The Destruction of the Ninevites (Nahum 2:1-13)

Announcements

Let me remind you that if you haven’t paid for your t-shirts yet, we do need those payments today. Just slip your payment in the offering box in the back with your name on it so we can properly attribute your payment for your shirt. UPS told me that the shirts should arrive sometime this week, so we’ll have them for you next week on the 25th.

On August 22nd, we’re having a church outing to the Altoona Curve for their Faith Night, which starts at 6pm. It’s really just an opportunity for us to spend time together outside of church services in order to get to know each other better and to spend time in fellowship with one another. Tickets are $9 a piece and I actually have them available right now. So, if you’d like to go, come talk with me right after the service, I only have 18 tickets left and they’ll be sold on a first come, first served basis—so the sooner you come and talk to me, the better chance that you’ll be able to buy as many tickets as you need to join us for that game. Again, that’s August 22nd, and I’ll keep announcing the game until all the tickets are gone.

As part of our push for more outreach and evangelism as a church, let me encourage you to take advantage of some simple ways that you might not have thought of to get the word of the church out to those around you other than taking flyers with you everyone that you go.

Almost all of us are on social media—I personally have a Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter account. I’m not too particularly active on any of those accounts other than to occasionally share a thought, a song, or Bible verse. Some of you are for more active than I am and that’s alright, that’s your prerogative.

The church also has a Facebook account, it has a website, and a YouTube account. All of our services are shared to Facebook and YouTube as videos and then the audio is uploaded to the website.

I’m saying all this to encourage you to share what the church posts and uploads. It takes a few seconds of your time to do it, but with you sharing what the church posts, the amount of people viewing the church exponentially increases.

Share the sermons that particularly speak to you, when we have events, there’s always posts that go along with it, share those to spread the word, and hopefully that starts increasing the amount of people that know about the church.

In addition, if you’re on Google or Facebook, take some time to review the church. Both Google and Facebook have emailed me to let me know that the amount of people who visit businesses and organization increases if the business or organization is rated and reviewed. Take some time if you can to do these things.

It’s a simple way to help to do outreach for the church utilizing the social media accounts that you already have.

As always, let me remind you to continue worshiping the LORD through your giving. We give unto the LORD because he has so graciously given to us. To help you give, we have three different ways for you to do so: (1) in-person giving can be done by dropping your cash or check gift in the offering box in the back of the room. Checks should be written to Grace & Peace and if you’d like a receipt for your cash gifts, please place it in an envelope with your name on it. (2) Debit, Credit, and ACH Transfers can be done by either texting the number 84321 with your $[amount] and following the text prompts or by (3) visiting us at graceandpeacepa.com and selecting “Giving” in the menu bar. Everything you give goes to the building up of this local church and the spread of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Prayer of Repentance and Adoration

Call to Worship

Our Call to Worship is Psalm 23, which is probably a familiar psalm for most of you. It is a psalm of David written as David reflects on the relationship that he has with the LORD. He reflects on how the LORD provides for him, leads him, and restores him. He writes about how the LORD protects him and cares for him even in times of great distress in life. And he closes the psalm by reflecting on the goodness and mercy that he receives from the LORD and with a declaration of commitment to dwelling in the house of the LORD. Please stand and responsively read Psalm 23 with me—I’ll read the odd-numbered verses, please join me in reading the even-numbered verses.

Psalm 23 ESV

A Psalm of David. 1 The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. 2 He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. 3 He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake. 4 Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. 5 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. 6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

Congregational Singing

Behold Our God

To the Praise of His Glorious Grace

Afflicted Saint to Christ Draw Near

Scripture Reading

Our Scripture Reading this morning is from 1 Peter 1. It is part of a short letter written by Peter to believers who have been scattered throughout the land probably due to persecution. It’s a little bit long of a passage, but it ties into our sermon for this morning in its statement to those who truly believe. Those that truly believe in Jesus Christ have been granted salvation by the Father through Christ and because of that salvation, there is assurance of what is to come in the next life.

Let’s read together 1 Peter 1.

