Introduction
We were studying the short book of Jonah last Sunday and the Sunday before that. And I made the case that the book of Jonah is not about mission, which is how it’s often interpreted, but it’s about God’s mercy. It’s not about mission, because God didn’t send Jonah to Nineveh to preach the good news of salvation, but to preach against the city and to condemn the people for their wickedness. And so, when Jonah eventually arrived at the city, he preached a message of condemnation: ‘Forty more days and Nineveh will be overturned.’ And while the author says the Ninevites believed God and declared a fast and put on sackcloth, and while the king ordered them to give up their evil ways, there’s no suggestion that they gave up their false gods and began to worship the Lord alone. And while the author says that the Lord had compassion on them and did not bring upon them the destruction he had threatened, he didn’t say that the Lord forgave them. He didn’t forgive them, but instead he postponed his judgment on them and he let them go on living on the earth. Instead of destroying them, which is what they deserved, he preserved their life on the earth. And in the final chapter, the Lord explained to Jonah that he did not destroy the city because he cared about all the people in the city as well as all the animals.
And I explained that after the flood in the days of Noah, the Lord promised that he would never again cut off all of life from the earth with a flood. In other words, he will withhold his judgment on us and maintain life on the earth, even though we do not deserve it. And even though we are sinners by birth and we sin against God continually, he continues to do good to all and he fills our lives with good things to enjoy.
Last week I mentioned the problem of pleasure. Since God is holy and just, why is there so much pleasure in this fallen world? Why is there so much happiness and joy? Because of Adam’s sin in the beginning and because of our own sins, we are all justly liable to all punishments in this life and the next. And yet, we experience so much joy and happiness and pleasure in this life. And God does good to everyone: to the wicked and the good. How do we account for it, since God is holy and just and we deserve to be punished? And why did God not destroy the Ninevites for their wickedness? Why did he let them go on living on the earth? It’s because God is merciful. He is kind.
The theologians refer to this as God’s common grace. I’ve mentioned before the distinction between God’s particular, or special, grace and his common grace. His particular grace, or his special grace, is his kindness towards his people which leads to our salvation. So, we say that by grace alone, God pardons our sins and he accepts us as righteous in his sight. We didn’t deserve this, but God has done it for us because of his sheer kindness towards us. That’s his particular, or his special, grace and it refers to his kindness in saving us from our sins and giving us eternal life because of Christ.
But his common grace is his universal kindness towards all that he has made. Because of the fall, and because of our own personal sinfulness, we deserve nothing from God apart from condemnation. He would be perfectly justified in withholding all of his good gifts from us, because, as sinners, we deserve nothing from him. But because of God’s common grace — his kindness towards all that he has made — he continues to supply us with what we need and he fills our lives with good things every day. He does this for his own believing people. But he also does it for those who have never believed. He causes the sun to shine and the rain to fall on the wicked, as well as the good. Because of his common grace, God does good to all that he has made.
And so, because of God’s common grace, he enabled the people on Nineveh to give up their violence. That is to say, he restrained their natural inclination to do evil. And because of his common grace, he withheld his punishment and he let them go on living on the earth. That’s what the book of Jonah is about.
Today we turn to book of Nahum which, like the book of Jonah, is one of the Minor Prophets. The Major Prophets are the big ones, the long ones: Isaiah and Jeremiah and Ezekiel. The Minor Prophets are the small ones, the short ones: the books from Daniel to Malachi. They are not minor in significance, but in length. And one of the reasons we’re turning to Nahum is because it, like Jonah, is about the city of Nineveh.
We learn that from the very first verse, where it says: ‘An oracle concerning Nineveh.’ However, whereas the Lord sent Jonah to Nineveh, the Lord’s prophecy through Nahum is about Nineveh. The Lord didn’t sent Nahum to Nineveh. Instead this was a message for the people of Judah about Nineveh. Nineveh was now the capital city of Assyria. And Assyria, in the days of Nahum, had become the world’s superpower. It was the greatest, most powerful nation in those days. You might recall from our studies in 2 Kings that the Assyrians were the ones who invaded the northern kingdom of Israel and took the people into exile. And Assyria also attacked the southern kingdom of Judah in the days of King Hezekiah. At that time, the Lord delivered his people from the hands of Assyria. However, Assyria continued to be a threat to Judah. And so, God had a message for his people about Nineveh which he spoke through the prophet Nahum.
