Nahum

Bible study with Pastor Terry Gray


Book of Nahum
- Sequel to the Book of Jonah
- Jonah's warning to Nineveh brought forth the greatest revival in history: 600,000 people of that city got saved.
- Nahum prophesied to the Ninevites 150 years after Jonah


Prophet Nahum
- Name means the comforter or consoler: not comforting to Assyrians! But, comforting to God's people! Comforting because it emphasizes that God takes care of His people.
- Preaches to Nineveh in 639 BC, when Nineveh was at its zenith. Nineveh by then had become a powerful city run by cruel tyrants


Brief Background History
Assyrian had become a super power. Nineveh was its most powerful city--Huge and rich. By this time, they had already destroyed the Northern Kingdom. The Southern Kingdom was still around but in constant fear of the Assyrians. God's people were living in absolute fear of the Assyrians.


Inspiration: God sent at least two prophets to the Ninevites. This second recorded time, God sent Nahum, when Nineveh had become the world's super power, the most powerful city on Earth! To those wondering how God could use Assyrians to judge Israel and then to just turn Assyria over to other nations (as recorded in Isaiah, Habakkuk), look here! God also sent prophets to Assyria so that it could have not one but at least two chances to repent! After the first recorded warning (Jonah), the Ninevites repented, and God withheld His judgment. The second time, however, the Ninevites weren't so quick to repent. In fact, they got so proud because of their prosperity, their heart was hardened against God.


Nahum 1:12-2:13
Nahum preaches about 4 events:


1. Assyrians think they are secure by they are not. Assyrians were smug and proud of their security and prosperity. But, God's wrath is coming.


2. There is going to be drunkenness.


3. There is going to be a flood.


4. There is going to be fire.


In 612-605 BC, a couple of decades after Nahum's prophesy, these 4 events all came true. The Babylon formed a legion with other nations and took them down. The Assyrians were so smug, they didn't think they could be taken down. They instead held parties and stayed drunk despite threat of war.


During that time, rainstorms were so severe, the rivers flooded and destroyed a portion of the Ninevah's city walls. The Babylon army took advantage of this and broke through to slaughter the Assyrians. The Assyrian king, seeing it was futile to fight, killed himself with fire. The fire further destroyed the kingdom palace. Nineveh was subsequently wiped out completely. Totally leveled.


When Alexander the Great, having heard about Nineveh, went to visit the city, there was no evidence of there ever been a city! And hundreds of years later, people would mock the Bible and taunt, "If Ninevah was so great, where is the evidence of its great civilization?" Doubters, doubters, doubters, when will you ever learn the Truth in the Word of God? In 1845, archeologists finally found Nineveh and excavated it.


Nahum 3
Nahum prophesied that Assyria would be destroyed the way they destroyed others. They were cruel and brutal, and they died a cruel and brutal death. There will be a great rejoicing when they are overtaken. This is not the rejoicing of "Ha! You deserved it." This is a rejoicing of justice finally being served--the same kind of rejoicing when the Nazis were taken down.


Inspirations:


God is merciful. God is compassionate. And, God reaches out to save.
This isn't the first time God sent a prophet to Nineveh. Jonah was first sent (and I'm sure Jonah would have much rather preached Nahum's message). And when the Ninevites repented upon hearing Jonah's message, God withheld His judgment! God gives everyone all the chances that person is willing to receive. That is, when our heart gets hardened enough to a point where we simply no longer wish to hear the Word, the only thing left to do is for us to receive the judgment we deserve.


Remember that we are all sinners who deserve death and judgment. Remember that Jesus died in our place and was judged in our place so that we do not have to suffer through God's judgment.


When we refuse God's mercy given to us at Christ's expense, we must realize we are, at the same time, accepting our fate to drink from the cup of wrath.


To those who are quick to say, "I am fine with dying for my own sins. I don't need the blood of any innocent man to cleanse me. I can pay myself," I'd like to offer two points: 1) Say this with conviction AFTER you have learnt what Hell really is; 2) You and Satan share similar thoughts.


God is a holy God who judges.
When a person or a nation exhausts ALL chances given to repent, judgement comes. That is what happened to Nineveh. They COMPLETELY rejected God, and so, judgment came. What else is there to do? God can tolerate only so much injustice before the injustice does more harm than good. Think about the Nazis. Could any of us imagine a world where they were allowed to keep doing what they did? When there is no hope for change, judgment must come to protect the righteous and the innocent.


God takes care of His people!
Satan is our greatest enemy. He brings havoc to our world. Christians are persecuted by enemies of God. It's not easy being a Christian. But, God will one day throw Satan and those who stand with him into the lake of fire, because God is just.