Deeper Commentary

Nahum Chapter 3

Nahum 3:1 Woe to the city of blood! It is all full of lies and robbery- no end to the prey!- This language is repeatedly used about Jerusalem (Jer. 26:15; Ez. 7:23; 9:9; 22:2,3; 24:6,9). Nineveh's destruction for shedding blood, lying and stealing was to serve as a warning to Jerusalem. They were no better than their Gentile enemies. Situations we encounter in our lives are in order to help us see what will happen to us unless we too repent and change. See on :4.

Nahum 3:2 The noise of the whip, the noise of the rattling of wheels, prancing horses, and bounding chariots- The reality of the Medes destroying Nineveh is portrayed here in great and vivid detail. The very noise of the horse whips is mentioned, and the rattling of the chariot wheels on cobblestones. The focus upon these minor details, just as in movies today, was to highlight the reality. But all this could have been avoided had Nineveh repented, as they did in Jonah's time.

Nahum 3:3 The horseman mounting, and the flashing sword, the glittering spear, and a multitude of slain, and a great heap of corpses, and there is no end of the bodies. They stumble on their bodies- Often, Angels are described in terms of the men, empires or armies they control- the frequent descriptions of human armies in language which refers to Angels too provides proof of this (e. g. Is. 66:15; Ez. 26:7,10; Joel 2:5; Nahum 2:3,4,13). Nahum 3:3 speaks of how the Assyrians will come with the noise of wheels, as pransing horses, jumping chariots, and “the flashing sword”. This is all cherubim-Angel language (Gen. 3:24). The Angels behind those nations and armies were manifested through them, and this there is the use of such similar language. In the same way, the description of the beasts are relevant to the nations they represent, and also to the Angels which control them. Rev. 9:11 provides another example. I have suggested that Nahum wrote at the time of Sennacherib's invasion of Judah in the reign of Hezekiah. That invasion was destroyed by just one Angel, and the idea is that the entire Angel cherubim would move on from there to destroy Nineveh itself. This didn't completely happen as planned, because the repentance of God's people was required. But there was indeed a partial fulfilment, looking forward to that of the last days.

Nahum 3:4 Because of the multitude of the prostitution of the alluring prostitute, the mistress of witchcraft, who sells nations through her prostitution, and families through her witchcraft- As explained on Nah. 2:7, Nineveh was personified as her queen, Huzzab. Assyria appeared externally attractive to nations like Judah, offering them a fake kingdom of God if they gave in to her (Is. 36:16 cp. Mic. 4:4). But again, as noted on :1, Jerusalem was also likened to a prostitute, as was Babylon. Jerusalem was to learn that she was no better than Nineveh, and to be warned by Nineveh's destruction; realizing that at the time of Sennacherib's invasion, she had been saved by grace alone at the very last moment.

Nahum 3:5 Behold, I am against you, says Yahweh of Armies, and I will lift your skirts over your face. I will show the nations your nakedness, and the kingdoms your shame- This is again similar language to the judgment threatened upon God's people (Jer. 13:26). See on :4. The nakedness of the queen of Nineveh as she was led into captivity (see on Mic. 2:7) was to represent the exposing of Nineveh and the Assyrians. The plural "kingdoms" may refer to the combined forces of the Medes and Babylonians. Once inside Nineveh, the shame of her behaviour was revealed to all.

Nahum 3:6 I will throw abominable filth on you, and make you vile, and will set you a spectacle- The punishment for a prostitute. Assyria would be revealed for who she really was. "Abominable filth" is a term always (27 times) elsewhere used of idols (Dt. 29:17 etc.). She was to be treated as an idol, because those who make idols are like unto them (Ps. 115:8). All the idols of our world shall come to an eternal end, often a tragic end; and so shall we, if we worship them and trust in them.  

Nahum 3:7 It will happen that all those who look at you will flee from you, and say, ‘Nineveh is laid waste! Who will mourn for her?’ Where will I seek comforters for you?- To die with no mourners was the worst death for a Middle Eastern person of those times. As noted on Nah. 2:8, we may be intended to understand here a call to flee from Nineveh; for ultimately, everyone would flee from her. Again, the Divine intention was that His exiled people repent and return to the land, now that Assyria was suddenly destroyed. But this didn't quite happen; because they didn't repent, just as it didn't quite happen as potentially possible when Babylon fell. The final fulfilment must be in the last days.

Nahum 3:8 Are you better than No-Amon, who was situated among the rivers, who had the waters around her; whose rampart was the sea, and her wall was of the sea?- The allusion is to the previous dramatic victory of Sargon over No-Amon in Egypt; "the sea" would refer to the Nile. This city, like Nineveh, trusted in rivers and moats for her defence. But the Assyrians overcame this, and Nineveh's similar defences would likewise be destroyed. What Nineveh / Assyria had done to others would be done to them. They too were not invincible.

Nahum 3:9 Cush and Egypt were her infinite strength. Put and Libya were her helpers- "Infinite strength" is of course only from a human perspective. We have here another example of how God understands how humans see things, and uses their language in appealing to them; the usage of "demon" language in the New Testament is another example. Assyria had conquered No-Amon, even though that city was confident that Egypt and other nations were "her infinite strength". Judah too was trusting in Egypt at the time of Hezekiah, when Nahum was prophesying. Again, Judah was to learn from the destruction of others who vainly hoped in Egypt. The only source of "infinite strength" is God; they treated human strength, Egypt, as God. "Helpers" is ezrah, and 'Hezekiah' is a compound of this word- 'Yah is my helper'. Nahum's words were an encouragement of Judah to trust in Yahweh's help alone, as all human help had been already demonstrated to be worth nothing.

