Itty Bitty Bible Study – Nahum 1:2- 15

Nahum

My thoughts for the Itty Bitty Bible Study group on Facebook. (join if you’d like to get these in fb!) The conversation starts Monday, August 20.

Nahum 1 Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)
Nahum 1:2
The Lord is a jealous and avenging God;
the Lord takes vengeance
and is fierce in wrath.
The Lord takes vengeance against His foes;
He is furious with His enemies.

I talked in IBBS Nahum 1:2 about God being a Jealous God.
I talked about God being an Avenging God in IBBS Nahum 2b.

Now, I will attempt to understand how the rest of Nahum applies to us in 2018.

Nahum 1 Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)
1 The oracle concerning Nineveh. The book of the vision of Nahum the Elkoshite.

2 The Lord is a jealous and avenging God;
the Lord takes vengeance
and is fierce in wrath.
The Lord takes vengeance against His foes;
He is furious with His enemies.

This explains with whom God is angry, and to whom he focuses his wrath!

Deuteronomy 7:10 Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)
10 But He directly pays back[a] and destroys those who hate Him. He will not hesitate to directly pay back[b] the one who hates Him.

Yet the following gives us a picture of God on the believer’s behalf, and the reason that we want to be RIGHT WITH GOD:

Nahum 1:3
3 The Lord is slow to anger but great in power;

IT IS FOLLOWED BY A WARNING!:

the Lord will never leave the guilty unpunished.‘

Nahum seems to be quoting:

Numbers 14:18 Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)
18 The Lord is slow to anger and rich in faithful love, forgiving wrongdoing and rebellion. But He will not leave the guilty unpunished, bringing the consequences of the fathers’ wrongdoing on the children to the third and fourth generation.

THIS IS GOD!

  • slow to anger
  • rich in faithful love
  • forgiving wrong doing and rebellion

THIS IS ALSO GOD!

  • will not leave guilty unpunished
  • bring consequences….of the fathers sins on the children…to the third and fourth generation.

Deuteronomy 5:9 Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)
9 You must not bow down to them or worship them, because I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the fathers’ sin to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me,

There is a requirement for God’s blessing….

John 3:36 Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)
36 The one who believes in the Son has eternal life,
but the one who refuses to believe in the Son will not see life; instead, the wrath of God remains on him.

It’s all about our choice! Which side do we want to find ourselves on? Back in Nahum 1:2b, we talked about the Lord takes vengeance against his foes…furious with his enemies. I don’t want to be found to be an enemy of God!

Romans 8:7 Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)
7 For the mind-set of the flesh is hostile to God because it does not submit itself to God’s law, for it is unable to do so.

To be more clear:

Romans 8:7 King James Version (KJV)
7 Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.

The carnal mind, the flesh serving and focused mind is an enemy to God – but only because it CANNOT turn to God…which is WHY we need to become new creatures!

2 Corinthians 5:17 Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)
17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away, and look, new things[a] have come.

God made a way so that we could choose NOT to be his enemy!

Our God is an AWESOME God…and we need to know both sides of him! We need to understand WHY there is a requirement to believe, to obey, to honor, to worship….why we need a relationship with God through Jesus Christ!

Romans 6:23 Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)
23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

That says it in a nutshell…it’s the plan of salvation, but more importantly, the NEED for salvation.

Nahum 1:3-5 Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)
3…His path is in the whirlwind and storm,
and clouds are the dust beneath His feet.
4 He rebukes the sea so that it dries up,
and He makes all the rivers run dry.
Bashan and Carmel wither;
even the flower of Lebanon withers.
5 The mountains quake before Him,
and the hills melt;
the earth trembles at His presence—
the world and all who live in it.

Worship break!
Our God is an Awesome God!

many forget this part of this song!

Once we see part of the awesomeness of God…
Then, the warning!!!

Nahum 1:6 Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)
6 Who can withstand His indignation?
Who can endure His burning anger?
His wrath is poured out like fire,
even rocks are shattered before Him.

