Tag: Nineveh

Nahum: Comfort (III)

The End (3:1-19)

Neal Pollard

Nahum: Comfort

The End (3:1-19)

Neal Pollard

Actually, Nahum three continues the judgment against Nineveh, but the whole of the chapter spells the ultimate end of the Assyrian Empire and its dominance. The chapter appears to break down into three major sections, verses 1-7, verses 8-11, and verses 12-19. While all three sections deal with the doom of this heathen nation, there are different ways to break down the content. Consider James Smith’s good outline (concerning Nineveh):

1) Evil declared (1-3)

2) Evil described (4-7)

3) Evil defeated (8-13)

4) Evil disparaged (14-18)

5) Evil destroyed (18-19)

(OT Survey Series, 397-400).

While I agree that sin was the cause of their end, this chapter seems most focused on the end itself. Sin is always the reproach and ruin of any nation that entrenches itself into it (Prov. 14:34; Dan. 4:17). Yet, Nahum, foretelling Nineveh’s demise, helps us see at least three things about their end. It serves as a warning to any who follow their foolish pathway.

Why their end was coming (1-7). Nahum pronounces “woe to the bloody city, completely full of lies and pillage” (1). His words depict what that would look like, all sights and sounds of the carnage of invasion and military defeat (2-3). Nineveh had played the part of a harlot, and she would be abused and mistreated like one (4-6). She would be so defiled and disgraced that all would distance themselves from her, and no one would mourn or comfort her.  At the very end of the book, the prophet briefly states what history repeatedly chronicled. The Assyrians were brutal taskmasters and oppressors (19); they would get a full dose of their own medicine. 

How their end was coming (8-11). They would go the way of Thebes. Nahum uses that Egyptian city whose overthrow was prophesied by both Jeremiah (46:25) and Ezekiel (30:14ff). Thebes had the advantage of the Nile, a seemingly impregnable position, and powerful allies, but none of these things saved them (8-9). Nahum compares Nineveh’s end to Thebes in these ways (cf. 2:8). Like Thebes’ inhabitants became exiles (10), so would Nineveh’s (11). They would go into captivity, staggering and searching for refuge (11). 

When their end was coming (12-19). Nahum doesn’t deal in terms of time, but rather gives predictions which history shows fulfilled. The Bible Knowledge Commentary shares 12 specific prophesies of Nahum’s, showing their historical fulfillment (chart is at the bottom of this study). Many of those prophesies are in the final chapter. Nahum depicts Nineveh as ripened fruit, ready to be picked. This was about to happen. They would be oblivious and unprepared. It would be too late when it overtook them. 



