The Lord Was Against Nineveh. Nahum 2:1-13

1 Commentary by Charles Box Questions by John C. Sewell The Lord Was Against Nineveh Nahum 2:1-13 Landmark Publications, Inc., 1045 Maynor Avenue, Nashville, TN., 37216, U.S.A., John C. Sewell, Ph.D., Editor

2 The Lord Was Against Nineveh Commentary by Charles Box Text: Nahum 2: 1-13, 1. The watchmen of Nineveh shout: An enemy who will scatter you is marching out to attack you! Guard the rampart! Watch the road! Prepare yourselves for battle! Muster your mighty strength! 2. For the Lord will restore the majesty of Jacob, as well as the majesty of Israel, though their enemies have plundered them and have destroyed their fields. 3. The shields of his warriors are dyed red; the mighty soldiers are dressed in scarlet garments. The metal fittings of the chariots shine like fire on the day of battle; the soldiers brandish their spears. 4. The chariots race madly through the streets, they rush back and forth in the broad plazas; they look like lightning bolts, they dash here and there like flashes of lightning. 5. The commander orders his officers; they stumble as they advance; they rush to the city wall and they set up the covered siege tower. 6. The sluice gates are opened; the royal palace is deluged and dissolves.

3 7. Nineveh is taken into exile and is led away; her slave girls moan like doves while they beat their breasts. 8. Nineveh was like a pool of water throughout her days, but now her people are running away; she cries out: Stop! Stop! but no one turns back. 9. Her conquerors cry out: Plunder the silver! Plunder the gold! There is no end to the treasure; riches of every kind of precious thing. 10. Destruction, devastation, and desolation! Their hearts faint, their knees tremble, each stomach churns, each face turns pale! 11. Where now is the den of the lions, the feeding place of the young lions, where the lion, lioness, and lion cub once prowled and no one disturbed them? 12. The lion tore apart as much prey as his cubs needed and strangled prey to provide food for his lionesses; he filled his lairs with prey and his dens with torn flesh. 13. I am against you! declares the Lord who commands armies: I will burn your chariots with fire; the sword will devour your young lions; you will no longer prey upon the land; the voices of your messengers will no longer be heard. (NET) Introduction: I. God had used Nineveh as His rod to chastise His people, Israel. A. Now He sends a warning by his prophet that someone was coming to attach and scatter Nineveh.

4 1. He told them to: (1) Guard their fortresses! (2) Watch the road? (3) Be brave! (4) Prepare for battle! 2. What a strong prophecy! 3. God told Nineveh to use all possible means of defense; but He warned that it would all be in vain. 4. God s people had been sufficiently chastised and now the Lord is going to restore their power and glory. 5. Fear would fill the hearts of Nineveh in the day of attack when they observed the red shields of the enemy and their uniforms of crimson. 6. The chariots were flashing with metal as preparations were made for battle and the invading soldiers were brandishing their long spears of fir; they were ready for battle. II. The Lord was against Nineveh! A. In vivid details God described the siege and capture of Nineveh. 1. When the enemies came their horses pranced, and their armed chariots darted around like lightning. 2. They ran to and fro and jostled one against another. 3. The king called his nobles to defend Nineveh. 4. In their haste they stumbled over each other as they tried in futility to prepare to defend the city. 5. Nahum even envisioned the invader opening the dam gates on the Tigris River and flooding the city.

5 a. Nahum even saw the palace washed away. B. Assyria had destroyed many cities, palaces, and temples, and now they would reap what they had sown. 1. When Nineveh was carried away her women would make mournful sounds and beat their breasts like doves that cooed and flapped their wings. III. The people of Nineveh would run as their city was flooded with water and none would stop to defend her. A. The invading solders would plunder Nineveh of her vast wealth. 1. The invading army would empty Nineveh of her treasures, and it would become a desolate wasteland. 2. Nineveh would be like a lion s feeding ground for the Assyrians. a. Lions killed only what they needed for food. b. The Assyrians killed simply because they were vicious toward their enemies. c. Nothing could be worse than the fate of Nineveh. B. Almighty God was against them. Commentary: Nahum 2:1-4, The Battle is Set Against Nineveh