As I said above, we do NOT want to be his enemies…and I’m trying to make it clear how we can become his enemies, and how can be part of his family!

Psalm 2:12 King James Version (KJV)
12 Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and ye perish from the way, when his wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all they that put their trust in him.

Nehemiah 9:16-17 Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)
16 But our ancestors acted arrogantly;
they became stiff-necked and did not listen to Your commands.
17 They refused to listen
and did not remember Your wonders
You performed among them.
They became stiff-necked and appointed a leader
to return to their slavery in Egypt.[a]
But You are a forgiving God,
gracious and compassionate,
slow to anger and rich in faithful love,
and You did not abandon them.

Even in the midst of His people being rebellious, He still offers forgiveness…for repentance!

2 Chronicles 7:14 speaks to people that are CALLED BY HIS NAME! on the Bible hub link, you can read it in ANY version you would like!

I prefer Amplified:

2 Chronicles 7:14 Amplified Bible (AMP)
14 and My people, who are called by My Name, humble themselves, and pray and seek (crave, require as a necessity) My face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear [them] from heaven, and forgive their sin and heal their land.

Amplified Bible (AMP)
Copyright © 2015 by The Lockman Foundation, La Habra, CA 90631. All rights reserved.

THIS IS WRITTEN TO GOD’S PEOPLE…NOT THE UNBELIEVERS!!!!
This is OUR responsibility! Not just to ourselves, but to our communities, our families, our churches, our states, our nations and our world! We are the change that God places in this world!

Back to Nahum.
Even in the midst of describing the destruction of Nineveh, it’s as if God doesn’t want us overwhelmed by His vengeance, He wants us to remember the other side of Him! The side that HIS children enjoy!

Nahum 1:7 Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)
7 The Lord is good,
a stronghold in a day of distress;
He cares for those who take refuge in Him.

We can look at Psalm 91 – and remember specifically verses 1-2

Psalm 91:1-2 King James Version (KJV)
91 He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.
2 I will say of the Lord, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust.

We can read Psalm 46 starting with verse 1!

Psalm 46:1-2 King James Version (KJV)
46 God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.
2 Therefore will not we fear, though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea;

Back to Nahum:

Nahum 1:8-10 Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)
8 But He will completely destroy Nineveh[d]
with an overwhelming flood,
and He will chase His enemies into darkness.
9 Whatever you plot against the Lord,
He will bring it to complete destruction;
oppression will not rise up a second time.
10 For they will be consumed
like entangled thorns,
like the drink of a drunkard
and like straw that is fully dry.

God is in control…We who believe KNOW this.
Some judgments we see here on earth…some, at a future time.

Romans 2:5 Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)
5 But because of your hardness and unrepentant heart you are storing up wrath for yourself in the day of wrath, when God’s righteous judgment is revealed.

KJV says “hardness and impenitent hearts”
one says “unwillingness to change.”
many others say “stubbornness.”
This concerns me because of THIS verse:

1 Samuel 15:23 King James Version (KJV)
23 For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because thou hast rejected the word of the Lord, he hath also rejected thee from being king.

Bible Hub gives you other versions in which to read 1 Samuel 15:23 – but the warning is still very similar!

  • Hard hearts
  • Stubborn hearts
  • impenitent hearts
  • rebellious hearts

IT’S A HEART ISSUE!

