Nahum 1:3 Commentary - Dr Peter Masters

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Nahum 1:3

Comments

Then here is something of the great goodness of God. ‘The LORD is slow to anger, and great in power.’ The beginning of this verse reflects Exodus chapter 34:6-7; it's almost word for word. God is not impulsive. He leaves wicked societies in place for generations sometimes, before he brings down his judgment. He is not impulsive and capricious. He is righteous and just and holy, but he is not in a hurry to judge. He is slow to exhibit his wrath. He is always angry against sin, but it's not so much his anger that is in mind here, as the expression of his righteous indignation. He acts slowly in order to give people an opportunity to repent, and so that it can be established before all, that people are guilty in their godlessness. Nobody intimidates him, but he is slow to punish, he is just, and he is omnipotent. This will be the message of the book. He will never acquit people if they have not repented and been forgiven, and will not at all acquit the wicked. The Lord hath his way in the whirlwind and in the storm, but these are mere tokens. You see the great power of the whirlwind and great storms and the clouds across the desert, but they're really only very small tokens or illustrations of the power of God. They point out at our level what he can do. God's judgment comes as a tornado. It is in a sense invisible. It is only visible because of all the particles it picks up. It itself is immaterial, you may say, in ordinary human language. The scientist will protest, but as we view it, it is an immaterial phenomenon, and it is invisible, but it becomes visible in its action, and it strikes quite suddenly, and it is irresistible. It picks up anything lying in its path. It does not attack the houses of the poor and leave the houses of the rich. It doesn't discriminate at all. It comes down on everyone in destructive force, and that is a picture of the judgment of God. Not simply to show its massive power, but to show that it does not discriminate, and once it is set on destruction, there is nothing that can turn it back.

Application

There is no way of getting terms from God, of making a deal with him, or getting him to ignore any of your sin. You think of a nation that commits some atrocity, and the world says, ‘We will make that nation a pariah, we will not deal with them, or have any diplomatic associations with them. But then time passes, and the other nations say, we need that nation and if we refuse to associate with them, then that will rebound on us, and we will be in a terrible state. So all the strong words come to nothing, and are set to one side, and that great judgment that was pronounced slips away, and the heads of state begin to visit again, and friendship is established and set up. Why are principles abandoned? Well, because often the nations have no option, and they have to compromise. But God never needs to compromise. If he has a wicked society to judge, he will not acquit them. He will not change his mind, short of their repenting and seeking mercy and forgiveness. He doesn't have to change his ways: of course not. He will by no means clear or acquit the wicked.

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Nahum 1:3 Commentary and Bible Study

The meaning of Nahum 1:3 explained