Session 20 Old Testament Overview Nahum, Habakkuk & Zephaniah Based on material from: Capitol Hill Baptist Church 525 A Street, NE Washington, DC 20002

1. Old Testament
Core SeminarClass 20
“Nahum, Habakkuk, and Zephaniah”
Old Testament Overview
1

2. Introduction
2
• This triad of books address the problem of evil in this world.
• Normally the minor prophets deal with judgment.
• The problem of evil—why bad things happen to good people—is
at the heart of the human condition.
• If God is good and sovereign why do bad things happen?
• What purposes could God possibly have in all of this?
• Job is probably the Bible’s best-known discourse on this topic as
are the middle chapters of Romans.
• Near the end of the Old Testament this theme arises again.
• How can we understand a sovereign God’s good purposes amidst
the calamity of the world around us?

3. 3
• Nahum assures us that God will judge - personally, powerfully,
devastatingly. That’s the textbook answer.
• God will ultimately deal with evil!
• And as sinners – this should be unsettling.
• In Habakkuk there is a dialog between the prophet and God
about why God seems unwilling to judge evildoers.
• God’s answer … He’ll soon judge through an even more wicked
people than His own)!
• Habakkuk is horrified! Lions and tigers and bears … oh my!
• How should Habakkuk handle this new, “worser” evil? Trust.
• God does not explain his actions to our satisfaction – we just
trust.
• Nahum proclaims that God is judge - Habakkuk calls us to trust.

4. 4
• The answer to the problem of evil in the Bible, is a strong call to
faith.
• Zephaniah which begins severely with a prophetic destruction of
the entire world!
• It ends with a glorious description of God’s final solution to the
problem of evil in his people.
• The real problem is why do good things happen to bad people?
• Because we are all evil too!
• With Habakkuk calling to present-day trust, Zephaniah points
ahead to future change and redemption when God makes His
people good and brings them home to dwell with Him forever.
– Nahum: God will judge.
– Habakkuk: trust God’s mysterious purposes.
– Zephaniah: we have the hope that one day the problem of evil itself will
be undone as God turns his people to Himself.

5. Introduction – Nahum - Context
5
• Nahum prophesied in the in the late 7th century BC.
• After the Northern Kingdom has been conquered by Assyria but
before the Southern Kingdom was taken into exile 100 years later.
• It’s a time of real fear as the Assyrians continue to threaten South
• Judah’s problems with Assyria go a long way back.
• They were known as a very brutal people.
• It’s been at least 125 years since Jonah when they repented.
• They’ve returned to their violent ways – now at Judah’s door.
• Meanwhile, there're rumors of another great foreign power
growing further off to the east, Babylon.
• Chapter 3’s events date this book after the fall of Thebes in Egypt
but before the fall of Assyria - at the height of Assyria’s power.
• The big question - Where is God in all of this? What of his
promises?

6. Introduction – Nahum - Theme
6
Yahweh is still jealous for His people, and ferociously protective of
them, therefore they need not fear, for Yahweh is stronger than their
enemies, and will strip them of their strength.
• Yahweh is jealousy for His people, battles against His enemies,
and His people need not fear because Yahweh is stronger.
• Nahum is as close to a book about hell on earth as you can find.
• Its about God righteously, enthusiastically, demonstrably
destroying his enemies, those who have abused His people.
• Three parts: God’s intent to protect his people (1:2-11). God’s
threatening judgment against their enemies (1:12-2:12).
Judgment enacted (2:13 –end).
• Outline:
– I. Nahum 1:2-8 – Yahweh will protect his people
– II. Nahum 1:9-1:15 – God’s threatened judgment
– III. Nahum 2:1-3:19 – A vision of Nineveh’s demise

