Answers Bible Curriculum Year 2 Quarter 3 Lesson 5
This week in Sunday school, we’re looking at the book of Nahum and God’s prophecy against Assyria. What exactly did God announce to Assyria? Why did God make this pronouncement? How does Nahum’s revelation compare to Jonah’s? How can a just God use one nation to judge another nation for its sin and then judge the afflicting nation for inflicting God’s punishment? And what can we learn from Nahum to apply in our own lives today? We’ll consider these questions and more.
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right let’s get started welcome to Sunday school we come to the book of Nahum this morning and God’s prophecy regarding Assyria the title of today’s class is God judges Nations last week we saw how God judged Israel whom did God bring to destroy Israel and carry its people away Syria same Nation we’re talking about today the capital of Israel Samaria was besieged for three years what date BC did it fall 722 or 721 BC around that time why did this judgment come upon Israel yeah yeah it was that they were sinful they were idolatrous and they refused to repent but it wasn’t that Israel refused to serve God at all but as we saw last week that they sought to serve other gods at the same time as God but does God what does God think about this syncretistic or divided devotion foreign yeah it’s spiritual adultery if you serve God alongside other gods then you’re not really serving God at all it is you serve God only or you do not serve him at all he hates divided devotion it’s impossible it is Blasphemous to him and so we need to learn from Israel’s from Israel’s sin unless we serve and worship God Alone we do not serve or worship God at all we are just as much under the Judgment of God as if we had openly repudiated God if we live in such a way let us heed the warning given to us from Second Kings about Israel of course the people who came into land after Israel did the exact same thing questions or comments about last week’s lesson okay well Assyria was God’s agent of judgment on Israel but God also had a word of Prophecy to speak to Assyria after the Judgment of Israel had taken place and this prophecy is what we’re going to be looking at today the book of Naaman Nahum in which this prophecy appears is only three chapters and we’re actually going to look at the whole book together today but even though this is a fairly short amount of text there’s a lot to say about it so we’re going to be hearing a lot of information today please hold your extra questions or comments till the end here’s our outline for today’s class we’re going to orient ourselves the historical situation of nahim we’re then going to observe the three chapters in nahim then we’ll ask and answer a number of interpretation questions and we’ll finally consider application based on what we learned from God in his book of the prophecy of Nahum let’s pray God I pray that you would make this word very clear to us help us to understand it and help us to apply it help me to be able to explain it well in Jesus name amen please open your Bibles to the book of nahim it’s on page 9 30 in the Pew bibles if you’re using those if not just keep going towards the end of the Old Testament nahim is one of the last books in the Old Testament after Jonah after Micah you find Nahum it comes right before habakkuk and Zechariah so page 930 in the few Bible we’re going to read this book in sections but before we do so let’s Orient ourselves to the historical situation by just reading verse 1 and then talking about the context so nahim won one I’ll read the Oracle of Nineveh the book of the vision of Nahum the elkashite I noticed the word Oracle here this word is also translated burden or prophecy this is a supernatural Revelation given by God as a commission to his prophet to declare to God’s intended audience well what is the intended audience it says here the Oracle of Nineveh we’re going to see that as we go through this book this Oracle is not just about Nineveh but it is actually addressed to Nineveh Nineveh is the primary audience What’s significant about the city of Nineveh not Babylonian but yes Jonah went to the same city it was the um it was a city that he had gone to and preached to and in which the people had repented why else is Nineveh significant Nineveh is the capital of the Assyrian Empire so here’s our map again of the Syrian Empire after 671 BC it’s all that light and dark green uh Nineveh I don’t have my laser pointer with me right now but Nineveh is in the Northeast section Babylonia is that Southeast section but Nineveh is the Northeast section and that’s where Assyria originates but its empire spread quite far anyways but Nineveh is the capital of Assyria it was the same one that Jonah is the same place that Jonah had visited and while this prophecy is addressed to just Nineveh it really encompasses the whole Syrian Empire just as when God was prophesying against Samaria he was really prophesying to all Israel when he prophesies against the capital has implications for the rest of the nation so it is here for Assyria we’re talking to Nineveh we’re talking to Nina or to Assyria in this book God sent Jonah to Nineveh somewhere between 800 to 750 BC and that Ministry to Nineveh and Assyria really happened before a serious great expansion as an Empire Syria has existed for a long time but they were big they contracted and before they got big again that’s when Jonah went to them but a considerable amount of time has gone by since Jonah this prophecy to Nineveh comes at the height of its