Nahum’s PropheciesHistorical Fulfillments
1. The Assyrian fortresses surrounding the city would be easily captured (3:12).1. According to the Babylonian Chronicle the fortified towns in Nineveh’s environs began to fall in 614 B.C. including Tabris, present-day Sharif-Khan, a few miles northwest of Nineveh.
2. The besieged Ninevites would prepare bricks and mortar for emergency defense walls (3:14).2. A.T. Olmstead reported: “To the south of the gate, the moat is still filled with fragments of stone and of mud bricks from the walls, heaped up when they were breached” (History of Assyria. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1951, p. 637).
3. The city gates would be destroyed (3:13).3. Olmstead noted: “The main attack was directed from the northwest and the brunt fell upon the Hatamti gate at this corner … Within the gate are traces of the counter wall raised by the inhabitants in their last extremity” (History of Assyria, p. 637).
4. In the final hours of the attack the Ninevites would be drunk (1:10; 3:11)4. Diodorus Siculus (ca. 20 B.C.) wrote, “The Assyrian king … distributed to his soldiers meats and liberal supplies of wine and provisions … While the whole army was thus carousing, the friends of Arbakes learned from some deserters of the slackness and drunkenness which prevailed in the enemy’s camp and made an unexpected attack by night” (Bibliotheca Historica 2. 26. 4)
5. Nineveh would be destroyed by a flood (1:8; 2:6, 8).5. Diodorus wrote that in the third year of the siege heavy rains caused a nearby river to flood part of the city and break part of the walls (Bibliotheca Historica 2. 26. 9; 2. 27.3). Xenophon referred to terrifying thunder (presumably with a storm) associated with the city’s capture (Anabasis, 3. 4. 12). Also the Khosr River, entering the city from the northwest at the Ninlil Gate and running through the city in a southwesterly direction, may have flooded because of heavy rains, or the enemy may have destroyed its sluice gate.
6. Nineveh would be destroyed by fire (1:10; 2:13; 3:15).6. Archeological excavations at Nineveh have revealed charred wood, charcoal, and ashes. “There was no question about the clear traces of burning of the temple (as also in the palace of Sennacherib), for a layer of ash about two inches thick lay clearly defined in places on the southeast side about the level of the Sargon pavement” (R. Campbell Thompson and R.W. Hutchinson, A Century of Exploration at Nineveh. London: Luzac, 1929, pp. 45, 77).
7. The city’s capture would be attended by a great massacre of people (3:3).7. “In two battles fought on the plain before the city the rebels defeated the Assyrians … so great was the multitude of the slain that the flowing stream, mingled with their blood, changed its color for a considerable distance” (Diodorus, Bibliotheca Historica 2. 26. 6–7).
8. Plundering and pillaging would accompany the overthrow of the city (2:9–10).8. According to the Babylonian Chronicle, “Great quantities of spoil from the city, beyond counting, they carried off. The city [they turned] into a mound and ruin heap” (Luckenbill, Ancient Records of Assyria and Babylonia, 2:420).
9. When Nineveh would be captured its people would try to escape (2:8)9. “Sardanapalus [another name for king Sin-shar-ishkun] sent away his three sons and two daughters with much treasure into Paphlagonia, to the governor of Kattos, the most loyal of his subjects” (Diodorus, Bibliotheca Historica, 2. 26. 8
10. The Ninevite officers would weaken and flee (3:17).10. The Babylonian Chronicle states that “[The army] of Assyria deserted [lit., ran away before] the king” (Luckenbill, Ancient Records of Assyria and Babylonia, 2:420).
11. Nineveh’s images and idols would be destroyed (1:14).11. R. Campbell Thompson and R.W. Hutchinson reported that the statue of the goddess Ishtar lay headless in the debris of Nineveh’s ruins (“The British Museum Excavations on the Temple of Ishtar at Nineveh, 1930–1,” Annals of Archeology and Anthropology. 19, pp. 55–6).
12. Nineveh’s destruction would be final (1:9, 14).12. Many cities of the ancient Near East were rebuilt after being destroyed (e.g., Samaria, Jerusalem, Babylon) but not Nineveh.

 Johnson, Elliott E. “Nahum.” The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures. Ed. J. F. Walvoord and R. B. Zuck. Vol. 1. Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1985. 1495. Print.

Nahum: Comfort (II)

Nations tend to think, when they are a superpower, that it will always be so. Up to this point, it has never been so. Assyria was one of the earliest superpowers the world ever knew. What can we learn from Nahum’s message to her?

Nineveh Would Flee (2:1-13)

Neal Pollard

Nahum gets to the heart of the matter in chapter two. He shares the pending judgment of Assyria in stark and horrific detail. If any of the Assyrians chose to believe God’s Word, this was nightmare news for them. Yet, every word of condemnation against Nineveh was comfort and consolation to Judah in the face of their menacing threat. We see at least three major ideas in this chapter. 

The devastating devastators will be destroyed (1-6). In words of comfort to “Jacob” (“Israel”), Nahum says that though they had been devastated and their vineyards destroyed they would see the tables turned on Nineveh (2). The “devastators” are warned to arm themselves for battle (1) only to overrun and devastated by an invading army. Who is it? Ezekiel 23:14 points to Babylon, though commentators also throw out the possibility of the Medes. Both could be right, as the decisive battle in the overthrow of Assyria (612 B.C.) involved an alliance between Medes, Babylonians, and lesser nations against Assyria and later Egypt (for an intriguing historical read, I found this interesting: https://www.livius.org/sources/content/mesopotamian-chronicles-content/abc-3-fall-of-nineveh-chronicle/). The invaders of Assyria rush the capital city (4) and set siege to it (5) and flood it (6). The intimidating Assyrians get a taste of their own medicine.  

The desolation is done (7-12). Nahum switching tenses, now looking at the events as if they have already occurred. God says, “It is fixed” (7). The Hebrew word is found 73 times throughout every genre of Old Testament literature, meaning stand, establish, erect, and in charge. The message is that this is done and cannot be undone by Assyria or anyone else. The description is vivid with details: stripped, carried away, crying, and beating their breasts (7). They flee (8), they are plundered (9), they are emptied (10), and they are anguished (10). Nahum describes their “desolation and waste” (10) with the imagery of lions who tear their prey and feed it to their young (11-13). Many people had been the victim of Assyrian cruelty. Surely, the memory of this filled the minds of the armies that exact vengeance on this empire prime for a fall. 

