An Oracle of Divine Reckoning for Nineveh

Nahum 3:8-12

The prophet continues with another rhetorical question in verse 8. The answer is implicit in the question. If Thebes had so much protection and yet it failed, then Nineveh awaits the same fate. Thebes, located about 450 miles south of modern Cairo, was the capital of Egypt’s Upper Kingdom for much its history (Brand and England, Holman Illustrated, 1579). Thebes had natural barriers due to its geographical location that made attacking the city particularly challenging. It was on the eastern bank of the Nile River and was the center of worship for the Egyptian god Amon. The city was situated among a system of rivers and canals in and around it that were supplied by the Nile (Roberts, Nahum, 70n8).

Thebes also had a network of allies surrounding it that made attacking the city even more unlikely (v. 9).^[19]“Cush” is also known as ancient Nubia, ancient Ethiopia,^[20]and modern Sudan. This is the territory immediately south of Egypt on the Nile River. During the Twenty-Fifth Dynasty (ca. 780–656 BC), Egypt was ruled by kings who were of Nubian ethnicity. This is probably why Nahum pairs Cush and Egypt together to show the reinforced strength of their alliance. “Put” is most likely a part of Libya, Egypt’s neighbor to the west, although its exact identification is uncertain.^[21]These allies formed what appeared to be an invincible barrier of protection for Thebes.

Despite this protection, Thebes was sacked in 663 BC by the Assyrian king Ashurbanipal (v. 10). By making this comparison with Thebes, Nahum is employing a particularly pointed version of prophetic irony precisely because it was Nineveh who overthrew Thebes. If invincible Thebes could be overthrown, Assyria should never think it could not be overthrown too, especially since Assyria itself was the nation that succeeded in doing it. There are no invincible nations before God. The Lord can always raise a greater nation in the future to conquer today’s most powerful nations. God sovereignly rules over the earth He created. He sets the times and places for all peoples and nations. They all rise and fall according to His divine purpose and plan. Psalm 33:12 (ESV) says, “Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord.” The nation or people that trust in the Lord will be blessed by the Lord. Nations who do not trust the Lord as their God will suffer complete ruin forever.

The fate of Thebes was awful according to Nahum. The youngest and most vulnerable were destroyed by the Assyrians! This is an example of a common practice of not sparing even the youngest lives from the sword. To many people in the postmodern world these atrocities are unthinkable, yet even today they still happen in warfare. Not only did the Assyrians brutally kill countless infants, but the Theban nobles were humiliated like prisoners of war. The Assyrians gambled for and imprisoned Theban leaders as they devastated the land.

Nahum proceeds to apply the lesson of the fall of Thebes to the Assyrians (v. 11). The metaphor of drunkenness as part of divine judgment is also found in Isaiah 19:14 concerning Egypt: “The leaders have made Egypt stagger in all she does, as a drunkard staggers in his vomit.” Lamentations 4:21 declares judgment on Edom in similar words: “Yet the cup will pass to you as well; you will get drunk and expose yourself.” Nahum declares that Nineveh’s leaders will be subject to the same intoxication of divine judgment. They will try to shield themselves from the onslaught by hiding, but nothing they do will save Assyria. Their faculties will be so impaired that it will be as if they are drunk. Roberts comments, “The metaphor of the drunken woman . . . should probably be read as an indication that Nineveh’s defenses have been breached and that she is naked and open to the abuse of her conquerors. That is why she must seek a place of refuge” (Nahum, 74–75). Sinners suffer from severely impaired reasoning because they do not trust in the Lord. They rely on their own unredeemed thoughts and become like drunkards when it comes to their choices. In the day of divine reckoning they can only run and attempt to hide. But God is the only refuge in the day of distress and judgment.

Nineveh is ripe for impending judgment from the Lord. In verse 12 Nahum uses the fig tree as a simile to expose Nineveh’s ripeness. Assyria’s defenses are no longer capable of protecting it from disaster. Its fortresses are like ripe figs ready to be eaten! Their defenses are ready to be overtaken with little or no resistance. The Assyrian Empire has become weakened to the point that it will no longer be able to withstand armies that come against it. Historically, one reason for the decline of Assyria’s strength had to do with the fact that the empire was severely overextended and had begun to crumble under its own weight.^[22]Isaiah 28:4 uses the metaphor of ripe figs to illustrate the ripeness of Samaria for divine judgment during the mid-eighth century BC prior to her fall at the hands of Assyria. Samaria’s leaders “will be like a ripe fig before the summer harvest. Whoever sees it will swallow it while it is still in his hand.” In Mark 13:28-29 Jesus gave a parable about the ripeness of the fig tree indicating the Lord’s imminent coming in judgment:

Learn this parable from the fig tree: As soon as its branch becomes tender and sprouts leaves, you know that summer is near. In the same way, when you see these things happening, know that He is near—at the door!

