Severe Compassion: The Gospel According to Nahum

Gospel According to the Old Testament

by Gregory D. Cook

WHAT DO PEOPLE SAY ABOUT THIS SERIES?“Written at a thoughtful but popular level.” —D. A. Carson“Like manna in the desert.” —Sinclair Ferguson“A tremendous resource.” —Tim Keller“An important series.” —Philip Graham RykenWith dramatic, vivid detail, the poetic masterpiece of Nahum shows that God refuses to abandon his rebellious people when they stray into destructive paths—instead responding to spiritual adultery with love and power. The application to our own lives may hit close to home, but there is also abundant gospel Jesus’ severe compassion leads him to relentlessly pursue his people for their salvation.As he explores the prophet’s message, Gregory Cook aids our understanding of Nahum with historical background on its cultural references, literary allusions, and poetic devices, making this book a useful resource for pastors and Bible study leaders as well as laypeople. “Greg . . . has done the hard work of digging into the Hebrew text; he has gleaned insights from scholars and learned about the world and time in which Nahum wrote; he has sat with and listened carefully and humbly to the text; he has seen and appreciated how it speaks about and points to Jesus.”—Elizabeth Groves, Lecturer in Old Testament, Westminster Theological SeminaryGregory D. Cook (PhD, Westminster Theological Seminary) has been the pastor of Providence Presbyterian Church (PCA) in West Virginia and the youth and college pastor at Evangelical Presbyterian Church (PCA) in Delaware.

Genres: Christian, Theology, Old Testament

247 pages, Kindle Edition

Published May 17, 2016

Reviews

[Jimmy · Rating 5 out of 5]

How many people have read the book of Nahum in the Bible? For believers we can’t just dismiss it as an irrelevant book from the past since it is God’s Word for us today. Yet readers will no doubt have questions since we are quite removed from the historical context. A good help in understanding the book of Nahum would be this Bible commentary.
This book not only explore the details of the book of Nahum but there is also a Gospel and Christ-centered focus. At the same time there’s a lot of exegetical gold from this book. The author is more than capable of bringing out exegetical insights from the book given his doctorate is on the Old Testament from Westminster Theological Seminary. Gregory Cook skillfully yield profound observation from the Hebrew passage of Nahum while interacting with cultural and historical background and is conscious of literary devices in Nahum and intertextuality. Cook does all this while also being “practical” in terms of drawing out applications for readers. I wish more commentaries were more like this title.
The book covers the three chapters of Nahum over fifteen chapters. Each chapters goes over a few verse at a time from the book of Nahum. I don’t think I would have gotten as much out of Nahum if I didn’t read this commentary.
Here are some of the insights I gained from this book:
• Nahum’s name means “comfort” which is part of the book’s purpose to assure Israel as God’s people while the Assyrians were reigning over them and have been brutal with them.
• Nahum 1:2-8 is a deficient acrostic in that it covers half the Hebrew alphabet. Some thinks this shows the Bible’s deficiency but Cook argues rather persuasively there’s a good theological reason for this “deficient” acrostic. Loved this discussion in the book!
• I would have missed what was going on in Nahum 1:9-15 in my own reading of the English text if it wasn’t for this commentary specifying the gender and number of the pronouns to make the observation that God was talking to four “defendants” under His judgment: (1) Group of males, (2) single female, (3) worthless counselor and (4) single male. Cook then work through the text to establish the identity of each of these referents.
• Chapter 11 on Nahum 3:4 and human trafficking is worth getting the book alone.
• The author argues that Nahum 3:18-19 is talking not about Assyrian human rulers but rather Satan himself. I was suspicious when the author first stated this in the book but I think a good case can be made that this is about Satan.

[Stephen Hoogerhyde · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book of Nahum is undoubtedly one of the least well-known of the books of the Bible. It's only three chapters, and talks entirely about judgment against Nineveh, and by extension the nation of Assyria. It also seems--seems--to portray only the wrath of God. Thus, many people might skip this book, or if they do read it might not give it their full attention, or may want to understand it but find it hard to comprehend.

