Today’s passage: Nahum 3

Helpful thoughts:

• The coming fall of Nineveh was portrayed poetically, as if from an eyewitness.
• The sins of Nineveh were compared to that of a prostitute who caused many (“Nations”) to fall.  The “prostitute” would suffer her own humiliation (Which it should be counted, as humiliation, whenever anyone commits adultery) as the enemies come and expose the weakness of Nineveh in it’s destruction.  This is figurative language, the exposer will be exposed.  The humiliator will be humiliated.
• No matter what Nineveh might have tried to do to strengthen it’s defenses, they were going to be defeated.  God’s will would not be thwarted.

Questions to consider:

1. Why wouldn’t anyone grieve for Nineveh (Verse 7)?  How had Nineveh treated the other nations in such a way that everyone else would celebrated her demise?  What does selfishness and using others for personal gain result in?
2. How did Christ do the opposite?  What did the humiliation and crucifixion of Christ result in?
3. How does the sacrificial love of Christ inform and equip us to live sacrificially loving lives?

Today’s passage: Nahum 2

Helpful thoughts:

• The defeat and destruction of Nineveh is depicted in chapter 2.
• God reminds the people of Assyria, no matter who the nation is who brings about this destruction (The Medes and Babylonians), they were to know that it happened according to His sovereign will.
  • And in the end, the fall of Assyria would eventually lead to the restoration of Israel (Verse 2).
• The Khoser river ran through the city of Nineveh.  It is thought that the enemy armies could have closed up the dam which controlled the flow of water into the city prior to their invasion.  This would have cut off the cities water supply.  But after the water had built up over time, if the dam was opened up or destroyed, the water would have raced toward the city and done a great deal of damage.  This is depicted in verses 6 and 8, and possibly as a metaphor in verse 7 as well.
• The imagery of lions refers to the kings.  The “young lions” would then be the princes (Those next in line to the throne).

Questions to consider:

1. How might the last phrase in verse 13 have sounded in the ears of the Assyrians and the Jews after what had occurred years prior in 2 King 18:28-35?
2. When the world (People, governments, etc.) thinks they are stronger than the Lord, are they?  When it looks like they are “winning,” are they?  Who can defeat the LORD of hosts?
3. To what day is all history moving toward?  What will be true of all who have put their faith and trust in the promised Messiah, Jesus Christ, when he comes to rule and reign?

Today’s passage: Nahum 1

Helpful thoughts:

• Nahum was given the job that Jonah had wished for, to prophecy against Nineveh.  This prophetic book was likely written in the mid-600’s B.C.  This was over one hundred years after the events of the book of Jonah took place.
  • By the time of Nahum’s writing, the northern kingdom of Israel had already fallen to the Assyrian Empire.  Nineveh was their capitol.
• The Lord is over all the world.  The gods of the Assyrian people (Carved and metal images) could never stand against Him!
• Those who are safe are those who take refuge in Him (Verse 7).

Questions to consider:

1. Where have you read the words in verse 3 before (Exodus 34:6-7)?  How does God forgive sin and also by no means clear the guilty?  How does this point us to Christ (Romans 3:21-26)?
2. When others plot against God’s people, who are they really plotting against? (Verse 9, and also Acts 9:1-4)
3. The content of this prophecy had not yet been fulfilled, and yet Nahum encourages the people to live as though it was as good as done (Verse 15).  How can this encourage our faith?  What has God declared that He will not do?