“The LORD is good, a refuge in time of trouble, He cares for those who trust in him.”
~ Nahum 1:7
Hi James and Ellen,
Nahum had a vision. Nahum’s vision was about the city of Nineveh. The city of Nineveh was the central focus of the Jonah Book. Your grandpaa thinks that the narrative that was written about Jonah’s struggle to confront the guys and gals who were living in the city of Nineveh – to have them change from living lives that were self-serving to living lives that totally focused on the God of Israel or they would be completely destroyed by the God of Israel, was probably written well over one hundred years before Nahum recorded the vision that he had about the demise of the city of Nineveh. Sennacherib – about 705 B.C., made the city of Nineveh the capital city of Assyria. Sennacherib made the city of Nineveh into a mega city that had parks, a botanical garden, aqueducts, a zoo and with a wall that was seven and a half miles long. The ruins of the city of Nineveh are today in Mosul, Iraq. God – in 722 B.C., used the Assyrian army as a ‘rod’ to punish His specially chosen guys and gals – the Israelite people group guys and gals, who were living in the portion of Israel’s land area that had retained the name Israel. The portion of Israel’s land area that had retained the name Israel was the northern part of the land that God gave to His specially chosen guys and gals to always to have to live in as their very own land if . . . when God’s specially chosen guys and gals who were living in the portion of Israel’s land area that had retained the name Israel persisted in dedicating their worship times to worshipping manmade carved wood, beaten rock, molded clay and cast metal idol gods, God had enough. God – in 722 B.C., had Samaria – Samaria being another name for the northern land area that had retained the name Israel, overrun by Shalmaneser and his Assyrian army. Assyria – in 722 B.C., did not overrun the southern land area portion of Israel – which had taken the name of Judah, as another one of their rapidly growing list of conquests of countries and people groups of guys and gals. Beginning around 1800 B.C. and ending in 612 B.C., Assyria had about a 1200 year run at being planet Earth’s super nation with the city of Nineveh being one of the first cities that the Assyrian army conquered in an area that is now northern Iraq and then over the next years overcoming and ruling over the South and North Mesopotamian, Egyptian, Syrian and Israelite regions of nations and people groups of guys and gals. Nabopolassar – a Chaldean leader, with the help of Medes and northern nomads – in 612 B.C., attacked, looted and destroyed the city of Nineveh. The razing of the city of Nineveh took place as quickly and as ruthlessly as when Nineveh’s kings ravaged the cities of Susa and Babylon. Assyrian guys and gals who were living in the city of Nineveh were twice forewarned of an impending doom. The first time was when they heard Jonah walking up and down their streets telling them that they had to repent of their evil ways and focus their worship on only the God of Israel or else. The Assyrian guys and gals who were living in the city of Nineveh put on sackcloth and . . . God did not kill the Assyrian guys and gals who were living in the city of Nineveh at this time. When the Assyrian guys and gals who were living in the city of Nineveh reverted back to giving homage, paying tribute and bowing down to manmade wood, rock, clay and metal idol gods, God did not give the Assyrian guys and gals who were living in the city of Nineveh a second chance; God had them completely annihilated.
How many chances has God given you to champion His truths and defend what He is doing on planet Earth? Because the Nahum Book is a short three chapter book, Nahum is called a minor prophet. Nahum 1 begins with God defending Himself as He – as God the Spirit, breathed words on Nahum to record what He wanted Nahum to tell the Assyrian guys and gals who were living in the city of Nineveh. God – as God the Spirit, told Nahum to first tell the Assyrian guys and gals who were living in Nineveh what is now verse 7, “The LORD is good, a refuge in time of trouble, He cares for those who trust in him.” God – as God the Spirit, told Nahum to then tell the guys and gals who were living in the city of Nineveh that He does not get angry quickly but that He is a jealous and an avenging God Who will become angry with guys and gals who do not believe that they can trust in Him. God – as God the Spirit, then told Nahum to tell the guys and gals who were living in the city of Nineveh that He will not let guilty guys and gals – the guys and gals who do not believe that they can trust in Him, go unpunished. God – as God the Spirit, then told Nahum to tell the guys and gals who were living in the city of Nineveh that no guy or gal who refuses to believe Who He is will be able to withstand His indignation and fierce anger. God in the vision that He – as God the Spirit, gave to Nahum explicitly focused on the guys and gals who were living in the city of Nineveh to portend what will happen to them because they refused to not stop worshipping carved images and cast idols handmade from wood, stone, clay and metal instead of worshipping Him as the One and only true God. Do you believe that God is Who makes whirlwinds, creates storms, dries up seas and rivers, wilts plant blossoms, causes mountains to shake and makes planet Earth tremble? Do you believe that Jesus became your Savior when He died on a cross for you?
Your grandpaa does not want to find out what God will do to him if . . . God makes it very clear in the vision that He gave to Nahum to pass on to the Assyrian guys and gals who were living in the city of Nineveh that there would be a consequence for their vile lifestyles. God is always happy with His specially elected kids as they know that they need to trust in Him to take care of them; it is the guys, gals and kids who refuse to trust Him to take care of them who are pushing His hot button. So – trust in God and He will bless you with lives that are filled with hope.
Nahum 1 (657)