by Rev. Blane Young [DCXA at AU]
Nahum is uniquely simple and also multifaceted. It’s like a good painting, a Criterion Collection film or even a complex sparkling kombucha. This is one of the books in the Bible that you could summarize in a tweet (or two) but I’m not sure that method would fully allow us to experience the message as it was intended.
If this is your first time reading Nahum (or even hearing that name!), don’t beat yourself up. In fact, scholars and commentators know very little about the person of Nahum outside this book and the vision(s) it contains.
As with all prophesy (whether in the Old Testament or in modern-day contexts), it’s important to remember that prophesy is focused primary on truth-telling and potentially (secondarily) on future-telling. Does that make sense? Truth is being conveyed, and it’s a truth that exists in the present and willl come into reality in the future.
In the words of Dr. John Walton, “The Bible is written for us, but it’s not written to us.” I would also be so bold to add, ‘The Bible isn’t primarily about us.’ These are helpful principles to keep in mind when digging into Scripture and perhaps, even more essential when reading though the Old Testament.
You may recall the story of Jonah and Nineveh, which happened in the same location as the setting of this book but many decades earlier. This is noteworthy because there’s history between people in this land and the redemptive outreach of God.
Circling back to our initial point, one one hand, this text serves as a rebuke to an evil people that have caused harm to believers in God. On the other hand, the text exists as a reminder to God’s people that their assurance and hopes shouldn’t not rest in the bloody demise of their enemies but in God’s goodness alone. This is a somewhat complex or nuanced idea in that God is fighting for His people and righting wrongs while also serving as a testament to the beautiful theological reality that redemption trumps even well-deserved retribution of those that cause us harm.
We win because we get to be close with God, not because others get what we think they deserve.
Research Sources: NIV Study Bible, Biblica online
Research Sources: The Fire Bible (Study Bible), pp. 1445-1446
