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The Wrath of God - 4 of 5

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• Nahum chapter two today, Nahum chapter two. And however, I'm going to be dealing with this passage as we're looking at the wrath of God, Nahum chapter two. This is lesson number four. Nahum chapter two, beginning with verse one: "He that dasheth in pieces is come up before thy face. Keep the munition, watch the way, make thy loins strong, fortify thy power mightily. For the Lord hath turned away the excellency of Jacob, as the excellency of Israel."

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• "For the emptiers have emptied them out, and marred their vine branches. The shield of his mighty men is made red, the valiant men are in scarlet: the chariot shall be with flaming torches in the day of his preparation, and the fir trees shall be terribly shaken. The chariot shall rage in the streets, they shall jostle one against another in the broad ways: they shall seem like torches, they shall run like the lightnings." And no, that's not a prophecy concerning automobiles.

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• "He shall recount his worthies: they shall stumble in their walk; they shall make haste to the wall thereof, and the defence shall be prepared. The gates of the rivers shall be opened, and the palace shall be dissolved. And Huzzab shall be led away captive, she shall be brought up, and her maids shall lead her as with the voice of doves, tabering upon their breasts. But Nineveh is of old like a pool of water: yet they shall flee away. Stand, stand, shall they cry; but none shall look back. Take ye the spoil of silver, take the spoil of gold: for there is none end of the store and glory out of all the pleasant furniture."

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• "She is empty, and void, and waste: and the heart melteth, and the knees smite together, and much pain is in all loins, and the faces of them all gather blackness. Where is the dwelling of the lions, and the feedingplace of the young lions, where the lion, even the old lion, walked, and the lion's whelp, and none made them afraid? The lion did tear in pieces enough for his whelps, and strangled for his lionesses, and filled his holes with prey, and his dens with ravin. Behold, I am against thee, saith the Lord of hosts, and I will burn her chariots in the smoke, and the sword shall devour thy young lions: and I will cut off thy prey from the earth, and the voice of thy messengers shall no more be heard."

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• Now look in chapter 3 and verse 5: "Behold, I am against thee, saith the Lord of hosts; and I will discover thy skirts upon thy face, and I will shew the nations thy nakedness, and the kingdoms thy shame." You'll remember we've been dealing with the subject of the wrath of God, and I told you the theme of the book of Nahum is God's wrath, especially against Nineveh and the Assyrian Empire. And I told you that Nineveh was known for her vileness and for her vastness. I showed you how that God is jealous, and the Lord revengeth, and the Lord will take vengeance. I showed you the question, "Who can stand before his indignation? Who can abide in the fierceness of his anger?" And then last week I dealt with this question, "What do ye imagine against the Lord?" Here are all these questions, and I showed you from Psalm 10 how the wicked imagine things against the Lord. They're deceitful things and vain things, but they do imagine against the Lord. Now today I want to come to this phrase in verse 13 of chapter 2 where God says, "Behold, I am against thee, saith the Lord."

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• He repeats that in chapter 3 and verse 5: "Behold, I am against thee." Most people do not immediately grasp the significance of that statement. Meditate on this just for a moment. Consider this: there are some whom God is against. God said, "Behold, I am against thee" ten times in the book of Ezekiel alone. God tells his enemies, "Behold, I am against you." In fact, you will find that phrase throughout the entirety of Scripture.

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• And the truth is simply this: God is indeed against all of his enemies—not just the Ninevites, not just the Assyrians. God declares, "Behold, I am against thee."

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• Now, it's difficult for you and I to conceive of the reality that God can be against people. Why is that difficult for you and I to conceive? Well, the answer is because most of us have heard preached a perverted doctrine of the love of God that makes sinners feel satisfied and secure in their sins. There is no rush to repent on their part because they have been assured that God loves them exactly the way they are in their rebellion and in their wickedness. How many of you have heard, how many of you have been taught all of your lives, "God hates the sin, but He loves the sinner"? You've heard that over and over. And when you have been taught that God hates the sin but loves the sinner, unsaved then reason, and understandably so, that since God loves them, it is their sin that he hates. Therefore, God will not punish those that he loves. He will find a way to deal with their sins without actually dealing with them. And it never once enters their minds that they are the reason for sin.

