Underworld Army of Assyria(Living by Crime)
NAHUM 1 “The burden of Nineveh: the book of the vision of Nahum the Elkoshite.
Verse 2 “God (is) jealous, and Jehovah is avenging; Jehovah is avenging and a possessor of wrath. Jehovah takes vengeance against His foes, and He keeps (wrath) against His enemies. Jehovah (is) long (before) anger, and great of power and not by any means does He acquit (exonerate the guilty). Jehovah (is) in the tempest and in the storm His way, and the clouds (are) the dust of His feet.’”
Barker and Bailey Commentary.- Sometimes before the fall of Nineveh, Nahum preached a message that sounds much like hate to the ears of people familiar with Jesus’ words to love our enemies. To the people of Nahum’s day, his message was one of comfort and deliverance of oppressed people. For the oppressed to be freed, the oppressor had to be removed. Nahum spoke about the end of the oppressor, Nineveh.
Luke 6:27-30 (New International Version)
(Hypothetical Interpretation - Jewish Rendition- Conforming to a Morally Pure Standard)
An Eye for an Eye
(Jesus Taught) “’But I say to you, those hearing: Love your enemies [your hating brothers]; bless those [of the divided nation of Israel] cursing you [that they might be under divine care]; and pray for those [offensively] insulting you. To those striking you on the cheek [for your faithful adherence to Jehovah your God], turn the other also [do not lift vengeance- hold fast to the Word of God].’”
“’And from those taking your garment [your coverings - things of moral values and principles] do not keep back the tunic [the outer covering of protection afforded within the divine Law]. And everyone asking you [of things concerning divine ordinances], give; and from those taking your things [pertaining to biblical norms] not ask back.’”
It has not been supposed that Jesus announced a higher standard of spirituality than Moses did. He introduced a more merciful code of conduct than that which was required during the days of the Old Testament economy.
NAHUM 1 “The burden of Nineveh: the book of the vision of Nahum the Elkoshite.
Verse 2 “God (is) jealous, and Jehovah is avenging; Jehovah is avenging and a possessor of wrath. Jehovah takes vengeance against His foes, and He keeps (wrath) against His enemies. Jehovah (is) long (before) anger, and great of power and not by any means does He acquit (exonerate the guilty). Jehovah (is) in the tempest and in the storm His way, and the clouds (are) the dust of His feet.’”
Barker and Bailey Commentary.- The name “Nahum” speaks of comfort and fits appropriately the message of the prophet. His message of the coming destruction of the oppressor, Nineveh, provided comfort for the oppressed people of the ancient Near East suffering under a heavy yoke of tyranny and barbarism.
Nahum’s message came to him by means of a “vision.” That is, “the prophet perceived God’s revelation with the mind’s eye.” “A vision is an event through which the Lord spoke to a prophet. The prophetic vision primarily involved a revelation of God and His word: God let it be known what He wanted or what He was going to do and showed it to someone whom He had chosen for this purpose.” Watts says, “In a vision the usual restrictions of reason, time and space recede and the prophet is seized by a compulsion to see and speak in a heightened consciousness what he recognizes to be from God. The excellent poetic form of the book was understood to be a direct result of ‘inspiration.’”
In Nahum’s day Nineveh served as the capital of Assyria, which had dominated the ancient Near East for a century. The armies of Assyria, with their ruthless methods, struck fear in the lives of the people of the time. Nineveh’s destruction would make the people of the world clap their hands. The people of Israel and Judah especially suffered from the onslaughts of the Assyrians. For this reason Jonah rebelled against going to Nineveh to preach repentance. He and many others wanted Nineveh judged instead of forgiven.
The cruel Assyrian policy of exile wreaked social havoc on the Northern Kingdom. The Assyrians removed many people from Samaria and exiled them to foreign lands while bringing other captured peoples to settle in the Northern Kingdom. The action effectively ended the possibility of revolt.
Nahum prophesied at the crossroads of history. He proclaimed a word that come to pass, and he called the people to authentic faith in God. Nahum demonstrated that he knew the Lord God of Israel. He described God as one who judges the guilty and gives respite to the oppressed. “He fulfilled the highest calling of prophecy in looking beyond the ‘facts’ of the news to discern and proclaim the intentions of God.”
Nahum’s, “book” encouraged Judah. God delivers the oppressed; He punishes the oppressor. Nahum’s message brought hope to a people without hope, announcing the victory of the Lord over the wicked ones. Nahum’s message demonstrates that the LORD is the Lord of history. He works His will in the world in His own way and according to His own time. For our world the message of Nahum is timely. God is at work. The forces of evil will not conquer all.
The greatest question of human history involves knowing God. Who is God? What is He like? In various ways the prophets sought to answer these questions. Isaiah spoke of the Lord as the sovereign Lord of the universe, the holy Creator God who is incomparable in the heavens. Nahum described God in classic Hebrew terms. He is slow to anger yet judges the guilty. He avenges the oppressed and comforts the powerless.
God’s “vengeance” in the Old Testament can be described as the punitive retribution of God, who, as the sovereign King – faithful to His covenant – stands up for the vindication of His glorious name in a judging and fighting mode, while watching over the maintenance of his justice and acting to save His people. Nahum emphasized the work of God to defeat His enemies. The notion of vengeance is no foreign element in the Old Testament revelation of God, but is a consequence of His holiness, coupled with His wrath, is subordinate to His justice.