1 Peter 1 ESV

1 Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, To those who are elect exiles of the Dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, 2 according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, in the sanctification of the Spirit, for obedience to Jesus Christ and for sprinkling with his blood: May grace and peace be multiplied to you. 3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, 5 who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. 6 In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, 7 so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. 8 Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, 9 obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls. 10 Concerning this salvation, the prophets who prophesied about the grace that was to be yours searched and inquired carefully, 11 inquiring what person or time the Spirit of Christ in them was indicating when he predicted the sufferings of Christ and the subsequent glories. 12 It was revealed to them that they were serving not themselves but you, in the things that have now been announced to you through those who preached the good news to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven, things into which angels long to look. 13 Therefore, preparing your minds for action, and being sober-minded, set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. 14 As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance, 15 but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, 16 since it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.” 17 And if you call on him as Father who judges impartially according to each one’s deeds, conduct yourselves with fear throughout the time of your exile, 18 knowing that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, 19 but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot. 20 He was foreknown before the foundation of the world but was made manifest in the last times for the sake of you 21 who through him are believers in God, who raised him from the dead and gave him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God. 22 Having purified your souls by your obedience to the truth for a sincere brotherly love, love one another earnestly from a pure heart, 23 since you have been born again, not of perishable seed but of imperishable, through the living and abiding word of God; 24 for “All flesh is like grass and all its glory like the flower of grass. The grass withers, and the flower falls, 25 but the word of the Lord remains forever.” And this word is the good news that was preached to you.

Sermon

Introduction

As we jump into Scripture this morning, let me take a brief moment to refresh your memories as to where we are in the book of Nahum. As you know, last week, we took a break from Nahum to hear from our missionaries Michael and Jessica Dunlop. Prior to that short break, we had been working through a series title Nineveh, which is a study through the two Old Testament prophetic books concerning the city of Nineveh and ultimately the nation of Assyria. We worked through Jonah first, because Jonah is chronologically the first book that was written and the first set of events to happen. And as we studied Jonah, we followed a prophet that was disobedient because of his hatred of the Assyrians, who actually ran the opposite direction from Assyria in an effort to not obey God.

We see him completely disobey God and God utilize a series of events to get Jonah to obey, but when he gets to Nineveh, his message to the Ninevites is a bit lackluster. Instead of explaining what God is planning to do in the form of judgment and expressing the fact that all they need to do is repent from their wickedness and God would save them—all he tells them is that in 40 days, Nineveh will be destroyed.Nevertheless, that brief message is utilized by God to bring the Ninevites to repentance.

One hundred years later, it is clear that the Ninevites returned to their wicked ways because Nahum writes his book, his oracle, or his proclamation against Nineveh. And three weeks ago, we started working our way, verse-by-verse and thought-by-thought through the proclamation against the Ninevites.

Nahum starts his book by describing God, that God is jealous and avenging, that he has great wrath against his enemies and that due to his just nature, he cannot ignore sin. Nahum describes God as the one who dries up the seas and rivers, who can wither the fertile areas, and cause the mountains to quake before him. And yet, even after describing God in a way that’s actually fairly terrifying, he says that “the LORD is good, a stronghold in the day of trouble; he knows those who take refuge in him.” Or in other words, the wrath that Nahum described is only on those who refuse to take refuge in him, it’s for those who continue in their wickedness, which is precisely what the Ninevites were doing.

That’s essentially where we are right now in the text. That God is about to judge Nineveh because they returned to their wicked ways. In Chapter 2:1-13, which is our text for this morning, we get a description of what this destruction will be like, but we also get a description of how God treats his own people. So, for the wicked, we see destruction, but for those who trust in the LORD, we see restoration. There are two main themes that run concurrently through this text and I want us to be clear on these themes because they are the primary points that we need to understand from Nahum 2. Let me tell you what those themes are, we’ll read the text, I’ll explain how we’ll break it down, and then we’ll jump into Scripture.

The two themes in Nahum 2 that concurrently run through the text are these: (1) God utterly opposes the wicked, but (2) he restores his own people. Keep this in mind as we read Nahum 2:1-13.

Nahum 2:1–13 ESV

1 The scatterer has come up against you. Man the ramparts; watch the road; dress for battle; collect all your strength. 2 For the Lord is restoring the majesty of Jacob as the majesty of Israel, for plunderers have plundered them and ruined their branches. 3 The shield of his mighty men is red; his soldiers are clothed in scarlet. The chariots come with flashing metal on the day he musters them; the cypress spears are brandished. 4 The chariots race madly through the streets; they rush to and fro through the squares; they gleam like torches; they dart like lightning. 5 He remembers his officers; they stumble as they go, they hasten to the wall; the siege tower is set up. 6 The river gates are opened; the palace melts away; 7 its mistress is stripped; she is carried off, her slave girls lamenting, moaning like doves and beating their breasts. 8 Nineveh is like a pool whose waters run away. “Halt! Halt!” they cry, but none turns back. 9 Plunder the silver, plunder the gold! There is no end of the treasure or of the wealth of all precious things. 10 Desolate! Desolation and ruin! Hearts melt and knees tremble; anguish is in all loins; all faces grow pale! 11 Where is the lions’ den, the feeding place of the young lions, where the lion and lioness went, where his cubs were, with none to disturb? 12 The lion tore enough for his cubs and strangled prey for his lionesses; he filled his caves with prey and his dens with torn flesh. 13 Behold, I am against you, declares the Lord of hosts, and I will burn your chariots in smoke, and the sword shall devour your young lions. I will cut off your prey from the earth, and the voice of your messengers shall no longer be heard.

