December
22nd Nahum 1 A. The Justice and Goodness of God
declared The Anger of the Lord – Nineveh
1: The burden of Nineveh. The book of
the vision of Nahum the Elkoshite. 2:
God is jealous, and the LORD revengeth; the LORD revengeth, and is furious; the
LORD will take vengeance on his adversaries, and he reserveth wrath for his
enemies. 3: The LORD is slow to
anger, and great in power, and will not at all acquit the wicked: the LORD hath
his way in the whirlwind and in the storm, and the clouds are the dust of his
feet. 4: He rebuketh the sea,
and maketh it dry, and drieth up all the rivers: Bashan languisheth, and
Carmel, and the flower of Lebanon languisheth. 5: The mountains quake at him, and the hills melt, and the earth
is burned at his presence, yea, the world, and all that dwell therein. 6: Who can stand before his
indignation? and who can abide in the fierceness of his anger? his fury is
poured out like fire, and the rocks are thrown down by him. 7: The LORD is good, a strong hold in
the day of trouble; and he knoweth them that trust in him. 8: But with an overrunning flood he
will make an utter end of the place thereof, and darkness shall pursue his
enemies. 9: What do ye imagine
against the LORD? he will make an utter end: affliction shall not rise up the
second time. 10: For while they
be folden together as thorns, and while they are drunken as drunkards, they
shall be devoured as stubble fully dry. 11:
There is one come out of thee, that imagineth evil against the LORD, a wicked
counseller. 12: Thus saith the
LORD: Though they be quiet, and likewise many, yet thus shall they be cut down,
when he shall pass through. Though I have afflicted thee, I will afflict thee
no more. 13: For now will I
break his yoke from off thee, and will burst thy bonds in sunder. 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. 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
2 B. The Justice and Goodness of
God enacted Nineveh will fall
1: He that dasheth in pieces is come
up before thy face: keep the munition, watch the way, make thy loins strong,
fortify thy power mightily. 2:
For the LORD hath turned away the excellency of Jacob, as the excellency of
Israel: for the emptiers have emptied them out, and marred their vine branches.
3: The shield of his mighty men
is made red, the valiant men are in scarlet: the chariots shall be with flaming
torches in the day of his preparation, and the fir trees shall be terribly
shaken. 4: The chariots shall
rage in the streets, they shall justle one against another in the broad ways:
they shall seem like torches, they shall run like the lightnings. 5: He shall recount his worthies:
they shall stumble in their walk; they shall make hast to the wall thereof, and
the defence shall be prepared. 6:
The gates of the rivers shall be opened, and the palace shall be dissolved. 7: And Huzzab shall be led away
captive, she shall be brought up, and her maids shall lead her as with the
voice of doves, tabering upon their breasts. 8: But Nineveh is of old like a pool of water: yet they shall
flee away. Stand, stand, shall they cry; but none shall look back. 9: Take ye the spoil of silver, take
the spoil of gold: for there is none end of the store and glory out of all the
pleasant furniture. 10: She is
empty, and void, and waste: and the heart melteth, and the knees smite
together, and much pain is in all loins, and the faces of them all gather
blackness. 11: Where is the
dwelling of the lions, and the feedingplace of the young lions, where the lion,
even the old lion, walked, and the lion's whelp, and none made them afraid? 12: The lion did tear in pieces
enough for his whelps, and strangled for his lionesses, and filled his holes
with prey, and his dens with ravin. 13:
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: and I will
cut off thy prey from the earth, and the voice of thy messengers shall no more
be heard.
Nahum
3 C. The Justice and Goodness of
God completed Woe to Nineveh
1: Woe to the bloody city! it is all
full of lies and robbery; the prey departeth not; 2: The noise of a whip, and the noise of the rattling of the
wheels, and of the pransing horses, and of the jumping chariots. 3: The horseman lifteth up both the
bright sword and the glittering spear: and there is a multitude of slain, and a
great number of carcases; and there is none end of their corpses; they stumble
upon their corpses: 4: Because
of the multitude of the whoredoms of the wellfavoured harlot, the mistress of
witchcrafts, that selleth nations through her whoredoms, and families through
her witchcrafts. 5: Behold, I
am against thee, saith the LORD of hosts; and I will discover thy skirts upon
thy face, and I will shew the nations thy nakedness, and the kingdoms thy
shame. 6: And I will cast
abominable filth upon thee, and make thee vile, and will set thee as a
gazingstock. 7: 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? 8: Art thou better than
populous No, that was situate among the rivers, that had the waters round about
it, whose rampart was the sea, and her wall was from the sea? 9: Ethiopia and Egypt were her
strength, and it was infinite; Put and Lubim were thy helpers. 10: Yet was she carried away, she
went into captivity: her young children also were dashed in pieces at the top
of all the streets: and they cast lots for her honourable men, and all her
great men were bound in chains. 11:
Thou also shalt be drunken: thou shalt be hid, thou also shalt seek strength
because of the enemy. 12: All
thy strong holds shall be like fig trees with the firstripe figs: if they be
shaken, they shall even fall into the mouth of the eater. 13: Behold, thy people in the midst
of thee are women: the gates of thy land shall be set wide open unto thine
enemies: the fire shall devour thy bars. 14:
Draw thee waters for the siege, fortify thy strong holds: go into clay, and
tread the morter, make strong the brickkiln. 15: There shall the fire devour thee; the sword shall cut thee
off, it shall eat thee up like the cankerworm: make thyself many as the
cankerworm, make thyself many as the locusts. 16: Thou hast multiplied thy merchants above the stars of
heaven: the cankerworm spoileth, and flieth away. 17: Thy crowned are as the locusts, and thy captains as the
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. 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 gathereth them. 19:
There is no healing of thy bruise; thy wound is grievous: all that hear the
bruit of thee shall clap the hands over thee: for upon whom hath not thy
wickedness passed continually?
The prophecy of Nahum
describes God’s judgement on Assyria. The book has only three chapters and was
written by Nahum between 663-612 BC. Nahum wrote to pronounce Gods judgement on
Assyria and to encourage the people of Judah with his words. The prophesy
probably took place after the fall of Thebes in 663 BC. Nahum’s theme of the
Judgement of Nineveh. The Assyrians had repented at the preaching of Jonah but
now a generation later they refuse to repent so God brings judgement on them.
Assyria had served God’s purpose (Isa 10v5). Chapter one describes the anger of
the Lord against Nineveh. He fully describes the feeling of the lord towards
the city of Nineveh. He describes God as righteous avenging the wicked. In his
presence the wind rushes away the sea is tamed and the mountains are dried up.
The mountains tremble and the earth melts away. To the righteous the lord is
good and a stronghold in the day of trouble. He knows those who have trust in
him. The Lord says that the wicked will go to the grave because they are vile.
In chapter two he describes the fall of Nineveh. The fall of the armies of the
Assyrians will be spectacular. The city will be spoiled. Nineveh will be totally
destroyed. The city that was full of bloody, lies & robbery will be totally
destroyed. The prostitution and witchcraft of the city will come to an end. The
city will be a horror to those who see it. None will mourn for her. Egypt and
its neighbours were her helpers yet non will help her now. Her great men will
be led away captive. There will be none to rescue her.
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