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NAHUM
"Judgment
of Ninevah" By Dr. Edgar Pierce (c) 2008 |
Our approach to the the book of Nahum will be, "Nahum, Judgment of Ninevah." Let us look at this precious prophetic book with the following outline for our consideration. Notice each chapter is given a title and it seems to break down naturally this way.
"Judgment of Ninevah"
I- The Judge of Ninevah 1:1-15
II- The Judgment of Ninevah 2:1-13
III-The Justification of Judgment of Ninevah 3:1-19
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I- The Judge of Ninevah
1:1-15
The Outline
1- The Introduction: 1:1
a- Who was Nahum?
b- History of Ninevah.
c- The City.
d- Other Old Testament
Judgment References and Passages.
2- Attributes
of the Judge- 1:2-3a
a-Jealous God.
Ex
20:3-6
b- Revengeth.
c- Slow to anger.
d- Just.
3-
Creation at His Mercy and Control.
1:3b-5
a- The weather. 1:3b
b- Seas and rivers. 1:4
c- Mountains quake. 1:5
4- Who Can Stand? 1:6
a- Man
cannot stand. Rev 6:15-17
b- Assyria
Cannot Stand. 2 Kings 18
5-
Assurance to Judah.
1:7-8
a- God
is good. 1:7a
b- A stronghold in trouble.
1:7b
6-
Assyria the Fallen Enemy.
1:9-11
a- Assyria the Conquer of Israel.
II
Kings 18:9-10
b- Prophecy of Assyria Defeat.
1:9-11,14
c- Prophecy
fulfilled.
d- God
judges the Assyrian gods. 1:14
7- Ninevah's Yoke Broken- 1:12-13, 15
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1- The Introduction: 1:1
a- Who was Nahum? As we can see from the
first verse Nahum was from the city of Elkosh. This city was probably located in Judah. Some
also say that the city of Capernaum is the Village of Nahum. However, the city
of his birth and life is of secondary importance and needs not to be settled here. The date of the writing is in all probably
100-150 years after the book of Jonah.
Nahum means,"Consolation" or "Comfort." This is
ironic because this is a prophecy of the total destruction of the nation of
Assyria represented by here capital Ninevah. We must however remember that the
Old Testament is written concerning the relationship
of God to the nation of Israel. This prophecy would certainly comfort the
nation of Judah (The southern Kingdom of Israel).
b- History of Ninevah.
We find the first mention of Ninevah in Gen 10:11-12. The
city was built by Nimrod. We also know from the book of Jonah that
Ninevah had experienced a great revival under Jonah's preaching 100+- years
prior to Nahum's prophecy. In Jonah we see the love of
God and in Nahum we see the justice of God.
c- The City. The
city of Ninevah was certainly a great city in it's
defenses. The city had a wall 100' high. The wall was wide enough for chariots
to run around the top of the wall. The walls were 60 miles around with 1200
towers. A well defended city.
d- Other Old Testament
Judgment References and Passages.
Nahum is not
the only Old Testament prophet to foretell the demise of Assyria. We will look
at some of the following scriptures later in our study. Isaiah 10:12-19; 14:24-25;
30:31-33; 31:8-9; Ezek 32:22-23; Zeph. 2:13-15; Zech. 10:11.
2- Attributes of the Judge- 1:2-3a
a- Jealous God. Ex
20:3-6 One of the important things we must
realize in our relationship with God is that He is jealous when we put someone
or something before Him.
b- Revengeth- "The Lord revengeth"
Rom 12:19 says "Dearly beloved, avenge not
yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is
mine; I will repay, saith the Lord.."
Deuteronomy 32:35
says, “To me belongeth vengeance, and recompence; their foot shall
slide in due time: for the day of their calamity is at hand, and the things
that shall come upon them make haste.”
God does not take revenge the way we do in our fallen human nature.
c- Slow to anger. One of the most obvious
attributes of God found anywhere in scripture is the longsuffering and slowness
to anger of God. (See: Is
48:9; Rom 9:22; I Pet 3:20; 2 Pet 3:9.)
d- Just.
"Will not acquit
wicked."
As we previously stated, Jonah shows the
love of God and Nahum the wrath of God.
God has always required of mankind "Be
ye holy for I am holy." God without His wrath would only be a
sweet pie in the sky and man would not have any reason to fear and respect Him.
Just as much as God is also a God of love He is a God
that demands righteousness.