This book goes a long way toward aiding understanding of the book of Nahum. The title of the book comes from the name of the prophet (which means "comfort" or "compassion") and the name of his hometown (which means "God is severe"). Cook includes in the book citations from 53 of the other books of the Bible, indicating that this book is not some kind of outlier in the canon but takes up themes reflected in other books. He compares the book to Jonah, another prophecy against Nineveh, and explains the differences between the two.

Since the entire prophecy of Nahum is Hebrew poetry, some of the meaning or flavor of the original may not come across clearly in English. Cook ably explains the meaning of the Hebrew words (don't worry: you don't need to know Hebrew to understand what he is saying), and illustrates how different versions of the Bible struggle to communicate clearly what the original language says.

Cook shows how the central theme of the book is that God is a jealous God, and will not allow his people to serve and worship other gods. He shows how the nation of Judah has rejected God's covenant, and how they are under a curse because of their disobedience. But he also shows God's just wrath against the Assyrian rulers for their atrocities and idolatry. Finally, he demonstrates how God shows compassion to the nation of Assyria as it suffers under rapacious rulers, thus linking this prophecy to Jonah's prophecy showing God's compassion to a repentant (at least for a time) Nineveh.

I found this book difficult to read at times, but then, the book of Nahum is not easy to read and understand. This book opened my eyes to the incredible atrocity and depravity of the Assyrian kings. Even at that, Cook focuses our attention where it belongs. "Nahum does not speak a general message about God's judgment of wicked nations. It speaks specifically of the fierceness of God's covenant love and his intention to avenge himself on rivals for his bride."

Yes, God's compassion is at times severe, but it is compassion nonetheless.

[Becky · Rating 5 out of 5]

I must admit that I was skeptical that any person could be passionate and enthusiastic about the book of Nahum. Now passion and enthusiasm for the Bible--that I get, that I live. So reading Cook's little commentary on the book of Nahum was enlightening. It did indeed help me to appreciate Nahum more than ever before.

I agree with Cook's premise that every single book of the Bible is important and serves a purpose, that every single book of the Bible should be read from and preached from, that God has a message for us in every book of the Bible.

Nearly every single chapter of Severe Compassion treats the subject of sin. The doctrine of sin is examined, explored, discussed. The author's tone is at times openly confrontational and direct. Are you, YES YOU, aware of the sin in your life? Are you, YES YOU, taking sin as seriously as God is taking it? Are you, YES YOU, being a hypocrite, living a hypocritical life? Do you say you love God, trust in God, yet live for the world and glory in the world?

In addition to being "about" sin, judgment, and the holiness of God, the book is "about" how Nahum fits into the big picture of the Bible, of how the book connects with Jesus Christ.

Nahum becomes a wake-up call in the hands of Gregory Cook. I don't think that is necessarily a bad thing either. Aren't we all at times guilty of taking sin oh-so-lightly? Aren't we all a little smug about how silly and foolish and disobedient those ancient-Israelite's were? At times.

The book is for anyone. Pastors may be a little more likely to pick the book up in the first place. But you don't need to be a scholar to appreciate this one.

Cook takes an intimidating book--minor prophet written in poetry--and shows why it is worth your time.

I definitely found it worth reading. It is easy to recommend.

Favorite quote(s):

We read the Bible to know God. He has told us about himself. We will not know God if we refuse to listen to his self-description. Those who will not allow the Bible to describe God do not worship the God of the Bible; they worship a god of their own making.

If God did not care when our hearts are far from him (Isa. 29:13) or when we adulterously give our hearts to the world (James 4:4), he would not love us. If God did not care that the world, the flesh, and the Devil attempt to seduce us away from him (Eph. 2:2-3), he would not love us. If God could watch us suffer grievous injustice without punishing evil (Deut. 32:35-36), he would not love us. The notion of a love without jealousy and vengeance cannot survive a thorough biblical examination.