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• One cannot have sin without sinners. It is sinners who sin.

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• Now, without me developing this today, let me just make a blanket statement. If I had the time, I could show you from Scripture. But the doctrine of the love of God is a doctrine that is concerned with God's people. It is a comfort and consolation to the people of God alone. The wicked pervert the doctrine of God's love, and they interpret it to always mean that if God loves me, He will not judge me. Therefore, to the wicked, God does not say, "God is love." To the wicked, God says, "Behold, I am against you."

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• Let me give you a quote from John Calvin. He says this concerning the phrase, "Behold, I am against you." Look at it in verse 13 of chapter 2 of Nahum: "Behold, I am against thee, saith the Lord of hosts." Now I want you to note what Calvin says right here in this short paragraph. Listen carefully: "Nahum has been hitherto, as it were, the herald of God, and in this character gave an authoritative command to the Chaldeans, the Babylonians, to plunder Nineveh. But when God Himself comes forward and uses not the mouth of man, but declares Himself, His own decrees, it is much more impressive. This, then, is the reason why God now openly speaks, 'Behold, I am against thee,' He says. We understand the emphatical import of the demonstrative article, 'Behold,' for God, as if awakened from sleep, shows that He will be at length at His work to undertake the cause of His people and also to punish the world for its wickedness. 'Behold, I am against you, saith the Lord.'" Now, let me just summarize what he says.

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• Everything that you read in the book of Nahum, Nahum is the prophet. Nahum is the mouthpiece of God. Nahum is saying all of this except, "Behold, I'm against you, saith the Lord." In other words, what Calvin is pointing out in this instance, God doesn't use Nahum. God doesn't use Nahum. What God does is God just speaks himself and says, "Here it is, I am against you." Now, just stop and think of the import that God is against sinners. If you and I would just simply think for a moment, God must necessarily be against sinners because sinners are against God. In order to understand and comprehend this reality, we must understand the doctrine of reconciliation. And the doctrine of reconciliation is plainly taught in the Scripture. Until there is reconciliation, only enmity exists between God and sinners. God is not simply against sin. God is against sinners.

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• Now listen, you must remember that sin is not some little abstract thing floating around somewhere out in the universe. Sin doesn't just come into being. No, the truth of the matter is, it is sinners who sin, and if there were no sinners, there would not be any sin. Sin comes from sinners. And when you hear, and when you've been taught all of your life, "Well, God loves the sinner, but God hates the sin," it is an unbiblical dichotomy, and it is patently untrue.

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• I'm going to show you that from the Scripture. Now, let me just tell you this before I show you some scriptures. When you talk about love and hate, especially in relationship to God, you must understand that love and hate are an act of the will. Even with you and I, love and hate are an act of the will. Now it is true, our emotions are involved because we're unable to control our emotions, we're not God. But even with our emotions involved, love and hate are an act of the will. I love my wife because I choose to love my wife. It's an act of the will. We hate because we choose to hate. The same is true with God.

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• Now, I want you to hold the book of Nahum. And remember, God is telling the wicked, "Behold, I am against thee, saith the Lord." I want you to look in your Bibles, if you would please, to Psalm 5. Psalm 5. And I want to spend a little while on this passage. Psalm 5. And let's begin reading with verse 4. As we read this, I want you to think of two things. Number one, remember how God tells the wicked, "Behold, I am against thee." And then I want you to remember, secondly, this unbiblical and ungodly dichotomy: "God loves the sinner but hates the sin."

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• And see whether or not Scripture really teaches that or not. And I can assure you it does not. But look in Psalm 5 and verse 4. Here David is talking about the character of God. And he says, "For thou art not a God that hath pleasure in wickedness: neither shall evil dwell with thee. The foolish shall not stand in thy sight: thou hatest all workers of iniquity. Thou shalt destroy them that speak leasing."