These attributes of God as righteous
Judge make the verses of Ps 85:9-10 precious.
"Surely
his salvation is nigh them that fear him; that glory may dwell in our
land. Mercy and truth are met together;
righteousness and peace have kissed each other."
3-
Creation at His Mercy and Control.
1:3b-5
a- The weather. 1:3b It says here the "Lord
hath his way in the whirlwind and in the storm, and the clouds are the dust of
his feet." We know that the Lord is sovereign in every thing and can and has chosen to use the natural disasters to
speak to nations and men.
b- Seas and rivers.
1:4
We have two biblical examples of the lord rebuking the sea. Ex
14:21 records the drying up of the Red Sea allowing the nation of
Israel to cross on dry land. Josh 3:14-17 records the drying up
of the Jordan River so that the nation of Israel could cross over into the
Promised Land. This happened at the time of year when the river was at flood
stage.
c- Mountains quake- 1:5 The
earth and all that God created recognize the creator. The earth trembles before
the Lord.
4- Who Can
Stand? 1:6
The question is asked,
"who can stand before the righteousness and fury
of God."
a- Man cannot stand. In Rev
6:15-17 we see there is a time coming when man will not be able to stand
before the fury of God. Revelation 6:15-17 “And the kings of the
earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the
mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man, hid themselves in the dens
and in the rocks of the mountains; 16And said to the mountains and rocks,
Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and
from the wrath of the Lamb: 17For the great day of his wrath is
come; and who shall be able to stand?”
There
are many scriptures that teach us this in other places as
well. Consider these: I Sam 6:20; Ezra 9:15; Job 41:10;
Ps 76:7; 130:3; Mal 3:2.
We know that Ps 1:5-6 teaches us that
the ungodly cannot even stand in congregation of the righteous. This is not
because of man's righteousness but because of the Spirit of God that dwells
within the saved man.
b- Assyria Cannot Stand. In 2 Kings 18 we see that Sennacherib,
King of Assyria, sent a message to King Hezekiah and had contempt for the Lord.
2 Kings 18:33 "Hath any of the gods of the
nations delivered at all his land out of the hand of the king of Assyria."
The problem that the king had was he compared the true and living God
to the dead gods of the other nations. We will discuss this later but for now
let me say Ninevah was unable to stand.
5-
Assurance to Judah.
1:7-8
a- God is good. 1:7a This is spoken in encouragement to
Judah and not to Ninevah. God is assuring Judah that He could
be counted on.
b- A stronghold in
trouble. 1:7b God has not forgotten
you. He wanted them to know that He was going to deliver them.
The promise in verse 8 is really a
prophecy of how Ninevah would be taken and overthrown.
We will deal with this prophecy later. Notice now however that God promise to
Judah was He was going to destroy their enemy.
6- Assyria the Fallen Enemy.
1:9-11
We are going to see that the Assyrian army
will be defeated as they attack Judah. This is in addition to the destruction
of Ninevah which is a separate event as we will see in
chapter 2 and 3.
a- Assyria the Conquer of Israel.
This prophecy
is even more amazing when we consider that Assyria had already taken the sister
kingdom of Judah, Israel (the northern kingdom) into captivity.
2 Kings 18:9-10 says,
"And
it came to pass in the fourth year of king Hezekiah...Shalmanezer king of
Assyria came up against Samaria, and besieged it....at the end of three years
they took it...and the king of Assyria did carry away Israel unto
Assyria..."
b- Prophecy of Assyria Defeat 1:9-11,14
Most Bible scholar agree
that the one that comes against Israel here is Sennacherib, King of Assyria.
We see in Isaiah 36:1 that Sennacherib
invades Judah and captures some of the cities and
comes against Jerusalem. This happened during the 14th year of the reign of
Hezekiah. This is only 8 years after the fall of Israel. We notice in Isaiah
36:18-20 that Sennacherib makes the mistake of comparing God to the
other nations gods. (See Isaiah 44:8)
When the messenger, Rabshakeh comes to
tell Hezekiah the demands of the Assyrian king we see in Isaiah 37:1 that
Hezekiah, "rents his clothes, and covered himself with sackcloth and went
into the house of the Lord." Hezekiah
brings his problem to the Lord.
