NOTES for Nah 2:1-13

Holy Scripture reveals God acting in history. It allows us to see the events taking place before people’s eyes not as a chain of accidents, but as a manifestation of God’s will and action. History then reveals a meaning and therefore a purpose.

The Book of the prophet Nahum is devoted to one episode in Israel’s history. The Assyrians have already invaded the Northern Kingdom; half of God’s people have already been taken captive. Disaster threatens the other half as well—the Southern Kingdom, Judah. Has God really turned away from His people and “given up” on them? The truth is revealed to the prophet Nahum: God used Assyria as an instrument to punish Israel for sin and unfaithfulness, but He also brings His judgment upon Assyria. Yet unlike Israel, whose remnant will be preserved and flourish again, Assyria will never rise again; its final sentence has been pronounced.