Book of Nahum - Ch. 3, Vs. 1-19 (05/22/2022)

Good morning. This morning we're going to continue, in fact finish, our study of Nehum. We are in chapter 3, but before we begin, let's pray. Most gracious Heavenly Father, we praise you, we honor you, and we worship you.

And we thank you. We thank you for your word, both your living word and your written word. We thank you for the Holy Spirit, who will guide us in our study of your word. And we thank you for this time and this place that you've given us, so that we can study and be led as you wish us to be led, and so that each will get the message that they need to hear at the time they need to hear it.

But most of all, we thank you for your Son. We thank you for your Son for many, many, many reasons. One of which is that we might not need to bear the judgment that we have earned, no less than the people of Nineveh.

The Bloody City and the Sins of Nineveh

In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. So, chapter 1, I'm sorry, verse 1 of chapter 3 begins, Woe to the bloody city! It is all full of lies and robbery, the prey departeth not, the noise of whip, and the noise of the rattling of wheels, and of the prancing horses, and of the jumping chariots.

The horseman lifteth up both the bright sword and the glittering spear, and there is a multitude of slain, and a great number of carcasses, and there is none end of their corpses. They stumble upon their corpses, because of the multitude of their whoredoms, of the well-favored harlot, the mystery of witchcrafts, that selleth nations through her whoredoms, and families through her witchcrafts.

What we have here in the first four verses is an accounting of the sins of Nineveh. I'm going to go back through verse by verse and look at them again. Woe unto the bloody city! It is all full of lies and robbery, the prey departeth not.

It is a bloody city. It is a city filled with lies and robbery. It is a city with no lack of victims, a city full of predators, and a city full of prey. I can't help but bring to mind our country and our cities in the United States today and consider them.

Are they full of lies and robberies? Are they full of predators and of prey? Verse two. The noise of a whip, and the noise of the rattling of the wheels, and the prancing horses, and of jumping chariots, it was a busy city.

It was a city busy with violence, deception, and idolatry. Verse three. The horseman lifteth up both the bright sword and the glittering spear. There is a multitude of the slain, and a great number of carcasses, and there is none end of their corpses that they stumble upon their corpses.

It was a city that was not only extremely cruel, it was a city that boasted of its cruelty. Monuments exist in museums to this day that stagger the imagination. Here are just a few of them. I cut off their heads and formed them into pillars.

Bubo, the son of Buba, I flayed in the city of Arbella and spread his skin upon the city wall. I flayed all the chief men who had revolted, and I covered the pillow with their skins. I cut off the limbs of the officers and the royal officers who had rebelled.

Three thousand captives I burned with fire. Their corpses I formed into pillars. From some I cut off their hands and their fingers. From others I cut off their noses, their ears, and their fingers, and of many I put out their eyes.

And on and on and on it goes. I could spend 45 minutes reading just the boast that were put on monuments that are preserved to this day in museums. It was cruelty for its own sake. It was cruelty almost unimaginable until we reflect on what's happening in the world today, particularly in the Middle East and even in some of our larger cities here in the U .S.

If you don't believe me, check out your daily news accounts for what's happening. It was bad enough that Nineveh indulged in this evil for herself. It was worse that she led other nations into violence, deception, and idolatry.

And it was for this that the judgment of God was coming. And it might do well for us to consider God's judgment for the nations of the world today. Verse 4. Because of the multitude of the whoredoms of the well-favored harlot, the mystery of witchcrafts that sulleth nations through her whoredoms and families through her witchcrafts.

Witchcrafts in the Hebrew is kepisah, but in the Greek it's pharmakos. That's the word that we get pharmacy from. We talk about drugs. But this passage is not just about drugs and sexual immorality. The real focus of this verse is idolatry.

The worship of false gods and associated with this worship, sorcery and witchcrafts. Thousands of tables uncovered in the Mesopotamian Valley show abysmal superstition. Hundreds of sorcery incantations have been brought to light.

Now here's something else to consider. Are idolatry and witchcraft problems in the world today? When I was... I almost want to say a youngster, but I don't know that anybody ever believed that I was ever a youngster.

One of the things that were popular, drugs, sex and rock and roll. You remember that? You remember that phrase? Well, that's kind of an out of date slogan. But the problem is not out of date. The problem is, in fact, worse than ever.

We're going to look at some things in just a few minutes. But first, consider all the false religions in the world. Can someone give me an example of a false religion? Mormonism. Mormonism is a false religion.

