Nahum was the prophet Jonah always wished he could be! Jonah and Nahum both addressed the Ninevites, but the tone and outcome of each are radically different. Remember that the Ninevites miraculously repented at the reluctant Jonah’s meager five-word sermon. However, when we get to Nahum it is clear that their repentance was relatively short-lived—not unlike the Israelites’ themselves!

The book of Nahum begins by introducing the audience (Nineveh) and the prophet (Nahum). We know very little about this prophet other than that his name means “comfort” and he likely ministered during the fifty-year period from the fall of Thebes (663 BC) to the fall of Nineveh (612 BC).

Nahum’s sermon begins by referencing part of Exodus 34:6–7, which Jonah also quoted as his reasoning for not wanting to preach to Nineveh (see Jonah 4:2). Whereas Jonah focused on the Lord’s compassion, Nahum focuses on God’s vengeance and wrath: “The LORD is a jealous and avenging God; the LORD takes vengeance and is filled with wrath. The LORD takes vengeance on his foes and vents his wrath against his enemies” (v. 2). Nahum does recognize God’s patience, stating that “the LORD is slow to anger but great in power” and reminding his audience that “the LORD will not leave the guilty unpunished” (v. 3). Nahum highlights God’s mysterious, awesome nature: “[H]is way is in the whirlwind and the storm” (v. 3), as well as His power over all things, including rivers, the sea, mountains, and even the entire earth (vv. 4–5).

Nahum then poses a few questions: “Who can withstand his indignation? Who can endure his fierce anger?” (v. 6). The questions are rhetorical, the answer is no one! In the presence of God, the only option is to repent—or face His judgment.

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