Nahum 1:2–15 – Nineveh’s Judge
Nahum 2 – Nineveh’s Judgment
Nahum 3 – Nineveh’s Total Destruction
Thoughts about serving others
This link includes a list of posts about Serving the Least, the Lost, and the Lonely.
My prayer is for you to join me on this journey. Subscribe to this blog below to get an email when a new post is available.
Let the Word evoke words. May your life encourage lives.
Nahum prophesies before the Southern Kingdom is taken into exile, in the time of Jeremiah. “The Lord is good, a refuge in times of trouble. He cares for those who trust in him, but with an overwhelming flood he will make an end of Nineveh” (Nahum 1:7-8). Some 150 years after Jonah preaches in Nineveh, after they repented and worshipped the Lord, Nahum speaks to their demise, to the end of their days. “The Lord has given a command concerning you, Nineveh: ‘You will have no descendants to bear your name'” (1:14).
Nahum speak boldly for the Lord has decided, this is the end for Nineveh: “I will lift your skirts over your face. I will show the nations your nakedness and the kingdoms your shame” (3:5). I don’t know why that stood out to me, perhaps it shows my own humanity, but “I will lift your skirts over your face” just sounds so humiliating, so visceral, anything to get their attention. We don’t read about anyone hearing Nahum’s words and repenting, not that there weren’t some, we just don’t see the results–other than Nineveh’s destruction. “Nothing can heal you; your wound is fatal. All who hear the news about you clap their hands at your fall, for who has not felt your endless cruelty?” (3:19), the conclusion.
The Lord may seem too slow to anger at times, too patient when troubles surround those who love him, but his timing is intentional and perfect. Nineveh apparently ran rampant for years, growing in fame and fortune, then slipping down the path of idol worship and beyond, leaving God far behind. My dad used to say, “give him enough rope to hang himself,” his way of showing patience and submission to the Lord for judgment. He was a good man. I wish I had listened more, observed more carefully and taken better notes. We live in a troubled time as we watch Christians fade into gray. The rich colors of God’s word, Christ’s incredible atoning sacrifice and the splendor of the Holy Spirit living in us all should give us enduring strength, yet how many times do we stumble and fall? Don’t despair. God has a plan and his ways are at work. I imagine there were priests assigned to support Nineveh after Jonah’s successful revival, but they eventually were shunned out of existence. A painful disgrace that Nahum recognizes and assures them, the Lord will prevail. Only time will tell for our country. At this time we must be more than faithful, we must reach out to those around and demonstrate the love of Christ. Lord help us to be so bold, to remove ourselves from center stage. Pentecost is coming, praise the Lord!