Nahum: The Good Judgment of GodSýnishorn

God’s Patient Judgment Leads to Life

In chapter two, Nahum focuses his prophecy on the overthrow of Assyria's capital city, Nineveh. They can try as they might, but Nineveh won’t be able to stop its destruction. The oppressor (Nineveh) will be conquered in the same way that they conquered all those they oppressed. One of Nineveh’s major resources was water, but in verse 8 Nahum describes that its power will leak away. Redemption for the oppressed will be coming.

Assyria has been building its wealth and power for about 200 years, but God won’t allow their oppression to last forever. Nahum shows us that God’s mercy and patience do not diminish His judgment when He decides to act. God is patient, but that doesn’t mean He is ambivalent towards sin and wickedness.

Another thing worth noting is that during the time of Nahum (and therefore this prophecy), Josiah was the king of Judah. Josiah was one of the few good and God-honoring kings of Judah and he reigned from 640-609 BC. He cleaned up the temple in Jerusalem, recovered the book of the law and had it read and taught to the people, and removed pagan and Assyrian idols from Judah. There is little doubt Nahum’s message helped embolden Josiah to take those steps of faithfulness against Assyria, and Josiah trusted Nahum’s word as he took these steps.

Knowing that, it is helpful for us to consider in our own lives whether or not our trust in the Lord impacts how we live. Does our trust in Jesus simply stop at our salvation? Or do we trust that He genuinely cares for us and that we can follow Him even when life is difficult? While Josiah certainly heard Nahum’s prophecy, he still had to trust it would come true in order to act as he did, knowing full well that if Nineveh didn’t fall, Assyria would punish him for his actions.

Nahum tells Israel that God will bring about the downfall of Nineveh, and they will be unable to rebuild or rule again. But why does God “delay” His judgment? Because He desires to give mercy and forgiveness, as Peter tells us in 2 Peter 3:9. His patience is not due to a lack of caring, but because He cares. Nahum and all of Scripture shows us God is patient with His enemies, which means He is patient with us. But in the end, He will right every wrong.

At the same time, God’s judgment against evil in the book of Nahum sheds even more light on the sacrifice of Christ for us. This is the wrath Jesus took on our behalf, so that we might experience all the good God has for us.

Today’s reflection

How does it feel to know that the motivation for God’s patience with evil is out of His desire to offer grace? How does God’s patience with wrongdoing and desire to give mercy to those who do it impact how you view those who have wronged you?