Nahum

Nahum is a short, visceral poem written in the 7th century BCE by a man from a village we can no longer locate. He writes about the fall of Nineveh, the capital of the Assyrian Empire—a superpower known for its calculated cruelty and psychological warfare.

While other prophets focus on the sins of Israel, Nahum is a legal indictment against a foreign oppressor. It is a scream for justice from a people who have been crushed for generations.

For the modern reader, Nahum is uncomfortable. It challenges us to consider if we actually want a God who is 'slow to anger' if that means He stays silent while the innocent are slaughtered, and it asks what happens to a civilization built on the exploitation of others.