The promise that God sends to Hezekiah by
the prophet Isaiah is, "...Be not afraid of the words that
thou hast heard, wherewith the servants of the king of Assyria have blasphemed
me. Behold, I will send a blast upon him, and he shall hear a rumor, and return
to his own land; and I will cause him to fall by the sword in his own
land." Isaiah 37:6-7. We find that the promise is even more
remarkable when we see in Isaiah 37:33-34
"...He
shall not come into this city, nor shoot an arrow there, nor come before it
with shields."
c- Prophecy fulfilled.
In my opinion
this is one of the most dramatic fulfillment of any prophecies in the word of
God. Isaiah
37:36 says "Then the angel of the Lord went forth, and smote in the camp of
Assyrians a hundred and fourscore and five thousand...." The army
was smote during their sleep by the angel of the Lord.
We see in Isaiah 37:37-38 the
fulfillment of the prophecy concerning the king. "So Sennacherib king of
Assyria departed, and went and returned, and dwelt at Ninevah. And it came to
pass, as he was worshiping in the house of Nisroch his god, that Adrammelech
and Sharezer his sons smote him with the sword..."
These events are
mentioned three times in the Old Testament. (See 2 Kings 18-19; 2
Chronicles 32; Is 36-37)
c- God
judges the Assyrian gods. 1:14
God tells Assyria that he is going to
bury them as a nation and destroy their gods. R. Campbell Thompson and R.W.
Hutchinson reported that the statue of the goddess Ishtar lay headless in the
debris of Nineveh's ruins. ("The British Museum Excavations on the Temple
of Ishtar at Ninevah, 1930-1," Annuals of
Archaeology and Anthropology, 19, pp. 55-6) The Babylonians destroyed the gods
of the Assyrians when they overthrew the city in 612 B.C.
7- Ninevah's Yoke Broken- 1:12-13, 15
Ninevah had been used
by God to judge Israel over the years. Not only the attack of Sennacherib in
701 that we discussed previously in detail but Judah also paid tribute to Assyria
during the reign of Manasseh. In addition Manasseh was
taken captive by Assyria. (see 2 Chron. 33:11)
We see in
1:12 however that it was not
Assyria that did this but it was the sovereign God who used them as a instrument of judgment. "...though I have afflicted
thee..."
"...I will afflict thee no more.." God says that the affliction of Assyria was going
to end. 1:12 says that God was going to
"break the yoke."
In 1:15 we see that God tells Judah to keep the feast and to worship him. This is especially sharp in contrast to the destruction we saw of the gods of Assyria in 1:14.
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II- The Judgment of Ninevah 2:1-13
We come now to the second chapter of Nahum which I have titled, "Judgment of Ninevah."
We are going to see an amazing prophecy concerning the way that Ninevah was to
be overthrown. This section is very graphic and vivid in it's
description of the overthrown of the city of Ninevah.
God has made it clear in chapter one that
He is going to destroy Ninevah. He said to them, "I will make thy grave,
for thou art vile." 1:14 The actual fulfillment
of this amazingly accurate and historical prophecy took place 100 years of so
after Nahum's prophecy. The city was so completely
destroyed that it was not until 1850 that the site was located by archaeologist.
The Outline:
I will use the following outline for our
study of chapter 2.
1- The Attack:
2:1-6
a- Instrument of God- Babylon. 2:1
b- Prepare
for Attack. 2:1
A- Guard
Fortress.
B- Watch The Roads.
C- Brace Yourselves.
D- Marshal Strength.
c- Encouragement for Judah.
2:2
d- Awesome Enemy. 2:3-4
Description of Attack.
e- The Stumbling Army. 2:5
f- The Gates of the River Open.
2:6
2- The Defeat:
2:7-10
a- Meaning of Huzzab?
2:7
b- Cry
of Halt Heard. 2:8
c- Spoils
of Ninevah Plundered.
2:9
d- Fear in the Hearts. 2:10
3- The Plundering of the Lions Den:
2:11-13
a- The Lion of Ninevah.
2:11-12
b- Note of Finality.
2:13
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1- The Attack:
2:1-6
The first section of
this chapter show us a very graphic prophecy of the attack of Ninevah.
a- Instrument
of God- Babylon 2:1
We know from history this instrument God
used was the Babylonians in alliance with the Medes. The leaders were Cyaxares
from the Medes and Nabopolassar from Babylon.
Ninevah was destroyed in 612 B.C.
b- Prepare
for Attack 2:1
Nahum tells the Assyrians, who thought
that their capital was impregnable, to get ready for the attack.
