Bible Overview: Nahum
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Author: Nahum
Author: Nahum
An oracle concerning Nineveh. The book of the vision of Nahum of Elkosh.
“Nahum” means comforter.
Elkoshite probably means he was from the town of Elkosh. The location of Elkosh is unknown.
a site in Assyria (Al Qosh) — this would mean that Nahum was a prophet of the LORD taken captive by Assyria when the Northern Kingdom of Israel fell.
a site southwest of Jerusalem, near Micah’s town of Moresheth
Capernaum (literally, village of Nahum), later Jesus’s hometown on the west side of the Sea of Galilee.
Date: 650 B.C.
Date: 650 B.C.
Two events in the book give us a range of possible dates for Nahum’s prophecy.
The destruction of Thebes (also called No-amon, “populous No” in KJV) in 663 B.C. (Mentioned in Nahum 3:8-10 )
Are you better than Thebes that sat by the Nile, with water around her, her rampart a sea, and water her wall? Cush was her strength; Egypt too, and that without limit; Put and the Libyans were her helpers. Yet she became an exile; she went into captivity; her infants were dashed in pieces at the head of every street; for her honored men lots were cast, and all her great men were bound in chains.
The destruction of Nineveh in 612 B.C. (Referred to throughout the book as future; see Nahum 3:18-19 )
Your shepherds are asleep, O king of Assyria; your nobles slumber. Your people are scattered on the mountains with none to gather them. There is no easing your hurt; your wound is grievous. All who hear the news about you clap their hands over you. For upon whom has not come your unceasing evil?
So sometime between these events, Nahum is writing about the coming destruction of Nineveh.
Quote about the destruction of Thebes (No-Amon)
In 663 B.C. the Assyrians celebrated the greatest triumph in their whole history. King Ashurbanipal conquered the capital of Upper Egypt No-Amun, which the Greeks called Thebes. According to Homer it had 100 gates and until then it had been regarded as impregnable. It was an event which caused an enormous stir in the world of the ancient orient, in the “Fertile Crescent” itself and as far as Greece. The Assyrians plundered the metropolis, whose temples contained boundless wealth. “I conquered the whole city… silver, gold, precious stones, the whole contents of its palace, coloured vestments, linen, magnificent horses, slaves, both men and women, two great obelisks of shining bronze weighing 2,500 talents; I took the temple gates from their place and brought them to Assyria. Enormous spoils of priceless worth did I take with me from Thebes,” exulted Ashurbanipal.
Theme: God’s judgment on Assyria and all people who proudly exalt themselves and oppress others.
Theme: God’s judgment on Assyria and all people who proudly exalt themselves and oppress others.
Summary:
Summary:
1. The character of God: wrath and mercy
1. The character of God: wrath and mercy
2. The coming destruction of Nineveh
2. The coming destruction of Nineveh
3. The woe to Nineveh.
3. The woe to Nineveh.
Key Verses
Key Verses
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. 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. He rebukes the sea and makes it dry; he dries up all the rivers; Bashan and Carmel wither; the bloom of Lebanon withers. The mountains quake before him; the hills melt; the earth heaves before him, the world and all who dwell in it. 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. The Lord is good, a stronghold in the day of trouble; he knows those who take refuge in him. But with an overflowing flood he will make a complete end of the adversaries, and will pursue his enemies into darkness.
Compare v. 2-8 with Exodus 34:6-7
The Lord passed before him and proclaimed, “The Lord, the Lord, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, but who will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children and the children’s children, to the third and the fourth generation.”
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.
allusion to Isaiah 52:7
How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him who brings good news, who publishes peace, who brings good news of happiness, who publishes salvation, who says to Zion, “Your God reigns.”
and Romans 10:15 quotes this as well:
And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!”
Nahum 2:13 (ESV)
Behold, I am against you, declares the Lord of hosts...
Nahum 3:5 (ESV)
Behold, I am against you, declares the Lord of hosts...
Are you better than Thebes that sat by the Nile, with water around her, her rampart a sea, and water her wall? Cush was her strength; Egypt too, and that without limit; Put and the Libyans were her helpers. Yet she became an exile; she went into captivity; her infants were dashed in pieces at the head of every street; for her honored men lots were cast, and all her great men were bound in chains.
Your shepherds are asleep, O king of Assyria; your nobles slumber. Your people are scattered on the mountains with none to gather them. There is no easing your hurt; your wound is grievous. All who hear the news about you clap their hands over you. For upon whom has not come your unceasing evil?
Application
Application
God hates pride and violence, so don’t be proud or violent!
God hates pride and violence, so don’t be proud or violent!
God hates pride and violence, and he will bring down any nation or person that exalts himself or oppresses others. He has done this over and over throughout history, and he will do this finally and completely on the coming day of judgment. Make sure that you are not opposed to God or mistreating others. (1 Peter 5:5-6)
Likewise, you who are younger, be subject to the elders. Clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility toward one another, for “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.”
Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you,
God is merciful to those who trust in him.
God is merciful to those who trust in him.
God always preserves a remnant. Be one of those who humble themselves and trust in him, and he promises you his mercy. Nahum 1:7
The Lord is good, a stronghold in the day of trouble; he knows those who take refuge in him.
New Living Translation Chapter 1
7 The LORD is good,
a strong refuge when trouble comes.
He is close to those who trust in him.