Nahum 1: The Twelve Series

 (SLIDE) As we ended our study of the prophets to Israel, we concluded with the book of Micah, who was the transitional prophet...the final prophet to Israel and the first voice of warning to Judah...as we turn today to the short book of Nahum (three chapters, forty-seven verses), we find a two-edged sword: a word of certain judgment to the nation of Assyria, but a word of comfort to Judah...this slide is included to remind us that God chose Assyria as an instrument of judgment against the apostate northern kingdom of Israel, resulting in their exile in 722 BC, and the capture of many of the fortified cities of Judah about 701 BC, but not the conquest of Jerusalem, which was saved through divine intervention as recorded in II Kings 18 and 19... 

(SLIDE) As we turn to Judah, you’ll see Nahum as the second green bar above the timeline, about halfway between 700 BC and 600 BC...let’s dive into this book...what do we know about it? Let’s look at verse 1...

1An oracle concerning Nineveh. The book of the vision of Nahum of Elkosh.

Topic and structure: This brief book has an equally brief topical statement...the text simply says it’s about Nineveh, the capital of Assyria...what we know from other OT books, and extrabiblical historical sources, is that the Assyrians were the superpower of what we would call today the Middle East, and were renowned for their military might and their cruelty; they are mentioned frequently in the OT, in 5 of the 12 minor prophets and 3 of the 4 major prophets, all except Daniel...what the oracle says about Nineveh we shall see shortly...also, Nahum is the only prophetic book of the OT that describes itself with that word, the Hebrew word ‘seper’ (pronounced ‘say fair’) -- most of the other prophets were at least initially preachers, and their oral judgments or statements were later collected into written form...Nahum, on the other hand, apparently wrote a book right from the start... 

Author: The author is Nahum, which means “comfort”...other than that, we know almost nothing about him, other than what we can deduce from the text he wrote...some commentators have called him the “poet laureate among the Minor Prophets” for his use of more than a dozen literary devices to convey the contents of the oracle...

Location: The text says he is from the town of Elkosh, which remains unknown to us today as to its exact location...

Date: Based on the text itself, the date falls between 663 BC, which we know is the date of the fall of Thebes, the capital of Egypt, which is spoken of in 3.8-10 as a past event, and the fall of Nineveh, which is spoken of as a future event, which we know happened in 612 BC...between those dates, a range of 51 years, there’s very little that helps us to establish the date with more precision, based on the text or ancient history...

Theme: There is one overarching theme to this short oracle -- (CUE) the sovereignty of God presented in both His judgment of the wicked and His salvation of the righteous...for many, this is a startling book, so much so that some misguided scholars have called Nahum a false prophet and the book unsuited for inclusion in the canon of the OT...that assessment is without merit...there’s no reason to doubt the canonicity of this book...and there’s nothing in the content that is contradictory to the rest of Scripture...in fact, we’ll see that this book is consistent with not just the rest of the OT, but the NT, too...this deep truth about God and His ways is exemplified in the relationship between Assyria, particularly Nineveh, and Judah, and is understood in covenant language...it’s important to remember that context as we look at the text of the book...so let’s jump in

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.

From the very beginning of the book, Nahum declares the identity of Yahweh given to him...a fitting description of God in this passage would be to understand Him as a divine Warrior...God tells the prophet to tell His people that He is jealous, vengeful, and wrathful, and that His vengeance and wrath would fall upon God’s enemies (CUE God’s vengeance enemies)...and this second verse is what the world will not believe...Gregory Cook said it well...(SLIDE)...God reveals Himself...our call is to accept and believe what He says

This description of God is not opposed to the God of the New Testament...the conclusion that the God of the OT, described here in Nahum and throughout the OT, is a different God from the Jesus of the NT is a heresy of the highest order...it is a perversion of the truth, but it is not new...Marcion, a second-century heretical teacher, held and taught the view that the God of the OT was inferior to Jesus as the God of the NT, rejecting the unity of the Godhead as taught by the Scripture...the ancient church father, Polycarp, was said to have called Marcion the “firstborn of Satan” for this teaching, and Marcion was expelled from the church in 144 AD...and it persists in various forms even to this day...

So how are we to understand this passage? Is this harsh description of God really consistent with the New Testament?

Let’s compare this to the words of Jesus from the NT...Matthew 22.36-40 (SLIDE)

36 “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” 37 And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. 38 This is the great and first commandment. 39 And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. 40 On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.”

If you just look at this passage, it seems to be inconsistent with a passage like Nahum 1.2...in Matthew, Jesus focuses on love, for God first and for our neighbors, while Nahum emphasizes God’s vengeance and wrath...yet Jesus explicitly links this teaching with the Old Testament, saying that the Law and Prophets are consistent with this truth...He doesn’t allow for some sort of separation between the teaching of the Law and the Prophets and His own, but instead claims they hang together, they are of a single piece... 