Do you don't want Mormons worship? They worship themselves. They know that if they do good enough, they'll become a god themselves. They would certainly be a false religion. Any other false religions?

Jehovah Witnesses. Any others? I don't know as much about Jehovah Witnesses. I passed on that one. Jehovah Witnesses. Mormon. We said that. Mormon. I'm trying. Mohammed. Worship of Mohammed. What's that?

Islam. Islam is the word I was trying to... Is Islam a false religion? What about Hinduism? What about worshiping of trees? Would that list of false religions include witchcraft and satanic worship? Certainly it would.

But here's something that we really need to keep in mind. This is Satan's dirty little secret. Satan doesn't care who or what you worship. As long as it's not Jesus Christ. So next we have in verses 5 through 7, the judgment of Nineveh.

The Lord Against Nineveh and the Humiliation of the City

And it begins with... Pardon me. Behold, I am against thee, saith the Lord of hosts. I will discover thy skirts upon thy face, and I will show the nations thy nakedness, and the kingdoms thy shame, and I will cast abominable filth upon them.

I will make thee vile and set thee as gazing stock. And it shall come to pass that all that look upon thee shall flee from thee, and say, Nineveh is laid waste. Who will bemoan her? Whence shall I seek comforters for her?

Okay. Back to verse 5. Behold, I am against thee, saith the Lord of hosts. What a frightful thing to hear. That's the second time we've heard that phrase in the book of Nahum. The first time we heard it was in chapter 1.

And we dealt with that a good while in chapter 1. And we... In that time, it dealt with the total military destruction of Nineveh. This time, it deals with the utter humiliation of the city. And here's something that we dealt with last time as well.

If God is against us, does it matter who is for us? We kind of turn around Romans, the statement in Romans, if God be for us, who can be against us? We kind of flip that upside down and look at the other side of the coin.

If God is against us, does it matter who can be for us? That's something to consider. Back in verse 6. I will cast abominable filth upon thee. He, that is God, will take the idols of Nineveh. That's the abominable filth.

It comes from the Hebrew word shekutz, which often is translated abomination. And throw it back in their faces. I'll read that again. He, God, will take the idols of Nineveh and throw them back in their faces.

I will make thee vile and I will set thee as gazing stock. Now, here's something I didn't know until I did this study. The idea behind the Hebrew word vile, nebel, is something is made weak, foolish, and contemptible.

The mighty, prideful, and fearsome people of Nineveh will be made weak, foolish, and contemptible. Now, I've got two more questions to consider. Question number one. Will the mighty, prideful, and fearsome people of the USA be made just as weak, foolish, and contemptible as those of Nineveh?

And question number two. Does the rest of the world see us that way already? Verse seven. And it shall come to pass that all they that look upon thee shall flee from thee and say, Nineveh is laid waste.

Who will bemoan her? Whence shall I seek comforters for thee? Nineveh walked high in their pride, but will certainly be brought low with no one to comfort them. Adam Clark wrote before the discovery of the ruins of Nineveh in 1840, archaeologists discovered some of the remains of Nineveh.

It had been hidden for over 2 ,000 years. No one had seen hide nor hair of it for over 2 ,000 years. Adam Clark, writing before the discovery of the ruins of Nineveh in 1840, quotes an author commenting on the disappearance of the city.

And here's what the author that Clark was quoting said. What probability was there that the capital city of a great kingdom, a city which was 60 miles in compass, a city which contained so many thousands inhabitants, a city which had walls 100 feet high, and yet so totally was it destroyed that the place is hardly known where it was situated.

Great as it was formerly, so little of it remains that authors are not agreed even about its situation. They can't even agree to where it was. There was doubt among certain religious scholars that the city of Nineveh or even the Assyrian Empire even existed.

Many of the more liberal scholars insisted that Assyria was only a legend whose roots lay in biblical stories, much like Atlantis, the mythical city that sank into the sea, a city imagined by Plato, but a city that never existed.

They put Nineveh and the Assyrian Empire in the same category as Atlantis. And then we go on to verse eight in a real city. Are thou better than populous? No. That was situate among the rivers that had waters round about it, whose ramparts was the sea and her wall was far from the sea.

So now we consider another real city. This city, like Nineveh, was completely destroyed. But unlike Nineveh, it was rebuilt. That city, Norman. Here's what it says. Are you better than no? Norman is the Hebrew name for the Egyptian city of Thebes.

Thebes was another wealthy, mighty city that was completely destroyed. The Assyrians in Nineveh knew this very well because it was their armies that destroyed Thebes. Nahum says in effect, remember what you did to Norman?

