AM Bible Study Group; November 14, 2012
Nahum 1:9-15
Theme: God makes an utter end to that which pertains to the oppression of His people.
(Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture references are taken from The Holy Bible, New King James Version; copyright 1982, Thomas Nelson, Inc.)
In this great prophecy of God’s promised judgment upon the Assyrian empire—and specifically upon its capital city Nineveh—God began by giving a description of Himself. He gave a description of His nature (vv. 2-3a), of His power (vv. 3b-6), and of His discernment in judgment (vv. 7-8). In difficult times of oppression, that’s the place to begin—that is, by looking at who God Himself is for us in our troubles. And now, when we come to verses 9-15, we see what this great God promises to do to the oppressors of His people.
The historical background of this passage is important to know. These words were written about a hundred years before the destruction of Nineveh came to pass. But at the time these words were spoken, the Assyrian empire seemed far from any such destruction. It was a mighty and ruthless force that was sweeping the land. It was the unwitting instrument in the hand of God—His “hired razor” as He calls it in Isaiah 7:20—by which He was shaving the land. But in pride, Assyria became like the ax that boasts itself against him who chops, or like the rod that sought to wield itself against him who lifted it up (Isaiah 10:15).
The time came when Sennacherib—the prideful king of the Assyrians—brought his forces to Jerusalem, camped in the nearby city of Lachish, and sent his official with dreadful and blasphemous boasts against the God of Israel (see Isaiah 36:1ff). God promised a great victory to Hezekiah—the godly king of Judah; and in the middle of the night, the angel of the Lord came and slew 185,000 of the Assyrian troops in their camp. The people awoke to find “the corpses—all dead” (Isaiah 37:36).
This would become a picture to the people of Judah of the power of God against His enemies. In the later half of the first chapter of Nahum, we find that when it comes to the wicked, God makes an utter end . . .
I. . . . OF THE PLANS THE WICKED DEVISE AGAINST THE LORD (vv. 9-11).
A. You have to pay careful attention to who is being spoken to in this passage. It’s as if God stands between His people and their oppressors; speaking to one, and then turning to speak to the other. In verse 9, it seems best to see Him speaking first to Nineveh; “What do you conspire against the Lord? He will make an utter end of it. Affliction will not rise up a second time.” When the nations rage against God, and plot against Him; when the kings and rulers take counsel together against the Lord and His Anointed, they plot in vain (see Psalm 2:1-3). When God says that such affliction would not rise up a second time, its because He thoroughly brings an end to it.
B. Look at how God describes the destruction of those who try to devise plans against Him. As if turning to His people, God says, “For while tangled like thorns, and while drunken like drunkards, they shall be devoured like stubble fully dried” (v. 10). How could anyone ‘drunken’ and ‘tangled’ like that successfully plot against God? When He goes on to say—again, as if speaking to Nineveh—”From you comes forth one who plots evil against the Lord, a wicked counselor” (v. 12)—He is describing Sennacherib. And look at what became of him and his plots! Historians tell us that, nearly a century later, Nineveh fell while its leaders were in a drunken stupor. The city was burned like “stubble fully dried”. So much for those who conspire against God!
II. . . . OF THE BONDS THE WICKED PLACE ON THE AFFLICTED (vv. 12-13).
A. Again, God speaks as if to His people about the seemingly-unstoppable Assyrians. “Thus says the Lord: ‘Though they are safe, and likewise many, yet in this manner they will be cut down when he passes through” (v. 12a). They may seem “safe” (or “unscathed” as it is in the New International Version), and they may seem like a great multitude. But they will burn like stubble at God’s time of judgment. “Lord”, King Asa of Judah once prayed, “it is nothing for You to help, whether with many or with those who have no power . . .” (2 Chronicles 14:11).
B. The king of Assyria had placed God’s people, as it where, under a horrible yoke of bondage—levying a heavy tax on Judah and stripping the temple of its gold (2 Kings 18:13-16). This was by God’s permission, though; because Assyria was His instrument of discipline. But God says to his people, “Though I have afflicted you, I will afflict you no more . . .” (v. 12b). Note that it is God—not the Assyrians—who did the afflicting. And He goes on to tell them, “For now I will break off his yoke from you, and burst your bonds apart” (v. 13). When God’s appointed time of discipline is over, the bonds are taken away—and no force of man can keep them on His people’s necks!
III. . . . OF THE GODS THE WICKED TRUST FOR THEIR STRENGTH (v. 14).
A. When God destroyed the armies of Sennacherib, you’d think that he would realize who the one true God is! But instead, he went back to Nineveh and worshiped in the house of his false god Nisroch. And while he was worshiping, his own sons came in and killed him (Isaiah 37:37-38). What an example of what God says in verse 14!—again speaking to Nineveh: “The Lord has given a command concerning you: ‘Your name shall be perpetuated no longer. Out of the house of your gods I will cut off the carved image and the molded image.” Anything that wicked men put their trust in for strength, as a substitute for God, is an idol; and God “cuts off the idols even as men worship them!
B. Sennacherib once boasted that the gods of other nations could not stop him (Isaiah 36:18-20). But did the false gods of the Assyrians help them? Well; yes . . . They helped make them vile and fit only for death. The last half of verse 14 is chilling because they are the words of the angry God of Israel—”I will dig your grave, for you are vile.”
IV. . . . OF THE THREAT THE WICKED POSE TO GOD’S PEOPLE (v. 15).
A. The Assyrians were a terror to the nations. But now God speaks to His people and says, “Behold, on the mountains the feet of him who brings good tidings, who proclaims peace!” (v. 15a). They are words with broad significance. Here, they refer to impending judgment. But they are also words of promised salvation in Isaiah 52:7-10. And they constitute the call to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ in Romans 10:15. The bad news is what God does to the wicked. But the good news is what it means to His people when He does so.
B. For His people, it means that the wicked will no longer threaten them. His people can live in peace. “O Judah, keep your appointed feasts, perform your vows. For the wicked one shall no more pass through you; he is utterly cut off” (v. 15b).
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The mighty God who describes Himself so powerfully in verses 2-8—this great God who judges justly, and discriminates in His judgment between the righteous and the wicked—will not only establish His people in His time, but will bring an utter end to the plots, the bonds, the false gods and the threats of the wicked against them.
What then should we do in the face of oppression? In Psalm 37:1-4, God’s word tells us; “Do not fret because of evildoers, nor be envious of the workers of iniquity, for they shall soon be cut down like the grass, and wither as the green herb. Trust in the LORD, and do good; dwell in the land, and feed on His faithfulness. Delight yourself also in the LORD, and He shall give you the desires of your heart.”