Nahum

Jonah's message was for the people who lived in Nineveh. (This was the capital of Assyria.) And Nahum's message was for the same people. His subject was judgement. And it was like Jonah's subject. But that was the only thing that was similar. Nahum lived after Jonah. The people of Assyria (the Assyrians) had been very evil. And now there was no more chance to repent. They must suffer the results of their sin.

The date of the book of Nahum is probably about 655 BC. (BC means Before Christ.) The Assyrians were a strong nation. Their last ruler was Ashur-banipal. He died in 626 BC. Two nations joined up against Assyria. They were Babylon and Media. And they overcame Nineveh in 612 BC.

The prophet's words seem to be hard. There seems to be no pity for the Assyrians. But we must remember something. The Assyrians caused much pain in the world of those days. Their behaviour was terrible. It was a cruel government. Someone has said that it was the world's worst government.

The book of Nahum shows that God is completely fair. So, it has a vital place in the Bible. People must remember God's goodness. But they must remember that God is strict too. (Read Romans 2:1-4; 11:22.)

It is easy to divide the book of Nahum. It is almost like being in a court. First, there is a description of the Judge, who is God. Then there is the judgement. The last chapter gives the reason for such a hard punishment.

Nineveh's Judge (Chapter 1:1-15)

The first chapter made the Assyrians look at the Judge. He is Yahweh. This is the Hebrew name for Jehovah God. God had warned them many times. But they had not listened to him. And they had done terrible things to God's people. Now God showed himself to them. It is an excellent description.

We see that:

God is jealous (1:2-3). Often, we do not understand this word. Some Bible passages describe God as jealous. (Read Exodus 20:5; 34:14; Deuteronomy 4:24; 5:9; 6:15.) This is about his demand that his people must worship him only. We read, too, that God is jealous for his land or for Jerusalem. (Read Joel 2:18; Zechariah 1:14.)

This means that God cares about his people's honour. And he wants their safety.

[Note: These ideas are in a book by H. H. Rowley. It is called: ‘Dictionary of Bible Themes’. The word ‘Themes’ means Subjects.]

Now Nahum insisted on two things. God cared very much about his people. First, he cared about the honour of his own name. Many people did not know God. And they would notice that Assyria was stronger than Israel. So they might think that Yahweh was not able to help his people. God also cared about the progress of his people. He wanted them to be successful.

God is very great (1:3b-6). There is a wonderful description of God here. It shows him in nature. There are many descriptions like this in the Psalms. (Some examples are 89, 93, 97, and 104.) There are also descriptions in the books of prophecy. (Some examples are Isaiah 19; 10:2-8; Amos 9:5-6 and Micah 1:2-4.) The prophet's idea of God was great. Our idea of God is often much too small.

God is someone whom we can trust completely (1:7). ‘He is a safe place to go to in times of trouble. He takes care of the people who trust him’. God's goodness and God's strength never fail. God wants his people to be his friends. He enjoys that personal relationship.

God is fair (1:8-14). God is like a safe place for his people. But he will ruin the safe places of his enemies. God's enemies think that they are stronger than he is. The Assyrians tried to use their wisdom. They tried to use it against God and his people. This was very foolish. Their strength would be of no use when God attacked them (1:12). They had power over all the nations. They had religious pride too. But God would completely defeat them.

God is in control (1:12-13). God used the Assyrians to punish his people. Nahum accepted this. God said: ‘I, and not they, have made you suffer’. Isaiah knew this too. He spoke about the Assyrians. They are ‘the stick of my anger’, said God (Isaiah 10:5). These nations were all in God's power. Babylon would defeat Nineveh. Then God would defeat the people of Babylon. He would do this after he had used them for his purposes. He would use them to correct his people. (Read Isaiah 40:15, 23; Jeremiah 10:10.)

God is full of mercy (1:15). This verse describes someone who announces news. He announces that peace is coming. The same description is in Isaiah 40:9. God had heard the sighs of his people. They were suffering very much. And God felt great sympathy for them. But he is full of mercy. God would rescue them soon.

Nineveh's Punishment (Chapter 2:1-12)

There was a message of peace for God’s people. Then there is a clear description of war (2:1-10). The reader feels that he could almost be there.

In 1:11-12, there is a description of Nineveh’s defeat. Nahum compared it to someone killing a group of lions. Lions that are fierce wild animals and bring terror. And the people of Nineveh had brought terror too. Now other people would make them afraid. Other people would destroy the people of Nineveh. The city's fate would be terrible. This was because the Lord God was against Nineveh (2:13).

God wants things to be right and fair. This would mean two things:

  • He would cure his people of all that was wrong with them (2:2).
  • He would punish their enemies. This was because of all their evil acts against God’s people (2:13).

Nineveh's Crimes (Chapter 3:1-4)

In this short passage we read about Assyria's sins. God's judgement was right.

Nahum remembered that:

  • The Assyrians were cruel (3:1). They enjoyed murder. Everyone knew about their awful acts. And they were the same wherever they went. They were very cruel. And they had no mercy on other people.
  • They were liars (3:1: ‘full of lies’. Compare Proverbs 12:22). Nobody could trust what the people of Assyria said.
  • They were robbers (3:1: ‘full of things taken’). Their wealth came from the things that they stole. And they used cruel force.
  • They worshipped idols (3:4). This is probably the meaning of these words. Prophets often spoke about false gods in this way. (Compare Ezekiel 23:30.)
  • They had wrong sex (3:4). The words about idols is not just picture language. This was true about many nations in the Near East. They had wild parties. Their behaviour was very evil. They were like this in their religious ceremonies. And it was similar in commercial matters too.
  • Their lives were false (3:4-5). They had the power to attract people. And this was dangerous. People seemed to be able to trust the people of Assyria. They would tempt other nations. Then they would destroy them. God would show what the Assyrians were really like (3:5). And God would do to the people of Assyria what they did to other people (6).

Nineveh's End (Chapter 3:5-19)

The city must suffer defeat. The people could not avoid this event. And this passage describes it clearly. The reader could almost be there. As soon as danger was near, the city's leaders would leave their own people (3:17-18).

The Assyrians had made all the world of that time suffer. And Nahum knew this fact (3:19). Now they would suffer themselves. Their hurt and pain would be very great. And this was because God is completely fair. (Read Romans 12:19.)