The same is coming to you, but more so. Not only will you be destroyed, you'll be destroyed so completely that you will disappear from the earth not to be seen again for more than 2 ,000 years. I added that because we only know when it came back into the realization that it exists in, what did we say, 1840?

1840, this was like 700 years before that. Over 2 ,000 years, closer to 2 ,500 years that it was not seen. Verse 9, Ethiopia and Egypt were her strength, so Noah was allied with Ethiopia and Egypt, and it was infinite.

Put and Luban were thy helpers. Even though the city was strong and was allied with other strong cities, Norman was not able to present the destruction of the city by Nineveh and its allies. Similarly, Nineveh will not be able to withstand the Babylonians, but they in their turn will be destroyed.

But unlike Thebes, Nineveh will be destroyed to such an extent that absolutely nothing will survive, not even the ruins. Verse 10, yet she was carried away. He's talking about Noah. Yet while she carried away, she went into captivity.

Her young children were dashed into pieces at the top of the streets. They cast lots for her honorable men, and all her honorable men were bound in chains. And who did this binding in chains and casting lots for them and dashing the children to pieces?

The Danilites. You remember what happened to Norman? Worse will happen to you. Thou also shall be drunken. Thou shall be hid. Thou shall also seek strength because of the enemy. I think maybe this verse is speaking to us as well as to Nineveh of old.

We are in many ways just like Nineveh. We see empires and nations judged in our own day and in history, just as the Assyrians saw Thebes destroyed. Yet we, like the Assyrians, somehow think that we will be spared despite our sinful arrogance and rebellion.

Now, I want to add a moment of positive. There is still a possibility that we can repent. In the book that we did prior to this, Jonah, Jonah went to Nineveh with the same message. But they responded to Jonah, they repented, and God spared them.

But as time passed, they drew away. And this time when God comes back, he destroys them totally. Well, hopefully we are in the condition of Nineveh when Jonah came and not in the condition of Nineveh when Nahum came.

That's my hope and prayer. But let's continue with what's going to happen in the final judgment. All thy strongholds shall be like fig trees with the first ripe figs. If they be shaken, they will fall even into the mouth of the eater.

Their strongholds will fall as easily as ripe figs fall when the tree is shaken. There is no stronghold which can withstand the judgment of God. Behold, the people in the midst of thee are women. The gates of thy land shall be set wide open unto thine enemies.

Fire shall devour thy bars. The people in the midst of thee are women. The gates of thy land shall be set wide open unto thine enemies. And fire shall devour thy bars. Archaeologists document the burning of Nineveh.

And one quote is this. The excavators of Nineveh have remarked on the large deposits of ash, which are evidence of a gigantic conflagration. So the archaeologists agree with Nahum that Nineveh will be destroyed by a great fire.

Verse 14. Draw thee waters for the siege. Fortify thy strongholds. Go into the clay and tread the mortar. Make strong the brick kiln. What he's saying is go ahead and do the best you can. Prepare all you can.

It won't make any difference. Nahum practically mocks the people of Nineveh. Cheering them on to do the best they can in light of the coming judgment. They can prepare as many provisions and people as they please.

But it will all come to nothing against the judgment of God. There shall a fire devour thee. Sword shall cut thee off. It shall eat thee up like cankerworm. Make thyself as cankerworms. Make thyself many as locusts.

Why Nineveh Fell So Easily

So now we get to verse 16 through 19. And it tells us the reason. Well, it doesn't tell us the reason. We know the reason Nineveh fell. Because God wanted them to fall. But then it was so easy. Verse 6 through 19 tells us why Nineveh fell so easily.

Why it was so ripe for judgment. Her leaders are weak. Now a question to consider is are the leaders of America weak or strong? When we looked at Jonah, Nineveh had a strong leader. And the people and the leader all repented.

Is that where we are now? My comment was I'm not sure I can think of even one strong leader regardless of political affiliation. Maybe you can. Ronald Reagan? Well, I can say this about Ronald Reagan.

Ronald Reagan may very well have been a strong leader, but he's not the leader now. And that's the way I want to answer every question that you every response that you throw out to me. Yes, he could have been.

Yes, he was. But he's not the leader now. Okay. Thou hast multiplied thy merchants above the stars of heaven. Cankerworms spoileth and flyeth away. Thy crowned are as locusts. Thy captains are as great grasshoppers, which camp in the hedges in the cold day, but when the sun ariseth, they flee away, and their place is not known where they are.

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.

