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Chapter 1 |
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Chapter 2 |
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Chapter 3 |
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Unlike some of the
other prophets, Nahum does not tell us when this prophecy was
given to him. And neither does he identify himself beyond the
phrase, “Nahum the Elkoshite,” found in the first verse of
Chapter 1. Most of this book deals with the LORD’S
displeasure with
Nineveh
, the capitol city of the Assyrians. Once or twice he mentions
Judah
, but his main topic is the LORD’S anger against
Nineveh
.
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Chapter
1
(Verses
1 through 6) The burden
of
Nineveh
. The book of the vision of Nahum the Elkoshite. God is jealous, and
the LORD revengeth; the LORD revengeth, and is furious; the LORD
will take vengeance on His adversaries, and He reserveth wrath for
His enemies. The LORD is slow to anger, and great in power, and will
not at all acquit the wicked: the LORD hath His way in the whirlwind
and in the storm, and the clouds are the dust of His feet. He
rebuketh the sea, and maketh it dry, and drieth up all the rivers:
Bashan languisheth, and
Carmel
, and the flower of
Lebanon
languisheth. The mountains quake at Him, and the hills melt, and the
earth is burned at His presence, yea, the world, and all that dwell
therein. Who can stand before His indignation? And who can abide in
the fierceness of His anger? His fury is poured out like fire, and
the rocks are thrown down by Him.
Nahum
declares that this is the burden of
Nineveh
. This may seem a little strange, inasmuch as most of the prophecies
are directed to the LORD’S people, and
Nineveh
is a Gentile metropolis. Yet this is definitely addressed to
Nineveh
. And the prophet begins to tell
Nineveh
just how great the LORD is, and how dangerous He is when aroused to
anger. Although He is slow to anger, He is very powerful, and when
aroused, He will take vengeance upon His enemies and His
adversaries. This is to call
Nineveh
’s attention to what she can expect, because He is angered at her.
And there is no escape, for He will not acquit the wicked. He is so
great that He has His way in the whirlwind and the storm. In this
statement, the whirlwind is not only what we commonly call a
whirlwind, that only picks up light chaff, and carries it round and
round up in the air. He is also referring to the tornado and
hurricane. Both are actually whirlwinds, although of gigantic
proportions. The LORD has His way in them. They can do nothing
except that which He will permit. And He can, and does, use them to
do His will. The clouds amount to no more than “the dust of His
feet.” As a man walks along a very dusty road he is likely to stir
up a little dust that might be considered a little cloud of dust. So
as the LORD passes by He may stir up clouds. At His rebuke even the
rivers dry up, and the sea also. Remember His bringing His people
dry shod across both the Red Sea and the
Jordan river
. The mountains so fear Him that they quake at His presence, the
hills melt, and the earth is burned by His presence. In fact the
whole world and all its inhabitants shall fear Him. Since He is thus
so great, who can stand before His indignation, or abide the
fierceness of His anger? When He pours out His fury even the rocks
are thrown down by Him. So what hope has a city, or a man, to escape
when He sends judgment upon it, or him?
(Verses
7 through 11) The LORD is good, a stronghold in the day of trouble;
and He knoweth them that trust in Him. But with an overrunning flood
He will make an utter end of the place thereof, and darkness shall
pursue His enemies. What do ye imagine against the LORD? He will
make an utter end: affliction shall not rise up the second time. For
while they be folden together as thorns, and while they are drunken
as drunkards, they shall be devoured as stubble fully dry. There is
one come out of thee that imagineth evil against the LORD, a wicked
counsellor.
Verse
7 seems oddly placed, but needs little explanation. Nahum is
declaring that although the LORD is so great, and when aroused will
be a danger with which His enemies cannot cope, He is good. And He
is also a strong place of refuge in the day of trouble. He also
knows them that trust in Him. Not only does He have knowledge of
them, but He also gives recognition to them. Yet when He sends forth
His judgments, there will be no mercy in them. He will make an utter
end of His enemies, and their place of abode. Those who imagine evil
against Him shall be beaten down so that they will not rise up to
afflict His people a second time. They shall be destroyed as fire
destroys dry stubble. And there is one that has come out of
Nineveh
that has imagined evil against the LORD. That one gives wicked
advice. So he can expect no mercy of the LORD.
(Verses
12 and 13) Thus saith the LORD; Though they be quiet, and likewise
many, yet thus will they be cut down, when He shall pass through.
Though I have afflicted thee, I will afflict thee no more. For I now
will break his yoke from off thee, and will burst thy bonds in
sunder.
This
seems to be a changing of the address of this speech from
Nineveh
to
Judah
. The LORD tells
Judah
that even if these enemies, as many of them as there are, should
settle down, and remain quiet, they would still be cut down, when He
passes through. This has already been established, and will not be
changed. He says that although He has afflicted
Judah
, He will not afflict them any more. Instead He will break off from
Judah
the yoke of the Assyrian oppressor, and set them free. The LORD did
not permit the Assyrians to carry
Judah
away captive, although they did take
Israel
, and did much damage to
Judah
at the same time. Later
Judah
was taken captive by the Babylonians. And still later
Jerusalem
was destroyed, and the Jews scattered by the Romans. So the promise
that the LORD will afflict
Judah
no more, evidently, looks forward to the time of the final
restoration of
Jerusalem
. But it is sure of fulfillment at the appointed time.
