counsels rebellion. The word for "vile" is literally "a counselor of Belial," or worthlessness. This is the essence of all sin. It is to counsel a course of action that is contrary to the Lord. It is to set oneself up as a rival god, to devise a plan for your life, for your city, for your nation that is at odds with the revealed will of God.
This vile counselor is a type of the ultimate vile counselor, Satan himself, who first devised evil against Yahweh in the garden. And it is a picture of the unregenerate human heart, which is a factory of idols and a perpetual source of evil counsel against the rightful rule of God.
Conclusion: The Refuge and the Flood
So where does this leave us? This passage draws a line in the sand, and we are all on one side or the other. There is no middle ground. You are either in the fortress or you are in the path of the flood. You are either taking refuge in Him, or you are devising plans against Him.
The good news of the gospel is that the God of the flood is the God of the fortress. The same God whose wrath against sin is an irresistible torrent, is the same God who in His goodness has provided a refuge from that torrent. That refuge is His Son, Jesus Christ. On the cross, the overflowing flood of God's wrath against our sin was poured out. But it was not poured out on us. It was poured out on Christ. He stood in the path of the flood for us. He absorbed the full measure of the divine fury that we deserved, so that we could be brought safely into the fortress of God's love.
Therefore, the question Nahum puts to us today is this: Where are you standing? Are you still out in the open, drunkenly weaving your tangled thorns of self-righteousness, devising your own plans, counseling your own soul to rebel? If you are, the flood is coming. It is certain. It will be total. It will be final.
Or have you abandoned your own counsel? Have you admitted that your plans are worthless? Have you run, helpless and empty-handed, to the stronghold? Have you taken refuge in Christ? If you have, then you are known by God. You are safe. The goodness of God is your fortress, and the severity of God, which was once your greatest terror, is now the very guarantee of your eternal security. For the same justice that must punish sin, must now acquit all those who are in Christ Jesus. He is good, and He is a stronghold. Flee to Him today.