Nahum 1:1

The Bible says in Nahum 1:1-3, “The burden of Nineveh. The book of the vision of Nahum the Elkoshite.[2] God is jealous, and the LORD revengeth; the LORD revengeth, and is furious; the LORD will take vengeance on his adversaries, and he reserveth wrath for his enemies.[3] The LORD is slow to anger, and great in power, and will not at all acquit the wicked: the LORD hath his way in the whirlwind and in the storm, and the clouds are the dust of his feet.” The book of Nahum is about Nineveh. We remember that the book of Jonah was also about Nineveh, and so we see that the Lord has chosen the city of Nineveh to teach us many lessons about His doings with the children of men. We know that when Jonah went and preached to Nineveh that the people in the city repented and turned to the Lord. But now when we get to Nineveh another hundred years have passed. This means that all those who repented in the days of Jonah had gone on to be with the Lord, and now a new generation was living in Nineveh. Just because their fore-fathers turned to the Lord does not mean that they will, and they did not. Just because the parents are Christians does not mean that the children will love Jesus and give Him their hearts. Everyone makes his or her own decision. Another truth seen here is the fact that Christianity will die out as soon as there is a generation who does not repent and turn to Jesus. Christianity will die when my generation dies unless we have been able to pass the Gospel of Christ to the next generation. What happened in Nineveh is a good example of that very truth.

The first thing that Nahum said in verse two is, “God is jealous.” Not only is God jealous, but one of His names is “Jealous.” It says in Exodus 34:14, “For thou shalt worship no other god: for the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God.” This holy jealousy that God has is related directly to the first of the Ten Commandments. It says in Exodus 20:3, “Thou shalt have no other gods before me.” It means, “Thou shalt have no other gods before my face,” the implication being that it would be an affront and an insult before God to have anyone or anything take the place of God. We were born to serve the Lord. We were born out of the love of God for the purpose of returning love to Him. God’s love burns towards us with His great eternal love. Of course, He is jealous when His lovers spurn Him for another.

He has given us a free choice. The only right choice is to choose to love Him. We are evil and selfish when we do not love Him. He died for us, and then He wooed us every one. To reject God and the Savior’s love is the worst of all sins. Nahum 1:2 warns everyone, not just the people of Nineveh, “the LORD revengeth; the LORD revengeth, and is furious; the LORD will take vengeance on his adversaries, and he reserveth wrath for his enemies.” The truth is that if you reject God’s love, you will only do so if you have also made yourself an enemy of God. That is not a good idea because He is all-powerful, and can do anything. And He is in no rush. He can wait forever to see His plans fulfilled. In spite of these truths, Nahum 1:3 reminds us, “The LORD is slow to anger.” How different God is from human beings. Humans are often much too swift to anger. But God can wait generations, even hundreds of years before showing His anger. God gives opportunities to repent. He wants us to know His mercy through Christ and not His anger. But let this be very clear: for those who continuously reject His mercy, the wrath of God will be at the end of the line. Even though He is slow to anger, His anger will come eventually. We live in the age of grace, and God’s anger is restrained right now. But something terrible for the earth is coming: the Great Tribulation, the Battle of Armageddon, and the return of Christ. Describing Jesus at His Second Coming, it says in Revelation 19:15, “And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God.”

It says in Nahum 1:3-6, “He rebuketh the sea, and maketh it dry, and drieth up all the rivers: Bashan languisheth, and Carmel, and the flower of Lebanon languisheth.[5] The mountains quake at him, and the hills melt, and the earth is burned at his presence, yea, the world, and all that dwell therein.[6] Who can stand before his indignation? and who can abide in the fierceness of his anger? his fury is poured out like fire, and the rocks are thrown down by him.” In speaking of God’s judgment in the earth, there are things that occur in the natural world that symbolize God’s judgment. They are listed here: drought, earthquakes, and fire. All three of these can be extremely destructive to the landscape and to life on earth. Just as these forces can destroy everything in their path, God’s judgment can do the same.

It would be wise to fear God’s judgment and to flee to His mercy in Christ. It says in Nahum 1:7, “The LORD is good, a strong hold in the day of trouble; and he knoweth them that trust in him.” The phrase, “he knoweth them that trust in him,” speaks of a personal relationship between Christ and the one who trusts in Him. True service to God is not a religion, but is a relationship. You come to a personal relationship with Jesus when you “trust” in Him. To trust means to believe, and it means to rely upon Him.

