Revelation: Witness, Judgment, and the Throne

The Wrath of God - 1 of 5

Transcript: AI Transcript

Professor: John Weaver

Subject: New Testament Studies

Genre: Sermon

Dictation Name:

Date: 2007-03-25

Synopsis: In this introductory sermon on the book of Nahum, John Weaver explains that the book's theme is the wrath of God against Nineveh and the Assyrian Empire. He emphasizes that God's wrath is a holy revulsion against sin and a defense of His holiness. The name Nahum means 'comfort' or 'consolation,' indicating that God's righteous judgment against His enemies should be a source of comfort to His people. Weaver outlines the historical context, the vastness and vileness of Nineveh, and the inseparable link between salvation and judgment, culminating in the good tidings that God will destroy the wicked.

[John Weaver] Nahum chapter one in your Bibles, Micah, Nahum, and then Habakkuk. Nahum chapter one. And I want today to begin a brief series on the book of Nahum. So I want to encourage you to read this book every day. There's only three chapters. It's going to take us five or six weeks to get through it. The general theme is on the wrath of God, which you're going to find out as we cover it today. And I was going to read the entire first chapter today, but due to my sinus and allergies, I'll probably only read a few verses because I really only will probably not even get past verse one today. But look at Nahum chapter one, verse one, the burden of Nineveh, the book of the vision of Nahum, the Elkishite. God is jealous of the Lord and revenging, the Lord revenging and is furious. The Lord will take vengeance on His adversaries, and He reserveth wrath for His enemies. The Lord is slow to anger and great in power, and will not at all acquit the wicked.

[John Weaver] The Lord hath His way in the whirlwind and in the storm, and the clouds are the dust of His feet. He rebuketh the sea, and maketh it dry, and dryeth up all the rivers. Bashan languisheth, and Carmel, and the flower of Lebanon languisheth. The mountains quake at Him, and the hills melt. and the earth is burned at his presence, yea, the world and all that dwell therein.

[John Weaver] Who can stand before his indignation? And who can abide the fierceness of his anger? His fury is poured out like fire, and the rocks are thrown down by him."

[John Weaver] Now, the general theme that I'm going to be dealing with for the next several weeks is the wrath of God. The wrath of God is an awesome subject. You must remember that God's wrath is related not only to His power, but also to His holiness. In fact, God's wrath is an exhibition of His defense of His law and His holiness. It is also a demonstration of His power against all who rebel against Him. Let me give you just a brief definition of the wrath of God.

[John Weaver] You could say it like this. The wrath of God would include that it is indeed a holy revulsion of God's being against all that is a contradiction to himself, especially his holiness. The justice of God is the penal infliction upon the ungodly due to the exercise of God's wrath. God's wrath is the eternal detestation of sin by holy God. So if you really want to know what the wrath of God is, it is a holy revulsion of God to all that is in contradiction to Him. It is a holy detestation of sin.

[John Weaver] Now although the book of Nahum deals with the wrath of God, I find it extremely interesting that the name Nahum actually means comfort or consolation. Now, how in the world could you have a name like Nahum, meaning comfort and consolation, in a book that's dealing with judgment and the wrath of God? Well, I believe his name is indicative of the fact that God's righteous judgment, that is, God's holy wrath against His enemies and against the enemies of His people, is and should be understood as a comfort and consolation to his people. In fact, the Bible teaches that.

[John Weaver] Let me just show you. Hold A.M. 1. But look in your Bibles, first of all, to Psalm 58. Psalm 58, and let's begin reading there with verse 10. Psalm 58, verse 10. In fact, all of Psalm 58 deals with God's judgment against the wicked. And then God says this, the righteous shall rejoice when he seeth the vengeance, that is God's vengeance. He shall wash his feet in the blood of the wicked. Now, some of you may remember that a multitude of years ago, I preached a sermon on this entire Psalm and the title of it was Washing Your Feet in the Blood of the Wicked. And this is exactly what God says. He that is the righteous shall wash his feet in the blood of the wicked so that a man shall say. Verily, there is a reward for the righteous. Verily, he is a God that judges in the earth. So the Bible says when the righteous seeth a vengeance, he shall rejoice. Yea, he shall wash his feet in the blood of the wicked.