We believe Nahum lived around 100 years after Jonah. And whereas the Lord showed mercy to Nineveh in the days of Jonah, his message about Nineveh in the days of Nahum was a message of judgment and condemnation. God announced through Nahum that he was going to destroy Nineveh for their wickedness. That means that their repentance in the days of Jonah was only temporary and they soon returned to their evil ways. And God was no longer going to be merciful towards them. Now he was going to pour out his wrath on them. And so, for a long time the Assyrians had threatened God’s people. But God’s people could trust the Lord their God to rescue them from the hands of their enemies. As we read in verse 7 of chapter 1, the Lord is good and he’s a refuge for his people in times of trouble and he cares for those who trust in him.
Chapter 1
Let’s turn now to chapter 1 where we read in verse 1 that this book is an oracle concerning Nineveh and it’s the vision of Nahum the Elkoshite. An oracle is a message or revelation from the Lord. The word ‘oracle’ also means ‘burden’, which conveys the idea that the Lord had placed a burden on Nahum and the only way to unburden himself of this burden is by proclaiming the message which the Lord has given to him. And Nahum received it from the Lord by means of a vision.
Although the NIV gives the rest of chapter 1 the title, ‘The Lord’s Anger Against Nineveh’, it’s likely that verses 2 to 8 are about a greater judgment than God’s judgment on Nineveh. In other words, these verses are about the great Day of the Lord, when God will come in the person of his Son to judge the living and the dead at the end of time.
And so, we read that the Lord is a jealous and avenging God who takes vengeance and is filled with wrath. The Lord is jealous, or zealous, about his glory and his honour and he will act decisively to punish his enemies who have not given him the glory and honour that he deserves. He will take vengeance on them by pouring out his wrath on them and punishing them. And God is right to punish his enemies for their wickedness. There would be outrage if it was reported in the news that a judge just shrugged his shoulders after hearing a guilty verdict and let the guilty person go free. There would be outrage, because the right thing to do when someone is found guilty is to punish the guilty person. And the Lord will punish all who are guilty of dishonouring and disobeying him.
Nahum says in verse 3 that the Lord is slow to anger. So, he takes his time. He gives people time to repent and to seek his forgiveness. He does not destroy us immediately, but only after giving us a lifetime of opportunities to repent and to seek his forgiveness. But he will by no means leave the guilty unpunished. So, we mustn’t take his patience to mean that he will do nothing, because eventually the time for judgment will come. And when that time comes, he will come in the whirlwind and the storm and clouds are the dust of his feet. The image of dust, being thrown up by his feet, conveys the idea of how he’s in motion and he’s coming from heaven to judge the world. He will rebuke the sea so that it dries up. Bashan and Carmel and Lebanon, which were known for being fertile places, will wither at his coming. And the mountains will quake before him and the hills will melt away. We think of mountains and hills as being immovable. We think of them as being permanent. But they will give way when the Lord comes to judge the world. It’s as if the whole of creation is being undone and the earth and all who live in it will tremble at his presence. They will tremble with fear, because the Lord is coming to judge and to pour out his wrath on his enemies.
Who can withstand his indignation? That is to say, who can endure his fierce anger? His wrath is poured out like fire. And the image of being poured out means it will go on and on and on. His wrath, when it comes, will not come for a moment only, but it will go on and on. It is everlasting. And rocks will be shattered before him. If hard rocks will be shattered before him, what will become of his enemies?
And yet, the Lord is also good and he’s a refuge in times of trouble. And he cares for those who trust in him. And so, he pours out his wrath on his enemies, but he cares for those who trust in him. There’s no refuge from his wrath for his enemies, but the Lord himself is a refuge for those who trust in him; and he is good to them. And so, the only way to escape God’s wrath is to turn to God himself. The only way to find refuge from God’s anger is to find refuge in God himself.
The Lord is good to those who trust in him, but with an overwhelming flood he will make an end of what? The NIV has inserted the word ‘Nineveh’ into verse 8. But the last line of verse 8 refers generally to God’s foes. So, God will pursue all his foes into darkness. He will pursue his enemies in Nineveh into darkness, but he will also pursue his enemies throughout the world into darkness, when he comes to judge the world. Right now, he’s being patient with the whole world. He’s putting up with our sin and rebellion. But the day will come when God will judge the world by his Son and he will condemn his enemies and send them into the darkness to be punished for ever for all that they have done wrong. But for those who turned to God for mercy, trusting in Jesus Christ his Son for forgiveness, there is no condemnation. There’s no condemnation, but only the sure and certain hope of the resurrection and everlasting life in the presence of God.
Verses 2 to 8 are about the great Day of the Lord, when God will come to judge the world by his Son. But in verses 9 to 15 of chapter 1, Nahum speaks more directly about Assyria’s destruction and about Judah’s deliverance. And we’re meant to see in Assyria’s destruction and in Judah’s deliverance a kind of anticipation of what will happen when God comes to judge the world by his Son, because when he comes to judge the world, his enemies will be destroyed and his people will be delivered.
