seekeroftruth
Well-Known Member
Nahum 1:1 A prophecy concerning Nineveh. The book of the vision of Nahum the Elkoshite.
2 The Lord is a jealous and avenging God;
the Lord takes vengeance and is filled with wrath.
The Lord takes vengeance on his foes
and vents his wrath against his enemies.
3 The Lord is slow to anger but great in power;
the Lord will not leave the guilty unpunished.
His way is in the whirlwind and the storm,
and clouds are the dust of his feet.
4 He rebukes the sea and dries it up;
he makes all the rivers run dry.
Bashan and Carmel wither
and the blossoms of Lebanon fade.
5 The mountains quake before him
and the hills melt away.
The earth trembles at his presence,
the world and all who live in it.
6 Who can withstand his indignation?
Who can endure his fierce anger?
His wrath is poured out like fire;
the rocks are shattered before him.
the Lord takes vengeance and is filled with wrath.
The Lord takes vengeance on his foes
and vents his wrath against his enemies.
3 The Lord is slow to anger but great in power;
the Lord will not leave the guilty unpunished.
His way is in the whirlwind and the storm,
and clouds are the dust of his feet.
4 He rebukes the sea and dries it up;
he makes all the rivers run dry.
Bashan and Carmel wither
and the blossoms of Lebanon fade.
5 The mountains quake before him
and the hills melt away.
The earth trembles at his presence,
the world and all who live in it.
6 Who can withstand his indignation?
Who can endure his fierce anger?
His wrath is poured out like fire;
the rocks are shattered before him.
7 The Lord is good,
a refuge in times of trouble.
He cares for those who trust in him,
8 but with an overwhelming flood
he will make an end of Nineveh;
he will pursue his foes into the realm of darkness.
a refuge in times of trouble.
He cares for those who trust in him,
8 but with an overwhelming flood
he will make an end of Nineveh;
he will pursue his foes into the realm of darkness.
9 Whatever they plot against the Lord
he will bring[a] to an end;
trouble will not come a second time.
10 They will be entangled among thorns
and drunk from their wine;
they will be consumed like dry stubble.[b]
11 From you, Nineveh, has one come forth
who plots evil against the Lord
and devises wicked plans.
he will bring[a] to an end;
trouble will not come a second time.
10 They will be entangled among thorns
and drunk from their wine;
they will be consumed like dry stubble.[b]
11 From you, Nineveh, has one come forth
who plots evil against the Lord
and devises wicked plans.
12 This is what the Lord says:
“Although they have allies and are numerous,
they will be destroyed and pass away.
Although I have afflicted you, Judah,
I will afflict you no more.
13 Now I will break their yoke from your neck
and tear your shackles away.”
they will be destroyed and pass away.
Although I have afflicted you, Judah,
I will afflict you no more.
13 Now I will break their yoke from your neck
and tear your shackles away.”
14 The Lord has given a command concerning you, Nineveh:
“You will have no descendants to bear your name.
I will destroy the images and idols
that are in the temple of your gods.
I will prepare your grave,
for you are vile.”
“You will have no descendants to bear your name.
I will destroy the images and idols
that are in the temple of your gods.
I will prepare your grave,
for you are vile.”
15 Look, there on the mountains,
the feet of one who brings good news,
who proclaims peace!
Celebrate your festivals, Judah,
and fulfill your vows.
No more will the wicked invade you;
they will be completely destroyed.[c]
the feet of one who brings good news,
who proclaims peace!
Celebrate your festivals, Judah,
and fulfill your vows.
No more will the wicked invade you;
they will be completely destroyed.[c]
a. Nahum 1:9 Or What do you foes plot against the Lord? / He will bring it
b. Nahum 1:10 The meaning of the Hebrew for this verse is uncertain.
c. Nahum 1:15 In Hebrew texts this verse (1:15) is numbered 2:1.
The easy English site puts Nineveh in Assyria.... the capital.
