May 13, 2025 • 21 mins
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God doesn't ignore injustice—He sees it all and will ultimately act to make things right. Nahum's powerful prophecy about the fall of Nineveh shows us a God who is patient yet powerful, offering comfort to His people who were living under oppression.
• Nahum's prophecy focuses on Nineveh's coming judgment after they returned to evil ways
• God had sent Jonah to Nineveh generations earlier, and they initially repented
• Assyria was known for brutality, terror tactics, and cruelty toward other nations
• Nahum describes God as both slow to anger and committed to justice
• Three specific prophecies were fulfilled exactly as Nahum predicted—floodwaters breaking the city, unprepared leaders, and destruction by fire
• Nahum's vivid, poetic imagery paints God as a storm, showing His power over nature
• The message offers comfort by showing God sees injustice and will address it
• The ultimate good news isn't just that evil is punished but that God offers refuge
• We can trust God to make things right rather than seeking revenge ourselves
Join us next week as we explore the book of Zephaniah, which offers a message about coming judgment but also beautiful pictures of God's joy over His people. Share this episode with a friend, leave a review, and subscribe on YouTube so you don't miss what's next.
SOURCES:
- Study Bible. (2016). Africa Study Bible. Oasis International Ltd.
- Busenitz, I. A. (n.d.). Preaching the Minor Prophets: A Practical Guide. Master’s Seminary Press.
- Gafney, W. C. M. (2017). Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah. In C. J. Dempsey & B. E. Reid (Eds.), Wisdom Commentary(Vol. 38). Liturgical Press.
- Got Questions Ministries. (2002–2013). Got Questions? Bible Questions Answered. Logos Bible Software.
- Holman Bible Publishers. (2017). CSB Disciple’s Study Bible: Notes. Holman Bible Publishers.
- Lawrence, P. (2024). The Lion Atlas of Bible History (2nd ed.). Lion.
- MacArthur, J. (Ed.). (1997). NIV The MacArthur Study Bible (electronic ed.). Word Publishing.
- Nelson, T. (Ed.). (n.d.). The NIV, Open Bible: Complete Reference System [Kindle version]. Thomas Nelson.
- Pelfrey, L. M., Kenney, J. A., et al. (Eds.). (2021–2022). Justice and Deliverance. In The NIV Standard Lesson Commentary(Vol. 28, pp. 147–148). Standard Publishing.
RELATED EPISODE:
Jonah: The Runaway Prophet and the Heart of God
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Note: All scripture references are from the NIV translation unless otherwise indicated.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
JACQUI (00:12):
Greetings listeners.
Have you ever seen someone getaway with something awful and
wondered where is God in this?
God in this?
(00:39):
Maybe it was an abuse of power,a violent act, or just offers a
powerful truth?
God sees injustice and he willnot let it go unanswered.
If you've ever wrestled withthe silence of God in the face
of evil, this episode is for you.
(01:00):
Well, welcome everyone.
I'm your host, Jacqui Adewole,and this is the Bible Basics
Podcast, where weekly, we breakdown the basics of the Bible
into understandable, bite-sizedchunks.
Today we're opening the book ofNahum.
(01:22):
It's a compact only threechapters and fiery message.
It's a reminder of God'sjustice, his patience and the
hope we can hold on to, even ina world filled with violence and
corruption.
Let's begin by discussing theprophet Nahum himself.
(01:44):
Let's begin by discussing theprophet Nahum himself.
His name means comfort orconsolation, which might seem
strange given how intense hismessage is.
He was from a place calledElkosh, but scholars aren't
(02:04):
exactly sure where that was.
What we do know is that Godraised Nahum up to deliver a
single, focused message Ninevehwill fall.
Now we'll set the historicalstage so we can understand when
Nahum was speaking.
Let's rewind about a century tothe time of the prophet Jonah.
(02:28):
God has sent Jonah to Nineveh,a major city in the Assyrian
empire, to warn them to turnfrom their evil, and
surprisingly they did.
