Sermon Study Guides

We sometimes ask, “What is God like?” The book, Your God Is Too Small, outlines how we can overemphasize, underemphasize, or even ignore certain aspects of God’s character. We can put Him in a box that limits Him and His greatness and power. Yet in Nahum, we’re confronted with a picture of God that challenges our assumptions.

Background

Our story begins when God had to break Jonah out of his box by sending him to Nineveh. For Jonah, there was no way God could show mercy to Israel’s fiercest enemy. Yet Jonah had to tell them that God’s mercy and forgiveness were available to them. In one of the greatest reversals in Scripture, they listened, turned to God and repented. God spared them from judgment.

However, over time the Ninevites reverted to: their wicked plots (1:11); idol worship (1:4b); lies and plunder (3:1); witchcraft (3:4); and endless cruelty (3:19). Later when Nineveh was at the height of its power, God called another prophet, Nahum, with a very different message—judgment. The Babylonians so completely destroyed the city in 612 BC that it passed into oblivion until its site was excavated beginning in 1820.

Nahum challenges us to expand our understanding of God beyond the boxes that we try to fit Him into. We are called to:

1. Worship God only and get right with Him quickly. “The Lord is a jealous and avenging God” (1:2a). How can God be jealous? His jealousy is zealous, an intensely passionate desire for a relationship with us and to worship only Him (Exodus 20:3-5). We can put God in a box where He is just one God among many other priorities and idols. Let Him out of that box. Seek Him, worship and serve Him as the focus of every area in your life. Are you zealous for God?

2. Live in Awe of God. Nahum moves to a study in God’s greatness and power (1:3-5). God dried up the Red Sea to free the Israelites from Egypt’s slavery. On Mount Sinai He gave them His Laws. He mentions impressive landmarks: Bashan, Mount Carmel, and Lebanon’s world-famous cedar trees. Let God out of that box and live in awe of God.

According to scientists, many circuits in our brain light up when we experience awe. We can activate our “awe” circuits when we: think of Creation (Psalm 19:1); Contemplate how much greater is our Creator than the universe; Experience Community; Communicate and Celebrate Him; and Confess Christ as the radiance of God’s glory (Heb 1:3a).

3. God is our Refuge: He is good and He cares. There is yet another box: “If God is so great and powerful, He doesn’t notice or care about me.” Yet God is our refuge, a place of safety (1:7). He gives rest to weary travellers who come to Him (Matt. 11:28-30). He listens to our worries and concerns, binds up our wounds, and embraces us. If you ever question if God cares, break out of that box. Contemplate Jesus who loves us with an everlasting love.

One last box we can be tempted to put Jesus in is, “gentle Jesus, meek and mild”, too weak to deal with the world’s evil. However, through God’s power He overcame death and evil through His crucifixion and resurrection. In the future, He will strike down evil nations with the fury of God’s wrath. He is God Almighty, the “KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS” (Rev. 19:11-16).

May we worship God only. May we live in awe of Him. And may we take refuge in our Mighty Saviour.

IN - PURSUE RELATIONSHIP

Have you experienced someone who was a friend and later became distant from you? How did that make you feel?
When was the last time you watched the sunset or gazed at the stars? How did that inspire you?
Does God have limits? Give an example of how we put God in a box.

UP - PURSUE GOD

Read Nahum 1:1-2, 7; Exodus 20:3-4. Define God’s jealousy. Define God’s goodness. What do they reveal about God's heart for His people? What does God expect of us?
Read Nahum 1:3-7; Psalm 19:1; Revelation 19:11-16. What helps us to live in awe of God?

OUT - PURSUE MISSION

Read Nahum 1:7-8; Matthew 11:28-30. Describe how God cares for us. How does this help us to see God as our refuge?
As a group, how have you put God in a box? Why can’t God be put in a box? What does it mean for you and your group?

Personal Reflection

Are you zealous for God? Is there a part of your life where you need to experience God right now? Ask God what steps you should take to change.

Challenge: In the next week, enjoy God’s sunrise, sunset, aurora borealis, or the stars in any way that is meaningful to you.

The Word (NIV)

Nahum 1:1-8

¹ A prophecy concerning Nineveh. The book of the vision of Nahum the Elkoshite.
² The Lord is a jealous and avenging God;
the Lord takes vengeance and is filled with wrath.
The Lord takes vengeance on his foes
and vents his wrath against his enemies.
³ The Lord is slow to anger but great in power;
the Lord will not leave the guilty unpunished.
His way is in the whirlwind and the storm,
and clouds are the dust of his feet.
⁴ He rebukes the sea and dries it up;
he makes all the rivers run dry.
Bashan and Carmel wither
and the blossoms of Lebanon fade.
⁵ The mountains quake before him
and the hills melt away.
The earth trembles at his presence,
the world and all who live in it.
⁶ Who can withstand his indignation?
Who can endure his fierce anger?
His wrath is poured out like fire;
the rocks are shattered before him.

⁷ The Lord is good,
a refuge in times of trouble.
He cares for those who trust in him,
⁸but with an overwhelming flood
he will make an end of Nineveh;
he will pursue his foes into the realm of darkness.

Exodus 20:3-4

³ “You shall have no other gods before me.

⁴ “You shall not make for yourself an image in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below.

Psalm 19:1

The heavens declare the glory of God;
the skies proclaim the work of his hands.

Matthew 11:28-30

²⁸ “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. ²⁹ Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. ³⁰ For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”

Revelation 19:11-16

¹¹ I saw heaven standing open and there before me was a white horse, whose rider is called Faithful and True. With justice he judges and wages war. ¹² His eyes are like blazing fire, and on his head are many crowns. He has a name written on him that no one knows but he himself. ¹³ He is dressed in a robe dipped in blood, and his name is the Word of God. ¹⁴ The armies of heaven were following him, riding on white horses and dressed in fine linen, white and clean. ¹⁵ Coming out of his mouth is a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations. “He will rule them with an iron scepter.” He treads the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God Almighty. ¹⁶ On his robe and on his thigh he has this name written:

KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS.

This Week's Writers: Sandi Somers, Mark Eckstein, Bruce McKay and Jorel Quemuel