The Fall of Nineveh

Introduction

Background:

We are back in the city of Nineveh. Jonah has already pronounced judgement on the city once, and they repented. Here we are 125 years later and Nineveh is back on the judgement seat. Their works are once again being weighed in the court of God’s judgement and He has found them to be in contempt of His Word.

Context:

The Bible says that Nahum was an Elkoshite. We don’t exactly know where Nahum is from, but we suspect that he is from southern Judah. The ministry of Nahum takes place during the reign of King Manessah’s reign. Manessah was one of the most evil kings in the Judah’s history, and you can read about his reign in 2 Chronicles 33.

At this point in history, Judah and Israel were operating as two distinct nations…and if weren’t for the heart of King David, God would have judged Judah the same as He did Israel. This is one of the worst times in all of Judah’s history, where Judah strayed far from God. Manessah became king at age 12, and didn’t repent of his sins unitl 6 years before his death.

Which means, the book of Nahum is focused on God’s grace and His forgiveness of people. The name Nahum means “comfort”, and God is giving His people comfort even in this dark time in Judah’s history.

We are at a dark point in our own history (Charlie Kirk Assassinated). But we need to understand that as the people of God, that we serve a God of comfort. That no matter how dark the world may seem, there is always an outstretched hand from God, ready to serve us and to comfort us through the darkest points in our lives in the events of the world.

I. God’s Goodness ch. 1

Nahum 1

v.1 tells us that Nahum received the word of God in a vision, making him what the Bible refers to as a “seer”. It also says that this vision displayed a burden against Nineveh. The burden that was tasked to Nahum was God’s judgement of Nahum.

In the book of Daniel, we learned about God’s heavenly court. This is a place where judgement occurs, and the nation of Nineveh is going to experience that judgement. This vision was a vision of burden because of the events that were about to unfold.

The Attributes of God

v. 2-8 Nahum tells the nation about His God and we see these attributes summarized there in v. 2

First, we see that God is a jealous God.

Now, God is not like man. He doesn’t have jealousy like we have because everything belongs to him. When we get jealous in an unholy way, it’s because we desire a position, a status, or a possession that someone else has the rights to. Maybe someone got the job over you, maybe someone get the attention that you want, or maybe the Jones’s seem like they have it all…whatever the case, God isn’t jealous like we are jealous.

God is jealous over what is rightfully His because He created it. His justice is what causes His jealousy. God will not be cheated, and He cannot be outdone, therefore He is passionate about what is His. The world is His and He loves with passion. The nation Israel is His wife and He is jealous for her. We as the church are the bride of Christ, and Jesus will not allow His bride to be tarnished. He is a jealous God.

Second, we see that God is the God of vengeance.

We think of vengeance as a sin because for us it is a sin. Just like God’s jealousy is a holy jealousy because of His justice…His role as ruler and of judge makes His vengeance a holy vengeance.

Psalm 94:1 NKJV

O Lord God, to whom vengeance belongs— O God, to whom vengeance belongs, shine forth!

There are some reasons why we cannot act as judge and why we cannot take vengeance.

We don’t have the perspective

We cannot know what God knows. Sometimes we think that we are in the right, and we take that revenge, and we find out that it makes us look more foolish than the person who did wrong.

We don’t have the authority.

We are sinful man, we don’t have the authority to seek vengeance because we aren’t holy. When Jesus prays, remember what He says? “Forgive our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass us.”

Because God has forgiven us, we have a heavenly responsibility to forgive others. Yet, who has forgiven God? No one…He has all authority in Heaven and on Earth, and He alone has the authority and holiness to seek vengeance.

We don’t have the self-control

If we have to act out in vengeance, we will go too far 100% of the time. We cannot see when the sin of man is complete, and we cannot know when their judgement is complete. We don’t have the self-control to seek vengeance without bringing ourselves into sin and judgement.

Third, Nahum says that God is furious or angry.

God is mad at Assyria because of their conquest into Judea. At one time God used Assyria to bring judgement on Judah, but now God has not instructed them, and they have attacked the people of God without provocation. Instead of being used a tool of God’s judgement, they are now taking the place as an oppressive overseer and are perverting the people of God.

In one story, the story of Jonah, we see God’s merciful hand outstretched to the people of Nineveh. Now here, 125 years later, the iniquity and the sin of Assyria is complete, and judgement will take place in the square of Nineveh.