The whole city repented, whichmeans they changed direction,
they humbled themselves, theyadmitted they were wrong and
(02:49):
chose to turn back to God.
But fast forward 100 to 150years and things had changed.
The repentance didn't last.
By the time Nahum comes on thescene, around the mid-600s BC,
nineveh had gone right back toits old evil ways.
(03:13):
It had become one of the mostviolent and oppressive cities in
the ancient world.
Where Jonah had warned Ninevehthat judgment would come if they
didn't repent.
Nahum now announces you wentback to your old ways and now
judgment has come.
(03:33):
Judgment here doesn't just meanpunishment, it means justice.
God is stepping in to makethings right.
God is stepping in to makethings right.
Now let's talk a little bitabout Assyria, the empire
Nineveh belonged to.
They weren't just anotherpowerful kingdom on the map.
(03:55):
They were known for terrortactics, torture, public
executions and cruelty thatterrified other nations.
Nahum chapter 3 paints itvividly Blood in the streets,
piles of corpses, lies,exploitation and spiritual
(04:18):
deception.
It's graphic, it's intense andit's the reality God's people
were living under.
This wasn't something Judahfeared.
They had seen it happen.
Roughly 70 to 90 years earlier,Assyria had crushed the
(04:40):
northern kingdom of Israel andscattered its people.
That trauma was still fresh intheir national memory.
Their kingdom, the southernkingdom of Judah, was still
standing, but they were afraid.
They had seen what Assyriacould do.
They had watched theirneighbors fall.
(05:00):
So Nahum's message wasn't justa political prediction.
It was deeply personal.
Now that we understand theprophet and the backdrop, let's
walk through Nahum's coremessage, what God was saying
through him and why it stillmatters for us today.
(05:22):
And why it still matters for ustoday.
First, let's consider this WasNahum speaking to Nineveh or
about Nineveh?
That's a really importantquestion because while the book
is all about the coming fall ofNineveh, it wasn't written for
the people of Nineveh.
(05:43):
The message was meant for Judah, the southern kingdom, who were
living under the crushingweight of the Assyrian power.
Nineveh was the subject, butGod's people were the audience,
and that changes how we hear it.
This wasn't a warning toJudah's enemies, it was comfort
(06:07):
for God's people.
Notice I used the word comfortand remember that's what Nahum's
name means.
So Nahum's message holds threebig truths.
One God is patient.
Two, God is just.
And three, God will act,meaning he will punish
(06:30):
wrongdoing.
Nahum, chapter 1, verse 3, saysit like this the Lord is slow
to anger, but great in power.
The Lord will not leave theguilty unpunished.
That one verse captures thetension running throughout the
whole book.
(06:50):
God had given Nineveh a chance.
Remember he'd sent Jonah tothem generations earlier.
They repented then, but nowthey have returned to violence,
lies and pride.
And God didn't ignore it.
Nahum names their sins clearlyViolence and bloodshed.
(07:12):
We see that in chapter 3, verse1.
Assyria was brutal.
Their cruelty was famous andfeared Lies and exploitation.
That's chapter 3, verse 1 aswell.
They used deceit andmanipulation to dominate weaker
nations.
Spiritual deception we see thatin chapter 3, verse 4.
(07:34):
Nahum compares them to aseductive prostitute, drawing in
other nations with false hopeand empty promises.
And finally, pride.
We see that in chapter 3,verses 8 through 19.
They thought they wereuntouchable.
A fortress for a city, wealthy,powerful, above consequence.
(08:01):
But they weren't.
And here's the heart of it Godacted.
Just a few decades after Nahumspoke, the unthinkable happened.
Babylon and the Medes overthrewthem.
They fell.
The Assyrian empire collapsed.
(08:23):
The very city that hadterrified the world was brought
to the ground.
This wasn't just punishment, itwas God's justice.
God was defending his people,for those in Judah who had
suffered, who had lived in fearof what Assyria might do next.
(08:44):
This was good news.
Chapter 1, verse 15, says lookthere on the mountains, the feet
of one who brings good news,who proclaims peace.
