The Book of Nahum is a complete and finishes poem celebrating the Fall of Nineveh, the capital city of Israel's ancient and oppressive enemy, the Assyrians. The preparation for the destruction and the vivid description of the ruins is seen as the Judgment of God upon a cruel and arrogant nation.
Nahum's name means "comforter" and he was from the Town of El-Kosh. He was a very nationalistic Hebrew, living amongst the El-Koshites in peace. His writing could be taken as prophecy or as history.
Nahum, using words from Moses, has shown what sort of being God is. He has painted God using words by which His Nature must be seen.
Nahum says, "The Lord God tolerates No Rivals; He Punishes those who oppose Him. In His Anger He Pays them back."
"The Lord does not easily become angry, but He is Powerful and never let the guilty go unpunished." "Where the Lord Walks, storms arise; the clouds are the dust raised by His feet!"
"He Commands the Sea, and it dries up! He makes the Rivers go dry."
"The Fields of Basham wither, Mount Carmel turns brown, and the flowers of Lebanon fade." "Mountains quake in the Presence of the Lord; hills melt Before Him. The earth shakes when the Lord appears; the World and all its people tremble."
"When He is Angry, who can survive? Who can survive His Terrible Fury?"
"He Pours out His Flaming Anger; rocks crumble to dust Before Him."
"The Lord is Good; He Protects His People in times of trouble; takes care of those who turn to Him."
"Like a great rushing Flood He completely destroys His Enemies; He sends to their death those who oppose Him." Nahum 1: 1-9
NATHAN : Nathan, the Prophet, served the Lord during the reign of King David, in which he figured prominently on 3 important occasions in David's life, and survived well into the reign of King Solomon. His actions are described in the Book of Samuel (2 Samuel 7:2-17, 12: 1-25), Kings, and Chronicles (1 Chronicles 17).
The first and most important encounter with Nathan occurs in 2 Samuel 7. Nathan was a court prophet. He announced to David the most wonderful statement of God's Covenant of Love for him, a Covenant for a Kingdom to time indefinite in David's line. The Lord promised David his name would be great, his people would have peace, and his son would build a House for God's Name. God then said, "I will be His Father, and He will be My Son." God went on to say that His Love would remain on David's House and Kingdom forever. This Message became the basis for Messianic expectation and became known as the Davidic Covenant.
The nature of the 2nd recorded encounter with Nathan occurs in 2 Samuel 12. It was not so pleasant. David had recently committed adultery with Bath'Sheba and had arranged the death of her husband, Uriah, the Hittite. Nathan was sent by the Lord to David to point out the magnitude of his sin and the divine penalty imposed because of it. Nathan, tactfully but forcefully, used an illustration in a way to maneuver David perception into expressing, unwittingly and without personal prejudice, his own judgment on such an act.
Nathan said, "A poor man had one ewe lamb. A rich man had great flocks of sheep. A traveler came to the rich man who prepared a meal for him. The rich man took the ewe lamb from the poor man rather than use one of his own for the meal."
David heard the story and said to Nathan: "As surely as the Lord lives, the man who did this deserves to die!" Then Nathan said to David, "You yourself are the man!"
God's judgment on David, pronounced by Nathan, was that his wives would be taken by someone else and the child of this union with Bath'Sheba would die. Also David's House (Dynasty) would find themselves continually at war.
David recognized the point of the Parable: in spite of all he had, he had taken the wife of a man who had so little. He then repented of his sin. The Lord forgave him, but the consequences of his sin meant that subsequently the child born to him and Bath'Sheba died. David and Bath'Sheba had another son who became Solomon. Nathan brought Word from the Lord that he should be called Jedid'Iah, meaning "Beloved of Jah" (Jehovah), because the Lord loved him. The House (Dynasty) of David, after Solomon found themselves continually at war.
The nature of the 3rd recorded encounter with Nathan occurs in 1 Kings 1 when David's life was right at the end. God had made it clear that Solomon was to inherit the throne from his father. When another of David's sons, Adonijah, tried to usurp the Throne, Nathan supported David.
He informed Bath'Sheba of the plot and advised her on how to ensure the right succession of the throne to her son Solomon. Nathan was called in by David and told to anoint Solomon king. Nathan did anointed him and it was proclaimed to the people.
The only other information we have about Nathan is found in 2 Chronicles 29 in which he, together with Gad, advised David on the proper deployment of the sound and positions of the musical instruments in connection with the sanctuary.
Nathan and Gad were the ones that God used to record the events of David's and Solomon's reigns in
1 Chronicles 29 and 2 Chronicles 9: 29, and the recorded information contained in the concluding chapters of 1 Samuel and all of 2 Samuel.
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