This book is all about Nineveh which, you remember, was about to be destroyed but had been saved when they listened to the preaching of Jonah. Each generation has its own responsibility before God and, 100 years later, the city was in trouble again. Genesis 10v11 tells us that it was originally built by a man named Nimrod and it had grown to become the flourishing capital of the Assyrian empire. Now, it is a heap of ruins located near present day Mosul in Iraq.
BOOK OF COMFORT
The name Nahum (v1) means “compassionate” or “full of comfort” and it is thought that his home, Elkosh, was either another place in Assyria or even, Galilee. Capernaum, which means village of Nahum, was an appropriate name for the place where Jesus would later perform many of his compassionate miracles. Nahum, the book, was a vision from God to comfort the afflicted people of Judah. We certainly have a loving compassionate Saviour.
Israel, the northern kingdom, had already been destroyed and it’s people re-settled by the Assyrians. Nahum in chapter 3v8 refers to the destruction of the city of Thebes and this would date the book to one of the Judah kings reigning soon after the northern kingdom calamity, possibly king Manasseh.
POWERFUL BUT SLOW TO ANGER
The Assyrians, in their conquest of Israel, had been a tool in the Lord’s hand but, even so, they would be judged for their arrogance in dealing with God and his people (see Isaiah 10:5-27). God had forgiven them once, at the time of Jonah, but this time their end would be complete destruction. God will only take tough action when all hope of repentance is lost. In the case of Assyria, who had been troubling His people, Isaiah says (10v27) “on that day his burden will be removed from your shoulder, and his yoke will be removed from your neck”. If we read verse 2 we see how this works out; God is a “jealous and avenging God” towards His enemies but (v3), despite His great power, He is slow to anger. Although it says in verse 6: “who can endure the heat of His anger?” verse 7 explains how He is also a stronghold on a day of trouble and protects those who take trust Him and take refuge in Him.
TIME FOR THE YOKE TO BE BROKEN
God’s people had been subject to the tyranny of Assyria but this was all a part of Gods affliction who said “though I have afflicted you, oh Judah I will afflict you no more” (v12) but ow was the time for that yoke to be broken (v13). What was to happen, we read in (2v2), was part of God’s plan to restore the splendour of Jacob and Israel. Ravagers had ravaged them and broken their branches but the trunk was still there. The book of Nahum predicted the fall of the city of Nineveh to the Medes and Babylonians which history dates as about 612BC. Her destruction took place about 25 years before the fall of Jerusalem to the Babylonians.
THE DESTRUCTION
Evidently, students of the English language are amazed by the quality of writing in this book. Consider the description of the invading forces in chapter two. The scarlet colour of the warriors, their shields and the flashing blades of metal on their chariots (v3). The chariots (v4) are pictured racing “madly through the streets” and darting like “lightning.” Then we see the city officers “stumbling” (v5) as they come forward to defend. It is interesting to read about the river gates opening in verse 6, because history tells how the nearby Tigris river caused a flood that washed away most of the wall. The collapse of this wall, that they thought was impregnable, seriously assisted the attacking army who carried away the women (v7) as slaves, “moaning like doves”.
The great city was plundered for its many treasures (v9) and verse 10 talks about “devastation, desolation and destruction! Hearts faint and knees tremble, all loins quake, all faces grow pale.” In verses 11 and 12 you see the description of Nineveh having beast-like cruelty, like lions in their den. It is interesting that the British museum displays the famous lion hunt reliefs (excavated from ancient Nineveh) which show Assyrian rulers on lion hunting expeditions. The Assyrian empire had been built up by ruthless lion-like savagery (v12) but (v13), the Lord was now against her. Nineveh had been a city of bloodshed (3v1), a deceitful city, and it had plundered and enslaved (v4) other nations. This time the Lord was against her and she would be totally shamed (v5-7). She would become like Thebes which had, similarly, seemed well protected by water (v8) and supported by strong allies (v9) but still met with destruction. Nineveh, when excavated, showed extensive signs of the fire mentioned in verses 13 and 15. The many defensive guards would seem like many grasshoppers (v17) but they would just disappear like a cloud of locusts when the sun rises; “no-one knows where they have gone.”
WHAT REMAINS OF NINEVEH
Their wound was a fatal one (v19) because of their “endless cruelty”. For thousands of years, nobody knew anything about Nineveh and many wondered whether references in the Bible were only mythical. It had been buried out of sight and was, apparently, lost for nearly 2000 years until various excavations started in the 1820’s. Remember, Jonah had described how it took 3 days to walk across Nineveh. It stood along the eastern bank of the river Tigris for about 30 miles long and 10 miles or so deep from the river to the hills. This extensive space is now one immense area of ruins. Nineveh occupied a central position on the highway between East and West and had accumulated great commercial wealth.
In recent years, palace after palace have been discovered. So has a library of 10,000 brick tablets which contain an amazing record of their ancient history, laws and religion. Nineveh has a claim to have been the greatest of the ancient cities.
DO NOT HINDER GOD’S KINGDOM
The thing that really matters, though, is that the Lord is far greater than any earthly power. Nineveh had been a tool in the Lord’s hand but now He was against her. Likewise, he is against all the enemies that hinder the growth of his kingdom.