Chapter 1, verse 7, puts itlike this the Lord is good, a
refuge in times of trouble, hecares for those who trust him.
(09:07):
You don't have to live in fearanymore.
God sees, god knows, God willact, and in Nahum's day he did
so.
How do we know God acted?
Because what Nahum predictedactually happened, and not in
(09:29):
vague ways.
Nahum gives three specific,vivid descriptions of Nineveh's
downfall, and history confirmsthem.
One floodwaters broke the city.
Chapter 1, verse 8, says withan overwhelming flood, he will
(09:49):
make an end of Nineveh.
Ancient records suggest thatduring the Babylonian siege of
Nineveh in 612 BC, the TigrisRiver flooded, weakening the
city walls.
Part of the walls collapsed,giving Babylon and the Medes the
opening they needed.
(10:10):
Two leaders were caught offguard.
Chapter 3, verse 11, says youtoo will become drunk.
You will go into hiding.
Some ancient sources suggestNineveh's leaders were
unprepared, possibly celebratingor overconfident.
When the attack came, theypanicked.
(10:32):
They fled.
The city fell quickly and threefire and total destruction.
Chapter 3, verse 13 says Firehas consumed the bars of your
gates.
History confirms that fireplayed a major role in Nineveh's
(10:53):
destruction.
The city was burned, looted andleft in ruins.
In fact, it was so thoroughlydestroyed that it disappeared
from history.
For centuries, people thoughtNineveh was just a legend, until
its ruins were discovered inthe mid-1800s AD near modern-day
(11:16):
Mosul in Iraq.
This wasn't just prophecy.
It became history and it showedGod's people and the world.
He meant what he said and theworld.
He meant what he said.
Now let's talk about how Nahumdelivers God's message.
(11:38):
Not just what he says, but howhe said it.
Nahum doesn't preach with bulletpoints, he paints scenes.
(11:59):
His writing is poetic, vividand almost cinematic.
He uses bold images to helppeople feel the power of what
God is doing.
Here are a few strikingexamples.
In chapter 1, verses 3 through6, god is described like a storm
, a whirlwind.
Mountains melt, rivers run dry,the earth trembles when he
shows up.
This isn't a quiet, distant God.
(12:20):
This is the God who commandsnature itself.
In chapter 2, verses 3 through 6, he describes battle with
almost movie-like intensity Redshields, flashing chariots,
chaos in the streets,floodwaters breaking in.
You can picture it, you canhear it, you can feel the fear.
(12:45):
In chapter 3, verses 5 and 6.
God is saying you've hiddenbehind power and pride, but now
your shame is uncovered for allto see.
These aren't just dramaticwords.
(13:07):
This is God shaking his peopleawake, reminding them that he
hasn't gone silent.
He still sees, he still speaks,he's still in control.
So what does all this have todo with Jesus and with us?
(13:27):
While Nahum doesn't mention theMessiah, the promised Savior,
jesus by name, it revealssomething essential who God is,
his character, his justice andhis heart towards those who
trust him.
And because Jesus is fully God.
When we see who God is in Nahum, we're also getting a clearer
(13:51):
picture of why Jesus came.
So in this final section, let'slook at three ways.
Nahum points us toward theheart of the gospel, the good
news that God rescues us.
Through Jesus We'll see God'scharacter, God's justice and
(14:12):
God's good news.
First, god's character.
In chapter 1, verses 2 through8, we get one of the clearest
pictures of who God is in theentire Old Testament.
He is powerful, patient, holyand just.
Let's listen to how Nahumdescribes God right at the start
(14:33):
.
Right at the start, quote theLord is a jealous and avenging
God.
The Lord takes vengeance and isfilled with wrath.
The Lord takes vengeance on his, but great in power.
(14:58):
He will not leave the guiltyunpunished.
Unquote that's Nahum, chapter 1, verses 2 and 3.
That might sound intense, butit's not out of control.
Anger, God's jealousy, means hefiercely protects what is good.
(15:21):
His wrath is his righteousresponse to evil, not a loss of
temper but a commitment tojustice.
