Commentary on The Holy Bible Old and New Testament by Duncan Heaster

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NAHUM
1:4 He rebukes- These verses are full of allusion to what God did at the Red Sea- but they are written in the present tense, as if God’s wonders are no less in our day too, even though they are expressed in a less visual way.
1:8 Pursue His enemies into darkness- The final day of judgment will feature the rejected being chased by Angels into darkness, where they will weep and bang their teeth in anger with themselves (Ps. 35:5,6; Job 18:18; Mt. 22:13).
1:15 The feet of him- This prophecy about Christ is quoted in Rom. 10:15 about our preaching, but with a subtle change of pronoun: “How beautiful are the feet of them that preach”. We are the Lord Jesus to this world, because we are brethren in Him. This alone is a powerful imperative as to who we are, how we speak, the men and women we show ourselves to be. The Nahum passage is in the context of preaching to Israel the good news of their ultimate freedom from the Assyrian invasion which was then imminent. We are in a strikingly parallel situation in these last days, and should be making a special witness to Israel and the Jewish people.
2:1 Nineveh would have seemed invincible at the time Nahum prophesied. Nahum’s words would have seemed as the rantings of a madman. The prophecies about Christ’s return and the destruction of the present world order likewise demand faith to believe, but they will just as surely come true.
2:2 Vine branches- Israel were God’s vineyard, the individual Israelites were the branches (Is. 5:1). Jesus uses the same figure about us- He is the vine and we who are baptized into Him are the branches (Jn. 15:5). Thus the individuals in Christ are now the true Israel of God, a nation currently without a homeland, but waiting for the establishment of our Kingdom on this earth (Gal. 3:27-29).
3:4 And families- One aspect of the sin of prostitution and much sexual sin is that it destroys families; and God is a family God who has created the family unit as His preferred method for His people.
3:5,6 The language of these verses is extreme. This is the fully legitimate anger of God against those who abuse His people and sin against Him. The grace and kindness of God shouldn’t let us forget His wrath with sin which is also a part of His total character and personality.
3:7 Nineveh is laid waste- At the time Nahum was speaking, she was prosperous and powerful. But God’s word is so sure of fulfilment that He can speak in the present tense, speaking of things which haven’t yet happened as if they have (Rom. 4:17). We also, by faith, must view this world with the same eyes. It’s all over for this world, right here and now, so certain is it that Christ will return and establish His Kingdom upon the ruins of the kingdoms of men.
3:9 Infinite strength- Egypt is presented in the Bible as representative of human strength. It appeared that their strength was infinite, but only God has infinite strength. This is an example of how the Bible often speaks of situations as they appear to people on earth, even though this is not ultimately how things are. The language of demons in the New Testament is another example. God sometimes adopts a human perspective in reasoning with us, in order to connect with us; just as we do when trying to communicate with and explain things to those e.g. children who understand something far less than we do.