A re y ou growing in it?

1. Are you growing in it?

2. Major Message

3. When We Say “Minor Prophets” • We do not mean “minor” in the sense that they were young, like “minors.” • We do not mean “minor” in the sense of “less important.” • What we do mean by “minor” is that what they wrote was much less in volume when compared to that of an Isaiah or a Jeremiah.

4. The Prophets of the Bible Major Prophets Isaiah Jeremiah (Lamentations) Ezekiel Daniel Minor Prophets Hosea Joel Amos Obadiah Jonah Micah **Nahum** Habakkuk Zephaniah Haggai Zechariah Malachi

5. When did Nahum Live and Work? Nahum’s Life and Career Nahum received his Prophecy between 664 - 654 B.C. perhaps some 50 years before the Fall of Nineveh.

6. “A Message of God’s Judgment” The Prophet Nahum Weekend of April 13/14, 2013

7. What’s our study about andwhy is it important to us? God judged Assyria and its capital city, Nineveh, because of their wickedness, rebellion and injustice. Our study will help us understand God’s judgment and by His power to live our lives righteously.

8. God Tempers Judgment with Mercy Nahum 1:7-9 7 The LORD is good, a refuge in times of trouble. He cares for those who trust in him, 8 but with an overwhelming flood he will make an end of Nineveh; he will pursue his foes into darkness. 9 Whatever they plot against the LORD he will bring to an end; trouble will not come a second time….

9. God Tempers Judgment with Mercy Nahum 1:12-13 12 This is what the LORD says: "Although they have allies and are numerous, they will be cut off and pass away. Although I have afflicted you, O Judah, I will afflict you no more. 13 Now I will break their yoke from your neck and tear your shackles away."

10. God Tempers Judgment with Mercy • Do you know what happened about 150 years before Nahum’s prophecy? • Jonah was dispatched to Nineveh, the capital city of the Assyrian Empire. • Already in Jonah’s day, this nation was notorious for its brutality and cruelty. • The Ninevites received Jonah’s message and repented, so God forgave them. • But soon, the Ninevites returned to their evil ways and cruel treatment of other nations.

11. God Tempers Judgment with Mercy • The Assyrians would rise to super-power under Tiglath-Pileser III. • The nation would last only another 115 years, falling to the Babylonians, who destroyed their capital city of Nineveh in 612 B.C. • Prior to its fall, God gives Nahum the vision of its utter destruction.

12. God Tempers Judgment with Mercy • Nahum’s message was two-fold: • To the Assyrians, Nahum announced: • God is “slow to anger” but… • He will not leave the guilty unpunished; • To the Jews in captivity in Assyria, Nahum said: • The Lord is good – faithful to His covenant; • He will judge the wickedness of nations; • Now God will judge the nation that has treated the Jews so harshly;

13. God Tempers Judgment with Mercy • Verse 12 begins with a “prophetic formula” • “This is what the Lord says…” signals importance, i.e. “listen up.” • Regardless how strong or great Assyria’s military might, God will hold you accountable; • Even though God allowed the Assyrians to carry His own people into captivity in 722 B.C., the Assyrians cannot do as they please.

14. God Tempers Judgment with Mercy • Nahum then speaks to the Jews in captivity: • God will break the Assyrian yoke of slavery; • God will tear off Judah’s shackles; • “Yoke” and “shackles” were common words describing political domination and slavery; • God is in control of all the nations of this world and can protect us in spite of the wickedness in our world.

15. God Tempers Judgment with Mercy • Bottom Line for Nahum: • God will not let the wicked go unpunished; • God tempers his judgment with mercy; • We dare never take God’s mercy for granted; • Obedience to God is not optional; • Our relationship to God is based on Grace and faith in Christ, but that same Jesus said, “If you love Me, you will obey My commands.”

16. God Judges Evil Nations Nahum 2:8-13 8 Nineveh is like a pool, and its water is draining away. "Stop! Stop!" they cry, but no one turns back. 9 Plunder the silver! Plunder the gold! The supply is endless, the wealth from all its treasures! 10 She is pillaged, plundered, stripped! Hearts melt, knees give way, bodies tremble, every face grows pale. 11 Where now is the lions' den, the place where they fed their young,

17. God Judges Evil Nations where the lion and lioness went, and the cubs, with nothing to fear? 12 The lion killed enough for his cubs and strangled the prey for his mate, filling his lairs with the kill and his dens with the prey. 13 "I am against you," declares the LORD Almighty. "I will burn up your chariots in smoke, and the sword will devour your young lions. I will leave you no prey on the earth. The voices of your messengers will no longer be heard."

18. God Judges Evil Nations • The Assyrians were ruthless militarily, devastating sieges and torturous psychological warfare. • They had led the Northern Kingdom of Israel into captivity in the most brutal of fashions, i.e. fish hooks in people’s noses. • Nahum describes the fall of Nineveh in frightening details.

19. Nineveh was a beautiful city, but God “pulled the plug” and drained “its soldiers” away. Invaders rushed in to plunder this VERYRICH city. “Hearts melt, knees tremble, bodies shake and every face grows pale.”

20. God Judges Evil Nations • Nahum reminds all nations that their sins will not go unpunished. • The Assyrians thought they were invincible like the lion. • Winged lions decorated their palaces; • With Assyrian human heads;

21. God Judges Evil Nations • Nahum mockingly asks, “Where is the lions’ lair now? • The lion’s lair was Nineveh, but now it had been destroyed. • The tables have turned for Nineveh: • The hunter become the hunted; • The taker of prey becomes the prey; • The Lord of Host declares, “I am against you;” “Unenviable Position!”

22. God Judges Evil Nations • Application: It is so easy to get discouraged when evil seems to prosper in our world; • But be assured: God will hold wicked people and nations accountable; • But, in His time! Nineveh’s Rise in Wickedness Jonah is Dispatched 790 B.C. The Fall of Nineveh 612 B.C. Israel in Captivity 722 B.C. Nahum’s Prophecy 654 B.C. God’s Time Table took 175 years to accomplish!

23. God Judges Sinful Leaders Nahum 3:18-19 18 O king of Assyria, your shepherds slumber; your nobles lie down to rest. Your people are scattered on the mountains with no one to gather them. 19 Nothing can heal your wound; your injury is fatal. Everyone who hears the news about you claps his hands at your fall, for who has not felt your endless cruelty?

24. God Judges Sinful Leaders • The Book of Nahum ends with a requiem for Assyria’s leaders; • So certain is the coming destruction; • Nothing left but a graveside eulogy; • Nahum says, “your shepherds and officers are asleep” – meaning “dead.” • With no leaders, the people scatter; • How ironic: this nation who had deported so many, now itself, is scattered amongst other nations;

25. God Judges Sinful Leaders • Assyria’s battle wounds would be fatal – Nineveh would cease to exist. • But there is no crying at this funeral dirge; • The news of Nineveh’s destruction would prompt the other nations to rejoice and literally “clap their hands;” • So bloody was Nineveh’s dealings with other nations that its cruelty was felt worldwide; • For God’s people, Nineveh’s destruction meant deliverance for His people; God is still in control!