Earlier prophets warned Israel and Judah about the coming Assyrian threat to their nations. Assyria conquered Israel in 722 BCE, but now Nahum is warning Assyria about its pending demise. In 612 BCE, the Babylonians conquered and destroyed the Assyrian nation and Nineveh. Assyria is now part of Iraq, Iran, Kuwait, Syria, and Turkey.
The prophet Nahum lived in a small town in Israel near the border with Lebanon. Chapter 1 is rather short, only 15 verses. In verses 1-8, Nahum wrote about God’s attitude toward His children, “Gid is jealous over those He loves; that is why He takes vengeance on those who hurt them.”
Israel was captured by Assyria in 722 BCE and the Israelis were taken into captivity. But in 701 BCE, the Assyrians returned and invaded Judah under King Sennacherib. They conquered many cities, but when they went to Jerusalem, God sent an Angel who destroyed about 185,000 Assyrian soldiers leaving only a few to tell what happened when they reached their king. When Sennacherib returned home, he was killed by some of his sons. (See 2 Chronicles 32).
“What are you thinking of, Ninevah, to defy the Lord? He will stop you with one blow; He won’t need to strike again. . .’Though he build he build his army millions strong’, the Lord declares, ‘it will vanish’.” (Verses 9-12).
In verses 12-15, we find words of encouragement for the people of Judah who knew what Assyria had done to Israel and saw the devastation they had already done in Judah. We also find that when this was going on, King Hezekiah sent a message to Isaiah the prophet. 2 Kings 18-19, gave a great account of this war. Hezekiah was concerned for his people, and he prayed to God for an answer, and Isaiah gave words of encouragement to the king.