The divine declaration (13). Though implicit in verse seven, Nahum states it explicitly in the last verse of this chapter. God identifies Himself as Assyria’s antagonist. Though he would use the armies of men, He reveals that He was lighting the fire, bearing the sword, and cutting them off. Are there more sobering words than “I am against you” when spoken by the Creator of the heavens and the earth?

Nineveh was on the pinnacle of prosperity and power, yet it gave itself the credit and glory. Israel was one of its pitiful victims. Nahum says God is turning the tables. He had used them to punish His disobedient people, but now the tool in His hand no longer served His purpose. It was time for them to receive the due reward of their own deeds. 

Jonah: Successful Mission, Struggling Messenger (IV)

Are there people you know who you feel don’t deserve God’s grace? Does that keep you from sharing the fact of that grace with them? What happens when we don’t like God’s commands? What if we obey, but only begrudgingly and resentfully? It’s then we need to see Jonah.

A Calloused Resentment (4:1-11)

Neal Pollard

When called to preach to Gentiles, Jonah panicked. When swallowed by the fish, Jonah prayed. When spit up from the fish, Jonah preached. When God spared Nineveh, Jonah pouted. Our introduction to the prophet is unfavorable, but our last glimpse of him is even worse. It pleased God to save believers through preaching (1 Cor. 1:21), but God’s choice to save these believers displeased the preacher! Unfathomable, but undeniable. 

Audaciously, Jonah is angry with God! His prayer is a protest. He begs to know why God would put him to such trouble, calling him from his own country when he was going to do this to a notoriously wicked people. While he appeals to the oft-quoted passage concerning God’s character and nature, first spoken by the Lord to Moses in Exodus 34:6 and repeated throughout the Old Testament, it is in neither praise or thanksgiving. It is more accurately a complaint (2). He does not want God to relent and spare the Assyrians.

Why would Jonah react this way? I like the concise of explanation of Smith and Page: “At the very worst we see a prophet with a shocking disregard for human life and a bitter hatred toward those who had experienced mercy. At the very best he was a prophet who misunderstood God’s mercy and had a limited view of God’s plan for the redemption of his own people. While there may have been some reasons for Jonah’s displeasure, it is sad to see him place limits on the same grace that saved him” (NAC, 272). 

Notice how different the contents of this prayer are from the prayer he prayed concerning himself in chapter two. He had benefited from the grace of God personally, but he begrudged others enjoying it. He is so unwilling to accept God’s decision that he pouts and asks that his life be taken from him (3). He’d rather die than see the Assyrians live. But as God had compassionately appealed to the hearts of the people of Nineveh, He appeals to the heart of Jonah. It is remarkably like the parable of the Prodigal Son, with Jonah reminding us of the elder brother.

Isn’t the main point the question Jonah asks twice? “Do you have good reason to be angry?” (4,9). Apparently, between hearing that question a first and second time, Jonah has prepared his reply. Bitterly, when asked again, Jonah says, “I have a good reason to be angry, to the point of death” (9b). In between these questions, Jonah left the city to sit in the apparently sweltering heat to await the fate of the city (still hoping he’d see God destroy it?)(5). God enhances Jonah’s makeshift shade with a miraculously rapid growing plant that brings him great comfort (6). The next day, God appoints a worm to wither the plant and He appoints a scorching east wind along with a baking sun that brought Jonah to the point of despair and desiring death (7-8). God wants to know if Jonah had a right to be angry about the plant, and Jonah emphatically confirms that he did (9). 

God brings home the point of this dramatic object lesson to try and reach the prophet’s heart one last time. Jonah didn’t create, plant, or grow the plant. It “came up overnight and perished overnight” (10). Yet, it bothered him to see the plant die because of how it affected him. God wishes Jonah to understand that these 120,000 men, women, and children have eternal souls, are made in His image, and were destined to spend eternity somewhere. He wanted them saved (Ezek. 18:23; 1 Tim. 2:4; 2 Pet. 3:9)! 