Most often God’s vengeance is turned against foreign nations who attempt to reach out for world power in their unlimited lust of power. Vengeance over the enemy is often salvation for God’s people. He is the avenger of avengers.
The God of vengeance is a threatening picture only to those who want to be their own gods and rule the earth in their own ways, but to those who trust God it is a comfort and a affirmation that He is truly sovereign.
O God who avenges, shine
Forth.
Rise up, O Judge of the earth;
Pay back to the proud what
They deserve.
How long will the wicked,
O Lord,
How long w ill the wicked be
Jubilant?”
Psalm 94:1-3
Barker and Bailey Commentary.- This all means that prayer for vengeance in the Psalms is prayer for the victory of lawfulness and the revelation of God. The imprecation (the curse, or call for punishment), in its deepest intention, is a cry for the breakthrough of God’s kingdom in liberation and vengeance. Without God’s vengeance there is no justice and no future [order].
God is jealous and avenges Himself against anyone who would occupy His place as God.
Vengeance describes the action that emerges from that jealousy, which is God’s attitude toward all rivals.
God’s wrath is always raised by human disobedience. Justice and rationality are the motives for His wrath. God can be angry at human cruelty, for God is passionately concerned about the lives of human beings and whether justice takes place among them. He shows the rational reasons for His wrath, often in the form of the presentation of legal evidence, so that the people can learn from experience, know what causes God’s anger, and avoid such action. Human repentance and divine mercy often acted to turn God from His wrath. Such understanding led Israel to pray for God’s mercy and to live out God’s righteousness.
Nahum does not simply picture God as a being of wrath; He is also master of that wrath, one who reserves it for His enemies. God holds His anger in reserve for the proper occasion to display it to His enemies. God’s government, including His judicial processes, is on schedule, even though to an awaiting mankind His timing may seem to lag. He displays a calculated control in His dispensing of vengeance.
The hymn’s opening verse starkly characterizes the God who will show Assyria who truly rules the world. The three ideas (jealousy, wrath, vengeance) bound together in these opening lines form the ground work for all of Nahum’s prophecy. As a jealous God, Jehovah demands the absolute devotion that the only true and sovereign God deserves; in His righteous wrath, Jehovah alone can and will deal justly… As an avenging God, Jehovah will discipline, defend, or deliver according to the demands of His holiness.
The holy and avenging God is the Lord of all the earth.
Nahum had news for the Assyrians and for Judah as they endured Assyrian domination: strength belongs to God and to no one else. God had often displayed that power: in creating the earth and all its inhabitants, forming the mountains, and calming the sea. His power redeemed and delivered His people. No one can stand against God’s power. Now Nahum says that God is going to prove that to Assyria. In so doing He will also prove it to His own people one more time. God is not only just, but as an omnipotent sovereign He has the inherent strength to affect His justice.
God is jealous, full of wrath, and by no means will clear the guilty; yet simultaneously He is good, long suffering, merciful and gracious, slow to anger, abundant in loving-kindness, and forgiving iniquity, transgression, and sin. This combination of elements inherently provides a framework for understanding such comprehensive doctrines as the love of God in providing atonement for sin, the sovereignty of God in working salvation.
Cook Commentary.-
The Certainty of God’s Judgment on Nineveh
Nahum wrote that Nineveh’s end would certainly come. Because Nineveh had plotted against the Lord she would receive His wrath. Yet God remains a refuge for those who trust Him. Nineveh’s destruction would comfort Judah who had been afflicted by the Assyrian threat. God’s wrath is extended to Nineveh and His goodness to His own.
Snuffed out;
The flame of his fire stops
Burning.
The light in his tent becomes
Dark;
The lamp beside him goes
Out.
The vigor of his step is
Weakened;
His own schemes throw him
Down.
His feet thrust him into a net
And he wanders into its
Mesh.
A trap seizes him by the heel;
A snare holds him fast.
A noose is hidden for him on
The ground’
A trap lies in his path.
Terrors startle him on every
Side
And dog his every step.
Calamity is hungry for him;
Disaster is ready for him
When he falls.
It eats away parts of his skin;
Death’s firstborn (punishment for the “fall of man”) devours him
Limbs (appendages of strength).
He is torn from the security of
His tent
And marched off to the king
Of terrors (symbolizing the personification of “Death”).
Fire resides in his tent;
Burning sulfur is scattered
Over his dwelling.
His roots dry up below
And his branches wither
Above.
The memory of him perishes
From the earth;
He has no name in the
land.
He is driven from light into
Darkness
And is banished from the
World.
He has no offspring or
Descendants among his
People, no survivor where once
Lived.
Men of the west are appalled at
His fate;
Men of the east are seized
With horror.
Surely such is the dwelling of
An evil man’
Such is the place of one who
Knows not God.”
Job 18:5-21
Cook Commentary.- As a righteous God, the Lord is jealous, that is, zealous to protect what belongs to Him, namely, Judah. He will allow no rivals. He is also an avenging God. God said, “It is Mine to avenge” and “I will take vengeance on My adversaries and repay those who hate Me” (Deut. 32:35,41). God avenges His people in the sense that He champions their cause against their enemies. He does so because He is jealous or protective of His people. While God is avenging for or on behold of His people, He is avenging against His adversaries. Judah’s enemies were His enemies. He is filled with wrath.