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• "The Lord will abhor the bloody and deceitful man." Now, in these short verses, there are at least six truths that are given to us. I want to take them one at a time. First of all, I want you to note in verse 4, Scripture is teaching that God has no delight in sinners or in their wickedness. He says, "For thou art not a God that hath pleasure in wickedness." God has absolutely no delight in sinners or in their wickedness. How could He? The Bible tells us in 1 John 1 and verse 5 that God is light and in Him is no darkness at all. And when you look in Ephesians 5 and verse 8, talking about what man is by nature, he says, "And you were in darkness," total darkness. What does he say in John 3? Men love darkness rather than light, because their deeds are evil. And the truth of the matter is, God has no delight in wickedness, and therefore God has no delight in sinners who commit wickedness. That's what he says: "For thou art not a God that hath pleasure in wickedness."

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• Secondly, look in verse 4: "Neither shall evil dwell with thee." That is, the wicked cannot dwell in God's presence. You know, there are two verses that we really need to underline in our minds. The first one is this, Revelation 15 and verse 4, where the Word of God declares concerning God, "Thou only art holy." And then in 1 Samuel 2 and verse 2 where the scripture says, "There is none holy as the Lord."

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• Now let me ask you, how could God hold sinners or sin in any other light than extreme detestation since God is absolutely holy? When you stop and think of what sin actually is, and how sin is so offensive to God, how could sin ever dwell with God, or how could God ever delight in it when sin basically is the rape of God's mercy, is the jeer of God's patience, the scoff of God's promises, the upbraiding of God's providence, the slight of God's power, the dare of God's justice, the mocking of His wisdom. In short, sin is the hatred of God itself. If sin could, and if sinners could, they would dethrone God and enthrone themselves. How could sin ever dwell with God? You've got to remember that sin is rebellion. It's defiance of God and His will and His law. Therefore, it is unholy. It is unrighteous. It is ungodly.

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• You know what the Bible says? I can quote it, but you're right there. Look in Psalm 7 and verse 11. Psalm 7, verse 11 and 12. Psalm 7, verse 11: "God judgeth the righteous, and God is angry with the wicked." Help me out now. What's the next two words? "Every day." And then in verse 12: "If he turn not, he will whet his sword."

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• "He hath bent his bow, and made it ready." Very obviously, the wicked cannot dwell with God. So in verse 4, "Thou art not a God that hath pleasure in wickedness." And then he says, "Neither shall evil dwell with thee." Thirdly, look in verse 5: "The foolish shall not stand in thy sight." The third truth is the wicked have no status before God. That is, they cannot stand. They have no standing.

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• They have no room of acceptance. God will not recognize them or honor them. It does not matter if the wicked be the President, a king, a congressman, a ruler, he still is not accepted by God. He still has no standing before God. You know what the Bible says in Romans 8 and verse 7? Now listen to this: "For the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be." You know what man's mind by nature is? It is total, absolute hatred toward God. It is not subject to the law of God. Neither, indeed, can be. Do you think for one moment that God is going to honor those who dishonor Him?

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• And the answer is no. God set forth His own principle in 1 Samuel 2 and verse 30, when he said, "Them that honour me I will honour, and they that despise me shall be lightly esteemed." God said, "I'll tell you who I'll honor. I'll honor those who honor me. And I'll tell you who I'll despise. I'll despise those who despise me." You see, God is not delighted with wickedness. Wickedness cannot dwell with God. And the wicked have absolutely no standing before God.

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• They have no room of acceptance. God does not accept their persons. Does not matter who they are or where they are.

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• Fourthly, look in verse 5. He says, "The foolish shall not stand in my sight. Thou hatest all workers of iniquity." Let me put it to you very plainly. Here's the fifth truth: sinners are hated by God. It is not just sin that God hates, it is sinners. You have to remember, people, you cannot have sin without sinners. Someone says, "But, Brother Weaver, that's just an isolated passage. That's Psalm 5. This says God hates sinners." Well, I can show you where the Bible says that God loves sinners. Well, yes, but I tell you what, this is not an isolated passage. You've got to take the entirety of Scripture, not just certain portions of it. Look in your Bibles to Psalm 11 and verse 5. Psalm 11, verse 5. Look what the Bible says.

