Is judgment necessary? Can’t God just forgive? (Nahum 1:9-2:2)

The question of God’s judgment is often raised today. Shouldn’t God just forgive if He is the God of love? The discomfort with judgment has no doubt complex reasons, but modern secular society’s definition of love and its diminished awareness of sin are contributing factors. Love tends to mean today a non-judgmental attitude like a counsellor’s who never puts you down or confronts you but is there to help you overcome problems and live a happier life. This lack of judgmentalism makes sense because the concept of sin has largely disappeared from the public vocabulary. If most things are a matter of individual choice and nobody has the right to set absolute moral standards, then judging is unfair and wrong. Thus, the secular appeal for God to ‘forgive’ is often nothing more than the human desire for God to acknowledge that we have done nothing wrong in the first place. Only a few crimes remain uncontested as moral evil (e.g. murder, stealing, sexual abuse or social injustices). Interestingly, those fighting against the latter two are increasingly emphatic that perpetrators should be brought to justice. It perhaps illustrates that most would still recognise the need for judgment/justice in some cases, it is just that priorities of what warrants such action has shifted. Although Nahum does not address this peculiarly modern question, reading his prophecy can help us appreciate why judgment is necessary.

A portrait of God’s enemies

What then characterises those judged? They are described earlier as enemies of God (Nahum 1:8), who are plotting against God (Nahum 1:9, 11). They oppress and enslave God’s people (Nahum 1:13) and worship idols (Nahum 1:14). We may wonder though if their attitude is consciously against the Lord, i.e. do they know that they oppose and rebel against the living God? In one sense, we may feel that they cannot know, given the baggage of their own culture and gods.[1] On the other hand, they are arrogant of their own power and subjugate other nations to prove it (see the Assyrian envoys’ message to Jerusalem – Isa 36:18-20 and God’s evaluation – Isa 37:21-24). Such pride and hunger for power precludes any openness towards God, so that to some degree they are responsible for not realising the truth. Can God forgive as Jesus did on the cross, for ‘they know not what they do’ (Luke 23:34)? Yes, but forgiveness can only create the opportunity for repentance and reconciliation, it cannot bring it about. And if it does not happen, if people remain antagonistic to God, then what?

The flipside of judgment

The second aspect to the necessity of judgment is hinted at in the way this passage is structured with a repeated switch between judgment and salvation (see below).

Nahum 1:9-11	Judgment on God’s enemies
Nahum 1:12-13	Salvation for His people
Nahum 1:14	Judgment on the king of Assyria[2]
Nahum 1:15	Salvation for Judah
Nahum 2:1	Judgment for Nineveh (see fn. 4)
Nahum 2:2	Salvation for Judah (called Israel here)

On the flipside of judgment against evil is deliverance for those oppressed by that evil. Unless oppressors are dealt with, there is no release for sufferers. While burnt-up thorns and intoxication are stock images for judgment (Nahum 1:10 cf. Isa 10:17; 51:17), they also convey how fragile human power can be. Fire easily consumes stubble, and drunks are vulnerable to attack because they are not fully in possession of their faculties. Despite the empire’s seeming strength, Assyria, its king and his descendants, along with his gods will be eliminated, so as not to afflict God’s people anymore (Nahum 1:12, 14). Historically, the Neo-Assyrian Empire ruled the eastern Mediterranean as far south as Egypt, but when the empire went under it never rose to power again. Although Israel (the northern kingdom) was lost in captivity, Judah (now called Israel; 2:2) was released from Assyrian dominance and could enjoy well-being (peace) and experience restoration (Nah 1:15; 2:2).[3]

God’s desire to save

Judgment then is necessary because those who resist and oppose God consistently and refuse to acknowledge Him cannot be allowed to continue indefinitely especially as their attitude causes suffering for others. Nahum does not mention who the enemy is until Nahum 2:8 (translations sometimes supply the names), but talks more generally of those who oppose God and this can help us recognise the broader principles here. As the Lord deals with Nineveh when it opposes God and oppresses His people is how He deals with all those who oppose Him and hurt others. Once again, what emerges from our reading is that God’s desire is to save and release those who are suffering because of evil.

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[1] This is a larger question relating to how God judges nations and individuals who had no chance to hear the good news about the true God (whether on an OT or a NT basis). God is not going to require from people beliefs or moral behaviour that they could not possibly know about. Nevertheless, the OT has some examples where pagans come to acknowledge the living God when they encounter Him (e.g. Rahab – Josh 2:8-13; Ruth – Ruth 1:16-18; Naaman – 2 Kings 5:15; the sailors in Jonah – Jonah 1:14-16). Romans offers two observations towards thinking about this question further. First, there is some level of general revelation about God available to all, which can be accepted or suppressed (Rom 1:18-32). For instance, we sometimes automatically assume that worshipping gods in images of created things (e.g. animals) is the default position for pagan nations, but several ancient Roman writers admire Jewish aniconic religion (i.e. that they don’t use images of God) and argue that ancient Roman religion was likewise aniconic in its infancy. Both the Roman writer Varro (cited in Augustine, City of God 4.31 (trans. Green) and Plutarch, Life of Numa 8.8 mention this, as discussed in Matthew Thiessen, A Jewish Paul: The Messiah’s Herald to the Gentiles (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2023), 63-64. Secondly, Paul also argues that Gentiles, who live moral lives comparable to what is expected of Jews in the Law, bear witness to the fact that aspects of that moral law are written in their heart (Rom 2:14-16). Thus, it does not follow that nations or individuals, by definition, must be aggressive, proud or oppressing others. Assyria, however, was known for its extreme cruelty and arrogance even among its pagan neighbours (e.g. Nahum 3:19).

[2] Nahum 1:14 refers to God’s command against ‘you’ (masculine singular), hence the assumption that it is about the king. Likewise, Nahum 2:1 mentions the scatterer against ‘you’, which is feminine singular indicating the city of Nineveh (cities are always feminine in Hebrew and stand for their population). For those wanting to check the Hebrew, please note that v.1 in the English translation is v.2 in the Hebrew.

[3] Sadly, because of Judah’s sin such relief was short-lived. God judged His own people later and they were taken into Babylonian exile in 697 BC and 687 BC.

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