[John Weaver] If you look in your Bibles to the book of Revelation, chapter 19, beginning there verse 1, just showing you that it is scriptural for the righteous to rejoice when God judges the wicked. In Revelation chapter 19, beginning there with verse 1, notice what the scripture says. Revelation 19 verse 1, And after these things I heard a great voice of much people in heaven saying, Hallelujah, salvation and glory and honor and power unto the Lord our God. For true and righteous are his judgments. For he hath judged the great whore, who did corrupt the earth with her fornication, and hath avenged the blood of his servants at her hand. And again they said, Hallelujah.

[John Weaver] And her smoke rose up for ever and ever." So here the saints are rejoicing at God's righteous judgment in the earth. So the very name Neb then means comfort or consolation. in the fact that we know that God shall indeed judge His enemies, our enemies, and shall destroy them. So, Scripture then teaches that God's wrathful judgment should be a source of profound praise from His people. It teaches us that God will not allow the wicked to escape. God is still on His throne, no matter how much the wicked wish otherwise. He is still God, He is still sovereign, He is still omnipotent, He is still omniscient, and He is still able to defend His holiness and His law.

[John Weaver] Now, let me just quote very quickly from Psalm 10, because I'm going to be preaching from Psalm 10 in just a few weeks, and I'll cover these verses in detail. But you see, the wicked wrongfully imagine these against God. In fact, in Psalm 10 and verse 6, the Bible tells us that the wicked say, I shall never be in adversity. In other words, they're never ever going to be in a position where they need God or they need deliverance or anything like that. And then verses 7 through 10 shows you in that Psalm the wickedness that proceeds from them because of their wrong thinking. When you get down to verse 11, the Bible says, They believe that God hides His face, that God will not see, that somehow God will not know what they do. Well, very obviously, God does not come down with Alzheimer's.

[John Weaver] He knows exactly what sinners do, and He knows exactly how to judge them. And then when they believe vainly that somehow God will not judge them, they are extremely deceived. The Bible says in Romans 2 and 6, You should be close there. Look in Romans chapter 2 and verse 16. Romans 2 verse 16. Look, if you would, what the scripture says. Romans 2 verse 16. To show you how that God is going to judge the wicked. In Romans 2 and verse 16, the Apostle Paul writes, In the day when God shall judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ according to my gospel. So God is not only going to deal with the open acts of rebellion, God is even going to deal with the secrets of men. You know, the Bible says that some men's sins are open, going beforehand to judgment. In other words, everybody knows about their sins, their wickedness, and their rebellion. But the rest of that verse says some men's sins are secret, and they follow after.

[John Weaver] So just because someone does something, and seemingly never gets caught and gets by with it in this world, in this life, does not mean that they shall escape the righteous judgment of God. Certainly, they shall not.

[John Weaver] Now, if you look in your Bibles to the book of Nahum, chapter 1 and verse 3, I want to point out that this is basically the key verse in this book. Nahum 1, verse 3. Look at it. The Lord is slow to anger, and great in power, and will not at all acquit the wicked. The Lord hath his way in the whirlwind, and in the storm, and in the clouds, and in the dust of his feet.

[John Weaver] Now I'm not going to be giving an exposition of this verse today. I'll deal with it later. But notice if you would, the Lord is slow to anger, and great in power, and will not at all acquit the wicked. It should be a comfort and a consolation to all of the people of God to know that the wicked shall not escape punishment. They shall not get away with their sins. You know, you and I look around today and we see the corruption and the filth and the vileness, even in our own government.

[John Weaver] And we want to shake them. Well, let me tell you, God shall do more than shake them. They shall not escape.

