Nahum 1:6 – Who Can Stand before the Indignation of the Lord?

BIBLE TEXT

Nahum 1:6

SUMMARY

No one can stand against God’s anger. Instead, one should seek refuge in God.

ANALYSIS

Jeremiah 10:10 asserts, “At his wrath the earth quakes, and the nations cannot endure his indignation.” Nahum works within the same theological frame. In poetic depiction, both nature and political forces respond to the approach of God in judgment (Amos 1:2). This is not a time for presumptuousness. “Silence” might be most appropriate (Amos 8:3; Zephaniah 1:7; Zechariah 2:13). Psalm 90:11 makes the same point from a different angle. Judah has felt this affliction and is in no position to presume it can stand before the indignation of the Lord (1:12). Only God can create a refuge from God’s own anger (1:7, 12).