look together to God's word this morning. I want to invite you to turn with me to the book of Jonah, but as you do it, I want you to do it by way of Romans chapter 11, please. Find your place in Jonah. He's one of the minor prophets. Somebody said about the minor prophets, though they're minor prophets with a major message, and I like that. because there's really so much, and they say, Pastor Paul, you actually did a series on the minor prophets. I didn't get them all, but I got a lot. Got a lot of them, amen. Well, what we want to do today, God willing, in light of what we read in Romans chapter 11, is to contrast two of those minor prophets, and that's why I'm asking you to turn to the book of Jonah, and then we want to also look really what is a parallel to the book of Jonah relative to the subject of the prophecy of Jonah and that is the book of Nahum. So let's read together the words of verse 22 of Romans 11 because I believe they provide a fitting backdrop for the contrast between Jonah and Nahum. Excuse me. Verse 22 again of Romans 11. Behold, therefore, the goodness and severity of God. On them which fail, severity, but toward thee, goodness. If thou continue in his goodness, otherwise thou also shalt be cut off. Here Paul is talking to the believing Gentiles in Rome. And as he does, he's been speaking particularly about Israel's place in Romans 9 through 11 in God's economy and God's dealings in redemptive history. As he does that, the apostle speaks of God's sovereignty, but also of human responsibility. And he speaks of that particularly in chapter 11, also in chapter 10, but he speaks about the Jews as natural branches through their unbelief have been broken off from the root and fatness of the vine. But you and I who are Gentiles, by the grace of God, we have been grafted into the root and fatness of the vine, even though we were wild branches by nature. We were not, as Paul says in Ephesians 2, we were not members of the commonwealth of Israel. We were strangers to the covenants of promise. And yet, by the grace of God, we've been grafted in and brought near, as Ephesians 2 says, by the blood of Jesus, hallelujah. It's good news there, and we can rejoice in that. But that phrase that begins Romans 11, 22, I believe is very fitting in looking at the books of Jonah and Nahum. Paul says there to God's people at Rome, lest they be lifted up in their own mind, and that's a danger we all face, Pride is something that we all have to contend with in whatever way. I've mentioned to you before, I believe, you know, among the plain people, especially here in Pennsylvania, the Amish and some of the river brethren and all, they dress in simple clothes and they have uniform apparel pretty much. But it's told of one woman who said to her husband as they left meeting that morning, We were the plainest people there this morning. And the very thing intended to cut pride promoted it. And we can get proud about grace, which ought to be a, what do you call it, an oxymoron? To get proud about grace because grace has nothing to do with me. Grace is apart from me. It's God's mercy, God's purpose, God's grace. And yet we often become proud and vaunted, and we need to be careful of that. But as Paul writes about that, he says to God's people, behold, the goodness and severity of God. And we see that, I believe, illustrated in Jonah and in Nahum. And so I want us to turn to the book of Jonah, and let's just read a little bit. There's a book that I've appreciated, haven't used like I like, but this is a book that I'd recommend for those who want to study a little more in depth. It's more than I can handle sometimes, but the Literary Structure of the Old Testament. It's a book that was written by David Dorsey, who's now with the Lord. I had the privilege of meeting him, though, when he taught down in Myerstown at the Evangelical School of Theology. Basically, what he's done is outlined the whole Old Testament in the light of the Hebrew text. It's amazing, the work he's done. And I'm not going to give you his outline on Jonah, but it has some good stuff in it. I may refer to it some, but I want us to, as we look at Jonah today, also contrast it with Nahum, because if you think about, as you remember, and many of you will, the book of Jonah, so well-known, Jonah is commissioned by God to go to Nineveh. Immediately, Nineveh would have been west of him. Jonah and Nahum, as prophets of Israel, they would have lived against the Mediterranean Sea. Jonah was from Gath-Hephir. We read about him in 2 Kings 14-25. He had prophesied that the land of Israel, some of it that had been lost, would be restored. And that happened under Jeroboam II as king of Israel, the northern kingdom. but Jonah was told by God to go to Nineveh and to preach. That would have been to the east, well to the east. Instead, Jonah goes down to Joppa and he buys a ticket to Tarshish, which some believe was in Spain. We're not sure exactly where it was, If you get the idea, it was completely the opposite direction. And so he becomes a disobedient prophet. He becomes, as somebody called him, the reluctant prophet. And yet Jonah was moved upon by God's hand so that he ultimately went back to Nineveh. And we want to think about that. The Lord willing, actually, the message that I bring this morning will be from Jonah 4, so we may give less press to that in these words in this time together today. Let's read a little bit of Jonah chapter one, and as we do, we'll then have a word of prayer and try to do that overview together. Let's read those opening verses one through three. Now the word of the Lord came unto Jonah, the son of Amittai, saying, Arise, go to the end of that great city and cry against it for their wickedness has come up before me. But Jonah rose up to flee unto Tarshish from the presence of the Lord and went down to Joppa and he found a ship going to Tarshish. So he paid the fare thereof and went down