If the first ripening of the fig tree is an indication of the nearness of the Lord’s coming, how much more when the figs have ripened early. Nineveh is more than ripe for ruin. Such will be the end of all nations and kingdoms that do not honor the Lord as the sovereign God over all the earth. Assyria will be eaten alive! In the same way, sinners are ripe (and not ready) for the coming judgment.

Nahum’s message of judgment for Nineveh is good news for God’s people and bad news for Assyria. The gospel is to be understood as the good news over against the bad news. The bad news is that divine judgment is coming for all who do not trust in the salvation of the Lord. The good news is that God will judge sinners and He will save the righteous. Whoever calls on the name of the Lord will be saved (Joel 2:32; Acts 2:21).

Nahum 3:13-19

Nahum completes his prophetic message against Nineveh by calling attention to the weaknesses in the Assyrian military machine (v. 13). His reference to the troops being “like women” is not intended as an insult toward women. It is a cultural simile describing the failure of courage among the members of the Assyrian military. Because of the weakness of the military, the defenses of the city are vulnerable to attack. There is no ability to resist invaders. Nahum predicts that fire will destroy the city gate. The city gate was one of the most important places for defense.

Nahum goes on to taunt Nineveh in verse 14. This taunting language is similar to Nahum’s taunt in 2:1: “Man the fortifications! Watch the road! Brace yourself! Summon your strength!” In 3:14 he employs five imperatives to make his point of irony that no matter how much Nineveh prepares, its demise is inevitable.^[23]Nahum reveals aspects of the process of preparation for an oncoming military attack. The prophet rhetorically urges the storing and usage of water and the making of mud bricks to build walls and barriers to reinforce their fortresses.

Verses 15-17 make up a section the theme of which revolves around an extended simile regarding fire, sword, and locusts. Despite their most valiant efforts, Nahum declares that the fire and the sword will consume Nineveh like locusts who consume large fields of food. He does not seem to suggest that locusts will devour Nineveh, but it does appear that Nahum is saying fire will have the same level of destructive force as locusts. In a twist on the usage of the simile, in verse 15b Nahum taunts Nineveh to multiply like locusts because he knows that will not help Assyria defend itself. Verses 16-17 continue the extended simile, comparing the size of the Assyrian regime with a swarm of locusts. “The multitude of Assyria’s troops, traders, and officials must have made it very difficult for Nahum’s Judean audience to believe his proclamation of Nineveh’s imminent fall” (Roberts, Nahum, 75). Nineveh can multiply all the troops it wants, but it will be to no avail. God has decreed the collapse of Nineveh and its empire.

Nahum’s final words are directed to the king of Assyria, although Judah—God’s people—are the immediate recipients (vv. 18-19). Whether the king of Assyria ever actually knew about Nahum’s prophecy concerning him does not ultimately matter because he will get what he deserves. The king’s advisors and deputies are unreliable. The reference to “slumber” and “sleep” probably has to do with the fact that his officials are clueless. “The King of Assyria may be oblivious to what is happening across his kingdom, but he shall learn of the effects of negligence and dissipation on the part of his leadership soon enough” (Robertson, Nahum, 127). The reference to the Assyrian people being “scattered” recalls the “one who scatters” mentioned by Nahum in 2:1. The damage to the king of Nineveh, his people, and the Neo-Assyrian Empire will be untreatable and incurable.

Judah and all the other nations will rejoice over the death of Assyria because it will mean an end to the long and bitter experiences of its cruel policies (v. 19b). Nahum ends his prophecy with a rhetorical question: “Who has not experienced your constant cruelty?” Shelton comments concerning the cruelty of Assyrian policies and practices,

At the time of Nahum’s prophecy every nation on earth had experienced, in one degree or another, the barbarity of Assyria’s rulers—the exploitation, the oppression, the violence. Both the Scriptures and the monuments testify to Assyria’s wickedness: their audacious boast of cruelty and of the pitiless crushing of nations; the rows of impaled prisoners; captives through whose lips rings were fastened, whose eyes were put out and who were then flayed alive. (Nahum, 68)

This explains the rationale for Nahum’s prophetic message concerning Nineveh, the capital of the Neo-Assyrian Empire. God will not be mocked by individuals or nations. God will judge all nations according to His righteousness, and His Word will have the final say in all the affairs of humankind.