7. Nahum - Yahweh will protect his people
7
• Verses 1:2-5 Listen to zeal and protection of His people.
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; The LORD is slow to anger and great in power, And will not at all
acquit the wicked. The LORD has His way In the whirlwind and in the storm,
And the clouds are the dust of His feet. He rebukes the sea and makes it dry,
And dries up all the rivers. Bashan and Carmel wither, And the flower of
Lebanon wilts. The mountains quake before Him, The hills melt, And the
earth heaves at His presence, Yes, the world and all who dwell in it.
• Sound like Exodus language? V2 Yahweh is jealous for His people.
V3 He is said to be slow to anger, yet full of justice.
• Same way Moses described Him on Mount Sinai (Ex 20:5; 34:14).
• V4-5 Nahum lists out Yahweh’s mighty acts. (Exodus 19:16-18;
Psalm 106:9; Joshua 3:13-15).
• Nahum is saying Yahweh will again save … as he did before.

8. 8
• Nahum is doing more than just leaning on the Exodus theology.
He’s also taking a jab at the Assyrian gods.
• The Assyrians believed in the gods of nature and here Yahweh is
sovereign over, and controlling, all of nature.
• The Assyria only appears to be mighty and strong. But it is
actually Yahweh who is in verse 3, “great in power.”
• V 7-8 we read that because Yahweh is greater and Judah’s
enemies, Judah need not fear.
The LORD is good, A stronghold in the day of trouble; And He knows those
who trust in Him. But with an overflowing flood He will make an utter end
of its place, And darkness will pursue His enemies.

9. Nahum - God’s Threatened Judgment
9
• God threatens judgment on Judah’s enemies in verses 1:9-15.
• Note: God’s people aren’t identified until 1:15 and Nineveh not
until 2:8 (some translation don’t even have these names).
• The implication is that the focus of the early sections of the book
is God and his character, regardless of who actors might be.
• Like the other prophets, Nahum begins with judgment and ends
with grace (e.g. 1:15).
• God is jealous and protective of His people, Judah then/church
now.
• Whatever trouble, persecution, or distress the people of God may
undergo in this world, believe that the Lord never leaves nor
forsakes us.
• He will absolutely vindicate us when He returns to judge the
nations!
• We are never left alone. We are never left as orphans.

10. 10
• Read Matthew 10:28-31,
“Therefore do not fear them. For there is nothing covered that will not be
revealed, and hidden that will not be known. "Whatever I tell you in the
dark, speak in the light; and what you hear in the ear, preach on the
housetops. And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul.
But rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell. Are
not two sparrows sold for a copper coin? And not one of them falls to the
ground apart from your Father's will. But the very hairs of your head are all
numbered. Do not fear therefore; you are of more value than many
sparrows.”
• The Church may seem to be burdened by immorality, false
teachers, and all kinds of strange doctrines but she will not be
sunk.
• The Lord, great in power, will preserve her until she is ready to
meet her returning King.

11. Nahum – Vision of Nineveh’s Demise
11
• The judgment will be horrific to watch.
• Chapter 2 pictures the judgment. Verse 11 mocks Nineveh as the
so-called lion.
• Verse 13 (repeated again in chapter 3) “I am against you, declares
the Lord Almighty.”
• Chapter 3 gives vision of Nineveh being sacked.
• Verse 4 taunts Nineveh as sorceress-whore.
• Verse 8 taunts Nineveh again comparing them to Egypt’s fall from
the height of power so it will be with Assyria.
• Verses 18-19 comprise a funeral dirge.
• This judgment will not be averted; it is final.
• Why the taunting? Because God delights to judge his enemies.
• He hates sin, and he hates those who do evil.

12. 12
• Think about it … a no-name prophet, coming from the hill-billy
tribes of Judah, delivering a book of judgment to the most
powerful nation on earth.
• Did Nahum deliver this in-person? Of all the prophets, this is
described as a “book” in 1:1—a document to be delivered.
• Did he deliver this to the nation of Assyria? Did he pay with his
very life for these words of God? We do not know.
• But the city did fall. In 612 BC the Medes, Babylonians, and
Scythians, laid siege to the city amidst a fantastic storm.
• The protective river and moat around the city flooded up against
the walls until great chunks of them fell away, just as Nahum had
predicted in 2:6.
• The invaders walked in and stripped the city so bare that is very
location was forgotten for more than 2,000 years. Just as Nahum
said would happen in 2:10.
• Nahum’s last sentence, like Jonah’s, is a question … coincidence?