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• "The Lord trieth the righteous: but the wicked and him that loveth violence his soul hateth." God loves the righteous. But he says, "The wicked and him that loveth violence his soul hateth." Look in your Bibles, hold Psalm 5, but turn right on over to Proverbs chapter 3. Proverbs chapter 3. And look, if you would please, at verse 33. Proverbs 3, verse 33. Here the scripture says, "The curse of the Lord is in the house of the wicked: but he blesseth the habitation of the just." Now, does God curse those whom he loves? No. The curse of God is in the house of the wicked, but the blessing of God is upon the habitation of the just. Look in Proverbs 15, verse 29. Proverbs 15, verse 29. Here the Bible says, "The Lord is far from the wicked: but he heareth the prayer of the righteous." The Lord is far from the wicked, but He heareth the prayer of the righteous. Look in Proverbs 22, verse 14. Proverbs 22 verse 14.

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• "The mouth of strange women is a deep pit: he that is abhorred of the Lord shall fall therein." He that is abhorred or hated of the Lord shall fall therein. Look in your Bibles to the book of John chapter 3. I referred to this verse a little bit earlier or the same truth. John chapter 3. Look if you would please at verse 18. John 3 verse 18.

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• The Bible says, "He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God." Now, wait a minute. There is a difference here. God says he that believeth is not condemned. But he that believeth not is condemned already, because he believeth not in the name of the only begotten Son of God.

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• Look in John 3 and verse 36. He says it like this: "He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him."

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• Now let me ask you a question. If God curses the house of the wicked, if God is far from the wicked, if the condemnation of God is upon the wicked, if the wrath of God is upon the wicked, and if God says His soul hates him, how can we say that He loves him? If you look back in your Bibles to Psalm 5, and look again at verse 5, Psalm 5, verse 5. Notice what the Scripture says. Psalm 5, verse 5: "The foolish shall not stand in thy sight."

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• "Thou hatest all workers of iniquity." Spurgeon says this: "It is not a little dislike but a thorough hatred which God bears for the workers of iniquity. To be hated by God is an awful thing. Oh, let us be faithful in warning the wicked around us, for it would be a terrible thing for them to fall into the hands of an angry God." Again, Spurgeon said, "Sinners may have many feast days, but they never have any safe days."

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• "For there's not an hour in which God's anger is not burning hot toward those who hate him." Now, you've got to consider how forcible this word "hate" really is. "Thou hatest all workers of iniquity." It shows the deep-seated hatred of the Lord against all who work iniquity. You have to remember this, folks, throughout Scripture, the wicked are referred to as the enemies of God, the children of wrath, the children of the devil, slaves of sin, and many other terms that designate them as being hated by God.

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• Let me tell you what I thought about doing. I thought about taking Psalm 5 and verse 5 and putting it at the bottom of a bumper sticker and have big bold letters above it saying, "Frown, God hates you." No, I'm sure that would not be as popular as the one that says, "Smile, God loves you." But can you imagine Noah having on the back of his ark, as the ark traveled through those turbulent waters, this bumper sticker that said, "Smile, God loves you," as the antediluvians were drowning? Could you convince them that God really loved them? How about Lot? Do you think as he escaped from Sodom and Gomorrah, he had that sign on his back saying, "Smile, God loves you"?

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• I've got news for you folks. If Sodom and Gomorrah and the flood are an example of God's love, I don't want God to love me that way. In fact, you know what the Bible says in Jude 1 in verse 7? Let me quote it for you: "Even as Sodom and Gomorrha, and the cities about them in like manner, giving themselves over to fornication, and going after strange flesh, are set forth for an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire." Sodom and Gomorrah is not a demonstration of the love of God. It's a demonstration of the wrath and vengeance of God.

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• Let me tell you something. God is angry with the wicked every day. That's all there is to it. God is angry with the wicked every day.