And even in his anger he isslow to act.
He is patient but powerful.
God sees what's wrong.
(15:42):
He gives time to turn back, butwhen the time comes he will act
.
And then comes this quiet,powerful verse 7.
The Lord is good, a refuge intimes of trouble, he cares for
(16:05):
those who trust him.
That means in the middle ofjudgment we get this reminder.
For those who trust him, he'snot someone to run from, he's
someone to run to.
Second, let's look at God'sjustice.
Nahum reminds us that Goddoesn't ignore evil, he
(16:27):
confronts it.
Chapter 1, verse 3 says theLord is slow to anger, but great
in power.
The Lord will not leave theguilty unpunished.
God had given Nineveh a chance.
Remember Jonah.
But now, after generations ofviolence and pride, the time for
(16:47):
justice had come.
Chapter 1, verse 6, asks who canwithstand his indignation, who
can endure his fierce anger?
And in chapter 3, verse 5, godspeaks directly to Nineveh I am
(17:09):
against you, declares the LordAlmighty.
Wow, those are words we neverhope to hear.
Wow, those are words we neverhope to hear.
These aren't just poetic lines,they're a sobering reminder.
God sees everything and he willmake things right.
(17:30):
And that's exactly what thecross is about.
Romans, chapter 3, verse 25,tells us that Jesus became the
place where God dealt with sinonce and for all.
At the cross, jesus took thejudgment we deserved so we could
receive the mercy we didn'tearn.
(17:50):
And one more thing regardingGod's justice.
In the New Testament, Paulwrites in Romans, chapter 12,
verse 19,.
Do not take revenge, for it iswritten.
It is mine to avenge.
I will repay, says the Lord.
So if you've been holding on toa wrong done to you, here's
(18:14):
something to consider.
What would it look like totrust God to make it right?
And third, there's God's goodnews.
Nahum, chapter 1, verse 15, sayslook there on the mountains,
the feet of one who brings goodnews.
(18:36):
That same verse shows up inIsaiah 52 and again in Romans 10
, where Paul connects itdirectly to the gospel.
The ultimate good news.
That same verse shows up inIsaiah 52 and again in Romans,
chapter 10, where Paul connectsit directly to the gospel.
(19:00):
The good news and the ultimategood news wasn't just that
Nineveh would fall, it's thatJesus would rise to save us, to
forgive us, to bring us into anew life with God.
So what do we take away fromNahum?
(19:23):
Here's the core God sees whathas been done.
He doesn't ignore evil.
His justice may feel slow, butit's never absent and his mercy
is always near to those whotrust Him.
Nahum shows us a side of Godthat's often forgotten.
(19:45):
He will act to punish evil, notbecause he's harsh or impatient
, but because he's good, becausehe's just, because he cannot
and will not let cruelty gounchecked forever.
That means you don't have tocarry revenge, you don't have to
(20:08):
fix everything on.
God knows and God will act.
Next time we'll turn to thebook of Zephaniah, another voice
from the same era, but with avery different tone.
(20:29):
It's a message of comingjudgment, yes, but also one of
the most beautiful pictures ofGod's joy over his people.
Until then, keep reading, keepseeking and keep growing in your
faith and, as always, if thisepisode helped you, share it
(20:51):
with a friend, leave a reviewand subscribe if you're on
YouTube, so you don't misswhat's next.
Greetings listeners.
Have you ever seen someone getaway with something awful and
wondered where is God in this?
God in this?
(00:39):
Maybe it was an abuse of power,a violent act, or just offers a
powerful truth?
God sees injustice and he willnot let it go unanswered.
If you've ever wrestled withthe silence of God in the face
of evil, this episode is for you.
(01:00):
Well, welcome everyone.
I'm your host, Jacqui Adewole,and this is the Bible Basics
Podcast, where weekly, we breakdown the basics of the Bible
into understandable, bite-sizedchunks.
Today we're opening the book ofNahum.
(01:22):
It's a compact only threechapters and fiery message.