The Bible says in Nahum 1:8-10, “But with an overrunning flood he will make an utter end of the place thereof, and darkness shall pursue his enemies.[9] What do ye imagine against the LORD? he will make an utter end: affliction shall not rise up the second time.[10] For while they be folden together as thorns, and while they are drunken as drunkards, they shall be devoured as stubble fully dry.” We are back on the subject of the judgments that will come. The purpose here is to show how thorough and everlasting that judgment will be. The words used to describe the judgment are: “flood,” “utter end,” and “darkness.” There will be no need for a “second” affliction because the first one will be complete and final. An application that can be made from this is that people should fear the final judgment from God and should run to the arms of Jesus while there is time. It says in Hebrews 9:27, “And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment.” For anyone who does not have Jesus as Savior, a terrible judgment it will be. It will be a thorough judgment: everything that you have ever said or done will be looked at with infinite detail. Nothing will be forgotten. Jesus said in Matthew 12:36, “But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the judgment.” Of course, lost souls will be judged for their deeds as well as their words. It says in Revelation 20:12, “And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.” Notice that the spiritually dead are judged according to their works. In other words this judgment will decide how hot their hell will be, and to show that they do not deserve to go to heaven. They do not deserve to go to heaven, but the ultimate reason that they do not go to heaven is because they never went from death to life through faith in Christ. That is why Jesus said to Nicodemus in John 3:6-7, “That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.[7] Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again.” It says in Revelation 20:15, “And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.” Your name becomes permanently written in the book of life when you accept Jesus as Savior. By the way, God uses permanent ink, not erasable ink.

IN describing the unbelievers and their final end in destruction, God says about them in Nahum 1:10, “For while they be folden together as thorns, and while they are drunken as drunkards, they shall be devoured as stubble fully dry.” The unbelievers are united in the opposition to God. They get it. They understand each other. They are “folden together as thorns.” Do not get too near them They can hurt. If you are single and looking for a spouse, do not marry one of them. They will hurt you. It also says, “they are drunken as drunkards.” Substance abuse has always been closely aligned with unbelief and not knowing Jesus. Part of the reason is that those who do not rely upon Jesus need someone or something else to rely upon. Believers who are close to the Lord should know to stay away from drugs and alcohol. Unbelievers are easy prey to those deceivers.

The Bible says in Nahum 1:11-14, “There is one come out of thee, that imagineth evil against the LORD, a wicked counseller.[12] Thus saith the LORD: Though they be quiet, and likewise many, yet thus shall they be cut down, when he shall pass through. Though I have afflicted thee, I will afflict thee no more.[13] For now will I break his yoke from off thee, and will burst thy bonds in sunder.[14] And the LORD hath given a commandment concerning thee, that no more of thy name be sown: out of the house of thy gods will I cut off the graven image and the molten image: I will make thy grave; for thou art vile.” Verse 11 is a very interesting verse. Someone is going to come out of Israel who imagines “evil against the Lord,” and who is described as a “wicked counselor.” Who could possibly fit this description? We are in a book of prophecy, and prophecy speaks of the last days. Who is the wicked one in the last days? The answer to that is easy: the antichrist. There is another passage of scripture that also makes it sounds like the antichrist will be a Jew. It says about the antichrist in Daniel 11:36-45, “And the king shall do according to his will; and he shall exalt himself, and magnify himself above every god, and shall speak marvellous things against the God of gods, and shall prosper till the indignation be accomplished: for that that is determined shall be done.[37] Neither shall he regard the God of his fathers, nor the desire of women, nor regard any god: for he shall magnify himself above all.[38] But in his estate shall he honour the God of forces: and a god whom his fathers knew not shall he honour with gold, and silver, and with precious stones, and pleasant things.[39] Thus shall he do in the most strong holds with a strange god, whom he shall acknowledge and increase with glory: and he shall cause them to rule over many, and shall divide the land for gain.[40] And at the time of the end shall the king of the south push at him: and the king of the north shall come against him like a whirlwind, with chariots, and with horsemen, and with many ships; and he shall enter into the countries, and shall overflow and pass over.[41] He shall enter also into the glorious land, and many countries shall be overthrown: but these shall escape out of his hand, even Edom, and Moab, and the chief of the children of Ammon.[42] He shall stretch forth his hand also upon the countries: and the land of Egypt shall not escape.[43] But he shall have power over the treasures of gold and of silver, and over all the precious things of Egypt: and the Libyans and the Ethiopians shall be at his steps.[44] But tidings out of the east and out of the north shall trouble him: therefore he shall go forth with great fury to destroy, and utterly to make away many.[45] And he shall plant the tabernacles of his palace between the seas in the glorious holy mountain; yet he shall come to his end, and none shall help him.” In Daniel 11:37 the phrase “the God of his fathers” might very well be a phrase that would only be spoken of a Jew.

There are several things that can be said about the antichrist. He will be the last great world leader. As it says in this passage, he will be a “wicked” person. One important point to remember about the antichrist is that he will have a very short reign: only seven years. He will come into power at the beginning of the Tribulation. Three and a half years later he will reveal his true colors when he commits the abomination of desolation in the temple in Jerusalem. But at the end of the seven years the antichrist meets his doom. It says in Nahum 1:13, “For now will I break his yoke from off thee, and will burst thy bonds in sunder.” The Bible makes it even more clear in Revelation 19:20 that says, “And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshipped his image. These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone.” The beast is the antichrist. Better to bow before the real Christ and believe on Him, than have the same fate as the antichrist.

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