As we study this passage together, we’re going to break it down into three parts: (1) Vs. 1-2, is Nahum telling both Nineveh and Israel to be prepared for the ensuing battle. For the Ninevites, he tells them that God has come against them, but for the Israelites, he tells them that the LORD is doing this to restore Jacob and Israel. This first section is Preparation for Battle. (2) The second section describes the incoming battle and the war that’s coming against Nineveh Vs. 3-9 describes what is to happen to the Ninevites in the ensuing war. And (3) Vs. 10-13, the Result of God’s Opposition towards the Ninevites will close this chapter by describing the result of the battle and ultimately tells the Ninevites that the reason for their destruction is because God opposed their wickedness.

Prayer for the Illumination of the Holy Spirit

Preparation for Battle (1-2)

Nahum starts chapter two by taking the information that he’s given us concerning the LORD and who God is and expressing what this all-powerful, all-sovereign God plans to do. And remember, we’ve already gotten a taste of what God plans to do to the Ninevites in Chapter 1:14, “The LORD has given commandment about you: No more shall your name be perpetuated; from the house of your gods I will cut off the carved image and the metal image. I will make your grave, for you are vile.”

What Nahum is doing in Chapter 2, is that he’s describing what this destruction is going to look like, starting with informing the Ninevites to be prepared for what is coming. Vs. 1, “The scatterer has come up against you. Man the ramparts; watch the road; dress for battle; collect all your strength.”

The Bible speaks of one who scatters coming against the Ninevites. We know from historical data, that this event happens a few years after the writing of Nahum, and we know that it is done by a coalition of the countries that surrounded Assyria, particularly the Medes and the Babylonians.

But ultimately, we know that it is the LORD who is utilizing the Babylonians and Medes to judge the Ninevites.

In a sense, this warning for the Ninevites to be prepared is satirical because the destruction is coming regardless of if they prepare for it or not.

The Medes and the Babylonians are coming up against you, but ultimately it is the LORD who is coming against you.

Thus, “man the ramparts; watch the road; dress for battle; collect all your strength.”

Each one of these statements reflect how rapid the Ninevites needed to move to defend their city.

Ramparts were fortresses that were utilized as defensive mechanisms during times of war, watching the road had to do with diligently checking to see who was coming towards the city, dressing for battle is the idea of bracing both mentally and physically for the battle, and collecting all their strength would involve pulling back their military into defensive positions.

They needed to do each of these things quickly, because the “scatterer has come up against [them].”

Again, this warning is a bit satirical because Nahum knows that destruction is coming to them regardless of their efforts to defend itself, because God himself in Nahum 1:15, says that their nation will be utterly cut off.

Nahum 2:1, starts off with an ominous warning for the Ninevites to prepare for what is to come, despite the fact that God has already told them that they will not survive the impending judgment, Nahum 1:14, “No more shall your name be perpetuated.”

As I’ve mentioned before, the author of Hebrews writes that “It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.” And that’s precisely what is about to happen to the Ninevites. However, Vs. 2, shifts the focus just briefly, to the Israelites before continuing in the discussion with a description of the impending battle.

Vs. 2, gives a brief respite, for the purpose of providing comfort to the Israelites and compelling them to praise and worship Yahweh. The Ninevites are about to face destruction and they need to be prepared for that destruction, but what does God say concerning the Israelites? Vs 2, “For the LORD is restoring the majesty of Jacob as the majesty of Israel, for plunderers have plundered them and ruined their branches.”

There’s a big contrast here between the coming destruction for the Ninevites and the coming restoration of Jacob and Israel.

Whereas the Ninevites are about to face judgment, the Israelites will be restored to their former majesty and Israel will experience this restoration because the Ninevites are facing judgment. In other words, it is the judgment of the Ninevites that will bring about the restoration of Judah and Israel.

