In this post, the bible project breaks down the book into digestible pieces so we can. Actually, i like to study the little books of jonah and nahum together because it was between 100 and 150 years before nahum appeared on the scene that jonah went to nineveh with a message from god. Theres a wellknown passage here that nahum directs to the people. God must punish his enemies but he is slow to anger. While scholars have proposed a number of theories about nahums hometown, elkosh, the best option identifies it with a city in southern judah that later came to be known as elcesi, near where the prophet micah lived. Every person is either an enemy of god or his friend. The book of nahum contains a prophecy that nineveh, the capital of assyria, would. Application of the message of nahum for us begins with understanding the sovereignty of god. Very little is known about nahum himself and his name only occurs here in the entire old. When romania was still under communist rule, a christian pastor commented on revelation, the favorite book of the bible for his people.
Nahum wrote or dictated the words of this vision or someone else wrote them. And this is not just a warning or speaking positively of the destruction of nineveh, it is also a positive encouragement and message of comfort for israel, judah, and others who had experienced the endless cruelty of the assyrians. Yet, god intended it to be a message of comfort for judah. Nahum was a prophet of god and his message comes in the form of a prophetic vision. Christ in all the scriptures a m hodgkin the destruction of nineveh is the one burden of nahum.
He stands up against his enemies, fierce and raging. The short book of nahum is largely a poem, a literary masterpiece, predicting the downfall of nineveh, the capital of assyria. While jonahs message gave niveveh the opportunity to repent, nahum. In the book of jonah, written in the eighth century bc, we behold a man of god who was called to preach to nineveh. The book of nahum is filled with images of nineveh falling by water, fire and sword nahum 2.
The prophets name means comfort, and his word of comfort is for judah, the lord is good, a stronghold in the day of trouble, and he knoweth them that trust in him nahum 1. He was raised up to preach gods judgment for a second time to nineveh. The books author is nahum, whose name means comfort. Nahum summary we have detailed a brief summary of the book of nahum for bible study or sunday school lessons. The book contains the vision of nahum, whose name means comfort and is related to the name nehemiah, meaning the lord comforts or comfort of the lord. The term the burden of nineveh indicates that the book of nahum focuses on nineveh, the capital of assyria. The book therefore was written between 663 and 612in turbulent. While nahum is a short book of only three chapters comprised of 47 verses, we would be wise to pay attention to the message of nahum. Book of nahum overview insight for living ministries. With this additional short summary of the book of nahum you can discover the people, places and stories detailed in this holy scripture. Destruction of gods opponents and restoration for gods people nahum. A summary, synopsis or recap is a shortened version of the original. What we do have in the book of nahum is a remarkable prophecy, but one which seems very much.
The book of nahum is one of two books of the minor prophets that centers on nineveh, the capital city of assyria. He will use whatever means to persuade us to choose to come to him, to come into the arms of his love. Share your condolences, send flowers, find funeral home information. Jan 02, 2020 first, nahum mentions thebes no amon in egypt falling to the assyrians 663 b. During this time, nineveh had repented of its repentance, and had begun to do the same things again that called forth the threat of judgment through the prophet jonah. Ninevehs fall, which is nahums theme, would bring comfort to judah. Oct 30, 2017 but i believe the the bible has given us timeless wisdom and instruction on topics such as this and one of the books that speaks to this issue in profound ways is the book of nahum. Oct 23, 2016 when the people of nineveh hear jonahs message from god, the most unexpected thing occurs. A hymn to the sovereign god a message from book of nahum.
They turned to god and served god for a period of time. Notice how halleys bible handbook introduces the book of nahum. Nineveh was conquered by the babylonians, medes, and scythians in 612 b. A hymn to the sovereign god a message from book of nahum july 15, 2016 by mylordmyfriend in book of micah, devotional, ofj old fellow johns posts, uncategorized. All of the citizens of the city, from the least to the greatest call for a fast and.
Unfortunately the people of nineveh assyria returned to their sinful ways. Nahum did not write this book as a warning or call to repentance for the people of nineveh. Most oracles contain a message of blessing to balance the one of judgment, but that is not the case here. And thats another whole study to see how the assyrians migrated to europe.
A message for such a time as this our god is sovereign, and it is in him, who we should put our trust. Intro to nahum biblica the international bible society. The book of nahum is not a narrative like jonah, but rather resembles other prophetic books in that it is an oracle or a vision, meaning a prophetic message or sermon. A message for such a time as this our god is sovereign, and it. The majestic hymn to god yahweh nahum 1 verse 2 to 10. Because this is a vision, in some way nahum saw it.
One might even say that the book of nahum is a celebration of the fall of assyria. Nahum describes jesus as a stronghold in the day of trouble we just have to come to him to find rest for our souls, for. The people of nineveh responded very enthusiastically to jonahs message. And because of that, i think he means for us to believe that it is a message of comfort for us. The lord, the lord god, merciful and gracious, longsuffering and forgiving iniquity, and that will by no means clear the guilty. The book contains the vision of nahum, whose name means comfort and is related to the name nehemiah, meaning the lord comforts or. Gods discriminating anger and vengeance against pride and cruelty arise from his great love for people. This was more than a message communicated to nahum. The title identifies the book as an oracle concerning nineveh and attributes it to the vision of nahum of elkosh.
