‘Nahum’ means ‘comfort’ in Hebrew. And this is the purpose of these oracles. They were to comfort God’s people. In these oracles God promises to unleash the fury of his vengeance upon Nineveh, the capital of Assyria. So how is that comforting? It’s not just because it removed a threat. That is part of it, but one threat was always replaced by another. These oracles are comforting because they tell us that God is good at doing his job. Nahum’s ministry was probably set either in the latter years of Manasseh’s reign or the early years of Josiah’s reign (both times of religious reform). The Assyrians, by this stage, had ravaged the land a number of times leading to the destruction of ten of the twelve tribes of Israel. They were a cruel people who inflicted unimaginable atrocities on their victims. The remnant of God’s people at this stage would be thankful to have survived these ravages but they would have been deeply shaken by the collective trauma. They would have been left wondering whether God really cares about such evil. These oracles provided comfort because they assure us that God does care very much and that such evil will always be redressed. God is the judge of the earth, and he is not slow in doing his job. We may suffer great evil and injustice in this life. But it is better to be the one who suffers it than the one who inflicts it. For there is a God who rewards the faithful and brings judgement upon evildoers, that is for sure.
Have you suffered some injustice? Take that to God and entrust it to him.
Read Nahum 1
