Nahum 1

0:00Welcome to Bible chapter every day. I'm Matthew. Our chapter today is Nahum I. Let's go to God in prayer. Heavenly Father, you are powerful. No one can stand in the face of your anger. No one can stop you. You are also slow to anger. You do give people a chance to repent, and you do forgive people who repent and turn from their sins, but you will not wait forever. You will judge. You will set things right, and you will save your people, even in the midst of that judgment. You are great, amen. Nahum I. The Oracle concerning Ninevah. The scroll of the vision of Nahum, the Elkashite.

1:04Yahweh is a jealous God and a vinging. Yahweh is a vinging and full of wrath. Yahweh takes vengeance against His enemies. He rages against His adversaries. Yahweh is slow to anger, but great in power. Yahweh will certainly not allow the guilty to go unpunished. He marches in stormwind and in gale. Storm clouds are the dust of His feet. He rebukes the sea, and he dries up the rivers. He makes all the rivers run dry. Bayshan and Carmel wither the blossom of Lebanon languages. Mountains quake before Him. The hills shake apart. The earth he used before Him, the world and all her inhabitants. His indignation? Who can stand before it? Who can endure His fierce anger? His wrath is poured out like fire. Rocks are shattered before Him.

2:06Yahweh is good. A refuge in the day of distress. He knows those who take refuge in Him. But with a rushing torrent He will bring Nineva to an end. He will chase His enemies into darkness. What do you plot against Yahweh? He will completely destroy it. Trouble will not rise up a second time. For like entangled thorns, and like their drink, which is drunk, they will be consumed like fully dry chaff. From you goes out one who plots evil against Yahweh, one who plans wickedness. Yahweh says this. Even though they are powerful and likewise many, even so they will be cut off and pass away. Though I have afflicted you, I will afflict you no longer. And now I will break His yoke from upon you.

3:09I will snap your bonds. Yahweh has commanded concerning you. Your name will no longer be sung. I will cut off the idols and images from the temple of your gods. I will send you to the grave because you are worthless. Look, on the mountains, the feet of the one who brings good tidings, the one who proclaims peace. Celebrate your festivals, O Judah, fulfill your vows, for he will not invade you again. The wicked one is cut off completely. Well, that's the reading. Let's dig in. Nayhum is of course about the coming destruction of Nineveh. Nineveh was the capital of Assyria, and Assyria was the major world power at this time. As best as we can tell, about the time this was written, the northern kingdom of Israel had been carried away captive by Assyria by this point, and at that same time Assyria had

4:14done a lot of damage to the southern kingdom of Judah as well. This book was probably written about a hundred years after Jonah had preached to Nineveh. When he had preached, they had repented, and God decided not to bring the destruction on them at that time. But that is all long forgotten, at least by Nineveh now. They are more powerful now than back in Jonah's day, and they are known for their cruelty. They ruled by causing people to fear them, and they did cruel things to make people fear them. We don't know where this city is that Nayhum is from. It isn't mentioned elsewhere in the Bible. The message seems to have been given to Judah. The name Nayhum means comfort, and this book is a comfort to Judah that God will judge their enemies. In fact, he starts out by talking about how God is a God of vengeance.

5:15He is angry at his enemies. He won't let them get away with wickedness. It does say Yahweh is slow to anger, but he will not let people get away with wickedness. Nayhum describes the coming of Yahweh as a terrible storm. He mentions God drying up sea and rivers, which reminds us of when God brought Israel out of Egypt. Nayhum asks, who can stand before God's anger? But then he adds that Yahweh is good, and he knows those who take refuge in Him. Then he speaks to the wicked. He asks them what they are plotting against Yahweh. They won't try it again after the first time. And then God speaks and says he is the one who afflicted Judah. But he will save them now from the oppression. He says he will break the yoke and bonds. So even though it was a Syria who did all that damage, God was the one who controlled the

6:16whole time. Then, to a Syria, Yahweh says he will destroy their name and their gods. They will not have a lasting impact. But Judah gets good news of peace. They can celebrate their feast to Yahweh in peace. And now for a deeper dive, I would not have wanted to be in Judah when a Syria attacked. It was a terrible time. There are a lot of times I would not have wanted to be alive in Judah. But there is something very comforting for Judah here in this chapter and for us. This second half of verse 7 says he knows those who take refuge in Him. Through all the tumult, God can take care of people who are trusting in Him. I picture this as God is a warrior here with his weapons attacking his enemies. And yet, at the same time, he is holding some people close to his chest that take refuge

7:22in Him. He can do both at the same time. He may be bringing storm and earthquake and destruction on his enemies and saving out of the middle of the disaster, the small people who are trusting in Him. So are we trusting in Yahweh? Do we look to Him to save us rather than some false God like money or power? It is a comfort that God will judge, that the wicked will not get away with wickedness forever, and especially that God can save us through the midst of that judgment. Scripture quotations are from the Lexum English Bible, Copyright 2012, Logos Bible Software. Lexum is a registered trademark of Logos Bible Software.