Chapter 15 NAHUM
“Though the mills of God grind slowly, yet they grind exceeding small; Though with patience He stands waiting, with exactness grinds He all.’
(Longfellow)
When almost every sermon labours on God’s love, Nahum reminds us that there comes a time when God’s mercy runs out. We have seen this in our study of Judges, Kings and Exodus, and in fact most of the books we have studied so far. Jonah got angry, not because he thought God would not punish but because he thought it should be immediately after his prophecy. If anyone would have rejoiced at Nahum’s prophecy it would surely be Jonah. But being Jonah he would probably have asked himself, Why was God so lenient after my prophecy but not after Nahum’s. The answer lies in the timing. Nahum came one-hundred-and-fifty-years later. This time, when the king of Nineveh offered to repent in sack cloth it was turned down by God. Grace time is over and Judgement has come.
There is no healing of your fracture; your wound is grievous; all who hear the news of you shall clap the hands over you; for upon whom has your wickedness not passed continually? 181
Nahum was born and bred under Assyrian rule in occupied Israel. Nahum was from Capernaum. Caper means “Village” The “village of Nahum” (later called Elcosh). Nahum means “comfort”. The man of Comfort from the village of comfort. Although you might be forgiven for thinking he is a bit sarcastic in his writing, his book is meant as a Comfort to the people of Judea. Nahum could afford to be confident because he had a very precise vision. He asks six questions and got six answers: Who will fall? How will they fall? Why they will fall? Who will be saved? How they will be saved? Why they will be saved?
Nineveh, you are finished! You are already surrounded by enemy armies! Sound the alarm! Man the ramparts! Muster your defences, For the land of the people of God lies empty and broken after your attacks, but the Lord will restore their honour and power again! Shields flash red in the sunlight! The attack begins! See their scarlet uniforms! See their glittering chariots moving forward side by side, pulled by prancing steeds! Your own chariots race recklessly along the streets and through the squares, darting like lightning, gleaming like torches. The king shouts for his officers; But too late! The river gates are open! The enemy has entered! The palace is in panic! The queen of Nineveh is brought out naked to the streets and led away, a slave, with all her maidens weeping after her; listen to them mourn. Her soldiers slip away, deserting her; she cannot hold them back. “Stop, stop,’ she shouts, but they keep on running. Loot the silver! Loot the gold! There seems to be no end of treasures. Her vast, wealth is stripped away and the city is an empty shambles. Where now is that great Nineveh, lion of the nations, once mighty lion! You crushed your enemies to feed your children and your wives, and filled your city and your homes with captured goods and slaves. But now the Lord Almighty has turned against you. He destroys your weapons. Your chariots stand there, silent and unused. Your finest youths lie dead. Never again will you bring back slaves from conquered nations; never again will you rule the earth. 182
Bear in mind what Nahum saw. No army in known history wore a scarlet uniform at the time he prophesied. Babylon had not yet risen to full power, let alone developed its scorched earth policy. But when Babylon did rise to power they wore red uniform and painted their shields red so the enemy would not see any blood they might shed in the fight. Nahum also saw the sluice gates. The army drained the water and marched into the city via these gates. I would love to be blessed with a vision of such detail, so also I think, would Jonah! God waited one-hundred-and-twenty years after Jonah to complete His judgement on Nineveh. Here is a sober warning for people who take grace for granted.
The Lord is a jealous and avenging God; the Lord is avenging and wrathful; the Lord takes vengeance on his adversaries and keeps wrath for his enemies.183
The people were asking ‘How can a loving God allow such evil’? If He is all powerful then he can’t be loving and if he is loving he can’t have the power to stop them. The logic behind this question is, ‘why do good people have to suffer’? Why not just annihilate the bad? God says to Nahum I have an answer to the problem but it is not your answer. God’s grace is sufficient to the point that His judgement decides when evil has reached its fullness in man. Up until that point, by God’s grace, mankind may repent. God’s wrath against Nineveh of the Assyrians began when His judgement decided the Assyrians evil had reached its limits.
Everyone who sees you will be shocked. They will say, “Nineveh is destroyed. Who will cry for her?” I know I cannot find anyone to comfort you, Nineveh." 184
Nahum reassures the common people of Judah, “God will handle your enemies”. Then, with a rather sexist remark he said, “you are just a bunch of women”. To answer the question “Why do the wicked prosper”? He opens his prophecy explaining:
The Lord is a jealous God. The Lord punishes the guilty, and he is very angry. The Lord punishes his enemies, and he stays angry with them. Everyone who sees you will be shocked. They will say, “Nineveh is destroyed. Who will cry for her?” I know I cannot find anyone to comfort you, Nineveh."185
Things will be resolved but in God’s Timing which may not suit human patience. Can you see Judah rejoicing over this judgement? Don’t get smug believer, God will judge His people with the same judgement. And he tells them so through Habakkuk.
181 Nahum 3: 19
182 Nahum 2 (TLB)
183 Nahum 1: 2
184 Nahum 3: 7
185 Nahum 1: 2 ff