Nahum
Nahum, like Jonah, was a prophet to Nineveh,
the capital of the Assyrian empire, and he prophesied between 663 and 612 BC.
Jonah had seen Nineveh repent a century earlier, but the city had fallen back
into wickedness. Assyria, the world power controlling the Fertile Crescent,
seemed unstoppable. Its ruthless and savage warriors had already conquered
Israel, the northern kingdom, and were causing great suffering in Judah. So
Nahum proclaimed God's anger against Assyria's evil. Within a few decades, the
mighty Assyrian empire would be toppled by Babylon.
The Lord is slow to anger and great
in power;
the Lord will not leave the guilty
unpunished.
1:3
Footnote: God is slow to get angry, but when
he is ready to punish, even the earth trembles Often people avoid God because
they see evildoers in the world and hypocrites in the church. They don't
realize that because God is slow to anger, he gives his true followers time to
share his love and truth with evildoers. But judgment will come; God will not
allow sin to go unchecked forever. When people wonder why God doesn't punish
evil immediately, help them remember that if he did, none of us would be here.
We can all be thankful that God gives people time to turn to him.
Keep reading -- 153 days left!
All footnotes taken from the Life Application Study Bible, NIV
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