He addresses Assyria in verses 9 and 10. Whatever they plot against the Lord, God will bring to an end. And so, trouble will not rise up a second time. In other words, they won’t have a second opportunity to cause trouble, because the Lord is going to bring them to an end. And notice, of course, that it is the Lord who will do it. The reason Assyria will fall is not because another nation was against them. The reason Assyria will fall is because the Lord was against them. And so, the Lord will cause them to become entangled like thorns and to become drunk so that they will stagger and fall. The Lord will make them like dry stumble which will be consumed by fire. God is going to destroy Assyria.
In verses 11 to 13, he refers to the time when the king of Assyria attacked Jerusalem in the days of King Hezekiah. At that time, the king of Assyria plotted evil against the Lord. However, although Assyria had allies and was numerous, they will be cut off and will pass away. And the Lord says to his people in Judah that though the Lord once afflicted them by sending Assyria against them, he will afflict them no more. Instead he will break the yoke that Assyria has placed on Judah; and the Lord will release his people from their shackles. The Lord will deliver his people from Assyria.
And in verse 14 the Lord says that he has issued a command and Nineveh and Assyria will have no descendants. They will be cut off. And the Lord will destroy their false gods and idols. And he will not only destroy their gods, but he will destroy them, by sending them to their graves.
And in the final verse of chapter 1, Nahum addresses God’s people. He tells them to look, because there, coming over the mountains, is a messenger who bears good news. He proclaims peace. The good news is that Assyria is destroyed; and God’s people don’t have to worry about them ever again. When Nahum wrote this, it hadn’t yet happened and Assyria was still a powerful nation. But the day will surely come when God’s people will hear the good news that their enemies have fallen. No more will the wicked invade your land. They will be completely destroyed.
Chapter 2
We come now to chapter 2 where Nahum describes the fall of Nineveh and Assyria before it takes place.
And in verse 1, it’s as if he’s addressing Nineveh and he’s warning the people in Nineveh that an attacker is advancing against the city. This attacker, of course, is someone the Lord will send against them, because, as we’ve just seen in chapter 1, it’s the Lord who is against them. He will attack them.
And in the rest of verse 1, Nahum calls on the people of Nineveh to guard their fortress and to watch the road and to brace themselves and to marshal all their strength. In other words, prepare for battle! Get ready for a fight, because the attacker is coming.
When Nahum proclaimed these words Assyria was a mighty nation. It was a superpower. It had conquered many nations and added them to its empire. Many nations paid tribute to them. No one would think it would ever fall. Everyone thought it would last for ever. But here’s the Lord’s prophet announcing that an attacker is coming. The Lord was sending another nation to destroy them.
And in verse 2 Nahum makes clear what this will mean for his own people in Judah. So, though destroyers have laid them waste and have ruined their vines, the Lord will restore their splendour. When you read the account of Assyria’s attack on Jerusalem in 2 Kings 18, in the days of King Hezekiah, you’ll see that the king of Assyria attacked and captured several cities in Judah. And Hezekiah had to take silver and gold from the temple and give it to him. And even then, the king of Assyria continued his campaign and attacked Jerusalem. And Assyria continued to menace Judah in the days of Hezekiah’s son. And so, Assyria ruined Judah. But here’s the Lord reassuring Judah that he will restore their splendour once again.
And from verse 3, Nahum describes the fall of Nineveh. He begins with the enemy soldiers whose shields are red and their uniform is scarlet. It’s possible the red and scarlet are meant to represent the blood of their victims. The metal parts of their chariots are flashing in the sunlight and they are brandishing their spears. They rush madly through the streets of Nineveh and they are like flaming torches and lightning, destroying everything they encounter.
The Assyrian commander summons his troops, but they stumble as they go. They dash to the wall of the city to protect it. But they cannot withstand the enemy.
In verse 6 he says that the river gates are thrown open and the palace collapses. Apparently in those days victorious armies would sometimes flood the cities of their enemies in order to destroy them. The Lord may be referring to that practice in verse 6.
It’s not clear how to translate verse 7, but something in the city will be carried off and the slaves girls will lament and beat their breasts in sorrow.
In verse 8 he compares Nineveh to a pool, which was once peaceful and calm. But now the side of the pool is broken and the water is draining away. He’s using the image of a pool to describe how the Assyrian army will flee from the city. Though they’re commanded to stop, they will keep going.