power as Syria now dominates this is basically the the territory in green is the situation in the book of nahim Assyria now dominates the Middle East it has gained control over Egypt as well Egypt was their rival in the southwest they now control Egypt along the Babylonia and all the Central Middle East and because and we get this a little bit from the details in this book as we’ll see since Assyria is in this state we can date the prophecy of nahim to sometime around 650 BC so this is about 100 to 150 years after Jonah things have changed a little bit in Assyria and Nineveh certainly things have changed in the Empire so here’s the historical situation of Assyria but what about nahim it says this is the the rest of verse 1 says this is the book of the vision of Nahum the elkashite who exactly is nahim well the Bible tells us basically nothing about name though the name nahim appears in the genealogy of Christ in Luke 3 it’s not the same name him can’t be the same name him and we’re told they nahim is an elkashite but even that information is ambiguous is that the place of his birth is that the place of his ministry and even if we could determine that where is elkosh we don’t know some suggest that it could be uh in Iraq which would be in Assyria there’s a site there today are ruin our I don’t know if it’s a town or a room but El alkoosh which kind of sounds like elkash so maybe that’s the one think they think perhaps maybe it was in Galilee perhaps Capernaum Capernaum means the city of Nahum but it could also simply mean the city of comfort because that’s what nahim means or maybe in Judah because we’re going to see in a moment this book has some things to say about Judah so he could have been an Israelite a descendant of an Israelite captive in Assyria or he could have been Prophet from Judah who just happened to deliver a message to Assyria so we don’t really know much about nahim but that’s actually not super important more important than who nahim is or where he’s from is the message the nahim has for Assyria let’s now start looking at that message we’re going to read the first section of chapter one verses two to eight so find that verse and follow along with me as I read his prophecy begins a jealous and avenging God is the Lord the Lord is avenging and wrathful the Lord takes Vengeance on his adversaries and he reserves wrath for his enemies the Lord is slow to anger and great in power and the Lord will by no means leave the guilty unpunished and Whirlwind and storm is his way and clouds are the dust beneath his feet he rebukes the sea and makes it dry he dries up all the rivers Bashan and Carmel wither the blossoms of Lebanon wither Mountain’s Quake because of him and the hills dissolve indeed the Earth is upheaved by his presence the world and all the inhabitants in it who can stand before his indignation who can endure the burning of his anger his wrath is poured out like fire and the rocks are broken up by him the Lord is good a stronghold in the day of trouble and he knows those who take refuge in him boat but with an overwhelming flood he will make a complete end of its sight and will pursue his enemies Into Darkness okay let’s observe some details of this first section what do verses 2 to the beginning of verse 3 declare to us about God it does say he’s slow to anger but that’s not the main idea of verses two to the beginning of verse 3.
there’s another another quality of God that’s highlighted yeah Roy or that’s right right we’re seeing a lot of emphasis in these first couple verses on God’s Wrath he’s avenging and wrathful takes Vengeance on his adversaries his enemies if you’re an enemy of God his wrath is great oh you slow to anger but if you’re an enemy his wrath is great he will not leave you unpunished if you are an enemy if you are guilty what kind of images do we then see involving God in the end of verse 3 down to verse 5.
series of pictures but what do they all have in common yeah that’s great God’s great power is Manifest where on the earth it’s as if the Earth cannot handle the overwhelming power of God he just says something or he moves into an area and the mountains Quake the hills dissolve the the sea becomes dry totally or Rivers just totally disappear as soon as he comes near that’s the overwhelming power of God we get pictures involving the great power and authority of God now there’s a question two questions in verse six what’s the expected answer to those questions no one the expected answer is no one who can stand before his indignation his wrath who can endure his Burning Anger he is power you see his great wrath no one no one can stand before it then there’s a contrast presented in the last two verses of this section verses seven and eight what’s the contrast for which people that’s right so to those who trust in God this great powerful avenging wrathful God he’s a place of protection he is a stronghold in the day of trouble for those who he knows take refuge in him but in contrast to that what have we told in verse 8.
how does God respond to his enemies yeah Rob yeah he’s going to consume them with an overwhelming flood he will make a complete end of its sight wherever they are a flood will find them he will pursue his enemies Into Darkness so we have this contrast on the one hand those who take refuge in God he’s their protection but on the other hand his enemies will be pursued as with a flood even Into Darkness and in all of this nothing is yet been said about Nineveh or specifically against Any Nation but that changes in the next section let’s now look at verses 9 to 15.
