ILLUSTRATION:
A few weeks ago my family and I WATCHED the latest Rocky Balboa movie, “CREED.” It was surprisingly a good movie, especially since this is the sixth SEQUEL and seventh MOVIE made
in the Rocky series.
Sequels, of course, are a continuation of a STORY. Hollywood has learned the value of SEQUELS. Hundreds of millions of dollars are made each year off of SEQUELS. I think there are now more SEQUELS than ORIGINAL movies.
A. You may not have REALIZED it, but the Bible also contains a SEQUEL.
1. Nahum is sort of “JONAH: THE SEQUEL.”
2. We studied Jonah a few weeks ago.
ILLUSTRATION:
Jonah was a prophet that was DISOBEDIENT to God because he did not want to go preach to Nineveh, the capitol of Assyria, for fear that they would REPENT and God would SPARE them. Instead, he tried to get away from Nineveh as far as he could by hopping on a boat that was traveling 3,000 miles the opposite direction. But he soon realized the hard way that you can’t run from God.
After spending 3 days in the belly of a great fish that God had prepared him, Jonah changed his mind and preached to the people of Nineveh. And sure enough, to the chagrin of the prophet, the entire city REPENTED of their WICKEDNESS including the KING—and God SPARED them.
3. The SEQUEL of Nineveh continues in Nahum.
ILLUSTRATION:
Some 150 to 180 years has passed. Children and grandchildren were born. New Kings of Assyria were crowned. The NATION had become even more POWERFUL. . . . And the GREAT REVIVAL of the DAYS of Jonah . . . . . . . . . was long FORGOTTEN.
God had used Assyria to DEFEAT and take the Northern Kingdom of Israel into CAPTIVITY about 100 years earlier because of their refusal to REPENT of their WICKEDNESS and IDOLATRY. However, the Assyrian Army went far beyond what God had PLANNED in his PUNISHMENT of Israel. They were extremely CRUEL and FIERCE to God’s people, including the nation of Judah; although they were unable to defeat them. For this reason, God is using the prophet Nahum to pronounce His JUDGMENT against this mighty and powerful NATION.
B. This book contains the only reference to the prophet Nahum.
1. It was written around 630-612 BC.
COMMENT:
Nahum was a patriotic saint who had a deep hatred for the Assyrian nation. He speaks nothing about the internal conditions of Judah and Jerusalem; he leaves that to his contemporaries Jeremiah, Habakkuk, and Zephaniah.
His only concern is the FALL and DESTRUCTION of Nineveh. And he is OVERJOYED that God is finally bringing this nation to JUSTICE in VINDICATION of the CRUELTY and VICIOUSNESS it has inflicted upon ISRAEL and JUDAH.
2. Nahum’s name means: “COMFORTER” or “COMPASSION”
MESSAGE:
I. GOD’S ANGER TOWARDS NINEVEH- chapter 1
A. Three times God’s VENGEANCE is emphasized toward Nineveh, His ENEMY- v. 2 (READ)
1. Nahum describes the Lord as a “JEALOUS and AVENGING God.”
COMMENT:
His JEALOUSY can be compared to that of a HUSBAND for his WIFE. God will not TOLERATE any RIVAL for the AFFECTION and LOVE of His PEOPLE. Neither will He stand for PREDATORS to come in and BRUTALIZE His people.
God will AVENGE the Israelites for the VICIOUS, UNMERCIFUL treatment that they have received from the HANDS of the ASSYRIANS.
2. Nahum reminds the Assyrians that “God is slow to anger and great in power”- v. 3.
a. God’s “SLOWNESS TO ANGER”—His SPARING of Nineveh 150 years earlier—was not a
sign of WEAKNESS, but of MERCY.
COMMENT:
Unlike us, God does not ACT impulsively. Sometimes we even allow the smallest of AGITATIONS to SET US OFF into a TIRADE, but not God. He gives a NATION or an INDIVIDUAL every opportunity to REPENT and TURN to Him. We have seen this over and over in our study of the Minor Prophets.
That’s what he did for Nineveh through Jonah. But this time around . . . . . there is NO CALL to REPENTANCE.
b. Nahum- “God will not leave the guilty unpunished”- v. 3b. (Nineveh is going down!)