into it to go with them unto Tarshish from the presence of the Lord. Let's ask our God's blessing on his word. Father, we bow before you in the name of thy beloved son. And as we come, we ask of thee that you might grant us thy blessing. Grant us, Father, to gain from thy word today, to benefit from it as we read it. And Father, as well, may we draw near to thee and love thee more. Father, may we, by thy grace, walk with thee more. Father, as a result of the time we spend together looking into thy word, and Father, we pray above all, you'd make us more like the Lord Jesus. We thank you for him and ask you to hear us in his name, amen. Well, as we look at these words that speak of this prophet named Jonah, again, the call is given to him, which we made reference to, but we read about it in verses one through three. And as Jonah is called to go, we see something, in the life of Jonah that in chapter one, I would present to you as the grace of discipline in his life. Something that every one of us, I believe, have experienced. Hebrews chapter 12, you'll remember, talks about the chastening of the Lord. It quotes the words of Proverbs three, and it tells us as God's people, Despise not the chase of the Lord. But the writer introduces those words he quotes from Proverbs 3. It's always interesting to me when you read the New Testament and you find a quote from the old. And it points out to me the importance of the word of God. Think about it. The Holy Spirit, the Holy Ghost was inspiring the New Testament writers. But so great is the word. The Holy Ghost doesn't mind to quote words that he inspired in the Old Testament. Why? Because those words are, as we like to say in terms of doctrine, verbally and plenarily inspired words of God, just like the words of the New Testament. Some of us might read and say, well, I like the New Testament more. Well, you might, but that doesn't mean the Old Testament is any less inspired. It's all the inspired word of God. And as the writer quotes those words of Proverbs 3, he introduces it with this. You have forgotten the exhortation that speaketh unto you as sons. Sometimes we forget it. And what is that exhortation? My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of him. And we see God's discipline, the grace of discipline in Jonah chapter one. For as Jonah is told by God, go to Nineveh, that great city, and preach what I tell you, preach what I bid thee. As he's told that, he instead goes west from where he would have lived in Gathhefer, in Naphtali, in the northern kingdom. He goes to Joppa and he buys a ticket. I love the way it's spoken of in our King James. He paid the fare thereof. When you run from God, you're always going to pay a price. And he goes down, and it seems he keeps going down. He goes down to Joppa, and then he goes down to the ship, and he goes down inside the ship. It was a downward journey as he went away from God. That's always gonna be the way it is. Now, that's not a major emphasis, but I believe it's still something. The Hebrew verb yared would have that idea, going down. And any time we, We fail to do, we fail to obey the Lord. That's what happens. And when we do that, and notice that phrase again in verse three, twice you'll see it. But Jonah rose up to flee unto Tarshish from the presence of the Lord and went down to Joppa, and he found a ship going to Tarshish, so he paid the fare thereof and went down into it. to go with them to Tarshish, excuse me, from the presence of the Lord. Notice twice in there, Jonah has rose up to flee and then he goes to Tarshish front from the presence of the Lord. Now, I believe the writer there is speaking of Jonah's purpose, not of the reality. Jonah's desire was to get away from God, but David had already settled that in Psalm 139, hadn't he? Whither shall I flee from thy presence? How are you gonna get away from God? Our first parents, they learned that lesson, didn't they? Genesis chapter three, remember when they, They had sinned against the Lord and put on fig leaves. I love to preach about those fig leaves because we've got a lot of people today who are members of the First Fig Leaf Baptist Church, you know, putting on their own righteousness that can't hide them. And it wouldn't hide them because when God came down, they hid themselves among the trees of the garden. Where are you gonna hide from God, though? How are you gonna find a tree big enough to hide you from him? David said, if I make my bed in hell, thou art there. So you're not gonna get away and Jonah's gonna learn that lesson because while he's on that ship to flee from the presence of the Lord, a storm rose up. Look at verse four, but the Lord sent out a great wind into the sea and there was a mighty tempest in the sea so that the ship was like to be broken. I'm going to have to summarize some and if you will forgive me of that as we have a lot to cover today. But the Lord is going to look after Jonah in his rebellion, in his disobedience. He's going the opposite direction and as he does that, God is going to interrupt Jonah's plans. God is going to do contrary to what Jonah wants, And I remember years ago hearing a brother make the statement, I don't agree with it fully, because I believe God is able to make us willing, but he said, God may not make you do what he wants, but he'll make you want to do what he wants. Sometimes God does that in the lives of his people. We might say no, Lord, and the Lord says, all right, give me some time. I'm gonna make you willing. and God works, and that's what God's going to do. And so this storm comes up, and remember what happens in the case of Jonah, the sailors, who I'm going to believe are probably crusty old salts. They probably knew the sea pretty well. But here a storm comes up that they can't get out of. And they begin to do what I think a lot of sailors probably didn't do much of, pray. And they start calling on their God. And as they call on