Assyria was a country to the north and east of Israel. For many years, when Nahum, Habakkuk and Zephaniah lived, it ruled most of the world. In 722 B.C., Assyria defeated Israel. B.C. means ‘years Before Christ came to the earth’. Israel was a country where 10 of the tribes (or very large families) of the Jews lived. Judah was a country to the south of Israel. It had two tribes in it. They were Judah and Benjamin. Jerusalem was the capital of Judah.
Soldiers from Assyria defeated Israel’s people. They took the people from Israel away to Assyria. They did not take away the people from Judah. But soon after, they made Judah’s people obey Assyria. Sargon the Second and Sennacherib were kings of Assyria. They made Judah pay taxes to Assyria. After that, Judah’s people were not really free. They were the servants of Assyria.
The people who lived in Assyria were very cruel. Graham Scroggie tells us some of the things that they did. (He tells us in his book, The Unfolding Drama of Redemption.) They threw away the bodies of soldiers as if they were rubbish. They made big piles of human heads. They burnt the sons and daughters of their enemies. They burnt their cities. They killed so many people that the ground was red with blood. They stuck men on to poles that had sharp points. They scattered dead bodies on the mountains and in the rivers. The rivers could not flow! They cut the hands from kings. And they fixed them to walls with nails. They left their bodies for animals to eat. They did many other nasty things also.
After about 750 B.C., Nineveh became the capital of Assyria. It was on the east side of the River Tigris. There was a wall round it nearly 100 kilometres long. The wall was nearly 40 metres high. The wall was wide enough for three horses and their chariots to drive together on it. A chariot was a special cart that soldiers rode in. Horses pulled them. 600 000 people lived in Nineveh. They grew enough food inside the walls of the city to feed them all. The palace where the king lived was wonderful. Nineveh had beautiful gardens. The gardens had rare plants and animals in them. Foreign slaves built all this! They built temples, palaces, libraries and many other magnificent buildings. The temples were buildings where Nineveh’s people met to praise their gods.
Nobody ever thought that anyone would defeat Assyria. Nobody ever thought that anyone would destroy Nineveh! People thought that Assyria was much too strong for anyone to defeat it. But Assyria had problems. In 626 B.C. one of their strongest kings died. After that, there were only weak kings. Also, two other nations became very strong. They were called the Scythians and the Babylonians. We do not know much about the Scythians. The Babylonians destroyed Nineveh in 612 B.C.
We want to think about how Nahum, Habakkuk and Zephaniah come into this story.
They were prophets that lived about 625 B.C. A prophet tells us what God is thinking. And he tells us what God will do. Probably Nahum came first. He said that God would send someone to destroy Nineveh. He also said that people who trusted in God would be safe. He probably said this between 660 and 620 B.C. Then came Zephaniah, about 630 B.C. He said that the Empire of Assyria would soon end. An empire meant all the countries that a king ruled. He also said that God would save people who trusted in him. Then came Habakkuk. This was about 615 B.C. He said that the Babylonians (people from Babylon) would destroy Assyria. (The Babylonians had another name. People also called them the Chaldeans.) But Habakkuk also said something else. He said that God’s people would live if they trusted in God. That was very important in the New Testament.
Not all Bible students agree with the dates above. But most students agree that these three prophets lived about 650-600 B.C.
In these verses, we must decide whom God is talking to. The Hebrew Bible does not tell us. (Remember that the Jews wrote their Bible in Hebrew.) Sometimes it is Nineveh (or the King of Nineveh). Sometimes it is Judah. In verse 9, it is Nineveh. Nahum is very clever here. He uses words from Assyria itself. They said, ‘God does not say things twice.’ But Nahum changes it to ‘trouble will not come a second time’. God means ‘trouble’ to the people in Assyria. This means that God will destroy Assyria. Then there will be no more people in Assyria! God will not have to destroy Assyria again.
In verse 10, there are some pictures. The people in Assyria try to run away. But, it will be as if bushes had caught them. Or they will not be able to run because they are so drunk. And something will eat them as if they were dry leaves. The Bible does not say what will eat them. Our translation suggests that it might be fire. So it translates the Hebrew word ‘eat’ as ‘burn’.
