Two Cities - Same Message Joel 2 & Nahum 3
This morning we read two prophecies; one against Zion (Joel 2), the other against Nineveh (Nahum 3) – the capital of the Assyrians - their enemy.
Joel 2 - This prophecy came probably around the late ninth century B.C. during the reign of Joash.
It speaks primarily to Judah, but Israel is mentioned in verse 27, so there is relevance to both northern and southern kingdoms.
We don’t know any detail in this case about the sins of God’s people except that, according to verse 12, their hearts had turned away from God.
Nahum 3 - About a hundred years later, Nineveh found itself in the same position; at the receiving end of a warning from God.
A hundred years before Nahum, Jonah was sent to Nineveh with much the same message. They repented and were spared. (read the book of Jonah – it’s a short read)
Now a century later they were back to their old ways.
Their evil had once again come up before the LORD.
When we think of the law, we think of the covenant made with Israel through Moses, but God instituted laws before that which apply to all mankind. (Romans 2:14-15) So Nineveh (and everyone else) could never say that God’s laws don’t apply.
What a difference a hundred years can make. Think about how our nation has changed over the last fifty years.
Not long after the prophecy of Nahum, Nineveh fell. And no one would mourn their demise. (Nahum 3:19)
In the end, God ceased to show mercy for Nineveh, but his mercy for Zion continues. He implores his people to return to him (Joel 2:12)
The issue is not an outward display, but a change of heart.
The people of Zion repented of their transgressions and God forgave them.
This is one of those prophecies which has been partly realized, but a complete fulfilment is yet to come. Currently, Israel is a secular nation. They reject the LORD, because they reject God’s son Yeshua, who he sent into the world. (John 1:11)
Look at the connection between Joel 2:28-32 and Acts 2
The message for Zion and the message for Nineveh was the same. Judgement is coming, you’ve been found wanting. You are guilty.
The difference is that God has mercy on Zion, but for Nineveh his patience ran out.
But what’s the relevance for us? Nineveh is the same as the world. Nineveh was under the influence of Satan, just as the world is today.
Zion on the other hand is God’s Kingdom; his chosen people. It’s not just the Jews, it’s everyone that God has set aside for salvation. (Romans 9:25-26)
Don’t be an enemy of God.
Get out of Nineveh – come to Zion
You can’t sit on the fence. There is no in between. If you aren’t in God’s kingdom, you are in Nineveh; you are God’s enemy.
32 And it shall come to pass that everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved…
What does it mean to call upon the name of the LORD?
Jesus told us that MATTHEW 7:21 “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven,…”[1]
1 JOHN 1:9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
[1] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), Mt 7:21.