TWO SIDES OF THE SAME COIN: The God of Wrath and Grace
Nahum’s vision opens like a thunderstorm. The prophet’s words rise from the heart of ancient Judah around 650 B.C., when Nineveh, the proud capital of Assyria, stood tall in its arrogance. Once, God had shown mercy to that city through Jonah’s preaching, and the people repented. But generations later, they turned back to cruelty and idolatry. Nahum’s prophecy became a solemn song of justice. It declared that God’s patience, though long, is not endless. The storm of divine wrath was rolling in. Yet even within this fire, the mercy of God glows like an ember that never dies.
“The Lord is slow to anger and great in power, and will not at all acquit the wicked” (Nahum 1:3). The whirlwind obeys Him. The mountains quake at His voice. The earth trembles beneath His feet. But for those who take refuge in Him, He becomes a fortress strong and sure: “The Lord is good, a stronghold in the day of trouble; and He knows those who trust in Him” (Nahum 1:7).
The prophet teaches us that God is not divided in His nature. His wrath and His mercy flow from the same holy heart. To remove either is to create an idol. It is as though a gambler tried to cheat by minting a coin with two heads—always landing the same way, never showing the other side. Some would “flip” God and only see grace. Others, only judgment. But the true coin of divine character bears both sides: wrath and mercy, holiness and love.
We read, “Behold therefore the goodness and severity of God” (Romans 11:22). The same God who rains fire upon sin also rains grace upon sinners. “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men” (Romans 1:18), yet this same God “justifies freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus…through faith in His blood” (Romans 3:24–25).
The cross of Jesus Christ is where both sides meet. There, wrath and mercy kiss. There, judgment falls and grace rises. The Son of God stepped into the consuming fire, and the flames became light for all who believe. “Our God is a consuming fire” (Hebrews 12:29), yet “His mercy endures forever” (Psalm 136:1). Both are true, and both are glorious.
Some see God only as Judge, and they cower in fear. Others see Him only as Friend, and they forget His holiness. But faith must walk in balance—like the tightrope walker who steadies himself with perfect poise. A faith that leans too far to one side will fall either into despair or presumption. We are not walking a wire to earn His favor, but we must keep a steady vision of who He is—holy love, consuming grace, fierce mercy.
When Jesus turned over the tables in the temple (John 2:15–16), His eyes burned with the same fire that would later weep over Jerusalem. When He warned, “Do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell” (Matthew 10:28), His words were not cruelty. They were compassion, calling souls to awaken before the storm.
And in the parables, He spoke of “outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth” (Matthew 25:30), and of the place “where their worm does not die and the fire is not quenched” (Mark 9:48). Yet the same lips that spoke of judgment also said, “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28).
In Matthew 25:31–33, He showed us the final division, when all nations are gathered before Him, and He separates them as a shepherd divides sheep from goats. The same hand that blesses the righteous will cast judgment upon the unrepentant. It is the hand of a holy God, steady and just.
The sun and moon both give light—the sun in its blazing day, the moon in its reflective night. So too, the wrath and mercy of God reveal His glory. His wrath purifies. His mercy preserves. His holiness is the balance of His love.
Nahum saw that balance. He saw a God who avenges yet redeems, who strikes but also shelters. The fire burns, but in its center stands a cross, a refuge for all who will believe.
The same fire that consumes sin warms the soul that trusts in Christ. Those who rest in His grace have nothing to fear. The flames of judgment will not touch them, for the blood of Jesus covers them completely. “The grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men” (Titus 2:11).
So let the trumpet sound. The alarm of readiness has been blown. We do not know when the Son of Man will return, but we can be ready—by focusing upon Him as a laser fixes its gaze upon the glass, burning through the blur of distraction until only His image remains.
Behold the God of Nahum—the same yesterday, today, and forever. The Judge and the Savior. The Fire and the Fountain. The Storm and the Shelter.
O Lord of holiness and mercy,
You are the fire that purifies and the refuge that protects. Teach me to behold both the severity and the goodness of Your nature. Let my soul tremble and yet rest, fear and yet rejoice.
Burn away every false idea of You—every idol of convenience, every image of indulgence. Clothe me in reverent love. Balance my heart that I may neither presume upon Your grace nor despair under Your justice. May my life reflect Your fullness—grace and truth together, love and holiness united. When the final trumpet sounds, let me be found hidden in Christ, justified by faith in His blood, and radiant in the light of Your mercy.
In Jesus’ holy name, Amen.
Bryan Dewayne Dunaway