I’ve seen this first section some truths but let’s see what the rest of the chapter has to say verse 9.
whatever you devise against the Lord he will make a complete end of it distress will not rise up twice like Tangled thorns and like those who are drunken with their drink they are consumed as stubble completely withered from you has gone forth one who plotted evil against the Lord a wicked counselor thus says the Lord though they are at full strength and likewise many even so they will be cut off and pass away though I have Afflicted you I will afflict you no longer so now I will break his yoke bar from upon you and I will tear off your shackles the Lord has issued a command concerning you your name will no longer be perpetuated I will cut off Idol an image from the house of your Gods I will prepare your grave for you are contemptible behold on the mountains the feet of him who brings good news who announces peace celebrate your Feast so Judah pay your vows for never again will the wicked one pass through you he is cut off completely all right let’s make some more observations there appears to be a contradiction in this section and resolving this contradiction I think will be helpful before we observe further what’s the apparent contradiction yeah Craig well we’ll get to that you mentioned that God uses Syria to judge Israel but now he’s a judging of Syria we’ll talk a little bit about that issue a little bit later on but but here I want to focus on the fact that we have promises that seem to contradict each other on the one hand all right well let’s what are the two promises that seem to contradict each other yeah Joe okay okay all right you’ve got you’ve got to where where I was um what I wanted to point out from the text which is we seem to have promises of restoration and freedom from oppression but also Promises of total Destruction I don’t know where uh and Prophecies of judgment is that referring back to nineveh’s First experience with god well I think the the better way to contr or to resolve this contradiction is to realize that someone else is being addressed here other than Nineveh right because we have Nineveh mentioned very beginning but what other nation is mentioned in this section Judah so what we what we’ve really got are words of Declaration to two different nations some to Assyria some to Judah and this makes sense of of what we see here now remember Judah still exists at this time Israel has been um removed Israel fell in 722 to 721 BC but Judah will continue to exist for another 150 years it will last till 587 to 586 BC Judah was at times subject to Assyria but Judah also fought against Assyria you may remember as an example a certain righteous King who fought against Assyria he was besieged in Jerusalem and then miraculously delivered by God which king was that Hezekiah remember the general and king of Assyria actually boasted against Yahweh and said your gods are not going to be able to save you your king is not going to be able to save you and Hezekiah brought those boasts into the temple of God or brought those boasts before God and he said hear his threats and vindicate us well God did even though or God did as the enemies were blaspheming him so we’ve got two Nations being addressed in this section and that I think will help us make sense of it look back at verse 11.
and God says well God prophesies there and points out one who plotted evil against the Lord a wicked counselor to which nation is he speaking yeah this is Nineveh Assyria says from you came that Wicked counselor but and he says that you have devised evil plans against me but what does God promise regarding these plans how successful are these plans going to be nobody comes they they will be cut off their plans will come to nothing whatever you devise against the Lord he will make a complete end of it verse 9.
Assyria and your king whatever you devise against the Lord it will come to nothing God addresses Judah in verses 12 to 13 as we pointed out God promises to Judah restoration or maybe better to say a removal of Oppression verse 12 um and though they must mean Assyria here though they are at full strength and likewise many even so they will be cut off and passed away though I have Afflicted you with Assyria I will afflict you no longer I will break his yoke bar from upon you and I will tear off your shackles I will remove the oppression from you Judah what does God promise about Assyria in verse 14.
yeah oh you’re gonna say something today yeah these are Promises of Destruction I will cut off your name I will cut off your idols there’s perhaps here a specific prophecy to the king of Assyria not just to the nation you will be destroyed but also you you King your line will be destroyed and all your Gods will will be destroyed and then God promises again something to Judah it tells them to celebrate because their wicked enemy will be completely destroyed never again will the wicked one pass through you he is cut off completely all right let’s pause and interpret just a little bit based off of these two chapters I mean these two sections how does the second half of chapter one relate to the first half of chapter one exactly we saw in the beginning what kind of God God is what he does to those who fear Him and what he does to those who are his enemies and then we see that manifest specifically in history it says Judah you fear me I’m going to protect you I’m going to remove the oppression from you Assyria you’re my enemy I’m going to completely destroy you so we’re seeing the specific application of God’s character and how he reacts to his enemies this first chapter really sets the stage for the rest of the book Nineveh and Judah are reminded of God’s character and then they receive announcement broadly of what God will do the rest of the book though is going to really focus on Nineveh and Assyria so let’s now look at the rest of the book in Chapter 2 and we’ll read verses one to five this is the next section I want us to observe what does God have more to say about Nineveh and Assyria look at verse 1 of chapter two the one who scatters has come up against you man The Fortress watch the road strengthen your back summon all your strength for the Lord will restore the Splendor of Jacob like the Splendor of Israel even though Devastators have devastated them and destroyed their Vine branches the shields of his mighty men are colored red the Warriors are dressed in Scarlet the Chariots are enveloped in flashing steel when he is prepared to March and the Cypress Spears are brandished the Chariots raced madly in the streets they Rush wildly in the squares their appearances like torches they Dash to and fro like lightning flashes he remembers his Nobles they stumble in their March they hurry to her wall and the mantlet is set up okay let’s observe God is speaking to Nineveh again here the one who scatters has come up against you what does God command a Nineveh to do verse one what does he command that’s right repair your defenses you’re ready for battle Nineveh battle is coming to you says Get Ready what does God promise in verse two exactly restore the Splendor of Jacob restore the Splendor of Israel this is similar to what he said in chapter one I think this is the last reference we have to Judah or Israel in this book but he says I prepare your defenses but no I’m going to restore I’m going to restore Israel’s splendor and then we have an image in verse three think of the details there that are given there what is the image we get first of all what is depicted got soldiers depicted right we’ve got military men but how would you describe their depiction their Mighty Men colored red dressed in Scarlet flashing Steel their Cypress Spears are brandished what kind of picture of soldiers is that yeah they look Splendid and mighty they look like a a glorious group but then look at the next image it’s also an image of soldiers but what is the sense in this image yeah soon yeah rushing chaos you see words like wildly they’re dashing to and fro they’re stumbling they’re hurrying because battle has come they’ve got a man in the walls they aren’t that Splendid looking Army that we see in verse three they’re a panicked army they are an army that is hurrying for the defense by the way if you’re wondering what a manslide is in verse 5 manslide is a portable barrier for Archers and infantry to use for cover when they’re besieging a city it’s kind of like a wall or a box that you can transport and you can’t be hit by arrows or projectiles anyways so we have these images The Defenders of Nineveh are called to ready themselves we see them doing so but let’s now look at verses 6 to 13.
