Bible Commentaries
Nahum

Nahum - The Almost Forgotten Book

Nahum

One small, almost forgotten book in the Old Testament is the book of Nahum. This little Book has only three chapters and 47 verses. The book of Nahum deals with the fall of Nineveh. This makes this book a sequel to the book of Jonah. Therefore, the book of Nahum should be studied along with the book of Jonah. When Jonah preached to Nineveh mercy was shown. The people repented and God spared their nation. Later the people of Nineveh became so rebellious against God that they were beyond His mercy. Now they would face His judgment as a nation and the destruction would be final.

Nahum gives the account of what happened to Nineveh when they failed to keep their promises to God. He begins with the truths earlier expressed in Exo_34:6-7 . "And the Lord passed before him and proclaimed, 'The Lord, the Lord God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abounding in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, by no means clearing the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children and the children's children to the third and the fourth generation."

God, in the brief book of Nahum, gave a vivid description of the overthrow of Nineveh. He said that "with an overrunning flood He will make an utter end of the place." ( Nah_1:8 ) "While they are drunken as drunkards, they shall be devoured as stubble fully dry." ( Nah_1:10 ) They would have no protection because "the gates of thy land shall be set wide open unto thine enemies: the fire shall devour thy bars." ( Nah_3:13 ) Nineveh would never recover because, "there is no healing of thy bruise." ( Nah_3:19 ) The city would be taken with ease, like shaking ripe figs into the mouth of the eater. ( Nah_3:12 )

Other great lessons learned from the book of Nahum are in the verse comments: