Nahum 2:13 (ESV)

Behold, I am against you, declares the LORD of hosts, and I will burn your chariots in smoke, and the sword shall devour your young lions. I will cut off your prey from the earth, and the voice of your messengers shall no longer be heard.

The second chapter of Nahum is a graphic description of the fall of Nineveh. War is one evil consequence of the Fall of mankind. Our sin infiltrates every aspect of life. Assyria was known as an aggressive and cruel people. God prophesied that when their capital city fell it would be a violent and cruel fall.

God is speaking of the destruction of Nineveh, but we have another enemy who is even more cruel. He is called the Liar, the Deceiver, the Enemy, the Devil, and Satan. He is cruel, but deceptive. He entices and then destroys, but he will one day be put in his place. His cruelty will come back on him and his fate is sealed.

Judgment sounds cruel. It sounds incompatible with the nature of a loving God. But God cannot be a loving God unless he is also a God of justice. Justice demand judgment. The gospel is about Jesus receiving God’s judgment on our behalf. His grace and mercy are applied to those who believe. But to those who refuse his grace there awaits his judgment. We can’t have it both ways. We can’t refuse grace and expect no judgment.

For the Enemy who has raped and destroyed mankind for millennia, his judgment is coming. For him there is no grace offered. He made his choice early on. He set himself up as the god of this world. He is a cruel taskmaster, and he will one day face the wrath of God.

For the believer this is good news. Our hope is in an eternal kingdom of rest and peace that sees no evil for evil has been judged. Nahum 2:2 says that, “the LORD is restoring the majesty of Jacob as the majesty of Israel, for plunderers have plundered them and ruined their branches.” One day the Lord will also restore the majesty of mankind in a New Heavens and New Earth. Restoration is coming.

For the unbeliever, or the one who is not sure, Jesus already took your brokenness to the cross. We are all born in sin. We are all broken, rebellious, and going our own way. “All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all” (Is 53:6). That was all placed on Jesus. Let me challenge you to trust him today. The Enemy wants to convince us that we are okay, but deep down we know that we are broken. The Enemy will one day be judged for his deception. Don’t listen to his lies. Trust Jesus today.