Nahum 1:1-8
The Wrath of our Loving God

An oracle concerning Nineveh. The book of the vision of Nahum of Elkosh.

A jealous and avenging God is the LORD,
    the LORD is avenging and wrathful;
the LORD takes vengeance on his adversaries
    and rages against his enemies.
The LORD is slow to anger but great in power,
    and the LORD will by no means clear the guilty.

His way is in whirlwind and storm,
    and the clouds are the dust of his feet.
He rebukes the sea and makes it dry,
    and he dries up all the rivers;
Bashan and Carmel wither,
    and the bloom of Lebanon fades.
The mountains quake before him,
    and the hills melt;
the earth heaves before him,
    the world and all who live in it.

Who can stand before his indignation?
    Who can endure the heat of his anger?
His wrath is poured out like fire,
    and by him the rocks are broken in pieces.
The LORD is good,
    a stronghold in a day of trouble;
he protects those who take refuge in him,
    even in a rushing flood.
He will make a full end of his adversaries,
    and will pursue his enemies into darkness.

New Revised Standard Version

Times were desperate for faithful followers of God at the time of Nahum. The Northern Kingdom had fallen a century earlier, as their rebellion against God's ways bore fruit in their destruction. The leaders of the Southern Kingdom, instead of learning from the consequences of the Northern Kingdom's sins, concluded that they must be righteous, since God had spared them. They were just the opposite. Their king, Manassah, was a notorious idolater, and most of the people followed his lead.

Those people that remained faithful to God's Law grieved at the wickedness, listened with concern to the warnings of the prophets, and feared the evil might of the enemies of Judah. One of those enemies was Assyria, with its capital city of Nineveh; they had particularly fierce warriors who were rumored to hang the skins of their dead enemies in their tents.

To the faithful Hebrews, God gave a message of comfort through the prophet Nahum, whose name means "Consoler." While these words appear to be full of vengeance instead of comfort, Nahum explained that God, while patient, is just, and most of all, is still God. The faithful could remember that God is greater than everything they feared, whether it was the Assyrian armies, wicked leaders, or natural disasters like storms and floods. God is always a source of strength and protection for those who go to God for help.

Nahum drew important distinctions about the nature of God to these faithful ones. God reprimands believers who aren't being faithful to bring them back to the Truth. The Hebrew people had witnessed this frequently in their history. In contrast, those who totally reject God and attack God's people would be destroyed by God's wrath to protect the faithful.

The promises given to Nahum, the Consoler, apply to us today. Our threats are usually not the Assyrian army and idolatrous kings, but God is still eager to bring us into a closer walk and a fuller life. When we feel like we're tying knots at the end of our rope to hold on, our God still promises to provide comfort, shelter, and protection. As Nahum reminded us, we have a God who will dry up the rivers and melt the hills to make certain that good comes to us.