Let’s compare Egypt, Nahum’s prophecy of deliverance for Judah, and Salvation:

Enslaved

  • Exodus – enslaved to Pharoah
  • Nahum – enslaved to Sennecharib and Assyria
  • Salvation – enslaved to Sin

Cruelty

  • Exodus – forced to work in labor camps
  • Nahum – Sennecharib was hated for his cruelty, even by his allies
  • Salvation – we are cruelly kept from peace, hope, and joy, used for his purposes

In Darkness

  • Exodus – the plague of darkness descended, but they were in darkness of hopelessness
  • Nahum – The darkness of the constant fear
  • Salvation – rescued out of the darkness Colossians 1:13

Warnings

  • Exodus – the 10 plagues
  • Nahum – Nineveh warned by Jonah(you can read about Jonah starting with IBBS Jonah Introduction)
  • Salvation – Pricks of conscience – Like Saul/Paul in Acts 9:5

Sacrifice

  • Exodus – First born of all, and the Passover lamb
  • Nahum – Sennacherib – his sons killed him(Wikipedia)
  • Salvation – God’s son, Jesus(I wrote a bit about Jesus being the Passover Lamb in Advent day 12 and the New Covenant

Slavery Broken – Shackles broken

  • Exodus – they left!
  • Nahum – Judah delivered – Nahum 1:13
  • Salvation – whom the son sets free is fee indeed! John 8:36

Worship Break!

Repentance

Light

  • Exodus – Light in the darkness during the plague of darkness
  • Nahum – the promises from the prophets
  • Salvation – called out of darkness into HIS wonderful light – 1 Peter 2:9

Separated from the Enemy

  • Exodus – splitting of the red sea – enemies destroyed
  • Nahum – Civil war caused the Assyrians to be weakened(from Wikipedia)
  • Salvation – old has passed, all things made new 2 Corinthians 5:17

Responsibility

What is my point in all of this?
The Bible is ONE story – the story about how God created us to enjoy HIS presence, we messed up, like a parent he has to discipline us, but he calls us back to HIM! and when we cannot make it, which none of us can, HE made the way!

Let’s finish up chapter one.

Nahum 1:11 Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)
11 One has gone out from you,[a]
who plots evil against Yahweh,
and is a wicked counselor.

Not all counselors are good ones…some are wolves in sheep’s clothing….

Nahum 1:12-13
12 This is what the Lord says:
Though they are strong[h] and numerous,
they will still be mowed down,
and he[i] will pass away.
Though I have afflicted you,[j]
I will afflict you no longer.
13 For I will now break off his yoke from you
and tear off your shackles.

The Promise of deliverance in the midst of an overwhelming enemy!

Nahum 1:14
14 The Lord has issued an order concerning you:
There will be no offspring
to carry on your name.[k]
I will eliminate the carved idol and cast image
from the house of your gods;
I will prepare your grave,
for you are contemptible.

Complete annihilation of the enemy…makes me think of Revelation!!!

Nahum 1:15 Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)
15 [l]Look to the mountains—
the feet of one bringing good news
and proclaiming peace!
Celebrate your festivals, Judah;
fulfill your vows.
For the wicked one will never again
march through you;
he will be entirely wiped out.

2 Chronicles 20:15 King James Version (KJV)
15 And he said, Hearken ye, all Judah, and ye inhabitants of Jerusalem, and thou king Jehoshaphat, Thus saith the Lord unto you, Be not afraid nor dismayed by reason of this great multitude; for the battle is not yours, but God’s.

Read Exodus 14:14 in all of it’s versions…the LORD will fight for US! for ME! for YOU!

Psalm 46:10 King James Version (KJV)
10 Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth.

No matter what a mess we have made of our lives, God can straighten it out.
No matter how big the enemy, God can take them down.
No matter how long the trial, God can see us through!

Hi!
My hope in the midst of despair and my joy in the face of depression is because of my relationship with Jesus Christ. If you do not have one, or are not sure you will join him in heaven, please check out these links.

Thanks for joining me in this journey,
In His hands and under His wings,
~Christi
Ps 63:7 Because you are my help, I sing in the shadow of your wings.

“The Lord does not give me rules, but He makes His standard very clear.
If my relationship to Him is that of love, I will do what He says without hesitation.
If I hesitate, it is because I love someone I have placed in competition with Him, namely, myself.” – from My Utmost for His highest

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