It's a reminder of God'sjustice, his patience and the
hope we can hold on to, even ina world filled with violence and
corruption.
Let's begin by discussing theprophet Nahum himself.
(01:44):
Let's begin by discussing theprophet Nahum himself.
His name means comfort orconsolation, which might seem
strange given how intense hismessage is.
He was from a place calledElkosh, but scholars aren't
(02:04):
exactly sure where that was.
What we do know is that Godraised Nahum up to deliver a
single, focused message Ninevehwill fall.
Now we'll set the historicalstage so we can understand when
Nahum was speaking.
Let's rewind about a century tothe time of the prophet Jonah.
(02:28):
God has sent Jonah to Nineveh,a major city in the Assyrian
empire, to warn them to turnfrom their evil, and
surprisingly they did.
The whole city repented, whichmeans they changed direction,
they humbled themselves, theyadmitted they were wrong and
(02:49):
chose to turn back to God.
But fast forward 100 to 150years and things had changed.
The repentance didn't last.
By the time Nahum comes on thescene, around the mid-600s BC,
nineveh had gone right back toits old evil ways.
(03:13):
It had become one of the mostviolent and oppressive cities in
the ancient world.
Where Jonah had warned Ninevehthat judgment would come if they
didn't repent.
Nahum now announces you wentback to your old ways and now
judgment has come.
(03:33):
Judgment here doesn't just meanpunishment, it means justice.
God is stepping in to makethings right.
God is stepping in to makethings right.
Now let's talk a little bitabout Assyria, the empire
Nineveh belonged to.
They weren't just anotherpowerful kingdom on the map.
(03:55):
They were known for terrortactics, torture, public
executions and cruelty thatterrified other nations.
Nahum chapter 3 paints itvividly Blood in the streets,
piles of corpses, lies,exploitation and spiritual
(04:18):
deception.
It's graphic, it's intense andit's the reality God's people
were living under.
This wasn't something Judahfeared.
They had seen it happen.
Roughly 70 to 90 years earlier,Assyria had crushed the
(04:40):
northern kingdom of Israel andscattered its people.
That trauma was still fresh intheir national memory.
Their kingdom, the southernkingdom of Judah, was still
standing, but they were afraid.
They had seen what Assyriacould do.
They had watched theirneighbors fall.
(05:00):
So Nahum's message wasn't justa political prediction.
It was deeply personal.
Now that we understand theprophet and the backdrop, let's
walk through Nahum's coremessage, what God was saying
through him and why it stillmatters for us today.
(05:22):
And why it still matters for ustoday.
First, let's consider this WasNahum speaking to Nineveh or
about Nineveh?
That's a really importantquestion because while the book
is all about the coming fall ofNineveh, it wasn't written for
the people of Nineveh.
(05:43):
The message was meant for Judah, the southern kingdom, who were
living under the crushingweight of the Assyrian power.
Nineveh was the subject, butGod's people were the audience,
and that changes how we hear it.
This wasn't a warning toJudah's enemies, it was comfort
(06:07):
for God's people.
Notice I used the word comfortand remember that's what Nahum's
name means.
So Nahum's message holds threebig truths.
One God is patient.
Two, God is just.
And three, God will act,meaning he will punish
(06:30):
wrongdoing.
Nahum, chapter 1, verse 3, saysit like this the Lord is slow
to anger, but great in power.
The Lord will not leave theguilty unpunished.
That one verse captures thetension running throughout the
whole book.
(06:50):
God had given Nineveh a chance.
Remember he'd sent Jonah tothem generations earlier.
They repented then, but nowthey have returned to violence,
lies and pride.
And God didn't ignore it.
Nahum names their sins clearlyViolence and bloodshed.
(07:12):
We see that in chapter 3, verse1.
Assyria was brutal.
Their cruelty was famous andfeared Lies and exploitation.
That's chapter 3, verse 1 aswell.
They used deceit andmanipulation to dominate weaker
nations.
Spiritual deception we see thatin chapter 3, verse 4.
(07:34):
Nahum compares them to aseductive prostitute, drawing in
other nations with false hopeand empty promises.
