To: Nineveh – From: Nahum
Devotions for Growing Christians
To: Nineveh – From: Nahum
Nahum 1:2 - The Lord is jealous and avenging . . . and maintains His wrath on His enemies.
Nahum 1:3 - The Lord is slow to anger and great in power, and will not leave the guilty unpunished.
Nahum 1:7 - The Lord is good, a stronghold in the day of trouble and He knows those who trust in Him.
Read the book of Nahum.
What do you know about Nahum? Who, what, huh? Hopefully that’s not our response! Unfortunately, however, many growing Christians don't know much about Nahum. They might know that he was one of the Minor Prophets, who wrote a short book in the Old Testament. And if they are on a read-straight-through-the-Bible-in-a-year program, they might know that the book of Nahum comes up on the schedule for one day every September. But other than these incidentals, most Christians know very little about Nahum. What’s this little Old Testament book all about?
Background
The book of Nahum is a prophecy about the destruction of the city of Nineveh, the capital city of the ancient pagan Assyrian empire. It was written in poetic form by the Jewish prophet, Nahum, in the 7th century BC, many years before the fall of the great city. In 612BC the Medes and the Babylonians conquered Nineveh, in direct fulfillment of Nahum's prophecy. In fact, the historical details on how a Tigris River flood would lead to Nineveh's end are literally predicted in Nahum 1:8 and 2:6-7. Heavy rains sent by God caused the mighty Tigris River to overflow its banks and undermine the city walls, thus allowing the attacking soldiers access to the well-fortified Assyrian capital.
Nahum 2-3 are an extremely vivid description of the ensuing battle within the city, when the Babylonian forces overwhelmed the Assyrian defenders. You can almost feel the adrenalin of the fighting as you read the inspired Hebrew poetry. See the chariots with their flashing steel axle knives darting through the streets, cutting down the opposition (2:3-4! Smell the smoke of the burning city as the once proud Assyrian lion (a much used symbol in Nineveh) goes up in flames (2:11-13 and 3:13-15)! Listen to the cracking whip and thundering hooves of the charging horses (3:2)! Hear the swishing swords and thudding spears as the body count of Assyrian soldiers mounts (3:3)! Nineveh the great is desolate, disgraced and devastated (2:10; 3:5-7) - fallen to rise no more (1:14; 3:19).
Today the ruins of this ancient city have been excavated, and they stand as a silent witness to the accuracy of the Word of the Lord through Nahum. This visible proof of Nahum’s inspired prophecy adds support to the Bible's claim to be a supernatural Book.
But is this all we get from the book of Nahum? Is it only an accurate and vivid prediction of the fall of Nineveh in the year 612BC? No! There’s much more teaching for us in this book. Throughout Nahum's prophecy we learn the reasons for the coming destruction of Nineveh. (See 1:11, 14; 2:2, 12; 3:1, 4, 19.) And as we understand why God brought down the Assyrian empire, we become more aware of the righteous character of God revealed in these chapters.
This should be our response when we read any of the Old Testament prophets. The constant denunciation of sin in these prophetic books may seem tedious and even redundant at times, but God's righteousness is revealed in no uncertain terms. In fact, it is particularly in the writings of the Old Testament prophets that we sense the mind and heart of God calling out for holiness.
The Lord is just
In the first chapter of Nahum, three distinct aspects of God's righteous character are revealed. In verse 2 we learn that the Lord is jealous and avenging. That doesn't sound too holy, does it? But the idea here is not sinful envy or retaliation, but rather the idea of bringing justice to bear on the situation.
For example, suppose a terrorist broke into a peaceful home, beat up the children, assaulted the wife, and ran off with everything of value. It would be only right and proper for the returning husband to exhibit a righteous and intense desire for justice. God looked on the nation of Judah as His own wife and children, and the Assyrian Empire had terrorized them.
In 722BC, the northern kingdom of Israel fell into the hands of the treacherous Assyrians. These cruel pagans not only robbed the country of its wealth, but also subjected many of the people to various kinds of torture. Then in 701BC, under King Sennacherib the Assyrians besieged Jerusalem, the capital of the southern kingdom of Judah. Nahum 1:11 probably refers to King Sennacherib. Carved wall reliefs found by the archaeologists in Sennacherib's palace near Nineveh document his advance on Jerusalem. The defeat of the outlying city of Lachish is vividly portrayed in these reliefs, including the torture of Jewish captives by impaling and flaying. But Jerusalem never fell to Sennacherib. God directly intervened and miraculously delivered the city! (Read the whole account in 2 Kings 18-19 or 2 Chronicles 32 or Isaiah 36-37.)
