The Fall of Nineveh
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Intro
Intro
We return this evening to the Prophet of God named Nahum! It has been a couple of weeks since we were last here, but I am glad to be back here with you to study this book.
We begin this evening in Nahum chapter 2 — but first let’s review over the content of chapter 1.
Who is this prophecy against?
Nineveh
Why was it written?
To comfort Israel that their enemies would not be unjudged by God
What does is mean for God to be Jealous?
Zealous in love over His people
We see among the scary imagery and descriptions of judgement that God turns to the captive Israelites and says Na. 1.7
7 The Lord is good, a stronghold in a day of distress; he cares for those who take refuge in him.
and
12 This is what the Lord says: Though they are strong and numerous, they will still be mowed down, and he will pass away. Though I have punished you, I will punish you no longer. 13 For I will now break off his yoke from you and tear off your shackles.
How much heavy was this judgement against Nineveh going to be?
Total, complete — per 1:10-11
Closer Up
Closer Up
This evening, I intend on looking at the whole chapter, but it’s okay if we don’t get there.
1 One who scatters is coming up against you. Man the fortifications! Watch the road! Brace yourself! Summon all your strength!
Who is the “One who scatters”?
It seems this may be two fold: God and Babylon (the nation by who Nineveh was conquered)
God is ultimately the One who is coming against the people, and He is using Babylon as a figurative hammer with which to smash to pieces the city of Nineveh.
God calls them to be ready for when it comes — not because they stood a chance at surviving this judgment but because it was in fact coming and there was nothing changing about that!
2 For the Lord will restore the majesty of Jacob, yes, the majesty of Israel, though ravagers have ravaged them and ruined their vine branches.
Here again, among the terrifying assurance against Nineveh, we find Almighty God taking time to turn His attention to His afflicted people and comfort them.
“Though they have been ravaged and torn apart, I will restore all their beauty!”
How would you feel as an Israelite hearing this message while in captivity?
Comfort? Joy?
3 The shields of his warriors are dyed red; the valiant men are dressed in scarlet. The fittings of the chariot flash like fire on the day of its battle preparations, and the spears are brandished. 4 The chariots dash madly through the streets; they rush around in the plazas. They look like torches; they dart back and forth like lightning. 5 He gives orders to his officers; they stumble as they advance. They race to its wall; the protective shield is set in place. 6 The river gates are opened, and the palace erodes away.
This is where things begin to take a different turn in this chapter.
What is God showing through Nahum here?
A close up look at what will be happening int Nineveh when she is invaded!!
What do you think of the red and scarlet in the descriptions of the invaders?
Potentially it was referring the color on the clothing which the Babylonians would have been known by.
Perhaps it is a little more gruesome than that?
God describes the scene as utterly chaotic:
Chariots running full speed to and fro, the sun glinting off of their metal as if they were lightning flashes
Their spears being ready for war as the chariots race about in the middle of the city
The king of Nineveh giving orders in an attempt to fight back, but his own soldiers and peoples being in such a confusion they are just stumbling about everywhere as they try escaping
What do you think about verse 6? Na. 2.6
6 The river gates are opened, and the palace erodes away.
It is entirely possible that I am wrong about this, but it seems too relevant, given the context, that this isn’t talking about the flood preceding this final seige. The Tigris river flooded and destroyed portions of the fortifications making the city a little weaker!
At the end of the day, it all comes down to end.
Historically, this seige took over three months to finally accomplish. But the Babylonians and their allies won out, Nineveh was destroyed and burned to the ground.
7 Beauty is stripped; she is carried away; her ladies-in-waiting moan like the sound of doves and beat their breasts. 8 Nineveh has been like a pool of water from her first days, but they are fleeing. “Stop! Stop!” they cry, but no one turns back. 9 “Plunder the silver! Plunder the gold!” There is no end to the treasure, an abundance of every precious thing. 10 Desolation, decimation, devastation! Hearts melt, knees tremble, insides churn, every face grows pale!
As the city has fallen all her goods are plundered and carried away — just as the same nation had done to Jerusalem.
Women in the streets are pictured as weeping and wailing over the fall of the city, beating their breasts in mourning!
8 Nineveh has been like a pool of water from her first days, but they are fleeing. “Stop! Stop!” they cry, but no one turns back.
It’s almost as if they tried to keep the people rallied up to stay and keep fighting as they tried to escape, but none would turn back! Utter chaos, total destruction! The days of Nineveh’s prime were long gone and her majesty on earth was ended.
10 Desolation, decimation, devastation! Hearts melt, knees tremble, insides churn, every face grows pale!
I think its fairly easy to imagine this reaction from any people as they have just experienced the fall of their own home!
God’s vengeance against them truly is fierce.
His judgment still remains as such even in 2024 — the character of our God has not altered! Remember Obadiah saying that no nation is very far from the judgment of God. When it comes, whether in the end or against a single nation, it is a terrible sight.
11 Where is the lions’ lair, or the feeding ground of the young lions, where the lion and lioness prowled, and the lion’s cub, with nothing to frighten them away? 12 The lion mauled whatever its cubs needed and strangled prey for its lionesses. It filled up its dens with the kill, and its lairs with mauled prey. 13 Beware, I am against you. This is the declaration of the Lord of Armies. I will make your chariots go up in smoke, and the sword will devour your young lions. I will cut off your prey from the earth, and the sound of your messengers will never be heard again.
Nineveh is seen as a lions’ den, wherein a family of lions had dwelt protected and well fed — now they had no such security and the ones who thus provided for it have been killed.
Can you spot God’s reason given to them in this text?
v. 13 — “Beware, I am against you.”
God was not going to relent from His judgment on Nineveh this time, because they had no heart of repentance and He was zealous for His people and His covenant!
To the Hebrews, this should have been a great comfort to them!
To the Ninevites, it was a grave declaration that only would bring darkness, terror, and death.
13 Beware, I am against you. This is the declaration of the Lord of Armies. I will make your chariots go up in smoke, and the sword will devour your young lions. I will cut off your prey from the earth, and the sound of your messengers will never be heard again.
God was thus putting a whole and entire end to the dark reign of Nineveh, which had cast a shadow of fear into the hearts of people all over the world for their great brutality.
All their arms would be burned up, their leaders killed, and their messengers (perhaps those sent to demand tribute or surrender, according to one commentary) would never be heard from again in all the world!
God doesn’t play around when it comes to the judgment on the wicked! The thought of God coming against a nation should be a shocking one, I think. And one that makes us a little uncomfortable! However, we know that we as God’s people have nothing to fear!
Even in these judgments, if we get caught up in the judgment on this country, and even if we don’t make it out physically alive — it is a deliverance for the faithful people of God! Because He is not against us, but for us! Rom. 8.31
31 What, then, are we to say about these things? If God is for us, who is against us?
While you and I rest in great security in this God Who wipes out the wicked in His wrath, we all know that this nation stands directly defiant against Him. As our nation continues to tread this path, let’s pray for our countrymen and leaders, and also be busy with the work of priests to teach the people about this almighty God who loves them but detests all evil.