The
Book of Nahum
The Book of Nahum (meaning comforter), was written around 603 B.C., and corresponds with the book of Jonah, which also has Nineveh for its subject. Some eighty-seven years before, Jonah had proclaimed Yahveh's favor to Nineveh, which had prolonged its existence till now, when Nahum's prophecy of coming judgment was fulfilled without further delay. The subject of Nahum's prophecy is the approaching complete and final destruction of Nineveh, the capital of the great and at that time flourishing Assyrian empire. Assur-bani-pal was at the height of his glory. Nineveh was a city of vast extent, and was then the center of the civilization and commerce of the world, a "bloody city all full of lies and robbery" (Nahum 3:1), for it had robbed and plundered all the neighboring nations. It was strongly fortified on every side, bidding defiance to every enemy. One popular verse is 3:5, "Behold, I am against thee, saith YHWH of hosts, and I will uncover thy skirts upon thy face; and I will show the nations thy nakedness, and the kingdoms thy shame." This is very symbolic showing that Nineveh was known for being a city full of prostitutes. (Its early importance came from being the home to a statue of the goddess Ishtar).
Nahum 1
Nah 1:2 God is jealous, and the LORD revengeth; the LORD revengeth, and is furious; the LORD will take vengeance on his adversaries, and he reserveth wrath for his enemies. The Lord is a jealous God. (Exodus 20:5, Exodus 34:14, Deuteronomy 4:24). He takes revenge on all who oppose Him and continues to take rage against His enemies. (Psalm 94:1, Hebrews 10:30).
Nah 1:3 The LORD is slow to anger, and great in power, and will not at all acquit the wicked: the LORD hath his way in the whirlwind and in the storm, and the clouds are the dust of his feet. The Lord is slow to anger (long suffering), (Psalm 103:8, II Peter 3:9). He never lets the guilty go unpunished. He displays His power in the whirlwind and the storm. (The storm is about to come).
Nah 1:4 He rebuketh the sea, and maketh it dry, and drieth up all the rivers: Bashan languisheth, and Carmel, and the flower of Lebanon languisheth. The oceans dry up at His command and the rivers dry up. "Remember what happened to the red sea." (Psalm 106:9). The lush pastures of Bashan and Carmel fade, and the forest of Lebanon wither. (Amos 1:2).
Nah 1:5 The mountains quake at him, and the hills melt, and the earth is burned at his presence, yea, the world, and all that dwell therein. The mountains quake and the hills melt away as the earth trembles, and its people are destroyed. (Psalm 97:5, Micah 1:4). This should also bring our attention to: (II Peter 3:7-12), when the present Heavens and Earth have been stored up for fire. They are being kept for judgment day, when the ungodly people will be destroyed. Be on guard and know the season for His return, when all evil (all the wicked & rudiments) will be burned up. Judgment Day!
Nah 1:6 Who can stand before his indignation? and who can abide in the fierceness of his anger? his fury is poured out like fire, and the rocks are thrown down by him. Who can stand against His fierce anger? No one. (Revelation 6:17). Who can survive His burning fury? No one. (Revelation 16:8). Even the mountains crumble to dust in His presence.
Nah 1:7 The LORD is good, a strong hold in the day of trouble; and he knoweth them that trust in him. The Lord is good and a strong refuge when trouble comes. He is very close to those who trust Him. (Psalm 100:5). Bringing our attention to: (II Timothy 2:12), If we endure hardship we will reign with Christ, but if we deny Him He will deny us.
Nah 1:8 But with an overrunning flood he will make an utter end of the place thereof, and darkness shall pursue his enemies. Sweep away His enemies in an overwhelming flood. Darkness will cover His enemies. (There will be a flood involved in the destruction of Nineveh).
Nah 1:9 What do ye imagine against the LORD? he will make an utter end: affliction shall not rise up the second time. Scheming against the Lord. (Psalm 2:1-4, Psalm 21:11), not a good idea. He will destroy you with one blow and won't need to strike twice.
Nah 1:10 For while they be folden together as thorns, and while they are drunken as drunkards, they shall be devoured as stubble fully dry. The enemies of the Lord are tangled like thorn bushes and stagger like a bunch of drunks. They will be burned up like dry stubble. (Malachi 4:1).
Nah 1:11 There is one come out of thee, that imagineth evil against the LORD, a wicked counsellor. Who is the one who plots evil against the Lord? A wicked counselor = a counselor of Belial. The counselor probably = Rabshakeh; and Belial = Sennacherib. Could this be speaking about those fellows that came against Jerusalem in 701 B.C., The Assyrian king's name was Sennacherib, and the general who delivered the message was named Rabshakeh. (II Kings 18:28-32).