Remember with me that prior to the Assyrians coming and oppressing the Israelites, the Jewish nation was unified as one nation in splendor. As a united kingdom, they had seen prosperity under the rule of kings like David and Solomon, but as the nation splintered, the Northern Kingdom was a vassal to Assyria and the Southern Kingdom was little more than small villages weary of Assyria.

The Israelites had suffered tremendous loss mostly due to their own disobedience of God, but the Assyrians were the people group utilized by God to capture Israel’s attention.

The Israelites had experienced such great oppression, but those that are oppressing them are about to be judged, which means that Israel is about to be restored.

One thing of note is the confidence that Nahum has in the restoration of Israel. The word that’s translated as “restoring” is in the prophetic perfect tense, which is a grammatical form that the prophets utilized frequently to show that they were confident that this will actually happen.

Nahum writes these words in such a way that he was confident that God would actually do this, though at that particular time, the Israelites probably didn’t see it that way.

In a time when they’re oppressed and in great distress, they could be tempted to wallow in their distress, but Nahum tells them that the LORD is going to restore them and he’s so confident that it’s going to happen, that he essentially writes that it has already happened—which sounds very much like the prophecies concerning Jesus’ eventual return in the book of Revelation.

That even in our modern-day world, when we’re facing oppression and great distress, we can have confidence that Jesus will return, but that’s a sermon for another time.

Because there is such confidence that the LORD is about to restore Israel, it’s very similar to Nahum’s exhortation to Israel in Chapter 1:15, “Keep your feasts, O Judah; fulfill your vows, for never again shall the worthless pass through you; he is utterly cut off.”

Because God is going to restore your nation and because we know that God will surely do this, get back to your regular life, get back to worshiping Yahweh, get back to praising the LORD.

Because we know that God will surely do this, you have cause to celebrate, you have cause to worship, you have cause to praise, and you can have hope.

Nahum writes a warning for the Ninevites to prepare for impending judgment and destruction. He then tells them that part of the result of this destruction is the restoration of Jacob and Israel who were plundered by the Assyrians. This juxtaposes the Assyrians and the Israelites that makes it clear that God utterly opposes the wicked, but restores his own people. And then Nahum transitions back to describing what this impending battle is going to be like. Re-read with me Vs. 3-9.

The Description of the Battle (3-9)

Nahum 2:3–9 ESV

3 The shield of his mighty men is red; his soldiers are clothed in scarlet. The chariots come with flashing metal on the day he musters them; the cypress spears are brandished. 4 The chariots race madly through the streets; they rush to and fro through the squares; they gleam like torches; they dart like lightning. 5 He remembers his officers; they stumble as they go, they hasten to the wall; the siege tower is set up. 6 The river gates are opened; the palace melts away; 7 its mistress is stripped; she is carried off, her slave girls lamenting, moaning like doves and beating their breasts. 8 Nineveh is like a pool whose waters run away. “Halt! Halt!” they cry, but none turns back. 9 Plunder the silver, plunder the gold! There is no end of the treasure or of the wealth of all precious things.

Nahum begins to describe the attack that’s about to happen and he starts this by describing the attackers themselves in Vs. 3-5.

He talks of the soldiers and the shields being red and clothed in scarlet. He speaks of chariots with spearmen on them and how the chariots race throughout the streets.

And the imagery utilized throughout the text is that of overwhelming force against the Ninevites. The way that Nahum describes the attack is that the attackers are attacking with such force and haste that the Ninevites are caught in almost like a storm of destruction.

Remember all the way back to Nahum 1 in which the LORD makes a point to claim that he will pursue his enemies like an overwhelming flood. That’s essentially what is happening in Nahum 2:3-9, the Ninevites are being pursued by an overwhelming flood of destruction.

Vs. 5, describes the terror that compelled the Ninevites to try and fortify their walls and protect the city, “He remembers his officers; they stumble as they go, they hasten to the wall; the siege tower is set up.”

Despite being warned in Nahum 2:1, to prepare for the battle, it’s clear that the Ninevites didn’t prepare. The “he” referred to here is probably the Assyrian king as he tries to muster up his soldiers to reach the wall.

In their haste, they trip and stumble, but they do get to the wall in order to set up what the ESV calls the “siege tower.”—we’re not entirely sure what the Bible means by a “siege tower,” but we do know that it was some sort of defensive shield to protect the people manning the wall and the people of the city from incoming arrows and debris.

The point being, that this attack was unexpected and the Ninevites were rushing to protect themselves.

That’s the beginning of the attack on Nineveh, in vs. 6, we’re then told of “The river gates [being] opened; the palace melts away; its mistress is stripped; she is carried off, her slave girls lamenting, moaning like doves and beating their breasts. Nineveh is like a pool whose waters run away.”