their gods, they go down and they realize Jonah's not here. They're waking up, they're getting all the power. You call on your God. We don't know which one's caused this storm. You call on your God. And they go and Jonah's fast asleep in the hull of the ship. It's a good picture of how sometimes when God's chasting's on us, we don't realize it. David went that way, didn't he? You remember? When I kept silence, my bones waxed old through my roaring all the day long for day and night, thy hand was heavy upon me, my moisture's turned in the drought of summer. Psalm 32, verses three and four. for about nine months, went without confessing his sin after he'd sinned with Bathsheba and then had Uriah put to death. That was David's heart, sadly, and God was all the while. His hand was heavy upon him. And yet David was, as it were, oblivious to it until God sent his prophet. And Nathan told him that parable. And he said, thou art the man. And here Jonah, the mariners, the sailors, they're awake. The shipmen, they're awake. They're praying and asking their God to do something. And yet Jonah's fast asleep, oblivious to what God is doing to deal with him. They wake him up. Wake up, sleeper! The idea of the Hebrew word's a little more intense than just sleep. Wake up, snorer! Because Jonah was in a dead sleep. He was sawing logs, you know, as my mom used to say. She also would sometimes say he's in hog heaven if she saw somebody fast asleep. You know hog gets a full belly goes to sleep well Jonah's in that state, but they wake him up, and he says what me look at verse 6 What meanest our sleeper arise call upon thy God if so be that God will think upon us that we perish not and he gets to the point as they can't get out of the storm that they cast lots and and let's see for whose cause this has come upon us. And Jonah's lot gets drawn, and they ask him, what have you done? I guess, you know, in their mind, they're thinking, this guy's a criminal. He must be a murderer. He must be a, they think probably any number of things. Jonah says, well, actually, I'm a prophet. I'm a preacher. So, you know, not really good testimony there for a prophet of Israel with all these pagan sailors And yet, he explains to them, I ran from my God. And that's why this storm's come upon you. Jonah recognizes it. He's awake now and he knows what's going on. They couldn't put it together. He has the pieces to the puzzle and he realizes. And God in his grace is dealing with him. Well, we need to move on because I've got to get to Nineveh yet. Like Jonah, I've got to get to Nineveh in a different way. But they find out, and Jonah basically tells them, you throw me overboard, this storm will end. That'll be all there is. But they don't want to do that, so they row harder to work to get out of the storm, and they can't do it. And finally, we read. Verse 15, they took up Jonah and cast it forth into the sea and the sea ceased from a raging. The same idea of what God did back in verse four, the Lord sent out or the Lord cast out a great wind into the sea, same thing that the sailors do with Jonah. God cast out a storm into the sea And so they cast out Jonah into the sea as a result. And what happens? The storm ceases. At that point, God has a whale commission, or excuse me, a great fish commissioned to capture his prophet. Jonah's going to go on an undersea adventure. I don't think he went 20,000 leagues under the sea, as Mr. Verne wrote, but he went under. And, you know, there are those who question this. There are those who argue about it, who, in their unbelief, you've heard about the woman who asked a lady one time, she said she believed the Bible. And she said, yes, I do. She said, you even believe that story about Jonah and the well? Yes, I do. Said, well, tell me, how did Jonah survive? She said, I don't know. When I get to heaven, I'll ask him. She said, well, what if he's not in heaven? She said, then you ask him. I thought that was pretty good. But God, and there are records of sailors who have, whalers who have been captured by a whale and then spat out, and they survived. So this is not impossible. But in the case of our God, we know it was not impossible, even if there were no records of it. Because our God is the God who can do anything. And he preserved Noah. And in that, brothers and sisters, he gave a remarkable picture of our Lord Jesus Christ. As our Lord himself said in Matthew 12, when he was asked, show us a side from heaven and we'll believe. And he said, A wicked and adulterous generation seeketh the sign, and there shall no sign be given it but the sign of the prophet Jonas. For as Jonas was in the belly of the whale three days and three nights, so the Son of Man will be in the heart of the earth. And so our Lord gave that as a sign, and we'll see that in some measure here as we look on. But Jonah swallowed, and what Jonah does in chapter two is a beautiful prayer as he calls on the Lord. And before, though, we move to that, just notice verse... chapter 16 of chapter 1. As Jonah is thrown in and the storm ceases, we read, then the men feared the Lord exceedingly and offered a sacrifice unto the Lord and made vows. That is, those men on board the ship that Jonah was seafaring on, now become worshipers of the Lord. I believe they literally offered sacrifices on the ship, but they also made vows of the Lord. They recognized that he is indeed Jehovah, as Joan had presented, the God of the dry land and the sea. All of it under His control. All under His dominion and sovereignty. And they worship Him. And in effect, what Jonah 1 gives us a picture of is that even in His rebellion, God was going to get glory to Himself. And even in His rebellion, God converted some Gentiles. It's a foretaste of what God's going to do in Nineveh in chapter 3 of Jonah. God was at work, in other words. And so, if you will, there was revival at sea, revival on board, despite Jonah's ill intentions of