A- Guard Fortress
Nahum tells them to
"keep the mutition..." The NIV translates this "...Guard the fortress." This cry is ironic when we consider the strength of
Ninevah at the time. We know that Nahum was merely speaking what God knew was
going to happen.
B- Watch The Roads.
Again the NIV
gives us the translation "watch the roads." He is saying,
"Ninevah get ready and watch for you demise is coming."
C- Brace yourselves.
KJV translates this
"...make thy
loins strong."
The NASV translates it, "...Strengthen your back."
D- Marshal Strength.
Warm up your muscles,
exert your strength. NASV says,
"...summon all
your strength."
I notice a sense of sarcasm from Nahum
here much like Elijah did to the prophets of Baal when
he told them to shout and cry because Baal, their god, might be asleep. I Kings
18:27 Nahum says to them that regardless of their preparedness that God is
going to judge them and there is nothing they can do to prevent being
overthrown.
c- Encouragement for Judah.
2:2
We have here in verse 2 an encouragement
to Judah. They are told that God will restore them even thought it might look
like this is now possible.
d- Awesome
Enemy 2:3-4 Description
of Attack
We now come to the vivid picture of the
overthrow of Ninevah prophecy.
"...The shield is made red..." is understood various ways and may indeed mean several
things. Among them is shields that are covered with
leather dyed red. Another interpretation is that the invading armies shield are made red by the blood of the killing. Some
scholars think this could have been copper covered shields
that looked red in the sun. Most agree that the color is to strike
terror into the enemy.
In the words,
"...the valiant men
are in scarlet" We also see the scarlet color of the dress of the armies
that attacked.
The chariots also were
covered with polished metal that made them appear as fire. They attacked
swiftly as they approached the city.
2:4 The chariots
also are seen inside the city streets rushing about. The red tunics on the
heads of the Medo-Babylonians troops look like flames of fire upon their heads
because they are moving so swiftly.
e- The
Stumbling Army 2:5
The Hebrew word translated "worthy"
is 'addiyr (ad-deer'); and means, "wide or (generally) large;
figuratively, powerful." In the KJV
this same Hebrew word is also translated, "excellent, famous, gallant,
glorious, goodly, lordly, mighty (-ier one), noble, principal, worthy."
NIV translates it, "...He summons
his picked troops..."
There are two different interpretation of
who these troops are in verse 5. One school of thought is that they are the men
of Assyria who stumble in haste to the wall to defend the city and fall over
themselves in haste. The other theory is that these are the
attacking troops who rush to carry out the orders during the attack so swiftly
that they slip on the bloody streets.
I personally think the latter makes sense
in the context of the passage. The word "...defense" here is
"cakak" (saw-kak'); or sakak (saw-kak'); which means, "a
primitive root; properly, to entwine as a screen; by implication, to fence in,
cover over, (figuratively) protect." Other places in the KJV it is translated
"cover, defense, defend, hedge in, join together, set, shut up." The NASV translates it "...matelet is set
up." The matelet was a portable shield under which the invader was protected from the besieged defenders on the walls
above. This seems to make it understood that these troops are
the invaders who hide under their shield during attack.
f- The
Gates of the River Open 2:6
The city of Ninevah was located on the
east side of the Tigris river. The west side of the
city had a river wall 4,530 yards or 2 1/2 miles + long. The city was also defended by moats on the other three sides. These moats were regulated by gates or dams that controlled the
water flow.
The thing that help
to protect the city would ultimately be its demise. The city
walls were breached by the army after a flood on the river. This was in
the third year of the siege.
You will notice also that the,
"...palace shall be dissolved." The palace in the most secure city of
it's time was literally going to collapse. We might say that this was hitting
close to home (Pun Intended) for the King.
2- The Defeat:
2:7-10
We come to the next section of the
outline, "The Defeat." This section reads of a conquered enemy who is
afraid and fleeing and who has lost its spoils of war.
a- Meaning of Huzzab?
2:7
This verse is a puzzle unless we
understand what is meant by "...Huzzab." The word is translated in the KJV
as a proper name but it is better understood to mean, "It is decreed" Strongs
Concordance give us the following: "natsab (naw-tsab'); a prim root; to
station, in various applications (literally or figuratively):"
According to
Strongs this same word is translated in the KJV as, "appointed, deputy,
erect, establish, lay, officer, pillar, present, rear up, set (over, up),
settle, sharpen, establish, (make to) stand (-ing, still, up, upright), best
state.
