1A prophecy concerning Nineveh. The book of the vision of Nahum the Elkoshite.
The book of Nahum is essentially a prophecy against the vile kingdom of Nineveh. One hundred years before (between 786-746 BC, during the reign of Jeroboam II), Jonah came to this famous and ancient city (founded by Nimrod, a son of Noah in Genesis 10:11), and preached against it. In Jonah’s case, he fled first, not wanting to take on the great and overwhelming task of preaching to such an established and defiant city. But God showed Jonah that he couldn’t escape the will of the almighty God and that Nineveh still could turn back to God.
Now, in Nahum’s time (sometime between the reigns of Josiah and Manesseh), we see that Nineveh has slipped into the chokehold of sin. It is ripe for God’s judgment and Nahum, the prophet, speaks to its destruction. This book is addressed to the people of Judah, who would take great solace in Nineveh’ fall. Written between 663 and 612 BC (612 BC is when Thebes fell), the exact date is hard to place. Nineveh, which is essentially Assyria, is the capitol of the country that invaded and overtook the 10 northern kingdoms of Israel in 722 BC. Through the wickedness of the rulers, which are often depicted as cruel and unyielding, Nahum the Elkoshite’s vision is one of destruction from the Lord God.
2 The Lord is a jealous and avenging God; the Lord takes vengeance and is filled with wrath. The Lord takes vengeance on his foes and vents his wrath against his enemies.
First Nahum, in revealing his vision of what has been revealed to him is showing us the wrath of God. The Wrath of God is reserved to those who turn their back on God. In Romans 1:18-20, Paul lays it out like this:
18 The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of people, who suppress the truth by their wickedness, 19 since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. 20 For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse.
Wrath is explained as something that is leveraged against those who suppress the truth by their wickedness. What does that mean though? It means that there are people who know what is good and right and Godly and choose not only to do the opposite, but to alter the truth so that others will not understand the truth. This is not ignorance but an active choice against God. Paul’s argument is this: everyone deep down knows that God exists. But when we deny that truth and follow other gods or idols, we are actively making a choice against God. That choice is a conscious choice, and in that those who work against God also work to commit others to their maligned truth. The effort is conscious, and that is what God’s wrath is leveraged against.
This is not backsliding. Backsliding happens to all and is when we are partaking in the Christian faith and experience times of weakness. Those times of weakness are hard yet allow us a moment to acknowledge we’ve sinned, repent and turn away from the sin. Our backsliding, although unwelcome, can be a reaffirmation of our faith if we are willing to learn and grow from it. It is not a turning away from God but a momentary understanding of our weakness. God’s mercy is aimed at this, if we are to repent and come back under His grace.
3 The Lord is slow to anger but great in power; the Lord will not leave the guilty unpunished. His way is in the whirlwind and the storm, and clouds are the dust of his feet.
Second, Nahum’s vision shows God’s patience with mankind. As noted above, a hundred years has passed since Jonah brought Nineveh back into accordance with God. But Nineveh has not learned from its mistakes. In fact, we see a nation that is cruel and has turned away from God.
Judah would share the same fate some years later. In 608 BC Nebuchadnezzar, the great dictator of Babylon, would sweep into Judah, destroy the temple and the walls to the city, and deport the people to Babylon. And even though we can look at the historical account and see the items that led to Nebuchadnezzar’s invasion, we can also look to the spiritual account, when Judah’s downfall was foretold by Isaiah some 100 years before. God, in His patience, waited for Judah to repent and return to Him. God’s patience extends throughout scripture. From the beginning of time until Noah’s famous ark, to the kings of Israel and Judah to the downfall of both nations, God exerts patience over all the people and nations of this world until the person, or nation, is ripe for judgement. Once we turn our back on God and do it long enough, God’s patience will run out and we will be ripe for judgment.
4 He rebukes the sea and dries it up; he makes all the rivers run dry. Bashan and Carmel wither and the blossoms of Lebanon fade.
Next, Nahum addressed God’s ultimate power. By His word and power He changes elements of the world. Those things that held beauty can die under a nation that is in opposition to God. In the book of Haggai, the prophet Haggai addresses this very concept in Haggai 1: 7-11:
7 This is what the Lord Almighty says: “Give careful thought to your ways. 8 Go up into the mountains and bring down timber and build my house, so that I may take pleasure in it and be honored,” says the Lord. 9 “You expected much, but see, it turned out to be little. What you brought home, I blew away. Why?” declares the Lord Almighty. “Because of my house, which remains a ruin, while each of you is busy with your own house. 10 Therefore, because of you the heavens have withheld their dew and the earth its crops. 11 I called for a drought on the fields and the mountains, on the grain, the new wine, the olive oil and everything else the ground produces, on people and livestock, and on all the labor of your hands.”
