Nahum 3:1-3

CHAPTER XIV

THE EPITAPH OF NINEVEH

WOE TO THE BLOODY CITY. Nahum 3:1-3

RV. Woe to the bloody city! it is all full of lies and rapine; the prey departeth not. The noise of the whip, and the noise of the rattling of wheels, and prancing horses, and bounding chariots, the horseman mounting, and the flashing sword, and the glittering spear, and a multitude of slain, and a great heap of corpses, and there is no end of the bodies; they stumble upon their bodies;
LXX. O city of blood, wholly false, full of unrighteousness, the prey shall not be handled. The noise of whips, and the noise of the rumbling of wheels, and of the pursuing horse, and of the bounding chariot, and of the mounting rider, and of the glittering sword, and of the gleaming arms, and of a multitude of slain, and of heavy falling: and there was no end to her nations, but they shall be weak in their bodies

COMMENTS

Nineveh, for years, had neither been taken nor put in fear. Now she lay, in the prophet's vision, as she would soon really lie, in blood and ashes. Nahum's reaction to her ruin is far from mourning. He rather lists her past glory and rejoices in her destruction. Reading this passage, one can almost hear Jonah joining Nahum in his rejoicing. What Jonah longed to see, Nahum saw. (cf. Jonah 4:1-5)

IT IS ALL FULL OF LIES. Nahum 3:1

Nineveh had aspired to be the capital of the world, by whatever means were at her disposal, whether intrigue in the courts of other nations or by sheer force of arms and the carrying away of conquered peoples. For this Nahum sees her now in ruins.
The God who made of one blood all the nations of men never designed any nation to be tyrants and hold others as her slaves. It is He Who will be universal monarch and none other! Yet the Chapter s of both ancient and modern history are delineated by the records of kings and nations who have tried to rule the world. None have long succeeded.

THE NOISE. THE NOISE. Nahum 3:2-3

The city lies dead. The silence of death is broken only by the sound of enemy arms moving about the streets. There is no regard for the dead. the invaders stumble over the fallen corpses.
The carnage seems endless. No attempt is made to count the bodies. They are simply a multitude.

Chapter XIVQuestions

The Epitaph of Nineveh

1.

Why does Nahum say Nineveh is full of lies?

2.

In Nahum's vision of fallen Nineveh, the silence is broken only by __________.

3.

Discuss Nahum 3:4-7 in light of the modern question, If there is a God, why does He not halt or prevent war?

4.

What are the sins of Nineveh as listed in this paragraph?

5.

What is indicated by Nahum's term witchcrafts?

6.

How does God intend to make Nineveh a gazing stock?

7.

Who are No-Amon, Karnak, Thebes?

8.

Where did the sprinkling of exorcism first become confused with the immersion of Christian baptism? When did this occur?

9.

Compare the fate of No-Amon with that of Nineveh.

10.

Who defeated No-Amon in 674 B.C.?

11.

Discuss Nahum's question art thou better? as applied to modern America.

12.

In what physical condition were the leaders of Nineveh when the Medes and Babylonians fell upon them?

13.

What were all thy fortresses in Nahum 3:12-15?

14.

What is the irony of Nahum's choice of vermin to illustrate the multitudes of Nineveh's defenders?

15.

The destruction of the city of Nineveh was the mortal wound of __________.

16.

How is God's word in Nahum vindicated by history in the destruction of the Assyrian Empire?