[John Weaver] Now remember the word Nahum means comfort and consolation. Nahum the prophet also prophesied and was a contemporary of Isaiah and Micah. So Nahum, Isaiah, and Micah all prophesied at the same time. Now let's talk about, just by way of introduction today, the date of the book of Nahum. If you want to know when the book of Nahum was written, I believe I can show you, generally speaking. I don't suppose anyone could know the exact date, but you can know pretty closely. When you study the book, you're going to find that, first of all, Nahum is addressing Judah and Jerusalem. What does that mean? Well, you remember that ten northern tribes were taken into captivity in 722 BC. So if you look in chapter 1 and verse 15, Behold upon the mountains the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace, O Judah, keep thy solemn feast, perform thy vows. And so here he is addressing Judah. Why? because the northern kingdoms had already gone into captivity. Secondly, if you look in chapter 3 and verse 8, the date is settled because of the reference to Noah.

[John Weaver] Nahum 3 verse 8. Are it now better than populous Noah that was situated among the rivers, that had the waters round about it, whose rampart was the sea, and her wall was from the sea? Now, Noah refers to no Ammon or Thebes in Egypt. Thebes was overthrown in 665 and 664 BC by the Assyrian monarch Asher-Banipal. So Nahum then is writing after 722, after the overthrow of Thebes, which means that in all probability the date of this book would be from 663 to 626 B.C. somewhere in that area. So Nahum then is writing. Now go back to verse 1. He says, The Burden of Nineveh, the book of the vision of Nahum the Elkeshite. Now if I were to ask you, what does the word Elkeshite mean?

[John Weaver] I'm sure that I could get several excellent ideas, but I want you to note that even the scholars are divided upon that word. Some say that it refers to his city, which is what I would think, but some of the others say that it refers to his father. Let me give you a reading of Calvin and his commentary. And he's dealing with this phrase, Nahum the Elkishite, and he says this, Nahum calls himself an Elkishite. Some think that it was the name of his family. The Jews, after their banners, say that it was the name of his father. And then they add this, their common gloss, that Elkos himself was a prophet. For when the name of a prophet's father is mentioned, they hold that he whose name is given was also a prophet.

[John Weaver] but these are mere trifles, and we have often seen how great is their readiness to invent fables. Then determination of the word leads us to think that it was, on the contrary, the proper name of a place, and Jerome tells us that there was in his time a small village of this name in the tribe of Simeon. We must therefore understand that Nahum arose from that town and was therefore called an Elkishite. Jerome and Calvin says it was the name of a town. John Gill says it like this. He is called the Alkoshite from Alkosh or Al-Keshi, a village of Galilee, pointed out to Jerome as a place of note among the Jews, having traces of ancient buildings. Now listen to this. The name Capernaum. You remember the New Testament city of Capernaum? The name Capernaum, that is, the village of Nahum, seems to take its name from Nahum who resided in it, though he was born in Elkosh in the neighborhood.

[John Weaver] Now, the interesting thing is this. In all probability, Elkosh was a town or city, but no one actually knows where it was really located. No one knows how long Nahum lived. No one knows how Nahum died. No one knows where Nahum is buried. Any additional information that you get, other than that which is in the Bible, is pure speculation. In fact, there are even debates as to where Elkash really was.

[John Weaver] Some side with Jerome and say there was a small village in Galilee. Others locate it 24 miles north of Deneva. and then others located south of Judah. So no one really knows where he is from other than the name of the town, Elkosh.

[John Weaver] Now, when you look at Nahum's prophecy, and this is why I want you to read the book of Nahum every day, if you would, for the next month while I deal with this passage, because I want you to see in this book the unity of his aim. Nahum's object was to inspire his countrymen with the assurance that however alarming their position might seem, since they were going to be exposed to the attack of the Assyrian army, and remember the Assyrians had already carried away the ten northern tribes, that not only would Judah and Jerusalem be delivered, but that God would actually destroy the Assyrian empire and its capital and overthrow its king because of the iniquities of the Assyrians themselves. So, Nahum then is trying to exhort, encourage, and comfort, and console his people, look, God will deal with this wicked Assyrian monarch. So, when you look at the book of Nahum, the whole theme of the book of Nahum, is the destruction of Nineveh and the Assyrian Empire. It is certain that Nahum was not only a prophet, but he was also a prophet during the time that Assyria was in its zenith.