There’s a lot being said in Vs. 6-8, but they all stem around the phrase “The river gates are opened.” Archeology has revealed that outside of the city itself, there were two dams that held back the river that flowed into Nineveh. These dams were built by Sennacherib for the primary purpose of controlling the water flow, but also resulted in massive reservoir much like the dams at Prince Gallitzen, Black Moshannon, or Raystown Lake.

The theory is that prior to the start of the siege against Nineveh, the attackers completely closed the flow of water to the city, which is actually what most militaries would do to possibly starve out and dehydrate the city.

And when the reservoir filled completely, they threw open the gates and the floodwaters engulfed the city.

Considering this, the following description of the palace makes sense, “the palace melts away,” because the palace was literally ripped apart by the floodwaters.

And of course, with the city devastatingly flooded and the enemy destroying everything that remains, all that’s left are the people themselves and the gold, silver, and treasure left in the storehouses.

Vs 7, “Its mistress is stripped; she is carried off, her slave girls lamenting, moaning like doves and beating their breasts.” is a poetic way of saying that Nineveh’s destiny was decreed by God. That destiny is that just like the Assyrians did to other nations, so would be done to them.

The Assyrians had a long history of conquering other nations and kidnapping the people and turning them into slaves, Vs. 7, tells us that exact scenario is about to happen to them.

And Vs. 7, tells us that this destruction was decreed by God. Even though God did not do the destruction like he did so in cities like Sodom and Gomorrah, ultimately this destruction was ordained by God for the purpose of carrying out his righteous and just judgment against the sins of the nation of Nineveh.

There is a sense of a poetic irony or poetic justice in all that is happening to Nineveh in Nahum 2. Nineveh surely deserved this judgment because of their extreme wickedness and violent behavior.

And in many ways, what is happening to Nineveh is a result of them doing the exact same things to those around them.

Paul’s warning in Galatians 6:7-8 is exactly what is happening to Nineveh in Nahum 2, “Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption.”

Vs. 8 utilizes the imagery of a reservoir or pool to describe the people of Nineveh running and escaping from the city. “Nineveh is like a pool [or reservoir] whose waters run away. ‘Halt! Halt!’ they cry, but none turns back.”

Elliott Johnson, “With their city flooded, the Ninevites would flee, leaving their possessions behind. The word pool . . . aptly describes Nineveh as an inundated area. The people, like water flowing out of a tank, would flee rapidly from the city. As they would leave in panic, some would shout for them to stop . . . but no one would turn back.”

The people running from the city that’s being destroyed gives a good impression of how quickly the destruction took place, the extent of the destruction, and the terror that the people would have felt.

I’d imagine it would be similar to the feeling that one would have if they were caught in a building fire, or in the case of those who live in other countries, when they realized that their home or their town or city was no longer safe. To keep with the flood imagery, I’d imagine that this would be the same feeling people in Japan or on many other Pacific Islands would feel as a tsunami would flood their homes and afterward seeing the devastation that remained in its place.

With the palace destroyed, the city flooded, and the people fleeing away from the city; Nahum encourages the victorious attackers to gather the spoils of the war.

For many years, in fact centuries, Nineveh and Assyria amassed a huge fortune by taking it from the nations that it conquered. Assyria would take regular tribute from its conquered nations, and from its vast network of trade, they amassed huge amounts of gold, silver, and other precious things.

And just like Assyria would do to the nations it conquered, so it would be done to them. Their huge fortune of gold, silver, and other precious things would be taken by the nation that conquered them.

Nahum has warned the Ninevites of the impending battle while simultaneously giving hope to the Israelites. Nahum describes the incoming attackers and explains that this attack will be unexpected, overwhelming, and utterly devastating—so much so, that whomever remains runs from the flooded, torn apart city ignoring those that are shouting for them to stop. But Nahum isn’t done describing the extent of this destruction. No, he takes the last four verses to give us the result of God’s opposition towards the Ninevites. Re-read with me Nahum 2:10-13.

The Result of God’s Opposition towards the Ninevites (10-13)

Nahum 2:10–13 ESV

10 Desolate! Desolation and ruin! Hearts melt and knees tremble; anguish is in all loins; all faces grow pale! 11 Where is the lions’ den, the feeding place of the young lions, where the lion and lioness went, where his cubs were, with none to disturb? 12 The lion tore enough for his cubs and strangled prey for his lionesses; he filled his caves with prey and his dens with torn flesh. 13 Behold, I am against you, declares the Lord of hosts, and I will burn your chariots in smoke, and the sword shall devour your young lions. I will cut off your prey from the earth, and the voice of your messengers shall no longer be heard.