Maybe it is hard to see ourselves in Jonah. We are baffled at Jonah’s prejudice and see clearly God’s point of view. But how often do we want for our sinful selves what we do not want for others whose sinfulness may be viewed as greater than ours in some way? Do we have less patience for their sin struggles than we want God to have for our own? Do we ever rebel against the mission God gives us, choosing our own way over His? Are we ever unhappy with following God’s plan, especially when we do not understand it? This is not a Jewish problem. This is a human problem. Christians are not exempt from a Jonah-like spirit. Even when it is difficult, we must openly share God’s gracious invitation to “whosoever will” (Rev. 22:17)! That is our mission (Matt. 28:18-20). 

Jonah: Successful Mission, Struggling Messenger (III)

A recently vomited-out foreigner comes walking through your massive city, uttering five words repeatedly. They are frightening, threatening words. There are 120,000 of you and one of him. What would you do?

A Complete Repentance (3:1-10)

Neal Pollard

We do not know if the Lord cleaned up Jonah’s body from the effects of being in the stomach of a fish for three days and nights (1:17).  If not, the bleaching effects of the gastric juices of that creature might have given the prophet a harrowing appearance! Nonetheless, he comes to Nineveh with a bold, unapologetic message. God gives Jonah a second chance, sending him to Nineveh to preach. The prophet dutifully obeys, preaching the message God gave him (2). 

The city is described as a large, massive place, even by modern standards. Hannah notes, “the city was surrounded by an inner wall and an outer wall. The huge inner wall (50 feet wide and 100 feet high) was about eight miles in circumference while the outer wall encompassed fields and smaller towns (viz., Rehoboth Ir, Calah, and Resen; cf. Gen. 10:11–12). The words “great city” probably included the city of Nineveh proper and its administrative environs” (The Bible Knowledge Commentary, 1468).

You can imagine the intimidating task faced by Jonah, walking through the bowels of this wicked city with a message of rebuke. Even given his distaste for these people, it would have been difficult to do this job. So far as inspiration records it, Jonah’s sermon consisted of but eight words in English (five in Hebrew and five in Akkadian, the language of the Assyrians). Can you imagine merchants stepping out of their shops, slaves walking along the streets, men, women, and children stepping out of the doors of their homes, soldiers huddled together, officials on their way to meetings, all seeing and hearing this Jewish prophet proclaiming over and over again, “Yet forty days and Nineveh will be overthrown” (4). Something about the exercise not only reached the people’s ears, it touched their hearts.

The People Believed (5). Jonah flatly reports as much. Faith came by hearing the word of God (cf. Rom. 10:17). Their faith would be demonstrated by their “deeds” (10). 

The People Repented (5-10). Notice the words in the text that prove this. They called a fast (5), they adorned themselves with sackcloth (5), they called on God (8,10), and they turned from wickedness and violence (8). They looked into their lives and saw with sincerity and humility the sin that characterized them, and from the heart turned away from it (cf. Rom. 6:17). 

The People Trusted (8-10). They acted with hope and belief that God would “relent and withdraw His burning anger” (8). They understood that the God Jonah preached had such power and had made such determination against them. They simply threw themselves on His mercy (9). Please notice that God saw it, and it caused Him to relent “concerning the calamity which He had declared He would bring upon them. And He did not do it” (10). It is possible for believing, penitent people who submit to God to change His mind and alter the course of their future! They throw themselves on the mercy of God, and they find Him abundantly merciful (cf. Luke 1:78; Jude 21)! 

Perhaps Jonah found perverse delight in discharging such a dire message, but the next chapter reveals he is not surprised that God responds so favorably toward the Assyrians. He’s sorely disappointed, but not at all shocked. It is incredible that, once again, the unwilling prophet enjoys unparalleled success at reaching the hearts of pagan, Gentile people. First the sailors, now the entire population of Nineveh–120,000 (4:11). As with all of this book, this chapter is about God’s heart and His character. Nineveh finds Him just, but also gracious. Anyone who looks honestly at His person makes the same discovery (Psa. 86:15)!

Jonah: Successful Mission, Struggling Messenger (I)

Can God use weak and sinful people to accomplish His overarching purpose, while not endorsing or being responsible for the faults of such people? An intriguing book reveals a man’s success doing God’s will despite his fighting Him the whole way.

