Nahum
Part of Minor Prophets
September 25, 2023


The Prophecy Of (NAHUM)

God’s (HOLY) Anger

SLIDE 65 Nahum, which means ““Consolation”” or “(

)”,” had a specific mission, possibly the most ( ) of all The Minor Prophets. He was called by God to prophesy to the Assyrians, telling them of the judgment that was coming against them. While some have said such a message was hardly consoling, it did give comfort to God’s people who had long been oppressed and terrorized by this wicked empire for decades.

SLIDE 66 VIDEO

The Date

There is no concrete evidence that affixes a date for Nahum’s prophecy with certainty. Unlike most of the other prophets, no king is mentioned that would help in dating his preaching. Yet, there are pieces of evidence (one internal, one external) that help in determining general parameters. In 3:8, the prophet mentions No-amon, the ancient Egyptian city of Thebes which was some 400 miles up the Nile River from present-day Cairo. It was destroyed by the Assyrians in 663 B.C. Nahum mentions the destruction as having already occurred. The other parameter is the historical fact of Babylon’s destruction of Nineveh in 612 B.C. This is the main theme of Nahum’s prophecy, and is in the future. READ The general guidelines for his prophecy are somewhere between 663-612 B.C. Most conservative scholars narrow the date to 630-612 B.C.

The Man

Nahum’s home was Elkosh (1:1). Nothing is known of the exact location of this city. Some have concluded from his mention of Judah in 1:15 that he came from the Southern Kingdom. Others have suggested that his home was Capernaum (translation => “village of Nahum”), beside the Sea of Galilee. That would have certainly placed him geographically closer to the Assyrians. However, there is no evidence to confirm this. We also know nothing of his occupation. Yet, God saw in this servant the ability to accomplish His mission upon the Assyrians.

The Message

SLIDE 67 Nahum is the second prophet to deal with the Assyrians. Earlier, in the 9th century, around 780 B.C., Jonah was called upon to seek their repentance. Reluctantly, he carried out his mission. Now, some (150 years later, Nahum is to deliver a message of (

) doom to the same people. He emphasizes God’s slow but sure wrath upon the godless and wicked (1:2-3). He also stresses His mercy upon those who seek refuge in Him (1:7). How the prophet describes God’s wrath in 1:3 is one of the main messages in all of Scripture (cp. 2 Pet. 3:9).

Nahum says nothing of Judah’s internal conditions and her need for repentance; he leaves this to his contemporaries Jeremiah, Habakkuk, and Zephaniah. ““He is a prophet of a single theme: the fall and destruction of Nineveh, that city of great and dreadful people”” (Homer Hailey, Commentary On The Minor Prophets, pg. 249). The intent was to (

) Judah which, along with all the other nations, had long been brutalized by the Assyrians. Though God had used this wicked empire as His judgment tool against faithless Israel (2 Kings 17:1-18, 21-23) and Judah (Isa. 7:18-20; 10:5-7), time had now come for her reckoning before Jehovah, the God of all nations. Her judgment had been long in coming, for Isaiah had spoken of Nineveh’s fall some 100 years earlier (Isa. 10:12-16, 24-27). In this we see a timelessness of the main lesson of Nahum’s prophecy. He reveals an eternal truth that for any nation to survive, it must be established upon and directed by principles of righteousness and truth (Prov. 14:34). Wickedness will only spell ruin for any nation, regardless in which generation it exists. Present-day nations, especially our own country, would do well to heed this lesson.

Assyrian Background

Given that Nahum’s message did not touch on conditions in Judah, it might be helpful to catalog some main points of the historical background of Assyrians empire:

Tiglath-Pileser III (745 - 727 B.C.)
On a course of world conquest, invaded the West and deported many from northern Israel to an area north of Nineveh.
Shalmaneser V (727 - 722 B.C.)
Began the siege of Samaria, but died before the city fell (722/721 B.C.)
Sargon II (722 - 705 B.C.)
Completed the siege and conquest of Samaria; murdered in 705 B.C.
Sennacherib (705 - 681 B.C.)
Boasted on his monuments how he had shut up Hezekiah, King of Judah, “as a bird in a cage.” He was murdered by his own two sons; another son, Esarhaddon, drove them out and became king (681 - 668 B.C.)
Assurbanipal (668 - 625 B.C.)
Captured Thebes in 663 B.C. (Nah. 3:8). He carried tremendous spoil back to Assyria; noted for his great cruelty.
Esarhaddon II (620 - 612 B.C.)
The Babylonians & Medes besieged Nineveh. He took his wives, children, and wealth into the palace and set it on fire, dying in the process.

SLIDE 68 Quite possibly, there has never been more (

) people on the face of the earth. In their own records of their conquerings are found inscriptions detailing “how space failed for corpses; how they made pyramids of human heads; how they impaled ‘heaps of men’ on stakes; and how they covered pillars with the flayed skins of rival monarchs.” The population of this kingdom was never homogenous; it was made up of foreigners drawn to them by trade and wealth, and full of conquered peoples. It was a siege waiting to happen.