The prophet added, He will not leave the guilty unpunished. He would serve as the Ninevites Judge because of their guilt. He would not treat them as if they were innocent.
Henry Commentary.- Darkness (consequence of their doings) shall pursue His enemies; terror and trouble shall follow them, wherever they go, shall pursue them to utter darkness; if they think to flee from the darkness which pursues them they will but fall into that which is before them (the God of irresistible power).
Cook Commentary.- In His dealings with Nineveh, God will be as destructive as a devastating whirlwind and storm. He is so great that the clouds are like dust under His feet. “His strides cover the vast areas of extenuated clouds. His movements are marked by the darkening of the heavens as the whirlwind sweeps and the tempest howls.”
Clarke Commentary.- The clouds are the dust of His feet. So Jehovah is represented as coming through the circuit of the heavens as rapidly as lightning, the clouds surrounding His as the does the chariot and horses.
His vengeance - counter attack on terrorism - shall sweep away the foe like a whirlwind. (Proverbs 10:23-25):
“A fool finds pleasure in evil
Conduct,
But a man of understanding
Delights in wisdom.
What the wicked dreads will
Overtake him
What the righteous desire will
Be granted.
When the storm has swept by,
The wicked are gone,
But the righteous stand
Firm forever.”
Calvin Commentary (Paraphrased).- With regard to Nineveh, we have already stated that it was the capital of the empire, as long as the Assyrians did bear rule: for Babylon was a province; that is, Chaldea, whose metropolis was Babylon, was one of the providences of the empire.
We indeed know that Nineveh was very large. In the days of Jonah its walls were one hundred feet high, and so wide, that chariots could pass one another without coming in contact: there were one thousand and five hundred towers. We hence see that it was not without reason that this city was formerly so celebrated.
… the burden of Nineveh … The burden of Nineveh is the same thing as though Nahum had said that he was sent by God as a herald, to proclaim war on the Ninevites for the sake of the chosen people.
Nahum begins with the nature of God, that what he afterwards subjoins respecting the destruction of Nineveh might be more weighty, and produce a greater impression on the hearers.
Baker Commentary.- The prophecy opens with a song of praise that extols God as a powerful Warrior. The victory of God against Nineveh is certain. So much so, that the prophet could utter the victory shout before the battle. The New Testament Book of Revelation is similar in that the “new song,” a biblical term for victory shout, is actually sung before the narration of the battle. When God leads the battle, there is no doubt concerning the outcome.
Nahum’s victory hymn presents a picture of God as Divine Warrior. The Divine Warrior has what might be loosely described as a positive and negative impact on the world. When God comes to war, He saves His people. On the other hand, in one and the same act, He judges His enemies. Accordingly, God manifests Himself as Savior and Judge. His appearance strikes joy in the hearts of His people and terror for those who have alienated themselves from Him and His people. Both aspects of God’s warfare are praised in Nahum’s opening hymn.
The repeated association of God’s covenant name with the concept of anger here sets the tone for the rest of the poem.
The bulk of the hymn deals with God’s judgment. This focus is not surprising since the book is predominately addressed to wicked Nineveh.
Continuing Nahum 1 Verse 4 “He rebukes the sea (symbolizing the destructive forces associated with chaos) and makes it dry, and all the rivers (of moral contamination, ethical pollution and religious debauchery used to revive weary souls) He dries up, Bashan (a region whose prosperity became a symbol of selfish indulgence and arrogant pride of evil pampered pleasure seekers) withers and Carmel (sites of pagan deities); and the flower of Lebanon (rich pasture land fostering potential kings holding unlimited ruthlessly corrupt sovereign power) withers (fades away – declines in strength – vigorous potency).”
Verse 5 “The mountains (the long established nations and kingdoms) quake because of Him, and the hills (lesser political units of the people) melt and is lifted up the earth from before Him even the world and all the inhabitants in it. Before His fury who can stand? And who can raise against the heat of His anger? His wrath is poured out like fire, and the rocks (what has long been adhesively joined in the wisdom of the ages) are broken down because of Him.”
Robertson Commentary.- Let haughty Assyria be warned of the fatal consequences of a nation that stands in the way of the Lord’s redemptive plan.
Not only does the Lord “rebuke the sea”; all the rivers He makes arid. Since the ancient city of Nineveh depended on its natural water-barrier as a basic element of defense, these words vivify (give life to) the city’s hopeless state. For this feeble barrier of water cannot deter the Almighty when He moves into action. As a matter of fact, the streams about Nineveh ultimately became the way of their destruction.
In the days of Elijah, Carmel had experienced a great drought as a judgment of the baalism that had polluted the land. But Nahum envisions a far more severe circumstance. For the most prominent fruit of Lebanon would have to be its world-famous cedars. Nahum’s declaration that these deep-rooted monuments to time are languishing indicates just how long the drought he conceives would continue.
During its zenith of power, Assyria had threatened Lebanon (rich pasture land fostering potential kings holding unlimited ruthlessly corrupt sovereign power). Sennacherib had said that he would cut down the tall cedars of Lebanon and it choice fir trees. Now if the Lord would bring such scathing judgments on the naturally blessed areas of his own land, what reason does Nineveh had to expect that it would somehow be spared a similar devastation from the Lord? Judgment may begin with the house of God. But judgment unquestionably will fall on those outside the Lord’s house. In the graciousness of God, Israel was promised that they would experience a return some day to the fruitfulness of Bashan, Carmel, and Lebanon.
