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Nahum Chapter 3
Woe to Nineveh
Nineveh was full of murder, robbery, lies, deceptions, whoredoms,
witchcraft, drunkedness, oppressing the innocent, torture, cruelty,
and many other things against innocent people or their enemies. This
is one reason I believe that Jonah in his day didn't want to warn
the people and pouted when it didn't happen because they repented in
the days of Jonah. God delayed judgment then because they repented.
Now in Nahum's time, we see the next few generations returned to
their old ways. Yet we also see God wait a while before this
prophecy comes to pass.
- Nahum 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.
- 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:
This is a description of their battles and cruelty of killing
multitudes of people. If evil goes on unchecked, people lose their
conscience of right and wrong. They lose compassion. It starts out
with fearing the enemy which leads to hate. Then all compassion and
mercy is gone.
- Nahum 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.
- 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.
- 6 And I will cast abominable filth upon thee, and make thee
vile, and will set thee as a gazingstock.
The whole Assyrian kingdom was known for their cruelty. In fact one
of the cruelest empires in history. They tortured their captives and
did things to their bodies that left them crippled and maimed
horribly. No one outside of their realm mourned their destruction.
As for Ninevah, they knew better than this. Their ancestors repented
at the preaching of Jonah so they are without excuse. Ninevah was
the captital of the Assyrian kingdom.
- Nahum 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?
- 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?
- 9 Ethiopia and Egypt were her strength, and it was infinite;
Put and Lubim were thy helpers.
The Assyrian Empire took over Egypt in
the days before Moses, which may be why the new king
arose that didn't know Joseph and began to be cruel to the
Israelites and made them slaves. After 400 years of that, God raised
up Moses to deliver the people out of Egypt.
- Nahum 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.
- 11 Thou also shalt be drunken: thou shalt be hid, thou also
shalt seek strength because of the enemy.
- 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.
- 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.
- 14 Draw thee waters for the siege, fortify thy strong holds:
go into clay, and tread the morter, make strong the brickkiln.
- 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.
- 16 Thou hast multiplied thy merchants above the stars of
heaven: the cankerworm spoileth, and flieth away.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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?
Ninevah was literally burned to the ground and destroyed. What
they did to others happened to them. They reaped exactly what they
sowed. This is what happens to wicked nations eventually. The
individuals who do these wicked things will face judgment also when
they die for their part in the wickedness. No one gets by with evil
unless they repent like they did in the days of Jonah. We all face
judgment one day and those that do evil go to a place called hell
where no one escapes.
Only the body dies, the soul spends eternity
in heaven or hell. That is why Jesus came so that He could make the
way of escape for those that believe in Him and turn away from their
sin. We do not have to follow the path of evil. God has prepared a
better place for those that trust in Him.
This is the last chapter in the little
book of Nahum. DC
Biblestudy index
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