Old Testament Prophets

Class 12 – Nahum

1. Review last week – questions?

1. Micah –
   
   

2. Nahum – the name means “compassion”.

1. Christians have tended to ignore Nahum because it is harsh and appears to be directed towards a specific nation at a specific time (Assyria in 7^th century BC) and is therefore irrelevant to us.

2. Hardly true! The book has esthetic value and, if understood in its place and time, has tremendous significance for Christians today.

3. The book is poetic and Nahum is a master poet – Bishop Lowth: “None of the Minor Prophets seem to equal Nahum in boldness, ardor, and sublimity. His prophecy too forms a regular and perfect poem: the exordium is not merely magnificent, it is truly majestic; the preparation for the destruction of Nineveh, and the description of its downfall and desolation, are expressed in the most vivid colors and are bold and luminous in the highest degrees”.

3. Overview and Historical

1. Prophecy is from the 7^th century BC

                                                               i.      Thebes (populous No) was destroyed in 664 (vs 3:8)

                                                             ii.      Nineveh was destroyed in 612 BC – Nahum’s prophecy must have occurred between these two events (if we accept it as prophecy).

2. The focus is the judgment of Assyria

                                                               i.      Assyrian power peaked around 664 (with the capture of Thebes)

                                                             ii.      Babylonia revolted over a long number of years, finally resulting in the destruction of Nineveh in 612.

4. Structure

                                                               i.      This book is somewhat different from most of the prophets who were preachers – Nahum says he is writing a book (1:1)

                                                             ii.      Includes two visions (2:3-10 and 3:2-3)

                                                            iii.      Is described as a ‘War Oracle’.

                                                           iv.      The book “taunts” Assyria throughout (2:11-13 and 3:4-7 and at the end 3:12-13 and 3:18-19)

5. Theological Message

                                                               i.      Summarized and contained in 1:7-8 (READ)

                                                             ii.      God is a warrior ready to do battle for his people.

                                                            iii.      To the Judeans (living under the shadow and threat of Assyria) it is a message of hope; however, they fail to appreciate God’s gift; continue to live in sinful rebellion and are ultimately turned on by Babylon.

6. Approaching the New Testament
1. Read 1:2-8
2. The Christian significance of Nahum is found in the warring Christ of the New Testament.
   
   
7. Passages

8. Paul quotes Nahum 1:15 in Romans 10:15

1. Verse 1:3 – ACCS pp 180 “The Lord Delays Punishment” – Theodoret of Cyr.
   
   THE LORD DELAYS PUNISHMENT. THEODORET OF CYR: "The Lord is longsuffering, great is his power, and he will certainly not clear the guilty." He does not suddenly and all at once inflict pun­ishment, but only after exercising extreme long­suffering. You Ninevites are witnesses to this, practicing repentance and finding salvation, and then guilty of extreme wickedness and for a time not paying the penalty for it. But after putting up with people's wickedness for a long time, he is ac­customed to inflict punishment on the unrepen­tant (the meaning of "he will certainly not clear the guilty," that is, he will not exempt from retri­bution the person whose sins deserve punish­ment). COMMENTARY ON NAHUM I.3.'
   
   
2. Verse 3:1 – ACCS 185 “The Bloody City” - Chrysostom.
   
   3:1 WEEP FOR SINNERS. CHRYSOSTOM: Let us mourn with Nahum and let us say with him, "Woe to him that builds up this house [by injus­tice]."¹³ Or rather let us mourn for them as Christ did in his day, when he said, "Woe to you rich, for you are now having your reward and your comfort."" Let us not, I beseech you, cease mourning in this way, and if it is not unbecoming, let us also bewail the apathy of our brothers. Let us not weep loudly for him who is already dead, but let us weep for the robber, the grasping, mi­serly, greedy man, HOMILIES ON JOHN 64.
   
   

9. Next time – Zepaniah (We will skip Isaiah and Jeremiah for now).