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Books of the Bible

Nahum

The book of Nahum records the messages of the prophet Nahum. As with most prophets, Nahum’s message focuses on current events, but in this case for the people of Assyria.

The capital of Assyria was Nineveh, so we can read the prelude to this book in the book of Jonah.

Nahum, like Amos, addresses the faults of a foreign nation, Assyria. Assyria was long an oppressor of Israel and Nahum predicts its destruction. There is no call to repentance — as is often seen with other prophets —just judgment.

From a literary standpoint, the book concludes with a masterful ode to the fall of Assyria (Nineveh).

Nahum is sometimes called a minor prophet. This doesn’t mean he wasn’t important, but merely that the book named after him is shorter. (Compare this to the major prophets, whose books are much longer.)

Dig into the intriguing lives and ministries of the Bible’s twelve minor prophets in Peter DeHaan’s book Dear Theophilus, Minor Prophets: 40 Prophetic Teachings about Unfaithfulness, Punishment, and Hope.

A lifelong student of the Bible, Peter DeHaan, PhD, wrote the 1,000-page website ABibleADay.com to encourage people to explore the Bible. His main blog and many books urge Christians to push past the status quo and reconsider how they practice their faith in every area of their lives.

Categories
Bible

Posts about the Minor Prophets

For the past several months, most of the A Bible A Day posts have been about the minor prophets.  Recall that they are called “minor” not because their prophecy is insignificant, but because their books are short!

Though more posts may be added in the future, there are no more planned at this time.  See all posts about the Minor Prophets, or look at specific ones:

  1. Hosea
  2. Joel
  3. Amos
  4. Obadiah
  5. Jonah
  6. Micah
  7. Nahum
  8. Habakkuk
  9. Zephaniah
  10. Haggai
  11. Zechariah
  12. Malachi

Read more about the Minor Prophets on ABibleADay.com.

A lifelong student of the Bible, Peter DeHaan, PhD, wrote the 1,000-page website ABibleADay.com to encourage people to explore the Bible. His main blog and many books urge Christians to push past the status quo and reconsider how they practice their faith in every area of their lives.

Categories
Bible

The Feet that Bring the Good News of Peace

As I read the prophetic book of Nahum, I see a familiar sounding passage:

“Look, there on the mountains, the feet of one who brings good news, who proclaims peace!” (See Nahum 1:15a.)

I find a similar text in Isaiah:

“How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news, who proclaim peace…” (See Isaiah 52:7.)

The book of Romans even quotes Isaiah:

“As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!” (See Romans 10:15.)

But these are not what I am thinking of.  Knowing that “good news” means “gospel,” I do some searching and find:

“Your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace.” (See Ephesians 6:15.)

I get excited when I see themes repeated throughout the Bible; it adds emphasis and reinforces the timelessness of the message.

May we all be people who bring peace.

A lifelong student of the Bible, Peter DeHaan, PhD, wrote the 1,000-page website ABibleADay.com to encourage people to explore the Bible. His main blog and many books urge Christians to push past the status quo and reconsider how they practice their faith in every area of their lives.

Categories
Bible

Nineveh, Part II

The prophetic book of Nahum is essentially a sequel to the book of Jonah.  Both focus on the people of Nineveh.  Jonas proclaims doom and destruction on them; they have a change of heart (repent); and God relents.

A century or so later, they have forgotten all about that.  This time Nahum proclaims doom and destruction; this time there is no change of heart; and history records that they are soon destroyed.

What did they do?  Nahum simply pronounces that they are guilty (Nahum 1:3) and later shares some details:

The city of Nineveh is given a second chance, but they miss it — and they pay a heavy price.

God is patient (Nahum 1:3), but not patient forever.  If he gives us a second change, we’d better take it.

A lifelong student of the Bible, Peter DeHaan, PhD, wrote the 1,000-page website ABibleADay.com to encourage people to explore the Bible. His main blog and many books urge Christians to push past the status quo and reconsider how they practice their faith in every area of their lives.