Thy Strong Word — Nahum 1:1-15: The LORD Is Good: A Stronghold in the Day of Trouble

Nineveh heard Jonah preach and they repented, but over a century later the cruelty was back in force. So Nahum opens with who God is: jealous and avenging, slow to anger and great in power, one who will by no means clear the guilty, whose way is in whirlwind and storm. In the middle of the storm stands verse 7: the LORD is good, a stronghold in the day of trouble, and He knows those who take refuge in Him. The chapter ends with a runner on the mountains bringing good news of peace, a line Isaiah also carries, and Paul applies to the preaching of Christ.

The Rev. Mark Duerr, pastor of Trinity Lutheran Church in Monroe, MI, joins the Rev. Dr. Phil Booe to study Nahum 1:1-15.

To learn more about Trinity in Monroe, visit tlcmonroe.org.

Edom stands at the crossroads and watches his brother Judah dragged off in chains, and Obadiah announces that the day of the LORD is coming for the bystander, too. Joel sees a locust swarm strip a nation bare in a single season, calls the people to rend their hearts and not their garments, and promises a Spirit poured out on all flesh. Nahum returns to Nineveh a century after Jonah’s revival, and this time the superpower does not repent. Zephaniah spends two chapters on the day of wrath and then ends with the Lord singing over the people He has rescued. This series on Thy Strong Word works through these selected books of the so-called “minor” prophets verse by verse, showing how the Lord judges the nations while also keeping his promises to gather His people home.

Thy Strong Word, hosted by Rev. Dr. Phil Booe, pastor of St. John Lutheran Church of Luverne, MN, reveals the light of our salvation in Christ through study of God’s Word, breaking our darkness with His redeeming light. Each weekday, two pastors fix our eyes on Jesus by considering Holy Scripture, verse by verse, in order to be strengthened in the Word and be equipped to faithfully serve in our daily vocations. Submit comments or questions to: thystrongword@kfuo.org.

Thy Strong Word is graciously underwritten by the Lutheran Heritage Foundation. Through the mission gifts of people like you, LHF translates, publishes, distributes and introduces books that are Bible-based, Christ-centered and Reformation-driven. Learn more at lhfmissions.org.

Nahum 1:1-15

[1] An oracle concerning Nineveh. The book of the vision of Nahum of Elkosh.

God’s Wrath Against Nineveh

[2] 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.

[3] The LORD is slow to anger and great in power,

and the LORD will by no means clear the guilty.

His way is in whirlwind and storm,

and the clouds are the dust of his feet.

[4] He rebukes the sea and makes it dry;

he dries up all the rivers;

Bashan and Carmel wither;

the bloom of Lebanon withers.

[5] The mountains quake before him;

the hills melt;

the earth heaves before him,

the world and all who dwell in it.

[6] 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.

[7] The LORD is good,

a stronghold in the day of trouble;

he knows those who take refuge in him.

[8] But with an overflowing flood

he will make a complete end of the adversaries,

and will pursue his enemies into darkness.

[9] What do you plot against the LORD?

He will make a complete end;

trouble will not rise up a second time.

[10] For they are like entangled thorns,

like drunkards as they drink;

they are consumed like stubble fully dried.

[11] From you came one

who plotted evil against the LORD,

a worthless counselor.

[12] Thus says the LORD,

“Though they are at full strength and many,

they will be cut down and pass away.

Though I have afflicted you,

I will afflict you no more.

[13] And now I will break his yoke from off you

and will burst your bonds apart.”

[14] The LORD has given commandment about you:

“No more shall your name be perpetuated;

from the house of your gods I will cut off

the carved image and the metal image.

I will make your grave, for you are vile.”

[15] Behold, upon the mountains, the feet of him

who brings good news,

who publishes peace!

Keep your feasts, O Judah;

fulfill your vows,

for never again shall the worthless pass through you;

he is utterly cut off.

Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. ESV Text Edition: 2025. The ESV text may not be quoted in any publication made available to the public by a Creative Commons license. The ESV may not be translated in whole or in part into any other language. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Rev. Dr. Phil Booe

Native North Carolinian Rev. Dr. Phil Booe serves pastor of St. John Lutheran Church of Luverne, MN, and host of Thy Strong Word on KFUO Radio. His parishioners probably think he can’t teach Bible study without a mug of coffee in his hand, and he’ll always be happy to eat a plate of sushi. When he’s not shepherding his flock or teaching on the radio, you might find him watching bad movies from the 50s, 60s, and 70s, and especially binging RiffTrax and MST3K episodes. Some day he’d love to travel to the Lutheran homeland in Germany, but for now he spends time in Minnesota with his wife, son, daughter, and cat, and looks forward to Holy Week every year.