Fear No Fear

(All scripture from Lexham English Bible, Copyright 2012 Logos Bible Software)

“The oracle concerning Nineveh—the scroll of the vision of Nahum the Elkoshite:” (Nahum 1:1)

Nahum is the sequel to the book of Jonah. It is the other half of God’s word to the people of Nineveh. It was written about a hundred to a hundred and fifty years after Jonah. Some scholars make Nahum a contemporary of Isaiah and Micah, others put him before that. His prophesy came to pass in 612 B.C. so he was definitely before that. The first increased threat to Israel from Assyria (of which Nineveh is the capital) was in 722 B.C. when Assyria invaded Israel, took a large population captive, and resettled the land with Assyrians. His prophesy probably came after this point. Scholars don’t agree on much else. Back when Jonah went to Nineveh, he proclaimed the destruction of wicked Nineveh. It was a prophetic warning or a prophetic promise depending on how Assyria received it. They DID receive it as a warning, repented, and turned to Yahweh. But they did not CONTINUE walking in their repentance. They TURNED from Yahweh and returned to their wicked ways. Therefore, after over a hundred years, judgment came. God is slow to anger, but when you walk in knowing rebellion judgment must come sooner or later. Their wickedness was mounting, but their attacking the Children of God? It was the last straw. Nahum is God’s response to their knowing rebellion and an attack on His kids.

God is SLOW to anger, not never angry. He is a just God and punishes Sin. [We in the New Covenant benefit from Jesus having paid the price for Sin. We don’t need to live under JUDGMENT, we get to benefit from God’s CORRECTION.] He is God and He IS power. No one and nothing can stand against Him. He is a GOOD God and He KNOWS those who trust in Him. He KNOWS who has made Him a stronghold. Nineveh had LEFT that protection. Now they would experience the consequences of their choices and continued actions. It would come on them like a flood. There would be an utter end of them. In fact, historians of the ancient world told of the Euphrates River flooding and destroying the walls of Nineveh and the king burning the palace with himself and all his family within it to avoid being captured. They had thought themselves safe, but no one can escape payment for Sin. Nahum takes a moment to use this to call Judah to repentance and a re-dedication to observing God’s Law. It might look bad, but Messiah would come. How blessed are those who spread the good news!

“Woe to the city that has shed much blood! She is a deceiver, She is filled with plunder, She has hoarded her spoils of war. The crack of the whip! The rumbling of the chariot wheel! The galloping of the horse! The racing of the chariot!” (Nahum 3:1-2)

Nineveh was a MIGHTY city. It was in its PRIME. They threatened Israel. They threatened Judah. They were like lions roaring all around. Their chariots raced to and fro, crowding the streets and declaring their dominance and superiority. But God could overtake them – and would. Their city was full of lies and robbery. It was a city of blood, and the Lord was crying over what had to happen. God is LOVE and doesn’t desire ANYONE to be judged, but He is RIGHTEOUS and JUST and He MUST when they refuse to walk in His Way. The city would be trampled and torn up. It would be sold like a whore in the streets. God was against them. They would be stripped bare for all the world to see. No one would mourn her. No one would comfort her. Ethiopia, Put, Lubim, and Egypt would NOT be able to help them. Their strongholds would fall. They would be devoured by fire and the sword. Their would be no healing for it. They would not be spared. They would get the consequences they had chosen in rejecting the Lord God Almighty in full knowledge of what it would mean (Jonah 3). It was finished – the Babylonians conquered them around 606 BC and NOTHING but a little rubble is left today (around Mosul in Iraq).

“The oracle that Habakkuk the prophet saw.” (Habakkuk 1:1)

Habakkuk wrote before the captivity of Judah and shortly before the fall of Assyria. Habakkuk is concerned with exactly how God is active with Israel and the nations of the world. He is curious about things he sees from his point of view and asks God’s thoughts. This is a dialogue between a prophet and God whom he serves.

Habakkuk’s first question is why the wicked seem to prosper? Asaph asked the same thing in Psalm 73. Why do the righteous cry out, but nothing seems to happen? Why does the law seem to be powerless? God answered telling Habakkuk to keep his eyes open. That God was bringing a judgment on the nations of the world that no one would believe if He told all of it. He was raising the Chaldeans (the Babylonians) to take the world by fire and sword, and the Lord would allow famine. It would be bitter and violent. But then they would get full of themselves and claim all the victories as theirs and commit offense against God. Habakkuk was taken aback. He had wanted judgment, but not THIS MUCH judgment. It was one thing to punish the ungodly, but to punish them with the truly wicked seemed a bit much. He pleaded for mercy. But He knew God was God. He waited for God’s answer, humbling himself and preparing to alter his thinking to conform to God’s answer.

God told him that He would NOT relent. In fact, Habakkuk should write it all down and write it plainly so everyone could see it and understand. This was a future judgment, but it was coming whether it happened immediately or not. The Lord was long-suffering, but He was paying attention and everyone would get what their actions and hearts warranted. Because of the prideful sin, because the appetites of the wicked could not be satisfied, because of all their actions, God said ‘Woe is them’. They would become booty for the nations. Their creditors would come calling. They would be plundered for the bloodshed they built themselves on. The stones and beams of the city would cry out. The whole Earth would know that Yahweh IS God and that God had done this.

“A prayer of Habakkuk the prophet, according to Shigionoth.” (Habakkuk 3:1)

This prayer of Habakkuk was set to music, like the psalms were, and was to be played upon stringed instruments. Habakkuk saw the judgment, prayed for mercy, and now gave praise to the Lord for His majesty in judgment and the mercy He shows – preserving remnants where He could and keeping them safe for the future. God NEVER punishes anyone as much as they deserve, even though He would be justified in doing so.

Habakkuk looks at all God is and the things God had done. His majesty and His unending nature. God hadn’t hidden His judgment, but had warned and witnessed and proclaimed that repentance should be the watchword of ALL peoples. Great signs and wonders had been shown, demonstrating His superiority and greatness. He had done wonderful things and shown the world HE was God. Habakkuk listed all the things God had done for Israel when they had deserved none of it and thanked Him for preserving them in captivity when it came – even though they didn’t deserve that either. He glorified God for His repeated love for not only His children, but all people. He thanked the Lord for His assurance that even though Habakkuk couldn’t SEE it and didn’t always UNDERSTAND it, God was JUST and ALL who deserved it WOULD be punished. [Thank the Lord Jesus came and we do NOT get what WE deserve, but in and through Jesus we get what HE deserves – 2 Corinthians 5:21). Habakkuk rejoiced in His God, even in a time of trouble, and chose to stay in the Joy of salvation that God promised. The Lord would be his strength and he would walk with God in all things.

Summary

Key Players: God, Nahum, Habakkuk

Key Verse(s): Nahum 1:1-6, 2:7-13, 3:1-7; Habakkuk 1:1-9, 2:2-5 & 18-20, 3:17-19