[John Weaver] It had its power, it had its prestige, it was standing in its glory and its strength. It was exceedingly terrible to all of its neighbors. And Nahum is the man who prophesied, along with Isaiah, of the death of Sennacherib and how he would die. You remember how Sennacherib and the whole Assyrian army had surrounded many of these towns and had come to Jerusalem to threaten Jerusalem, and how Hezekiah prayed to the Lord, and the Lord heard Hezekiah. Isaiah came on the scene, and Isaiah prophesied. Well, here in the book of Nahum, if you look in chapter 1 in verse 14, you have a prophecy concerning the death of Sennacherib. Look at it. And the Lord hath given thee a commandment concerning thee, that no more thy name shall be sown, that is, Sennacherib and Assyria, out of the house of thy gods will I cut off the graven image, And the molten image, I will make thy grave, for thou art vile." Now notice what he said, out of the house of thy gods will I cut off the graven image.

[John Weaver] He says, no more of your name is going to be sown. Well, let me show you how that happened. Look back in your Bibles to the book of Isaiah, chapter 37. Isaiah 37. And this is a wonderful passage. This is a passage that I really enjoy reading. And you can't help but smile each time you read it, because this is where God smoked the Assyrian army. And in verse 36 says this, Then the angel of the Lord went forth and smote in the camp of the Assyrians a hundred and fourscore and five thousand, that's 185,000 men.

[John Weaver] And when they arose early in the morning, behold, they were all dead corpses. Now when you read that, you know, everybody just woke up dead. Well, of course, you know it means those whom God did not kill. But He killed 185,000. Now look what God did in verse 37. So Sennacherib king of Assyria departed, and went and returned and dwelt at Nineveh. And it came to pass, as he was worshipping in the house of Nisroch his god, that Adrammelech and Sherezer his sons smote him with the sword, and they escaped to the land of Armenia, and Esarhaddon his son reigned in his stead. What did God say in the book of Nahum? I'm going to kill you. I'm going to kill you in the house of your gods.

[John Weaver] Your name will not be sown anymore. And that's exactly what happened. And Nahum prophesied that. So Nahum was alive and preaching while Assyria was in its zenith. It was in its power. It was in its glory. And I'm going to tell you before I finish today how dangerous Nineveh and the Assyrian Empire really and truly was. Now, as you read the three chapters of the book of Nahum, each of these chapters views the destruction of Nineveh from a different angle. First of all, in chapter one, we see the certainty of Nineveh's overthrow. In chapter two, we see the depiction of the siege and the capture of the city. And then in chapter 3, we discover the wickedness of the Assyrian Empire that provoked the divine wrath. And if you look in the last verse, Nahum 3, verse 19, look at the last question that God asked. For upon whom hath not my wickedness passed? So God is saying, look, you've been a wicked, vile people and I shall destroy you. Now, go back to the book of Nahum chapter 1 and look in verse 1.

[John Weaver] We found out who Nahum was, but the Bible begins with these words in Nahum 1 in verse 1, the burden of Nineveh, the burden of Nineveh. Now, you've got to understand the usage of the word burden. When we think of burden, we think of a heavy load, something that's extremely difficult to bear. But in the Bible, when you read the word burden, it is something that is heavy, but it is a word that is used to denote the utter destruction of a people or a city.

[John Weaver] For instance, if you will turn back in your Bibles to the book of Isaiah. Go to Isaiah, if you would, please. And look in chapter, let's see, Isaiah 13. We'll start there. Isaiah 13. And notice verse one.

[John Weaver] The burden of Babylon, which Isaiah, the son of Amos, did see. And if you read the rest of this, he's talking about the destruction of Babylon. Look in chapter 15 and verse 1. The burden of Moab. Because of the night hour of Moab is laid waste and brought to silence. Because of the night cur of Moab is laid waste and brought to silence. Notice it's called the burden of Moab. And then if you look in chapter 17 and verse 1, the burden of Damascus. Behold, Damascus is taken away from being a city.

