1Woe to the city of blood, full of lies, full of plunder, never without victims! 2 The crack of whips, the clatter of wheels, galloping horses and jolting chariots! 3 Charging cavalry, flashing swords and glittering spears! Many casualties, piles of dead, bodies without number, people stumbling over the corpses-- 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 records the bloody events of his vision. There is a bloody and ruthless battle for Nineveh and many dead int he streets. But the spiritual reason given for the end of these people is pointed: lust and sorcery were its undoing. But those qualities of the city, which are evidence of the spirit not working inside the people (Galatians 5:19-21), are ultimately a problem of the individual heart which radiates out into government. The sin of Nineveh, the opposition to God is part of the judgment, but the other part is that the corrupt nature of the people ripped out to the world around them. It corrupted other people which corrupted nations.
5 “I am against you,” declares the Lord Almighty. “I will lift your skirts over your face. I will show the nations your nakedness and the kingdoms your shame. 6 I will pelt you with filth, I will treat you with contempt and make you a spectacle. 7 All who see you will flee from you and say, ‘Nineveh is in ruins—who will mourn for her?’ Where can I find anyone to comfort you?”
The Lord’s hand against Nineveh is apparent, the Wrath of God obvious. In the language of these passages God is angry and will not suspend that anger. What he sees in Nineveh is a blight to the world, one that must be removed, for Nineveh did not repent, did not come back to God, but continued its shame and spread it into the world.
8 Are you better than Thebes, situated on the Nile, with water around her? The river was her defense, the waters her wall. 9 Cush and Egypt were her boundless strength; Put and Libya were among her allies. 10 Yet she was taken captive and went into exile. Her infants were dashed to pieces at every street corner. Lots were cast for her nobles, and all her great men were put in chains. 11 You too will become drunk; you will go into hiding and seek refuge from the enemy.
Thebes was a great Egyptian city (modern day Luxor and Karnak). It was protected by the waters of the Nile. It seemed beyond invasion, yet but was destroyed by the Assyrians in 663 BC. It shared a great relationship with the countries around it, namely Cush (Ethiopia) and Put (Libya). God, however, had different plans for the city. Ripe for judgment, God allowed the Assyrians to conquer and destroy the city, and in Ashurbanipal’s (the last ruler of Nineveh) custom, he took the leader of Thebes as a prisoner.
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. 13 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. 14 Draw water for the siege, strengthen your defenses! Work the clay, tread the mortar, repair the brickwork! 15 There the fire will consume you; the sword will cut you down-- they will devour you like a swarm of locusts. Multiply like grasshoppers, multiply like locusts!
Nahum paints a picture of how fruitless the defense of Nineveh is.
The fortress: it is as weak as a fig tree, whose figs fall off easily when the tree is shaken. Despite Nineveh’s large wall, moat and fortification, it is no match for God, who desires to use the Medes and Babylonians as judge against them. The Troops: They are weaklings. The Gates: They are wide open. Nahum implores Nineveh to work against the onslaught, to try, but it is to no avail. Not in the face of God’s judgment.
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.
Nineveh had a vast trading market, and the implication here is that Nineveh was able to expand that throughout the known world, yet it does not help them in the time of their need. The marketeers will fly away, with no affiliation to the parent city.
17 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.
The loyalty of Nineveh’s government is suspect. Their allegiance is to their pocketbook and that alone makes them right for judgment. Whenever officials look to their own interests instead of others, they have made a grave mistake. They are not leaders but people chasing money, power and glory.
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.
The leadership has failed the city. This isn’t only about those who chose their own interest over the people, but the sinful nature of people in general. Their spiritual health is low, they have disconnected from God and have instead chosen a path that not only endangers their eternity but those of others.
19 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?
The great city of Nineveh was destroyed in 612 BC. It was so totally destroyed, sacked and deserted that it was never rebuilt. It was eventually covered over in sand and lies in ruins in modern day Iraq, near the city of Mosul. God determined that Nineveh was to be judged and when God judges, he judges harshly. But He never judges randomly, but after a long period of time when a person, or a city, has had many years to turn away from sin and turn back to God. When judgment comes from God, it is to punish those who have systematically chosen to ignore God and follow his own ways. Time will pass. God is patient. But when judgment comes, it is the wrath that one deals with, not the mercy.