Nahum

King Nabopolassar of Babylon in 612 BC leads his troops out of the Ishtar Gate to join King Cyaxeres of Media in an attack against the Assyrians. http://joseph_berrigan.tripod.com

Nahum--an obscure book? I don't recall any verses from it. I'm not sure how to say his name correctly, but here we go.

Background:

Chronologically he's between Micah and Habakkuk. He prophesied at the end of the Assyrian empire about Nineveh, its capital. His name means "comforter," and he's described as a "nationalistic Hebrew" by Wikipedia. Also, it notes that his tomb is in disrepair and is currently undergoing efforts to save/restore it.

The book talks about the destruction of Ninevah, a city founded by Nimrod with a long history. Both Jonah and Nahum prophesied to this city which was destroyed in 612 by the Babylonians, Medes, and Scythians. The city was under seige until a flood of the Khosr River broke down part of the wall that ran through the city.

"He remembers his officers; they stumble as they go, they hasten to the wall; the siege tower is set up. The river gates are opened; the palace melts away; its mistress is stripped; she is carried off, her slave girls lamenting, moaning like doves and beating their breasts. Nineveh is like a pool whose waters run away. "Halt! Halt!" they cry, but none turns back. " -Nahum 2:5-8

This is interesting background from Bible.org:

"The city was destroyed so completely by the flood and the enemies that when Alexander the Great fought the battle of Arbela nearby in 331 BC, he did not know there had been a city there. Nineveh was never rebuilt, and this confirms Nahum's prediction in 1:9 that “distress will not rise up twice.“ It wasn't until 1850 that Nineveh was discovered by archaeologists. It is interesting to read liberal commentaries from before 1850 because they had problems with believing the books of Jonah and Nahum because there was no record of Nineveh."

The Catholic Encyclopedia dates the book between 664-606BC.


From Bible.org

Theme & Verse

Here is an enlightening comment from Bible.org on the characteristics of prophetic literature and battle accounts of that era:

"God's vengeance (justice) and omnipotence are stressed by the complete devastation that is coming. His power is demonstrated by tornadoes and hurricanes and earthquakes. He can dry up the sea, wither the vegetation, and destroy everything on the earth. God has the power to do whatever He wants. No one can stand in His way.

What we don't realize is that in the ANE battle accounts and Assyrian records, the kings often described their battles with similar words. For example: Ashur-nasir-apli II claimed that at his approach “all lands convulse, writhe, and melt as though in a furnace.“ So, this description of God's approach would have had special significance to the listeners of that day."

"His way is in whirlwind and storm, and the clouds are the dust of his feet." -Nahum 1:3

"The mountains quake before him; the hills melt; the earth heaves before him, the world and all who dwell in it." Nahum 1:5

This is definitely not our culturally preferred picture of a kinder, gentler God. I wonder if we have over-effeminized God, drawing close to the softer, human, forgiving picture of Christ. God is soft and loving, but we must not also forget the harder edges of Him. The harder edges allow Him to be soft. They are necessary.

This God is the same God who frees us---but we have to recognize the reality of slavery, of the need to be released from the reality of evil and the consequences of our flesh to be freed:

"And now I will break his yoke from off you and will burst your bonds apart." Nahum 1:13

In ways, it reminds me of the necessity of a military presence. Yes, I would rather that we not need an army, but in light of the presence of evil in this world, there is a need for a push-back, a force capable of stopping the evil and defending the good. This spiritual force in our world is God.

"But with an overflowing flood he will make a complete end of the adversaries, and will pursue his enemies into darkness." Nahum 1:8

" I will make your grave, for you are vile." Nahum 1:14

"The chariots race madly through the streets; they rush to and fro through the squares; they gleam like torches; they dart like lightning." Nahum 2:4

"Desolate! Desolation and ruin! Hearts melt and knees tremble; anguish is in all loins; all faces grow pale!" Nahum 2:10

"Behold, I am against you, declares the LORD of hosts, and I will burn your chariots in smoke, and the sword shall devour your young lions. I will cut off your prey from the earth, and the voice of your messengers shall no longer be heard." Nahum 2:13

"Horsemen charging, flashing sword and glittering spear, hosts of slain, heaps of corpses, dead bodies without end— they stumble over the bodies!" -Nahum 3:3

"Behold, I am against you, declares the LORD of hosts, and will lift up your skirts over your face; and I will make nations look at your nakedness and kingdoms at your shame.

I will throw filth at you and treat you with contempt and make you a spectacle." -Nahum 3:5-6

Reading Nahum is like watching a war rage all around you--wailing, fear, death. No wonder the book is not a sentimental favorite of the masses--who wants to dwell upon the horrors of war? I think it's the same reason a piece of me shrinks from the book of Relevation. Because this imagery is so violent, I'd rather "skip it." Yet, the consequences are necessary for there to be true justice.

But the fact of the matter is that at the end of the day, wickedness must be checked, evil demands a powerful response:

"All who hear the news about you clap their hands over you. For upon whom has not come your unceasing evil?" Nahum 3:19

When faced with "unceasing evil," we long for release. Praise God that He has made a way, that things are tallied, and everything, even and especially the evil, is under His watchful eyes.