Nahum and Zephaniah – God’s Purifying Judgment and Promised
Restoration
Nahum and Zephaniah
Doctrine: God’s Wrath
Attribute: Love
Big Idea: God’s last word is not judgement, but through His grace and mercy we can return to Him in repentance because of Jesus. God’s judgement of sin is certain, but we can seek His mercy.
the week before Palm Sunday
Opening Music
Hosanna in the Highest (Palm Sunday procession from Bethpage to Jerusalem)
Matthew 21
A very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road, and others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. The crowds that went ahead of him and that followed were shouting, “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest heaven!” When he entered Jerusalem, the whole city was in turmoil, asking, “Who is this?” The crowds were saying, “This is the prophet Jesus from Nazareth in Galilee.”
Prayer
Merciful God, as we enter Holy Week, turn our hearts again to Jerusalem, and to the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Stir up within us the gift of faith that we may not only praise him with our lips but may follow him in the way of the cross. (Rev. John Paarlberg)
Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.
Hosanna in the highest.
Discussion Questions
Review Northern Kingdom of Israel
***** Deuteronomy 14:2
“For you (Israel) are a people holy to the Lord your God, and the Lord has chosen you to be a people for his treasured possession, out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth.”
**** “In the ninth year of [the reign] of Hoshea, the King of Assyria took Samaria and exiled the Israelites to Assyria… And so it was that the Israelites sinned against the Lord their God … they worshipped other gods and followed the customs of the nations … God had issued warnings in Israel and Judah through the hand of all the prophets of any vision saying “Repent from your evil ways and observe My commandments and decrees…” But they did not listen…Then God became very angry with Israel and removed them from His Presence; none remained except the tribe of Judah alone. “
Nahum
***Name means comfort; from Judean village of Elkosh; addressed Nineveh, capital of Assyria; prophecized God’s wrath against Nineveh, writing at the zenith of Nineveh’s power, 100 years after Jonah and 50 years before the city was destroyed
Second Day
Question 3
Doctrine of the Wrath of God (from BSF Genesis)
****Jesus’ death on the cross is difficult to explain without an understanding of God’s righteous wrath against sin and its destruction. We excuse and minimize sin when we fail to see it like God does. Holy God hates sin enough to send His own Son to pay its agonizing price. This truth should move our hearts to wonder and worship. As much as God loves you, He hates your sin. Hope is found in Jesus alone. God sacrificed His Son so we do not have to experience His wrath. Jesus suffered the full extent of God’s wrath when He hung on the cross. He experienced what you deserve. In mercy, Jesus receives any sinner who comes to Him.
**** Romans 3:23,24 “…for all have sinned and come short of the glory of God, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ.”
Questions 4, 5
Music
“Above All” By Michael W Smith (stop 1:45)
Third Day
Question 6, 7, 8
Fourth Day
Who was Zephaniah?
******Zephaniah’s lineage is traced back 4 generations to Hezekiah; part of the royal family. He prophesied during the reign of Josiah, turned the people back to God. The Prophet Jeremiah was a contemporary. Zephaniah means “the Lord hides”. Judah was his audience with a message of judgement for Judah, surrounding nations, and the world. Zephaniah pronounced judgement but hope and blessings in the Day of the Lord.
Questions 9-13
Fifth Day
Questions 14-15
Closing Music
“In Christ Alone”