Nahum 1
January 11
Reading: Nahum 1
1 An oracle concerning Nineveh. The book of the vision of Nahum of Elkosh.
2 The LORD is a jealous and avenging God;
the LORD is avenging and wrathful;
the LORD takes vengeance on his adversaries
and keeps wrath for his enemies.
3 The LORD is slow to anger and great in power,
and the LORD will by no means clear the guilty.
His way is in whirlwind and storm,
and the clouds are the dust of his feet.
4 He rebukes the sea and makes it dry;
he dries up all the rivers;
Bashan and Carmel wither;
the bloom of Lebanon withers.
5 The mountains quake before him;
the hills melt; the earth heaves before him,
the world and all who dwell in it.
6 Who can stand before his indignation?
Who can endure the heat of his anger?
His wrath is poured out like fire,
and the rocks are broken into pieces by him.
7 The LORD is good, a stronghold in the day of trouble;
he knows those who take refuge in him.
8 But with an overflowing flood
he will make a complete end of the adversaries,
and will pursue his enemies into darkness.
9 What do you plot against the LORD?
He will make a complete end;
trouble will not rise up a second time.
10 For they are like entangled thorns,
like drunkards as they drink;
they are consumed like stubble fully dried.
11 From you came one
who plotted evil against the LORD,
a worthless counselor.
12 Thus says the LORD,
"Though they are at full strength and many,
they will be cut down and pass away.
Though I have afflicted you,
I will afflict you no more.
13 And now I will break his yoke from off you
and will burst your bonds apart."
14 The LORD has given commandment about you:
"No more shall your name be perpetuated;
from the house of your gods
I will cut off the carved image and the metal image.
I will make your grave, for you are vile."
15 Behold, upon the mountains, the feet of him
who brings good news,
who publishes peace!
Keep your feasts, O Judah;
fulfill your vows,
for never again shall the worthless pass through you;
he is utterly cut off.
One-hundred years after the prophet Jonah, the generation of Ninevites who repented was dead and gone. Nineveh was an ancient and proud city on the banks of the Tigris River in northeastern Mesopotamia, modern day Iraq. It had been founded by the warrior-hunter Nimrod. (Genesis 10:8-12) It was the capital of an empire, Assyria, which had laid waste to Israel. They were the bloodthirsty terror of all the Middle East. Thus, God has something to say to Nineveh through the prophet Nahum.
Nahum prophesied during the reign of good King Josiah of Judah.
Like what we find in Isaiah 13-23, Nahum is a prophetic oracle against a nation, the nation of Assyria. As great and terrifying as Assyria is, God is greater and more terrifying. Though He appointed Nineveh to judge Israel, He will avenge what Nineveh has done to Israel.
While Jonah emphasized the mercy and compassion of the Lord, Nahum emphasizes the vengeance and judgment of the Lord. Nahum 1:3 reminds us of what we read in Exodus 34:7.
The LORD, the LORD God, compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in lovingkindness and truth; who keeps lovingkindness for thousands, who forgives iniquity, transgression and sin; yet He will by no means leave the guilty unpunished, visiting the iniquity of fathers on the children and on the grandchildren to the third and fourth generations.
No matter how great and powerful a person or nation, you do not want to tangle with Yahweh in His wrath. (vss. 4-8) He is a stronghold for those who take refuge in Him. (vs. 7) But for those who do not, be fearful. Whatever plans you might devise against the Lord, He will foil them and destroy you. (vss. 9-13)
So, the Lord is going to destroy Assyria and their gods. (vs. 14) And the Lord is going to restore Israel because He is their God. (vs. 15)