the gates of the rivers are opened and the palace is dissolved it is fixed she is stripped she is carried away and her handmaids are moaning like the sound of doves beating on their breasts though Nineveh was like a pool of water throughout her days now they are fleeing stop stop but no one turns back plunder the silver plunder the gold for there is no limit to the treasure well for every kind of desirable object she is emptied yes she is desolate and waste hearts are melting and knees knocking also anguishes in the whole body and all their faces are grown pale where’s the den of the Lions and the feeding place of the Young Lions where the lion lioness and lions cut Lions Cub proud with nothing to disturb them the lion tore enough for his Cubs killed enough for his lionesses and filled his lairs with prey and his dens with torn flesh behold I am against you declares the Lord of hosts I will burn up her chariots and smoke a sword will devour your Young Lions I will cut off your prey from the land and no longer will the voice of your Messengers be heard okay this section is dominated by two main images first image appears in verses six to ten it’s mentioned specifically in verse 6 to 8.
what is the image used to describe what will happen to Nineveh they’re going to be taken over but he’s using an image to describe something about that conquest yeah Roy there’s this water image if you go back to verse six it says the gates of the river are opened and the palace is dissolved and then in um verse 8 though Nineveh was like a pool of water throughout her days now they are fleeing so there’s this image of Rushing Water uh of water suddenly being opened up and water fleeing now just as a dammed up River suddenly rushes and a pool of water bursts through a barrier this pool of water in Nineveh burst through a barrier what the metaphorically is going to depart Nineveh rapidly like Rushing Water in verses 6 to 10.
okay the things things that were met by the waters are carried away but he mentioned specifically some things being carried away as if by the water what’s being carried away yeah silver and gold um the the palace is stripped um plunder the silver plunder the gold there’s no limit to her treasure will from every kind or desirable object all the wealth is just carried away rapidly as if the water itself was carrying it out and what’s the state of Nineveh and verse 10 after this Rushing Water has gone through it’s ruined it’s desolate it’s empty it’s like you had this pool that was all nice and sealed in the city and then the barrier breaks it rushes through carries away everything people are saying stop stop they’re trying to hold it back but you can’t it’s water it’s just going to keep on rushing and all the wealth is carried away from the city it’s left empty it’s desolate now remember that Nineveh was quite a splendid City at this time it had been beautified with all the wealth obtained from the conquered peoples and the subjugated peoples and the tribute of Kings it was a glorious City but he says all that wealth it’s going to disappear like water carrying it away now there’s another image in the second half here of this section what image appears in verses 11 to 13.
it’s all about what creature the Lions right it’s the image of a lion’s den verse 11 asks where this Lion’s secure den and the hunting grounds are now if he’s asking that question what does that indicate has happened what happened to the lion stand in the hunting grounds they’re gone they’ve disappeared they’re no longer secure they’ve been devastated verse 12 describes how the lion formerly killed enough for his lionesses and his Cubs and his lair was filled with prey and with flesh with torn flesh but God says he is against you and again looking at the context that would be the lion he’s against the lion in verse 13.