A Commission Rejected (1:1-17)

Neal Pollard

The book of Jonah begins with the prophet explicitly crediting God as the source of the command to him to go to a heathen nation, preaching against the wickedness of Nineveh and Assyria. What follows is a very brief book, just over twice the length of Obadiah. Yet, the prophet is better known that any of his cohorts among the Minor Prophets. Though the fish is only mentioned in three verses of the book, it (often called a whale) is a fixture in the minds of those with the least of biblical knowledge. It is written in narrative style, different from the poetry, oracles, and visions so often characteristic of his counterparts in this section of the Old Testament library. 

He is one of the few Minor Prophets we read about outside of the book he authors. 2 Kings 14:25 tells us where he is from, a city in the tribe of Zebulun called Gath Hepher. That passage also helps us precisely date the book, around the time of Jeroboam II (the beginning of the 8th Century, B.C.). Billy Smith and Franklin Page write, “The prophet Jonah, a successor of Elisha, then promised that these victories would continue for Jehoash’s son Jeroboam II, whom the Lord would enable to restore Israel’s ancient boundaries. But Israel’s successes, the author of Kings explains, came not as a result of their faithful obedience but rather the Lord’s compassion” (NAC, 204). This idea of the Lord’s compassion is central to the book of Jonah, as God extends this not just to Israel but to a heathen nation. 

The Running Prophet (1-3). God had an express, specific, and meaningful task for Jonah. He told Jonah where, to whom, and why to go (2). “But Jonah” signals the man’s disobedience (3). He went the exact opposite direction, going due west to the Mediterranean Sea away from Nineveh, which was northeast of Israel. Twice, Jonah notes of himself that this move was “from the presence of the Lord.” What a subtle proof of divine inspiration, as a man would not report such sin against himself.

The Roaring Sea (4-6). As Jonah runs, the Lord pursues. He hurls a great wind and mighty tempest (4). The ship was imperiled and seasoned seafarers were afraid (5). In their misguided devotion and ignorance, they prayed to their various gods (5). These mariners are incensed that Jonah would sleep rather than cry out to his God (6). This is the first of several instances of piety from the pagans while the chosen acts callously against his Creator.

The Responsible Party (7-10). The sailors cast lots and determine that Jonah is the reason for the “evil” they suffered (7). Evil (translated wickedness, calamity, displeased, and discomfort in the NASB in seven verses of the book) is a key word in Jonah. It might be moral (1:2), natural (1:7-8), emotional (4:1), physical (4:6), or spiritual (3:10; 4:2). Jonah tells them why the storm is his fault (8-9). They were flabbergasted that Jonah would treat his omnipotent God so flippantly (10). 

The Restored Calm (11-16). After identifying the source of the storm, the mariners want the prophet to teach them God’s will to resolve this problem (11). The unwilling prophet preaches to them and accurately shares the answer (12). He confesses his wrong and is willing to sacrifice himself to save these pagans (12). The men show their high regard for human life (13), but further witnessing God’s power turn their hearts to Him (13-14). They even pray to Him (14), then serve and worship Him (15). Jonah converts his first of many Gentiles, despite his unmatched prejudice against them.

The Rescuing God (17). Graciously, He saves Jonah with a fish (17). He had also saved the sailors (15-16). What God does in mercy for Jonah is a type of what Christ in grace and mercy would do for the lost and rebellious of all mankind (cf. Matt. 12:38-41). 

More Than A Fish Story!

Tuesday’s Column: Dale Mail

Dale Pollard

Some times it can feel like our life is a ship on the verge of breaking apart in a violent storm. Maybe we placed too much trust in the now creaking wooden planks that buckle and groan over dark turbulent waters. In a last stitch effort to stay afloat, we madly rush about throwing any non-essentials overboard.

At times we turn to anything or anyone in an attempt to discover some lifesaving advice— perhaps a miracle? If you’re a child of God, you’ve got access to salvation even in the storms. Jonah 1:4-5 depicts chaos, panic, and overwhelming fear. Those sailors on the boat with Jonah had no idea where they should turn for their salvation. With each passing moment their ship threatened to burst into splinters and “each one cried out to his god” (v. 5).

But Jonah? He’s asleep. He has some kind of knowledge and relationship with the Creator, but he doesn’t fully understand how powerful his God really is.

The application, then, is humbling. Today our communities are filled with people whose lives are rocked and they’re looking for a savior with lifesaving power. They turn to the things in which they’ve placed their trust, and to no avail. How many of us hold the answers they need, but at times find ourselves spiritually sleeping— selfishly keeping this message to ourselves?