13. Introduction – Habakkuk
13
Context and Theme
• Habakkuk prophecies after Nahum, late 7th century BC between
the fall of the two kingdoms.
• The difference is Assyria is no longer a threat by Habakkuk’s time.
• His focus is on the internal problems of Judah.
• The people are violent and lawless, and He calls for justice.
• Theme: Yahweh is sovereign over even the actions of the wicked. For
even in their wickedness they serve Yahweh’s purpose. However,
Yahweh is not indicted for evil Himself, for they will be judged for their
own wickedness in due time. Thus, the people of Yahweh should
patiently wait and trust in their God, and worship Him.
• Goal: Exalt God in His sovereignty - even when wickedness
abounds!
• And all this happens for His purpose so trust God!

14. 14
Outline
I. 1:2-4 – How long this violence?*
II. 1:5-11 – Until Yahweh judges through a wicked nation.
III. 1:12-2:1 – How so? Doesn’t Yahweh love righteousness?
IV. 2:2-20 – Fear not! The righteous will be saved and the wicked
will be punished in due time.
V. 3:1-19 – Habakkuk’s response of worship and trust.
• The book is written as a conversation.
How Long?
• “O LORD, how long shall I cry, And You will not hear? Even cry
out to You, "Violence!" And You will not save.” 1:2
• Habakkuk opens with a charge – a call for justice. God answers
in v5.

15. 15
Until God judges through a wicked nation
• “Look among the nations and watch --- Be utterly astounded! For
I will work a work in your days Which you would not believe,
though it were told you. For indeed I am raising up the
Chaldeans, A bitter and hasty nation Which marches through the
breadth of the earth, To possess dwelling places that are not
theirs.”
• In Nahum, God comforts his people with his strength to protect.
• This time, that same strength is against his own people, and he is
still in control.
How so?
• Not the answer Habakkuk was expecting! His response …
• 1:13: “Why are you silent while the wicked swallow up those
more righteous than themselves?”
• Yes, God’s people have their issues - But not like the Babylonians!
• How can Yahweh be sovereign over a universe with evil?

16. 16
Be patient!
• God’s answer comes in chapter 2:
1. God will judge these wicked people. He will judge for their
destruction of creation, their destruction of human life, their
cruelty, and their idolatry.
2. Interesting phrase in v4. God recognizes the Babylonians as
“puffed up” (proud) then says “the just shall live by faith”. Paul
follows this Rom. 1 and Gal. 3—and in Hebrews 10:38 to argue
that justification has always been by faith alone.
3. V 14. “For the earth will be filled With the knowledge of the
glory of the LORD, As the waters cover the sea.”
4. V 20. “But the LORD is in His holy temple. Let all the earth keep
silence before Him.”

17. 17
Summary:
• God will deal with his people, we can be assured AND he will in
fact judge the Babylonians.
• His greater purposes: the knowledge of his glory might fill the
earth as the waters cover the sea.
• So . . . bad things are happening. Yet we know that ultimate
justice is coming and God is using all of this for good purposes.
• In the meantime … We trust. “The righteous will live by faith.”
• Remember He is God, we are not. Ours is not to accuse Him of
wrongdoing but in trust to be silent before him. “The LORD is in
his holy temple; let all the earth be silent before him.”
• The people of Habakkuk’s day had reason to trust based on how
God used Egypt and the Exodus to proclaim his might for the
good of his people.
• How about us? God has used the greatest evil, the murder of his
perfect son, for our redemption.
• He works both for his glory and our good.

