Dave Burnette's Commentary

Nahum Chapter 3

Written By: God through Inspiration
Penned By: Nahum
Date Penned: BC 663-654
Overview: To Pronounce God's Judgement on Assyria (c 1-3)
Theme: Nineveh's Judgment (c 2-3)
Message: The People will be Scattered (v 1-13)

Nahum: Chapter 3 Commentary
     

(3:1-4) Nineveh used its beauty, prestige, and power to seduce other nations. Like a prostitute, she enticed them into a false friendship. Then when the other nations relaxed, thinking Assyria was a friend, Assyria destroyed and plundered them, Beautiful and impressive on the outside. Nineveh was vicious and deceitful on the inside. Beneath beautiful facades sometimes is destruction and death. Don't let an attractive institution, company, movement, or person lower your standards or compromise your moral principles.


(3:8-10) Thebes (no) was a city in Egypt, the previous world power, which stood in the path of Assyria's expansion in the south. The Assyrians conquered Thebes 51 years before this prophecy was given to Judah, surrounded to the north and south by Assyria.. The situation appeared hopeless, BUt God said that the same atrocities done in Thebes would happen in Nineveh.. No power on earth can protect us from God's Judgement or be a suitable substitute for his power in our lives. Thebes and Assyria put their trust in alliances and military power, but history would show these inadequate. Don't insist on learning through personal experience, instead, learn the lessons history has already taught. Put your trust in God above anything else.

(3:19) All the nations hated to be ruled by the merciless Assyrians, but they wanted to be like Assyria - powerful, wealthy, prestigious - and they courted its friendship. In the same way we do not like the idea of being ruled harshly, so we do what we can to stay on good terms with a powerful leader. And deep down, we would like to have that kind of power. The thought of being on top can be captivating. But power is seductive, so we should not scheme to get it or hold on to it. Those who lust after power will be powerfully destroyed, as was the might of the Assyrian Empire.


Dave Burnette's Life Application


Can We Negotiate with God?

 Each day we walk through the Bible chapter by chapter making an application of our text to help us grow in the Lord. Many applications can be made from each day's text. Today we continue in the book of Nahum with Chapter 3. In our text today we see how the people are scattered as they depended on their military strength to attempt to fight off the judgment of the Lord. In making application we see that there is no escaping the judgment of the Lord. The Bible says that we will all face the Lord when our lives are over and at that time there will be no excuses Some think they can negotiate with God but truth is those who are saved will go to Heaven and those who are lost will go to Hell. How about you? Are you ready to meet the Lord? Let us learn from our text today and the sins of Nineveh to see that sinners cannot escape judgement and we cannot negotiate with God, we simply must be saved to go to Heaven.

 

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Nahum 3

Nahum 3

 1Woe to the bloody city! it is all full of lies and robbery; the prey departeth not;

 2The noise of a whip, and the noise of the rattling of the wheels, and of the pransing horses, and of the jumping chariots.

 3The horseman lifteth up both the bright sword and the glittering spear: and there is a multitude of slain, and a great number of carcases; and there is none end of their corpses; they stumble upon their corpses:

 4Because of the multitude of the whoredoms of the wellfavoured harlot, the mistress of witchcrafts, that selleth nations through her whoredoms, and families through her witchcrafts.

 5Behold, I am against thee, saith the LORD of hosts; and I will discover thy skirts upon thy face, and I will shew the nations thy nakedness, and the kingdoms thy shame.

 6And I will cast abominable filth upon thee, and make thee vile, and will set thee as a gazingstock.

 7And it shall come to pass, that all they that look upon thee shall flee from thee, and say, Nineveh is laid waste: who will bemoan her? whence shall I seek comforters for thee?

 8Art thou better than populous No, that was situate among the rivers, that had the waters round about it, whose rampart was the sea, and her wall was from the sea?

 9Ethiopia and Egypt were her strength, and it was infinite; Put and Lubim were thy helpers.

 10Yet was she carried away, she went into captivity: her young children also were dashed in pieces at the top of all the streets: and they cast lots for her honourable men, and all her great men were bound in chains.

 11Thou also shalt be drunken: thou shalt be hid, thou also shalt seek strength because of the enemy.

 12All thy strong holds shall be like fig trees with the firstripe figs: if they be shaken, they shall even fall into the mouth of the eater.

 13Behold, thy people in the midst of thee are women: the gates of thy land shall be set wide open unto thine enemies: the fire shall devour thy bars.

 14Draw thee waters for the siege, fortify thy strong holds: go into clay, and tread the morter, make strong the brickkiln.

 15There shall the fire devour thee; the sword shall cut thee off, it shall eat thee up like the cankerworm: make thyself many as the cankerworm, make thyself many as the locusts.

 16Thou hast multiplied thy merchants above the stars of heaven: the cankerworm spoileth, and fleeth away.

 17Thy crowned are as the locusts, and thy captains as the great grasshoppers, which camp in the hedges in the cold day, but when the sun ariseth they flee away, and their place is not known where they are.

 18Thy shepherds slumber, O king of Assyria: thy nobles shall dwell in the dust: thy people is scattered upon the mountains, and no man gathereth them.

 19There is no healing of thy bruise; thy wound is grievous: all that hear the bruit of thee shall clap the hands over thee: for upon whom hath not thy wickedness passed continually?