And next we’re to imagine someone in the enemy army commanding the others to plunder the silver and gold and all the wealth from Nineveh’s treasury. And someone else cries out that Nineveh has been pillaged and plundered and stripped. Hearts therefore melt. Knees give way. Bodies tremble. Every face grows pale. The inhabitants of the city are terrified because of the disaster which has come upon them.
And, you see, it is so shocking because the Assyrian Empire was so strong and mighty. No one — apart from the Lord’s prophet — could have foresaw this. No one could imagine it was possible. The Assyrians were the ones who caused terror wherever they went. They were the ones who plundered silver and gold. They were the ones who emptied treasuries. They were the ones who pillaged and plundered and stripped other nations. But the time will come when it will happen to them, because the Lord is against them.
Nahum asks, ‘Where now is the lion’s den?’ The kings of Assyrian portrayed themselves as lions and Nineveh was their den. And so, by asking where the lion’s den is, Nahum was saying that Nineveh, the king’s den, will disappear. This once great city is destined to vanish. ‘I am against you’, says the Lord in verse 13. And since the Lord is against them, he says he will burn up their chariots and the sword will devour them. He says he will leave them no prey. Perhaps he means that they will no longer be able to prey on the other nations. And the voice of their messengers — who used to go from nation to nation with threats about what Assyria will do to them if they do not submit — will no longer be heard.
And so, the Lord described what would happen to Nineveh and to Assyria before it happened. What he predicted was unimaginable, because Assyria was such a mighty nation. And yet, what the Lord announced through Nahum happened when the Assyrians fell to the Babylonians. No one would have foreseen it, but this is what happened. And it happened, not because of the Babylonians, but because of the Lord who declared to Nineveh: ‘I am against you!’
Chapter 3
Chapter 3 begins with a woe on Nineveh. It’s described as a city of blood because the people of Nineveh were known for their violence against the other nations. Nahum also says they are full of lies and plunder and victims. But by pronouncing a woe on them, Nahum is saying that they are doomed. They are doomed because of the evil things they have done. And then he tells us about some of the wicked and cruel things they did. And so, in verses 3 and 4, Nahum describes how they used to charge on their victims with their chariots and horses and their flashing swords and glittering spears. And as a result of their cruelty, the dead were piled up, bodies without number.
In verse 4 he likens them to a harlot or wayward woman. Just as a wayward woman will entice and destroy a man, so the Assyrians enticed and destroyed the other nations.
And so, in verse 5, the Lord announces that he is against them. He is against them because of the wicked things they have done. And just as a woman is humiliated if someone lifts her shirt and exposes her, so the Lord will humiliate them. Just as someone was humiliated when filth was thrown over him, so the Lord will humiliate them. He will, as it were, pelt them with filth. He will treat them with contempt. He will make them a spectacle. And everyone who sees them afterwards will flee from Nineveh in horror and shock because of what has happened to them.
However, no one will mourn for Nineveh. No one will be sorry to see its end. No one will offer comfort to the people of Nineveh and Assyria. Everyone will be glad to see their downfall, because they were a wicked people who terrorised the other nations.
‘Are you better than Thebes?’ the Lord asks in verse 8. Thebes was a strong, well-defended city in Egypt. And yet it was destroyed and its people were taken captive into exile. In fact, she was overthrown by Assyria. And you get a sense of what Assyria was like when you read in verse 10 that infants in Thebes were dashed to pieces at the head of every street. They were dashed to pieces by the Assyrians. And the Assyrians cast lots for the nobles in Thebes and they were bound in chains and taken away as slaves.
Well, says Nahum in verse 11, you too will become drunk, as it were, so that you will stagger and fall. You will go into hiding, because you’re no better than the people of Thebes. What happened to them will happen to you.
Their fortresses, dotted around the empire, will be shaken the way someone shakes a fig-tree to remove its fruit. So, the Assyrian fortresses will be shaken and destroyed. Their once mighty soldiers will become like weak like women. Their city gates, which ought to be closed and locked to keep out their enemies, will be opened wide, because fire will consume the bars of their gates. And so, their enemies will go in and conquer them.
Once more Nahum summons them to get ready: store water for the siege; strengthen your defences; repair the stonework. But it won’t do any good, because fire will devour them and the sword will cut them down.
He then compares the Assyrians to grasshoppers and locusts. So, there were many of them, spreading across the world, conquering other nations and stripping them of their wealth. But just as locusts will soon fly away and are seen no more, so the Assyrians will disappear. They will disappear when they are destroyed.
And in the final verses, Nahum compares the king of Assyria and his nobles to shepherds. But their sheep will be scattered and no one will gather them, because the time will come when the king and his nobles are dead. Nothing can heal you, says Nahum. Your wound is fatal. And everyone who hears the news about you will clap their hands in jubilation. Everyone who has suffered because of your endless cruelty will be glad.