Nahum utilizes a Hebrew wordplay to emphasize and drive home the certainty of what is about to happen to Nineveh. Remember that this is all prophetic, which means that Nahum is recording all of this information ahead of time, but in the first three words in Vs. 10, he utilizes Hebrew words that all sound very similar with similar meaning with the intent of emphasizing not just the destruction itself but the surety of the destruction.

“Desolate! Desolation and ruin!” are the three words that Nahum utilizes to describe the utter destruction of Nineveh, and even in our English translations, you can see how related the words are.

The ESV says “Desolate! Desolation and ruin!”

The NASB says, “She is emptied! Yes, she is desolate and waste!”

The KJV says, “She is empty, and void, and waste.”

Some translations say that Nineveh is pillaged, plundered, stripped, desolate, decimated, and devastated.

I think you get the point that Nahum is driving at, this once proud city of Nineveh was utterly ruined.

And the people are just as devastated as the city is. “Hearts melt and knees tremble; anguish is in all loins; all faces grow pale.” For those of us that are old enough to remember September 11th, it was a day of utter terror as the United States was attacked by Islamic Terrorists.

Now, I don’t know where any of you were that day and I don’t know if any of you were able to watch the towers burn and collapse in real-time, but I’m sure that the feeling that you experienced was probably similar to my feeling as I watched the news in class in real-time.

That feeling of your heart sort of being wrenched out, the knots in your stomach, and the fear of what was to come next. The fear, terror, and sense of loss was so great that it could make you sick to your stomach and pale in the face.

Now, put yourself in the shoes of the Ninevites who lived in a huge city in an empire that was humanly the strongest empire in the world. The devastation that the Ninevites experienced that day prior to that point in time, probably would have never crossed their mind, just like the devastation that the United States experienced during September 11th, would have never crossed any of our minds prior to that point.

Richard Patterson and Kenneth Barker, “Nahum’s pictorial language vividly describes the fear of the people of Nineveh. ‘The sight would send such a shudder through the strongest people that uncontrollable trembling would seize the entire body and their faces blanch. The portrayal is one of abject terror, painted again in synecdoche and picturesque brevity: melting hearts, knee knocking together, bodies writhing, faces made colorless with frith.’ Nineveh’s reign of terror would end. In Nineveh the people faint before the sure end of Assyria’s dominance.”

Nahum responds to the future destruction of Nineveh, which again, he is confident will happen, with what is essentially a taunt. Nahum responds to the future destruction of Nineveh with a rhetorical question that, because of his confidence in the LORD actually doing these things, implied that the capital no longer existed. Vs. 11-12, “Where is the lions’ den, the feeding place of the young lions, where the lion and lioness went, where his cubs were, with none to disturb? The lion tore enough for his cubs and strangled prey for his lionesses; he filled his caves with prey and his dens with torn flesh.”

Nahum utilizes an illustration of Assyria being like a lions’ den and the illustration is fitting because just like a lion would hunt for its prey, so did Assyria.

It’s particularly fitting because the Assyrians had a habit of comparing themselves to lions and utilizing lions in their sculptures, records, and even in their own religion. Ishtar, the Assyrian goddess, was often depicted as a lioness or as one mounted on a lion’s back.

Elliott Johnson, “Like a lion hunting . . . Assyria had plundered other nations. . . And the kings likened their own ferocity and fearlessness to that of lions. For example, Sennacherib boasted of his military fury by saying, ‘Like a lion I raged.’ Lions were frequently pictured in Assyrian reliefs and decorations.”

But Vs. 11-12 of Nahum speaks of the lions’ den being empty. No longer would there be lions, young lions, cubs, or the bodies of their prey.

Nahum essentially taunts the Ninevites ahead of their destruction, it’s similar to that phrase that we sometimes utilize, “oh how the mighty have fallen.”

The once mighty, seemingly all-powerful Assyria, with its capital city of Nineveh, though it’s still in power now (at the time of Nahum’s writings), will soon face the consequences and judgments for their sins.

Nahum closes off this chapter with one final statement in Vs. 13. This statement is different from the rest of the chapter in that this is a proclamation or declaration directly from God. It is a statement that not only speaks of the impending war with the Babylonians and the Medes, but it makes it clear that this incoming attack is being utilized by God for their judgment. Vs. 13, “Behold, I am against you, declares the LORD of hosts, and I will burn your chariots in smoke, and the sword shall devour your young lions. I will cut off your prey from the earth, and the voice of your messengers shall no longer be heard.”

