Skip to main content

The Prophet to Nineveh: Why Study the Book of Nahum? Part 02




THEME OF BOOK OF NAHUM

Nahum is one of the 12 minor prophets in the Bible. Like Obadiah and Jonah, his prophecy is primarily directed to a foreign entity: Nineveh, capital of the Assyrian Empire, located in what is now known as Northern Iraq. Though this same city repented at the preaching of Jonah, 150 years later, its pride, arrogance, and sin made it ripe for irreversible judgement. It has passed the point of no return.


(Capernaum Church, near the Sea of Galilee. Capernaum means 'village of Nahum.)

In Part 02, we will learn the key verses, summary, and outline of Nahum.

KEY VERSES OF NAHUM

Nahum 1:7: The Lord is good, a strong hold in the day of trouble; and he knoweth them that trust in him.

Nahum 3:5-7: Behold, I am against thee, saith the Lord of hosts; and I will discover thy skirts upon thy face, and I will shew the nations thy nakedness, and the kingdoms thy shame. 6 And I will cast abominable filth upon thee, and make thee vile, and will set thee as a gazingstock. 7 And it shall come to pass, that all they that look upon thee shall flee from thee, and say, Nineveh is laid waste: who will bemoan her? whence shall I seek comforters for thee?

SUMMARY OF NAHUM

Like Babylon the Great, Nineveh was an impressive city. It had 200 towers, 30 metre high walls, wide enough to race 3 chariots abreast, with a 50 metre wide water-filled moat. It was meant to last forever. Yet, like Babylon, it came to a swift and final end. It was unknown to the world for centuries until an Englishman named Layard discovered it in 1820.

The Book of Nahum consists of three oracles, corresponding to its 3 chapters. The Divine Declaration: God gives Nahum a word for Nineveh: the Lord is just, righteous, good and powerful. Assyria, because of its sins, including idolatry and cruelty, will be destroyed and Judah will no longer under their imperial thumb. Visit the British Museum in London and see the carved reliefs of Mesopotamia - they show this cruelty in graphic terms.

Description: Nahum gives the vivid details of Nineveh’s destruction, as if he were watching it on a large screen, with the scarlet uniforms. Though the lion represents authority and strength, Nineveh will be the toothless lion, incapacitated and no longer a threat to anyone.

Why: Nineveh’s destruction was due to its cruelty and idolatry. Nineveh will be caught unprepared and its demise will be like Thebes in Egypt. Once destruction comes, the world will not mourn Nineveh’s passing.

Nahum prophesied in Nineveh and apparently never left. His traditional grave is on the west bank of the Tigris River. The city of Capernaum, on the northern shore of the Sea of Galilee, where Jesus had His headquarters, may have been named after him (Kefar Nahum, village of Nahum), though this is only conjecture.

Lessons for Life: No earthly empire, no matter how powerful, lasts forever. Some of history’s greatest imperial realms have seemed to be invincible but in the end they all collapse. The only enduring kingdom is the one God builds and leads.

History is written by the victor: Since the kingdom is the Lord’s, it is His Word and kingdom that lasts forever. The entire Bible is inspired by the Great Victor, the first and last word on sacred history and divine destiny.

Peace: In this midst of judgement, conflict and destruction, God proclaims peace for His people (1:15). That’s the message of Jesus of Nazareth, who is the prince of peace (Isaiah 9:6; John 14:27).

Promise: In this prophecy of Nahum, despite the horrors of judgement, is the promise that the Lord God is a stronghold in the day of trouble and He knows those who belong to him (1:7). Contrast this with Jesus’ warning ‘I never knew you,’ which is a judgement unto condemnation (Matthew 7:23).

Bottom Line: Get to know God personally (John 17:3), and make sure He knows you.

Your future depends on it.

OUTLINE OF NAHUM

I.        God the Judge and His Judgement (1:1-15)

A.     How God judges (1:2-17)
B.      Demise of Nineveh is at Hand (1:8-11, 14)
C.      Reassurance to Surviving Judah (1:12-13, 15)

II.     Declaration of Nineveh’s Fall (2:1-13)

A.     Introduction (2:1-2)
B.      Military confrontation (2:3-5)
C.      City destroyed (2:6-12)
D.     God speaks (2:13)

III.  Why Nineveh is Being Judge (3:1-19)

A.     Nineveh’s transgression (3:1-4)
B.      The justice of God (3:5-19)

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Taming the Tiger: Lessons We Can Learn from the Trials of Tiger Woods

He may be the world’s greatest and richest golfer. He may have charmed Australia during his recent tournament visit, which the Herald Sun said that he was welcomed back anytime. Then came the car crash, the rumors, followed by a parade of girlfriends coming out of the woodwork. The revelations did not come as a drip-drip but more like a deluge. Tiger Woods, with that big winning smile, winning swing, and clean-cut family friendly image had been revealed as a serial adulterer. You don’t even have to have an interest in golf to know that Tiger Woods was a golfing winner -- but now he looks like a humiliated loser on the home front. He may have gained the whole world but lost his marriage. Apart from being fodder for late night talkshow hosts and some humorous headlines like: Tiger or Cheetah? Tiger Shows His True Stripes Too Crowded in Tiger’s Lair Lust in the Woods Some incredibly serious issue emerge. CELEBRITY STATUS : Society is enamoured with celebrities and success; in m...

The Shooting of Donald Trump: Who’s To Blame?

Part One of Two Parts It was only a matter of time. This dreadful event had been predicted and prophesied. Prayer alerts went out to pray for supernatural protection. Then, on Saturday night, July 13th 2024, at an outdoor campaign rally for Donald Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania, several shots rang out. Pandemonium briefly ensued, and three men in the audience were hit. One of the men, Corey Camperatori, 50, an ex-fire chief, an enthusUS Election,iastic churchgoer and a family man, was fatally wounded while using his body to shield his wife and daughter. The other two were seriously injured but expected to recover. A bullet hit Trump but grazed his right ear; he missed death by millimetres.   What was at stake was more than the life of a prominent politician. America’s future hung in the balance with the prospect of civil war not far away. Unfortunately, assassinations and attempted assassinations are not a new phenomena. Four US Presidents were assassinated: Abraham Lincoln (1865); ...

Middle East At War? Insights from Zechariah 12

We have been exploring the topic of today's Middle East war and how it compares with end-time prophecy. One of the prophetic signs Jesus predicted in the days before His second coming was ‘ wars and rumours of wars ’ (Matthew 24:6). Tragic as it may be, on the positive side it is part of the birth pangs of the coming kingdom. One of the key prophets regarding the last days and Armageddon is Zechariah, He gave some great prophecies of the first coming of Jesus (like the triumphal entry into Jerusalem riding on a donkey and His betrayal for thirty pieces of silver). Here is a key prophecy about the events leading to the second coming of Christ: Behold, I will make Jerusalem a cup of trembling unto all the people round about, when they shall be in the siege both against Judah and against Jerusalem. 3 And in that day will I make Jerusalem a burdensome stone for all people: all that burden themselves with it shall be cut in pieces, though all the people of the earth be gathered together...