And finally, pride.
We see that in chapter 3,verses 8 through 19.
They thought they wereuntouchable.
A fortress for a city, wealthy,powerful, above consequence.
(08:01):
But they weren't.
And here's the heart of it Godacted.
Just a few decades after Nahumspoke, the unthinkable happened.
Babylon and the Medes overthrewthem.
They fell.
The Assyrian empire collapsed.
(08:23):
The very city that hadterrified the world was brought
to the ground.
This wasn't just punishment, itwas God's justice.
God was defending his people,for those in Judah who had
suffered, who had lived in fearof what Assyria might do next.
(08:44):
This was good news.
Chapter 1, verse 15, says lookthere on the mountains, the feet
of one who brings good news,who proclaims peace.
Chapter 1, verse 7, puts itlike this the Lord is good, a
refuge in times of trouble, hecares for those who trust him.
(09:07):
You don't have to live in fearanymore.
God sees, god knows, God willact, and in Nahum's day he did
so.
How do we know God acted?
Because what Nahum predictedactually happened, and not in
(09:29):
vague ways.
Nahum gives three specific,vivid descriptions of Nineveh's
downfall, and history confirmsthem.
One floodwaters broke the city.
Chapter 1, verse 8, says withan overwhelming flood, he will
(09:49):
make an end of Nineveh.
Ancient records suggest thatduring the Babylonian siege of
Nineveh in 612 BC, the TigrisRiver flooded, weakening the
city walls.
Part of the walls collapsed,giving Babylon and the Medes the
opening they needed.
(10:10):
Two leaders were caught offguard.
Chapter 3, verse 11, says youtoo will become drunk.
You will go into hiding.
Some ancient sources suggestNineveh's leaders were
unprepared, possibly celebratingor overconfident.
When the attack came, theypanicked.
(10:32):
They fled.
The city fell quickly and threefire and total destruction.
Chapter 3, verse 13 says Firehas consumed the bars of your
gates.
History confirms that fireplayed a major role in Nineveh's
(10:53):
destruction.
The city was burned, looted andleft in ruins.
In fact, it was so thoroughlydestroyed that it disappeared
from history.
For centuries, people thoughtNineveh was just a legend, until
its ruins were discovered inthe mid-1800s AD near modern-day
(11:16):
Mosul in Iraq.
This wasn't just prophecy.
It became history and it showedGod's people and the world.
He meant what he said and theworld.
He meant what he said.
Now let's talk about how Nahumdelivers God's message.
(11:38):
Not just what he says, but howhe said it.
Nahum doesn't preach with bulletpoints, he paints scenes.
(11:59):
His writing is poetic, vividand almost cinematic.
He uses bold images to helppeople feel the power of what
God is doing.
Here are a few strikingexamples.
In chapter 1, verses 3 through6, god is described like a storm
, a whirlwind.
Mountains melt, rivers run dry,the earth trembles when he
shows up.
This isn't a quiet, distant God.
(12:20):
This is the God who commandsnature itself.
In chapter 2, verses 3 through 6, he describes battle with
almost movie-like intensity Redshields, flashing chariots,
chaos in the streets,floodwaters breaking in.
You can picture it, you canhear it, you can feel the fear.
(12:45):
In chapter 3, verses 5 and 6.
God is saying you've hiddenbehind power and pride, but now
your shame is uncovered for allto see.
These aren't just dramaticwords.
(13:07):
This is God shaking his peopleawake, reminding them that he
hasn't gone silent.
He still sees, he still speaks,he's still in control.
So what does all this have todo with Jesus and with us?
(13:27):
While Nahum doesn't mention theMessiah, the promised Savior,
jesus by name, it revealssomething essential who God is,
his character, his justice andhis heart towards those who
trust him.
And because Jesus is fully God.
When we see who God is in Nahum, we're also getting a clearer
(13:51):
picture of why Jesus came.
So in this final section, let'slook at three ways.
Nahum points us toward theheart of the gospel, the good
news that God rescues us.