For the first and most important commandment, (SLIDE) Jesus quotes Deuteronomy 6.5...

4 “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. 5 You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. 

For the second commandment, Jesus quotes a portion of Leviticus 19.18...He focuses on our relationships with others, giving us a positive command...but let’s look at the entire verse...(SLIDE)

18 You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against the sons of your own people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the Lord.

Notice the first half of the verse...people are not permitted to take vengeance against others, to bear a grudge that will ripen into hateful or violent actions against others...whether God is speaking in the OT, or Jesus is teaching in the New, the message for humanity is the same...we are to act toward each other in love and grace, a principle found throughout the entire Scripture...yet Jesus does not reject the idea of vengeance...we’ll see why in just a moment...

But one might question, “what about the requirements of the Law, that mandated punishment, even capital punishment, for infractions of God’s Law? Is that not vengeance?” No...there is certainly justice in the Old Testament, and the authority and responsibility to exercise that justice is delegated to people by God’s Law...but that justice can’t be rightly described as vengeance...

We are not to take vengeance for a wrong done to us, nor hold a grudge, hating our brother, letting that anger build and grow...but instead, we are to love our neighbor as ourselves...

How can we do that, in a world so focused on self, and our rights, and so little emphasis on our responsibilities to show love, forgiveness, and grace to others? We do it because as believers, we understand the weight of the last phrase of the verse: I am the Lord. A right understanding of Who God is teaches us not just our right relationship to Him, but to others as well...it transforms us from people bent on exacting an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, into people who will turn the right cheek when struck on the left, who will walk two miles when compelled to only walk one...how can we do that? Because we have been completely and utterly changed by the Holy Spirit...for He is the Lord...

So is there any place for wrath and vengeance? Oh, yes...but it is not for us to take...our God is an avenging God, a jealous God, a God of wrath against His adversaries and His enemies...(SLIDE) hear the words of Paul in Romans 12.19-21...

19 Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” 20 To the contrary, “if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.” 21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

Paul’s advice when you would like to be an avenger? Leave it to God...let Him exercise His wrath, for He says that’s His work, not ours...and no one can do it like He can...how can we feed and give drink to our enemies, acting toward them in kindness and love? Because we know that ultimately, if they deserve God’s vengeance, they shall receive it in full...our role is not to overcome evil with the weapons the world says we should use -- hatred, vengeance, wrath, violence -- but with the goodness that comes from God...

But Paul didn’t write that himself, of course...(SLIDE) he was quoting Deuteronomy 32.35-36a...

35 Vengeance is mine, and recompense, 
  for the time when their foot shall slip;
for the day of their calamity is at hand,
  and their doom comes swiftly.’
36 For the Lord will vindicate his people
  and have compassion on his servants,

From this passage we see the two-sided truth of this passage that is evident throughout the book of Nahum: God will bring forth wrath and vengeance against His enemies, but those who are His, His people and His servants, as Deuteronomy says, will instead see His compassion and His vindication...also, this is the text for the most famous sermon ever preached in America, “Sinners in the hands of an angry God,” preached by Jonathan Edwards on July 8th, 1741, in Enfield, Connecticut, sparking the First Great Awakening...this is a message we need to hear today, too...

How is it possible that we can obey the words of Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount, (SLIDE) Matthew 5.43-45a?

43 “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ 44 But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45 so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. 

(CUE) we are to love our enemies Because we know that vengeance is not ours to take...to quote Leviticus 19, we are told by God “you are not to take vengeance”...we are to love and forgive and pray in grace and mercy, seeking peace when others seek wrath, loving our neighbors as ourselves, even loving our enemies...but at the same time, Nahum 1 says “the Lord takes vengeance”...we can trust God to bring about vengeance as only He can, in perfect righteousness and justice, the kind of righteousness and justice of which, frankly, we are not capable...when we are wronged, we can trust in our Father to sort out what is right...in His way, and in His time...have faith in Him and His sovereign wisdom and power...

Jesus, Paul, Moses, and Nahum all agree -- ours is to love and forgive, His is to execute vengeance as He sees fit...

What else do we learn about our great God from this important chapter?