[John Weaver] It shall be a ruinous heap. And then if you look in chapter 19 in verse 1, the burden of Egypt. Behold, the Lord rises upon a swift cloud and shall come into Egypt, and the idols of Egypt shall be moved at his presence, and the heart of Egypt shall melt in the midst of it. Every time you see the word burden, it means that God is going to judge a city or a people, whether it's Moab, Egypt, Assyria, it doesn't matter. Now when the Bible talks about, in verse 1, the burden of Nineveh. Nineveh basically was the capital of Assyria. So you have Nineveh then as a synecdoche, which means it is a part which represents the whole. So therefore God, when he proclaims judgment against Nineveh, he is proclaiming judgment against the entire Assyrian empire. Now Assyria was built, especially Nineveh, that part of it, was built originally by Asher, hence the word Assyria. It was built by Asher, the son of Nibrod, but then it was enlarged later on by Ninas, who gave his own name, Nineveh, as the capital city.

[John Weaver] Now let me repeat this because I don't want you to lose sight of this. The moral teaching in the book of Nahum is this, that God is holy, and God must deal with sin. Not just sin in His people which He shall deal with, but even sin in the heathen. He must deal would sin. That's why Nahum 1 verse 3 is a very important verse when he said, and he will not at all acquit the wicked. Now, Nahum has been labeled as the most impassioned of the prophets because of the strong feeling that is expressed in his writings. Just look at verse 3. The Lord is slow to anger and great in power and will not at all acquit the wicked. The Lord had His way and the world went in the storm and the clouds were the dust of His feet. I mean, you can just hear this man preaching and this man proclaiming very passionately the sovereignty and the greatness of God.

[John Weaver] Now, as you read through your Bible, especially the line of prophets, you're going to find that there are two books that deal with Nineveh and the Assyrian Empire. One of them is Nahum. Does anybody remember the other one? I thought I heard it. Jonah. Nahum and Jonah. Now, before, and I do want you to turn to the book of Jonah, but before you turn there, I want you to look in your Bibles to the book of Romans chapter 11 and verse 22. And then you can turn back a few pages to the book of Jonah. Okay. Look in Romans 11, if you would please, and verse 22. Look what the scripture says. Romans 11, verse 22.

[John Weaver] Behold, therefore, the goodness and the severity of God on them which fell severity, but toward thee goodness, if thou continue in his goodness, otherwise thou shalt be cut off. Now look what he said. Behold, therefore, the goodness and the severity of God. When you look at the book of Jodah, you see the goodness of God in sparing a wicked people. When you look at the book of Nahum, you see the severity of God in judging a wicked people.

[John Weaver] Now go back in your Bibles to the book of Jodah The book of Jonah, chapter 1, because let me show you something that everybody thinks about when they think about the book of Jonah. And that is Jonah running from God. Look at Jonah 1 in verse 3. But Jonah rose up to flee into Tarshish from the presence of the Lord and went down to Joppa and he found a ship going to Tarshish. So he paid the fare thereof, and went down unto it, to go unto them, to Tarshish, from the presence of the Lord." So twice we're told that Jonah is running from the presence of the Lord. Now skip to verse 10.

[John Weaver] Then were the men exceedingly afraid, and said unto him, Why hast thou done this? For the men knew that he fled from the presence of the Lord, because he had told them.

[John Weaver] Now let me ask you. How do you flee from the presence of the Lord? Do you remember that passage in Psalm 139? Let me just turn back and read it. You don't have to turn there. I want you to hold the book of Jonah. But the passage in Psalm 139 that talks about God's omnipresent. Look at it. Psalm 139, verse 1. David says this, O Lord, thou hast searched me and known me. Thou knowest my down-sitting and my up-rising. Thou understandest my thought afar off. Thou compassest my path and my lying down, and art acquainted with all my ways. Now look what he says. For there is not a word in my tongue, but lo, O Lord, thou knowest it altogether. Thou hast set me behind and before, laid thine hand upon me, Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, and is high, I cannot attain unto it."

