You also will be drunk; You will be hidden; You also will seek refuge from the enemy. Nahum 3:11
By the time Nahum came on the scene, Nineveh, the capital of Assyria was even more wicked than it had been during the time of Jonah about 100 years earlier. The repentant spirit of the people and the revival that stemmed from Jonah’s visit was gone. Now a terror to the entire world, the fortress city of Nineveh seemed impenetrable. But God could no longer overlook the city’s horrible sins, and He sent Nahum to deliver the message of impending destruction. The entire Assyrian empire would be destroyed and the mighty city of Nineveh would be gutted by a raging fire. When Nahum proclaimed to Nineveh, “You will be hidden” (Nah. 3:11), he meant what he said! After Nineveh’s destruction in 612 B.C., the site lay obliterated and undiscovered for nearly 2,500 years! What happened to the city of Nineveh really teaches us that, “to whom much is given, from him much will be required” (Luke 12:48). Nineveh had been given the privilege of knowing the one true God. Under Jonah’s preaching, this great Gentile city had repented, and God had graciously relented from His judgment. But now, about 150 years later, Nahum proclaims the downfall of mighty Nineveh. The Assyrians had forgotten their revival and had returned to their habits of violence, idolatry, and arrogance.
As a result, Babylon would so destroy the city that not a trace of it would remain—a prophecy fulfilled in painful detail. An important spiritual truth can be found in Nineveh’s sorry end: the principle of communication to the next generation. Nineveh’s revival was short-lived, not because the people involved were insincere in their repentance, but because they failed to pass on their newfound knowledge of God to the succeeding generation. As the years rolled along, Jonah, the “prophet from the sea,” and the great God he represented, were largely forgotten. Revival dwindled and died, and in its place, all the old pagan practices returned.
Do you see the importance of teaching the truths of God to the next generation? Without that knowledge, they are likely to fail when confronted with the same kind of crisis that you, in God’s strength, have learned to conquer. Constantly share your faith with your brothers and sisters in the Lord and also with new believers in the church. Encourage them with spiritual truths that God has taught you. Remember, their knowledge of God will depend in part upon your faithfulness in passing on the truth.
Jesus says in Matthew 28:19-20, “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” And Paul says to Timothy, “And the things that you have heard from me among many witnesses, commit these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also” (2 Tim. 2:2).
By the time Nahum came on the scene, Nineveh, the capital of Assyria was even more wicked than it had been during the time of Jonah about 100 years earlier. The repentant spirit of the people and the revival that stemmed from Jonah’s visit was gone. Now a terror to the entire world, the fortress city of Nineveh seemed impenetrable. But God could no longer overlook the city’s horrible sins, and He sent Nahum to deliver the message of impending destruction. The entire Assyrian empire would be destroyed and the mighty city of Nineveh would be gutted by a raging fire. When Nahum proclaimed to Nineveh, “You will be hidden” (Nah. 3:11), he meant what he said! After Nineveh’s destruction in 612 B.C., the site lay obliterated and undiscovered for nearly 2,500 years! What happened to the city of Nineveh really teaches us that, “to whom much is given, from him much will be required” (Luke 12:48). Nineveh had been given the privilege of knowing the one true God. Under Jonah’s preaching, this great Gentile city had repented, and God had graciously relented from His judgment. But now, about 150 years later, Nahum proclaims the downfall of mighty Nineveh. The Assyrians had forgotten their revival and had returned to their habits of violence, idolatry, and arrogance.
As a result, Babylon would so destroy the city that not a trace of it would remain—a prophecy fulfilled in painful detail. An important spiritual truth can be found in Nineveh’s sorry end: the principle of communication to the next generation. Nineveh’s revival was short-lived, not because the people involved were insincere in their repentance, but because they failed to pass on their newfound knowledge of God to the succeeding generation. As the years rolled along, Jonah, the “prophet from the sea,” and the great God he represented, were largely forgotten. Revival dwindled and died, and in its place, all the old pagan practices returned.
Do you see the importance of teaching the truths of God to the next generation? Without that knowledge, they are likely to fail when confronted with the same kind of crisis that you, in God’s strength, have learned to conquer. Constantly share your faith with your brothers and sisters in the Lord and also with new believers in the church. Encourage them with spiritual truths that God has taught you. Remember, their knowledge of God will depend in part upon your faithfulness in passing on the truth.
Jesus says in Matthew 28:19-20, “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” And Paul says to Timothy, “And the things that you have heard from me among many witnesses, commit these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also” (2 Tim. 2:2).
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