3 The Lord is slow to anger and great in power,
  and the Lord will by no means clear the guilty.

Aren’t you glad God doesn’t operate on emotion as we often do? That His anger is set to “simmer” not “boil” -- He is long-suffering, patient, enduring in His grace and mercy...and His power is great, great enough to be patient with lost, rebellious sinners without utterly destroying them, while still preparing a way for their redemption...He is both vengeful and loving, and in fact, both must exist together...He loves us enough to discipline us with severe compassion in order to return us to Himself...what feels to us like punishment is actually redeeming love, though we must admit we don’t see it that way...and He will ultimately judge with vengeance and wrath those who, with hardened hearts, have shaken their fists at Him, have drawn His people into idolatry and sin, have dishonored His Name, and have, like Assyria, like Babylon, mocked the Almighty God, and tried to take for themselves the glory due only to the Lord of all creation...those He knows are His adversaries, His enemies, will experience only His vengeance and wrath, and by His Hand, they will be utterly and completely destroyed...Holy is His Name!

One more word on this verse...it is a near-direct quote from two other OT references, Exodus 34.6-7 first, but more directly, (SLIDE) Numbers 14.17-18, which reads...

17 And now, please let the power of the Lord be great as you have promised, saying, 18 ‘The Lord is slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, forgiving iniquity and transgression, but he will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, to the third and the fourth generation.’ 

In Numbers 14.17-18, Moses pleads with God not to destroy the nation of Israel after they have stubbornly refused to enter the promised land because of their lack of faith...Moses knew, as we do from His word, that the Lord is patient and loving and forgiving, but that He will not clear -- forgive -- the guilty...Moses acknowledged that God knew who were His own and who were not, while we do not...and Moses asked that God’s great power would be made manifest as He rightly dealt with all the nation...

Now, in Nahum, the prophet doesn’t ask for the Lord’s power to be great, he declares that it is great...for God has forgiven Judah’s sins of idolatry and apostasy, and He will judge Assyria for their contempt of God Himself, and their cruelty toward Israel...He is the Divine Warrior, and He will be victorious...

Now let’s see another description of the Lord...starting in the second half of verse 3...

3 His way is in whirlwind and storm,
  and the clouds are the dust of his feet.
4 He rebukes the sea and makes it dry;
  he dries up all the rivers;
Bashan and Carmel wither;
  the bloom of Lebanon withers.
5 The mountains quake before him;
  the hills melt;
the earth heaves before him,
  the world and all who dwell in it.
6 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.

This is a poetic description of the omnipotent God as the heavenly Warrior coming to earth to do battle with evil...it’s a good example of the literary skill Nahum brings to this book, but we need to understand that it’s accurate as well as poetic...the awesome power, and majesty, and authority of God this passage describes echoes other OT passages, such as Job 38 through 41, where God speaks to Job out of a whirlwind...in Isaiah 66, as the prophet describes the final judgment of God...and it’s a favored metaphor in the books of the Twelve, being used five times...

Several of these verses refer back to events in the Exodus period, such as verse 4, as Nahum recalls that God parted the Red Sea for the children of Israel to cross, and dried up the Jordan River as the people crossed from east to west, into Canaan...here he reminds this new generation of God’s authority and power over creation...also in verse 4, Nahum refers to Bashan and Carmel withering, the bloom of Lebanon in the north of Israel...both these locations were known for their fruitfulness, for their trees and pasturelands...here, God’s presence causes them to wither...then earthquakes, so much so that the land could be said to heave, with rocks being broken apart in the process...

His power is undeniable, using storms, drought, earthquakes, and fire as pictures of His wrath...whirlwinds, drought and heat drying up both salt water and fresh water in His anger...and the earth itself convulsing in His presence...total destruction as though by fire...(CUE for sovereign nature) though this power is incredible, more is yet to come as the Warrior God turns from creation to humanity...

Now for one verse, verse 7, we turn back from what God does to a description of Who God is, similar to verses 2 and 3a...

7 The Lord is good,
  a stronghold in the day of trouble;
he knows those who take refuge in him.

This is a word of encouragement for those who know the Lord, who seek Him...but we need to understand this verse as one side of a two-sided truth...the Lord is good to those who are His, who honor and follow Him...to them He is a stronghold, a tower to which they run for defense and protection...(SLIDE) listen to Psalm 9.9...

9 The Lord is a stronghold for the oppressed,
  a stronghold in times of trouble. (CUE refuge of safety)

But (SLIDE) Proverbs 10.29 speaks to the other side of this truth...

The way of the Lord is a stronghold to the blameless, but destruction to evildoers.

He is a stronghold to the blameless, but for those who hate the Lord, He is a consuming fire, and the stronghold that is a tower of refuge for the righteous becomes to the wicked a (CUE) promise of their destruction, as we see in verse 8 and following...

8 But with an overflowing flood
he will make a complete end of the adversaries,
  and will pursue his enemies into darkness.
9 What do you plot against the Lord?
  He will make a complete end;
  trouble will not rise up a second time.
10 For they are like entangled thorns,
  like drunkards as they drink;
  they are consumed like stubble fully dried.
11 From you came one
  who plotted evil against the Lord,
  a worthless counselor.
12 Thus says the Lord,
“Though they are at full strength and many,
  they will be cut down and pass away.

