Nahum is another biblical prophet that you've probably never heard of. His book reminds me of the Westboro Baptist Church; watch Louis Theroux's documentary on them if you don't get what I mean.
Around 612 BCE, Nineveh, the capital city of the Assyrian Empire, was besieged and destroyed. Nahum's book is a celebration of this event; God had punished Nineveh's sins by sending an army of Babylonians, Persians, and others, to trash the place. His book is divided into three parts.
Part 1 talks about how badass God is:
'The Lord is a jealous and avenging God; the Lord is avenging and wrathful; the Lord takes vengeance on his adversaries and keeps wrath for his enemies. The Lord is slow to anger and great in power, and the Lord will by no means clear the guilty. Who can stand before his indignation? Who can endure the heat of his anger? His wrath is poured out like fire, and the rocks are broken into pieces by him. The Lord is good, a stronghold in the day of trouble; he knows those who take refuge in him.'
Etc.
Part 2 describes the siege:
'The chariots race madly through the streets; they rush to and fro through the squares; they gleam like torches; they dart like lightning. Desolate! Desolation and ruin! Hearts melt and knees tremble; anguish is in all loins; all faces grow pale!'
Etc.
Part 3 gleefully describes the aftermath:
'Horsemen charging, flashing sword and glittering spear, hosts of slain, heaps of corpses, dead bodies without end— they stumble over the bodies! Behold, I am against you, declares the Lord of hosts... I will throw filth at you and treat you with contempt and make you a spectacle.'
#compassion
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