Robertson Commentary.- The latter portion of this verse makes it patently plain that the prophet is not speaking merely of a modest chastening of the wicked. The Lord shall not simply slap the naughty hand of the Assyrians. Like fire that totally consumes, His fury is poured out. This fire does not simply sting the flesh; it consumes utterly.
Continuing Nahum 1:7 “Jehovah (is) good (for a) stronghold in the day of distress and He knows those who trust in Him. But with a flood passing though (a judgment upon the wickedness of a people using unlawful violence and war for the achievement of political ends) a complete destruction He will make of its place and His enemies will pursue darkness (the doing of wickedness and evil).”
(Note):
A "200,000,000 man army" will rise and unleash their deadly weapons of mass destruction killing one-third of the world's population . . .
Global & Perpetual War Against Terrorism
Baker Commentary.- Verse 7 sets forth the positive function of God’s warring activity, that is, He cares for His people. By judging His enemies, He saves His people. Nahum recognizes this truth and witnesses to God’s goodness. When trouble comes, God’s people will find protection.
Barker Bailey Commentary.- God is jealous and avenging; He is slow to anger and great in power. God does command the clouds and the rain; He rebukes the sea and makes the rivers run dry. Who wants to serve such an awesome God. Can you do anything but stand in absolute terror before Him? Nahum stops to calm such fears by setting forth “’the positive function of God’ warring activities.”
The God who brings judgment does so as a part of His goodness. Yes, the same powerful God who does these things is good toward those who fear Him. He cares for His people who suffer from the hands of any enemy.
These verses have the menacing ring of a judicial indictment, citing the evidence against the accused. It reveals a conspiracy against the Judge himself, the Lord whose justice and preliminary proceedings; the outcome of the trial is therefore in no doubt, and the sentence is already anticipated in the charge developed here.
Jamison, Fausset, Brown Commentary.- In illustration of Hezekiah’s, trust, we read, he spoke comfortably to the people, “Be strong and courageous; be not afraid nor dismayed for the king of Assyria, nor for all the multitude that is with him; for is an arm of flesh; but with us is the Lord our God, to help us and to fight our battles: and the people rested themselves upon the words of Hezekiah king of Judah.
Robertson Commentary.- Having introduced the subject of God as judge, the prophet now moves to an identification of the specific target of divine judgment, which is the city of Nineveh. In zeroing in on this specific city as the point of God’s wrath, the prophet sets the fierceness of divine wrath over against the tenderness with which He treats His own people. Good is Jehovah, a refuge in the day of adversity. And He knows those who seek shelter in Him.
The message of Nahum up to this point appears purely in negative terms. Almost nothing but judgment has been discussed. But now it becomes apparent that those who turn to the Lord have nothing to fear. He is Good. Actually the judgment on Nineveh must be viewed from the perspective of God’s intent to show mercy to His people. He responds to their cry for relief from oppression by sending judgment on their enemies.
Barker Bailey Commentary.- The Lord moves against all foes, whether Assyrian, Babylonian, or any of the myriad enemies of the Lord and of His people.
Whatever His foes plot, the Lord will bring to a full end. The day of distress comes to all people, and the Lord is good to all who trust in Him. His trusting people need not fear when God comes in the storms and clouds to wreak His vengeance and wrath on Assyria.
God promised to make a “full end” of His enemies. The “full end” refers to “her place,” a possible reference to Nineveh (indicating that the plots of the enemy will not come to fruition).
Calvin Commentary.- God will suddenly overwhelm the Assyrians as though a deluge should rise to cover the whole earth. God, he says, will of a sudden thunder against the Assyrians, as when a deluge comes over a land. Hence this passing of God is opposed to long or slow progress; as though he said, - “As soon as God’s wrath shall brake forth or come upon the Assyrians, it will be all over, for a consummation will immediately follow: by inundation, He, passing through, will make a consummation in her place. … so now He cuts off from them every hope, that they might not think that they could within a while gather strength and rise again as it is the case with the wicked, who ever contend against God. The Prophet then shows that the “destruction” which God would bring on them would be without remedy. …God would destroy them without affording any hope of restoration, for perpetual darkness would follow that sudden deluge. He afterwards adds –
Nahum 1:9 “What are you plotting (in your schemes and maneuvers) against Jehovah? A complete destruction He will make, distress shall not rise up a second time? For as long as thorns (causing inflictions of torments, distress and painful situations) are interwoven (together); and like their drunkards (indulging in moral abuses) who are drunken, they shall be devoured like fully dried straw. Out of you has come forth one (of a wicked disposition; a companion of the wicked) plotting evil against Jehovah (a mysterious figure), one counseling worthlessness.”
Nelson’s Commentary.- Their finest moves will be only the walk of drunkards.
The Lord will make a complete end of Nineveh’s place, referring directly to the city of Nineveh - the city serving the ambitions of a warrior king and statesman, the protector of the peace and conqueror of the enemies of the state, the defender of Babylon from assailants, its head in the political sphere.
