"Nahum's message is one of judgment but also one of hope and deliverance for God's people. The Northern Kingdom (ten northern tribes) had been totally annihilated by Assyria. Over fifty thousand captives had been dragged away from their homes to other lands. Judah (the two tribes in the south) survived but had lived “under the thumb” of Assyria for a hundred years. Now God promised that soon their oppressor would be destroyed." - Stephen Miller