We tend to read the Bible as if it focuses on us. It does not. The primary concern of the Bible is that God would be glorified. The primary reason for missions and evangelism is not to save people from hell, as important as that is. The primary reason to abandon all to tell others about Christ is that he might receive glory.

Our task is to consider what makes Nahum unique: how did it add to Jesus' understanding of God's plan for him, and how does it illumine what Jesus did for us?

In the gospel according to Nahum, we are saved not because we are righteous but because we take refuge in God.

We have sinned grievously against God, and we live among people who have sinned grievously against God. We have no hope apart from God's mercy given to us because of his Son's work. The cross alone can provide us shelter from God. That God would willingly shelter us from his wrath by pouring it out on his Son demonstrates his goodness.

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of forgiveness.

Jesus came, not only to save us from the effects of our sin, but also to save us from our sin. Sin destroys our lives. Every human wants deliverance from the effects of sin, but few humans hate their sin.

A person may live his or her life for the honor of this world or for the honor of Christ. Despite this, much of American evangelism seeks to combine the two.

We are not heare to receive the glory due to Jesus. Rather, we are here so that others may see Jesus' beauty and glory for themselves and may worship him.

We face dangers far more insidious than blatant state persecution. What we desperately need--and what would be a most gracious gift from God--is that he would strip off the erotic exterior of American culture and force us to comprehend the truly horrific nature of what we have sold ourselves to. We cannot deliver ourselves. We must be delivered. It will not happen unless God does it. If you ask and beg him to, he promises to answer that prayer.

We do not sit in judgment of Scripture; it sits in judgment of us.

[Kyle Robertson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have not read many books focused on the minor prophets, but I found this book to be quite fascinating. Nahum is a short book of the Bible, but the author of this book breaks it down a few verses at a time to put it into perspective for pastors and laymen. This book hits on the subjects of sin, judgement, and the sovereignty of God, and also points to the fulfillment of Nahum's prophecies in Christ. Cook says that every book of the Bible is important to read, learn, and be preached from. I recommend this to anyone interested in learning more about Christ and the Bible, particularly the minor prophets. I received this as a free ARC from P & R Publishing on NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

[Russell Threet · Rating 5 out of 5]

I cannot say enough about this book. Focused works on the minor prophets are few and far between, and good ones are even harder to find. This book does an excellent job of engaging the book of Nahum in a readable and relevant way. It does not remove the book from its context, but gives insight into Nahum's importance in the Old Testament and his foreshadowing of Christ. After reading this book, I preached through the book of Nahum on Wednesday nights using a lot of the material in this book as a source. If you do not know Nahum, this is a great place to start.

[Lydia Kee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Awesome book with Gospel implications from a minor prophet not often seen as having a Gospel message. This was so helpful in my understanding of the poetry of Nahum and how it is unique and important to the canon of Scripture.

[Lauren Regier · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent book! Highly recommend!

[Capitola · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book brings you deep truth in plain language. The author writes in much the same way he preaches—showing his readers Christ in the Old Testament.

[Debbie · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Severe Compassion" looks at the short, prophetic book of Nahum. This book is aimed at pastors and laymen rather than scholars. The author worked through Nahum by examining a few verses at a time. He'd explain any translation issues and cultural or historical aspects that provide further insights into the text. He looked at similar themes in other books of the Bible and suggested that Christ also fulfills some of these verses. I appreciate that he believes the text has not been corrupted and that Nahum had specific reasons behind his word choices.

However, since Nahum is only three chapters long, much of this book was a sermon series. For example, we're told about "plundering the silver" in context and then get a sermon on a proper attitude toward money. Keeping with the theme of the book, the author repeatedly calls on the reader to repent of specific sins and even urged the reader to question their salvation at one point. He also seems to feel that it's wrong to assure a person of their salvation even if they say they have accepted Christ. While I appreciate his emphasis on how horrible sin really is, I didn't agree with some of his assertions in his sermons. I liked the Bible study parts, though.

I received an ebook review copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley.