Minor Prophets - Nahum through Zechariah

     "The Lord is slow to anger and great in power," Nahum 1:3 points out, "and the Lord will by no means leave the guilty unpunished.  In whirlwind and storm is His way, and clouds are the dust beneath His feet."
     This is the Lord who tolerates the children of Israel...their rebellion, their disobedience, their unfaithfulness...just long enough.  And then He sends other nations to conquer them and carry them into exile.  But, even in this, God is trying to lead them to repentance.
     First He sends the Assyrians to capture Israel, the northern kingdom.  Remember that Israel never has a good king following the division of the nation after the death of Solomon.  So it is logical that they go first.
     Then He sends Babylon to defeat Judah, the southern kingdom.  Although it has good kings from time to time, the last ones are openly rebellious to God and His commandments.  So Nebuchadnezzar marches against the city and destroys both it and the temple located within its walls.
     Nahum prophesies in the period between the Assyrian and Babylonian captivities.  His message is directed toward Nineveh, the capital city of the Assyrian empire.  Yes, God has sent Assyria to capture Israel.  But, no, God does not condone their cruelty and arrogance.
     Just because Nineveh has served as an instrument of God's will, it does not mean they do not bear the responsiblity for their wickedness.  Nineveh repents when Jonah warns of God's coming judgement.  Such is not the case this time.
     "Though Nineveh was like a pool of water throughout her days," Nahum 2:8-10 observes, "now they are fleeing; 'Stop, stop,' but no one turns back.
     "Plunder the silver!  Plunder the gold!  For there is no limit to  the treasure-wealth from every kind of desirable object.
     "She is emptied!  Yes, she is desolate and waste!  Hearts are melting and knees knocking!  Also anguish is in the whole body, and all their faces are grown pale!"
     "Your shepherds are sleeping, O king of Assyria;" Nahum 3:18-19 notes, "your nobles are lying down.  Your people are scattered on the mountains, and there is no one to regather them.
     "There is no relief for your breakdown, your wound is incurable.  All who hear about you will clap their hands over you, for on whom has not your evil passed continually?"
     Why is all of this going to come about?
     "Behold, I am against you," God replies in Nahum 2:13 and 3:5.
     Although this is bad news for the Assyrians, it is wonderful as far as the captive Israelites are concerned.  Once again there is hope for them.
     "The Lord is good," we read in Nahum 1:7, "a stronghold in the day of trouble, and He knows those who take refuge in Him."
     "Though they are at full strength and likewise many," God promises in Nahum 1:12-13, "even so, they will be cut off and pass away.  Though I have afflicted you, I will afflict you no longer.  So now, I will break his yoke bar from upon you, and I will tear off your shackles."
     One day the children of Israel will be allowed to return to their homeland.  This is good news for them.  But they do not understand that God has something much more wonderful in mind for them, as well as for the Gentiles.
     "Behold, on the mountains the feet of him who brings good news, who announces peace," Nahum 1:15 says.
     The Israelites probably think this is refering to their liberation.  But there are other passages in the Bible that help us get a different perspective on this prophecy.
     "How lovely on the mountains are the feet of him who brings good news," Isaiah 52:7 states, "who announces peace and brings good news of happiness, who announces salvation, and says to Zion, 'Your God reigns!'"
     This same Scripture is quoted by Paul in Romans chapter ten, beginning with verse 13.
     "Whoever will call upon the name of the Lord will be saved," Paul quotes from Joel 2:32.
     "How then shall they call upon Him in whom they have not believed?" Paul continues.  "And how shall they believe in Him whom they have not heard?  And how shall they hear without a preacher?
     "And how shall they preach unless they are sent?  Just as it is written, 'How beautiful are the feet of those who bring glad tidings of good things!'"
     Yes, the Israelites are glad to be able to look forward to a day when they will be released from captivity.  But more importantly, they should look forward to the day when they can be free from their captivity to sin, the day when they can obey the Messiah.  And, fortunately, this is a wonderful event which applies to us as well.