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• Now, go back in your Bibles to Psalm 5. Look at it. We've just covered verse 4 and verse 5. Now we're on verse 6: "Thou shalt destroy them that speak leasing." There's the fifth thing. God will pour out His wrath of indignation upon the wicked. "Thou wilt destroy them that speak leasing."

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• Now the Hebrew word for "destroy" is the word "abad," which literally means to perish, to die, to be exterminated, to be destroyed, to be killed, to be blotted out, to be put to death, to be struck with divine judgment. Now look at it: "Thou shalt destroy," cause to perish, blot out, "them that speak leasing." Now, the word "leasing" is the Hebrew word "kazab," which literally refers to a lie or the act of lying. It is to be deceitful, false, and to speak untruths and to use that which is deceptive.

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• Let me ask you a question. How do the wicked live? Deceptively. Lyingly. Because their very life is a lie against God and against God's Word. Their very life is testifying that God is not true and that God will not judge them. Go back to Psalm 10 that we covered last week. There's their vain imaginations. And the Bible says that God will pour out His wrath upon them. Wow. One last thing, here's the sixth point in verse 6, look at it.

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• "The Lord will abhor the bloody and deceitful man." Now, the word "abhor" is a very strong word for hatred. "The Lord will abhor the bloody and deceitful man." Let me ask that you turn in your Bibles, please, to Psalm 73. And let me just show you the strength of this thought. And I might add the horror of this thought. And remember, we're developing the phrase out of Nahum, "Behold, I'm against you," showing you how God is against the wicked.

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• Now, the Bible tells us in Psalm 5 and verse 6 that the Lord will abhor or hate the bloody and the deceitful man. Let me just point it out like this: the wicked shall be eternally hated by God. Let's begin reading in Psalm 73, verse 1. This is the Psalm of Asaph. Before I read the passage, Asaph had a problem. What Asaph started doing was this: he began looking around. He saw how the wicked were prospering and how they had everything they could desire. And here Asaph was trying to do what was right and honor God and live for God. And he was suffering.

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• And he really got bent out of shape. And so he says this in verse 1: "Truly God is good to Israel, even to such as are of a clean heart." Now really that's his conclusion. He begins with his conclusion. But then he says this: "But as for me," here was this problem, "my feet were almost gone; my steps had well nigh slipped. For I was envious at the foolish, when I saw the prosperity of the wicked."

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• "For there are no bands in their death: but their strength is firm. They are not in trouble as other men; neither are they plagued like other men. Therefore pride compasseth them about as a chain; violence covereth them as a garment. Their eyes stand out with fatness: they have more than heart could wish. They are corrupt, and speak wickedly concerning oppression: they speak loftily. They set their mouth against the heavens, and their tongue walketh through the earth. Therefore his people return hither: and waters of a full cup are wrung out to them. And they say," talking about the wicked, "How doth God know?"

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• "And is there knowledge in the most High?" Then he says in verse 12: "Behold, these are the ungodly, who prosper in the world; they increase in riches."

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• Now let's just stop there. Here was Asaph's problem. He got to looking around at the wicked and he said, "I don't understand this. Their eyes stand out with fatness. They have more than their heart could wish." You look at the wicked elite who run this world and this nation. Billions and billions. They go where they want to go. They do what they want to do. They have it all. They don't mind cursing man or cursing God. They don't mind depopulating a country. They don't mind poisoning our food or our water. They do what they want to do. They think they're gods. And here Asaph, a godly man, saw all of this. They had everything. And these men were blasphemers and wicked and ungodly. And here he is trying to obey God and do what's right. And he's suffering. He's doing without. He has no money.

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• The IRS is after him. I mean, you know, he's got it bad. But look what he says. Verse 12, he says, "Behold, these are the ungodly, who prosper in the world; they increase in riches." Then he says this in light of what he looked at at the world: "Verily I have cleansed my heart in vain, and washed my hands in innocency." He says, "What good has it done me to be holy and godly and righteous?" He says, "For all the day long have I been plagued, and chastened every morning. If I say, I will speak thus; behold, I should offend against the generation of thy children." Then he says, "When I thought to know this, it was too painful for me."

