The Burden Against Blasphemy

Nahum 1:9-11

Nahum 1:9-11 “What do you conspire against the Lord? He will make an utter end of it. Affliction will not rise up a second time. For while tangled like thorns, And while drunken like drunkards, They shall be devoured like stubble fully dried. From you comes forth one Who plots evil against the Lord, A wicked counselor.”

A Long History

Nahum, contemporary of Isaiah. Prophesied during the reign of Hezekiah the king or before. Leading us to believe approximate date of 150 years after the prophecy of Jonah, and 100 years before the eventual destruction of Nineveh.

Nineveh the city has been located and confirmed as the east side of modern Mosul, Iraq. This would have been the location of the Assyrian Empire. There are still people in the city of Mosul that claim the identity of Assyrian and there is a great irony in their history. Nineveh is on the Tigris River that made it a strong hub of trade in all of its history. The modern name Mosul loosely means junction city.

They lose everything they have eventually being overthrown by the Babylonians and they are reduced to subjects of whatever group ruled the middle east. Ironically of the other middle eastern groups they were one of the first to largely embrace Christianity. And that tradition of Christian Identity has also led to their abuse over the centuries.

You may have heard of the Armenian Genocide, but what is lesser known is that the Turks of the ottoman empire also attempted to eradicate the Assyrians because of their largely christian population.

The burden against Nineveh, Capitol of Assyria. Longest continual monarchy in all of history. The lineage of one family reigning for A very long time. Historians talk about their yearly occasion of conquering cities and lands to plunder and keep the treasury full. As we learned last week they were a culture steeped in violence and bloodshed. And would not relent from their ways.

What have you done?

2 kings 18:28-32

“Then the Rabshakeh stood and called out with a loud voice in Hebrew, and spoke, saying, “Hear the word of the great king, the king of Assyria! Thus says the king: ‘Do not let Hezekiah deceive you, for he shall not be able to deliver you from his hand; nor let Hezekiah make you trust in the Lord, saying, “The Lord will surely deliver us; this city shall not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria.” ’ Do not listen to Hezekiah; for thus says the king of Assyria: ‘Make peace with me by a present and come out to me; and every one of you eat from his own vine and every one from his own fig tree, and every one of you drink the waters of his own cistern; until I come and take you away to a land like your own land, a land of grain and new wine, a land of bread and vineyards, a land of olive groves and honey, that you may live and not die. But do not listen to Hezekiah, lest he persuade you, saying, “The Lord will deliver us.””

2 kings 18:33-35

“Has any of the gods of the nations at all delivered its land from the hand of the king of Assyria? Where are the gods of Hamath and Arpad? Where are the gods of Sepharvaim and Hena and Ivah? Indeed, have they delivered Samaria from my hand? Who among all the gods of the lands have delivered their countries from my hand, that the Lord should deliver Jerusalem from my hand?’ ”

Run to the Word of the Lord

2 kings 19:3-7 “And they said to him, “Thus says Hezekiah: ‘This day is a day of trouble, and rebuke, and blasphemy; for the children have come to birth, but there is no strength to bring them forth. It may be that the Lord your God will hear all the words of the Rabshakeh, whom his master the king of Assyria has sent to reproach the living God, and will rebuke the words which the Lord your God has heard. Therefore lift up your prayer for the remnant that is left.’ ” So the servants of King Hezekiah came to Isaiah. And Isaiah said to them, “Thus you shall say to your master, ‘Thus says the Lord: “Do not be afraid of the words which you have heard, with which the servants of the king of Assyria have blasphemed Me. Surely I will send a spirit 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.” ’ ””

Nahum 1:12-14

Nahum 1:12-14 “Thus says the Lord: “Though they are safe, and likewise many, Yet in this manner they will be cut down When he passes through. Though I have afflicted you, I will afflict you no more; For now I will break off his yoke from you, And burst your bonds apart.” The Lord has given a command concerning you: “Your name shall be perpetuated no longer. Out of the house of your gods I will cut off the carved image and the molded image. I will dig your grave, For you are vile.””

Don’t Let Your gods Deceive You

Rabshakeh says in 2nd kings 19:10

‘Do not let your God in whom you trust deceive you, saying, “Jerusalem shall not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria.”

2 kings 19:14-19 “And Hezekiah received the letter from the hand of the messengers, and read it; and Hezekiah went up to the house of the Lord, and spread it before the Lord. Then Hezekiah prayed before the Lord, and said: “O Lord God of Israel, the One who dwells between the cherubim, You are God, You alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth. You have made heaven and earth. Incline Your ear, O Lord, and hear; open Your eyes, O Lord, and see; and hear the words of Sennacherib, which he has sent to reproach the living God. Truly, Lord, the kings of Assyria have laid waste the nations and their lands, and have cast their gods into the fire; for they were not gods, but the work of men’s hands—wood and stone. Therefore they destroyed them. Now therefore, O Lord our God, I pray, save us from his hand, that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that You are the Lord God, You alone.””

God is not Mocked

2 kings 19:35-37 “And it came to pass on a certain night that the angel of the Lord went out, and killed in the camp of the Assyrians one hundred and eighty-five thousand; and when people arose early in the morning, there were the corpses—all dead. So Sennacherib king of Assyria departed and went away, returned home, and remained at Nineveh. Now it came to pass, as he was worshiping in the temple of Nisroch his god, that his sons Adrammelech and Sharezer struck him down with the sword; and they escaped into the land of Ararat. Then Esarhaddon his son reigned in his place.”

If God moves to wrath against man it is because all avenues of outreach have been ignored and there are now no other ways of shifting the hearts of those involved.

Nahum 1:15 “Behold, on the mountains The feet of him who brings good tidings, Who proclaims peace! O Judah, keep your appointed feasts, Perform your vows. For the wicked one shall no more pass through you; He is utterly cut off.”

What shall we do?

Romans 10:14–15 NKJV

How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach unless they are sent? As it is written: “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the gospel of peace, Who bring glad tidings of good things!”

Isaiah 52:7 NKJV

How beautiful upon the mountains Are the feet of him who brings good news, Who proclaims peace, Who brings glad tidings of good things, Who proclaims salvation, Who says to Zion, “Your God reigns!”