Through Jesus We'll see God'scharacter, God's justice and
(14:12):
God's good news.
First, god's character.
In chapter 1, verses 2 through8, we get one of the clearest
pictures of who God is in theentire Old Testament.
He is powerful, patient, holyand just.
Let's listen to how Nahumdescribes God right at the start
(14:33):
.
Right at the start, quote theLord is a jealous and avenging
God.
The Lord takes vengeance and isfilled with wrath.
The Lord takes vengeance on his, but great in power.
(14:58):
He will not leave the guiltyunpunished.
Unquote that's Nahum, chapter 1, verses 2 and 3.
That might sound intense, butit's not out of control.
Anger, God's jealousy, means hefiercely protects what is good.
(15:21):
His wrath is his righteousresponse to evil, not a loss of
temper but a commitment tojustice.
And even in his anger he isslow to act.
He is patient but powerful.
God sees what's wrong.
(15:42):
He gives time to turn back, butwhen the time comes he will act
.
And then comes this quiet,powerful verse 7.
The Lord is good, a refuge intimes of trouble, he cares for
(16:05):
those who trust him.
That means in the middle ofjudgment we get this reminder.
For those who trust him, he'snot someone to run from, he's
someone to run to.
Second, let's look at God'sjustice.
Nahum reminds us that Goddoesn't ignore evil, he
(16:27):
confronts it.
Chapter 1, verse 3 says theLord is slow to anger, but great
in power.
The Lord will not leave theguilty unpunished.
God had given Nineveh a chance.
Remember Jonah.
But now, after generations ofviolence and pride, the time for
(16:47):
justice had come.
Chapter 1, verse 6, asks who canwithstand his indignation, who
can endure his fierce anger?
And in chapter 3, verse 5, godspeaks directly to Nineveh I am
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against you, declares the LordAlmighty.
Wow, those are words we neverhope to hear.
Wow, those are words we neverhope to hear.
These aren't just poetic lines,they're a sobering reminder.
God sees everything and he willmake things right.
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And that's exactly what thecross is about.
Romans, chapter 3, verse 25,tells us that Jesus became the
place where God dealt with sinonce and for all.
At the cross, jesus took thejudgment we deserved so we could
receive the mercy we didn'tearn.
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And one more thing regardingGod's justice.
In the New Testament, Paulwrites in Romans, chapter 12,
verse 19,.
Do not take revenge, for it iswritten.
It is mine to avenge.
I will repay, says the Lord.
So if you've been holding on toa wrong done to you, here's
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something to consider.
What would it look like totrust God to make it right?
And third, there's God's goodnews.
Nahum, chapter 1, verse 15, sayslook there on the mountains,
the feet of one who brings goodnews.
(18:36):
That same verse shows up inIsaiah 52 and again in Romans 10
, where Paul connects itdirectly to the gospel.
The ultimate good news.
That same verse shows up inIsaiah 52 and again in Romans,
chapter 10, where Paul connectsit directly to the gospel.
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The good news and the ultimategood news wasn't just that
Nineveh would fall, it's thatJesus would rise to save us, to
forgive us, to bring us into anew life with God.
So what do we take away fromNahum?
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Here's the core God sees whathas been done.
He doesn't ignore evil.
His justice may feel slow, butit's never absent and his mercy
is always near to those whotrust Him.
Nahum shows us a side of Godthat's often forgotten.
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He will act to punish evil, notbecause he's harsh or impatient
, but because he's good, becausehe's just, because he cannot
and will not let cruelty gounchecked forever.
That means you don't have tocarry revenge, you don't have to
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fix everything on.
God knows and God will act.
Next time we'll turn to thebook of Zephaniah, another voice
from the same era, but with avery different tone.
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It's a message of comingjudgment, yes, but also one of
the most beautiful pictures ofGod's joy over his people.
Until then, keep reading, keepseeking and keep growing in your
faith and, as always, if thisepisode helped you, share it
(20:51):
with a friend, leave a reviewand subscribe if you're on
YouTube, so you don't misswhat's next.
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