03/06/2021 – Day 293 – Nahum 1 – 3 – I thought the Pharisees said in Jesus’ time that there weren’t any prophets out of Galilee in history.
We already noted that Jonah was a prophet from Galilee. And so is well is Nahum who is prophesying against the Ninevites of Assyria, specifically their upcoming total destruction. This following a little over a hundred years after God defers judgment over the same city for their repentence over Jonah’s preaching, much to Jonah’s chagrin. But before we go any further, here is an interesting sidebar that I looked up: How many prophets were from Galilee? For indeed, the Pharisees incorrectly told Nicomdemus there weren’t any prophets out of Galilee, logic being then: How could Jesus be authentic?
So, check this out:
Did Any Prophets Come Out of Galilee?
Question: In John 7:52, the Pharisees told Nicodemus, “Search and see that no prophet arises out of
Galilee.” Were they correct that no prophet ever came out of Galilee?
Answer: It’s incredible that these supposed experts did not know that five prophets came out of Galilee—
Jonah, Nahum, Hosea, Elijah, and Elisha. Jesus was born in Bethlehem and raised in Nazareth, which is
in Galilee. He was called Jesus of Nazareth, so the Pharisees assumed that He was born in Galilee.
The Pharisees were adamant that no prophet ever came out of Galilee because they thought it was proof
that Jesus was not a prophet and could not be the Messiah. They knew the Scriptures prophesied the
Messiah would be born in Bethlehem (John 7:42, Micah 5:2). So the Pharisees were wrong on two
points—that no prophet had come from Galilee and that Jesus could not be the Messiah. For whatever
reason, Jesus never stated during His public ministry that He was born in Bethlehem.
As with Judah, little is known about Nahum. But we do know he came from a town called Elkosh in Galilee. The theme of the book is aptly summed by the last sentence in my opionion in Matthew Henry’s commentary on Nahum: “The troublers (Ninevah – capital of the Assyrian empire) shall be troubled will be the burden of many, as it is here the burden of Ninevah.” Or, in other words, 1:2: “God is jealous, and the Lord avenges, The Lord avenges and is furious. The Lord will take vengeance on His adversaries, And He reserves wrath for His enemies.” America seems to be doing a 180 degree turn from blessed by God for its faithfulness to a modern day Ninevah, the scourge of believers.
I am going to share with y’all the one paragraph intro to Nahum from Matthew Henry:
“The name of this prophet signifies a comforter; for it was a charge given to all the prophets, Comfort you, comfort you, my people; and even this prophet, though wholly taken up in foretelling the destruction of Nineveh is, even in that , comforter to the ten tribes of Israel, who, it is probable, were lately carried captives into Assyria. It is uncertain, but probable that he lived in the time of Hezekiah (Jimmy note: King of Judah), and prophesied against Ninevah, after the captivity of Israel by the King of Assyria, wich was in the ninth year of Hezekiah, and before Sennacherib’s invading Judah, which was in the fourteenth year of Hezekiah, for to that attempt, and the defeat of it, it is supposed, the first chapter has reference. It is conjecture of Huetius that the two other chapters of this book were delivered by Nahum some years after, perhaps in the reign of Manasseh, and in that reign the Jewish chronologies generally place him, some time before the captivity of Judah.”
Look at 1:14: “The Lord has given a command concerning you: ‘Your name shall be perpetuated no longer…’ Matthew Henry has a very interesting note as to the fulfillment of this prophecy: ‘fulfilled when Sennacherib was slain by his two sons as he was worshipping in the house of Nisroch his god.’ Note – This occurs right after the Judeans are rescued by God from Assyrian sure destruction.
Soli Deo Gloria!