and what does God promise to cut off from the you a couple things I will cut off I will burn up I will get rid of your prey you will no longer have prey what else I’ll get rid of your Messengers their voices will not be heard I’ll get rid of your chariots and I’ll get rid of the Young Lions your young lines will be cut off all right so let’s just interpret a little bit based on that line image what is this image of the line and the Lion’s Den describing regarding Assyria if God is asking Nineveh where’s the Lion’s Den and then he makes these promises regarding the lion what is he really saying about Assyria well who is the lion okay yeah that makes sense the Lion’s Den is the Syria or is Nineveh or you could say even to Syria so who’s the lion lion is Assyria and that makes sense right because the serious the dominant conquering Nation it’s been plundering it’s been attacking it’s been like a lion tearing prey tearing flesh bringing it back to the Cubs bring it back to the lionesses the families of Assyria the wives and children of Assyria he says that’s what you were but now your Lion’s Den is compromised now your hunting grounds have been cut off here’s what I’m going to do I am against you o Lion of Assyria I will destroy your military might your chariots I will destroy your Young Lions I’ll destroy your your young men who fight for you I’ll get rid of your Messengers and I’ll make us that you no longer have any prey so you can see how these two images of the passage are related right the lion that tore for itself obtained flesh for itself obtained wealth for itself if we’re not speaking metaphorically it’s going to lose it all the one who previously obtained greatness through conkos was now going to be desolated and conquered the Predator is Syria would now be hunted by the way I see the screens doing the flickering thing again I apologize about that we thought that it was fixed but I can always see it here this one doesn’t seem to flicker as much all right let’s move on to the Final Chapter I’ve seen some prophecies regarding Assyria let’s look at the last set of words that God has for Nineveh and Assyria so chapter three we’ll look at the the section from verses one to seven woe to the bloody City completely full of lies and pillage her prey never departs the noise of the whip the noise of the rattling of the wheel galloping horses and bounding chariots Horsemen charging swords flashing Spears gleaming many slain a mass of corpses and countless dead bodies they stumble over the dead bodies all because of the many harlet trees of the Harlot the Charming one the Mistress of sorceries who sells Nations by her Harlot trees and families by her sorceries behold I am against you declares the Lord of hosts I will lift up your skirts over your face and show to the Nations your nakedness and to the kingdoms your disgrace I will throw filth on you and make you vile and set you up as a spectacle and it will come about that all who see you will shrink from you and say Nineveh is devastated who will grieve for her where will I see comforters for you okay God pronounces woe on a bloody city that is full of lies and pillage and whose prey never departs what image is given in verses two to three what is described there yeah Roy well I don’t know if we want to say that just yet that this is the city of Nineveh or a city but certainly we have a picture of battle and what’s very noticeable about this battle I think you’re alluding to it Roy we have something mentioned here that was not mentioned before dead bodies right corpses this is a bloody battle that has resulted in the death of many there are so many corpses that people are stumbling over the Corpses now the reason for the preceding verses are a reason for the preceding verses is given in verse four what is the reason all this because because why now he says because of the harlotry but we’re not talking about physical hollow tree here we’re talking about a spiritual Harlot tree because we can see that he says the Mistress of sorceries who sells Nations by her harlotries we’re talking more than physical immorality here we’re talking about a spiritual immorality that affects Nations he says it is that that is um providing reason for what we see in the preceding verses and is this hollow tree and notice what God promises to bring about upon Nineveh as a result he continues to utilize the image of a harlot or a prostitute and says that he will lift up her skirts over her face and expose the vile disgrace and nakedness to all the nations who will in turn abandon her it will run from her there’ll be no one to comfort her it’s a pretty startling image of Shame and desolation now quick interpretive question is this image of battle and death in verses two to three a prophecy of what will happen to Nineveh in judgment or is this a depiction of what Nineveh has already done to the other nations I think that’s a difficult question to answer what are you going to say Ron right and I I do think that’s key to understanding this rob you point out that understanding who who the is that will relate to identifying what two versus two to three is talking about I think we can say with relative confidence that the adulteress or the ones adulteries all right I’m sorry the Harlot and verse four is Assyrian because again this this whole prophecy is against Nineveh and he says behold I am against you and and verse 7 it says Nineveh is devastated so we’re talking the the one whose whorings are apparent in verse 4 is Nineveh but there are two ways that we can take verses two to three and I’m not necessarily gonna totally settle that issue you could say that and I think maybe some of you are already thinking this this is a prophecy of what will happen to Assyria because of her rings because you are an idolatrous nation and you’ve been selling your spiritual adultery you’ve been influencing other nations with your spiritual adultery here’s what’s going to come upon you but you could also interpret it as well no it’s that idolatry that’s been motivating their Conquest their evil bloody conquests and this would fit with verse 1 where he says woe to the bloody City completely full of completely full of lies and pillage or prey never departs she’s always been doing this to people this is what she’s done to her prey because she thinks this is how she’s going to satisfy her gods or her gods are totally good with this I favor the latter interpretation but I’m not going to be too dogmatic about that certainly we know that God is indicting Nineveh in Assyria for their spiritual harlotry and for their bloodiness and there they are going to be judged because of that by the way as I mentioned in previous lessons Assyria is known infamously in history for its brutality for its cruelty archaeologists have discovered images of battle on the walls of the Palaces that used to be in Nineveh and these Engravings include depictions of enemy soldiers being impaled on Pikes and captives being flayed alive while their families watch this is a very brutal people or they’ve been very brutal as conquerors and certainly just conquering other peoples in the first places is an issue all right next section let’s look at verses 8 to 11.
