The Lord Is Good

TITLE: THE LORD IS GOOD

SCRIPTURE: NAHUM 1:7

I lift as a thought this morning the powerful first four words found in this Verse – THE LORD IS GOOD. I must admit, this book is a difficult book to read and certainly challenging to preach from. NAHUM is labeled as one of the “minor prophets.” This does not mean their message is any less important than the messages of the prophets referred to as the “major prophets.” That label simply means their message is shorter in length, the minor prophets had less to say compared to what God had commissioned the Major Prophets to proclaim.

The book bears the name of the Prophet Nahum.

• His name means “Comfort” or “Consolation”

• It is a shortened form of the name Nehemiah

• The city of Capernaum is named after Nahum

• The Jews call the city “Kepher-Nahum,” or “The City of Nahum”

The name Nahum, or “comfort,” is a strange name for this book, because the book of Nahum is a book of judgment. It is a book of harsh pronouncements of doom against a people who had abandoned the ways of God. This book is a sequel to the BOOK OF JONAH. About 100 years earlier, Jonah was sent to the CITY OF NINEVEH, which was the CAPITAL CITY OF THE NATION OF ASSYRIA.

• Jonah entered their city preaching a message of certain, impending judgment

• When the Ninevites heard the message of Jonah, they repented of their sins and the Lord spared the city

• Now, a century has passed and they have turned away from the commitment they made to the Lord

We can relate to this for every now and then we have attempted to bargain with God.

• Lord, if you take me through this Surgery – I will go to Church more often

• Lord, if you help me graduate College – I will go to Sunday School

• Lord, if this medical test comes out good – I will tithe like I should

• Lord, if you touch the judge tomorrow – I will serve you more diligently

• Lord, answered our cry and we make the change for a few months

• After a few months we have returned to the former state and forget all about what God has done for us

Nahum’s message was, Nineveh will be destroyed! In three chapters, almost every verse speaks of the destruction of the great Assyrian city that took place in 612 B.C. More than 100 years earlier Jonah had prophesied God’s message of coming judgment to the people of Ninevah. The king and all the people of the city repented and it’s estimated more than 600,000 people turned to the God of Israel. Sadly these people did not pass down the knowledge of the Lord to their children and the people quickly reverted to their cruel and heathen practices.

• In 722 they had destroyed the Northern Kingdom, Israel

• And attempted to capture Jerusalem in 701

So we can relate to the Ninevites, after hearing the Word of God they repented and God did not destroy them. They began to worship the Lord and do all the things God had required of them. But as time went on, they too forgot about the Goodness of God.

• HEBREWS 10:25 – “NOT FORSAKING THE ASSEMBLING OF OURSELVES TOGETHER, AS THE MANNER OF SOME IS, BUT EXHORTING ONE ANOTHER: AND SO MUCH THE MORE AS YE SEE THE DAY APPROACHING”

• It is by assembling together with our families, children that we are reminded of the Mercies of God

• It is through our Testimonies that we draw strength from each other

• When this is neglected our families, society begins to fall apart just like Nahum’s day and age

Can I tell you this morning - The things of God are so deep - so involved - so complex that we forget those simple things that drew us to Him. More of the saints should spend meditation time on God’s goodness. Just allowing it to roll over our thoughts, just dwelling on His goodness. It should be easy because…well…it’s everywhere!

• I believe if we let our thoughts settle on the goodness of God, we will find ourselves with more fine-tuned thought patterns

• We will find ourselves with more holier ideas

• We will find ourselves with more cleaner thinking

• And it will draw us that much closer to Christ!

By the time the book of Nahum was written, the Assyrian Empire was at the height of its Military and National power. They were on the march, seeking to expand the boundaries of their kingdom. Beyond that, the ASSYRIANS WERE GUILTY OF ATTACKING THE NATION OF ISRAEL.

• God used them to punish Israel for their sins