(Verse
14) And the LORD hath given commandment concerning thee, that no
more of thy name be sown: out of the house of thy gods will I cut
off the graven image and the molten image: I will make thy grave;
for thou art vile.
This
is, of course addressed to
Nineveh
. The LORD has already issued His commandment concerning her. And He
will destroy both the name and the idols of
Nineveh
. He declared, “I will make thy grave.” That is, He will bury
her. The reason for this is that “thou art vile.” She had no
redeeming features. And He would have no mercy on her.
(Verses
1 and 2) He that dasheth in pieces is come up before thy face: keep
the munition, watch the way, make thy loins strong, fortify thy
power mightily. For the LORD hath turned away the excellency of
Jacob, as the excellency of
Israel
: for the emptiers have emptied them out, and marred their vine
branches.
“He
that dasheth in pieces” is, unquestionably, the LORD. For Nahum
has already told us, in Chapter 1, verse 6, “Who can stand before
His indignation? And who can abide in the fierceness of His anger?
His fury is poured out like fire, and the rocks are thrown down by
Him.” He then is the One Who has come up before the face of
Nineveh
. He calls upon
Nineveh
to strengthen herself in every way that she can. She thinks she is
great, because she has emptied out
Israel
, and marred the branches of her vine. But the truth of the matter
is that the LORD turned away the excellency of Jacob. That is, He
permitted
Nineveh
to overcome
Israel
, and take them captive. It was not by the greatness of the
Assyrians that they took
Israel
captive, but by the permission of the LORD. Now, because of the
haughtiness of the Assyrians, the LORD will destroy them. So let
them put on their greatest strength to meet the judgment He is
sending upon them
(Verses
3 through 8) The shield of his mighty men is made red, the valiant
men are in scarlet: the chariots shall be with flaming torches in
the day of his preparation, and the fir trees shall be terribly
shaken. The chariots shall rage in the streets, they shall justle
one against another in the broad ways: they shall seem like torches,
they shall run like the lightnings. He shall recount his worthies:
they shall stumble in their walk; they shall make haste to the wall
thereof, and the defence shall be prepared. The gates of the rivers
shall be opened, and the palace shall be dissolved. And Huzzab shall
be led away captive, she shall be brought up, and her maids shall
lead her as with the voice of doves, tabering upon their breasts.
But
Nineveh
is of old like a pool of water; yet they shall flee away. Stand,
stand, shall they cry; but none shall look back.
Thus
the prophet describes the fall of
Nineveh
. The inhabitants thereof shall put up a valiant fight. The war
chariots shall be running with great speed throughout the city, even
bumping into one another in their haste. Their mightiest men will be
set for the defense of the city. But it will all be of no avail. The
river,
Tigris
, had always been considered as a wall of defense for the city. But
“the gates of the rivers shall be opened.” That is, instead of
the river’s being a protection for the city, it will be crossed by
the invaders, and become like a gate for them to enter. Then the
palace will be “dissolved,” or broken open, and the queen shall
be taken into captivity. All of her maids will be making a great
lament, but they will be as helpless as doves. In the end,
Nineveh
will be as she was of old, “like a pool of water.” And everyone
that can will flee away. They will be calling upon one another to
stand, and defend the city; but none will obey the call, or even
look back.
(Verses
9 through 12) Take ye the spoil of silver, take the spoil of gold:
for there is none end of the store and glory out of all the pleasant
furniture. She is empty, and void, and waste: and the heart melteth,
and the knees smite together, and much pain is in all loins, and the
faces of them all gather blackness. Where is the dwelling of the
lions, and the feedingplace of the young lions, where the lion, even
the old lion, walked, and the lion’s whelp, and none made them
afraid? The lion did tear in pieces enough for his whelps, and
strangled for his lionesses, and filled his holes with prey, and his
dens with ravin.
This
is a comparison of
Nineveh
’s condition after the judgment of the LORD is meted out to her,
and as she was before. The mention of lions is not used in reference
to the lions of the forest, but to the men of
Nineveh
, who considered themselves as “lions among men.” Her spoilers
are told to take all the spoil of silver and gold. There is so much
of it that it seems there is no end to it. With this done she is
left empty and void. She is in such great fear that her heart melts,
her knees knock together, her loins are filled with pain, and her
face is blackened with sorrow. Before this terrible calamity she was
provided with everything she could need. What a terrible contrast!
(Verse
13) Behold, I am against thee, saith the LORD of hosts, and I will
burn her chariots in the smoke, and the sword shall devour thy young
lions: I will cut off thy prey from the earth, and the voice of thy
messengers shall no more be heard.
Thus
the LORD declares His purpose to completely destroy
Nineveh
. She will have neither men nor weapons left with which to defend
herself. And, further, she will not even have any messengers left by
whom she might send for help. Their voices will no more be heard.