God has promised to judge to shame to expose this nation but let’s see what he says next are you better than no Oman which was situated By the Waters of the Nile with water surrounding her whose Rampart was the sea whose wall consisted of the sea Ethiopia was her mind in Egypt too Without Limits put in lubem were among her helpers became an exile she went into captivity also her small children were dashed to pieces at the head of every street they cast lots of her Honorable Men and all her great men were bound with Fetters you too will become drunk you too will be hidden you two will search for a refuge from the enemy okay quick observations even if you don’t recognize the name noaman where must this city be this place be according to the details of this passage it’s got to be in Egypt because it mentions the Nile and it mentions Ethiopian mentions Egypt this is some place in Egypt actually no Oman was another name for the capital of Egypt thieves now recall Egypt had different capitals but this was the capital around this time recall that Assyria conquered Egypt which means they also conquered thieves thieves was devastated as were her people but notice the question from God in verse 8 are you better than Noah man what’s the expected answer no you’re not you’re not any better Thebes was well defended it was well positioned it had to see for part of its walls or it had water as part of its walls she was well supported she had many armies to protect her but she was brought down she was destroyed God says the same will happen to you Nineveh you are no better you will be plundered too you will go into captivity too you will have your children dashed to pieces you will have your great men taken as prisoners and slaves you’re not any better defended and you’re certainly not any better behaved all right one more section verses 12 to 19.
verse 12. all your fortifications are fig trees with a ripe fruit when shaken they fall into the eater’s mouth behold your people are women in your midst the gates of your land are open wide to your enemies fire consumes your gate bars draw for yourself water for The Siege strengthen your fortifications go into the clay and Shred the mortar take hold of the brick mold their fire will consume you the sword will cut you down it will consume you as the Locust does multiply yourself like the creeping Locust multiply yourself like the swarming Locust you have increased your Traders more than the stars of Heaven the creeping Locus strips and flies away pure Guardsmen are like the swarming Locust your Marshals are like the hordes of grasshoppers settling in the stone walls on a cold day the sun rises and they flee and the place where they are is not known your shepherds are sleeping O King of Assyria your Nobles are lying down your people are scattered on the mountains and no one to there is no relief for your breakdown your wound is incurable all who hear about you will clap their hands over you four on whom has not your evil past continually all right this is the last word from God in this prophecy verses 12 to 13 describe the state of nineveh’s defenses from God’s perspective Nineveh is like a fig tree with a ripe fruit when you shake the tree the figs just easily drop off they’re like a city defended by women no offense ladies but women were not trained to fight in those days nor were they known for being Valiant so to be defended by women was a very dangerous thing Nineveh is like a city with its Gates wide open in other words how secure is Nineveh it’s it’s completely vulnerable whatever their defenses look like to humanize from God’s perspective they are completely exposed it’s like their gates are wide open you just shake the walls a tiny bit and everything falls apart they’re like a fig tree with the figs just drop off so easily now what has gone Nineveh what does God come in in about to do in verses 14 to 15.
like I said earlier get ready for battle prepare your defenses build up that wall get your soldiers ready and yet what does God promise in verses 14 and 19.