That first statement that God makes is ominous and it is forceful—it is not a statement that you want to be on the receiving end of.

I keep bringing up a verses from Hebrews 10:31, which says, “It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God” and that is precisely what’s happening to the Ninevites.

The Ninevites, in their wickedness are falling into the hands of God. Jonathan Edwards in his sermon “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God” makes the statement, “The wrath of God is like great waters that are restrained for the present; but they increase more and more, and rise higher and higher, till an outlet is given; and the longer the stream is stopped the more rapid and might is its course when once it is let loose.”

Nahum is prophesying that great wrath coming against the Ninevites.

And God himself makes the claim that he is against them.

It is of note, that everything else that the LORD declares against the Ninevites until the end of the chapter, utilizes military terminology and military imagery to get his point across. Starting with the name that he utilizes for himself, “The LORD of hosts,” and the explanation of the chariots being burned and the sword coming against their young.” Even the last statement concerning their messengers has a military bent to it, though it doesn’t necessarily have to be considered in a military sense.

This is of note, because it reminds the Israelites, it reminds the Assyrians, and it reminds us that even though the Babylonians and the Medes are the ones actually attacking Nineveh, God is the one actually judging Nineveh.

The name that God utilizes for himself, “The LORD of hosts” is the concept that Yahweh is in charge of all the armies of the angels.

The imagery that’s utilized concerning the sword coming against their young lions ties back to the imagery Nahum utilizes of Assyria being an empty lions’ den.

The phrase, “I will cut off your prey from the earth” doesn’t mean that the LORD is cutting off the prey itself, it means that God is going to stop Assyria from preying against the other nations

And the idea of “the voice of [their] messengers” no longer being heard, concerns the fact that Nineveh and the king would no longer be able to send messengers or heralds to demand the submission of the nations around them, or to take tribute from the nations around them, or in the case of 2 Kings 19; their messengers will no longer be able to blaspheme against God.

The result of God’s opposition towards the Ninevites and their wickedness is quite clear. God utterly opposes the wicked and thus God utterly destroys the Ninevites.

Now there’s one other issue that I want to discuss just briefly before we jump into application because it concerns Chapter 2 of Nahum. If you do research on the book of Nahum, you’ll find that there is a big disagreement from biblical scholars concerning the date that the book itself was written.

Many liberal scholars have taken the information from Chapter 2 and have determined that Nahum couldn’t have been written before the war between Babylon and Assyria because the details are too correct.

So, let me answer that objection with two points before we jump into application:

Firstly, one of the points of prophecy in the Bible is to show what the LORD was planning to do later. Thus, we have prophecies about the coming Messiah in the Old Testament that are fulfilled by Jesus when he is born in Bethlehem and are continued to be fulfilled throughout his life even leading up to his death, burial and resurrection. Prophecy in the Bible has a tendency to reveal details that later on are proven to be correct. That is one of prophecy’s goals.

Secondly, the reason why liberal scholars have such a hard time believing that Nahum could have been written before the war between the Assyrians and the Babylonians is because they refuse to believe that God breathed-out the words of Scripture, so they refuse to believe that the Holy Spirit superintended Nahum’s writing of this book.

Now, if you’re coming from a believing perspective, you’ve just heard me make those explanations and you’re thinking, “well, yes. That makes complete sense,” but I do want you to be aware that there are more liberal scholars who believe that Chapter 2 is too specific about details and too right about those details to have actually been written as a prophecy concerning Nineveh. And I want you to be aware that that mindset, really has no merit:

This is a prophetic writing, one of the main points is to declare what is about to happen, thus the details should be correct.

And if you believe in the inspiration of the Old and New Testaments, why couldn’t Nahum have written this book prior to the war? It makes sense if you believe that the Holy Spirit utilized Nahum to write these words down, which most conservative scholars agree that he did.

Now, let’s take the last few minutes to take a look at some specific application in order to apply this passage to our lives today. I think because of the overarching themes that are running concurrently through the text, the best way to understand our application is to remind ourselves of those themes before working through the text. Remember that the two primary themes through this verse are: (1) God utterly opposes the wicked, but (2) he restores his own people.

