Nahum

Well I'm glad to say that Nahum was a lot easier to understand than Micah. It was only three chapters so that was nice. But it's very interesting because it is an oracle against Nineveh, the same Nineveh that repented when Jonah prophesied against them. This is a later time than Jonah, so apparently they didn't stick to that change of heart.

Anyway, Nahum is an oracle against Nineveh as it says in the opening line. What comes after that though is very interesting. There is no word from Yahweh right off the bat. Verses 2-10 are just a general overview of Yahweh's character. It's very cool to see. It's like Nahum takes a minute to tell Nineveh (which I assume here means all of Assyria) and Judah what kind of god they are dealing with here. Go through and read 1:2-10 if you get a chance.

After that introduction comes the oracle against Ninveh. Nahum jumps back and forth though, between pronouncing destruction for Nineveh and deliverance for Judah, which will both happen in the same act. That is important because of what God promised Abraham in that first covenant for Israel, that He would curse anyone who cursed Israel (Genesis 12:3). Chapter 2 then begins the description of Assyria's destruction. It describes a "scatterer" who will be the destroyer. We know this to be Babylon. So this also goes back and forth between Babylon's army and Assyria's. Assyria's is in disarray (2:5-7). And then quite a bit of chapter 3 is Nahum mocking the Assyrians.

This is important because it is one of the oracles that fulfills Genesis 12:3 and it also shows that Yahweh is lord over all the nations of the earth.