you can get your defenses ready but it’s not gonna matter you’re still going to be destroyed in Syria and its people be destroyed this is another interesting image in verses 15 to 17 one of locusts and grasshoppers he says you multiply yourself um he says you’ve got you’ve got these grasshoppers what do these bugs represent it tells us specifically your Guardsmen are like locusts your Marshals are like the hordes or grasshoppers you can maybe say that the traders that they’ve increased are also like locusts but there’s a big problem being defended by locusts or being defended by Grasshoppers and it’s not that they’re small it could be squished but Lucas and grasshoppers are constantly on the move they get up and fly away at a moment’s notice it says your Defenders are like locusts that have settled in on the cool Stone the stone of the walls but as soon as the sun comes up they’ll all Fly Away they’ll disappear and you will be completely undefended your defenses will disappear in a Flash as no one will be able to find them notice the future state of Nineveh citizens in verse 18. both Shepherds and Nobles are lying down scattered with no one to regather them now this statement is made specifically to the king of Assyria if no one is around to re-gather the people to Rally to lead them what happened to the king the king is vulnerable and there’s a prediction made about the king if people if the people of Assyria will have no one to regather them what’s happened to the king he’s gone he’s either killed or captured remember God had said something similar to Israel after Saul after he prophesied that Saul would die he says I saw all Israel scattered with no one to lead them isn’t it she said the reason I saw that is because the king will die Saul evil die same thing here says the king is going to be killed or captured the people will be left leaderless verse 19 says finally there is no cure or relief for you all who hear about you will clap their hands over you that is they will rejoice they will applaud when they see what happens to you and notice the reason the end of verse 19. another rhetorical question for on whom has not your evil passed continually what’s the implied answer no one there is no one who has not experienced or evil there’s no one who has not felt your evil influence your continual evil influence that’s why this is all going to happen to you and that’s where the prophecy ends so let’s summarize what we’ve seen in chapter one we saw God’s Vengeance on evil and his great power described we saw that his power totally destroys the guilty but it defends those who seek God for Refuge we then saw how God’s character and power were going to manifest themselves specifically Destruction for Assyria but Deliverance for Judah and then in chapter two we saw God calling Nineveh to defend itself but the images then showed the images that came out which showed that the defense was pointless there would be no stopping the wealth escaping from Nineveh like a river nor is there a way to secure the Lion’s Den or the hunting grounds from being devastated in chapter 3 we saw the bloodiness and the spiritual holly tree of Nineveh highlighted and condemned God promises to expose and shame the spiritually immoral City God again called on the city to defend itself but again showed that there would be nothing that would stop the city from being overtaken and destroyed the evil Nineveh inflicted on all nations would receive recompense now let’s ask some interpretive questions okay God is not being serious when he tells Nineveh to defend itself how could we describe these commands of God yeah Craig and I think that there’s definitely a warning there but he also says that it’s going to be useless so if you’re commanding someone to do something that’s ultimately going to be useless what’s the sense um what kind of a feeling do you have in that command yeah I mean there’s there’s confidence there like get your defenses ready you’re not gonna be able to do anything but there’s also a kind of a sarcastic or an ironic quality to those commands I think maybe due to that confidence yeah get your defenses ready but you know know it’s going to be useless it’s a kind of an irony or a sarcasm to those commands total confidence in God and isn’t what he’s going to do yeah I’ve seen this whole book and and you saw the summary on the previous slide what are the main ideas or themes repeated in this book what’s one of them yeah God judges evil right he judges it completely totally and nothing can stop it what else God’s judgment is emphasized Danny something else yeah God’s power God is going to totally bring to pass his judgments he has the power to execute his vengeance what else well this idea of get your defenses ready yeah total sovereignty right his sovereignty is emphasized here we could point to some other things as well just to summarize some of them God judges sins the utter most he will eventually destroy and disgrace his enemies God protects vindicates and avenges those that fear him that call upon Him Judah you will be restored Israel Your Glory will be restored reversal the plunderer becomes the plundered the lion becomes the prey the proud is brought low we also see that planning or making preparation to fight against God or Escape his judgment is totally useless I feel like this is perhaps the strongest theme the most emphasized theme in this book if you want to remember the book of nahim if I could help you maybe with one phrase it’s simply this resistance is futile and God’s judgment comes your resistance is futile evil will never Escape God’s judgment and God is sovereignly going to bring that to pass now this Oracle is addressed to Assyria what then was nahim’s purpose in proclaiming this message of judgment to Assyria to Nineveh why give this word it’s a testament to God’s power for sure yes hmm well it is interesting that you mentioned that you say you notice that repentance definitely seems missing from this book if we go back to the Book of Jonah though you may remember that when Jonah declared his message to people Nineveh he didn’t say anything about repentance he just said you’re going to be judged you’re ready to be judged it’s interesting when you compare these two different books Jonah did not he was a half-hearted um Messenger to the people of Nineveh he didn’t want to go but when he went he declared you’re all going to be judged within a certain amount of time whole city is going to be destroyed they repented the king everyone in the city and then how did God react he relented of the judgment the same thing is possible here yeah Rob yeah the same thing as possible here this message of judgment is not simply to say look it’s coming upon you too bad this was to evoke repentance just like Jonah’s message was hang on a second Ron however from what you know from the rest of the scriptures or history how does Nineveh respond to this message yes Steve um knows the hearts of hearts but the Fortified by