Nah 1:12 Thus saith the LORD; Though they be quiet, and likewise many, yet thus shall they be cut down, when he shall pass through. Though I have afflicted thee, I will afflict thee no more. The Lord says: Even though the Assyrians have many allies, they will be destroyed. God is done afflicting His own people.
Nah 1:13 For now will I break his yoke from off thee, and will burst thy bonds in sunder. I will break the yoke of bondage from your neck and tear the chains of Assyrian oppression. (Genesis 27:40).
Nah 1:14 And the LORD hath given a commandment concerning thee, that no more of thy name be sown: out of the house of thy gods will I cut off the graven image and the molten image: I will make thy grave; for thou art vile. God speaking concerning the Assyrians in Nineveh: No more of thy name will be shown, i.e. "the dynasty of Nineveh should end." I will destroy all the idols in your temples of your gods. I am preparing a grave for you because you are despicable.
Nah 1:15 Behold upon the mountains the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace! O Judah, keep thy solemn feasts, perform thy vows: for the wicked shall no more pass through thee; he is utterly cut off. A message is coming over the mountains with good news. A message of peace. People of Judah, celebrate your festivals and fulfill your vows. Your wicked enemies will never invade your land again. They will be completely destroyed. (Sound like when the "wicked one" antichrist, will be cut off in the end times). Maybe Sennacherib was a type of antichrist.
Nahum 2
Nah 2:2 For the LORD hath turned away the excellency of Jacob, as the excellency of Israel: for the emptiers have emptied them out, and marred their vine branches. Even though the destroyer has destroyed Judah, the Lord will restore its honor. Israel's vine has been stripped of branches, but He will restore its splendor. (Israel may have been taken into captivity, but they will return; Assyria on the other hand will not be back once its been destroyed).
Nah 2:3 The shield of his mighty men is made red, the valiant men are in scarlet: the chariots shall be with flaming torches in the day of his preparation, and the fir trees shall be terribly shaken. Their mighty warriors shields flash red in the sunlight. (The Babylonians and Meads overlaid their shields with copper to make them appear red). "They also became reddened with blood." Their uniforms were dyed scarlet, and their glittering chariots move into position.
Nah 2:4 The chariots shall rage in the streets, they shall justle one against another in the broad ways: they shall seem like torches, they shall run like the lightnings. The chariots run wild through the streets flashing like fire and move swiftly as lightning. (Isaiah 33:4, Joel 2:9), just as the locust swarm and strip the fields and vines, so Jerusalem will strip the fallen army of Assyria.
Nah 2:5 He shall recount his worthies: they shall stumble in their walk; they shall make haste to the wall thereof, and the defence shall be prepared. He = (the king of Assyria), shouts to his officers as they stumble in haste, rushing to the walls to set up their defenses. (The Assyrian king getting ready for battle).
Nah 2:6 The gates of the rivers shall be opened, and the palace shall be dissolved. The river gates were open and the palace is about to collapse. Gates = flood-gates, or sluices. Nineveh lies on the east (or left) bank of the Tigris. The Khusur (a perennial stream ran through it; also a canal form it to the Tigris ran through the city. (At the beginning of the siege, the enemy closed the gates and the river was backed up into reservoirs. When they opened the flood gates, the water flooded the city and destroyed the palace).
Nah 2:7 And Huzzab shall be led away captive, she shall be brought up, and her maids shall lead her as with the voice of doves, tabering upon their breasts. Nineveh's exile has been decreed, and the servant girls mourn its capture. Huzzab = queen of Nineveh, or queen mother. (She would be dishonored and taken captive; the city being thus personified).
Nah 2:8 But Nineveh is of old like a pool of water: yet they shall flee away. Stand, stand, shall they cry; but none shall look back. Nineveh "hath been from of old (filled with men), as a pool (is full) of water! The defenders (flee away), before their besiegers. "Shall they cry." They = the captains.
Nah 2:9 Take ye the spoil of silver, take the spoil of gold: for there is none end of the store and glory out of all the pleasant furniture. There were treasures of silver and gold without end. (Nineveh was filled with the spoils of all the nations it had plundered and now it would be plundered as well).
