Light's Out!

Mar 5, 2017    Nahum 1:1-8

Today, we will introduce the book of Nahum. We will see that there is much power and prophecy in this small book that historically follows some 100 to 150 years after the book of Jonah. Apparently, after Nineveh had repented and believed God’s words (Jonah 3), it was not long before they were back to their sinful ways and living in utter wickedness before Almighty God. The “great Assyrian Empire” had continued to conquer the world. And, they were fierce and a terror to their enemies. By 721 BC, the Northern Kingdom of Israel (10 tribes) had been overrun by Assyria and had been carried away captive (2 Kings 15:29; 17:3-6). At the time of Nahum, Assyria had most likely already begun to invade Judah. Historians record that some 46 cities and over 200,000 captives were taken from Judah. It was around this time when Sennacherib sent his wicked counsellor to Jerusalem (Isa 36-37; 2 Kings 19:35) to terrify God’s people through words to surrender. The king of Judah would not give in to the Assyrian machine. Hezekiah prayed to God, Isaiah provided comforting words, and the Angel of the Lord took care of 185,000 of their valiant soldiers in 1 night! Assyria, and their capital city Nineveh had come to the end of their reign of terror. It was time for God to pronounce their ruin. God had been patient and slow to anger. He had given Nineveh LIGHT, and they had now rejected it. God’s wrath and judgment were going to be directed toward the Assyrian capital, and there would be NO healing this time…