Slow to Anger and Great in Power. August 3

Scripture: 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. Nahum 2:13
The Father judges no one, but has given all judgment to the Son. John 5:22

Observation: Nahum is describing the destiny of the Evil Assyrians and the fall of Nineveh. For their heinous crimes and deeds, Nineveh will be destroyed. Nahum gives graphic description of this powerful destruction—shields covered in blood, chariots of flashing metal racing through the streets, flashing swords and glittering spears. As one of God’s people who had suffered under the oppression of Assyria, I could see who welcome these words would be. Knowing that God does not clear the guilty. And although God is slow to anger, when he is finally roused to act, it is terrible and unrelenting. Bottom line: You do not want to have the Lord of Hosts against you. You do not want to be on the wrong side when his judgment comes.
Then we skip to John 5, where Jesus tells us that all of the power of the great judgment of God has been given into his hands. The terrible final ultimate judgment of the wicked, of all those who have rejected God, has been given to Christ.
Application: Sometimes we reduce the Old and New Testament to simplistic terms. God in the Old Testament is judgment; Jesus in the New is love and grace. But we forget that God is one, and that God never changes. The meek Jesus of the New Testament is not a wimp. He is a man of unlimited power and authority to judge, who restrains that power to give people a chance to hear of God’s great love and come to him. But in the end, those who reject God face a terrible fate, much like the Ninevites. Our God is good, as Nahum declares. And he is slow to anger. But when he finally does act, as Jesus will at the final judgment, his actions are terrible and swift and great.
How seriously do I take this? Serious enough to tell others of God’s love and judgment?
Prayer: God, forgive me for putting you in boxes. I worship you today because you are slow to anger, yet great in power. You keep wrath for your enemies and in no way will clear the guilty. Thank you that my guilt and your wrath towards me were dealt with at the cross. Help me share that with others so they may never be on the wrong side against you.