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• I couldn't even stand to think about this. Ah, but look next. "Until I went into the sanctuary of God; then understood I their end." Look what he says, talking about the wicked: "Surely thou didst set them in slippery places: thou castedst them down into destruction. How are they brought into desolation, as in a moment! they are utterly consumed with terrors. As a dream when one awaketh; so, O Lord, when thou awakest, thou shalt despise their image."

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• Now let me just stop right there. Think what he said. He said, "I was downcast. I was discouraged. I was just heartened when I looked at the world and saw everything they had. And here I'm trying to live what's right and do what's right. And boy, I'm suffering. When I thought to know this, it was too painful for me until I went into your sanctuary and I understood their end."

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• "Lord, you put them in slippery places. Lord, you are going to bring them down to destruction. In a moment," he says, "they're going to be utterly consumed with terrors." Then he said, "As a dream when one awaketh; so, O Lord, when thou awakest, thou shalt despise their image." Now, listen to me. I know there are some people who deny or do not believe in the reality of hell. That's fine. Some people teach annihilationism. That's fine. I want to tell you something, folks, listen to this. If there was no hell, if there is no fire, if there is no torture, no pain and no suffering, if there is nothing but you flung into outer darkness where every day, every moment, every second for eternity you receive nothing but a fresh baptism of the eternal hatred of God, that would be hell enough in and of itself. "So when thou awakest, O Lord, thou shalt despise their image."

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• None would be shocked at these declarations or even think that they were extreme if we had a correct understanding and a right view of the doctrine of God's holiness and God's justice. You see, the reason most people do not think that God is angry with the wicked is because they don't understand God's justice, they don't understand God's holiness. Charles Haddon Spurgeon said this: "He," God, "not only detests sin, but is angry with those who continue to indulge in it. We have no insensible and stolid God to deal with. He can be angry. Nay, He is angry today and every day with you, you ungodly and impenitent sinners. The best day that ever dawned on a sinner brings a curse with it. Sinners may have many feast days, but not any safe days. From the beginning of the year, even to its ending, there is not an hour in which God's oven is not hot and burning in readiness for the wicked that shall be as stubble." Wow. I hope you're beginning to see the import of those words that God spoke to the Assyrians.

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• "Behold, I am against thee." Let me tell you what that phrase actually means, I want to explain it to you. Twice God told the Assyrians, in Nahum 2:13 and Nahum 3:5, "Behold, I'm against thee, saith the Lord." First, the word "against" signifies a state of enmity and ill will. I'm going to show you that in just a moment. First, the word "against" signifies a state of enmity and ill will. Secondly, the word "against" signifies motion toward with an evil intent. Now, that does not mean that God is evil, but it means that he intends to do that which the wicked do not want done to them. And thirdly, it denotes a state of war. Now, let me just show you how this word is used in Scripture. I want you to go back in your Bibles, first of all, to Genesis chapter 4, and then we're going to skip to Jeremiah. But look in Genesis chapter 4, if you would, and verse 8. Here's a word and a verse that everyone knows, but I want you to note the word that is used.

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• In Genesis 4 and verse 8, the Bible says, "And Cain talked with Abel his brother: and it came to pass, when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother, and slew him." Isn't that interesting? Cain rose up what? "Against" Abel his brother. What is entailed in the word "against"? Well, there was ill will. There was movement toward and there was a state of war, or he killed him.

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• Look in your Bibles to Jeremiah 21. Jeremiah 21 and verses 13 and 14. Jeremiah 21, verses 13 and 14. Notice how God tells people he is against them. These are just some of the verses. There are a multitude of others. But in Jeremiah 21, verse 13, God says, "Behold, I am against thee, O inhabitant of the valley, and rock of the plain, saith the Lord; which say, Who shall come down against us? or who shall enter into our habitations? But I will punish you according to the fruit of your doings, saith the Lord: and I will kindle a fire in the forest thereof, and it shall devour all things round about it." God said, "I'm against you."