Robertson Commentary.- In an earlier day, the prophet Isaiah had used the imagery of a cataclysmic flood to describe the assault of Assyria against Israel. The king of Assyria would come like a river swollen over its banks, rising even to the neck, with its “wings” stretching to the breadth of the land. But now Assyria shall be the one to experience submersion under a flood tide of invaders, making a complete end of her place suggests not only that the city itself would be destroyed, but that its site would become uninhabited and unoccupied.
Not only the site, but the people also shall experience the terrors of God’s judgment. For His enemies will pursue into the darkness.
Darkness in Scripture symbolizes distress, terror, mourning, perplexity, and dread. A combination of all these experiences shall be the final fruition of Nineveh for all the years that she suppressed and brutalized other nations. Egypt once sat frozen while undergoing the plague of darkness; but Assyria shall have the added curse of being pursued into the darkness. Their terror shall be intensified as they stumble forward into an impenetrable blankness.
The phrase He will make a complete end is repeated here, but with the added emphasis that it is He Jehovah that shall annihilate Nineveh.
To reinforce the finality of the deliverance promised by the prophetic world of the Lord, Nahum adds: Adversity shall not arise a second time. Once this deliverance has been accomplished, the Assyrian shall be finished.
The judgment of God shall come in a manner appropriate to the stubbornness of the sinner. The phrase as thorns twisted figuratively describes the hardheaded, hard-hearted resistance characteristic of the Assyrian to the authority of the one true living God. They have made taut their stubborn wills so that any and all approaches even from God will be met by prickly resistance, as (with) drink they are drunk depicts the deadened stupor into which they have sunk willingly.
This stubbornness is countered by the consuming fire of God’s wrath: they shall be consumed as stubble fully dried. Nothing burns more quickly and with greater intensity than fully dried stubble. The tighter this tangle of thorns, the more spontaneously it combusts. If the Assyrians abandons self-control in drunkenness, then he has forfeited all control of self and shall be turned into smoke vapors.
This stubborn rebellion against the will of God on the part of the city of Nineveh has produced a leader, a prince who has turned passive resistance into active opposition. The womb of wickedness which in Nineveh has produced a horrid monstrosity, a son of “Belial,” as the text reads literally (here translated he who schemes ruthlessly).
The precise origin of this term beliyal’al is difficult to determine. It may have originated by the conjoining of two words: beli, meaning “without,” and ya’al, meaning “value” or “worth,” a son of Belial would be a “worthless one.” The context in Scripture for the usage of the term appoint consistently to a person who is depraved, despicable. A few examples may serve to vivify its significance and to provide a framework for understanding Nahum’s use of the term.
The law code of Deuteronomy anticipates a situation in which “sons of Belial” may lad astray the inhabitants of a city, luring them into the worship of another god. The use of the same phrase in the book of Judges to describe the debase men who demanded the opportunity to abuse sexually the overnight guests of their neighbor probably intend to set the narrative in terms of the provisions of deuteronomic law about “son’s of Belial”.
Nahum alone of the prophets uses the term beliya’al, and he employs it twice. This “counselor of Belial” is evidently the king, the leader of this wicked people. He conspires against the Lord Himself, and not merely against His nation. In terms of a specific individual, Nahum could be referring to Sennacherib (the Assyrian king), who is described elsewhere in Scripture as one who set himself not merely against Israel, but “against Jehovah”. But although Sennacherib at the time of his invasion of Palestine in 701 B.C. fits the bill of this “counselor of Belial” who has come forth out of Nineveh, the phrase is best understood as having a more general application. Not only Sennacherib, but all those wicked kings and leaders of the enemies of God’s people who have come for the from Assyria manifest the characteristics of that brutal figure described by Nahum.
The term belya’al at first had a brood application to designate men generally possessing a set of scoundrelish characteristics. Subsequently the term narrowed so that it became a designation of Satan himself, the archenemy of God.
“Christ” and “Belial” are set over against one another. Righteousness and wickedness have nothing to do with one another; light and darkness cannot fellowship; believer and unbeliever cannot merge; the temple of God and the temple of idols have no agreement with one another; and Christ and Belial represent rulers of two diametrically opposed kingdoms. The contrast represents the climax of the conflict represented in Nahum. An ominous figure stands behind the ruler from Nineveh, prodding him on in his wicked determinations. But one stands against him, the divine counterpart to his position of power.
Assyria represents a critical moment in the divine program for preserving in the redemption of His people. The Lord displays through the destruction of Assyria that the most powerful of nations cannot succeed in their opposition to the purposes of the Lord.
Land of Nimrod
Nahum 1:7 “Jehovah (is) good (for a) stronghold in the day of distress and He knows those who trust in Him. But with a flood passing though (a judgment upon the wickedness of a people using unlawful violence and war for the achievement of political ends) a complete destruction He will make of its place and His enemies will pursue darkness (associated with the doings and consequences of wickedness and evil).”
Verse 9 “What are you plotting (in your schemes and maneuvers) against Jehovah? A complete destruction He will make, distress shall not rise up a second time (via perpetual war on terrorism)? For as long as thorns (causing inflictions of torments, distress and painful situations) are interwoven (together); and like their drunkards (indulging in moral abuses) who are drunken, they shall be devoured like fully dried straw. Out of you has come forth one (a mysterious figure of a wicked disposition; a companion of the wicked) plotting evil (deliberate harm) against Jehovah, one counseling worthlessness.”