     Habakkuk and Zephaniah both address the southern kingdom of Judah in an attempt to warn them of the impending destruction at the hand of the Babylonians.  But the people don't believe the warning.
     "Look among the nations!" God suggests in Habakkuk 1:5-6.  "Observe!  Be astonished!  Wonder!  Because I am doing something in your days-you would not believe if you were told.
     "For behold, I am raising up the Chaldeans, that fierce and impetuous people who march throughout the earth to seize dwelling places which are not theirs."
     The Babylonians are going to destroy Jerusalem and carry the people of Judah into exile.  But, just like the Assyrians, these people are to bear the punishment for their own wickedness.
     "Then they will sweep through like the wind and pass on," Habakkuk 1:11 admits.  "But they will be held guilty, they whose strength is their god."
     Chapter two contains a number of woes against nations such as Babylonia.
     "Woe to him who builds a city with bloodshed and founds a city with violence," verse 12 warns.
     The Babylonians must understand that it is not their idols but God who has delivered the kingdom of Judah into their hands.
     "What profit is the idol when its maker has carved it," Habakkuk 2:18-20 asks, "or an image, a teacher of falsehood?  For its maker trusts in his own handiwork when he fashions speechless idols.
     "Woe to  him who says to a piece of wood, 'Awake!'  To a dumb stone, 'Arise!'  And that is your teacher?  Behold it is overlaid with gold and silver, and there is no breath at all inside it.
     "But the Lord is in His holy temple.  Let all the earth be silent before Him."
     Once again, God gives hope for His people.  But this hope is not based on pride or arrogance.
     "Behold, as for the proud one, his soul is not right within him," Habakkuk 2:4 observes.  "But the righteous will live by his faith."  Paul quotes this statement in Romans 1:17 and in Galatians 3:11.
     While Nahum and Habakkuk prophesy between the Assyrian captivity of the Israelites and the Babylonian exile of the people of Judah, Haggai and Zechariah address the children of God after they have returned to Jerusalem to rebuild the temple.  Although the rebuilding project begins with a great deal of joy and zeal, it is hindered by many obstacles along the way.  So God sends Haggai and Zechariah to encourage the people to complete what they have started.
     Haggai points out to the people that life will never be what it should as long as God's will is not carried out.  There is an important message here for us, too.  No matter how much material wealth we accumulate, life is empty and shallow without God.
     "Consider your ways!" Haggai 1:5 instructs.
     "You have sown much," the next verse explains, "but harvest little; you eat, but there is not enough to be satisfied; you drink, but there is not enough to become drunk; you put on clothing, but no one is warm enough; and he who earns, earns wages to put into a purse with holes."
     "Consider your ways!" God repeats in verse seven.
     Zechariah shares a number of visions with the people as he encourages them to rebuild the temple.  But the central element of these visions is not the temple, but rather the coming Messiah.
     "Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion!" Zechariah 9:9 says.  "Shout in triumph, O daughter of Jerusalem!  Behold, your king is coming to you; He is just and endowed with salvation, humble, and mounted on a donkey, even on a colt, the foal of a donkey."
     Going back to the period of Nahum and Habbakuk, there is one more minor prophet who writes to warn Judah of the coming destruction if they do not repent.
     Zephaniah explains that God is still in control of all the world.  Judah must repent.  However, not only Judah but also the other nations will be judged.  As usual, there is also a message of comfort and hope for those who follow God.
     One of the central messages of the book of Zephaniah is the coming "Day of the Lord."  This is any time that God carries out his judgement against a group of people.  We noticed that the bad news of the punishment of Nineveh was good news for the captive people of God.  So the "Day of the Lord" is good for some and bad for others.  The difference lies in whether or not we obey God.
     "Gather yourselves together, yes, gather, O nation without shame," Zephaniah 2:1-3 recommends, "before the decree takes effect-the day passes like the chaff-before the burning anger of the Lord comes upon you, before the day of the Lord's anger comes upon you.
     "Seek the Lord, all you humble of the earth who have carried out His ordinances; seek righteousness, seek humility, perhaps you will be hidden in the day of the Lord's anger."
     It's worth it, isn't it?  It's worth being sure we know and obey the truth so we can be set free.

Unless otherwise noted, "Scripture taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE(R), (C) Copyright 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission." (www.lockman.org)