6 1. The watchmen of Nineveh shout: An enemy who will scatter you is marching out to attack you! Guard the rampart! Watch the road! Prepare yourselves for battle! Muster your mighty strength! 2. For the LORD will restore the majesty of Jacob, as well as the majesty of Israel, though their enemies have plundered them and have destroyed their fields. Prophetic Vision of the Fall of Nineveh 3. The shields of his warriors are dyed red; the mighty soldiers are dressed in scarlet garments. The metal fittings of the chariots shine like fire on the day of battle; the soldiers brandish their spears. 4. The chariots race madly through the streets, they rush back and forth in the broad plazas; they look like lightning bolts, they dash here and there like flashes of lightning. (NET) I. This horrible destruction was to come against Nineveh, the capital of the Assyrian Empire. A. They were encouraged to prepare for what they were about to face. 1. Those that had scattered so many others would now be scattered themselves. a. David wrote, God springs into action! His enemies scatter; his adversaries run from him. (Psalm 68:1) (NET)

7 b. They were told to keep the munitions or military equipment, watch the road, gird their loins; collect together all their strength. 2. They had crushed others and now it was their turn to be afraid. a. They would be repaid for their cruelty against God s people. b. The plunderers had stripped everything from the people of God. B. Now God restored the majesty of Jacob as the majesty of Israel. 1. God gave Judah the opportunity to prosper as a nation again. II. The Babylonian army that would invade Assyria was mighty and strong. A. The red and scarlet has reference to the appearance of their implements of war. 1. The army was an imposing sight. 2. The chariots would move with such speed in the streets that the swords that were attached to the wheels would appear to be flaming torches. a. They would be so many in number that they would bump into one another. B. The Assyrians would come waving their lances, ready for battle.

8 Resistance to the Invasion is Futile Nahum 2:5-7, 5. The commander orders his officers; they stumble as they advance; they rush to the city wall and they set up the covered siege tower. 6. The sluice gates are opened; the royal palace is deluged and dissolves. 7. Nineveh is taken into exile and is led away; her slave girls moan like doves while they beat their breasts. (NET) I. The watchmen of Nineveh would announce to the king that the enemy was approaching. A. Preparation would be made for the battle, but it would do no good. 1. Nineveh had a large and strong army, but God was against them. 2. The officers run to defend the walls, but in their haste they stumble in their armor. 3. Once they reach the wall a defense is prepared. a. However, their efforts were all in vain. b. The invading army opened the river gates and flooded the city in order to enter and destroy the city and the palace.

9 II. The flooding of the city and the destruction of the palace should make them recognize that God is against them. A. They had taken spoils from many nations that they had plundered in battle. Nahum 2:8-10, 1. Now their palace, the city and their nation would be destroyed. a. Huzzab was a figurative expression for the place where the palace stood. b. Those that cared for the palace would be lead away in mourning and despair. Nineveh was Plundered 8. Nineveh was like a pool of water throughout her days, but now her people are running away; she cries out: Stop! Stop! but no one turns back. 9. Her conquerors cry out: Plunder the silver! Plunder the gold! There is no end to the treasure; riches of every kind of precious thing. 10. Destruction, devastation, and desolation! Their hearts faint, their knees tremble, each stomach churns, each face turns pale! (NET) I. Nineveh is pictured as a large pool of water. A. There was much wealth in the city of Nineveh.

10 1. This was true because of the many people that were there. a. The cry for the people was, Stand, Stand! b. Instead the people fled in fear and desperation. 2. All hope was gone because God was against them. a. The pool of people was emptying. B. Many today are just as they were. 1. They feel that they can ignore God and still be safe and protected from any punishment. 2. The sad truth is that many will learn too late that they should have obeyed God. 3. The only way to prepare for the future is to walk with God! II. The invaders would plunder and take a great store of goods. A. The only advantage that the people of Nineveh received from the invaders stopping to plunder the city was that more of them had time to escape with their lives. 1. Nahum 2:10, Destruction, devastation, and desolation! Their hearts faint, their knees tremble, each stomach churns, each face turns pale! (NET) 2. Nineveh was empty of inhabitants and of all its treasures. B. Nineveh had destroyed other cities and now they reap what they have sown!