18. 18
Habakkuk 3
• The final chapter is Habakkuk’s praise to Yahweh for His wisdom
and salvation, and trust in His sovereignty.
• Read 3:16-19.
• What a powerful confession of trust in God despite worldly
circumstances!
• Habakkuk gets it! He’ll wait patiently for justice, in the midst of
great suffering.
• Though his circumstances be bleak, he can rejoice in God.
• Joy amidst suffering! How? Because God is his strength.
• Because he knows God is trustworthy and His good purposes are
worth suffering invasion and decimation.
• Waiting for the final solution … which brings us to Zephaniah.

19. 19
• Zephaniah prophecies only a few years before Habakkuk does.
• They both prophesying the same thing (the fall of Judah to
Babylon) but in different ways.
• Habakkuk is about how God can use a wicked nation.
• Zephaniah is a lot less complex, simply saying that God’s patience
has run out with Judah, judgment is coming, but then pointing
much more fully to God’s final mercy.
• Note - It was a common phrase in ancient near eastern
documents to speak of “the day” of some great king.
• That “day” (the “day” of Sennacherib, or the “day” of
Nebuchadnezzar) was the day that some truly great king, with so
much great power, was able to destroy his entire enemy, from
start to finish, in a single day!
• Usually wars lasted for years. But to glorify themselves in their
writings they would describe it on the “day” of so and so.
Introduction – Zephaniah

20. 20
Theme:
The Day of the LORD will be the most terrible “day” ever, and it is
executed against all false gods. But even in that calamity, God will
create a remnant for himself.
Outline
I. Zephaniah 1:2-2:2 – The Day of the LORD upon Judah
II. Zephaniah 2:3-3:7 – The Day of the LORD upon all the earth
III. Zephaniah 3:8-20 – The remnant from all nations will be saved
• Like in the book of Joel, the Day of the LORD is a major theme.
• It comes upon the God’s people first, then the rest of the nations.
• It is a day both of wrath and salvation.
• Chapter 1 focuses on the Day of the LORD upon Judah.
• Starting at 3:7 the focus is on the nations.
• Salvation for the remnant are found in 3:8-20.

21. 21
• The book starts out abruptly, with the destruction of all life.
• Verse 2: “I will utterly consume everything From the face of the
land," … "I will consume man and beast; I will consume the birds
of the heavens, The fish of the sea, And the stumbling blocks
along with the wicked. I will cut off man from the face of the
land," Says the LORD.
• Heard this before?
• 1:12 points to Judah, a people lost in complacency. “The Lord
will do nothing, either good or bad” … he is about to do a lot.
• But as before, God offers hope 2:3.
• The rest of chapter 2 turns to the other nations – and for God’s
enemies there is no mercy!

22. 22
Zephaniah 3:8-20
• This is a day of God’s wrath for His enemies.
• It is also a day of salvation for the remnant.
• 3:8 “Therefore wait for Me," says the LORD, " Until the day I rise
up for plunder; My determination is to gather the nations To My
assembly of kingdoms, To pour on them My indignation, All My
fierce anger; All the earth shall be devoured With the fire of My
jealousy.”
• This is where Habakkuk left off but Zephaniah goes further.
• 3:9 “For then I will restore to the peoples a pure language, That
they all may call on the name of the LORD, To serve Him with one
accord.”
• God will vindicate his people (v8) and change them (v9).
• He will gather His people from all nations (v10) and exalt them.
• No more punishment or enemies (v15) and restores them (v20).

23. 23
• We can trust that God is sovereign and in control.
• ALL is for His purpose – both good or bad.
• Our greatest problem, sin, has been reconciled through Christ.
• Nahum instructs us to not fear the world.
• Habakkuk instructs us to not love the world.
• Zephaniah instructs us to glory in the Lord.
• We are to wait patiently for Him and put our trust in His promise
of complete restoration and reconciliation for all of God’s people.