God had permitted the Assyrians to afflict His people as a means of discipline (Isaiah 10:5). But now, in Nahum's day, the time had come for the Assyrians to experience the wrath of a jealous and avenging God. Nineveh would fall, and be no more! This "good news" called for a celebration (1:15)!
What a blessing to know that our God is a jealous and avenging God. His protective love will not allow any rival to get away with attacking us. He may permit us to experience antagonism from ungodly people now, but remember - our God is jealous for us. We don’t have to retaliate and take own revenge, because we can be sure that our avenging God will ultimately bring about complete justice on our own behalf. (See Romans 12:19 and 2 Thessalonians 1:6.) He may not choose to deliver us now from those who afflict us, but we can be confident that we will eventually celebrate His righteous ways.
The Lord is patient
Verse 3 assures us that regardless of how unjust things appear now, the guilty will not go unpunished. God has the power to deal with the wicked immediately, but He does not act impulsively. He is long-suffering and slow to anger. What a wonderful aspect of God's righteous character!
God's patience was certainly demonstrated in His dealings with Nineveh. More than a hundred years before Nahum's prophecy of doom, Got sent the prophet Jonah to the wicked city of Nineveh with a warning of judgment. As a result of Jonah's preaching, Nineveh repented of her evil ways, and there was a great revival in the city. God graciously withheld His judgment from Nineveh.
But the revival was short-lived. It wasn't long before the Assyrians rejected God's mercy and returned to their wickedness. In His patience, the Lord delayed his judgment for another 150 years - but the guilty city would not go unpunished. The time of Nineveh's judgment was not far off when Nahum wrote his prophecy. Nineveh must not think that she could escape God's judgment. Just as God could disrupt the normal course of nature (1:4-5), so He would disrupt the proud and complacent Nineveh.
Nahum's message was primarily directed against Nineveh, so it was a word of encouragement for Judah. But there was a word of warning for Judah as well. They were not perfect. They were guilty of many of the same sins! Although God was slow to anger, eventually He would have to judge Judah for their increasing sins. But Judah didn’t listen and learn the lessons of Nahum's prophecy. In 586BC Jerusalem fee, the glorious Temple was destroyed, and the people were taken into exile by the Babylonians.
There is encouragement and warning in Nahum for growing Christians today. Encouragement, because we can be sure that the guilty will get what they rightly deserve. Sometimes it seems that God doesn't know or care that people are getting away with their unethical and immoral ways. However, this Scripture assures us that although God is long-suffering, His punishment of the unrighteous is sure and certain.
There is also a warning here for us. Don’t think that we Christians can get away with sin! Although the eternal penalty for our sins has been paid by Christ our Savior, the consequences of sin cannot be avoided. God is "slow to anger," but our heavenly Father must discipline us when we depart from His standards. (See 1 Corinthians 11:31-32and Hebrews 12:5-11.) If we cheat on exams or income tax returns, we will suffer the consequences. If we lie to teachers or bosses, we should expect our heavenly Father to punish us in some way - for our own good! If we steal time or tools from employers - not only do we give Christianity a black eye, but in due time we will "reap what we have sown" (Galatians 6:7). If we get involved in sexual sin, eventually we will be judged, even though the affair may be hidden pleasure now (Hebrews 11:25). The Lord is slow in His anger, but He is also sure in His punishment of sin.
The Lord is good
Verse 7 reveals another aspect of God's righteous character. He is good to His people! He defends them from the enemy.
After reading about God's anger and vengeance, we might tend to think that the Lord is not good, but that is distorted reasoning. The Lord is good! His holy wrath is concentrated against the enemies of righteousness. For His own people, He is a strong and safe refuge from the enemy.
The Lord is our strong defense
In ancient times, when an enemy approached people would run for protection to a “stronghold” - a walled city or a fortress. When King Sennacherib attacked Jerusalem, the people of Jerusalem turned to the Lord, and found Him to be a Stronghold far greater than the walls of Jerusalem. The schemes of the Assyrians against the city of God met with failure then, and the Assyrian Empire itself would be brought to a complete end in 612BC. (1:9). Unfortunately, Judah did not continue to rely on the Lord as their “Stronghold in the day of trouble.” As a result, they too eventually suffered defeat at the hands of the Babylonians.
The Lord is still a Fortress for all who trust in Him. We can turn to Him in the day of trouble, and we can know for sure that He will care for us. He knows us personally, and He will not fail those who take refuge in Him (Hebrews 13:5). Have you found the Lord to be your Stronghold in the day of trouble? There’s no problem or difficulty that is too great or too insignificant for the Lord. He wants to "comfort us in all our troubles" (2 Corinthians 1:4). All our problems are opportunities for us to trust the Lord and find that He's our good and strong and personal Defender.
- Dave Reid