Nahum 2

Assyria’s demise in the time of Hezekiah was not the end of the empire, but it was the beginning of the end.   The end would come later in the time and at the hands of the Babylonians.  It is that destruction that is the subject of Nahum 2-3.

·        2:1: He who scatters refers to the Babylonians.  They were the tools in God’s hand to bring judgment on the Assyrians and end their role as the regional power.  These same Babylonians, under Nebuchadnezzar, were used by God to bring judgment on Egypt and then eventually on Judah and Jerusalem.  In the days of Hezekiah two events are recorded in Scripture.  First, the Assyrian army was significantly depleted at Jerusalem (Isa. 36-37).  Then Hezekiah was healed of a fatal disease, which led to a visit from Babylonian envoys. and the resulting prophecy of Babylon’s eventual rise to dominance (Isa. 38-39).  As we have noted, Nahum was a prophet somewhere around this time, so we can say his preaching was very timely.

·        2:2: Again we see that while Nahum preaches about the fall of Nineveh his preaching actually concerns God’s dealings with Israel.

·        2:3-7: This is a description of the panic, the fear and decimation of Assyria when the Babylonians come.  There is an illustration of prophecy fulfillment gone crazy in v4.  Back in the 1930’s there were American preachers who claimed that the chariots rage in the streets referred to the automobiles in cities at the time.  The error was a failure to see the context of Nahum as applying to his time and the historical event of the fall of Nineveh.  As someone has said, the first three principles of interpreting prophecy are context, context and context!

·        2:8: Nineveh of old probably refers to Nineveh in the days of Jonah.  The Gentile nations can say, as Israel can say, it is a good thing to have the LORD as your God.  Times were blessed when Nineveh feared the LORD; they were cursed when their blessings became the source of pride.

·        2:13: Nineveh’s ultimate problem, we can then say, is that God was against them.  God will always be faithful to His word.  He gave Nineveh 40 days to repent in the days of Jonah; they repented and God blessed.  Now they have turned from the LORD and God will keep His word in judgment.  His faithfulness to His word is linked to His faithfulness to His character.  In Ch. 1 Nahum called attention to God’s vengeance and His goodness.  The LORD will be true to Himself for us today, as He was in the days of Nahum.