NAHUM LESSON 1


     Nahum, who penned this book was a relative unknown. He was from
Elkosh in Judah. The name "Nahum" means full of comfort.  Nahum
prophesied about the time of Jeremiah. Most scholars believe Nahum's
prophecy began about 620 B. C.  His message is, Nineveh will fall.
Soon after Nineveh repented at the preaching of Jonah, they fell back
into their old sinful ways.

     We will now begin in Nahum 1:1 "The burden of Nineveh. The book
of the vision of Nahum the Elkoshite."

     We immediately see that this message for Nineveh, came to Nahum
by a vision from God.

     Nahum 1:2 "God [is] jealous, and the LORD revengeth; the LORD
revengeth, and [is] furious; the LORD will take vengeance on his
adversaries, and he reserveth [wrath] for his enemies."

     This one verse should be a great consolation to those who belong
to God. He chastises His children, but the wrath of God is reserved
for those who have totally rejected God. In the following Scripture,
we see just how jealous God is. Exodus 20:5 "Thou shalt not bow down
thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God [am] a jealous
God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the
third and fourth [generation] of them that hate me;"  Exodus 34:14
" For thou shalt worship no other god: for the LORD, whose name [is]
Jealous, [is] a jealous God:"  God has repeated, over and over
throughout the Bible, that vengeance is His. Romans 12:19 "Dearly
beloved, avenge not yourselves, but [rather] give place unto wrath:
for it is written, Vengeance [is] mine; I will repay, saith the Lord."

     Nahum 1:3 "The LORD [is] slow to anger, and great in power, and
will not at all acquit [the wicked]: the LORD hath his way in the
whirlwind and in the storm, and the clouds [are] the dust of his
feet."

     God gives ample time to repent to everyone He is dealing with. We
know He sent Jonah to warn Nineveh of their evil. Their repentance did
not last, and they went right back into their evil lifestyle. God
controls all the elements of nature. He brings the earthquake, and the
tornados, and hurricanes. God uses natural disasters to bring people
to repentance. God will not always overlook the gross sins of the
people. He will judge those who have totally rejected Him and His
ways, and send His wrath upon them. I fear for our own country that
has turned from their God.

     Nahum 1:4 "He rebuketh the sea, and maketh it dry, and drieth up
all the rivers: Bashan languisheth, and Carmel, and the flower of
Lebanon languisheth."

     Just as God caused the Red Sea to part for Moses and the people
of Israel, God can do with the sea as He wishes. Without water the
flowers and trees, they were famous for, would dry up and die. God
brings the flood, and He, also, brings the drougth. When God cuts off
the water supply, plant life dies.

     Nahum 1:5 "The mountains quake at him, and the hills melt, and
the earth is burned at his presence, yea, the world, and all that
dwell therein."

     I could show many Scriptures which leave no doubt that God is in
control of all the elements in the earth. He is omnipotent, all
powerful. The following is just one. Exodus 19:18 "And mount Sinai was
altogether on a smoke, because the LORD descended upon it in fire: and
the smoke thereof ascended as the smoke of a furnace, and the whole
mount quaked greatly."  God rained fire and brimstone down on Sodom
and Gomorrah, and they were burned up. Verse 5, above, speaks of
earthquakes, volcano eruptions, and fire that falls from the heavens.
All of this is speaking of the wrath of God on a sinful nation.

     Nahum 1:6 "Who can stand before his indignation? and who can
abide in the fierceness of his anger? his fury is poured out like
fire, and the rocks are thrown down by him."

     The answer is no one. Assyria, or any other country that turns
their back on God, can be destroyed by Him instantly. During the wrath
of God upon the whole earth in the last 3 1/2 years of the great
tribulation, just the type of things we have been reading here, do
happen.  The following is just a sample. Revelation 16:1 "And I heard
a great voice out of the temple saying to the seven angels, Go your
ways, and pour out the vials of the wrath of God upon the earth."
Revelation 16:8 "And the fourth angel poured out his vial upon the
sun; and power was given unto him to scorch men with fire."

     Nahum 1:7 "The LORD [is] good, a strong hold in the day of
trouble; and he knoweth them that trust in him."

     Just as God's fury is poured out upon those who turn against God,
His protection is on those who love Him. Romans 11:22 "Behold
therefore the goodness and severity of God: on them which fell,
severity; but toward thee, goodness, if thou continue in [his]
goodness: otherwise thou also shalt be cut off."

     Nahum 1:8 "But with an overrunning flood he will make an utter
end of the place thereof, and darkness shall pursue his enemies."

     This is saying, that the destruction that comes upon Nineveh is
so thorough, that it is like an overwhelming flood. Darkness is the
result of the absence of light. God is Light. When there is no light,
it means that they are totally evil.

     Nahum 1:9 "What do ye imagine against the LORD? he will make an
utter end: affliction shall not rise up the second time."

