Greetings to you all greatly beloved of God and welcome to another episode of our study of the Scriptures. We bless the name of the Lord God for His many blessings over us. Praise be to God!
In our today’s episode 620, we shall be examining the book of Nahum titled:
Nineveh Was Saved In The Book Of Jonah But Doomed In The Book Of Nahum; What Happened?
The Book of Nahum can be divided into two parts:
1. The pronouncement of judgement against Nineveh (Nahum 1:1-15)
2. The fall of Nineveh (Nahum Chapters 2 and 3).
As I was reading this book and I saw the way Nahum pronounced judgement against Nineveh (read Nahum Chapter 1). I began to wonder which Nineveh was he talking about. Was it the same Nineveh that repented in the book of Jonah that God forgave them and they did not perish as threatened by Prophet Jonah? Read Jonah 3:10
I became curious and I wanted to know what happened – why the plot twist?
To start with, I first checked when the book of Jonah was written which was approximately between 793 and 758 B.C.
Then I checked the time Nahum was written, it was approximately written after the fall of Thebes in 663 B.C. and before the fall of Nineveh in 612 B.C.E.
It therefore means that the two books were written over a century apart.
This means that the generation that repented in the book of Jonah was different from those in the book of Nahum.
About a hundred years before, at Jonah’s preaching, the people of Nineveh repented, and were therefore preserved; but unfortunately, the generation that came after them did not know God and they became worse than ever.
Although the wicked nation was once used to carry out punishment upon Judah, now it’s their turn to face judgement. Remember Nineveh was the capital of Assyria that invaded Israel multiple times. Now it their turn to be judged.
The book of Nahum provides us with additional hints regarding God’s anger with the Ninevites.
Nahum 3:1 says, “Woe to the city of blood, full of lies, full of plunder, never without victims!” They were known for their cruelty and violence. The Assyrians were despised for their methods of invasion and subjugation with so many atrocities to their name.
They were known for amputating hands and feet, gouging eyes, and skinning and impaling their captives.
The final part of the book of Nahum explicitly shows the violence of the Assyrians in the form of a rhetorical question: “Who has not felt your endless cruelty?” (Nahum 3:19).
Another reason for God’s judgement against Nineveh was its extreme pride (Nahum 3:8). I think their wealth, power and influence got into their head and they could not control it.
Let’s remember the Words of our Lord Jesus that says “For all who take the sword will perish by the sword” (Matthew 26:52).
That’s exactly what happened to Nineveh.
After Nineveh’s destruction, the site was hidden for some time (see Nahum 3:11). It was later that modern archaeologists rediscovered its location in modern-day Iraq.
Lesson to learn
True repentance and Salvation can only be found in Christ.
To be continued…stay tuned and stay blessed.
Let’s pray:
I declare that God from the wealth of his glory will give you power through his Spirit to be strong in your inner selves. Be strengthened in Jesus name.
I declare that Christ will make his home in your hearts through faith. I pray that you may have your roots and foundation in God’s love.
Receive the power understand how broad and long, how high and deep, is Christ’s love for you, in Jesus name.
Bible Readings For Today: Revelation Chapters 1, 2, 3 &4 with Isaiah 56-57
I call you blessed now and always.
Friday December 18, 2020 (DDMI)