That’s what v. 3 means when it says that the Lord reserves His wrath for His enemies; and that He is slow to anger and great in power.

Even we cannot see the darkness of the world being defeated in the immediate sense, we can know that God, in His sovereignty, is working out the details.

And when the Lord enacts His judgement, look in v. 4 and 5, the seas and the rivers become dry, and the mountains quake before Him.

But here is the comfort of God in v. 7-8

It says, “The Lord is good, a stronghold in the day of trouble; and He knows those who trust Him.”

Do you see why the name of this book is comfort? That no matter what we face, no matter the darkness that surrounds, we have a God that knows us, and He will preserve us. He will take the darkness that His enemies hide under and He will make it a curse to them. He will show them the depth of their darkness by removing His light.

And for the ones who trust in His word…all of His light and majesty will be reserved for them. Amen.

The Attributes of Sinful Man

Now in v. 9-11 and in v. 14, we see the attributes of sinful man.

Here is all of humanity summed up…that man conspires against the Lord.

What was the great sin of Adam and Eve? That they wanted to be equated with God. That they took of the knowledge of good and evil because of temptation. They conspired against God, they said, “We are wise” but God said, just like Paul says in Romans 1, “thinking yourself wise you became a fool.”

We saw this in the book of Daniel where God had Nebuchadnezzar walking around on all fours like the beasts of the field. Nebuchadnezzar, a great and mighty ruler was reduced to nothing…and now God is pronouncing that same judgement on the nation of Assyria and it’s ruler.

Right there in v. 11 it says the cause of the judgement is “one who plots evil agains the Lord.” That is, that this ruler, from Assyria, is plotting evil against the people of Israel and against the holy places of Judah.

Now, remember, there will come a time during the tribulation where the antiChrist will commit the abomination of desolation…but that time will only come when God will allow it.

There is no power greater than the power of God, and history has gone and will always unfold exactly as God intended it to.

The end of sinful man is found in v. 14

“your name shall be perpetuated (sown) no longer.”

The names of all kings and all powers will cease, and no one will be remembered except for Jesus Christ.

These false gods that people worship will be cut off and they will be thrown into the depths God’s judgement.

Protection of God’s People

Now, as hard and as powerful as Nahum’s preaching was, his name means “comfort”, and that’s exactly what he brings. v. 12-13 and v. 15 speak of the protection of God’s people.

God is telling His nation in v. 13, “I am going to break off his yoke from you, and break your chains.”

A yoke is the wooden crosspiece that goes over the necks of two animals and is attached to a plow. When the Bible uses it, it almost always talks about the weight or burden of sin and oppression…oh but when Jesus comes, Jesus says this in Matthew.

Matthew 11:28–30 NKJV

Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”

While the powers of the world want to bind us and place heavy burdens on our necks, forcing us to carry a load…Jesus says, “take on my yoke because my burden is light.”

It’s light because Jesus is a servant, and He serves His people…and when we walk with Jesus, He carries our burdens…and when we ask Jesus to carry them one mile, Jesus carries them two…and when we ask Jesus for a shirt because we need to be covered, He gives us His cloak too.

That is the God we serve, that is the God of comfort.

v. 15 gives us a gospel promise right here in the Old Testament…

First, that God is a God Who brings peace to those who obey Him…and that we have eternal security in Him.

Too many have tried to teach that we can fall from grace and lose our salvation…but that’s not what a God of comfort would allow His children to live with. God wants His people to live with assurance, not in doubt or fear.

What we can know because of this is that we might face the invading armies, and we might see darkness cover the lands, but we can know that we serve a God Who never breaks His promises.

II. God’s Judgement ch. 2

Now we are here in chapter 2, and after seeing God’s Goodness to His people...we see His judgement against the nations.

v. 1-4 announce the death of all worldly power.

In v. 1, God is telling them to prepare for war. The once powerful nation of Assyria is going to be captured by Babylon.

This is a recurring theme in the Old Testament, that the mighty nations believe that they are so invincible that they can “conspire” against God.

Isaiah 40:8 NKJV

The grass withers, the flower fades, But the word of our God stands forever.”

All other nations and all other thrones will cease to exists, but the throne of Jesus Christ will stand forever.

Psalm 45:6 NKJV

Your throne, O God, is forever and ever; A scepter of righteousness is the scepter of Your kingdom.

