When you understand the history between Nineveh and Israel it makes perfect sense why Jonah ran the other direction. I include these two sections from “The Bible Readers Companion” to help you see why it is so important to understand the context of God’s Word. Without some basic background information it does not always make sense. A simple tool like this one can make reading through the bible a much richer experience. Also, if you have been to the One Year Bible web site you will see that after you click on the daily passage and it takes you to Bible Gateway there is a button that will give you commentary on each passage…it is a great tool.
The Book of Nahum has been criticized by some as an “orgy of hatred.” Nahum is a single focus book. It describes and reflects on the imminent destruction of Nineveh, the capital city of the mighty Assyrian Empire. What bothers many is that the book’s vivid portrait of God’s judgment of Nineveh lacks the sense of grace and compassion that balance the most grim warnings in the other prophets. But Nahum’s message was not addressed to the citizens of Nineveh.
He spoke to the oppressed people of Israel and Judah, who for over a century had suffered the brutal deprivations of Assyrian armies. These people had seen their homes destroyed, their crops burned, their wives and daughters raped, their children dashed against stone walls. That oppression took final form in 722 b.c. when the Assyrians totally destroyed Samaria and carried the people of Israel into captivity. This history of the relationship between Assyria and Israel/Judah puts the book in perspective. Rather than an orgy of hatred, Nahum is a celebration of just retribution. It is a cry of praise, affirming the justice of a God who has judged His own people harshly for their heinous sins and now shows Himself to be fair by meting out evenhanded judgment to their oppressors.
Nahum has frequently been ignored by believers because there seems to be little here that applies directly to Christian life or experience. Yet there are basic theological values expressed in this little book. God is sovereign and God is moral judge, not only of His people but of the whole world. He is able to judge sin wherever it is found, and He accepts this responsibility. As Nahum says, “The Lord is a jealous and avenging God … slow to anger and great in power; the Lord will not leave the guilty unpunished” (1:2–3).
The name “Nahum” means comfort. It must have been a comfort to the Jews who had suffered under the Assyrians to know that God would soon act in retribution. It was also a comfort to realize that one day, the power of hostile nations destroyed, the people of God will live and worship in peace, unthreatened by external enemies.
Richards, L. O. (1991; Published in electronic form by Logos Research Systems, 1996). The Bible readers companion (electronic ed.) (556). Wheaton: Victor Books.
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When the seventh seal on the scroll introduced in chapter 5 is opened, a new series of “trumpet” judgments is begun (8:1–6). The trumpet judgments devastate a third of earth’s vegetation (v. 7), seas (vv. 8–9), and fresh water (vv. 10–11), as well as a third of the heavenly bodies (vv. 12–13). Yet these judgments that shake the foundations of the material universe seem insignificant compared to what is to follow. Now the boundary between the supernatural and natural universe is breached; locust–like, demonic beings are unleashed to torture humankind (9:1–12). The sixth trumpet unleashes four unspeakably evil powers, with 200 million minions, who kill a third of humankind (vv. 13–19). Yet, despite these terrors, the rest of humanity did not repent but rededicated themselves to idolatry and immorality (vv. 20–21).
Key verse. 9:20: Even horrors don’t bring repentance.
Personal application. Stephen King’s dark visions are not half as bad as what the future holds for the lost. |
Richards, L. O. (1991; Published in electronic form by Logos Research Systems, 1996). The Bible readers companion (electronic ed.) (915). Wheaton: Victor Books.
Even in our Psalm for today, 136, about 1/2 way through we find ourselves praising God for killing the first born of Egypt, for destroying Egypt's army in the Red Sea…if I am not careful I can find myself judging them and others, God always intends for us to remove the log from our own eye first. I have found that after I, in humility, allow HIS precious Word to do its work within my heart, my judgmental attitude toward others is gone and I am filled with compassion, love and grace…longing for them to experience and to know Jesus.
Pursuing HIM together!
M