     The Assyrians have no way out of this. They have come against God
and His people. Their destruction will be absolute. It will not be
necessary for a second affliction, because the first one is so
complete. Exodus 15:7 "And in the greatness of thine excellency thou
hast overthrown them that rose up against thee: thou sentest forth thy
wrath, [which] consumed them as stubble."  Job 21:30 "That the wicked
is reserved to the day of destruction? they shall be brought forth to
the day of wrath."

     Nahum 1:10 "For while [they be] folden together [as] thorns, and
while they are drunken [as] drunkards, they shall be devoured as
stubble fully dry."

     They are living in such sin, that they are drunk and do not know
danger is on its way. This speaks of a society that is utterly evil.

     Nahum 1:11 "There is [one] come out of thee, that imagineth evil
against the LORD, a wicked counsellor."

     This speaks of Sennacharib as a person, and Nineveh as a city
that are totally against God and His people. This speaks of both. Even
their thoughts were opposed to God.

     Nahum 1:12 "Thus saith the LORD; Though [they be] quiet, and
likewise many, yet thus shall they be cut down, when he shall pass
through. Though I have afflicted thee, I will afflict thee no more."

     They had no compassion toward God's people, and now, God has no
compassion toward them. "Thus saith the LORD" is stating the certainty
of the destruction against Nineveh and Assyria, and the promise of
restoration to God's people. The chastisement of God's people is over,
and God's wrath is turned upon Nineveh.

     Nahum 1:13 "For now will I break his yoke from off thee, and will
burst thy bonds in sunder."

     The "yoke" is speaking of the bondage in Assyria. God will free
His people, and bring His wrath upon their enemies. It is God that
releases His people, just as it was God who punished them with
captivity. God has forgiven His family, and will restore them.

     Nahum 1:14 "And the LORD hath given a commandment concerning
thee, [that] no more of thy name be sown: out of the house of thy gods
will I cut off the graven image and the molten image: I will make thy
grave; for thou art vile."

     This verse is directed at the Assyrians, who worship false gods
altogether. They have no regard for the True God. They will not be
known as a great nation anymore. This is their complete fall. The
Assyrians will be no more. God destroys all of their false gods, as
well. God has judged them, and they are very evil. Sennacherib died
with his idols, so perhaps, that is inferred here, as well. They are
all doomed to hell.

     Nahum 1:15 "Behold upon the mountains the feet of him that
bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace! O Judah, keep thy solemn
feasts, perform thy vows: for the wicked shall no more pass through
thee; he is utterly cut off."

     The destruction of their worst enemy would be good news to Judah.
Assyria will no longer run through their country at will. Notice,
there are instructions for them to continue worshipping the One True
God.  They must not forget God, or they will wind up like the
Assyrians. Isaiah 52:1 "Awake, awake; put on thy strength, O Zion; put
on thy beautiful garments, O Jerusalem, the holy city: for henceforth
there shall no more come into thee the uncircumcised and the unclean."
God takes care of His own. He does expect the love and loyalty of His
own. Judah had not been able to keep the feasts, while there was
captivity, but now that God has restored her, she must go back to
worship of the One True God.








































                          Nahum 1 Questions


1.  What does the name "Nahum" mean?
2.  When is it believed he began prophesying?
3.  What happened to Nineveh, soon after they repented at Jonah's
    preaching?
4.  How did Nahum receive this message?
5.  Who does God take vengeance on?
6.  Who does He reserve His wrath for?
7.  Quote Exodus chapter 20 verse 5.
8.  What is one of God's names, that we read in Exodus chapter 34
    verse 14?
9.  Vengeance is _______; I will repay, saith the Lord.
10. _______ controls all the elements of nature.
11. God gives ample time to ___________.
12. Why does God bring natural disasters?
13. When was one time God showed His power over the sea?
14. When God cuts off the water supply, _______ _______ dies.
15. Quote Exodus chapter 19 verse 18.
16. What is an example of God destroying by fire and brimstone?
17. What types of natural disasters are spoken of in verse 5?
18. Who can stand before His indignation?
19. How many years will the wrath of God be on the earth during the
    great tribulation?
20. Who pours out wrath upon the earth?
21. Those who trust God can expect Him to be their _________ in time
    of trouble.
22. Quote Romans chapter 11 verse 22.
23. Why is the destruction of Nineveh compared to a flood?
24. The Assyrian's destruction will be ____________.
25. What is darkness?
26. Quote Job chapter 21 verse 30.
27. What type of society does verse 10 speak of?
28. Who is verse 11 speaking of?
29. What is the "yoke" speaking of?
30. Quote Nahum chapter 1 verse 15.
31. Quote Isaiah chapter 52 verse 1.
32. God expects the _______ and ________ of His own.
33. Why had they abandoned the feast days?