SLIDE 69 Outline Of Nahum’s Prophecy

Nineveh’ is (

) - by the decree of Jehovah (1:1-15)
The goodness and severity of Jehovah (1:2-8)
Vengeance and mercy of God (2-3)
The terribleness of His anger against sin (4-6)
The greatness of His mercy a stronghold to the faithful (7)
The pursuer of His enemies (8)
The complete overthrow of Nineveh(1:9-15)
God’s faithfulness in present crises: affliction not again to come from Assyria (as in the past) (9-11)
Judah delivered from the yoke of Assyria by destruction of Nineveh’s power (12-13)
Destruction of Assyria (14)
Rejoicing in Zion (15)

Siege and (

) of Nineveh - decreed by Jehovah (2:1-13)
Assault upon Nineveh: doom of the city (2:1-7)
Furious preparation for battle (1-4)
Hopelessness of resistance (5-6)
The city, as a queen, is captured and moans (7)
Flight of the people and sack of the city (2:8-13)
The inhabitants flee, the city is plundered (8-10)
The destruction is complete (11-13)

Nineveh’s (

) and her inevitable doom (3:1-19)
Nineveh’s fate brought upon herself as retribution for her crimes (3:1-7)
The graphic description of the battle (1-3)
The cause: her sins (4)
The uncovering of her shame is of Jehovah (5-7)
The fate of No-amon is to be the fate of Nineveh (3:8-11)
Inability of Nineveh’s resources to save the city (3:12-19)
Fall of the outlying strongholds (12-13)
Siege and destruction of the city (14-19a)
Universal exultation over the fall of Nineveh (19b)

SLIDE 70 Group Questions

Give an example of good jealousy and an example of bad jealousy.


How do you feel when you read that God is jealous? Why?
How can God be jealous but not envious? What is the difference?
What are dangerous signs of human anger?
How can God’s anger always be right when ours is so often wrong?
How can our anger be transformed to be more like God’s? What is our part in the process?
How do you understand God’s pity and compassion alongside his jealousy, anger and wrath?
As you observe your neighbors or relatives, would you say they deserve God’s judgment? Why or why not? How does God see them?
What are the three reasons given in Nahum 3 why Nineveh deserves to be judged?
Warren Wiersbe has written “people become like the god that they worship (Psalm 115:8), for what we believe determines how we behave.” If you look at the behavior of non-Christians around you, what would you say they worship? What about the behavior of people who attend your church? What about you?

Questions

  1. How does Nahum describe God in 1:2-8? In what is His power revealed? (1:3b-5) Despite the certainty of God’s wrath upon the disobedient, what else does the prophet emphasize? (1:7) Compare all this to Romans 11:22.
  2. What do you think is meant by “”the place thereof”” [KJV], ““its place”” [NKJV], or “”its site”” [NASV] in 1:8? (1:1) What will be the results of God’s wrath? (Zeph. 2:13)
  3. 1:9-15 is admittedly difficult because of the apparent changes in who is being addressed. Write below whom you think Jehovah is addressing and what you think His message is to each group. [For background information, read 2 Kings 18-19 and Isa. 10:5-21]
    vv. 9-11
    vv. 12-13
    vv. 14-15
  4. How is Assyria described? (1:12a) Despite this, what awaits her? (1:12b,14) What is Judah exhorted to do? (1:15)
  5. What do you think is being described in 2:1-7? Why do you think they are so instructed? Though “the one who scatters” is not named, to whom does history tell us this refers? What is it that God wants vindicated? (2:2)
  6. How is the approaching “scatterer” described? (2:3-5) What do you think 2:6 is saying? (Isa. 28:2; 30:28; 45:1-2) What will be the result in Nineveh when all this occurs? (2:7)
  7. Prior to this judgment, how had Nineveh been described? (2:8a) Now, what is her reality? (2:8b) What are Jehovah’s instructions to Assyria’s invaders? (2:9)
  8. Describe Nineveh’s (Assyria’s) condition. (2:10-13) What was she formerly? What is she going to become? Why is all this going to happen? (2:13) Thought question: What is the Biblical principle taught here? (Matthew 7:2)
  9. Who is being described in 3:1? What description follows in 3:2-3? What does Nahum say is the cause for all this carnage? (3:4) In what way(s) was Assyria (Nineveh) a “harlot”? How does Jehovah show His disfavor upon this wicked nation? (3:5-6) What will be the worldwide response to her fall? (3:7)
  10. Who is mentioned in 3:8? What does this reference mean? What does this have to do with the judgment upon Assyria (Nineveh)? (3:9-11)
  11. How are Nineveh’s resources to defend herself pitifully described? (3:12-13) In irony, what does the prophet encourage the Assyrians to do to no avail? (3:14-15)
  12. What else about Nineveh’s position will not be able to save her? (3:16) What will happen to the military strength? (3:17)
  13. Who does Nahum address as he brings his prophecy to a close? (3:18-19) What is he told? What is Nineveh’s (Assyria’s) future? (3:19) What will be the world’s response? (3:19)