fleeing God's command and disobeying. But then in chapter two, Jonah prays, and may we say it, we have revival, at least for a while in Jonah's life, in the well's belly. And a lot of God's people have been to the well's belly. I think some preachers have matriculated at Wellbelly U. Because God sometimes schools us there with lessons that we would not take otherwise. And also, we need it because of the fact that like Jonah, our hearts had become hard to God's will. And that's true for God's people. Because God longs for us to do his will. And brothers and sisters, what we have to understand is there's nothing better for us than God's will. Now, sometimes we don't see that. Sometimes God's will may seem hard for us in life, but the best thing that we can do is submit to and surrender to the will of the Lord. bow to it. And when I speak of the will of the Lord, I'm talking particularly about his will of desire for us, his will of command in his word. And to do that, which honors him, sometimes that will unfolds providentially for us in ways that we would not choose. But we have to, as we know that we're his, we want to yield and submit to him. And Jonah in chapter two, he prays. Now what's interesting, if you were to get out to treasury of scripture knowledge that has a lot of references in it, you would find that a lot of the phrases that Jonah uses in his prayer in chapter two, those phrases are drawn from the book of Psalms. In other words, God's word had, as Psalm 119 says, thy word have I hid in my heart that I might not sin against thee. Jonah had hidden God's word in his heart. And so a lot of the phrases that come out in this prayer are phrases you'll also find in the book of Psalms. Now here's the question for you. Did Jonah have his Gideon pocket New Testament Psalms and Proverbs in the whale's belly so that he's cherry picking these verses from the Psalms and saying, yeah, Lord, this is what I'm gonna say. And no, he'd hidden God's word in his heart. It's a great thing in your life when you've stacked away some cordwood when winter comes. Sometimes we're gonna go through winters of the soul, brothers and sisters. And it's good when we stacked away the cordwood of Holy Scripture, the cordwood of God's Word, so that we can kindle a good fire when we're going through those winters of the soul. Because the Word of God is indeed our meat and drink. Our Lord Jesus made that clear in Matthew 4. when he was tempted of the devil, and the devil said, command these stones to be made bread. And our Lord responded, it is written, man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God. If our Savior had that to say about life and the flesh, how much more do you and I need the word of God? And Jonah had hidden it. Even if he'd had a pocket Psalms with him, it wouldn't have been much use in the whale's belly. He'd pulled it out, probably wouldn't have had light to see it. What water was in there washing around might have ruined the paper, whatever it was written on. But he had God's word hidden in his heart. And when the storm came, he was able to take that word and pray it back to God, give God's word back to him. And that's what he does. And notice, as we read of him recognizing God's chastisement, notice in verse four the hope that he expresses. as he says, in the midst of all of God's billows going over him, all of God's waves passing over him, verse three, he said, then I said, I am cast out of thy sight, yet I will look again toward thy holy temple. Notice, in the midst of this trial, Jonah has confidence that God's gonna bring him through. He's going to, in circumstances he's never faced before. May I say it? Like the three holy children going through a fiery furnace. Or like Noah in the ark. Sometimes we pass through places we've never been before, but brothers and sisters, in the midst of those times, we can say, I've got confidence. Allow me to quote Andre Crouch on that. I've got confidence. God's gonna see me through. No matter what the case may be, I know he's gonna fix it for me. Job went through that, didn't he? Circumstances he'd never passed through, but God brought him through. And that's what Jonah is encouraged, not because of who he is. His hope is in the Lord. His hope is in the living God. And because of that, he knows, yet I will look again toward thy holy temple. And if you will drop down with me, he speaks further about the waters there in those verses that follow. And he says in verse seven, when my soul fainted within me, I remembered the Lord and my prayer came in unto thee, into thine holy temple. They that observe lying vanities forsake their own mercy, but I will sacrifice unto thee with the voice of thanksgiving. I will pay that that I have vowed. Salvation is of the Lord. And the Lord spake unto the fish and it vomited out Jonah upon the dry land. But notice Jonah's confidence again in the midst of his feigning and all that he's experienced. And I can imagine if you're in a whale's belly, you're going to feel rather faint. I just can only imagine, you know. And yet, as he fainted, what did he do? He remembered the Lord. Child of God, that's the best thing we can do in our trials. When we go through the feigning fits, as Mr. Spurgeon called them, as he spoke particularly to preachers, but for all gods, when we go through those feigning fits in the midst of our trial, best thing to do is remember our God. Remember the Lord. Don't lose sight of the one who saved you. Don't lose sight of the one who called you by his grace. lose sight of the one who can say, yay, I have loved thee with an everlasting love. That's our God, brothers and sisters. And we need to remember him. And as Jonah does that, he knows that God hears him. And then he says this in verse eight, they that observe lying vanities forsake their own mercy. That is, those who continue to regard idols as gods, as their God, those who trust in them, those who rest in