In verse 12, ‘many (of them)’ probably includes people from other countries that fight with the soldiers from Assyria. Again, in verse 13, note that the words Nineveh and Judah are not in the Hebrew Bible. But, in verse 14, the word ‘you’ probably means the King of Assyria. He would have no children and no gods. Also, he would not decide where his people would bury him. God would decide that. Usually kings decided for themselves where to put their graves. Often they were very special places, like the *Pyramids where the people in Egypt buried their kings.
Nahum 1:9-14 is about Nineveh. It tells us what God will do to the city. Nahum 2:1 and 2:3-10 describe the defeat of Nineveh. But the two verses printed above are about God’s people. They are not about Nineveh. However, Nineveh is in these verses. In verse 15, ‘the wicked people’ means ‘Nineveh’s people’. In verse 2, ‘wasters’ means the people that wasted Israel and Judah. These wasters were the people from Nineveh, the Assyrians. For nearly a century, Assyria made Judah obey the King in Nineveh. Judah’s people could not do what they liked. They could not have all their festivals, or special times, in their religion. But now someone will bring good news. There will be peace. God will kill their enemies. Judah will be free again to have (or enjoy) their festivals. The Assyrians will not stop them. Jacob and Israel will be splendid again! Assyria destroyed Israel in 722 B.C. It is now 100 years later. Only Judah remains. But Nahum hopes that both countries will be great and splendid again. Christians believe that it will not happen yet. Probably it will not happen until Jesus returns to the earth. The vines were plants. Fruit called grapes grew on them. They made wine from the grapes. There may be a double meaning in the word ‘vines’. The vine was a sign of Judah’s people. So it may mean ‘wasted them and killed them’. ‘Them’ is the people of Israel and Judah.
This is from enduringword.com.Against Nineveh: The capital of the Assyrian Empire was Nineveh, the city that heard the preaching of Jonah a hundred years before and repented. Nahum’s call was to address a city that had slipped back into sin and was again ripe for judgment.
Among other things, the Prophecy of Nahum shows us that God not only deals with individuals as individuals, He also deals with nations as nations. “This is the prophecy which sets forth, more clearly than any other, the truth concerning the wrath of God, in its national application” (Morgan). Nations will be held to account by God.
Nineveh was an ancient and famous city. It was founded by the first world dictator, Nimrod (Genesis 10:11). “From Nineveh’s walls, temples, palaces, inscriptions, and reliefs, mute yet elaborate witness is given to a city that flourished up to its destruction in 612 B.C. Accordingly, the magnificent buildings, artistic designs, and water-supply projects of Nineveh have resulted in its being likened to ancient Versailles” (Major Cities of the Biblical World).
OK... got it... I think... but this grey haired old lady with an online Bible and some online commentary is only knowledgeable enough about all of this to be dangerous..... but I think I see three things here......
- God doesn't say things twice
- Nineveh backslid
- Believers are safe
In verses 13 and 15 though.... Nahum says.... those who trust will be spared. When God wiped out Nineveh.... those who "trust" in God would be spared.... which the commentaries say.... is different that those who "believe".
I can imagine stuffing all my sins into a garbage bag and taking them to the church..... I can imagine myself walking right up that carpeted isle, stopping only short of the alter. There I can imagine pulling each of my sins out.... one by one... describing them each and asking forgiveness for each..... now that's what I call believing. But then comes the hard part..... do I pack them all up again and tote them around with me, accumulating more and more.... like a magnet in a pile of metal shavings.... or do I "trust" God to forgive me for them.... and leave them right there.
Believers will bring their garbage to God..... Those who trust God..... will leave those sins right there. Nineveh picked up their garbage after repenting when Jonah was there..... and when they got back.... they opened it and relished it all over again.... so Nahum had to tell them.... God doesn't speak twice..... and Nineveh was toast.