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• You said, "Who can destroy us? Who can come against us?" God said, "I'll show you I can. And when I get to you, I will judge you and destroy you." Look in Jeremiah, chapter 50. Jeremiah, chapter 50. Jeremiah 50. And notice, if you would please, verses 31 and 32. Jeremiah 50, verse 31: "Behold, I am against thee, O thou most proud, saith the Lord God of hosts: for thy day is come, the time that I will visit thee. And the most proud shall stumble and fall, and none shall raise him up: and I will kindle a fire in his cities, and it shall devour all round about him." Note what God says: "Behold, I am against thee." And what does God do? God judges, God destroys. Look in Jeremiah 51, beginning there with verse 25. Again, God says this: "Behold, I am against thee, O destroying mountain, saith the Lord, which destroyest all the earth."

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• "And I will stretch out mine hand upon thee, and roll thee down from the rocks, and will make thee a burnt mountain. And they shall not take of thee a stone for a corner, nor a stone for foundations; but thou shalt be desolate for ever, saith the Lord." When God says, "Behold, I am against you," it means He's moving toward you in an act of war to destroy you. Look in your Bibles.

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• to the book of Ezekiel chapter 5 and verse 8. Ezekiel 5 and verse 8. Ezekiel 5 verse 8: "Therefore thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I, even I, am against thee, and will execute judgments in the midst of thee in the sight of the nations. And I will do in thee that which I have not done, and whereunto I will not do any more the like, because of all thine abominations." What does He say? "I'm against you."

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• What's He going to do? Destroy. Look at Ezekiel 13 and verse 8. Ezekiel 13 and verse 8. You'll see it again. Ezekiel 13, verse 8: "Therefore thus saith the Lord God; Because ye have spoken vanity, and seen lies, therefore, behold, I am against you, saith the Lord God." And you can read on down and see how the judgment of God is going to fall. Look in verse 20. Same chapter, Ezekiel 13: "Wherefore thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I am against your pillows, wherewith ye there hunt the souls to make them fly, and I will tear them from your arms, and will let the souls go, even the souls that ye hunt to make them fly."

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• And he's talking about their idolatries, etc. Look in Ezekiel 28 and verse 22. Ezekiel 28 and verse 22. And like I told you, this phrase occurs just ten times alone in Ezekiel. Ezekiel 28, and notice if you would please verse 22: "And say, Thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I am against thee, O Zidon; and I will be glorified in the midst of thee: and they shall know that I am the Lord, when I shall have executed judgments in her, and shall be sanctified in her." Now, one last passage. I want you to turn to 1 Peter, chapter 5 and verse 5. 1 Peter, chapter 5, and look, if you would please, at verse 5.

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• "Likewise, ye younger, submit yourselves unto the elder. Yea, all of you be subject one to another, and be clothed with humility: for God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble."

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• Now, I want you to note something, if you would, please. "God resisteth the proud." You remember I told you the word "against" meant, number one, ill will or evil intent, number two, motion toward, and number three, a state of war. When God tells us that God resisteth the proud, the word "resist" there literally means to fight against. What does God do to the proud, to the wicked? He fights against them. He moves toward them to destroy them. Now, you know what God does oftentimes? God oftentimes allows the evil that the wicked plan to fall upon their own head.

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• Look back in your Bibles. I'm not going to take the time to go through the book of Nahum, but you remember in Psalm 7 and verses 16 and 17 it is, the Bible says that the wicked have fallen into the pit which they had digged. In other words, they dug it for someone else, but they fell in it. You remember how God says He brings the dealings of the wicked down upon their own pate, that is the top of their head. So he lets their dealings fall back upon the top of their own head.

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• For instance, Haman was hanged on the very gallows that he prepared for Mordecai. And you remember that it was Saul who was slain by an Amalekite whom he let go. In other words, God oftentimes allows the wicked to suffer that which they dish out.

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• Now, the book of Nahum, God is dealing with Nineveh and the Assyrian Empire. And God says to Nineveh and the Assyrian Empire, "Behold, I'm against thee." And it's pointed out, it's not just the Assyrians, but all of God's enemies that he is against. But let me show you this: Nineveh is to be made to suffer the agony, the disgrace, the destruction, and the humiliation that she inflicted upon others.

