Key Themes in Nahum

Outline

1:1                    Title

The coming judgment of Nineveh

1:2-6                The wrath and power of the Lord

1:7-11              The coming judgment of Nineveh

1:12-14            Assyria will no longer oppress Judah

1:15                  The comfort of this message for Judah

2:1-10              Nineveh will be besieged

2:11-13            Nineveh portrayed as a pride of lions

3:1-7                Nineveh portrayed as a disgraced prostitute

3:8-11              Nineveh will be conquered like Thebes

3:12-13            Nineveh’s defences are unprepared

3:14-17            Preparations for the siege

3:18-19            Nineveh will be destroyed because of her sin

Background and setting

We know very little about the prophet Nahum. He is not mentioned elsewhere in the Bible; and all we are told in this book is that he is called Nahum the Elkoshite (1:1), presumably someone who came from Elkosh (possibly Al-Qosh, about 30 miles north of modern Mosul in Iraq). The references to Bashan, Carmel and Lebanon suggest a knowledge of the northern kingdom (1:4), but Nahum might also have been a professional prophet attached to Jerusalem. While we cannot be certain of Nahum’s background or where he ministered God’s word, we do know that he predicted the fall of Nineveh, the capital of Assyria, which happened in 612 bc. We also know that Nahum refers to Assyria’s attack on Thebes, in Egypt, as something that had already taken place (3:8-10); and we know the date for that event was 664 bc. So it is likely that Nahum ministered at some time between 664 and 612 bc, beginning his public ministry in the latter days of King Manasseh of Judah and continuing through the early days of King Josiah (628–609 bc).

Themes and relevance

There are two main themes in Nahum:

1. God’s sovereignty over the nations

A prophecy concerning Nineveh (1:1) may seem to be an irrelevant subject for a twenty-first century Christian to consider, but Nineveh was the capital of Assyria, an aggressive superpower that was a constant threat and danger to God’s people. In Nahum’s time Assyria had already overrun the north of Israel, and taken many of God’s people into exile. They were also a threat and menace to God’s people in the south, in Judah. Aggressive superpowers, and the persecution of God’s people, are part of today’s world in which we see echoes of the imperialistic intentions of Assyria and Nineveh in the seventh century bc. Thus Nahum’s prophecy continues to have relevance today because it brings both the promise of God’s judgment and a message of hope and encouragement for God’s people. It deals with issues that modern Christians have to face up to, and circumstances that are not unlike those that Christians face today. It’s a message about the real world.

2. God’s just judgment

It seems clear that Nahum is predicting the fall of Nineveh and the collapse of the superpower Assyria at a time when it must have seemed highly unlikely – but Nineveh was destroyed exactly as Nahum predicted, and Assyria disappeared as a world power and was never a threat to Israel again (1:8, 12-15; 2–3).

There are, however, some who object to the main thrust of Nahum’s vision (1:1). They cannot believe that the loving God and Father of the Lord Jesus Christ can rightly be described as a jealous and avenging God who takes vengeance and is filled with wrath (1:2). But both the Old and the New Testaments reveal the one true God who is a God of wrath as well as a God of love; a God who is both stern and kind (Ro 11:22). Nahum has much to say about the wrath of God and his judgments, but he also speaks about the Lord’s mercy and grace: The Lord is slow to anger … the Lord is good, a refuge in times of trouble. He cares for those who trust in him (1:3, 7). Nahum’s vision is a message of special interest because it sets out so clearly and rationally the character of God and the theological foundation for the doctrine of judgment. That foundation is laid down in the first chapter, where we learn that the Lord is a God who is angry (1:1-6) as well as a God who is good (1:7-15). Nahum then builds on that foundation by illustrating the principles of God’s providence in relation to judgment and salvation in the contemporary story of the downfall of the superpower Assyria and the destruction of its capital city Nineveh.

Those of us who are called to teach and preach in the local church, whether we teach adults or children, have a solemn responsibility to teach appropriately or aptly the ‘whole will of God’ (Ac 20:27) – including a message of judgment when necessary. Such a message is clearly set out in the book of Nahum. We must have the courage, as he did, to teach it with boldness. We must also have the compassion to teach it with tears.

This blog post is extracted out of the NIV Bible Speaks Today Bible - an essential resource for preachers, small group leaders and all students of the Bible.