Nah 2:10 She is empty, and void, and waste: and the heart melteth, and the knees smite together, and much pain is in all loins, and the faces of them all gather blackness. The city is plundered, empty, and ruined. Hearts melt and knees shake. The faces of the people are pale and trembling. (Joel 2:6), fear grips the people. Nineveh was taken and utterly ruined by Assuerus, or Cyaxares, king of Media, and Nabuchodonosor, or Nabopolassar, king of Babylon, B.C. 606, or 612. Diodorus, who with others ascribes the taking of it to Arbaces the Mede and Belesis the Babylonian, says that he "dispersed the citizens in the villages, leveled the city with the ground, transferred the gold and silver, of which there were many talents, to Ecbatana the metropolis of the Medes, and this subverted the empire of the Assyrians."
Nah 2:11 Where is the dwelling of the lions, and the feedingplace of the young lions, where the lion, even the old lion, walked, and the lion's whelp, and none made them afraid? Where now is the great Nineveh, that den filled with young lions? It was a place where the people (like lions), walked freely without fear.
Nah 2:12 The lion did tear in pieces enough for his whelps, and strangled for his lionesses, and filled his holes with prey, and his dens with ravin. The lion "was tearing" meat for its cubs and strangled prey for his mate. Filled his den with prey and caverns with his plunder. (Just as Nineveh had done in the past).
Nah 2:13 Behold, I am against thee, saith the LORD of hosts, and I will burn her chariots in the smoke, and the sword shall devour thy young lions: and I will cut off thy prey from the earth, and the voice of thy messengers shall no more be heard. "I am your enemy." Says the Lord of Heaven's Armies. Your chariots will soon go up in smoke. Your young men will be killed in battle. You will never plunder or conquer nations again. The voices of your proud messengers will be heard no more." (Assyria once pictured as fierce lions, now are about to be captured).
Nahum 3
Nah 3:1 Woe to the bloody city! it is all full of lies and robbery; the prey departeth not. Woe to Nineveh, a city of great blood shed. A city built on murder, robbery and lies. (Ezekiel 22:2-3, Ezekiel 24:6-9, Habakkuk 2:12, Zephaniah 3:1-3), Nineveh earned the title "bloody city" by her terrible practice of cutting limbs off captives and skinning them alive.
Nah 3:2 The noise of a whip, and the noise of the rattling of the wheels, and of the pransing horses, and of the jumping chariots. Hear the crack of whips and the rumble of the chariot wheels. (The enemy is within the gates).
Nah 3:3 The horseman lifteth up both the bright sword and the glittering spear: and there is a multitude of slain, and a great number of carcases; and there is none end of their corpses; they stumble upon their corpses. See the flashing swords and spears as the chariots charge past. Countless casualties and heaps of bodies as they stumble over them.
Nah 3:4 Because of the multitude of the whoredoms of the wellfavoured harlot, the mistress of witchcrafts, that selleth nations through her whoredoms, and families through her witchcrafts. Her countless idolatries, the mistress of deadly charms, enticed the nations with her beauty. She teaches them all her magic, enchanting people everywhere with her witchcrafts. (Isaiah 47:9, Isaiah 47:12-13), This should bring our attention to the destruction of future Babylon in Revelation 17: (Revelation 17:1-5). Both the Assyrians and the Babylonians worshipped the same female goddess "Ishtar" considered by them as the "queen of heaven." Does the worship of "Ishtar" take place in today's world? Do a little research and see what you come up with.
Nah 3:5 Behold, I am against thee, saith the LORD of hosts; and I will discover thy skirts upon thy face, and I will shew the nations thy nakedness, and the kingdoms thy shame. The Lord is against them and is their enemy. "He will expose their nakedness and shame." (Isaiah 47:2-3, Jeremiah 13:22, Jeremiah 13:26, Ezekiel 16:37, Ezekiel 23:29).
Nah 3:6 And I will cast abominable filth upon thee, and make thee vile, and will set thee as a gazingstock. God will expose their filth and show the world how vile they really are.
Nah 3:7 And it shall come to pass, that all they that look upon thee shall flee from thee, and say, Nineveh is laid waste: who will bemoan her? whence shall I seek comforters for thee? All will see Nineveh be laid waste and no one will care about her destruction. (Isaiah 51:19).
Nah 3:8 Art thou better than populous No, that was situate among the rivers, that had the waters round about it, whose rampart was the sea, and her wall was from the sea? Are you better than the city of Thebes? They were surrounded by water and protected by the river on all sides. (Walled in by water).
Nah 3:9 Ethiopia and Egypt were her strength, and it was infinite; Put and Lubim were thy helpers. Ethiopia and Egypt gave unlimited assistance. The nations of Put and Libya were also among her allies. "Put was among the mercenaries of Tyre." (Ezekiel 27:10, Jeremiah 46:9).
