151 - Judah's Short Lived Revival

Nahum 

"consolation".   Jonah, against his wishes, preached to the Ninevites and they repented of their sins and so judgement did not fall on the city at that time.  

Nahum consoles the people of Judah by telling them that Ninevah (the capital city), and Assyria will be destroyed.  This message, no doubt, gave the Jews a lot to rejoice about.  What they did not realise is that after Babylon had destroyed Assyria, Babylon would also destroy Jerusalem and its environs.

Some students place Nahum as late as 663-645 BCE.  If this is the right time frame, he was speaking of the fall of Assyria just before Judah fell to the Babylonian army.  Some put Nahum much earlier, Mr Whiston places him in the year ... 726 B.C.; and says that he foretold the destruction of Nineveh an hundred fifteen years before it came to pass, so says Josephus. Gill. 

The horseman lifts up both the bright sword and the lightning of the spear. And many are slain, and there are a mass of dead bodies, and no end of corpses; they stumble on their dead bodies.  Shalmaneser V, ruler of the Assyrian army during the defeat of Israel, was known for is extreme violence.  Because of this, Behold, I am against you, says Jehovah of Hosts; 3:3-5.

There is no healing of your fracture; your wound is grievous; Assyria is past hope of recovery, Babylon, the fierce nation, will come and destroy it.

all who hear the news of you shall clap the hands over you; the surrounding nations will rejoice when they hear of the downfall of their enemy.  for upon whom has your wickedness not passed continually? 3:19.

Habakkuk

"He Who Clings" this is a suggested meaning. Guzik.

It is believed that Habakkuk lived through the spiritual revival of Judah, while King Josiah ruled, and then witnessed the moral decline of his people after the fervour of the revival was past.  It was the moral decline that occasioned the book of Habakkuk.

The basic outline of this book is:

1. Habakkuk asks Jehovah why He is not punishing Judah for her moral decadence. 1:1-4.

there is strife, and contention rises up. Therefore the law has become helpless, and justice does not always go forth. 1:4.   I cry out to You of violence, and You do not save! 1:2.  This is my complaint and I think something should be done about it:

2. The Lord answers Habakkuk. 1:5-11.

Look among the nations, and behold and wonder marvelously; for I will work a work in your days which you will not believe, not even if it is declared to you. For lo, I raise up the Chaldeans, the bitter and hasty nation, which shall march through the breadth of the land to possess homes not their own. 1:5.   Look at what is happening in the world around you. Can't you see that I am already setting Babylon in motion to punish Judah?

3.  Habakkuk complains again. 1:12-2:1.

Will you be silent when the wicked swallows one more righteous than he? 1:13.  Lord you are using a more wicked nation than Judah to punish Judah, that is just not fair.

4.  The Lord answers Habakkuk. 2:2-19.

For the vision is still for an appointed time, but it speaks to the end, and it does not lie. Though it lingers, wait for it; because it will surely come. It will not tarry. 2:3.  After Babylon had done her work of destroying Judah, Babylon herself was destroyed by the Medes and Persians.

    

For the vision is still for an appointed time, but it speaks to the end.  The city of Babylon and the kingdom of Babylon may have been destroyed, but Habakkuk says that his prophecy speaks to the end, and John, in The Revelation, had much to say about the lifestyle of the people of Babylon.  Unfortunately, that lifestyle has invaded the Christian Church.

    
5. But Jehovah is in His holy temple; let all the earth keep silence before Him. 2:20.    

6.  Habakkuk's prayer. 3:1-19.

O Jehovah, I have heard Your report; I am afraid. O Jehovah, give new life to Your work in the midst of years; in the midst of the years make known; in wrath remember mercy. 3:2. Lord, our God, we know that we deserve condemnation, but while judging us, please look at us in mercy.

Zephaniah 

"Jehovah hath hidden" Easton Bible Dictionary.

It is believed that he prophesied in the days of Josiah, between 642 and 611 B.C.

It sounds as if Zephaniah was an extremist.  According to him the coming destruction, brought by Jehovah, will destroy everything that has ever been created.

I will completely snatch away all from on the face of the ground, says Jehovah. I will snatch away man and beast; I will snatch away the birds of the heavens, and the fish of the sea, and the stumbling-blocks, even the wicked; and I will cut off man from the face of the earth, says Jehovah. Zeph. 1:2-3.

Of course, this agrees with Saint Peters words, But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a rushing noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat. And the earth and the works in it will be burned up. 2 Peter 3:10.

The problem with Zephaniah's prophecy is that after everything has been destroyed the nation of Isreal will again flourish and sin no more.  The remnant of Israel shall not do iniquity nor speak lies, and a deceitful tongue shall not be found in their mouth; for they shall feed and lie down, and none shall make them afraid. Sing, O daughter of Zion; shout, O Israel; be glad and rejoice with all the heart, O daughter of Jerusalem. 3:13-14.