Strongs says it is translated,
"Huzzah [by mistake for a proper name]."
I personally like the way the NIV translates
this, "It is decreed that the city, be exiled and carried away." The city is
going to be lead away captive and mourning will be heard.
The defeat is at hand.
b- Cry
of Halt Heard 2:8
The pool of water in verse 8 is understood as the population of the city. The leaders of
the city cry for the people to, "Halt" in response to their fleeing.
Notice that the people don't respond however. They are
so panic stricken that they want to get out of the city.
c- Spoils
of Ninevah Plundered.
2:9
We see here is verse 9 that the spoils of
the city are plundered. There is no
instruments of gold and silver found by the archaeologist when they dig
in Ninevah. This city was a very wealthy city. They had acquired great wealth
from all their wars and plundering other nations. It is only fitting that they were plundered as they had plundered. The wealth in Ninevah is said here to be "...endless." NIV
d- Fear in the Hearts. 2:10
Remember in verse 8 that the people would not stop. My friends this is a
terrifying time for Ninevah. Allow me to use the NASV to show the meaning of
this verse. "...Hearts are melting and knees knocking! Also
anguish is in the whole body. And all their faces are grown pale."
The Assyrians knew that they were hated
by the world and when they say that they would be defeated
they feared greatly. Vengeance is going to be taken
upon them. My friend, God has the last word to say in all things.
It is said here that the city is,
"empty, and void, and waste." This is,"...pillaged, plundered and
stripped."
3- The Plundering of the Lions Den:
2:11-13
This section is sort of a parable of the
lions den used to illustrate the overthrow.
a- The Lion of Ninevah.2:11-12
The nation of Assyria used the lion as
their national symbol like the eagle is the symbol of
the USA. Nahum ask
where the young lions are now. The city may have had some live
lions inside it but this probably refers to the young men of the city. Whether
this is literal lions or the strength of the army the
point is they are gone.
These lions were once well fed but now
they have nothing to eat. All has been taken by the enemy.
b- Note of Finality.
2:13
This verse has a very strong
pronunciation of doom for Ninevah. Only here and in Ezekiel concerning Gog (See Ezek 38-39) does God use this
strong language. "Behold, I am against you..." Again I remind us
this is God judging Ninevah and not the Babylonians and the Medes. The nations
of this time would give credit to the national gods when an enemy was
overthrown but Nahum is quick to point out this is Jehovah's
doing. The note of finality that Jehovah has for Ninevah is that, "...the
voice of thy messengers shall no more be heard."
The attack is complete and the city is annihilated. God has judged Ninevah. Again I remind us that this prophecy is not going to be fulfilled until many years pass but it was fulfilled just as Nahum stated under the leadership of the Holy Spirit of God. Ninevah could stop the judgment of the sovereign God.
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III-The Justification of Judgment of Ninevah 3:1-19
As we arrive at chapter 3 of our
study of Ninevah's judgment we see the reason for the
judgment. We have mentioned several times the brutality and the cruelty of
Assyria. We are going to see the "Justification of the Judgment of Ninevah." What Jonah longed to see Nahum sees in his vision of
a prophet, the destruction of Ninevah. Chapter 3 also
revisits for us the doom of Ninevah. Chapter 3 has been
called the Lament and the Epitaph of Ninevah.
God has used Assyria as a instrument of judgment in the past. Some in Israel
questioned how a pagan ungodly nation like Assyria could get away with the
proverbial, "murder." In fact
Ninevah was not going to get away and God was completely justified in judging
her because of the wickedness of her sins.
The Outline:
1- Woe to the City: 3:1
a- Bloody
City. 3:1
b- Full of Lies. 3:1
c- Full of Robbery. 3:1
2- Countless Corpse
3:1b-3
a- Endless Prey. 3:1b
b- Endless Corpse. 3:3
3- Justification for Judgment 3:4-7
a- Mistress of Sorceries. 3:4
b- Sells Nations. 3:4
c- Sells Families. 3:4
d- Who
will grieve? 3:7b
4- Example of Past Judgment 3:8-10
a- Example of No-Ammon (Thebes) 3:8
b- Comparisons
of the 2cities.
1- Surrounded bywater. 3:8
2- Allies were not enough.
3:9
3- Children killed men
taken. 3:10
5- Your City
Is Really Defenseless. 3:11-16
a- Ripe for the pickings.3:12
b- Your
men are like women. 3:13
c- Get
ready. 3:14-16
6-
Point of no return.
