2005 Bible Reading

This page is not a commentary, nor an outline. It is something to bear in mind in this kind of reading. These materials I learnt from two books by Gordon Fee and Douglas Stuart (How to Read the Bible for All Its worth; How to Read the Bible Book By Book). You could consult these books if you are interested.

Pastor Raymond

Nahum

This is the 7^th book in the Book of Twelve and is also the only book other than Obadiah to be devoted primarily to Gentiles. Therefore understanding the historical background involving the people of Israel and Gentiles becomes particularly important. Reference can be made to 2 Kings 17-23 and 2 Chronicles 33-34 for this purpose. Three matters are useful to note. First, when Nahum served as a prophet, the nation Assyria reached the peak of international power (1:12) because she just defeated her arch rival Egypt (3:8; around 663 B. C.). Second, Assyria had a very nasty way in dealing with the nations she defeated. She would aim to completely destroy their roots and cultures by taking the people to a remote land. Third, Nahum spoke at a time when the kings of Judah (Manasseh and Josiah) were serving as vassal kings to Assyria. Under these circumstances, what Nahum said not only could cost him his life in the face of Assyria, it was extremely “politically incorrect” in his own land. It is only when one spoke from the perspective of Yahweh would these words make sense.

In line with the prophetic tradition, Nahum held firmly the covenant Abraham had with Yahweh. Based on the promise of “whoever curses you I will curse” (Gen 12:3), Nahum bravely proclaimed that Yahweh was not only the God of Israel but also the LORD of all nations and therefore would have the authority to judge the Assyrians. At the same time, Nahum also pointed out that the Assyrians were not cursed for no reason. Their behaviors alone justified their judgment. These behaviors included: idolatry (1:14), cruelty to other nations (3:4, 19) and stripping the nations for profits (3:16).

The prophet Nahum reminds the readers that whilst the LORD is a kind savior, He is at the same time a righteous judge. His justice co-exists with His graciousness. The first eight verses point out that Yahweh is the LORD of the universe and a mighty warrior (4-5). He will avenge the enemies (2, 6, 8) whilst being gracious and kind to those who are His (3, 7; similar to Exodus).

This book uses a Hebrew technique of arranging the text in a chiastic form (that is, it describes matters in step-wise or alternating fashion). It also makes an effort to hide the identity to increase the suspense. If not because of the English translations which add “Judah” and “Nineveh” to assist the readers, we would not find these words in the original Bible until 1:15 and 2:8 respectively (e.g. NIV exposes the identities in 1:8). If we wish to read all the comforting words to Judah, simply extract these verses and read: 1:12-13, 15; 2:2. As for those judgments concerning Nineveh, we can read in this order: 1:9-11, 14; 2:1; 2:5-8. Finally, we can read of the attack upon Nineveh by the warriors sent by Yahweh (that is, the armies of Babylon) in 2:3-4 and 2:9-10.