The Lord is a jealous and avenging God;
the Lord takes vengeance and is filled with wrath.
The Lord takes vengeance on his foes
and vents his wrath against his enemies.
The Lord is slow to anger but great in power;
the Lord will not leave the guilty unpunished. Nahum 1:3,4 (NIV)
Nahum prophesies about God’s punishment on Nineveh. You might remember that name from the Book of Jonah. The Lord had decreed judgment on Nineveh, the capital city of the Assyrian Empire. Jonah wants the Lord to destroy Nineveh, and so he tries to flee from the Lord.
He ended up on a ship, then in a storm and then in the belly of a great fish and then on the shores of the City of Nineveh. So, despite his plans, Jonah ends up where the Lord wanted him. Through Jonah’s preaching, the King and city repent and are spared from God’s judgment.
You will also recall that the Assyrian General Naaman had leprosy and went to the King of Israel to have him summon the prophet Elijah to heal his leprosy. The Lord, in His compassion, and Naaman’s submission made him whole once again.
Yet it was the Assyrians who took Israel into captivity and attempted to do the same with God’s people in Judah. They were ruthless people with a proud and powerful army. They worshipped idols, and the atrocities they poured out on other nations were now going to come on their own heads.
“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;
he will pursue his foes into the realm of darkness.” Nahum 1:7-8 (NIV)
These verses remind me of when the Assyrians were preparing to attack Jerusalem. Twenty thousand soldiers were camped outside of Jerusalem’s walls while the leaders hurled insults at the King, the people and God. King Hezekiah and the prophet Elijah went to the Temple and prayed. The Lord sent His angels into the Assyrian camp and killed the soldiers and when the King return to his country, his own sons killed him while he offered sacrifices in the Temple of his false gods.
Now is the time; the patience of the Lord has run out. The Assyrians are going to be destroyed, and the City of Nineveh will become a barren wasteland.
The Lord has given a command concerning you, Nineveh:
“You will have no descendants to bear your name.
I will destroy the images and idols
that are in the temple of your gods.
I will prepare your grave,
for you are vile.” Nahum 1:14
Nahum’s words describe both the faults and wickedness of Nineveh and how the Lord is going to honor Judah. What we see is not a judgment like that of Sodom and Gomorrah but something that happens over time. But the end will be final.
Nothing can heal you;
your wound is fatal. Nahum 3:19 (NIV)
What can we observe in the Book of the Prophet Nahum? We see that the Lord is just, He knows how to defend those who belong to Him and bring judgment against those who oppose Him and His people. We see this in the New Testament. “The Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trials, and to keep the unrighteous under punishment until the day of judgment.” (2 Peter 2:9 (ESV)
We see the character of the Lord. He is patient and longsuffering, but He is a God of justice who will hold people and nations accountable for their conduct and sins. Nineveh at one time repented. But that was not a permanent turn from their wickedness and idolatry.
God’s grace is not to be taken for granted or something to quickly turn away from. He is looking for those who will serve Him with all of their heart, for all their life.
God’s delay should not be taken as Him not acting to bring judgment on all unrighteousness. What we see prophesied in Isaiah is described in the Book of Revelation.
I will punish the world for its evil, the wicked for their sins. I will put an end to the arrogance of the haughty and will humble the pride of the ruthless. Isaiah 13:11 (NIV)
Nahum’s prophecy is an account of God’s judgment against Nineveh, but it also serves as a sobering reminder to us today about God’s character and the importance of our faithfulness to Him.