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The book of Jonah was God’s grace to Ninevah, and Nahum is His truth. God would judge Nineveh. For some, the thought of His judgment invokes imagery of an all-powerful Being looking down on creation with anger and disappointment. In a rage of emotional outburst, He strikes Niveveh down to get His vengeance. This is not the God we know.
“The thing which makes the judgment of God so frightful is the fact that God does not do it as a petulant person. He doesn’t do it in a vindictive manner whatsoever. He does not do it in a spirit of revenge or of trying to get even. He does not judge because He has become angry for a moment in a sudden emotional outburst. God judges because He is just. He still loves, but He is just. Since He is just in His dealings, He must deal with sin even in the lives of those whom He loves.”
J. Vernon McGee
If God didn’t love Nineveh, He wouldn’t have sent a prophet to them (Jonah) 100 years ago to warn them of their destruction. Keep in mind, the message of Jonah did not include a promise for mercy. He merely preached that God’s judgment was coming. The people of Nineveh repented hoping that God would show mercy even though they did not deserve it. We know the story. God forgives Nineveh which becomes an object lesson for Jonah’s cranky, selfish attitude. God’s message to Jonah is that he does love the people of Nineveh and desires for them to repent.
And should not I pity Nineveh, that great city, in which there are more than 120,000 persons who do not know their right hand from their left, and also much cattle?”
Jonah 4:11 ESV
If God didn’t love Nineveh, He wouldn’t have sent Nahum to again warn them of the coming destruction. We don’t know whether or not God would have granted them mercy had they repented again, but that’s not the point of the book. God is full of both grace and truth. He loves His children and He hates sin. His judgment is not like ours.
The judgment of nations can be difficult for us to understand being under the New Covenant. How horrible would it be if we lived in a world where God did not destroy sin? How awful would it have been for the people trying to follow God in this world if He would have turned a blind eye to the destructive sin of Nineveh? God is not nervous and Jesus is still on the throne. The destruction of Nineveh is a theme of God that spills over into the New Testament. When sin rises, He will step in. When sin thinks it has won, God will have the last word.
Without God’s justice, our world is chaos. Without His mercy, our world is hopeless. God is full of both grace and truth. His destruction of sin was found in the slain Lamb of God who willingly gave Himself up so that you and I would not become the next Nineveh. Amazing.