Saturday 26 July 2008

Background

The politics and rivalries of the Middle East are not just newsin our day and age. The land of ancient Israel was just as affectedby what the empires and nations around it did back then as it istoday.

600 years before the birth of Christ the Assyrian Empire (seen ascruel and harsh) was overthrown by the Babylonians who wereconsidered to be more enlightened. It is this event that promptsthis book of prophecy in which you will find no condemnation ofIsrael. That makes it very unusual compared to other propheticbooks in the Bible.

Nahum means 'comforter' or one who is 'full of consolation' and thebook offers a message of destruction for Nineveh (the Assyriancapital) and therefore consolation for the peoples oppressed bythis evil empire.

Some of the phrases and words in this prophecy glory in thedestruction of the enemy and paint a picture of a vengeful God atodds with what other prophets say about God's loving kindness. Andcertainly at odds with what we see in the life and death of Jesus.(We can still hear this language in the extremists of MiddleEastern politics and religion today.)

But alongside this is a strong sense of the majesty, might andawesome power of God, creator of the universe who sustains alllife. This sense can sometimes be absent from our understanding andworship. We should be humble before such a god.

To Ponder

In your spiritual reflections, how helpful do youfind reminders of the majesty of God in contrast to the frailtiesof our lives?

In what ways can the words of this prophecy bereconciled with the command to "love your enemies"?

What might such passages say about justice andfairness in our world?