What does "I am against you" reveal about God's stance on sin? The Sobering Phrase in Scripture - Nahum 2:13 “Behold, I am against you,” declares the LORD of Hosts. - Nahum 3:5 “Behold, I am against you,” declares the LORD of Hosts; “I will lift your skirts over your face…” - Jeremiah 21:13 “Behold, I am against you, O valley dweller, O rocky plain,” declares the LORD. - Ezekiel 5:8 “Therefore this is what the Lord GOD says: I, even I, am against you…” Each statement is literal, historical, and intentional, spoken by the God who never exaggerates. Snapshots of Divine Opposition - Against Nineveh: ruthless cruelty and idolatry met the certainty of God’s judgment (Nahum 1–3). - Against Jerusalem: covenant people who insisted on rebellion felt the same holy resistance (Jeremiah 21). - Against the false prophets of Israel: deceptive religion drew God’s active hostility (Ezekiel 13:8). Different audiences, one verdict: open, unrepentant sin positions God as the adversary. God’s Holiness Shining Through - Habakkuk 1:13 declares God’s eyes are “too pure to look on evil.” - Leviticus 11:44 commands, “Be holy, because I am holy.” His nature is flawlessly righteous, so anything unholy is not merely disliked; it is opposed. Sin Invites Active Resistance - James 4:6 “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” - Proverbs 3:34 echoes the same stance. Opposition is not passive displeasure; the word picture is of God setting Himself in battle array against what violates His character. Righteous Judgment, Not Personal Vendetta - Psalm 7:11 “God is a righteous judge, a God who displays His wrath every day.” - Romans 2:5–6 promises repayment “according to each one’s deeds.” God’s “against you” flows from absolute justice; He judges sin because sin destroys the creatures He loves and desecrates His glory. Mercy Still Glimmers - The warning is itself mercy. Nineveh once repented at Jonah’s preaching and was spared (Jonah 3:10). - Ezekiel 33:11 “I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked… turn back, turn back from your evil ways.” Even when God declares opposition, the door of repentance remains open until final judgment falls. Personal Application - Take sin seriously; it automatically enlists God’s resistance. - Run to Christ, who bore God’s “against you” in our place (Isaiah 53:5; 2 Corinthians 5:21). - Live repentantly, knowing that confessing and forsaking sin moves us from opposition to favor (1 John 1:9; Psalm 32:5). |
    |