Every good movie seems to have a sequel today. Unfortunately, I’ve never seen a sequel yet that could hold a candle to the original movie. Such is not the case in the Old Testament. Jonah is one of the most exciting books in the Hebrew Bible. But its sequel carries just as much action and amazement. I am speaking of the book of Nahum – The sequel to Jonah – The sequel to the story about the whale. This Wednesday I start teaching through the book of Nahum to our Primetime group here at Grace (Primetime is a ministry for those who are over age 55). I love the first 9 verses of this sequel so I thought I would take the next few days to describe them.
Let’s start with the prophet himself, Nahum, mentioned in verse 1. We know little about him as he is only mentioned by name in this one verse. Nahum is also mentioned in Luke 3:25 but it is a different Nahum, one who was an ancestor of Jesus. All we are told about the Nahum of the Old Testament is that he was an Elkoshite, meaning he was from the town or village of Elkosh. Though we cannot be certain of the location of Elkosh it is possible that it was a small city in Galilee. In fact, the city of Capernaum, which was the Galilean headquarters of Jesus, literally means, “village of Nahum,” so it is quite possible that Capernaum was named after the Prophet Nahum who wrote the sequel to Jonah.
The name Nahum literally means “consolation” or “comforter.” We know that he was a prophet to the Southern Kingdom of Judah. Nahum’s ministry most likely occurred about 100 to 150 years after the ministry of Jonah and 100 years before the final destruction of Nineveh which occurred during the reign of Hezekiah. The theme of the book is “The Judgment on Nineveh.” In fact, in verse 1 Nahum call his writing an “oracle” which means a load or a burden. Nahum was delivering a threatening message from God to Nineveh. The tone of his writing is more severe and shows more passion than any of the other Minor Prophets in the Old Testament.
The city of Nineveh is first mentioned back in Genesis 10:11-12 when it was built by a man named Nimrod. At the time of Jonah and Nahum it was the capitol of the Assyrian Empire. This was the same city which, over 100 years earlier, had repented under the ministry of Jonah after he was swallowed by the great fish and spit out on Nineveh’s shore. The city was nothing short of amazing. From a military standpoint, it appeared to be impregnable. The walls of the city were 100 feet high and they were wide enough that chariots could race on top of them. The wall around the city had a circumference of 60 miles with over 1,200 towers. The Royal Palace in the city had an area of nearly 100,000 square feet and the Palace walls were sculptured with all the many scenes of King Sennacherib’s military conquests. The city was very garden like with many parks and even a zoo. It was called “The Great City” by God in Jonah 1:2.
And you should also note that the Assyrians were very cruel and ferocious. I could tell you many stories and give you many accounts of their horrific actions that would make your stomach turn and your heart sink. If you were to say the word “Nineveh” to someone living in Judah at the time of Nahum, fear would be able to be seen in their eyes. But still, as we will see tomorrow, Nineveh was no match for God!
Let’s start with the prophet himself, Nahum, mentioned in verse 1. We know little about him as he is only mentioned by name in this one verse. Nahum is also mentioned in Luke 3:25 but it is a different Nahum, one who was an ancestor of Jesus. All we are told about the Nahum of the Old Testament is that he was an Elkoshite, meaning he was from the town or village of Elkosh. Though we cannot be certain of the location of Elkosh it is possible that it was a small city in Galilee. In fact, the city of Capernaum, which was the Galilean headquarters of Jesus, literally means, “village of Nahum,” so it is quite possible that Capernaum was named after the Prophet Nahum who wrote the sequel to Jonah.
The name Nahum literally means “consolation” or “comforter.” We know that he was a prophet to the Southern Kingdom of Judah. Nahum’s ministry most likely occurred about 100 to 150 years after the ministry of Jonah and 100 years before the final destruction of Nineveh which occurred during the reign of Hezekiah. The theme of the book is “The Judgment on Nineveh.” In fact, in verse 1 Nahum call his writing an “oracle” which means a load or a burden. Nahum was delivering a threatening message from God to Nineveh. The tone of his writing is more severe and shows more passion than any of the other Minor Prophets in the Old Testament.
The city of Nineveh is first mentioned back in Genesis 10:11-12 when it was built by a man named Nimrod. At the time of Jonah and Nahum it was the capitol of the Assyrian Empire. This was the same city which, over 100 years earlier, had repented under the ministry of Jonah after he was swallowed by the great fish and spit out on Nineveh’s shore. The city was nothing short of amazing. From a military standpoint, it appeared to be impregnable. The walls of the city were 100 feet high and they were wide enough that chariots could race on top of them. The wall around the city had a circumference of 60 miles with over 1,200 towers. The Royal Palace in the city had an area of nearly 100,000 square feet and the Palace walls were sculptured with all the many scenes of King Sennacherib’s military conquests. The city was very garden like with many parks and even a zoo. It was called “The Great City” by God in Jonah 1:2.
And you should also note that the Assyrians were very cruel and ferocious. I could tell you many stories and give you many accounts of their horrific actions that would make your stomach turn and your heart sink. If you were to say the word “Nineveh” to someone living in Judah at the time of Nahum, fear would be able to be seen in their eyes. But still, as we will see tomorrow, Nineveh was no match for God!
No comments:
Post a Comment