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• She has taken kings captive. Now in chapter 2 and verse 8, her king shall be taken captive. She has besieged hundreds of cities. Now according to chapter 3 and verse 14, her city is to be sieged. She has spoiled other cities. Now, according to Nahum 2 and verse 10, her city is to be spoiled. She has massacred thousands of foes, and now a multitude of her own people are to be massacred. Nahum 3 and verse 3.

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• Her troops have desecrated and defiled the temples of vanquished peoples, and now her temple is to be destroyed. She has set fire to hundreds of cities, and now her city and her temples are to be set on fire and inundated with floods. Chapter 2, verse 6, her troops have left the capitals of conquered nations in ruins and now her capital shall be left in ruin according to chapter 2, verses 11 and 12.

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• Nineveh is going to be made to reap what she has sown. She has ruthlessly scattered people and sent them into exile and now her people are going to be scattered beyond gathering. According to Nahum 3, verses 16 through 18, she has made her captives a gazing stock before her people, and now her people shall be made a gazing stock to others, according to Nahum 3, verse 6. She made others flee for their lives, and now the Ninevites shall flee for their lives, according to Nahum 3, verse 17. She has destroyed people, and now she shall be destroyed. God said to Nineveh and to the Assyrians, "Behold, I am against thee." It means that God has an evil intent in the sense that He's going to afflict evil upon them. God is not evil.

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• But He has ill will. He's moving toward them in a state of war. And we've seen every time that phrase is used, God always destroys his enemies. There's a progression in the book of Nahum. And you can read that progression just by asking the questions and looking at the statements that God makes to his enemies. Let me make some applications. The first one should be exceedingly obvious. God does indeed make individuals, families, churches, and nations reap exactly what they have sown. "Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting." When we begin to entertain that we are going to reap exactly that which we have sown, it should make us diligent to watch our attitudes, as well as our actions.

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• The second application is this: it is a sobering exercise to think and to contemplate about what is involved when God says, "Behold, I'm against thee." How in the world can a sinner ever hope to win in the battle against God? I might could whip Hobie, or I might could outrun Ed, but I can do neither to God. There is no hope for sinners when God takes up arms and moves against them. Listen to this. God demands in scripture that sinners repent. He doesn't demand that sin repent. He demands that sinners repent because there would be no sin without the sinner. God, now the Scripture says, "commandeth all men every where to repent." Why? Because men are sinners and men commit sin.

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• And when our Lord began preaching in Mark chapter 1, He began preaching, "Repent ye, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand." Sinners are to repent because it's sinners who sin. And God is angry with sinners every day. And I've told you for the past three weeks, I will tell you this week, the only safe place for anyone is under the protection and blood of Jesus Christ. When John the Baptist began preaching, "Flee from the wrath to come," he also pointed out, "Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world." For those of us who are in Christ, the doctrine of the love of God is a comfort and a consolation. For those who are outside of Christ, oh, they'll take it and pervert it and say, "Well, if God loves me, he won't judge me." So for the wicked, God says, "Behold, I'm against you." And God is against every man who is outside of Christ, because every man outside of Christ is against God. What a thought. "Behold, I'm against you." The doctrine of reconciliation deals with the sinner's repentance and faith that's been given by God when the sinner turns back to God and God through Christ forgives him and the sinner and God become reconciled through the person and work of Jesus Christ.

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• But without reconciliation, the only state that exists between God and man is a state of enmity. And God is against the wicked. I want to be in Christ. With Christ. And live through Christ. Because I want God to be pleased with my life. And the only way He can be, is to be in Jesus Christ. Let's pray. Father, we ask in the name of Jesus Christ for your grace and your mercy and your love. We're thankful, Father.

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• For your truth, and we know, Lord, that you're against sinners. And Lord, this should drive men, impel men to come to thee and cry for mercy and grace. Oh, God, use this message to stir and convict and to draw to thyself, Lord, men and women. In the name of Jesus Christ, we ask and pray, Amen.

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deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | clean_readable_transcript | 2026-06-05T13:03:34Z