Wednesday, December 1, 2004 Nativity Fast
The Holy Prophet Nahum
Kellia: Nahum 1:1-14 Epistle: 1 Timothy 5:22-6:11 Gospel: St. Luke 18:15-17, 26-30
Nahum 1:1-14, especially vss. 7, 8: "The Lord is good, a stronghold in the day of trouble; He knows
those who take refuge in Him. But with an overflowing flood He will make a full end of His adversaries, and will pursue
His enemies into darkness." The terrorist attacks upon the United States in 2001 required the people of the United States
to consider their place in the history of nations. As ever, the words of the English poet, Sir William Watson, ring with a
new poignancy that lifts up the oracle of Nahum the Prophet for sober thought.
Sir William wrote:
The seasons change, the winds they shift and veer;
The grass of yesteryear
Is dead; the birds depart, the groves decay:
Empires dissolve and peoples disappear:
Song passes not away.
The "song" of Nahum, three short chapters of Holy Scripture, has not passed away. Rather, the Prophet's vision remains the
living voice to God's enemies as well as to His People, Christ's Holy Church. The words of the Prophet are the abiding
prayer of the Church. The message, that "Empires dissolve and peoples disappear," begs reflection both by those who plot
America's demise as well as by the peoples of America, now undergoing historic transformation. While the immediate
conditions from which the Prophet of Elkosh spoke are mostly forgotten, the truth of his inspired words live on with fresh
application for all peoples and nations.
The fierce empire of Assyria, in upper Mesopotamia, rose to international prominence in the "Fertile Crescent" about 900
BC and proved invincible to kingdoms and nations all around its national homeland, including Egypt, and Elam and
Babylonia in southern Mesopotamia as well as Lydia in Anatolia and the tiny kingdom of Judah in Palestine.
Reaching the zenith of its power during the reign of Ashurbanipal (668-627 BC), Assyria suddenly declined and
disappeared forever following the fall of its capital, Nineveh, to the Babylonians in 612 BC. Nahum foretold this ultimate
defeat, echoes of which can be heard even in today's reading.
The opening passage from Nahum's prophecy divides into two parts: the first reveals God's attitude toward His
"adversaries" as well as His attitude toward "those who take refuge in Him" (vss. 2,7). The second section describes how
God takes action toward those who "plot against the Lord" and toward His own who have been "afflicted" by them (vss.
9,12).
"The Lord is avenging and wrathful" (vs. 2), storing up or "keeping" His anger until it bursts like a "whirlwind" on those
guilty of wrong doing, laying them "waste before Him" (vss. 3-5). The "indignation" of God toward His enemies is
invincible, being "poured out like fire" (vs. 6). On the other hand, His attitude toward "those who take refuge in Him" is
"good" (vs. 7), including material enrichment, pleasantness of life, and righteousness in their choices.
When the Lord acts in human affairs, He has no need to "take vengeance twice on His foes," for they simply are "cut off
and pass away," as with the Assyrians (vss. 9-12). "No more shall [their] name be perpetuated" (vs. 14). On the other
hand, those for whom God is "jealous" and provides "stronghold" (vss. 2,7) shall experience affliction for repentance and
growth in this life, yet in the end He will "break [the] yoke" of oppressors and "burst [the] bonds" asunder (vs. 13). Let us
"stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free" (Gal. 5:1).
Holy art Thou, O Master Who lovest mankind, Who hast provided for us the salvation of regeneration, which is in Thy
Christ Himself, Who brought us into a knowledge of Thee our God.