them, those who observe these false gods, they forsake their own mercy. In other words, the proffered mercy of God to sinners, fallen sinners of Adam's race, when men cling to an idol instead of looking to God, they forsake, they abandon that mercy. But how? How could they know that mercy? Just let go of that God. Repent, in other words. And that's what God is going to do for Nineveh. He's going to bring them to repentance. But brothers and sisters, in chapter two, we have, if you will, revival in the whale's belly. Jonah experiences personal revival in his life. And what's interesting is the fish swallows him out. After three days and three nights, and what does he do? He goes to the Gentiles and they're converted. Sound like another story you've heard? There was a man who died on a cross years ago. He was the God man. And as he died, he was swallowed up by death, if you will. But death cannot keep its prey. Jesus, my savior, he tore the bars away. And when he came out, guess what? The good news of God, the gospel, the word went to the Gentiles. A picture of our Lord Jesus Christ here in Jonah's disobedience. You mean God's that big that he can orchestrate it all? Absolutely. And so we see in chapter three, Jonah goes to Nineveh. And as he goes there, notice verse one of chapter three. and the word of the Lord came unto Jonah the second time, saying, Arise, go into Nineveh, that great city, and preach unto it the preaching that I bid thee. I love those words, the second time, because God is the God of the second time. Some people call him the God of the second chance, but things don't happen by chance with God. He's the God of the second time. He's the God of the second time for John Mark when John Mark messed up the first journey Paul says, no, we're not gonna take him this trip. And Barnabas said, well, they split, takes Mark with him. And later on, Paul would say, bring John Mark, he's profitable for the ministry. He's the God of the second chance. Peter knew that. Peter called Mark his son in the faith because Peter knew what it was to fall, didn't he? Three times he denied him, John 21, three times what did Christ say? Do you love me? And Peter was grieved because he asked what? The third time, why? That was a little too close for comfort for Peter. He got the message, Lord, I denied you three times, three times you're letting me say I love you. And what did the Lord say? Feed my sheep, follow me. And Peter, who had failed to follow fully that first commission, followed fully the second commission. And Christ gives him a prophecy about his death. He's the God of the second time. So Jonah goes and he preaches and as he does, he goes in and he says in the words there of God's own word to him, the last part of verse four, yet 40 days and Nineveh shall be overthrown. And we read this in verse five, so the people of Nineveh believed God and proclaimed to fast and put on sackcloth from the greatest of them even to the least of them. For word came unto the king of Nineveh, and he arose from his throne, and he laid his robe from him, and covered him with sackcloth, and sat in ashes, and he caused to be proclaimed and published through Nineveh by the decree of the king and his nobles, saying, let neither man nor beast, herd nor flock, taste anything. Let them not feed nor drink water, but let man and beast be covered with sackcloth and cry mightily. unto God. Yea, let them turn everyone from his evil way and from the violence that is in their hands. Who can tell if God will turn and repent and turn away from his fierce anger that we perish not. And God saw their works that they turned from their evil way and God repented of the evil that he had said that he would do unto them and he did it not. There's revival in the city here. Revival in that wicked place called Nineveh. It was marked by idolatry, the worship of anybody but Jehovah God. It was marked by immorality and it was marked by injustice. The Assyrians were some of the cruelest conquerors that ever went through not only the Middle East but throughout the world. They were wicked in their treatment of those whom they conquered. And God, in effect, says to Nineveh, it's time for you to pay the piper. But as they hear it, yet 40 days and Nineveh shall be overthrown, they believe God. And the God of the Bible, who'd rather save than damn, the God of the Bible sees their works. Now, the works were marked by, were what? A mark of faith. Those works evidence the reality of that belief in God. They turn from their wicked ways. You see, God demands of sinners repentance and faith. God calls on all men to repent. It's not just for Jews, it's not just for, it's for all. All nations are called to repent, and that's what our Lord Jesus commanded in Luke 24, beginning in Jerusalem, that repentance and remission of sins should be preached unto all nations. Jonah's, if you will, but an early installment of that. God is going to bless that word. God is going to do for Nineveh as they believe God. Some have wanted to say there's a contradiction in scripture, because God said, yet 40 days, and then of it shall be overthrown. And we see in chapter four, and God willing, we'll come back to that next hour, think a little bit more about it. But people say, well, God didn't do what he said. Well, God acted consistent with his nature when they responded in faith. And I want you to turn back with me, please, to Jeremiah chapter 18. But Jeremiah chapter 18, we read an understood proposition, an understood presupposition that underlies every prophecy that God sent by his prophets. Jeremiah chapter 18, you'll remember the setting, some of you. When God sends Jeremiah down to the prophet's house Potter's house, excuse me, and as the potter's dealing with the clay, the vessel he's making is marred and the potter basically begins to collapse the vessel and begin to work with the clay again. And God says this, Notice verse five of chapter 