This passage describes the end of those who rebel against the rightful sovereign reign of God (CUE sovereign over humanity)...let’s examine verse 8 in some detail...the Lord will destroy them with an overflowing flood...this could be seen as only a figurative statement...but what we know from ancient history shows us how completely God fulfills His word...as He tells us (SLIDE) in Jeremiah 1.12...

12 Then the Lord said to me, “You have seen well, for I am watching over my word to perform it.”

God will accomplish His word...to the letter...and as an example of God’s destruction of His enemies, we have only to look to Nineveh...what we know from historical accounts of the fall of Nineveh is that the city was finally taken in 612 BC by an alliance of the Medes and Babylonians, aided by an unexpected flood of the Tigris River that flowed through the city...the flood itself is known...what is not known is the exact cause...I think the word of God gives us the answer...

Also, a single phrase is repeated in verses 8 and 9 in the ESV translation: “a complete end” ... an interesting choice of words...and what we know from history bears out the Scripture...after the destruction of Nineveh, a small remnant of Assyrians remained, but the last record of their existence ends in 605 BC...much evidence in the form of cities, ruins, and other archaeological proof still exists today of the Egyptian, Babylonian, Greek, and Roman civilizations, but until the discovery in 1845 of the ruins of Nineveh, there was virtually no record that the Assyrian empire existed, though it is mentioned hundreds of times in Scripture...when God decides to make a complete end of something, that’s exactly what He does...ultimately, the Assyrian empire was destroyed as thoroughly as a thorn bush when it is burned, which leaves almost no trace of ash...

Following this prophecy, God returns to His promises to His wayward people...

Though I have afflicted you,
  I will afflict you no more.
13 And now I will break his yoke from off you
  and will burst your bonds apart.”

At this point, we must acknowledge this truth: that the same God Who is our Deliverer, is also the One Who has afflicted us...(Job 5.18) why would God allow Judah to suffer the indescribable atrocities of submitting to the hated Assyrian empire, likely the most brutal empire that has ever existed? In order to show them the folly of turning to pagan nations instead of their covenant God...but isn’t that true for us, too...we should recognize that affliction we can trace to the Lord (not as a clear result of our own sin) is a mark that He regards us as His children...we welcome that discipline for our good...

Now the Lord turns to the final pronouncement of doom against Assyria...both the empire and their idolatrous god, Assur...

14 The Lord has given commandment about you:
  “No more shall your name be perpetuated;
from the house of your gods I will cut off
  the carved image and the metal image.
I will make your grave, for you are vile.”

This chapter ends with an encouraging promise for the people of God...one we recognize from Romans 10.15, where Paul quotes Isaiah 52.7...the reference is to a herald, a runner who ran from the site of a battle to bring news of the outcome...

15 Behold, upon the mountains, the feet of him
  who brings good news,
  who publishes peace!

The people of God are told to worship the Lord once again...

Keep your feasts, O Judah;
  fulfill your vows,

Why? 

for never again shall the worthless pass through you; he is utterly cut off.

Truly, Assyria never passed through Judah again...but Babylon certainly did, and took Judah into captivity in 587 BC...but as we have seen before, there is a short-term fulfillment and a long-term fulfillment...in the short-term, the prophecy was fulfilled with the destruction of the Assyrian empire, but the longer-term fulfillment, much longer, mattered far more...for ultimately, the people of God will fully and finally be delivered from our adversaries, in this world perhaps for a short time, but in the age to come, for all eternity...for who is this worthless one? The Hebrew word is ‘Belial’ (Be - e - lee - a’al) -- the same word Paul uses in (SLIDE) II Corinthians 6.14-15...

14 Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. For what partnership has righteousness with lawlessness? Or what fellowship has light with darkness? 15 What accord has Christ with Belial? 

Look at the parallelism -- believers, righteousness, and light correspond to Christ...but unbelievers, lawlessness, and darkness correspond to another person...the worthless one, our adversary, our enemy, our accuser, Satan...who is defeated forever by our King and Saviour, Jesus Christ

Brothers and sisters, the day has already come when the power of sin was broken...when Jesus sacrificed Himself on the cross, and rose again from the grave on the third day, having fulfilled all the Father sent Him to do and having paid the redemption blood price for all His people...that day has come...but there is yet coming another day, a day when our ages-old enemy will be fully and finally judged and condemned, and cast into the lake of fire forevermore...yes, saints, God is victorious and evil and the evil one will be defeated...so believe the good news, receive the peace of God, and worship the Lord in holiness...