Nahum: Payday, Someday

The Message of Nahum: Nineveh will be destroyed! Almost every verse from 1:15-3:19 describes that event which took place in 612 B.C.

The Ninevites had not transmitted their knowledge of the true God to their children (after Jonah’s preaching 100 years before), and the people had quickly reverted to their cruel and heathen practices.

Nahum briefly describes Nineveh’s wickedness in 3:1, 4. God had to destroy such an apostate people.

Key Passage

⁷The Lord is good, A stronghold in the day of trouble,
And He knows those who take refuge in Him.
⁸But with an overflowing flood He will make a complete end of its site,
And will pursue His enemies into darkness.
Nahum 1:7-8 (NASB)

Available Lessons

Content Outline

Setting and Timeline

“Nahum forms a sequel to the Book of Jonah, who prophesied over a century earlier.

The prophecy brought comfort to Judah and all who feared the cruel Assyrians.

Nahum said Nineveh would end ‘with an overflowing flood’ (1:8), and this happened when the Tigris River overflowed to destroy enough of the walls to let the Babylonians through.

Nahum also predicted that the city would be hidden (3:11). After its destruction in 612 B.C., the site was not rediscovered until 1842 A.D.”
Dr. John MacArthur

“His name (Nahum) means ‘comfort’ or ‘compassion’, and his message of Assyria’s doom would certainly have comforted the people of Judah who had suffered because of Assyria.

The Assyrians had taken the northern kingdom of Israel in 722 and dispersed the people; and then they tried to take Judah in the days of Hezekiah (701), but were defeated by the angel of the Lord (Isa. 37).

Assyria was always looming over the tiny kingdom of Judah, and having these ruthless people out of the way would have greatly bettered Judah’s situation.”
Dr. Warren Wiersbe

“The minor prophecy of Nahum is about the fall of Nineveh. The destruction of Nineveh was far greater than that of the cities I have mentioned– in fact, probably greater than that of any city in the entire history of the world.

Nineveh became the embodiment of human violence and conquest. Babylon stands for the warfare of man against God. Nineveh stands for the warfare of man against his fellow human beings.

The great city had existed almost from the beginning of time. Within 90 years of Sennacherib’s encampment before Jerusalem’s walls, Nineveh, the largest city in the world, was overthrown– never to be inhabited again.”
Dr. James Montgomery Boice

“Under the preaching of Jonah, Assyria’s capital had repented of her sin and been spared God’s judgment.

But a newly rebellious generation arose and went back on the warpath against the Israelites. About forty years after Jonah, Assyria invaded Israel. That’s when God moved Nahum to announce that Assyria’s days were numbered , and to comfort God’s people with the assurance that the Lord would bring all nations to justice in His time.

We all face storms in life. Nahum reminds us that God is not absent in the storm. Though the skies grow dark, the wind howls, and the dust files, God never loses sight of His children. He sees our plight, and He is fully in control.”
Dr. David Jeremiah

“The book of Nahum is a collection of poems announcing the downfall of Assyria, one of Israel’s worst oppressors.

Referencing Daniel, Exodus, Isaiah and Babylon, Nahum shows us that the destruction of Nineveh and Assyria are examples of how God works in history in every age.

He is committed to justice and will not allow any arrogant, violent or evil nation to endure forever. However, while He defeats evil, He is also good and cares for the innocent.

He will provide a refuge on the day of distress for anyone who humbles himself before God, believes in God’s justice and trusts that in His time He will bring down oppressors in every time and place.”
The Bible Project

About the Author

References

The Minor Prophets Volume 2 (Micah – Malachi): An Expositional Commentary by James Montgomery Boice
Be Amazed: an OT Commentary on the Minor Prophets by Warren W. Wiersbe
The MacArthur Bible Commentary: by John MacArthur
The Bible Project: Nahum