18 of Jeremiah. Then the word of the Lord came to me, saying, O house of Israel, cannot I do with you as this potter, saith the Lord? Behold, as the clay is in the potter's hands, so are ye in mine hand, O house of Israel. At what instant I speak concerning a nation and concerning a kingdom to pluck up and to pull down and to destroy it, if that nation against whom I have pronounced turn from their evil, I will repent of the evil that I thought to do unto them. And at what instant I speak concerning the nation and concerning the kingdom to build and to plant it, if it do evil in my sight and that it obey not my voice, then I will repent of the good wherewith I said I would benefit them. Notice what God says about his prophetic word here. God says, when I speak evil concerning the people, If that people responds to my word of threatened punishment in faith, in repentance, and they turn, God says, I will not judge. That's good news for sinners, brothers and sisters. Now, we know that there's an eternal hell that awaits sinners, a lake of fire the Bible speaks of. But God's word is to the sinner who will throw up the white flag of surrender to the living God, lay down his wicked works, throw down his brass knuckles and his pen knives, what he's been fighting God with. When he does that, God says, I will repent of that judgment. And it's not that God changes. because actually he's acting consistent with who he is. Because of his righteousness, he must judge sin, but because of his mercy, he deals mercifully with the repenting one. He's just consistent with his character in other words. And the reason he can do that toward the repenting one is because of Christ, because of what happened at Calvary. that makes God able to be just and the justifier of him that believes in Jesus, as Romans 3, 25 and 26 say. And as God said in Ezekiel chapter 18, God said, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn himself. And we see that illustrated in Nineveh, as God shows mercy. But there's something else that we wanna point out. And by the way, what God says in Jeremiah 18 about the nation concerning me speaks good. If they as well do evil in my sight, verse, if it do evil in my sight, verse 10, God says, I'll repent of the good. We're going to see that mirrored in Nahum, as Nineveh did not continue walking in believing God and repentance. Now, as we go back to the book of Jonah, I want you to notice one phrase from chapter four. As I said, God willing, we'll come to chapter four in the next hour and seek to bring a message. But if you will, notice when Jonah is displeased. Let's just read verses one and two in chapter four. but it displeased Jonah exceedingly and he was very angry. And he prayed unto the Lord and said, I pray thee, O Lord, was not this my saying when I was yet in my country? Here we see the reason, at least in part, but I think for the most part, if not the whole, why Jonah went to Tarshish. and he prayed unto the Lord and said, I pray thee, O Lord, was not this my saying when I was yet in my country? Therefore I fled before unto Tarshish, for I knew that thou art a gracious God, and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repentest thee of the evil. In other words, Jonah said, I knew your character, Lord, and I knew your character was such that if those Ninevites had half a chance, Now, it wasn't by chance, as I mentioned before, but in other words, he knew the character of his God. Now, what I want you to do is keep your place there and turn back with me to Exodus chapter 34. Some of you remember the setting of Exodus chapter 34. Moses has been up on the Mount Sinai receiving the law of God and the presence of God. As he has done that, The people down below, sadly, with Aaron as their aid, have made golden calves, and they're worshipping them. And not only that, they're falling into all kinds of sexual sin. and other sin, idolatry and immorality are often fused together in the lives of the nations. And that's true in the Bible as we see it with bell worship, and it's true here. And you remember, as Moses comes down, God tells him, the people thou leadest out of Egypt broughtest, they sinned, and Moses come down, he breaks the tablets of the law in anger, and then, He pleads with God as God says, I'm going to destroy him. He pleads with God as a mediator and says, Lord, don't do that. What will that do to thy great name? He's pleading God's glory there. And God says, all right, Moses, I pardoned according to thy word. And then while Moses has God's ear, he says this, Lord, show me your glory. Show me your glory. And God says, and I love it. God says in the last part of chapter 33 of Exodus, Moses, I can't show you the fullness. It'd overwhelm you. He said, I'll show you my hinder parts. God said, I'll show you my backside. Now, I like the way some people put it, his afterglow. He couldn't see the fullness of the glow of God's glory, but God said, I'll show you the afterglow. And he said, I'll hide you in the cleft of the rock. And as I cause all my goodness to pass by, I'll proclaim the name of the Lord. I'll preach myself to you. I'll preach who I am as the I am. And I'll declare myself to you. Of course, Moses was hidden in the cleft of the rock. I remember years ago, Pastor Paul and Pastor Fred singing that song at Bunyan Conferencing. They did a grand job of it. Ms. Crosby found the inspiration for him from what took place there in the book of Exodus from Moses. He hideth my soul in the cleft of the rock. What is that cleft in the rock? Why, it's the Lord Jesus Christ. The one who was cleft, the rock of ages, cleft for me is Mr. Toplety Rose. And as Moses sees God's glory, notice, if you will, chapter 34 of Exodus, verses four and following. And he, that is Moses, hewed two tables of stone like unto the first. And Moses rose up early in the morning and went up to Mount Sinai as the Lord had commanded him and took in his hand the two