Bible Version: New International Version (NIV)
Application Notes: Life Application Study Bible (NIV)
NAHUM 1
1 A prophecy concerning Nineveh. The book of the vision of Nahum the Elkoshite.
The Lord’s Anger Against Nineveh
2 The Lord is a jealous and avenging God;
the Lord takes vengeance and is filled with wrath.
The Lord takes vengeance on his foes
and vents his wrath against his enemies.
3 The Lord is slow to anger but great in power;
the Lord will not leave the guilty unpunished.
His way is in the whirlwind and the storm,
and clouds are the dust of his feet.
4 He rebukes the sea and dries it up;
he makes all the rivers run dry.
Bashan and Carmel wither
and the blossoms of Lebanon fade.
5 The mountains quake before him
and the hills melt away.
The earth trembles at his presence,
the world and all who live in it.
6 Who can withstand his indignation?
Who can endure his fierce anger?
His wrath is poured out like fire;
the rocks are shattered before him.
7 The Lord is good,
a refuge in times of trouble.
He cares for those who trust in him,
8 but with an overwhelming flood
he will make an end of Nineveh;
he will pursue his foes into the realm of darkness.
9 Whatever they plot against the Lord
he will bring to an end;
trouble will not come a second time.
10 They will be entangled among thorns
and drunk from their wine;
they will be consumed like dry stubble.
11 From you, Nineveh, has one come forth
who plots evil against the Lord
and devises wicked plans.
12 This is what the Lord says:
“Although they have allies and are numerous,
they will be destroyed and pass away.
Although I have afflicted you, Judah,
I will afflict you no more.
13 Now I will break their yoke from your neck
and tear your shackles away.”
14 The Lord has given a command concerning you, Nineveh:
“You will have no descendants to bear your name.
I will destroy the images and idols
that are in the temple of your gods.
I will prepare your grave,
for you are vile.”
15 Look, there on the mountains,
the feet of one who brings good news,
who proclaims peace!
Celebrate your festivals, Judah,
and fulfill your vows.
No more will the wicked invade you;
they will be completely destroyed.
Application Notes
1:1 Nahum, like Jonah, was a prophet to Nineveh, the capital of the Assyrian Empire, and he prophesied between 663 and 612 BC. Jonah had seen Nineveh repent a century earlier (read his story in the book of Jonah), but the city had fallen back into violence, idolatry, and oppression. Assyria, the world power controlling the Fertile Crescent, seemed unstoppable. Its ruthless and savage warriors had already conquered Israel, the northern kingdom, and were causing great suffering in Judah. So Nahum proclaimed God's anger against Assyria's evil. Within a few decades, the mighty Assyrian Empire would be toppled by Babylon.
1:1 This message from God came to Nahum in the form of a vision. Elkosh was a village now thought by some to have been in southwest Judah.
1:2 God alone has the right to be jealous and to carry out vengeance. Jealousy and vengeance may be surprising terms to associate with God; however, he exercises both (see Exodus 20:5). When humans are jealous and take vengeance, they almost always act in a spirit of selfishness. But as our creator, it is appropriate for God to insist on our complete allegiance, so for him to punish unrepentant, violent rebels is only just. He sets the standard of right and wrong. He wants us to worship him alone and follow his laws for living because he knows that they bring real peace, justice, and righteous behavior to any society. His jealousy and vengeance contain no selfishness. He desires to remove sin and restore ultimate peace to the world (Deuteronomy 4:24; 5:9).
1:3 God is slow to get angry, but when he is ready to punish, even the earth trembles. Often people avoid God because they see so much evil in the world, as well as misconduct and hypocrites in the church. They don't realize that because God is slow to anger, he gives his true followers time to share his love and truth with evildoers. But judgment will come; God will not allow sin to go unchecked forever. When people wonder why God doesn't punish evil immediately, help them remember that if he did, none of us would be here. We can all be thankful that God gives people time to turn to him.
1:4 Bashan and Carmel were very fertile areas.
1:6-8 To people who refuse to believe him, God's punishment blazes like an angry fire. They have no safe place to go. For those who love God, he provides a refuge and stronghold, meeting all their needs without diminishing his supply. His care and protection are close by them in all their troubles. But to God's enemies, he is an overwhelming flood that will sweep them away. The kind of relationship we have with God is up to us. What kind of relationship will you choose?
1:6 No person, family, or nation on earth can defy God, the Almighty, the creator of all the universe, and get away with it. God, who controls the sun, the galaxies, and the vast stretches beyond, also controls the rise and fall of nations. How could a temporal kingdom like Assyria, no matter how powerful, challenge God's awesome power? If only Assyria could have looked ahead to see the desolate mound of rubble that it would become—yet God would still be alive and well! Don't defy God; he will live forever, and his power greatly exceeds that of all armies and nations combined.
1:11 The one “who plots evil against the LORD” could have been (1) Ashurbanipal (669-627 BC), king of Assyria during much of Nahum's life and the one who brought Assyria to the zenith of its power; (2) Sennacherib (705-681), who openly defied God (2 Kings 18:13-35), epitomizing rebellion against God; or (3) no one king in particular but the entire Assyrian monarchy. The point was that Nineveh would be destroyed for rebelling against God.
1:12-15 The good news for the people of Judah, whom Assyria afflicted, was that their conquerors and tormentors would be destroyed and would never rise to torment them again. Nineveh was so completely wiped out that its ruins were not identified by archaeologists until 1845. This message of peace brings good news to faithful believers in every age: God is coming. He will judge and destroy all nations that try to get what they want with violence and cruelty.
Taken from Life Application Study Bible - Third Edition - (NIV)