(Verses
1 through 7) Woe to the bloody city! It is all full of lies and
robbery; the prey departeth not; the noise of a whip, and the noise
of the rattling of wheels, and the prancing of horses, and the
jumping of chariots. The horseman lifteth up both the bright sword
and the glittering spear: and there is a multitude of the slain, and
a great number of carcases; and there is none end of their corpses;
they stumble upon their corpses: because of the multitude of the
whoredoms of the wellfavoured harlot, the mistress of witchcrafts,
that selleth nations through her whoredoms, and families through her
witchcrafts. Behold, I am against thee, saith the LORD of hosts; and
I will discover thy skirts upon thy face, and I will shew the
nations thy nakedness, and the kingdoms thy shame. And I will cast
abominable filth upon thee, and make thee vile, and will set thee as
a gazingstock. And it shall come to pass, that all they that look
upon thee shall flee from thee, and say,
Nineveh
is laid waste: who will bemoan her? Whence shall I seek comforters
for her?
This
is a simple description of just how wicked, violent, and filthy
Nineveh
was in the sight of the LORD. Very little could be said that would
explain this any more clearly than it is written. When the LORD
says, in verse 6, “I will cast abominable filth upon thee, and
make the vile,” the meaning is that He will make known to the
other nations just how filthy and vile she is. And when He shall
send upon her this judgment, she will have no friends left that will
mourn for her, or that will try to comfort her.
(Verses
8 through 10) Art thou better than populous No, that was situate
among the rivers, that had the waters round about it, whose rampart
was the sea, and her wall was from the sea?
Ethiopia
and
Egypt
were her strength, and it was infinite; Put and Lubim were thy
helpers. Yet was she carried away, she went into captivity: her
young children also were dashed in pieces at the top of all the
streets: and they cast lots for her honourable men, and all her
great men were bound in chains.
The
LORD asks
Nineveh
if she is better than No, a great city that has already been brought
to destruction. No even had some mighty helpers,
Ethiopia
,
Egypt
, Put, and Lubim. Also the sea was her defense on one side, and her
wall was built from the sea on one side all the way around to the
sea on the other side. Yet she was destroyed, and even her young
children were dashed to pieces. (This is indeed a terrible thing.
But it was not uncommon in that day.) And all her great men were
carried away captive, with her conquerors even casting lots for her
honorable men. So, since
Nineveh
is no better than No, how can she expect to escape?
(Verses
11 through 15) Thou also shalt be drunken: thou shalt be hid, thou
also shalt seek strength because of the enemy. All thy strong holds
shall be like fig trees with the firstripe figs: if they be shaken,
they shall even fall into the mouth of the eater. Behold, thy people
in the midst of thee are women: the gates of thy land shall be set
wide open unto thine enemies: the fire shall devour thy bars. Draw
thee waters for the siege, fortify thy strong holds: go into clay,
and tread the mortar, make strong the brickkiln. There shall the
fire devour thee; the sword shall cut thee off, it shall eat thee up
like the cankerworm: make thyself many as the cankerworm, make
thyself many as the locusts.
The
LORD continues to tell
Nineveh
that there is no way she can escape, or win the battle. All her
people are as women. This is in reference to the fact that the men
were the ones who usually did the fighting. Although we know that
women are sometimes able to fight for their defense as well as men,
they were never considered a fighting force. And for a man to be
considered as a woman was to be considered a coward. So in this
battle all
Nineveh
’s people will be cowards, and the walls of the city will be no
protection for them, but will be as if the gates were wide open. The
fire shall devour all of their defense. The LORD calls upon them to
make every possible preparation for this battle. Yet it shall be of
no avail for them. Even if their population were so great as to be
as the cankerworms, or the locusts, they would not be able to
prevail. Their doom is sealed, and will not be changed.
(Verses
16 through 19) Thou hast multiplied thy merchants above the stars of
heaven: the cankerworm spoileth, and flieth away. Thy crowned are as
the locusts, and thy captains as the great grasshoppers, which camp
in the hedges in the cold day, but when the sun ariseth they flee
away, and their place is not known where they are. Thy shepherds
slumber, O king of
Assyria
: thy nobles shall dwell in the dust: thy people is scattered upon
the mountains, and no man gathereth them. There is no healing of thy
bruise; thy wound is grievous: all that hear the bruit of thee shall
clap their hands over thee: for upon whom hath not thy wickedness
passed continually?
Thus
the LORD declares that all these merchants and captains that Nineveh
has set up for her wealth and protection, those whom she has
multiplied to such a great number that they are, in that respect, as
cankerworms or grasshoppers, will act just as grasshoppers. Although
they may camp around in the hedges while it is cold, they will fly
away as soon as the sun warms the day, and neither they nor the
place where they had been can be found. So it will be with all those
upon whom
Nineveh
depends. As soon as the trouble starts, they will all be gone. They
will be scattered over the mountains, and none can gather them.
Wounds and bruises can sometimes be healed, but there is no healing
for the wound of
Nineveh
. Not only so, but everyone who hears of the judgment sent upon her
will applaud it, because all have suffered at her hands.
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