tables of stone. And the Lord descended in the cloud and stood with him there and proclaimed the name of the Lord. And the Lord passed by before him and proclaimed, The Lord, the Lord God, merciful and gracious, long-suffering and abundant in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving in iniquity and transgression and sin, and that will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children and upon the children's children under the third and the fourth generation. And Moses made haste and bowed his head toward the earth and worshiped. Here we see the name of the Lord proclaimed What's at the heart of it? Well, that God is, verse six, the latter part says, the Lord Jehovah I am. He is merciful and gracious, long-suffering and abundant in goodness and truth. And that's what Jonah says he knew over there in chapter four. He knew that God was that way. God had demonstrated it here because a people who deserve judgment, Israel, are pardoned by God. They deserve to be struck. They deserve to be taken and like would later happen with a group of them, sent into hell as the earth opened, swallowed them up. But God didn't do that. Why? Because he's abundant in goodness and truth. Now interestingly, the Greek translation of the Old Testament translate that claris, excuse me, full of grace and truth. You know what John says about the word in John 1 14? And the word was made flesh and dwelt among us and we beheld his glory. Glory as of the only begotten of the father, what? Full of grace and truth. What Jehovah is is seen more fully in the Lord Jesus Christ, because in him, mercy, grace, and truth are met together through his cross work and his shed blood, hallelujah. But what God declared about himself, John, as a prophet, knew was true of God, and that is something he wanted to see Israel experience, but he sure enough didn't want to see Nineveh experience. And yet God sent revival to Nineveh, and Israel was later judged, and God used the Assyrian kingdom to do it, the kingdom of which Nineveh was capital. And Jonah, I believe, knowing some of these things, did not want that. But brothers and sisters, we also read of our God there in those words of verse seven, keeping mercy for a thousand, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, but then notice the flip side. Verse seven gives it to us. and that will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children and upon the children's children unto the third and to the fourth generation. Brothers and sisters, that's what God does. God not only deals with men in mercy, but God also deals with men in judgment. And quickly now, let me ask you to go back beyond Jonah, skip one book over, skip past Micah and come with me quickly to Nahum. the book of Nahum and as we read this I want you to just notice with me the opening verses that speak about our God as this prophecy is directed once again to the city of Nineveh. Notice chapter 1 of Nahum verses 1 and following. The burden of Nineveh. Now notice the focus. This is a message An oracle that is concerned is the burden that God has toward Nineveh, the book of the vision of Nahum the Elkishite. God is jealous and the Lord revengeth. The Lord revengeth and is furious. The Lord will take vengeance on his adversaries and he reserveth wrath for his enemies. Now notice verse three. We have Echoes of Exodus 34 here, but here's one of the greatest. The Lord is slow to anger and great in power and will not at all acquit the wicked. He will by no means clear the guilty as we saw back in Exodus 34 7. And Nahum is quoting this. This is the other side of what Jonah realized about God's character. Jonah knew that God was gracious and merciful, and he was afraid God would display that to the Ninevites. But now, Nineveh has continued. They've turned from the good they have done and gone back to wickedness, and now judgment's going to fall. God's going to bring his hand of judgment. If you will, as one preacher put it, J. Harold Smith, from the past, God's deadlines. and now come. For there's a time when God's mercy will be no more. And that can even happen on earth according to what our Lord said in Matthew 12 about the blasphemy of the Spirit. So there's gotta be a carefulness when God's word comes to us. Lest we respond wrongly to it, and as we do, we might find ourselves under God's wrath even now. Now, what God does here is declares himself. Let's just read again, verse three. The Lord is slow to anger and great in power and will not at all acquit the wicked. The Lord hath his way in the whirlwind and in the storm and the clouds are the dust of his feet. He rebuketh the sea and maketh it dry and dryeth up all the rivers, bashing that good fertile pasture land east of the Sea of Galilee. And Carmel, which was there against Mediterranean Sea, good pasture land, and the flower of Lebanon languisheth. The mountains quake at him, and the hills melt, and the earth is burned in his presence. Yea, the world and all that dwell therein, who can stand before his indignation, and who can abide in the fierceness of his anger? His fury is poured out like fire, and the rocks are thrown down by him. The Lord is good, a stronghold in the day of trouble, and he knoweth them that trust in him, but with an overrunning flood, He will make an utter end of the place thereof, and darkness shall pursue his enemies. He'll make an utter end of what place? Nineveh. Judgment's coming. God had sent a messenger, and in faith and repentance, they had responded. But over time, we don't know exactly the lapse of time, but could have been almost a century. But 612 BC, Nineveh fell. Jonah would have prophesied before Israel's fall back in the reign of Jeroboam, 722 BC, Israel was carried into captivity over 100 years before. Jonah would have been before that. As they'd responded over time, they had moved away from the repentance and faith that they had shown toward Jehovah God in