Nahum - Prophet Against Nineveh
Nahum came along a century after Jonah, prophesying again the destruction of Nineveh. Yes, Nineveh repented in Jonah's day, and God spared them at that time. But in Nahum's days, the sins of Nineveh again overflowed the cup, provoking God again. The city is now extinct, a pile of ruins outside the Iraqi city of Mosul.
Nahum 1:1,14 - "The burden of Nineveh. The book of the vision of Nahum the Elkoshite ...And the LORD hath given a commandment concerning thee, that no more of thy name be sown: ...I will make thy grave; for thou art vile."
God Is Jealous Of His Enemies
God is as good as anyone can possibly declare. But His righteous indignation toward His enemies is perfectly justified. Everything in the universe was created by Him, and lives and moves and has its being in Him. It makes NO sense that God should even have enemies. Let Him do whatever He pleases with them.
Nahum 1:2-3 - "God is jealous, and the LORD revengeth; ...the LORD will take vengeance on his adversaries, and he reserveth wrath upon His enemies. The LORD is slow to anger, and great in power, and will not at all acquit the wicked."
God Promised To Destroy Vile Nineveh And Its Idolatry
Nineveh was once the capital of Assyria, a vast middle-eastern empire for hundreds of years, north and east of Israel. Nineveh was famous for its idols and temples and worship of various gods: Sin, the moon god; Nergel and Shamash, sun gods; and most of all, Ishtar, goddess of sex and fertility.
Nahum 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."
Him That Bringeth Good Tidings, That Publisheth Peace
Jesus Christ will stand upon the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem (Zechariah 14:4), and from that moment, Israel will never know another threat. The Prince of Peace (a.k.a. "The LORD of Hosts) will overthrow every adversary once and for all, and for 1000 years, Israel and the rest of the world will live in perfect peace.
Nahum 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."
Nahum Accurately Prophesied The Fall Of Nineveh
God sent scarlet-robed warriors with shields and chariots against Nineveh in 612 BC. King Nabopolassar, who had only recently conquered Babylon, led an army of Medes and Babylonians in the final overthrow of Nineveh.
Nahum 2:1,8,13 - "He that dasheth in pieces is come up before thy face: keep the munition, watch the way, ...But Nineveh is of old like a pool of water: yet they shall flee away. ...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."
Woes For Lies, Robbery, Whoredom, And Witchcraft
God is no respecter of persons (Acts 10:34). The soul that sinneth, it shall die (Ezekiel 18:20). The wicked shall be turned into hell, and every nation that forgets God (Psalm 9:17). Great Nineveh was not great enough to defy the eternal precepts of a holy God.
Nahum 3:1,4,7 - "Woe to the bloody city! it is all full of lies and robbery; ...that selleth nations through her whoredoms, and families through her witchcrafts, ...all they that look upon thee shall flee from thee, and say, Nineveh is laid waste: who will bemoan her?"
O King Of Assyria, Thy People Is Scattered
Nineveh was the capital of the Assyrian empire. Renowned Assyrian kings included Shalmaneser I, Tiglath-Pileser I, and Sennacherib. Its palace had no rival, at 794 feet x 1650 feet. The city had elaborate streets and canals and aqueducts, as many as 150,000 citizens. But God said, "no more."
Nahum 3:18-19 - "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. There is no healing of thy bruise; thy wound is grievous: ...for upon whom hath not thy wickedness passed continually?"