B. In the midst of describing the Lord’s VENGEANCE toward His enemies, Nahum now describes His
GOODNESS toward His people- v. 7 (READ).
1. This message is directed toward God’s people in Judah- vv. 12-15
a. Israel is already gone; they were PUNISHED because they did not TRUST God. But God is still extending MERCY to Judah in hopes that they will REPENT and seek REFUGE in Him.
b. If you have learned only one thing from our study of the MINOR PROPHETS, I hope it is the
fact that God is PATIENT with YOU and ME.
COMMENT:
He LOVES us and “does not want us to DIE in our SINS, but to REPENT and TRUST Him”- 2 Peter 3:9. God gives us CHANCE after CHANCE after CHANCE to turn away from our SINS and LIVE for Him.
2. But also we’ve learned from the MINOR PROPHETS that there WILL come a time when God
says, “I’ve pleaded with you time and again, but you’ve refused to obey. No more CHANCES!”
a. Nahum- “With an overwhelming flood God will bring His enemies (in this case, Nineveh) to an end.”- v. 8.
b. You may recall last week the prophet Zephaniah saying that “Nineveh was going to be utterly desolate and dry as a desert”- Zephaniah 2:13.
ILLUSTRATION:
Nineveh was a beautiful city—at that time the LARGEST city in the world located in Northern Iraq on the eastern banks of the Tigris River. (Artist conception of what Nineveh.)
Yet, it was utterly DESTROYED in 612 BC just shortly after Nahum wrote this prophecy.
In fact, its destruction was so COMPLETE that Alexander the Great did not even notice the SIGHT where this MASSIVE CITY once stood just 300 years later when his ARMIES
marched through the area to CONQUER the WORLD.
It wasn’t until 1843 that Paulo Botta and Austin Layard discovered the remains of Nineveh in their ARCHEOLOGICAL expeditions. Since then there have been MANY more
excavations of the ANCIENT CITY, and restorations have been made to preserve the findings.
However, before the Botta and Layard discovery, SCEPTICS said that Nineveh had never EXISTED—that there was never such a PLACE—it was only a Bible MYTH. But once again, God’s Word has been PROVEN TRUE.
3. “Judah will CELEBRATE at the destruction of Nineveh”- v. 15
COMMENT:
When Assyria took Israel into CAPTIVITY, God also used it to attack Judah because of their WICKEDNESS, and it continued to AFFLICT the NATION of Judah long after Israel fell. But when they hear that Nineveh is finally destroyed, there will be great REJOICING in Judah.
II. THE INEVITABLE FALL OF NINEVEH - chapter 2
A. Nahum begins chapter 2 with these words: “An attacker advances against you, Nineveh”- v. 1
1. The Hebrew word for “ATTACKER” literally means “to shatter into pieces.”
a. This is not some little SKIRMISH against Assyria and the city of Nineveh in particular.
b. God is going to utterly DESTROY the CITY.
COMMENT:
Although the “SHATTERER” is not mentioned here by name, we know from history that the COMBINED FORCES of Nebuchadnezzar of BABYLON and the MEDES are the ones who brought Assyria DOWN.
2. Now Nahum, in a taunting fashion, continues, “Guard the fortress, watch the road, brace
yourselves, marshal all your strength”- v. 1.
COMMENT:
Nineveh was a WELL-PROTECTED and POWERFUL city. Its WALLS were said to be
100 feet high and WIDE enough for three CHARIOTS to drive abreast around the CITY.
But the PROPHET knows that no matter how much they FORTIFY the CITY, God is BREAKING DOWN those WALLS.
3. Nahum describes the DEFENSE TACTICS of the King of Assyria. “He summons his picked
troops, yet they stumble on their way”- v. 5a.
a. These are the King’s “HAND-PICKED TROOPS”—the BEST of the BEST.
COMMENT:
And yet Nahum pictures them as STUMBLING to their POSITIONS and FUMBLING about in their EFFORTS to FIGHT OFF the INVADERS. (This kind of sounds like a “THREE
STOOGES join THE NAVY SEALS” movie PLOT, to me.)
b. Nahum merely wants Assyria to know, “You’re superior fighting force is no match for God.”
