0000006768 00000 n Jonah preached, they repented, they later returned to wickedness, and Nahum prophesied judgement. john owen. It was located on the east bank of the Tigris river. əm / or / ˈ n eɪ h əm /; Hebrew: נַחוּם ‎ Naḥūm) was a minor prophet whose prophecy is recorded in the Tanakh, also called the Hebrew Bible and The Old Testament. The river acted as the western and southern boundaries of the city. 0000001919 00000 n Actually, I like to study the little Books of Jonah and Nahum together because it was between 100 and 150 years before Nahum appeared on the scene that Jonah went to Nineveh with a message from God. However, Assyria again lapsed into iniquity, and it was Nahum’s duty to … by the rev. Believing that “gods” of the cities they attacked lived in unborn children, the Assyrians would rip open pregnant women and kill their babies. When we think of Jonah, the first thing that comes to most people’s minds is “Jonah and the whale.” While Jonah’s time in the “great fish” may be the most famous part of the book of Jonah, there’s a lot more we can learn from this prophet. Nahum 1:1. God has not changed – the Ninevites have. Nahum was written after the Assyrians sacked the Egyptian city of Thebes, or No-amon (Nah 3:8). “Burden” is judgment(see Isaiah 13). After the Ninevites repented and God was merciful towards them, Jonah tells God, “I knew that you are a gracious God and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, and relenting from disaster” (Jonah 4:2). 0000717786 00000 n We are living in “Jonah” days – days when God longs for us to repent, and is giving us the opportunity to do so. . on the. This historical background really helps us to understand why Jonah was so reluctant to go to Nineveh! twelve minor prophets by john calvin now first translated from the original latin,. %PDF-1.6 %���� 0000002702 00000 n trailer <<4A0C695901724DA6BD313EF9AFAB8BEF>]>> startxref 0 %%EOF 178 0 obj <>stream �. Watch our overview video on the book of Nahum, which breaks down the literary design of the book and its flow of thought. Jonah recounts the remission of God’s promised judgment toward Nineveh, while Nahum depicts the later execution of God’s judgment. Jonah, Micah, and Nahum reveal God’s directing of the nations for his purposes during the reemergence and ascendency of the Assyrian Empire. Jonah & Nahum: Lessons in God's Character - YWAM Turner Valley City leaders were impaled alive on poles, and some were beheaded. Nahum’s singular focus on the impending judgment of Nineveh offers a continuation of the story that began in Jonah. commentary on jonah, micah, nahum. It was likely written before the Babylonians took over Nineveh in 612 B.C. To quote Chan once again, “If my mind is the size of a soda can and God is the size of all the oceans, it would be stupid for me to say He is only the small amount of water I can scoop into my little can. While Judah had a handful of godly kings, Israel had one terrible king after another. That was the message to ancient Nineveh, but Nineveh repented and was saved. About a hundred years before, at Jonah’s preaching, the people of Nineveh repented, and were therefore preserved; but unfortunately, the generation that came after them did not know God and they became worse than ever. Jonah & Nahum The book of Jonah follows the journey of a wayward prophet who wants nothing to do with God's mercy for others while the book of Nahum focuses on a country that receives news of its coming destruction. The fact that God would forgive the Ninevites of all the atrocities they had committed, tells us that He is willing to forgive us of every sin in our life. Thus, Nahum is at least 150 years after Jonah. The Jonah Nahum Judgment Contributed by Mike Fogerson on Jan 28, 2013 based on 1 rating | 5,781 views. Jonah then asks God to take his life from him, saying “it is better for me to die than to live” (4:3). He is slow to anger . It might help to think of Nahum as a follow-up to the book of Jonah. Nahum has no reference to Jonah, which is kind of strange if it was indeed written generations later. Agenda:† Introduction Ω Priest Vs Prophet Ω Common - Jonah shows a 7-8th century BC background (though some argue … The Prophet Jonah was sent to Nineveh. We can learn from his account of his attitude and actions in response to God’s call for him to go to Nineveh. We don’t like to picture God as wrathful, as hating sin, or as bringing judgement against those who do not know Him. “God said to Moses, ‘I am who I am'” (Exodus 3:14). We start with an Introduction to the Book of Jonah . Let us pray for understanding and deeper love for the character of our God, while communicating that character to those who desperately need to fall into His mercy. However, Jonah does seem to contain a reference to Nahum. Jonah preached repentance to Nineveh, and because its inhabitants humbled themselves before God, the city was spared at that time. Many likely had a parent or a grandparent who had a friend or a family member who had been killed by the Assyrians. As we read the book of Nahum, we may feel uncomfortable. But the central figure in both of these books is God and his qualities of justice and mercy towards the ancient country of Ninevah. But Jonah 4 reveals the primary reason Jonah doesn’t want to go to Nineveh. 