Nahum Chapter One
Read Nahum 1-1 – Nahum’s
v.1 “The burden of Nineveh, The book of the vision
of Nahum the Elkoshite.”
The very earliest of the writings of
the minor prophets that have included in the canon of scripture
was that of Jonah whom God sent to
Jonah 3:6 “6For word came unto the king of
And he commanded
the entire population of his kingdom to follow his example and they were spared
by God. God had a purpose for
Were the Assyrians under God’s
law? The only way that man can be wicked
is to sin. Sin is defined for us by God:
I John 3:4 “Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the
law: for sin is the transgression of the law.”
In order for
Deuteronomy 5:2-3 “The LORD our God made a covenant with us in
Horeb. 3The LORD made not
this covenant with our fathers, but with us, even us, who are all of us here alive this day.”
So
We know nothing about Nahum as a
person beyond what this books tells us.
He is called an Elkoshite or a person from Elkosh; but we don’t know where Elkosh
was located. The Bible scholar Jerome,
who lived in the fourth century, thought it was in the area of
We know that Nahum prophesied sometime after 668 BC, though some claim that
he lived as early as 735 BC. We know
this because he writes of the fall of
Read Nahum 1:2-15 – The Majesty of God
v.2 “God is jealous, and the LORD
revengeth; the LORD revengeth, and is furious; the LORD will take vengeance on his
adversaries, and he reserveth wrath for his enemies.”
God is a jealous God. He warned the nation of
Exodus 20:5 “Thou shalt not bow
down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the
children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me;”
He also told them:
“To me belongeth vengeance, and recompense; their foot shall slide in due time: for the day
of their calamity is at hand, and the things that shall come upon them make haste.” Deuteronomy
32:35
So God is jealous of anything that man allows to come between us. When man allows this to happen he will suffer
consequences, but at the same time:
v.3 “The LORD
is slow to anger, and great in power, and will
not at all acquit the wicked: the LORD
hath his way in the whirlwind and in the storm, and the clouds are the dust of his feet.”
Probably the only
reason that God has preserved the existence of mankind on this earth for as
long as he has is because of his patience, his long-suffering, because he is
slow to anger. In his meeting with Moses
at Sinai and the giving of the Law:
“…the LORD passed by before
him, and proclaimed, The LORD, The LORD God, merciful and gracious,
longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth,” Exodus 34:6
The Lord is also great
in power, as creator and sustainer of this universe and all life he can do with
it as he pleases. He can speak it into
existence and out of existence again replacing it completely. A tribute to the power of God is found in the
poetry of Psalm 104:
Psalms 104:3 “WHO LAYETH THE
BEAMS OF HIS CHAMBERS IN THE WATERS: WHO MAKETH THE CLOUDS HIS CHARIOT: WHO WALKETH
UPON THE WINGS OF THE WIND.”
The prophet Isaiah
wrote to
“Thou shalt be visited of the
LORD of hosts with thunder, and with earthquake, and great noise, with storm
and tempest, and the flame of devouring fire.” Isaiah 29:6
v.4 “He rebuketh the sea, and maketh it dry, and drieth up all the rivers: Bashan languisheth, and
Carmel, and the flower of Lebanon languisheth.”
He has the power to
rebuke the sea and make it dry. During
the exodus of
Exodus 14:21-22 “And Moses stretched out his hand over the sea;
and the LORD caused the sea to go back by a strong east wind all that night, and made the sea dry land, and the waters were divided. 22And the children of
This occurrence is remembered in worship and song:
Psalms 106:9 “HE REBUKED THE
The latter part of this verse is rooted in the prophecy of Isaiah who
preceded Nahum.
Isaiah 33:9 “9The earth mourneth and
languisheth: Lebanon is ashamed and hewn down: Sharon is like a wilderness; and
v.5 “
The nation of
Exodus
This manifestation of God caused so much fear in the people of
“…Speak thou with us, and we will hear: but let
not God speak with us, lest we die.” Exodus
20:19
v.6 “Who can stand before his indignation? and who
can abide in the fierceness of his anger? his fury is poured out like fire, and
the rocks are thrown down by him.”
The prophet Micah
describes the destruction brought about by the anger of God this way:
Micah 1:4 “And the mountains shall be molten under him,
and the valleys shall be cleft, as wax before the fire, and as the waters that
are poured down a steep place.”