Nineveh. And now God says, my hand's gonna fall. One brother entitled these words about Nahum, when God is good and angry. Down South we have that expression. I don't know how much I've heard it here in the Commonwealth, but we've got that angry. Somebody who said that phrase, rather, somebody's really angry in the South will say, I'm good and angry. Usually it's a lie, because we're just angry. We ain't good. But when God is angry, he's good. God's the one who is good and angry whenever he's angry. And brothers and sisters, that in effect is what Nahum is declaring. The God who is good and angry is going to visit Nineveh, and this time his wrath will not turn away. But what I would like to get you to fix in your mind is the reality of what Exodus 34 declares. In Jonah, we see the longsuffering and the mercy and truth of God, the grace of God, the patience of God. But in Nahum, we see the wrath of the God who says, I will by no means clear the guilty. I will not acquit the wicked. And God says, judgment's coming. I'm coming. And in Nahum, that's what happens. Now in the midst of that is that good word of verse seven. I love it. The Lord is good. And what is he? He's a stronghold in the day of trouble and he knoweth them that trust in him. I remember Terry, when I was dating her, singing a little chorus. I've heard it since, but it says, oh, my loving brother, when the world's on fire, don't you want God's bosom to be your pillar? Oh, hide me over in the rock of ages. Rock of ages cleft for me. And brothers and sisters, even in the midst of the storm of wrath that's going to rise one day against the world, and the great white throne judgment in which sinners are going to be condemned to the lake of fire forever. Even in the midst of that, hallelujah, the Lord knows them that trust in him. And he's a stronghold in the day of trouble. I'm gonna be hidden, and that's what Mr. Toplety prayed for. Rock of ages cleft for me, let me what? Hide myself. and the blood from thy riven side which flowed. Be of sin the double cure, save me from its guilt and power. Or as one has put it in another alternate, save from wrath and make me pure. That's the power of the blood. You see, and Nineveh had known that for a while, but as they continued down in the course of sin and that declension had set in, now God's wrath is going to fall You can read the remainder of this and you'll see it. Notice in verse one of chapter two the words. We read there God's word. He that dasheth in pieces has 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. And he goes on to speak of what Nineveh had done to Israel. But what is he saying in verse one? He's telling Nineveh, put your dukes up. He's telling Nineveh, put your big boy clothes on. He's telling Nineveh, you better do your best. You better get everything you've got. You better muster every weapon you've got because I'm coming. Brothers and sisters, if you know that challenge, you got to realize the best thing to do is throw down your weapons and say, I ain't going to fight, Lord. But Nineveh wasn't at that point. They stood under judgment. They stood under wrath. So God speaks of it. Notice chapter 3, verse 1. We read the words, woe to the bloody city. It is all full of lies and robbery. The prey departeth not. The noise of a whip and the noise of the rattling of the wheels and of the prancing horses and of the jumping chariots. It's a picture of a city that's in confusion as the Babylonian army would come against Nineveh and as they would surround it. All Nineveh was ablaze with activity that was trying to make preparation for the battle but they would not stand because God's judgment, God's scourge was going to fall. It's a warning. It's a warning not just for Nineveh, but for all the nations. All the wicked shall be turned into hell, as Psalm 9 says, and all the nations that forget God. Why? Because not only is he a God who's long-suffering and abundant in goodness and truth, he's also one who will by no means clear the guilty. And the God who showed mercy to Nineveh under Jonah's ministry declares judgment and wrath under Nahum's. And when you come to the end of the book of Nineveh, notice what it says in verses 17 through 19 of Nineveh 3. or as the locust, and thy captains are as the great grasshoppers, which camp in the hedges in the cold day. But when the sun ariseth, they flee away, and their place is not known where they are. Thy shepherds slumber, O King of Assyria. Thy nobles shall dwell in the dust. Thy people is scattered upon the mountains, and no man gathereth them. There is no healing of thy bruise, thy wound is grievous. All that hear the brute that is the report of thee shall clap their hands over thee. For upon whom hath not thy wickedness passed continually. Here the picture of Nineveh is of a people utterly destroyed and for whom there is no healing. For whom there is to be no recovery. So much so that the nations who were under the heel of Assyria, they'll clap their hands in cheer because God has judged her. God in righteousness, God in true holiness, and in a righteous and a holy anger brought judgment on them. We behold then, again, to use the words of Romans 11, 22, we behold the goodness and the severity of God. We see goodness toward those who repent, toward those who believe. God shows His goodness. God shows mercy. To them who repent not, to them who do not believe, God will show His wrath. He will dispense judgment. He'll do it righteously. He'll do it wholly. He'll do it in a hot, holy anger. And that's what happened in Nineveh. That one day will be the case for those who do not know Him. May we flee to Him if we don't know Him. Run to Christ. Believe on Him. Repent. But for us who have believed and repent, may we continue to look to Him. And may we as well be a people who would rejoice that we have a hiding place, the Lord Jesus Christ. Thank God for Him this morning. You're dismissed, brothers and sisters.