3:17-19
a- Scattered
without anyone to
gather them. 3:18
b- No healing of wound. 3:19
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1- Woe to the City: 3:1
We see that the prophet Nahum says Woe to
the city. This is a very grave pronouncement upon Ninevah. We are going to see
some of the reasons for the judgment being just here in the first verse.
a- Bloody
City. 3:1
It is called a
bloody city. Remember Assyrians were a very brutal people. Some see these
verses as the attack on the city itself.
b-Full of Lies.
3:1
Ninevah had aspired to be the capital of
the world. Ninevah could not be trusted to keep her
treaties only when it suited her purpose.
c- Full of Robbery. 3:1
The word translated
"Robbery"
in KJV is translated "...Plunder"
in the NIV and "...pillage" in NASV. This verse is saying the great
riches the city possessed were not really their own but from the robbery of
others.
2- Countless Corpse
3:1b-3
a- Endless Prey. 3:1b
Ninevah had been so brutal that there was
never an end to her prey.
b- Endless Corpse. 3:3
The killing was endless. The bodies were piled on top of each other.
3- Justification for Judgment 3:4-7
As if this we have already looked
at were not bad enough, look now at some more justification.
a- Mistress of Sorceries. 3:4
The nations courted this harlot city for
what it could give them. This is also referring to the occult practices.
The patron god of Ninevah was Ashur who
was cruel and warlike. Ninevah took this as an indication that they were to be
like their god. Any nation becomes like what it worships.
b- Sells Nations. 3:4
Ninevah would court the other nations to
bring them under captivity. She would literally sell out anyone.
c- Sells Families.3:4
Assyria would literally deprive people of
their liberty by taking them captive and selling them into slavery.
d- Who
will grieve? 3:7b
God told them he bear their nakedness to
show the whole world. Then a statement that is very shape in contrast to the
city of Babylon in the book of the Revelation which
the world grieved over. Here it is said that no one
grieved. People were actually relieved
over the overthrow on Ninevah. Notice v. 19 also says, "all
that hear the bruit of thee shall clap the hands over thee."
4- Example of Past Judgment
3:8-10
God is going to now
give Ninevah an example out of their own history to illustrate how
fragile their city really was when judgment comes.
a- Example of No-Ammon (Thebes) 3:8
For an example of a city that thought it
would never be conquered Nahum gives the example of
No-Ammon also known as Thebes. It was the capital of upper
Egypt. It was located on both banks of the river Nile. Jeremiah in Jer 46:25
and Ezekiel in Ezek 30:14-16 had prophesied about its destruction. The
Assyrians were the very ones who had destroyed this city.
b- Comparisons
of the 2 cities.
Nahum makes a
comparisons of Ninevah and No-Ammon to show Ninevah just how precarious
of a position she was really in.
1- Surrounded by water. 3:8
Ninevah was bordered on the
Tigris river and No-Ammon was bordered on the Nile.
2- Allies were not enough.
3:9
Nahum reminds Ninevah that No-Ammon had
allies that were suppose to defend it from attack.
Ethiopia and Egypt were buffers to attack. These allies were not enough to
protect it. Remember that Ninevah was hated by all
nations and had not allies.
3- Children killed men
taken.3:10
God reminds Assyria that this once proud
city that thought itself untakeable was indeed taken.
Her men were taken into captivity and her children killed.
5- Your City
Is Really Defenseless. 3:11-16
God has done a good job of convincing
them that they were not as secure as they thought. They probably did not hear
Him however.
a- Ripe for the pickings. 3:12
He tells them now that they are ripe for
the picking just like a tree ripe with fruit lets go
of its fruit when shaken.
b- Your
men are like women. 3:13
The ultimate insult to these men of
Ninevah was to be called a bunch of women.
c- Get
ready. 3:14-16
Nahum gives a little more sarcasm here
when he tells them to get ready. He also tells them it will not do them any
good.
6-
Point of no return.
3:17-19
The just God of the nations is justified
in the judgment of Ninevah. He says here that they are past the point of
return.
a- Scattered
without anyone to
gather them. 3:18
They are going to be scattered and no one
is going to be available to call them back together.
Today there are no Assyrians, they have ceased.
b- No healing of wound. 3:19
The wound is fatal. God is justified in
destroying you and it is going to happen. God is a loving God but God is also
just my friends.
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