Isaiah tells
Isaiah
I don’t know how many
have experienced an earthquake but it doesn’t begin to compare to God shaking
the heavens and moving the earth out of its place. Just the little tremor that we experienced in
v.7 “The LORD
is good, a strong hold in the day of trouble;
and he knoweth them that trust in him.”
But the Lord is also
good. A place of refuge, a stronghold
for us when we encounter trouble:
Psalms 37:39-40 “BUT THE
SALVATION OF THE RIGHTEOUS is OF THE LORD: he is THEIR STRENGTH IN THE TIME OF TROUBLE. AND THE LORD
SHALL HELP THEM, AND DELIVER THEM: HE SHALL DELIVER THEM FROM THE WICKED, AND
SAVE THEM BECAUSE THEY TRUST IN HIM.”
He has provided for us today the ultimate sacrifice and provided us with
the revelation of scripture has indeed taught sinners “The Way”.
Psalms 25:8 “GOOD AND UPRIGHT
is
THE LORD: THEREFORE WILL HE
TEACH SINNERS THE WAY.”
v.8 “But with an overrunning flood he will make an utter end of the place
thereof, and darkness shall pursue his enemies.”
But in spite of God’s goodness, or perhaps because of his goodness and the fact
that he cannot tolerate sin there will be a day of reckoning for mankind who
did not seek his mercy. Not with a
flood, because of his promise to Noah signified by the rainbow, but with
destruction somewhat like the flood.
Isaiah 13:9 “Behold, the day of the LORD cometh, cruel both with wrath and fierce anger, to lay the
land desolate: and he shall destroy the sinners thereof out of it.” v.11 “And
I will punish the world for their evil, and the wicked for their iniquity; and
I will cause the arrogancy of the proud to cease, and will lay low the
haughtiness of the terrible.”
v.9 “What do ye imagine
against the LORD? he will make an
utter end: affliction shall not rise up the second time.”
“WHAT DO YOU IMAGINE
AGAINST THE LORD? How can mankind, the created being, fight
against God the creator and ruler of all things?
“For by him were all things created, that are
in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or
dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and
for him:”
Colossians 1:16-17
Nations, powers,
princes, kings and even presidents rule at his pleasure, yes even today. Now the time has come when He will make an
end to
v.10 “For while they be folden together as thorns, and while they are drunken as drunkards, they shall be devoured as stubble fully dry.”
Just as men today put
all of their trust in their wealth, their goodness, their false religions; just
as
Malachi 4:1 “For, behold, the day cometh, that shall burn
as an oven; and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble:
and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the LORD of hosts, that it
shall leave them neither root nor branch.”
v.11 “There is one come out of thee,
that imagineth evil against the LORD, a wicked
counsellor.”
The “ONE” the “WICKED
COUNSELLOR”, now who would that be? Satan, or anyone
that gives advice that is contrary to the will or word of God.
“Because the foolishness of God is wiser than
men; and the weakness of God is stronger than men.” I Corinthians 1:25
v.12 “Thus saith the LORD; Though they be quiet, and
likewise many, yet thus shall they be cut down, when he shall pass through.
Though I have afflicted thee, I will afflict thee no more.”
The American Standard
Version, 1901; renders this verse as “THOUGH they be FULL STRENGTH, AND
LIKEWISE MANY, EVEN SO THEY SHALL BE CUT DOWN…” giving us a much different
perspective of it’s meaning. When
II Kings
As a result they were never as strong as they had been
during the time of the northern kingdom of
v.13 “For now will I break his yoke from off thee,
and will burst thy bonds in sunder.”
The yoke of
Isaiah 10:24-25 “Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD of hosts, O my people that dwellest
in
v.14 “And the LORD
hath given a commandment concerning thee, that no more of thy
name be sown: out of the house of thy gods will I cut off the graven image and
the molten image: I will make thy grave; for thou art vile.”
God had given a
commandment concerning
Isaiah 46:1-2 “1Bel boweth down, Nebo stoopeth, their idols were upon the beasts, and upon the cattle: your carriages were heavy loaden; they
are a burden to the weary beast. 2They stoop, they bow down together; they could not
deliver the burden, but themselves are gone into captivity.”
v.15 “Behold upon the mountains the feet of him that
bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace! O
The prophet is bringing
glad tidings to
II Kings
According to Ussher’s chronology this event
occurred about 772 BC and
In this time of peace
William L. Schwegler; Sunset