0000001525 00000 n With messages of judgment against both Assyria and God’s own people in Israel and Judah, these prophets bring God’s explanation of world events to his people as they endure both prosperity and punishment from the Lord. The book of Jonah communicates a beautiful aspect of God’s character: His mercy. The book of the vision — As prophets were of old called seers, so their prophecies were called visions: of Nahum — Nahum, … 156 0 obj <> endobj xref 156 23 0000000016 00000 n but God does get there, America. 0000719857 00000 n Jonah recounts the remission of God’s promised judgment toward Nineveh, while Nahum depicts the later execution of God’s judgment. Recently I had the opportunity to teach on Jonah and Nahum, two minor prophets with powerful messages about God’s character. 0000000756 00000 n To quote Francis Chan’s book, Crazy Love. Jonah had a problem with this because the recipients of God’s mercy were the people his nation hated. So, to answer the question directly, No - Nahum is not the promised vengeance of God against Nineveh promised by God in Jonah. Jonah instead headed to Tarshish and hopped on a ship in Joppa, a ship heading to Tarshish, a place where Jonah thought he could get away from God and his calling for him to go to Nineveh. 0000001388 00000 n 0000001610 00000 n His book comes in chronological order between Micah and Habakkuk … Parents are uniquely gifted to teach their kids! The Bible tells us that the Lord will return (1 Thessalonians 4:16), and if we have not turned to Him by that time, we will not find ourselves as recipients of God’s mercy (2 Peter 3:9). We don’t get to pick and choose who God is, and while we may not be able to fully comprehend Jonah’s message of God’s mercy and Nahum’s message of God’s justice in the same thought, when we begin to pick and choose who God is “to us,” we are describing a figment of our imagination, not the God who has revealed Himself…through His Word. Both prophets speak … This is the King James Version of the Audio Bible. But…God has told you to go to Nineveh – to one of the most important cities in Assyria – and to warn them of His coming wrath against them. Nineveh was proud of her invulnerable city, with her walls reaching 100 feet high and with a moat 150 feet wide and 60 feet deep; but Nahum established the fact that the sovereign God (1:2-5), would bring vengeance upon those who violated His law (1:8, 14; 3:5-7). It’s definitely possible that Jonah didn’t want to go to Nineveh because he was afraid – afraid of what the Ninevites would do to him. He loves all people, and His heart is for the Ninevites to turn to Him (Jonah 4:11), but He is perfect in justice, and when the Ninevites do not repent, His response is judgement (Nahum 1:12-13). Approximately a century before Nahum, Jonah had been sent to the Ninevites, and they had repented upon hearing the prophetic word. The God we read of in Jonah is the same God we read of in Nahum. We are currently looking for full-time volunteers to fill these staff positions: Jonah & Nahum: Lessons in God’s Character, https://ywamturnervalley.org/test2015/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/YWAMtv_StickyHeader4.png, https://ywamturnervalley.org/test2015/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/Jonah350.jpg, Meet our staff: Helen serves on the Leadership Tea, “Through HDTS my personal faith and relationship, We’re super proud of our SBS students: in the ne, Meet our staff: Emma joined us on staff in 2020, w, Our prayer wall is a central part of life here at, “I have learned what it means to trust in God’, Meet our staff: Tim has been at YWAM Turner Valley, Happy Identity Day to our YWAM Turner Valley staff, At YWAM Turner Valley we have the privilege of liv. The people of Judah would be well-acquainted with Assyria’s wickedness. Nahum 1. If Mosul is flooded it could be another sign of Jonah that Jesus promised to an evil generation. Fast forward a hundred years later, and we find ourselves in the time of Nahum. We learn that the name 'Jonah' signifies a messenger of peace: Jonah is thrown overboard in order to appease the gods of Tyre: Jonah brings God's message to Nineveh, The book of Nahum is filled with images of Nineveh falling by water, fire and sword (Nahum 2:6,13), and in 612 BC, that is exactly what happened, as an alliance of Babylonians and Medes destroyed the city by those means. The important thing to remember however, is that God is always the same. What does that mean for us today? Hopefully it means that we can understand that we are living in days of mercy. By this time, Israel (the Northern Kingdom) had been taken into exile by Assyria. Jonah and Nahum give us a picture of the character of God – He is both merciful and perfectly just. 1 Cor. In Nahum, God is responding to centuries of unrepentant cruelty. Jonah, Micah, and Nahum Kristofer Holroyd. A wall that extended for eight miles formed the northern and eastern boundaries. Assyria was a wicked nation that committed terrible atrocities against the people it defeated and/or controlled. In 12 weeks, this study guides readers through 3 prophetic books to see the goodness, mercy, and faithfulness of the Lord, the deliverer and protector of all who trust in him.