Nahum Explained | Judgement Fallsគំរូ

Day 3 | Nahum 3

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The book of Nahum, chapter 3 today. The prophet finishes his vision against the enemies of God’s people, the Assyrians. And the destruction of Nineveh will be thorough. Verse 1:

“Woe to the city of blood,

    full of lies,

full of plunder,

    never without victims!

The crack of whips,

    the clatter of wheels,

galloping horses

    and jolting chariots!

Charging cavalry,

    flashing swords

    and glittering spears!

Many casualties,

    piles of dead,

bodies without number,

    people stumbling over the corpses—" (Nahum 3:1-3).

Transported into the future, Nahum paints a vivid picture of the destruction of Nineveh. The din of battle, the rattling of chariots, the cracking of whips, the clang of swords. The city was the largest in the world, but would be a home for the dead by the end of the battle. And why? Verse 4:

“all because of the wanton lust of a prostitute,

    alluring, the mistress of sorceries,

who enslaved nations by her prostitution

    and peoples by her witchcraft” (Nahum 3:4).

Nahum describes Nineveh as a harlot, prostituting herself for the wealth of the nations. Idolatry was like a recreational sport for Ninevah, which was filled with temples. The city was a center for the worship of the goddess Ishtar, the Queen of Heaven, goddess of love, beauty, war, justice, and political power. Temples to other Mesopotamian gods and goddesses littered the city.  

In verse 5, God again declares that he is against the vile people of Nineveh. He promises that he will expose their shame to the world, heaping piles of filth upon them, leaving them as a spectacle for the entire world. The nations of the world would distance themselves from Nineveh, her destruction was to be a warning to the nations. Nineveh had reaped what she had sown.

Nahum then calls to mind an event that was well known throughout the Middle East, especially to the Assyrians. Verse 8:

“Are you better than Thebes,

    situated on the Nile,

    with water around her?

The river was her defense,

    the waters her wall.

Cush and Egypt were her boundless strength;

    Put and Libya were among her allies.

Yet she was taken captive

    and went into exile” (Nahum 3:8-10).

Located in a fertile valley of the Nile River, the city of Thebes was the capital of the ancient Egyptian Empire. It was protected by the surrounding desert, the only way to attack Thebes was to sail up the Nile River, a heavily fortified path.  

Thebes was known for its wealth and its military might. For 600 years, Thebes was the center of a great empire from the Sudan to Mesopotamia. Their allies stretched even further: Put and Libya along the Mediterranean and Ethiopia to the south were allied with Thebes. But in 664, the nearly impossible happened. Assyrian forces captured the city, who sacked and destroyed it. The inhabitants were killed or carried off as slaves.  

Nahum holds up Thebes as an example for Assyria. He held up the carnage of the invasion as a vivid example of what was about to happen to Nineveh. With her fabled defenses, strong military, and her long list of victories, Nineveh had grown proud and arrogant. "It can never happen here!" was the cry of the leaders. But it had happened in Thebes, and it would happen again in Nineveh. Verse 11:

“You too will become drunk;

    you will go into hiding

    and seek refuge from the enemy” (Nahum 3:11).

The prophets often depicted nations under divine judgement as drinking the cup of the wrath of God. It is the cup of wine of wrath in Jeremiah 25. It is the cup of God’s fury, poured full strength into the cup of wrath in Revelation 14. It is the cup of His wrath that makes people stagger in Isaiah 51. It is the same cup that Jesus spoke of in the Garden of Gethsemane, as he prepared to experience the full wrath of God on the cross. Just as a drunk person stumbles without any self-control, so too would the nations stumble under the overwhelming force of God’s Judgement.

And just as a drunkard can’t defend themselves well, so Nineveh will be unable to defend themselves. Instead, the few remaining bands of troops would escape into hiding, holding out in smaller cities for another year or so, before the Babylonians finished them off. Verse 12:

“All your fortresses are like fig trees

    with their first ripe fruit;

when they are shaken,

    the figs fall into the mouth of the eater.

Look at your troops—

    they are all weaklings.

The gates of your land

    are wide open to your enemies;

    fire has consumed the bars of your gates” (Nahum 3:12-13).

The Assyrian fortresses around Nineveh will quickly be taken by the invading forces, falling as ripe figs fall from the tree with just the lightest shaking or breeze. The gates will be opened wide, and the troops of mighty Assyria will fail. Nahum calls for Nineveh to prepare for a siege, knowing full well that the preparations are useless. Verse 14:

“Draw water for the siege,

    strengthen your defenses!

Work the clay,

    tread the mortar,

    repair the brickwork!

There the fire will consume you;

    the sword will cut you down—

    they will devour you like a swarm of locusts” (Nahum 3:14-15).

Just as locusts devour an entire countryside, stripping away all greenery, so would the locust of enemies sweep through Nineveh, stripping it of all its wealth. And if the Ninevites placed their trust in their wealth and military prowess, Nahum reveals that trusting in them would be a foolish gamble. Verse 16:

“You have increased the number of your merchants

    till they are more numerous than the stars in the sky,

but like locusts they strip the land

    and then fly away.

Your guards are like locusts,

    your officials like swarms of locusts

    that settle in the walls on a cold day—

but when the sun appears they fly away,

    and no one knows where” (Nahum 3:16-17).

Like swarms of locusts resting for the evening, so are the merchants and leaders in Nineveh. They are everywhere, but when the sun rises on the day of battle, they will rise up and take flight, abandoning the city. Verse 18:

“King of Assyria, your shepherds slumber;

    your nobles lie down to rest.

Your people are scattered on the mountains

    with no one to gather them.

Nothing can heal you;

    your wound is fatal.

All who hear the news about you

    clap their hands at your fall,

for who has not felt

    your endless cruelty?” (Nahum 3:18-19).

Nahum closes with a vision of the wreckage of Nineveh. Looking out across a mighty city brought low, he surveys the damaged walls, the looted temples. Smoke rises from the palaces, and the people are taken off into captivity. And around the city and around the world, all who hear of the fall of Nineveh will rejoice. For the mighty hand of God will strike down the great city and it’s king with the same force that the Assyrians themselves have meted out on their enemies. 

Unlike most of the minor prophets, Nahum does not end with a word of hope for those who repent. Assyria had received the message of Jonah a century before, and repented, for a while, during a time of national crisis. But the people chose to reject the Lord as times seemed to get better. The message of Nahum is a reminder that there is a time for all those who reject God’s grace to stand before the throne of judgment, and then it will be too late to repent.

And that wraps of the book of Nahum on Through the Word. Join us tomorrow as we continue through another book of the Bible. God bless!

Read Nahum 3

All verses are quoted from the NIV unless otherwise noted.