627 BC
The Prophet Nahum (approximately 630-612 BC) prophesied the fall of Nineveh, the capital of the Assyrian Empire, which had been the terror of the ancient world for over a century. Nahum's book is a poetic oracle of judgment, describing in vivid language the destruction that would come upon Assyria. 'The Lord is slow to anger and great in power, and the Lord will by no means clear the guilty. The way of the Lord is in the whirlwind and the storm, and the clouds are the dust of his feet' (Nahum 1:3).
Nahum's prophecy was fulfilled in 612 BC when a coalition of Babylonians and Medes besieged and destroyed Nineveh. The great city, which had been the instrument of God's judgment against Israel and Judah, was itself judged for its cruelty and arrogance. Nahum describes the fall in graphic detail: the river walls breached, the gates smashed with bronze, the queen led captive, and the city burned. 'Woe to the city of blood, full of lies, full of plunder, never without victims!' (Nahum 3:1).
The Catholic Church sees in Nahum's prophecy God's justice against evil empires. The same God who is 'slow to anger and great in power' is also the God who will not leave the guilty unpunished. Nahum's prophecy demonstrates that no nation is beyond the reach of God's judgment. Key Scripture: Nahum 1-3; Nahum 1:3; Nahum 1:7; Nahum 2:1-8; CCC 1404-1405