Nahum 3:10 Yet was she carried away, she went into captivity. Her young children also were dashed in pieces at the head of all the streets, and they cast lots for her honourable men, and all her senior leaders were bound in chains- This language is all used about what was to come upon Israel and Judah (Is. 51:20). As Assyria had done to them, so they would do to God's people, unless they stopped trusting in Egypt. The simple principle is that what we do to others is done to us; not just because God likes poetic justice for the sake of it, but in order to help us realize how they felt, and thereby to come to repentance before God and unity and empathy with those we have sinned against.

Nahum 3:11 You also will be drunken. You will go into hiding. You also will seek a stronghold because of the enemy- The fortified palaces of the king of Nineveh were also the houses of his gods; and they provided no refuge when Nineveh was taken. It was a sad end- realizing that the entire spiritual narrative of their lives had been false. They would seek a place of refuge and hiding and not find it; their own teaching / narrative / worldview which they had given to others would itself make them drunk, unable to cope with the reality that they were being condemned and all their belief systems were unable to save them. This is the tragic picture of the condemned.

Nahum 3:12 All your fortresses will be like fig trees with the first-ripe figs: if they are shaken, they fall into the mouth of the eater- Again, all human strength will be revealed as very fragile- a lesson for us all for all time. But first ripe figs is the image used to portray spiritual fruit upon God's people (Jer. 24:2; Hos. 9:10). Once again, there is the idea that the destruction of Nineveh would coincide with spiritual fruit upon God's people. This didn't exactly happen, and although Nineveh was indeed destroyed, the intended potentially possible scenario didn't happen; but it will, in the destruction of the latter day Assyrian and true repentance of Israel.

Nahum 3:13 Behold, your troops in your midst are like women. The gates of your land are set wide open to your enemies. The fire has devoured your bars- Elite soldiers and strong gates were the apparently invincible defences of Nineveh; again the message is that the highest human might and technology, the "picked troops" of Mic. 2:5, are unable to defend against God's judgment. We need to learn the lesson: all that seems a solid, invincible guarantee of our future will not save us. Only God in His Son, Yahoshua-Jesus, can save.

Nahum 3:14 Draw water for the siege. Strengthen your fortresses- The prophets continually decry all human strength, and so this is said not so much in sarcasm, but because God wants Nineveh to trust in its strength so that it would in due course repent upon seeing how worthless is any human strength. See on Nah. 2:1.

Go into the clay, and tread the mortar. Make the brick kiln strong- To produce bricks to repair the breaches made in their apparently invincible defences.

Nahum 3:15 There the fire will devour you- The fire of their brick kilns, making bricks to repair the breaches in their walls, would devour them. When the Medes took Nineveh, their king apparently burnt his palace over himself. He was devoured by the fire of his own trust in human strength.

The sword will cut you off. It will devour you like the grasshopper. You have multiplied like grasshoppers, bred like the locust- There had been a population explosion in Nineveh, and some historians include overpopulation as a reason for Assyria's decline. But numbers of human strength would not save them.

Nahum 3:16 You have increased your merchants more than the stars of the skies- It was the seed of Abraham who ultimately were to be more numerous that the stars of the skies. It was specifically Assyria's actions against that seed which made them so accountable to judgment.

The grasshopper strips, and flees away- The language of Joel 1 concerning the waves of Assyrian incursions into Judah. What they had done to Judah was to be done to them. As noted on :10, this was not just because God likes poetic justice for the sake of it, but in order to help them realize how they felt, and thereby to come to repentance before God and unity and empathy with those they had sinned against.

Nahum 3:17 Your guards are like the locusts, and your officials like the swarms of locusts, which settle on the walls on a cold day, but when the sun appears, they flee away, and their place is not known where they are- The distinctly Assyrian word taphsar used here is one of many reasons to think that Nahum lived in Assyria and prophesied from there; see on Nah. 1:1. The "guards" would have been from subjugated peoples, who would flee Nineveh. As noted on :8 and Nah. 2:8, we may be intended to understand here a call to flee from Nineveh; for ultimately, everyone would flee from her. Again, the Divine intention was that His exiled people repent and return to the land, now that Assyria was suddenly destroyed. But this didn't quite happen; because they didn't repent, just as it didn't quite happen as potentially possible when Babylon fell. The final fulfilment must be in the last days.

Nahum 3:18 Your shepherds slumber, king of Assyria. Your nobles lie down, your people are scattered on the mountains, and there is no one to gather them- Again, this is the language of Ez. 34 about the exiles of God's people, scattered on the mountains without a shepherd. Assyria was to experience what God's people such as Nahum had experienced. But as suggested on :17, this was not merely poetic justice; there was the inbuilt intention that as in Jonah's time, Nineveh might yet repent.

Nahum 3:19 There is no healing for your wound, for your injury is fatal. All who hear the report of you clap their hands over you; for who hasn’t felt your endless cruelty?- The suggestion may be that this time, unlike in Jonah's time, Nineveh would not repent. There therefore would be no healing. Those who heard the report or news would rejoice; and I suggested on Nah. 1:1 that Nahum's prophecy was first given in Nineveh but was published also in Judah. There was to be joy in Judah on hearing this news; the endless cruelty was to end. "Endless" was how it felt; but it would end. This is another example of God's ability to use human language, even of it is technically incorrect (as in the language of demon possession in the Gospels). He knows how we feel and perceive things, and wishes to reach out to us in those feelings.