God withholds blessings from the Jews of Jerusalem because they are not doing what they returned to Jerusalem to do. Their return to Jerusalem was after 70 years of captivity in Babylon. This captivity was a period of reconnection with God. Once released, their duty was to rebuild the temple in Jerusalem. This was desired by God. It had the backing of the Persian Empire. Yet they chose, for about 15 years, to suspend working on the temple and build their own lives. By God’s word, He suspended the blessing on the people of Jerusalem.
5 The mountains quake before him and the hills melt away. The earth trembles at his presence, the world and all who live in it. 6 Who can withstand his indignation? Who can endure his fierce anger? His wrath is poured out like fire; the rocks are shattered before him.
Nahum next reminds us of the ultimate power of God and when that power is revealed to man, there is a visceral effect. There is fear, not only of His power, but of the folly that has ruled many a life. Revelation 6:15-17 says this:
15 Then the kings of the earth, the princes, the generals, the rich, the mighty, and everyone else, both slave and free, hid in caves and among the rocks of the mountains. 16 They called to the mountains and the rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb! 17 For the great day of their wrath has come, and who can withstand it?”
7 The Lord is good, a refuge in times of trouble. He cares for those who trust in him, 8 but with an overwhelming flood he will make an end of Nineveh; he will pursue his foes into the realm of darkness.
The Lord is good. His love and mercy is a place of refuge, a place we can go to when times get hard. God doesn’t promise and end to our troubles in this world, but He does promise a place we can find peace in.
In these terms, the vision does not say that everyone in Nineveh will be wiped out. In fact, he’s saying that those who seek the Lord will be cared for. But for those who do not, there is a wrath coming. God cannot allow sin to go on forever.
In the historical account, Nineveh was under siege by the Babylonians, Persians and other countries. During the siege, torrential rains undermined the foundations of the city and collapsed. In a treacherous moment Nineveh’s capitol imploded, allowing the opposing armies to invade and conquer. So in a literal way, the flood made an end to Nineveh. But in a spiritual sense the same is true. God delivered on His promise and the great ancient city of Nineveh, wracked in sin and unwilling to turn back to God, fell in 612 BC.
9 Whatever they plot against the Lord he will bring to an end; trouble will not come a second time. 10 They will be entangled among thorns and drunk from their wine; they will be consumed like dry stubble.
Man’s folly in plotting against God never ends well. It is like smoking. We can smoke most of our life without many side effects. We know the danger to ourselves and others. But there comes a time, in each smoker’s life, when they realize that all the smoking was actually killing them slowly. Now, after a devastating diagnosis, they can’t turn the clock back. Their folly, their thumbing their nose at the experts and the studies and those who implored them to quit comes crashing around them. Sin (opposition to God) is the same story. God will lower the boom of judgment onto us, but only after a long stint of patience. A hope to return.
11 From you, Nineveh, has one come forth who plots evil against the Lord and devises wicked plans. 12 This is what the Lord says: “Although they have allies and are numerous, they will be destroyed and pass away. Although I have afflicted you, Judah, I will afflict you no more.
The one referred to here is most likely Ashurbanipal, (669-627 BC), who was the last ruler of Nineveh and was successful in subduing Egypt. In Manesseh’s reign in Judah, Ashurbanipal was the king to which Manesseh was taken by into slavery.
Even though Ashurbanipal was successful and had many supporters and allies, God still brought his kingdom to the ground. Those who oppose God do so with a futility they seldom see. But ultimately we all must bend to that power.
13 Now I will break their yoke from your neck and tear your shackles away.” 14 The Lord has given a command concerning you, Nineveh: “You will have no descendants to bear your name. I will destroy the images and idols that are in the temple of your gods. I will prepare your grave, for you are vile.”
In dealing with a nation who is ungodly, the ungodly nature must be dealt with. God will tear down their legacy and their unholy practices. This is not because of ignorance, but because Nineveh has made a choice against God. It is called out in scripture as vile, which means morally corrupt, or wicked.
15 Look, there on the mountains, the feet of one who brings good news, who proclaims peace! Celebrate your festivals, Judah, and fulfill your vows. No more will the wicked invade you; they will be completely destroyed.
Verse 15 is devoted to giving Judah the comfort and peace of a Nineveh that has been destroyed. To an extent, Nineveh was toxic to Judah. It is an extension of the broken promise the Jews made when going into the Promised Land. Their duty was to follow God in courage against the people of the land and drive them out. But they did not and chose to live with them instead. This caused the Jews of that generation and beyond to be continually stymied by the people around them morally. In a sense the destruction of Nineveh lessens the degree to which an outside force can affect the nation fo Judah. It certainly lessens the chance of an invasion.