Calvin Commentary.- When therefore the Assyrians came against Judah, they thought that they would have no trouble in obtaining a victory (through the use of unlawful violence to achieve their political ends - by hacking down others for self-advancement and dominion), as though engaged in war with an insignificant people. But the Prophet shows here that the war was with the living god, and not with men, as though falsely thought. What then imagine you against Jehovah?
As though he said, “Do you now know that this people are under the care and protection of God? You cannot then attack the kingdom of Judah without having God as your opponent. As it is certain that this people are defended by a divine power, there is no reason for you to think that you will be victorious.”
Now this is a very useful doctrine; for the Prophet teaches us in general, that the ungodly, whenever they harass the Church, not only do wrong to men, but also fight with God Himself. We may then gather invaluable comfort from these words; for we can full and boldly set up this shield against our enemies,- that they devise their counsels, and make efforts against God, and assail Him; for He takes us under His protection for this end, that whenever we are injured, He may stand in the middle as our defender. This is one thing.
Now in the second clause he adds, that He will make a complete end, Rise up again shall not distress; that is, God is able to reduce you to nothing, so that there will be no need to assail you the second time.
I thus simply interpret the words of the Prophet,- that God can with one onset, when it seems good to Him, so destroy His enemies, that there will be no need of striving with them the second time. God then will make a full end; that is, He will be able in one moment to demolish His enemies, and the ruin will be complete, that is, the wasting will be entire. There will be not distress again or a second time; for it will be all over with the enemies of God. He afterwards adds-
Nahum 1:10 “For as long as thorns (causing inflictions of torments, distress and painful situations) are interwoven (together – making things difficult to handle); and like their drunkards (indulging in unrestrained abuses) who are drunken, they shall be devoured like fully dried straw.”
When thorns are entangled, we dare not, with the ends of our fingers, to touch their extreme parts; for whenever we put our hands, thorns meet and prick us. As then prickings from entangled thorns make us afraid, so none of us dare to come near them. Hence the Prophet says, they who are as entangled thorns; that is, “However thorny you may be, however full of poison, full of fury, full of wickedness, full of frauds, full of cruelty, you may be, still the Lord can with one fire consume you, and consume you without any difficulty.”
God’s wrath will come upon you as on drunken men; who, though they exult in their own intemperance, are yet enervated (weakened), and are not (in a moral sense) fit for fighting, for they have weakened their strength by extreme drinking. There seems indeed to be much vigor in a drunken man, for he swaggers immoderately and foams out much rage; but yet he may be cast down by a finger; and even a child can easily overcome a drunken person. It is therefore an apt similitude,- that God would manage the Assyrians as the drunken are wont to be managed; for the more audacity there is in drunken men, the easier they are brought under; for as they perceive no danger, and are, as it were, stupefied, so they run headlong with greater impetuosity. It is therefore an apt similitude,- that God would manage the Assyrians as the drunken (fig., those offending against logic and moral purity – manifest in costly indulgences of moral abuses) are wont to be managed; for the more audacity there is in drunken men, the easier they are brought under; for as they perceive no danger, and are, as it were stupefied, so they run headlong with greater impetuosity. “In like manner,” he says, “extreme satiety will be the cause of your ruin, when I shall attack you. You are indeed very violent; but all this your fury is altogether drunkenness: Come, he says, to you shall the vengeance of God as to those drunken with their own drinking.”
Others indeed give to the Prophets’ word a different sense: as though he said, “You are indeed more than enough inflated, and hence all tremble at your strength; but this your excess rather debilitates and weakens your powers. When God then shall undertake to destroy you as drunken men, your insolence will avail you nothing; but, on the contrary, it will be the cause of your ruin as you offer yourself of your own accord; and the Lord will easily cast you down, as when one, by pushing a drunken man, immediately throws him on the ground.
And these comparisons ought to be carefully observed by us: for when there seems to be no probability of our enemies being destroyed, God can with one spark easily consume them. How so? For as fire consumes thorns entangled together, which no man dares to touch, so God can with one spark destroy all the wicked, however united together they many be.
“He will make an utter end of the place, the city of Nineveh thereof.” David wrote:
“Turn from evil and do good;
Then you will dwell n the
Land forever.
For the Lord loves the just
And will not forsake His
Faithful ones.
They will be protected forever,
But the offspring of the
Wicked will be cut off’
The righteous will inherit the
Land
And will dwell in it forever.
The mouth of the righteous man utters wisdom,
And his tongue speaks what
Is just.
The law of his God is in His
Heart;
His feet do not slip.
The wicked lie in wait for the
Righteous,
Seeking their very lives;
But the Lord will not leave
Them in their power
Or let them be condemned
When brought trial.
Wait for the Lord
And keep His way.
He will exalt you to inherit the
Land’
When the wicked are cut off,
You will see it.
I have seen a wicked and
Ruthless man
Flourishing like a green tree
In its native soil,
But he soon passed away and
Was no more;
Though I looked for him, he
Could not be found.
Consider the blameless, observe
The upright;
There is a future for the
Man of peace.
But all sinners will be
Destroyed;
The future of the wicked
Will be cut off.
The salvation of the righteous
Comes from the Lord;
He is their stronghold in time
Of trouble.
The Lord helps them and
Delivers them;
He delivers them from the
Wicked and saves them,
Because they take refuge in
Him.