All that hear the brunt of thee shall clap their hands for thee, for upon whom hath not thy wickedness passed continuously. Each of these classes of leaders were numerous in Nineveh, but they would all be ineffective and come to nothing in the day of judgment.

In spite of their numbers, still, your people are scattered on the mountains, and no one gathers them. The sinful and rebellious leadership in Nineveh will be powerless against the judgment of God. Look back at verse 16.

Thou hast multiplied thy merchants above the stars. The cankerworms spoileth and flyeth away. Nineveh was a rich and powerful country. Actually, city. Assyria was a rich and powerful country. But that was not the cause of their judgment.

They weren't judged because they were rich and powerful. Why were they judged? Sin and what? And not repenting. Okay. Both of those are very, very good. What I said was that was not the cause of the judgment.

The cause was how they used this wealth and power. They were given great wealth and great power. They could have done something good with it, but they didn't. Nineveh was, in many ways, like the U .S.

Nineveh was located on the Tigris River, and it had easy access to another mega city in the Middle East. Do you know what that other mega city was? The closest big city to Nineveh? Babylon. Who destroyed Nineveh?

Don't say God. We know the answer is God. What was the agent of God's destruction of Nineveh? Babylon. Maybe it would do well for us to choose our friends and allies wisely. I pushed the wrong button, and it scrolled me to a different place.

I'll be right back in a second. Nineveh was located on the Tigris River and had easy access to another mega city in the Middle East, Babylon. Not only that, it had access to the sea, from which the Phoenician sailors carried their merchandise throughout the known world.

As a result, Nineveh was extremely rich, and their merchants were exalted. Their merchants were valued in Nineveh amongst the stars. Now, there's nothing wrong in being rich in and of itself. Right or wrong comes as a result of the purpose for which this richness and power is used.

So now we go to verse 17. By crowned are as locusts. By crowned are the rulers. But merchants or rulers, their wealth and their power will avail them nothing. Now, here is an interesting verse, verse 18.

Thy shepherds slumber. O king of Assyria, thy nobles shall dwell in the dust. Thy people is scattered upon the mountains, and no man gathers them. Those who should have protected and led them were asleep.

Verse 19. There is no healing of thy bruise. Thy wound is grievous, and all that hear the brunt of thee shall clap their hand over thee, for upon whom hath not thy wickedness passed continually. I had to look up that word, brunt.

And what it is, it is a rumor of an event. So you can read that as all of those that hear of the rumor of your destruction shall clap their hands over thee, for upon whom hath not thy wickedness passed continually.

The Judgment of the Wicked and the Hope of the Righteous

None of what is known even renown for its violence and cruelty. So it's no wonder that Nahum sees the nations applauding when the city is judged and destroyed. Now, we're going to go to one of the Psalms, Psalm 73.

And if you would go ahead and scroll down to that Psalm, I'll tell you a little bit about what Aesop is talking about in this Psalm. Aesop dealt with the same problem. It seemed to him that the wicked constantly prospered and lived at ease.

It troubled him so much that he doubted his own walk with God. If you read down through Psalms 73, verses 1 through 16, you will see Aesop struggling with the fact that the wicked and the evil prospered while the good, at least in his eyes, the good suffered.

And it troubled him so much that he doubted his own walk with God until he got to verse 17. Now look at verse 17. Until I went into the sanctuary of God, then I understood their end. He's talking about the wicked.

Surely thou didst set them in slippery places and casteth them down into destruction. How are they brought into desolation as in a moment? They are utterly consumed with terrors. So we can take comfort in knowing that the judgments of God are faithful and true.

We don't need to envy the unrighteousness, the unrighteous, nor to seek vengeance against them, ourselves. Nahum and Aesop each show us that God is more than able to take care of them and to take care of us, each group, according to the promise made by him to them.

What's our promise? Our promise is a better place is coming. Our promise is, yes, you may suffer in this world, but you will have a place prepared for you in the next, that is even better than this one.

Their promise? Seek while you can find. Live while you may. Bad things are coming, and there's nothing that you can do about it. Any comments or questions? If not, let's pray. Most gracious Heavenly Father, thank you for bringing us together again.

Thank you for giving us this place where we may come together and study. Thank you for giving us the Holy Spirit to guide us, and thank you for giving us the Holy Spirit to guide each one of us to receive the message that you have for us today, knowing that each one of us have different things that they need to deal with, different things they need to hear.

And by the supernatural ability of you, it doesn't matter the presenter of the message. What matters is the conduit that takes the message from here to you, because after all, it's God's message that you need to hear.

Bless us and keep us. Go through the services today. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.