3. As the great city of Nineveh FALLS and its people carried away into EXILE, Nahum writes, “It’s
SLAVE GIRLS moan like doves and beat upon their breasts”- 2:7.
COMMENT:
Many SCHOLARS believe that the “SLAVE GIRLS” mentioned here represent the SMALLER CITIES that surround Nineveh and have been PROTECTED and SUPPORTED by the CAPITAL CITY. When Nineveh is DESTROYED they MOAN because they cannot SURVIVE without her.
B. This once MAGNIFICENT and POWERFUL city will be PLUNDERED and its people will
SCATTER- 2:8-13.
1. Assyria, the CRUELEST of all NATIONS, will now experience for themselves what it’s like to be ATTACKED, PLUNDERED, and have its people KILLED and carried off into SLAVERY.
2. Nahum wants Assyria to know who will be LEADING the ATTACK against them.
a. Nahum 2:13a- “‘I am against you,’ declares the Lord Almighty (EL SHADDAI).”
COMMENT:
Assyria was a FEROCIOUS and CRUEL nation, who brought FEAR to the hearts of those she ATTACKED and PLUNDERED. There was NO MATCH to her ARMIES and the WAR MACHINES that she brandished.
b. But no matter how MIGHTY and POWERFUL Assyria thinks she is, EL SHADDAI was bringing her to JUSTICE for the acts of BRUTALITY committed against His people.
COMMENT:
God was coming AGAINST Assyria, and nothing was going to STOP Him. Not her ARMIES, not her WAR MACHINES, not her FORTRESSES, and certainly not her “GODS.”
III. DESCRIPTION OF THE SIEGE AGAINST NINEVEH- chapter 3
A. Nineveh’s DESTRUCTION was brought about by its own RUTHLESSNESS.
1. “Woe to the city of blood, full of lies, full of plunder, never without victims”- 3:1 (Assyria has no one to BLAME for their DESTRUCTION, but themselves.)
2. Although the SIEGE upon Nineveh has yet to happen, the prophet Nahum describes the
ATTACK in sharp DETAIL- 3:2-3.
a. These verses really need no EXPLANATION; all you need is an IMAGINATION.
ILLUSTRATION:
You can hear the CRACK of the WHIP, the noise of the RATTLING of the WHEELS and
the PRANCING horses as the DRIVERS charge their CHARIOTS through the streets of the city.
You can see the CALVARY (horsemen) GALLOPING through the GATES of the city SWINGING their SWORDS and THRUSTING their SPEARS into their ENEMY. Men, women, and children are SLAIN by the THOUSANDS. SCREAMS and MOANS are heard
throughout the CITY.
As the people try to FLEE the CITY they stumble over the HEAPS of DEAD BODIES that are lying on every STREET. Many are CAPTURED as they FLEE to be taken as SLAVES.
b. It must have been a HORRIFYING sight to see, and even more so to EXPERIENCE.
3. As Nineveh falls, she is going to be HUMILIATED and made a SPECTACLE of.
a. God says, “I will lift your skirts over your face. I will show the nations your nakedness and
the kingdoms your shame”- 3:5.
b. This once mighty and powerful EMPIRE that spread TERROR throughout the land, will be a LAUGHING STOCK when God gets through with her.
B. Nahum closes his prophecy with words directed specifically to the king of Assyria- 3:18-19 (READ)
1. I am sure that the King of Assyria believed that he was UNCONQUERABLE—no one could
possibly DEFEAT the Mighty Assyrian Empire.
2. Yet, when El Shaddai comes against a NATION, it has no CHANCE.
CONCLUSION:
(I will be gone for the next two Sundays. Next week Andy will be preaching in my place, and on the 24th Nathan Ralston, our missionary in Mexico, will be here to speak.)
On July 31st we will be studying the Minor Prophet: HABAKKUK: WHEN GOD SEEMS UNFAIR.
(Habakkuk and God have a heart-to-heart conversation about what God was doing in the world. You may be wondering the same, right now! Come find out how God answers!)