Psalm 37:27-40
(Continuing Nahum 1) Verse 10 “For as long as thorns (causing inflictions of torments, distress and painful situations) are interwoven (together – making things difficult to handle); and like their drunkards (indulging in unrestrained abuses) who are drunken, they shall be devoured like fully dried straw.”
Barker Bailey Commentary.- The verse describes a fire destroying dry thorn bushes or the stubble left in the fields after the harvest. The entangled thorn bushes allow the fire to spread over the land until they are all consumed. Those who set themselves against the Lord cannot stand. God will bring total destruction against His enemies. … the bush by it thorns, the drunkard by his drink, the stubble by fire. God will entirely consume His enemy. Though God’s enemies present a formidable front like a thicket of interwoven thorns, and though their warriors are stout, well-provisioned, and well-liquored- this is not a dried up thicket, but a green one- they will still be devoured like dried-out stubble.
(Continuing Nahum 1) Verse 10 “Out of you (Nineveh) has come forth one (a mysterious figure of a wicked disposition; a companion of the wicked) plotting evil (deliberate harm) against Jehovah, one counseling worthlessness.”
Gaebelein Commentary.- The enemy is again defined as one who “plots” against the Lord, being specified further as a distinct individual from whom the rebellion emanates (comes out from). Sennacherib, perhaps more than any of his dynasty, stands out as the most powerful aggressor to emerge from Nineveh against Judah.
The intent of this plotting is “wickedness”, a noun often translated as “worthlessness”, and implying a total lack of moral fiber and principle.
(Continuing Nahum 1) Verse 12 “Thus says Jehovah, ‘Though complete, and so many, yet they (the Assyrians) therefore will be cut off (brought to an end) and vanish.’”
Robertson Commentary.- It is hopeless for the wicked to think that somehow eventually they many become fortified against the coming devastations.
Robertson Commentary.- Even while they (the Assyrians) are undiminished in strength, full of arrogant self-confidence, God shall level them to the ground.
Nineveh was known to be a great city. Yet this numerous populace would be mowed down like so many blades of grass. Once a mowing operation has begun, thousands of blades of grass disappear in an instant.
Barker Bailey.- Any person or nation aligned against justice and righteousness is the enemy of God. Thus Christian preachers have been correct in using the Book of Nahum to remind tyrants such as Adolf Hitler, Joseph Stalin, and Idi Amin of the Lord’s judgment against the oppressor. Believer in every age are heartened to know that “the Lord is good, a refuge in times of trouble.”
Any person who uses power, status, or material wealth against the weak in society plants himself as opposed to God.
(Continuing Nahum 1) Verse 13 “’Though I afflict you (with many problems and miseries), I will not afflict you anymore. And now I will break his (the Assyrian) yoke (of foreign dominion and payment of tribute) from upon you (“giving way to liberty and freedom”), and your bonds I will tear away (freeing the ten “lost tribes” of Israel from the tyranny of Assyria).’”
Barker and Bailey Commentary.- The yoke commonly referred to oppression and forced devotion. Breaking the yoke indicated a freedom from bondage and servitude. Breaking the yoke bar and snapping the bonds allowed the animal to go free. God intended to break the yoke and snap the bonds, ending the oppression…
Baker Commentary.- This imagery compares Assyria to a farmer who has tamed on ox by placing yoke on its neck. The yoke allows the farmer to control the strength of the ox, which has become a slave and does the bidding of its master.
With this verse another abrupt change takes place. The tone becomes judgmental, and the words are directed toward another person. The best explanation of this shift is that this judgment-oracle is directed toward the king of Assyria.
(Continuing Nahum 1) Verse 14 “And Jehovah has commanded about you, not (one) shall be sown from your name (as a descendant) any more (your name will be obliterated of identity as a dynasty). Out of the house of your (false) gods I will cut off the graven image and the cast image; I will appoint your grave, for you are despised.”
Baker Commentary.- The king who is addressed in this verse represents the people as a whole. He more than anyone is responsible for the actions of the nation. Thus, he is the appropriate object of God’s wrath.
The Lord utters three pronouncements of judgment against the king of Assyria. First, he will have no descendants who will survive him- a frightening prospect for any ancient Near Eastern king. It was a high priority of a king to ensure an heir to the throne and a peaceful succession. Second, God will remove the images from the temples. Cult statues were taken from their temples in the aftermath of a military defeat. It was one of the objects of ancient Near Eastern warfare to capture the cult statues of one’s opponents and destroy them or place them in one’s own temples. Third, the king will die and be buried.
Robertson Commentary.- Assyria may appear impregnable. But the publication of the divine decree seals their fate.
The decree of God declares that no one shall survive to maintain his name. None shall be sown, apparently indicating that his descendants would perish. The Assyrian king’s name shall not be sown. His descendants shall not carry on his tradition.
Furthermore, the graven and molten image of the gods of Assyria shall be cut off. Like the idols of Dagon who fell on their faces in humiliation before the ark of the Lord, so the mighty gods of Assyria shall come to naught.
As a final blow to the royal ego, God declares to the king of Assyria, I shall dig your grave. The end of his illustrious career shall display the vanity of his power. As the terminal humiliation of a crowned head, his enemy shall bury him. So shall it be with all that set themselves against the Lord and His people.
