Day 270. Nahum

We are probably blessed that there isn't more of this vengeful little book—what there is enough. The whole of the Book of Nahum is focused upon a single historical event—the fall of Nineveh, the capital of the Assyrian Empire to a coalition of Medes and Babylonians. The year is 612 B.C., and the power structure of the Middle East is changing. Assyria, which has terrified its neighbors for more than a century, has been destroyed, and the prophet Nahum, about whom we know next to nothing, can see in its destruction the work of "a jealous and avenging God" (1:2). In the past he has used Assyria as an instrument of his justice, but now the cruel, pagan empire is the LORD's sworn enemy. Now the ruthless destroyer of nations and peoples is itself being destroyed. The plunderer is being plundered. Justice is being worked out in the forge of history.
We have seen and noted it many times before--that tension between mercy and justice in the character of Israel's God. "The LORD is slow to anger," the prophet Nahum says, meaning that God is forbearing. He does not move quickly to punish, awaiting repentance. That is the essence of his mercy. But at the same time he is "great in power" and not to be underestimated or taken for granted. He "will by no means clear the guilty" (1:3), and now he is settling the score. This is the distillation for Nahum's message. The LORD is "good"; he is always there to protect his people "even in a rushing flood" (1:7). But the LORD is also a hunter of the ruthless and cruel, a destroyer of the wicked, and "he will make a full end of his adversaries, and will pursue his enemies into darkness" (1:8). That he has done to the mighty empire of Assyria, and for Nahum, its fall is a morality tale that points to the fate of all who live by pride and
violence.
In the contest of power with its gods, the LORD has proved himself victorious. The fall of Nineveh is proof that its pagan deities were worthless as protectors—"from the house of the Assyrian gods I will cut off the carved image and the cast image" (1:14), says the LORD. Now the messenger who brings "good tidings" of the fall of Nineveh also announces the LORD's triumph over his enemies. And now his people are free to celebrate their festivals and fulfill their vows without fear "for never again shall the wicked invade [their land] (1:15).
Behind the Book of Nahum is a deep and smoldering anger and the burning need of those who have been savagely misused for satisfaction. So the prophet pictures the LORD, the "shatterer" (2:1), attacking the rich and mighty capital of the Assyrian Empire, which had ravaged the "majesty of Israel" (2:2) and caused such suffering to God's people. With relish he paints a picture of a lavish city in the last stages of siege. Chariots "rush to and fro through the squares . . . like torches" (2:4). Nineveh is like an overflowing pond which has been breached—the people pour out with a rush (2:8). And the invaders rush in, seeking plunder, and find there "no end of treasure" (2:9) to satisfy their desire for plunder. Assyria had been like a pride of lions piling up the bodies of its prey. But now "what [has become] of the lions' den"—the city of Nineveh—the prophet wants to know (2:11). Assyria's king, filled "his caves with
prey, and his dens with torn flesh" (2:12). But the LORD, the hunter, has destroyed the pride that devoured the whole earth—"the sword shall devour you young lions" (2:13), the prophet says with evident satisfaction. Now the haughty words of Assyria's "messengers shall be heard no more" and its armies shall no longer be feared.
The people of both Israel and Judah had suffered terribly at the hands of Assyrians, who were infamous for their cruelty to their enemies. The northern kingdom of Israel had been destroyed utterly by the armies of Assyria and most of its people carried off into exile. Jerusalem had been besieged and barely escaped destruction, and many Judeans met the same fate as their northern cousins and vanished into unknown lands. Now the prophet cannot restrain himself from taunting the fallen lion. He calls Nineveh the "city of bloodshed" (3:1). His words recall the savage cruelty of Assyrian warfare, which intended by its very brutality to intimidate the enemy. The prophet describes the "piles of dead, heaps of corpses" (3:3). But now all that is over. Assyria, the prostitute who "enslaved nations through her debaucheries and peoples through her sorcery" (3:4), is herself enslaved. The LORD has exposed her to the mockery of the whole earth. God
says—"I will throw filth at you and treat you with contempt and make you a spectacle" (3:7)—and the prophet is delighted to join in.
And the taunting continues. Is Nineveh greater that the Egyptian capital city which the Assyrians had conquered and looted, the prophet wants to know. He recalls that that city and its inhabitants were treated by the Assyrians with the utmost cruelty. Infants, which had no value as slaves in the ancient world, were routinely "dashed to pieces" by invading armies (3:10). But now Nineveh will taste the bitterness it so freely doled out to other great cities. It is doomed. Its walls are so unsteady that when they are shaken they will fall like over-ripe figs (3:12). Its people desperately make new bricks to strengthen them—but to no avail (3:14). Its troops have lost their nerve. The gates of the land are open to its foes (3:13). Those who can are fleeing. The prophet compares the merchants, guards, and scribes of Assyria to locusts; now they have flown away, and "no one knows where they have gone" (3:17).
There is positive glee in the description of the helpless city that is not very attractive to a modern reader. But we have to remember that anger comes naturally to those who have been abused. Nahum and his contemporaries see the discomfiture of their enemy as their own deliverance and openly and honestly rejoice. The leaders of Assyria—its "shepherds"—"are asleep." Its people are scattered by invaders "with no one"—no shepherd—"to gather them" (3:18). Assyria has been dealt a mortal blow and all the nations of the world clap their hands with joy because it will never recover its strength. And the Book of Nahum ends with a question that reflects the hatred with which the prophet views the tyrant: "Who has ever escaped your endless cruelty?" (3:19). The unspoken answer is—no one. But now the whole world has—Thanks be to God!—and who can help but rejoice.