Application

Let’s combine the first two sections: Preparation for Battle (1-2) and The Description of the Battle (3-9)—This is the first time that we actually see those two themes in this particular text. Vs. 1, is a statement against the Ninevites who, remember, were known for their wickedness and violence to essentially prepare for battle. Vs. 2, is a statement for the Israelites, that God is restoring the majesty of Israel despite their past difficulties. And then Vs. 3-9, describes the incoming battle, the attackers, and the utter destruction that is coming for the Ninevites. Our application for this section is identical to what Judah and Israel’s application for this section is and it’s actually very similar to our application from Nahum 1:9-15:

The nation of Israel during Nahum’s time lived in a world in which the wicked seemed to prosper. The Ninevites were blatantly wicked and violent and yet they seemed to have all the power, all the wealth, and all the prosperity.

In a similar manner, we live in a world in which it always seems like those who are wicked and do evil prosper—we have CEOs of massive corporations who openly admit to lying, cheating, and scamming and yet, they have huge yachts and million dollar homes.

We have politicians, leaders, and diplomats who are clearly living lives of sin and yet they hold positions of honor and respect, with incomes much greater than most of us, and the ability to travel and enjoy all that this world offers.

And at the same time, we live in a world in which those who do believe in God and try to live their lives according to Scripture, who try to please the LORD with their lives, struggle, barely make ends meet, and find themselves in great suffering.

It can be disheartening and it can be discouraging, but while we aren’t the nation of Israel, the statement that God makes in Vs. 2, “For the LORD is restoring the majesty of Israel” also applies to us.

Regardless of the suffering that you might experience on this side of eternity, regardless of your prosperity or lack thereof, regardless if you can’t make ends meet this week, if you’re a believer in Jesus Christ, Jesus has promised you restoration in a spiritual sense and in an eternal sense.

Spiritually, at the moment of your salvation, you are made alive in Jesus Christ—your sin prior to salvation killed you and you were spiritually dead, but after salvation, you have been made alive.

Spiritually, after your body can no longer live, your soul will continue to live with Jesus Christ as a soul that has been made new in him.

So the application is this: don’t be envious of the perceived prosperity of the wicked. Live with the knowledge that your reward is in heaven because you’ve been spiritually made new in Jesus Christ.

Don’t envy the wicked; look to your future hope in Jesus Christ.

The Result of God’s Opposition towards the Ninevites (10-13)—the final four verses gives us the result of God’s opposition towards the Ninevites and really what it shows is the repercussions of refusing to repent from sins and believe in God. One hundred years prior to this point in Nahum, God had warned the Ninevites in Jonah to repent from their wickedness and they actually did, but they clearly didn’t continue in the pattern of repentance from sin and belief in God because Nahum shows us that they were just as wicked as before. There’s two application points that I want to make from this section:

The utter destruction that Nineveh is facing in Nahum 2, is the same utter destruction that awaits anyone who refuses to repent from their sins and call on the name of Jesus Christ.

Thus, if you aren’t a believer in Jesus, you’re facing eternal judgment because of your sins, but God made a way for you to be freed from your sins and for you to have a relationship with him through his son, Jesus Christ.

God sent his son to live a perfect, sinless life in order for him to become a substitutionary atonement for you on the cross—he was crucified, he died, was buried and was resurrected and if you believe in your heart that God raised Jesus from the dead and call on his name, you can be saved from that eternal judgment.

You simply have to repent from your sins and call on Jesus Christ as your Savior.

Application 1, if you have yet to do this, God calls us all to repentance, but you need to choose to repent and believe. Nahum 2:10-13, shows you a glimpse of what awaits you if you don’t, repent and believe.

Application 2, is for those who already believe, one of the issues that Israel had with Assyria was that Assyria oppressed the Israelites. The Israelites dealt with that oppression for several hundred years before the LORD of hosts took care of the problem once and for all.

The application for you is simple—in times when you experience frustration, when you struggle, when you have difficulties in life, when you’re being oppressed by other people: remind yourself that your God is the LORD of hosts. Your God is all-powerful, all-knowing, all-seeing and he loves you. He is your God and you are his.

In times of great struggle, remind yourself of who God is and then seek refuge in him.

Put simply, Nahum 2 teaches us to: (1) not envy the perceived prosperity of those who are wicked, but live with the knowledge that our reward is in heaven, (2) it teaches us that God takes sin and wickedness seriously—so we need to repent from sins and wickedness, and (3) it teaches us that in times of great distress in our lives, we need to remind ourselves that God is the LORD of hosts and we need to seek refuge in him.

Put another way--God utterly opposes the wicked, but he always remembers and restores his people.

Pastoral Prayer

Congregational Singing

I Will Glory in My Redeemer