[John Weaver] Now listen to what he says,"'Whither shall I go from thy spirit? or whither shall I flee from thy presence? If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there. If I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there. If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me. If I say, surely the darkness shall cover me, even the night shall be light about me. Yea, the darkness hideth not from me, but the night shall in this day. The darkness and the light are both alike unto thee."

[John Weaver] Now, what is David saying? David is saying, I cannot escape the presence of God. God is omnipresent. He is everywhere at once in the totality of His being. Period. Well, if Jonah was a prophet of God, and he was, How then could Jonah think that he could escape the presence of God? Well, let me tell you what Jonah was doing. Jonah was running away from the temple. The temple was the place where God had manifested Himself particularly and peculiarly. And so Jonah was saying to himself, I'm getting out of the presence of God because I'm leaving the temple.

[John Weaver] That's why he went to Joppa and bought a ticket going to Tarshish. He was just getting out of there. Why? Well, you know that God had told Jonah he was going to send him to Nineveh to preach. Jonah didn't want to go to Nineveh to preach. And so Jonah ran. You know the story. My question is this. Why did Jonah run? Why did he not want to go to Nineveh to preach? Well, Jonah gives us the answer to that himself. Look at Jonah 4 and verse 1. Jonah 4 verse 1. But it displeased Jonah exceedingly And he was very angry. Now, look what Jonah did.

[John Weaver] And he prayed to the Lord and said, I pray thee, O Lord, was not this my saying when I was yet in my country? Therefore, I fled before a Tartarus, for I knew that thou art a gracious God and merciful and slow to anger and of great kindness and repentant of evil. What did Jonah do? Jonah ran preaching through Nineveh, yet forty days and Nineveh shall be overthrown and the people repented from the king on the throne to the lowliest handmaiden. They repented and Jonah got angry.

[John Weaver] Here was a preacher who did not want any converts. Here was a preacher who did not want anyone saved or spared. He said, God, didn't I tell you before I ever fled, I knew what you were going to do. I knew that you'd be merciful and gracious to these people. But Jonah did not want God to be gracious and merciful to these people. Why? Now listen. I want to show it to you from the Bible. But it was common knowledge among the prophets that God was going to use the Assyrian Empire to not only destroy the ten northern tribes, take them captive, but also to whip up all the southern tribes as well.

[John Weaver] And the reason Joel read was this. He didn't want God to be merciful to those people. He wanted God to destroy them so that Israel might be saved. Ah, let me just show you. Look in your Bibles, first of all, to Isaiah 10. You say that's fanciful. No, it's not fanciful. Look at Isaiah 10, beginning with verse 5. Look what God says. Remember now, God sent the Assyrians. He sent Sargon II for once, for one of those kings, I forget the other one, Ashurbanipal, I believe, against the ten northern tribes. Look what God says in Isaiah 10 and verse 5, O Assyrian, the rod of mine anger, and the stamp in their head is mine indignation. Look what God says, I will send him against the hypocritical nation, against the people of my wrath, will I give him a charge to take the spoil, and to take the prey, and to tread them down like the mire of a street?" God said, the Assyrian is the rod of might anger. The staff in his hand is might indignation.

[John Weaver] God said, I will give him a charge to take the spoil. and to take the prey and to tread them down like the mire of the streets. Isaiah knew this. Remember, Isaiah was a contemporary with Balaam. Look in chapter 7, if you would, please. Let's see, that's not the passage that I want. Just going over, if you would, Isaiah 37. Isaiah 37. Isaiah 37, I referred to this one earlier, but look in verse 14. Isaiah 37, verse 14.

[John Weaver] And Hezekiah received a letter from the head of the messengers and read it. And Hezekiah went up into the house of the Lord and spread it before the Lord. And Hezekiah prayed unto the Lord, saying, O Lord of hosts, God of Israel, that dwelleth between the share of heavens, the God even thou alone in all the kingdoms of the earth, thou hast made heaven and earth, incline thine ear, O Lord, and hear and see, let thine eyes see, O Lord, and see, and hear all the words of Sennacherib, who hath sent to reproach the living God. of a truth, Lord, the kings of Assyria have laid waste all the nations in their countries." And he goes on. Here's Sennacherib now against Judah and Jerusalem.

