If you recall, it was just 2 books ago (the Book of Jonah) when we looked into the life and ministry of Jonah: How he heard from God but ran from his calling; How he cried out to God from the belly of the fish; How he went to the gentile city of Nineveh and preached repentance as the Lord commanded; and how the people of Nineveh repented of their sins and turned to God. Now, let’s fast forward from the time of Jonah’s ministry to the time of Nahum’s ministry, a span of about a hundred years. And within that timeframe, the Ninevites had walked away from God and proceeded to spread violence and suffering to the surrounding nations, including the Northern Kingdom of Israel. But now, the Babylonian Empire was rising in the east, and judgment was about to fall upon the City of Nineveh and the rest of the once mighty Assyrian Empire.
To be a little more specific about timing, Jonah preached to the Ninevites around 760 B.C., and Nahum is preaching to them around 660 B.C. Furthermore, a generation after Jonah’s message to Nineveh (specifically 722 B.D.), the Assyrians invaded the Northern Kingdom of Judah, destroying the capitol city of Samaria, and killing tens of thousands and scattering the remainder of the inhabitants around the Empire. And following the fall of Samaria, the Assyrian King Sennacherib surrounded Jerusalem to the south and because of the prayers of King Hezekiah and the prophet Isaiah, the city was miraculously spared. During the next 40 years, Assyria continued to expand its influence on the world at the time God raised up Nahum to prophesy against them.
Nineveh appeared to be invincible. Its walls were 100 ft. high and wide enough to drive three chariots abreast on top of it. In addition, there were a myriad of watch towers that extended another 100 ft. above the outer walls. Furthermore, surrounding the walls was a moat 150 ft. wide and 60 ft. deep. Nineveh was thought to be impregnable and that’s why Nahum’s prophecy of Nineveh’s future demise was laughed at by the inhabitants.
Interestingly, Nahum predicted that Nineveh would end with “an overflowing flood” (Nah. 1:8) and this is precisely what occurred just 48 years after Nahum’s prophetic words. The Tigris River overflowed its banks and the flood destroyed part of Nineveh’s wall. The Babylonians invaded through this breach, plundered the city, and set it on fire. Nahum also predicted that Nineveh would “be hidden” (Nah. 3:11), and after its destruction in 612 B.C., the ancient city remained “hidden” until archaeologists discovered it in AD 1842.
In the midst of a series of harsh words delivered against Nineveh, there is one verse that stands out in Nahum’s prophecy. And this verse is appropriate for us today,
“The LORD is good, a stronghold in the day of trouble, and he knows those who take refuge in Him” (Nah. 1:7).
For those who “know Him” and “take refuge in Him,” the LORD is surely “a stronghold in the day of trouble.” If the flood waters of “trouble” seem to engulf you, I pray that you will remember to take “refuge” in the LORD, the One who loves and cares for you, and for each one of us. May you feel His presence today in the midst of uncertain times.
Peggy and I send our love to you. God bless you.