Application 1
That’s the book of Nahum. What can we learn from it?
We need to remember that the book was addressed, not to Nineveh, but to God’s people in Judah. It was for God’s people and not for the people of Nineveh. And so, it was not written to convince the Ninevites to repent and to seek God’s forgiveness. It was written to reassure God’s people who were suffering at the hands of the Assyrians.
The Assyrians had invaded Judah in the days of Hezekiah and had taken away the silver and gold from the temple. They continued to threaten Judah in the days of Manasseh who was Hezekiah’s son. In fact, they took Manasseh away as prisoner for a time. And so, in those days, the Lord spoke to his people through his prophet Nahum to reassure them that Assyria will not get away with their violence for ever and that the Lord intended to punish them for the wicked things they had done. In the end, God will destroy them. And so, the Lord wanted to reassure his suffering people that he is an overwhelming flood who will destroy their enemies. And he also wanted to reassure them that he is good; and he is a refuge in times of trouble; and that he cares for those who trust in him. Therefore trust in the Lord. Trust in the Lord, to save you from your enemies and to restore your fortunes once again.
And we find a similar message in the New Testament and especially in the book of Revelation. The Lord revealed to the Apostle John visions of what life will be like for God’s people in these, the last days in which we’re living. So, think of the letters to the seven churches near the beginning of the book of Revelation which were written to warn believers in every generation about the trials and temptations we’ll face because of the devil and because of all who side with the devil and who either persecute the church or who try to lead us astray with false teaching and who do all kinds of other wicked things in the world which make many people weep and to long for deliverance.
As I said when we were studying the book of Jonah, because of God’s mercy, he lets the wicked go on living on the earth and he is patient with them and he puts up with their sins and their wickedness for the time-being. And that means God’s people have to put up with their sins and their wickedness for the time-being. And sometimes they attack the church and they persecute God’s people and they make the lives of believers miserable. And so, John, in the book of Revelation, refers to the great tribulation. He was writing about the trials and tribulations we all suffer in this life because of all the wicked things that wicked people do in the world. And John also saw the martyrs in heaven, asking the Lord how long it will be until he judges the wicked and avenges their blood? How long until you bring the suffering of your people to an end? And John wrote many other things about the wickedness of the devil and those who side with him, and of the suffering of God’s people in these, the last days in which we live.
But the Lord also revealed through John that the day is coming when Christ our Saviour–King will come to destroy the devil and all his demons and everyone who sided with the devil. Since God is slow to anger, he gives unbelievers time to repent. He gives them a lifetime of opportunities to repent. But the day will come when those who did not repent will be judged and cast into the lake of fire to be punished for ever for all that they have done wrong. And so, those who persecuted the church and who opposed God’s people and who made people throughout the world weep because of the wicked things they did will be punished as the people of Nineveh were punished.
On the other hand, God promises his suffering people everlasting life in the new Jerusalem in the new heavens and earth, where he will wipe the tears from our eyes and where they will be no more sorrow or suffering or disease or death, but only perfect peace and rest and happiness for ever. Just as God promised to restore the splendour of Judah, so he promises to restore the whole of creation and to give his people everlasting life in that new and better world to come where they will be nothing and no-one to disturb our peace.
And so, when you go through trials and troubles in this life, you should keep trusting in the Lord, because the Lord is good; and he is a refuge for his people in times of trouble; and he cares for those who trust in him. Therefore trust in him! And as well as trusting in him for the present, keep believing that he has something wonderful in store for you in his presence in the life to come.
Application 2
But then the final thing to say before we finish is that if it were not for God’s mercy to us in Christ Jesus, then we would be among those who will be destroyed. We too are sinners. We too sin against the Lord continually. We too have done wrong and what we deserve from the Lord for a lifetime of disobedience is his wrath and curse. And yet, thanks be to God, who does not treat us as our sins deserve and who does not repay us according to our iniquity. For the sake of Christ, who gave up his life to pay for our sins, we have been pardoned and accepted and can look forward to everlasting life in his presence instead of everlasting punishment.
Nahum was right: God does not leave the guilty unpunished. He does not leave the guilty unpunished. He always punishes the guilty. And the good news of the gospel is that Christ our Saviour took our place as the guilty one when he took the blame for us and was punished in our place on the cross. And in this way, he satisfied the justice of God for us. And through faith in Christ we receive forgiveness and peace with God and the hope of everlasting life in his presence in the new and better world to come.
Sermons and Stuff 