John Calvin Commentary Nahum 1:3

"Jehovah is slow to anger, and great in power, and will by no means clear [the guilty]: Jehovah hath his way in the whirlwind and in the storm, and the clouds are the dust of his feet." — Nahum 1:3 (ASV)

The Prophet continues with the same subject, and the preface concerning the nature of God is even longer; however, as I have said, this preface is to be applied to the specific purposes he will subsequently state. He says here that God is slow to wrath. Although this saying is also taken from Moses, the Prophet speaks here to anticipate an objection, for he preempts the audacity of the ungodly who daringly derided God when any evil was pronounced against them, asking, "Where is the mercy of God?"

Can God divest Himself of His kindness? He cannot deny Himself. Thus, profane men, under the pretext of honoring God, cast the most atrocious slander on Him, for they deprive Him of His power and office. There is no doubt that this was commonly done by many of the ungodly in our Prophet's time. Therefore, he anticipates this objection and concedes that God is slow to wrath. So, there is a concession here; but at the same time, he says that God is great in strength. He says this so that the ungodly may not flatter and deceive themselves when they hear these lofty attributes ascribed to God: that He is patient, slow to wrath, merciful, full of kindness. He says, “Let them at the same time remember the greatness of God’s power, so that they may not think they are dealing with a child.”

So now we see the Prophet's design. This declaration—that God does not hasten suddenly to wrath, but patiently defers and suspends the punishment the ungodly deserve—would not have harmonized with the present argument if the Prophet had not introduced it by way of concession. It is as if he said, “I see that the world everywhere trifles with God, and that the ungodly delude themselves with such sophistries that they reject all threats. I do indeed allow that God is ready to pardon, and that He does not descend to wrath, except when He is constrained by extreme necessity. All this is indeed true; but yet know that God is armed with His own power. Then none of those who allow themselves the liberty of abusing His patience shall escape, despite the insolence they show towards Him.”

He now adds, By clearing he will not clear. Some translate, “The innocent, he will not render innocent.” But the real meaning of this sentence is the same as that in Exodus 34; and what Moses meant was that God is irreconcilable to the impenitent. It has another meaning at the end of Joel 3, where it is said, I will cleanse the blood which I have not cleansed. Interpreters differ on that text because they do not consider the change in the tense of the verb, for God means that He would cleanse the filth and defilements of His Church, which He had not previously cleansed.

But Moses means that God deals strictly with sinners, so as to remit no punishment. By clearing, then, He will not clear; that is, God will rigidly demand an account of all human actions. And since nothing is hidden from Him, everything wickedly done by men must come to light when God ascends His tribunal; He will not clear by clearing, but will rigidly execute His judgment.

There seems to be some inconsistency in saying that God is reconcilable and ready to pardon, and yet that by clearing He will not clear. But the perspective is different. We have already stated what the Prophet had in view: for inasmuch as the ungodly always promise themselves impunity, and in this confidence petulantly deride God Himself, the Prophet answers them and declares that there was no reason for them to abuse God’s forbearance in this way. For he says, By clearing he will not clear—that is, the reprobate. For our salvation consists in a free remission of sins; and from where does our righteousness come, but from the imputation of God, and from this: that our sins are buried in oblivion? Indeed, our whole clearing depends on the mercy of God.

But God then also exercises His judgment, and by clearing He clears when He remits the sins of the faithful; for the faithful, by repentance, anticipate His judgment, and He searches their hearts so that He may clear them. For what is repentance but condemnation, which yet turns out to be the means of salvation?

Since, then, God absolves no one except the condemned, our Prophet here rightly declares, that by clearing he will not clears; that is, He will not remit their sins unless He tries them and discharges the office of a judge. In short, no sin is remitted by God which He does not first condemn.

But with regard to the reprobate, who are wholly obstinate in their wickedness, the Prophet justly declares this to them: that they have no hope of pardon, since they perversely adhere to their own devices and think that they can escape the hand of God. The Prophet tells them that they are deceived, for God overlooks nothing and will not blot out one sin until all are brought to mind.

He afterwards says that the way of God is in the whirlwind and the tempest; that is, God, as soon as He shows Himself, disturbs the whole atmosphere and excites storms and tempests. This must be applied to the subject at hand, for the appearance of God is described in other places as lovely and gracious. Indeed, what else but the sight of God exhilarated the faithful?

As soon as God turns away His face, they must necessarily be immersed in dreadful darkness and be surrounded with horrible terrors. Why then does the Prophet say here that the way of God is in the whirlwind and storms? It is because his discourse is addressed to the ungodly, or to the despisers of God Himself, as in Psalm 18, where we see Him described as very terrible—that clouds and darkness are around Him, that He moves the whole earth, that He thunders on every side, that He emits smoke from His nostrils, and that He fills the whole world with fire and burning.

For what purpose was this done? Because David’s purpose was to set forth the judgments of God, which He had executed on the ungodly. So it is in this passage; for Nahum speaks of the future vengeance, which was then near for the Assyrians. Hence he says, The way of God is in the whirlwind and tempest; that is, when God goes forth, whirlwinds and tempests are excited by His presence, and the whole world is thrown into confusion.

He adds, that the clouds are the dust of his feet. When anyone with his feet only moves the dust within a small space, some dread is produced; but God moves the dust, not only in one place—what then? He obscures and thus covers the whole heaven. The clouds then are the dust of his feet. We now understand the whole meaning of the Prophet and the purpose for which this description is given.