themselves of the people yeah that’s a that’s a that’s a good point that would this prophecy of judgment even though the previous prophecy of judgment brought about repentance and judgments are given to evoke repentance there’s a predictive quality to this prophecy about how Assyria is going to react and that’s similar to how the Prophecies of judgment against Israel were also right he tells Israel specifically you need to repent but he also predicts that that’s not what they’re going to do and of course the Judgment comes to pass and that’s what happens to Assyria Assyria does not repent Nineveh does not repent they do not respond to this message from nahim God knew that they weren’t going to respond just to give you the historical details in 627 BC within a few Decades of this prophecy a series of civil wars and rebellions broke out in the Assyrian Empire the Babylonian nabo palacer gained control of the area of Babylonia and later laid Siege to the city of Nineveh he conquered it in 612 BC with an assault that included intense house to house fighting there was even a report that a flood of the river was part of the reason that they were able to assault the city because the flood was so large that it damaged the defenses after Victory the Babylonians plundered the city and then raised it to the ground the city’s remaining inhabitants were massacred or deported and to this day Nineveh is a ruin of the city of mosul is not too far away now but philosopher with the help of the medes continue to dismantle the Assyrian Empire until finally NABA palace’s son Nebuchadnezzar II that is the members Nebuchadnezzar of the scriptures defeated the last Assyrian and Egyptian resistance at the Battle of church mission 605 BC Assyria was then officially no more therefore when we can see when Nineveh repented under Jonah that generation experienced merciful salvation but when Nineveh refused to repent in response to the message of nahim that generation experienced total and just destruction but perhaps the question still lingers in your mind how can this be how can God condemn and judges Syria for what it did to the other nations when God himself raised up Assyria and used Assyria to conquer those other nations and inflict the brutal judgment on them how can God do that well part of the answer this surely has to do with how Assyria went going about God’s ordained judgment Syria certainly did not give glory to God when it conquered these other peoples nor was it careful to obey God’s commands but you might say wasn’t that part of the judgment wasn’t there sinfulness and brutality part of the judgment on those other nations well there’s another part to the answer and it’s this God is just and though he ordains evil and uses evil to accomplish his purposes God is not himself evil nor does he cause anyone to commit evil God is very explicit about this in the scriptures therefore though God ordained a serious evil sinful brutality as a judgment on the other nations God was not responsible for that evil Assyria was responsible therefore God was just in bringing judgment onto Syria our minds May struggle with the tension of God’s sovereignty man’s responsibility but the Bible makes clear that God is always holy just and Sovereign responsibility for evil is never God’s so God did not violate his Justice by bringing this judgment or by pronouncing this judgment on Assyria we only have two minutes so let me briefly turn to our last topic which is application so what why should we care this that this judgment was revealed to Assyria through God’s prophet nahim and then when it was unheeded it came to pass we’re not Assyria after all well many of you already see the connection it’s similar to what we’ve seen in the last few lessons the same holy God who judged Nineveh for sin is the same God God who will judge all men for sin the New Testament describes the dangers that we too are under from God’s Wrath Romans 2 5 but because of your stubbornness and your unrepentant heart and unrepentant heart you are storing up wrath for yourself in the day of Wrath and the revelation of the righteous Judgment of God Hebrews 10 26-27 for if we go on sinning willfully after receiving the knowledge of the truth there no longer Remains the sacrifice for sins but a terrifying expectation of judgment and the fury of fire which will consume the adversaries all of us will face the Judgment of God either when we die or when Christ comes back and all human preparations for this judgment like nine of us preparations will be useless you cannot keep yourself from dying you cannot buy your way out you cannot store up enough supposed good works or prayers to protect you or to save you you cannot hide behind your family or your church like Assyria you will be utterly exposed by God and the sinfulness of your heart will be put on display if your righteousness is anything less than God’s standard which is perfection you will be disowned by God and then thrown into the Lake of Fire forever there is no hiding from or escaping God’s judgment there is no defense his judgment will find you as God said God will never leave the Guiltless unpunished he’s too just and too holy for that so what hope is there for any of us well as we said it’s only in the Savior provided by God the only salvation the only rescue from God is the one that God provided because God himself said to name him one I am a strong tower to those who seek refuge in me he is the rock on which if a wise man builds when the storm and flood of God’s judgment comes the house stands firm and how can one make God his refuge and his Savior and do as Jesus and the prophets commanded repent of your sins turn back from your own way trust in Jesus righteousness alone follow after Jesus commit your whole life to no longer doing the will of your flesh but the will of God starting with baptism the only Escape from God’s judgment is the way that God provided Jesus this is God’s message to us this is the message that we need to take to the world some questions for you to meditate on as we close when God’s judgment comes will you be protected or will you be destroyed how do you know in what defense do you place your hope if it’s anything other than the righteous sacrifice of Christ on your behalf your hope is as useless as you as nineveh’s walls are you showing the fruits of repentance in your life putting off the patterns of sin and putting on the patterns of righteousness because these will show whether you truly believe in Jesus do you trust God to avenge evil so that you don’t have to seek your own vengeance and do you continually thank and praise God for rescuing you from the Judgment that you like Nineveh so plainly deserved that’s all for this week next week we take a step back and talk about the Bible’s prophecies in general lots of people make predictions today and some of them come true are the Bibles fulfilled prophecies really all that special well look take a look at that question next week let’s pray