Nahum declared that nineveh would fall as did thebes, which the assyrians themselves had conquered in 663. A century after the fall of samaria in 722 bc the captivity of the northern kingdom of israel, the book of nahum was written to express a major truth of the prophets. Jul 15, 2016 the majestic hymn to god yahweh nahum 1 verse 2 to 10. Authorship the author of this remarkably literary book is probably nahum. Use highlighting, underlining, and take notes while you study the bible. Horns blaring, wheels clattering, horses rearing, chariots lurching, horsemen galloping, brandishing swords and spears, dead bodies rotting in the street, corpses stacked like cordwood, bodies in every gutter and alley, clogging every intersection. It differs from the other prophetic books in that it doesnt contain detailed prophecies, nor does it upbraid the people for their failings, which are two things that most of the. Second, the remainder of nahums prophecies came true in 612 b. It is true that someone else could have written down nahums vision, but. The book of nahum comes some one hundred years after the prophecy of jonah. God is serious business a report on the problem of nineveh, the way god gave nahum of elkosh to see it. This summary of the book of nahum provides information about the title, authors, date of writing, chronology, theme, theology, outline, a brief overview, and the chapters of the book of nahum.
We conjecture that nahum was born in israel and died in assyria, for there is some evidence along that line. This is apropos because his message of the coming judgment on nineveh comforted judah after their suffering at assyrias hand. Nahum is closelylinked with jonah, both of whom bring messages of destruction to nineveh, the capital of the assyrian empire. Transcribed and edited by david sielaff, august 20. It was into this dark period that god thrust the prophet nahum with a message for all involved.
The judgment of nineveh and the comfort of judah both reveal the sovereignty, righteousness, and grace of yahweh. Once more, dear friends, this word know here means loving communion. This study also includes a teaching outline at the end. The book of the vision of nahum the elkoshite nahum 1. Nahum prophesied, according to some, in the beginning of the reign of ahaz b.
The book of nahum is a book in the old testament, and the seventh of the minor prophets. He wrote about the end of the assyrian empire, and its capital city, nineveh, in a vivid poetic style. His book is a message of destruction for nineveh, and that would have been a message of consolation for the nations she had oppressed. Apparently, their reform had only been shortlived and now god was going to visit upon them utter humiliation and devastation. God promised to send someone to make things right again. Let the nations get their fill of the ugly truth doom to murder city full of lies, bursting with loot, addicted to violence. It could be, very well, that the turnaround of king manasseh was himself a part from the message that nahum gave, because when we go back to the book of nahum, and what i want you to do is go back to chapter 1, verse 15. Nothing is known about him except his hometown elkosh, and even its general location is uncertain. Very candidly, i must say that the little book of nahum is not the greatest in the bible, but it is a great book, and it is in the word of god for a very definite purpose. This was more than a message communicated to nahum in words or phrases from god. The message of nahum sermon by daniel austin, nahum 1. When we see the vivid, descriptive way nahum writes we understand that the book records what he saw in his vision.
Nahum, like obadiah, has only a negative message of judgment against nineveh. This summary of the book of nahum will help with many different forms of bible study. When the people of nineveh hear jonahs message from god, the most unexpected thing occurs. This time god has his prophet nahum speak to niveveh from judah. Reading the chapter before looking at the notes, while working with the notes, and after finishing with the notes will give each researcher a powerful sense of the series of meanings within each chapter. The prophecy of nahum is both the complement and the counterpart of the book of jonah dr. Nothing is known about him except his hometown elkosh, and even its general location is. Though nahum also prophesied concerning nineveh, his message is different. When god told jonah to go to nineveh and to bring a message there, a remarkable thing happenedthe entire city turned to god100 percent. Sign and view the guest book, leave condolences or send flowers. The book of nahum presents a sobering graphical depiction of the unleashing of gods wrath against the wickedness of nineveh. This prophetic vision is addressed to the city of nineveh, which happens to be the central hub for the evil and cruel assyrian.
The book of nahum is prophecy concerning the city of nineveh and reveals a powerful message about gods care for his elect. The name nahum occurs in the new testament where it is found in lukes genealogy of our lord jesus christ. The prophet has just one theme, the judgment of nineveh, the capital of the assyrian empire, but my friend. God revealed his name to moses as showing his twofold character. Introduction as i come to each new book and chapter of the bible, some folk kid me that i always say it is the greatest book or chapter. God is serious businessa report on the problem of nineveh, the way god gave nahum of elkosh to see it. Study guide for nahum 1 by david guzik blue letter bible. Just 100 years earlier, the prophet jonah had been instructed to warn nineveh to repent. Nahum begins by pronouncing that god is a jealous god. The book of nahum is a book of stern warning to the peoples of nineveh of old, but its also, in a larger sense, a warning to the descendants of ancient assyria, many of whom now live in central europe. First, nahum mentions thebes no amon in egypt falling to the assyrians 663 b. God judges and blesses our actions according to his will cf. The book s author is nahum, whose name means comfort. There is no counterbalancing condemnation of judah for her sin, but that is well taken care of elsewhere.
Thus opens nahums prophecy, and this is the message of this book of the bible for the world today. Nahum can be identified as prophecy based on nahum 1. The book of nahum was an encouragement to the israelites, and god intended it to encourage all of his people. Avoiding the fierce punishment of the lord is not dependent on ethnicity, class, intelligence, skin color, or family history, but on repentance and faith. The little book of nahum is a very remarkable prophecy.
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