Nah 3:10 Yet was she carried away, she went into captivity: her young children also were dashed in pieces at the top of all the streets: and they cast lots for her honourable men, and all her great men were bound in chains. Thebes fell and her people were led away as captives. Her babies were thrown against the stones of the streets. The soldiers threw dice to get Egyptian officers as servants and their leaders were bound in chains. (Thebes, the old capital of Egypt, was destroyed by Assyria about 663 B.C.).
Nah 3:11 Thou also shalt be drunken: thou shalt be hid, thou also shalt seek strength because of the enemy. Nineveh will also stagger like a drunkard. You will hide from your attacking enemy in fear. (Diodorus relates, that while the Assyrian army were feasting for their former victories, those about Arbaces being informed of their negligence and drunkenness, fell upon them unexpectedly, slew many, and drove the rest into the city).
Nah 3:12 All thy strong holds shall be like fig trees with the firstripe figs: if they be shaken, they shall even fall into the mouth of the eater. All your fortresses will fall and will be devoured. Just as the ripe figs fall into the mouths of those who shake the tree. I the future sense, remember the stars from heaven that fell to the earth and the fig tree that cast her untimely figs in (Revelation 6:13), The figs that are harvested out of season. This is the time when Satan is already on the scene and will be exposed. (666), The sixth seal, the sixth vial, and the sixth trump. Then after these days of the tribulation, "Not before" is when the real Christ shall appear. (Mark 13:24-27). This is when our gathering back to Christ will be. (II Thessalonians 2).
Nah 3:13 Behold, thy people in the midst of thee are women: the gates of thy land shall be set wide open unto thine enemies: the fire shall devour thy bars. Your troops will be as weak and helpless as women. The gates of your land will be opened wide to the enemy and set on fire. (Jeremiah 51:30).
Nah 3:14 Draw thee waters for the siege, fortify thy strong holds: go into clay, and tread the morter, make strong the brickkiln. Get ready for the siege. Store up water and strengthen your defenses. Repair your walls and make them strong with bricks. (Go ahead and try to prepare, but it won't help you).
Nah 3:15 There shall the fire devour thee; the sword shall cut thee off, it shall eat thee up like the cankerworm: make thyself many as the cankerworm, make thyself many as the locusts. Fire will devour you and the sword will cut you down. The enemy will consume you like locust, devouring everything they see. There will be no escape, even if you multiply like swarming locust. "Bringing our attention to the locust army of the end times." That which the palmerworm hath left hath the locust eaten; and that which the locust hath left hath the cankerworm eaten; and that which the cankerworm hath left hath the caterpiller eaten. (Joel 1:4). There are four Hebrew words here (gazam = gnawer, yelek = devourer, arbeh = swarmer, and hasil = consumer), respectively rendered the palmer-worm, canker worm, locust, and caterpillar, denote four different species of locust, or the four stages of the destroying agencies. (Revelation 9:3-7). Can you pick out the hidden word of the swarmer that relates to them today?
Nah 3:16 Thou hast multiplied thy merchants above the stars of heaven: the cankerworm spoileth, and flieth away. Your merchants have multiplied until they outnumber the stars. But like a swarm of locust, they strip the land and fly away.
Nah 3:17 Thy crowned are as the locusts, and thy captains as the great grasshoppers, which camp in the hedges in the cold day, but when the sun ariseth they flee away, and their place is not known where they are. Your guards are like swarming locust that crowd together in the hedges on a cold day. But, just like the locust that fly away when the sun comes up, they will also flee and disappear. (Revelation 9:7), again bringing our attention to the locust army of the end times.
Nah 3:18 Thy shepherds slumber, O king of Assyria: thy nobles shall dwell in the dust: thy people is scattered upon the mountains, and no man gathereth them. Your shepherds are asleep king of Assyria, and your princes lay (i.e. in death) in the dust. Your people are scattered across the mountains (hiding) with no one to gather them. "Just as those who will hide in the end times." (Revelation 6:15), All that were deceived that are in shame for what they believed in and taught to others. Super preachers, phony pastors, and false teachers.
Nah 3:19 There is no healing of thy bruise; thy wound is grievous: all that hear the bruit of thee shall clap the hands over thee: for upon whom hath not thy wickedness passed continually? No healing for your wound. Your injury is fatal! Everyone who hears of your destruction will celebrate with joy. Where can anyone be found that has not suffered from your cruelty? "Just as Babylon the great will fall in the end times." (Revelation 18:2), Within the confounds of Babylon are caged everything that is spiritually unclean and evil and it will be destroyed. "So it will be for Nineveh."
Keep The Faith,Barton