Justice & Goodness
6/11/26 Bible Thought (Nahum 1)
Main Idea: The Lord will surely bring judgment upon His enemies and peace to His people.
A Quick Backdrop:
The prophet Nahum came on the scene during the height of Assyrian dominance. Historically, this would have been sometime between 664 and 612 B.C. [1] During that time, the northern kingdom of Israel had already fallen to the Assyrians, and they were a perpetual problem for the people of Judah.
Previously, God had sent Jonah the prophet to the Ninevites about a century before, and they had repented of their wicked ways. Yet, by the time of Nahum, the scene had shifted drastically.
Their empire was built upon massacre, torture, and bloodshed like the world had never seen.[2] With this ruthless superpower on the world stage, the prophet Nahum came with comfort for the people of God, as his name itself means “comforted.”[3]
A Look at the Text:
After a short introduction, without mincing words, the Lord spoke through Nahum of coming judgment upon Nineveh, Assyria’s capital city.
Though God is slow to anger, that does not mean He does not get angry. He was patient with the Ninevites in the days of Jonah. Yet, now their sins had piled up before Him.
While the Lord is good to those who take refuge in Him (Nah. 1:7), for His enemies, the story is entirely different. His coming would be fearful, and a complete end would be made of them (Nah. 1:8).
The news of Assyria’s destruction was given to comfort the people of God (Nah. 1:12-15). Though Assyria was at the very height of its power, God assured His people that the Assyrians would be cut down and their threat would pass away (Nah. 1:12).
Bringing it Home:
Things are not always as they seem. In Nahum’s day, the people of Judah were probably greatly afraid of the Assyrian threat. Yet even when that empire was at its zenith, God had already assigned an expiration date.
The wrath of God against His enemies is a fearful thing, but for those who have found their refuge in Him, this is a comforting truth.
We live in a world that can frequently seem backwards. The wicked prosper. People get away with murder (literally or figuratively) all the time. Christians can suffer at the hands of godless people. Yet, to this, we must remember that God is not absent from the story.
Though the wicked prosper in the present, the end is what matters most. In light of this truth, the apostle Paul once counseled:
Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” 20 To the contrary, “if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.” 21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good (Rom. 12:19-21).
God is a just God. We can trust that He will do what is right as the Judge of all the earth. If things seem horribly wrong in the present, let us rest assured that the present isn’t the end of the story.
Challenge:
Do I trust God’s justice when the wicked are prospering?
[1] Crossway Bibles, The ESV Study Bible (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2008), 1709.
[2] ibid., 1709.
[3] John H Walton, Zondervan Illustrated Bible Backgrounds Commentary (Old Testament): The Minor Prophets, Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Songs, vol. 5 (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2009), 151.