God Is Awesome
The 1aoracle concerning 2bNineveh the capital city of Assyria. The book of the vision of Nahum of Elkosh which he saw in spirit and prophesied.An urgent message the prophet is under compulsion to proclaim.Under the preaching of Jonah, the king of Nineveh and all its people repented (Jon 3:5). But when Nahum came to Nineveh a hundred and fifty years later, everything had changed and the people had become hopelessly wicked. God’s wrath was not to be turned away this time.Is 13:1; 19:1; Jer 23:33, 34; Hab 1:1; Zech 9:1; Mal 1:12 Kin 19:36; Jon 1:2; Nah 2:8; Zeph 2:13
2 The LORD is a ajealous and avenging God protecting and demanding what is rightfully and uniquely His;The LORD bavenges and He is full of wrath.The LORD takes cvengeance on His adversaries,And He reserves wrath for His enemies. Ex 20:5Ex 20:5; Josh 24:19Deut 32:35, 41Ps 94:13 The LORD is aslow to anger and great in powerAnd He will by no means leave the guilty unpunished.The LORD has His way in the bwhirlwind and in the storm,And the cclouds are the dust beneath His feet. Ex 34:6, 7Ex 34:6, 7; Neh 9:17; Ps 103:8Ex 19:16; Is 29:6Ps 104:3; Is 19:14 He arebukes the sea and dries it up;He dries up all the rivers illustrating His judgment.bBashan on the east and Mount Carmel on the west wither,And in the north the blossoms of Lebanon fade.Josh 3:15, 16; Ps 106:9; Is 50:2; Matt 8:26Is 33:95 The mountains aquake before HimAnd the hills bmelt away;Indeed the earth is cshaken by His presence—Yes, the dworld and all that dwell in it.Ex 19:18; 2 Sam 22:8; Ps 18:7Mic 1:4Is 24:1, 20Ps 98:76 aWho can stand before His indignation His great wrath?And who can stand up and endure the bfierceness of His anger?His cwrath is poured out like fireAnd the drocks are destroyed by Him.Jer 10:10; Mal 3:2Is 13:13Is 66:151 Kin 19:117 The LORD is agood,A strength and stronghold in the day of trouble;bHe knows He recognizes, cares for, and understands fully those who take refuge and trust in Him. Ps 1:6; Hos 13:5; John 10:14, 27Ps 25:8; 37:39, 40; Jer 33:11Ps 1:6; John 10:14; 2 Tim 2:198 But with an 1aoverwhelming flood of judgment through invading armiesHe will make a complete destruction of 2its siteAnd will pursue His enemies into bdarkness.The overwhelming flood may be understood as a metaphor describing a conquering army as well as a literal reference to a flood of water. Diodorus of Sicily refers to a legend that Nineveh could never be taken until the river became its enemy. Arbaces the Scythian had besieged the city in vain for two years, but in the third year the Khoser River washed away a considerable section of the very great wall and the invaders pushed through this opening. Nahum 2:6 refers to the devastating flood and 3:13, 15 probably to the destruction of Nineveh by fire. The vivid descriptions of ch 3 are historically accurate.The city of Nineveh was the magnificent capital of the Assyrian Empire. The great palace of Sennacherib was without rival and contained at least seventy or more rooms. The city was home to more than 120,000 residents (at least twice the size of Babylon) and had no less than fifteen gates in the wall surrounding the city. During its glory days it was probably the largest city in the known world. Built near the juncture of the Tigris River and its tributary the Khoser, it was served by an elaborate water system of eighteen canals. Nineveh had many suburbs, three of which are mentioned along with Nineveh in Gen 10:11, 12. Nineveh’s extensive ruins are located near the modern city of Mosul, Iraq.Is 28:2, 17f; Amos 8:8Is 13:9, 10
9 Whatever plot you Assyrians adevise against the LORD,He will make a bcomplete end of it;Affliction of God’s people by the hand of Assyria will not occur twice.Ps 2:1; Nah 1:11Is 28:2210 Like tangled athorn branches gathered for fuel,And like those bdrowned in drunkenness,1The people of Nineveh are cconsumed through fireLike stubble completely withered and dry in the day of the LORD’S wrath. Mal 4:1Lit They.2 Sam 23:6; Mic 7:4Is 56:12; Nah 3:11Is 5:24; 10:17; Mal 4:111 From you O Nineveh,One has gone forth who aplotted evil against the LORD,A bmalevolent 1counselor the king of Assyria. 2+@Kin 19:20-23; Is 10:5-7; 36:15-20The reference here may be to Sennacherib, who reigned over Assyria from 705-681 B.C. He led an attack on Judah (the Southern Kingdom) in 701 B.C.Is 10:7-11; Nah 1:9Ezek 11:2
12 This is what the LORD says,“Though they are at full strength and many in number,Even so, they will be acut off and pass away.Though I have afflicted you and caused you grief O Jerusalem,I will afflict you bno longer. 2+@Kin 19:35-37; John 5:14Is 10:16-19, 33, 34Lam 3:31, 32
13 “Now, I will abreak his yoke of taxation off you,And I will tear off your shackles.” Is 14:25Is 9:4; 10:27; Jer 2:20
14 The LORD has given a command concerning you O king of Nineveh:“aYour name will no longer be perpetuated.I will cut off the bcarved idols and cast imagesFrom the temple of your gods;I will prepare your cgrave,For you are vile and unworthy.” Is 37:38; Ezek 32:22, 23Job 18:17; Ps 109:13; Is 14:22Is 46:1, 2; Mic 5:13, 14Ezek 32:22, 23
15 Behold, aon the mountains the feet of him who brings good news telling of Assyria’s destruction,Who announces peace and prosperity!bCelebrate your feasts, O Judah;Perform your vows.For the wicked one the king of Assyria will cnever again pass through you;He is completely dcut off. Is 52:7; Rom 10:15Is 40:9; 52:7; Rom 10:15Lev 23:2, 4Is 52:1; Joel 3:17Is 29:7, 8