Join us for a profound exploration of Nahum chapter 3, as we examine the powerful narrative of Nineveh’s demise. With evocative descriptions, Nahum portrays a city overwhelmed by divine judgment. Allen J. Huth offers insights drawn from decades of journal reflections, considering the lessons of obedience and faithfulness to God’s covenant. This episode serves as both a historical reflection and a personal call to experience the peace and comfort that come from walking with God.
Welcome to AddBible, an audio daily devotion from the Ezra Project. We join Allen J. Huth as he shares Bible passages and comments from over 30 years of his personal Bible reading journals.
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Today we conclude the book of Nahum. Chapter 3 has 19 verses, so we’ll listen to Faith Comes by Hearing’s reading of the last chapter of the book of Nahum.
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Nahum 3 Woe to the bloody city, all full of lies and plunder. No end to the prey. The crack of the whip and rumble of the wheel, galloping horse and bounding chariot. Horsemen charging, flashing sword and glittering spear. Hosts of slain, heaps of corpses, dead bodies without end. They stumble over the bodies. and all for the countless whorings of the prostitute, graceful and of deadly charms, who betrays nations with her whorings and peoples with her charms. Behold, I am against you, declares the Lord of hosts, and will lift up your skirts over your face, and I will make nations look at your nakedness and kingdoms at your shame. I will throw filth at you and treat you with contempt and make you a spectacle. And all who look at you will shrink from you and say, Wasted is Nineveh! Who will grieve for her? Where shall I seek comforters for you? Are you better than Thebes that sat by the Nile with water around her, her rampart a sea, and water her wall? Cush was her strength, Egypt too, and that without limit. Put and the Libyans were her helpers. Yet she became an exile. She went into captivity. Her infants were dashed in pieces at the head of every street. For her honored men, lots were cast, and all her great men were bound in chains. You also will be drunken. You will go into hiding. You will seek a refuge from the enemy. All your fortresses are like fig trees with first ripe figs. If shaken, they fall into the mouth of the eater. Behold, your troops are women in your midst. The gates of your land are wide open to your enemies. The fire has devoured your bars. Draw water for the siege. Strengthen your forts. Go into the clay. Tread the mortar. Take hold of the brick mold. There will the fire devour you. The sword will cut you off. It will devour you like the locust. Multiply yourselves like the locust. Multiply like the grasshopper. You increased your merchants more than the stars of the heavens. The locust spreads its wings and flies away. Your princes are like grasshoppers. Your scribes like clouds of locusts settling on the fences in a day of cold. When the sun rises, they fly away. No one knows where they are. Your shepherds are asleep, O king of Assyria. Your nobles slumber. Your people are scattered on the mountains with none to gather them. There is no easing your hurt. Your wound is grievous. All who hear the news about you clap their hands over you. For upon whom has not come your unceasing evil?
SPEAKER 01 :
I have summarized my journals from 1991, 2001, and 2011 and previous chapters of Nahum. There’s really nothing more to share. So let’s look at chapter 3. Chapter 3 is the graphic description by the prophet Nahum of the destruction of Nineveh, the Assyrian capital. I said at the introduction of the book of Nahum that it was one of the most colorful prophetic writings in the Old Testament with graphic images and descriptions, and we see that here in chapter 3. Nahum’s description is so graphic, it’s almost like getting popcorn and sitting down at a movie and watching the destruction of Nineveh from the front row. Phrases like the crack of the whip, the rumble of the wheel, galloping horse, bounding chariots, flashing swords, heaps of corpses, dead bodies without end. They stumble over the bodies. Verse 5 reminds us why all this is happening. Behold, I am against you, declares the Lord of hosts. I will make nations look at your nakedness and kingdoms at your shame. I will throw filth at you and treat you with contempt and make you a spectacle. And all who look at you will shrink from you and say, wasted is Nineveh. God’s judgment will be devastating and complete. Her infants were dashed in pieces. and all her great men were bound in chains. You will go into hiding. You will seek a refuge from the enemy. All your fortresses are like fig trees with first ripe figs. If shaken, they fall into the mouth of the eater. The gates of your land are wide open to your enemies. Fire has devoured your bars. The sword will cut you off. There is no easing your hurt. Your wound is grievous. All who hear the news about you clap their hands over you, for upon whom has come your unceasing evil. Yes, Nahum’s words are descriptive and devastating. The book of Nahum is really an oracle from God against the city of the Assyrians. Unlike the book of Jonah, this time it does not end well for the city of Nineveh. So what’s our application from the book of Nahum? One thing is very clear to me, and that is I do not want to get on the wrong side of God. Much of the Bible is about God’s love, His grace, His mercy, His forgiveness. But these kind of books remind us of the other characteristics of God Almighty. He is jealous, avenging, wrathful, and we never want to fall into the hands of an angry God. But just like Nineveh, many will. Why? Because we reject His love, His mercy, and His grace. We reject His forgiveness. We may even think about God and say He’s not real. Therefore, I don’t need to live my life for Him. Nineveh lived a life without God. Yeah, for a while they were greatly successful. They had prosperity. They ruled the known world. But their success was short-lived. You may have experienced that in your own life. You get out there on your own. You do pretty well. You think you’re successful. Life is going great. But friends, that’s not the end of the story. Hopefully, this book will remind you that God is watching and that He will judge. The way to prevent this kind of destruction that we’re reading about in Nahum is to walk consistently with the Lord our God. That’s his promise. That’s his covenant relationship with us. We read back in chapter 1, verse 7, “…the Lord is good, a stronghold in the day of trouble. He knows those who take refuge in him.” Take refuge in Him today. Let Him be your stronghold in the day of trouble. Invite Him to walk with you and talk with you all the days of your life. Today, thank Him for His love, His mercy, and His grace toward you. Together, let us remember chapter 1, verse 15. Behold, upon the mountains the feet of him who brings good news, who publishes peace. Yes, out of the word of God, we can hear the good news of the Lord himself. May you hear his good news today. Through the book of Nahum, may you experience the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding. Remember, the prophet Nahum’s name means comfort. May we receive comfort from the book of Nahum today. Comfort comes when the enemy is destroyed and God restores his people. May it be so in your life today. In Jesus’ name we ask it. Amen. We pray you have been enjoying and benefiting from AdBible, a fresh new voice on Christian radio. If so, go to EzraProject.net right now and show your support with a financial contribution. We can’t do an all-day funding marathon, but we can appeal to you for the next few weeks and watch God work. Thank you for your prayerful consideration. Thanks for listening to AdBible today. We started on radio on October 1st, 2024. I hope you noticed some differences in AdBible from other programs. For example, we are fully committed to the Word of God. That’s why we play full chapters on the air, not sound bites. It takes a lot of our program time, but it’s my belief it’s more important for you to hear the Word of God than me. You may also have figured out by now I’m not a pastor, just a layman like most of you. So these recordings are not based on sermons. They’re based on my personal walk through the Bible over several decades of my life. Therefore, AdBible is a unique perspective of how the Bible impacts life, not a teaching series you get at your church. I share personal Bible reading journal entries from my life, from my journals, I’ve never thought would ever be shared with anybody. What I share are raw, authentic notes from Bible intersections of my own life. My life is no different from yours, so I hope the stories and applications I share are relevant to your life as well. I hope you are enjoying this unique radio program and therefore will help us stay on the air. We have so much more to share. Visit EzraProject.net and donate today. Or send a check to the Ezra Project 1399 South Havana Street, Suite 201E, Aurora, Colorado, 80012. 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