Hebrews 1:8 NKJV

But to the Son He says: “Your throne, O God, is forever and ever; A scepter of righteousness is the scepter of Your kingdom.

v. 5-10 announces the failure of worldly pride

This is a city that once repented and sought the face of God, and now they are swelled with pride.

v. 5 says, “They stumble in their walk”.

What they are doing is they are living like the end of times. They are so consumed with alcohol and gluttony, that when war comes upon them, they are easy targets for God’s instrument of judgment. This once proud and violent nation has become a nation of drunks and cowards.

v. 8 says that Nineveh was once a nation that was full and thriving, but that they are going to be drained.

v. 10 says that at the end of Hid judgment, the status of the world will be revealed, and that Nineveh will be empty, desolate, and like a wasteland.

v. 11-13 announces the demise of worldly kings.

One commentator said that Nineveh was like a hollow tree, it stood tall but was easily broken down.

The lion represents the king. Here’s what that commentator wrote.

Exalting Jesus in Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk Divine Retribution Justified (Nahum 2:11–13)

The lion is a traditional symbol for kingship throughout the Near East, but Nahum may have chosen the lion imagery for this taunt precisely because the lion figures so prominently in Assyrian reliefs and because the Assyrian kings loved to compare themselves to lions. (Nahum, 67)

v. 13 is the fruit of challenging God.

You might survive if you challenge a man, but if you challenge God, you will lose.

Many men and many kings roar like lions, but we serve a God that will shut the mouth of the lion. Amen.

III. God’s Power ch. 3

v. 1-3 highlights the violence and deception of this nation

In the book of 2 Kings 18, Hezekiah makes a deal with Assyria, only to be double crossed. When Hezekiah thought they obtained peace, the king of Assyria used lies and deceit to discourage Israel and obtain their surrender.

2 Kings 18:30–33 NKJV

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.” Has any of the gods of the nations at all delivered its land from the hand of the king of Assyria?

This was a violent city, a place that killed and plundered everything available…but now they are going to experience a gruesome violence.

v. 2 and 3 describes this, and gives a vivid imagery to the people of Nineveh exacly what is going to happen.

v. 4-7 the trap of idolatry

Here’s what Curtis writes about these verese.

Exalting Jesus in Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk The Conquest of Nineveh (Nahum 3:1–7)

God takes no pleasure in literal, spiritual, moral, or political whoredom by nations or individuals. He characterizes Assyria as an attractive prostitute and sorceress who is charming and persuasive in her appeal. Nineveh’s harlotry and witchcraft misled nations and tribes of peoples throughout the ancient Near East

There is something that God hates about flattery. What He hates so much about it is that people will manipulate others into believing that they are cared for and that they are safe, and then get taken advantage of.

There is judgement for people who are carried away by myths and fables, but there is a greater judgement for the ones that lead them astray.

These prosperity preachers, these nations that get what they want by coercion and deceit, believe that they will always get away with it…but when the judgement of God comes agains them, they are going to regret everything they did to manipulate people.

For the rest of us, there is the trap of idolatry. So many idols in our lives promise us prosperity, only to stab us right in the back. While we are getting blessings on the front end, those idols are robbing our joys day by day.

There is only one thing that brings us lasting joy and that is the presence of God.

v. 8-19 discuss the weakness of the World.

We think that we can manage ourselves, and that’s why we conspire against God.

but when God removes His hand of protection, we are weak and we are vulnerable…and when God executes judgement, there is no resistance that the world can give.

I don’t think it’s typically wise to apply these Old Testament chapters to America. We won’t see this specific judgement, but through this prophecy of Nahum we learn about the nature of God, and we learn that pride comes before the fall.

We are a nation that has experienced so much worldly prosperity that we have forgotten God. If there were to be war or famine fall on us right now, I think many of our men would be like the Assyrians and stumble to the wall to defend it.

Our leaders are lax, our congressmen seem like they don’t know anything, and our churches are anemic. Our cities and our towns are in disarray and we can’t seem to stop the relentless violence that is tearing across our nation.

Where we once had statesmen who would stand up with conviction, we have grifters who only say what’s politically convenient.

Instead of people petitioning and working for real change, all we do is use our thumbs to yell into the wind and applaud when we see others do it.

We give lip service to God when it suits us, and then we throw away biblical principles as soon as they stand in our way.

But…if you are the people of God…the thing you have to do is trust in Him…He is the God of comfort…He is the God that will preserve His people to the very end.