Weekend Sermon--Nahum

     Welcome to another Weekend Sermon.  I hope that everyone is doing very well.
     This week I have much to be thankful for.  Once again, the Lord has provided what I needed to make ends meet for another month.  Writing went well this week.  Some weeks are more fun wriing than others, and this was a fun week.
     Last week, we finished our long-term study of Jesus' teachings in the Sermon on the Mount.  I must say that I miss teaching the Sermon on the Mount.  It is my favorite section of Scripture.
     Now it is time to move on.  This week we will begin a short series on the Old Testament book of Nahum.  This week, I will discuss the setting, authorship and some general information about Nahum.  Next week, with the Lord's help, I will draw some appplications on what messsage Nahum has for those of us who live all these centuries later.
     Nahum is a short, three chapter book that is one of the Minor Prophets.  I never really liked this term.  However, that is what these smaller prophetic books are commonly known as.  I find that they are absolutely fascinating and packed with interesting information.
     When I was in Bible college and seminary, I was privileged to take two courses in the Minor Prophets.  We never studied that much about Nahum as I remember.  Much of our focus was on Hosea, Amos and Zechariah.  That is one of the reasons I want to focus on Nahum, and some of the less studied books, in this blog.
     The book of Nahum is named for a prophet of the same name.  Nahum means "consoler" in Hebrew.  Nahum is called an Elkoshite.
     Bible scholars are divided as to where Elkosh was located.  Some believe that Elkosh was the ancient name of the city of Capernaum.
     The entire book of Nahum deals with God's judgment on the Assyrian Empire most specifically, God's judgment on the city of Nineveh.  Nahum declares that God will cause the city to be utterly destroyed.
     The book of Nahum mentions events that allow us to date the book within a specific period of time.  In the third chapter, Nahum mentions the capture of the Egyptian city of Thebes by the Assyrians.  We know that this took place in 663BC.  We also know that the city of Nineveh fell in the year 612BC.   Therefore, Nahum's book would have been written sometime in this period.
    Some more liberal Bible scholars will not agree with this dating.  They do not believe in the possibility of predictive prophecy.  They place the date of the book much later.  I believe in predictive prophecy, so I agree with the above dating.
     Why was the prophet so concerned with the question of Nineveh and the Assyrian Empire?  In Nahum's time, Assyria was the most powerful empire in the region.  They had defeated many of the surrounding nations including the powerful Egyptians.  The Assyrian Empire also defeated the Northern Kingdom that consisted of ten of the twelve tribes of Israel.  Furthermore, the Assyrians had made several incursions into the Kingdom of Judah.  They were the fearsome enemies of the Judeans.
     The Assyrians were known for their total ruthlessness, love of war and horrific cruelty.  They were hated, and they were greatly feared.
     Nahum, the people of Judah and the people of the surrounding nations would be very glad to see the end of the Assyrian Empire.  To Nahum, it was evidence that God will not allow the cruel and unrighteous to go on forever.
     There is one other part of our introduction that we need to consider, and that concerns the relationship between the book of Jonah and Nahum.  As you will recall, God commanded Jonah to go and preach repentance to the people of Nineveh.  Jonah didn't want to go because the Assyrians were cruel and the enemies of Israel.  After his incident with the great fish, Jonah went and preached repentance to the people of Nineveh.  They did repent, and at that time, God spared the city.  Jonah was not too happy about the whole thing.
     So, what happened?  The people of Nineveh didn't follow the true and living God for very long.  Shortly after the ministry of Jonah, they were right back to practicing idolatry, terrorizing the people around them and causing trouble for God's chosen people.
     When Nahum came on the scene after Jonah, God was ready to judge the Assyrians.
     The Assyrian Empire fell in 612BC.  As Nahum describes, the city was flooded allowing the enemy forces to enter the city and destroy it totally.  Assyria would be gone, and the Babylonians would be the new power.  In 586BC, they would invade Jerusalem, and the Kingdom of Judah would come to an end as well.
     Next week, we will look at some applications from the book of Nahum.  I urge you to read the book this week.  It is considered a very poetic book, especially the section that describes in detail the siege and destruction of the city.  On Wednesday, I will post another review.  May God bless you.  Amen.