11 Nahum 2:11-13, The Destruction of Nineveh Will Be Complete Taunt against the Once-Mighty Lion 11. Where now is the den of the lions, the feeding place of the young lions, where the lion, lioness, and lion cub once prowled and no one disturbed them? 12. The lion tore apart as much prey as his cubs needed and strangled prey to provide food for his lionesses; he filled his lairs with prey and his dens with torn flesh. Battle Cry of the Divine Warrior 13. I am against you! declares the LORD who commands armies: I will burn your chariots with fire; the sword will devour your young lions; you will no longer prey upon the land; the voices of your messengers will no longer be heard. (NET) I. The leaders of Nineveh are compared to lions. A. They had been very savage in their treatment of others. 1. Many people had fallen prey to their cruel treatment. 2. They had shown no mercy and now they would receive no mercy. Jesus said, Blessed are the merciful; for they will be shown mercy. (Matthew 5:7) (NET) a. If you show no mercy, then you will receive no mercy.

12 B. The gods of idolatry had failed to provide help for Nineveh. 1. Their splendor, wealth, glory and power would all be destroyed. II. The Almighty said to Nineveh, I am against you! declares the LORD who commands armies: I will burn your chariots with fire; the sword will devour your young lions; you will no longer prey upon the land; the voices of your messengers will no longer be heard. (Nahum 2:13) (NET) A. People had streamed through the gates of Nineveh for centuries to destroy others. Conclusion: 1. Now all those messengers are dead. a. There is no one to go out through the gate. 2. Literally, what a man sows he will reap. a. Do not be deceived. God will not be made a fool. For a person will reap what he sows, because the person who sows to his own flesh will reap corruption from the flesh, but the one who sows to the Spirit will reap eternal life from the Spirit. (Galatians 6:7-8) (NET) I. Those that serve God are blessed and those that rebel are punished. II. Is it your desire to honor God?

13 Questions on Nahum 2:1-13 by John C. Sewell 1. Who was the attacker that advanced against Ninevah? 2. In view of the impending attack, Nineveh in Nahum 2:1 was told to do what four things? 3. What do you know of Nineveh s history? Where was Nineveh located?

14 4. How will the Lord restore the splendor of Israel? 5. What is meant by comparing the splendor of Jacob with the splendor of Israel? Who was meant by Jacob and Israel? 6. What had happened to Jacob? 7. Who was the enemy that was to attack Nineveh? Describe the enemy that was coming against Nineveh. Give special attention to the enemy s munitions. 8. In verses 3 and 4, what is meant by the significance of red shields, clad in scarlet, metal on the chariot flashes, spears of brandished pine, look like torches and dart about like lightning?

15 9. How successful would this enemy be in their war against Nineveh? See 2:4. 10. How successful were Nineveh s elite troops in defending the city? 11. What caused the palace to collapse? In what way was Nineveh like a pool? 12. Why would slave girls grieve because of Nineveh s defeat? 13. Describe the emotional state of the Ninevites as they were being defeated?

16 14. How rich was Nineveh? Where had they gotten this wealth? What happened to it? 15. Why was it appropriate to compare Nineveh with a lion s den? 16. What did God say of Nineveh? See verse 13. 17. Nineveh would reap what it had sown? Be ; is : for whatsoever a, that shall be also. For he that to his shall of the ; but he that to the shall of the reap, (Galatians 6:7-8)

17 18. In what ways is our society like Nineveh? In what ways are our society and Nineveh s society different? 19. Based on what is said in Nahum 2, show that God sometimes uses very wicked people to do his will, execute his judgments. 20. When is God with us? When is God against us?