Why shall these repeated blows fall against the king of Assyria? Contrary to the modern emphasis of self-esteem, this Scripture declares that the king of Assyria has no significance, that he is worthless. Instead of being worthy of restoration, he is empty, hollow, trifling. His worthlessness before God assures the deliverance promised for Judah which shall be accomplished by his destruction.
Barker Bailey Commentary.- Nahum does not have to prove to anyone that Assyria is worthy of punishment. Its oppressive policies were well known throughout the ancient world. Assyria saw itself as invincible.
God vowed to cut off the idols of Assyria. The Assyrians worshiped a multitude of gods. Ishtar, the goddess of war and many other deities, including Asshur (god of war), Anu (the god of heaven who had power to judge those who had committed crimes), and Shamash (the god of justice), encouraged the Assyrians in their military adventures. Thus the gods of the Assyrians must fall with them. The judgment of Nineveh’s king demanded the destruction of the idolatrous religion on which his authority was founded.
When Assyrian generals overran a city, they often looted the temples of the subjugated peoples, removing the images to Assyria. By doing so the demonstrated the superiority of Assyrian gods over the god’s of the vanquished nation. The Lord determined to reverse the process. Removing the images and idols of Assyria powerfully communicated the sovereignty of the Lord God. He alone reigns. Assyrian might would be short-lived. Assyrians’ power came only by the Lords’ decree.
Assyria’s false value system eventually brought about its destruction. This important point should not be lost on the modern reader of Nahum. Any nation that lives by its might and opposes God cannot endure.
Calvin Commentary.- The kingdom of Nineveh would be so overturned, that it could never recruit its strength and return again to its pristine state.
It must, at the same time, be noticed, that the vain confidence, which the Assyrian kings placed in their idols and graven images, is here indirectly reproved; for we know that idolaters not only confide in their own strength, but that a part of their hope is also founded on their superstitions (irrational and false beliefs). Hence the Prophet says, that their temple was to be profaned by God.
Military Exercise – simulating how a “Terrorist Army” (fig., representing the “Assyrians”) could attack and defeat the United State of America in a single day.
Revelation 9:11 “And they (the locusts) have over them a king [the “false prophet”- a sovereign commander], the angel [the administrator over the affairs] of the abyss [representing the dark side of existence synonymous for the abode of those spiritually separated and excluded from the presence and favor of God], name to him [the administrator over the affairs of the abyss; the underworld hierarchy- a man of seniority and power], in Hebrew, Abaddon (ah BAD un) [destruction], and in the Greek (the) name he has (is) Apollyon (A poll yon] (the persecutor of the church).”
Besides massacring the enemy soldiers, Assyrians made mass deportations of the rulers (nobles, functionaries, craftsmen), so that the remaining people obeyed with humiliation. Enemy kings were beheaded, and their heads hanged in trees and cities were destroyed. Women were made slaves. This cunning policy, the army and good administration maintained the empire for centuries. The conquered populations had to pay heavy annual tributes.
Hypothetical: Major Positions Occupied by Assyrian
The Simulated Military Exercise –
(Based on9-11 being an “inside job”)
The people in general were left ignorant of the internal workings of the Assyrian populace hidden within - partly due to their reliance upon the mainstream collaborative media, which itself had been infiltrated.
General Military Stratagem: The Power of “False Flag” Operations
“… people don’t want war … But after all it is the leaders of the country who determine the policy, and it is always a simple matter to drag the people along, whether it is a democracy, or a fascist dictatorship, or a parliament …Voice or no voice, the people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. That is easy. All you have to do is to tell them they are being attacked …
-Hermann Goering, Nazi leader, at the Nuremberg Trails
“Good morning. At this moment, somewhere in the world, terrorists are planning new attacks on our country. The goal is to bring destruction to our shores that will make September the 11th pale by comparison.” George W. Bush, Feb. 13, 2008
Indeed, every directive, act and decision of our post 9-11 has been to increase the power of the federal government to wage the Global War, while in truth the people have surrendered American liberty to terrorists. If 9-11 proved to be an “inside job” – who then are we surrendering or American liberties to?
WHAT NEXT?
Cyber Crime “With a single keystroke, a coordinated cyber attack could be launched on the U.S. Public infrastructure (large-scale public system- water, transportation), communications, government and military network all fall victim to the sophisticated adversary hidden within. Systematically they plot to shut down outside computer networks. They take control of the stock market, communications and utilities infrastructure, causing nation-wide chaos.
“All computers are at risks that connect “to the internet through the industrial remote control technologies, which allow remote monitoring and control of operations like manufacturing production lines and civil works projects like dams. Now terrorist are at the keyboards remotely shutting down factory floors or opening a dam’s floodgates to devastate cities downstream.”
The American public will soon be under lockdown.
“Because of the adversary’s planning and technical fortitude, systems nationwide fall victim simultaneously, opening the door to physical attacks, leaving our nations’ public works, transportation, financial institutions and other critical establishments completely exposed. The infrastructure of the U.S. dissolves with systematic precision. The public is in panic.”
“Anything run by computer will no longer work. Financial records gone, utilities gone, and so on. In other words,- they have taken total control of America – and what if …
…it was an inside job?
“It is easy to appreciate the devastation of a physical attack and what it can bring because as Americans, we need to see things in order to understand them. But we must not underestimate the potentially devastating consequences of an electronic attack, especially when used in conjunction with or as a precursor to a physical attack. It may be just that cyber attack that enables the physical attack.”
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