[John Weaver] Look in your Bibles to the book of Hosea. Go to the book of Hosea. I'm just showing you this was common knowledge among the prophets. Hosea. Look in chapter 9 and verse 3. Hosea 9 and verse 3. God is talking about His people. He says, they shall not dwell in the Lord's land, but Ephraim shall return to Egypt. They shall eat unclean things. Where? In Assyria. Look in chapter ten, verses six and seven. It shall also be carried into Assyria for a present to King Jerob. Ephraim shall receive shame, and Israel shall be shamed of his own counsel. As for Samaria, her king is cut off as the foam upon the water."

[John Weaver] Where are they going to carry it? Into Assyria. Look in chapter 11 and verse 5. He shall not return, talking about the people, he shall not return to the land of Egypt, but the Assyrians shall be his king because they refused to return unto God. So it doesn't matter if you read Isaiah, Hosea, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, they all knew that God was going to use the Assyrians to whip the land of Israel. And Jonah did not want that to happen. Now, you remember that passage in Amos chapter 3 and verse 7. You don't have to turn there, but let me just read it to you or quote it. Surely the Lord God will do nothing.

[John Weaver] except he reveal it to his servants, the prophets. What does that verse tell us? Whatever God's going to do, he tells his preachers first, and they preach and warn the people. That's exactly what these prophets were doing. And they were telling all the people that the Assyrians are going to come and destroy this land.

[John Weaver] Now, if you look back in your Bibles to the book of Nahum, chapter 1, beginning with verse 9, and I'm going to deal with this later on, but I'm just showing you that this passage refers to Sennacherib's invasion of Judah. Now, in 1 verse 9, what do you imagine against the Lord? Of course, we read a little bit of Isaiah 37. He will make an uttering, and afflictions shall not rise up a second time.

[John Weaver] For while they be folded together as thorns, and while they are drunken as drunkards, they shall be devoured a stubble fully dry. There is one come out of thee that imagineth evil against the Lord, a wicked counsellor, Sennacherib. Thus saith the Lord, though they be quiet and likewise many, yet thus shall they be cut down when he shall pass through. Though I have afflicted thee, I will afflict thee no more. For now I will break his yoke from off thee, and will burst thy bonds in sunder." And the Lord hath given a commandment concerning thee, that no more of thy name be sown out of the house of thy gods will I cut off the graven image and the molten image, and I will make thy grave, for thou art vile." So God is here referring to the Assyrians and especially Sennacherib as he invades Judah.

[John Weaver] Now you remember it was Shalmaneser who it was. It was Shalmaneser II and Sargon I under whom the ten northern tribes had fallen in 722 BC. You can read that in 2 Kings chapter 17 and 18.

[John Weaver] Now, Nineveh and the Assyrian Empire were known for two things. And I want to show you those two things. Nineveh and the Assyrian Empire were known, number one, for their vastness and number two, for their vileness. Now I want you to go back to the book of Jonah. We're going to look at the vastness first. Look in Jonah 3 and verse 3. Jonah 3 verse 3. So Jonah arose and went into Nineveh according to the word of the Lord.

[John Weaver] Now Nineveh was an exceeding great city of three days' journey. It took three days to travel through Nineveh. Look in chapter 4 and verse 11. And should not I spare Nineveh, that great city, where to more than six score of thousand persons that cannot discern between their right hand and their left hand and also much cattle. Now six score, a score is 20, that's 120,000 persons that cannot discern between their right hand or their left hand. So that means there were probably a minimum of 120,000 babies, children, who were not old enough to know the difference between left and right. I know some adults not old enough to know the difference between left and right, But 120,000 babies. Someone has said that probably, based upon this verse, there were over a million people that lived in Nineveh. I want to read to you, listen carefully, a couple of archaeological professors' descriptions of Nineveh, so you get some idea of her vastness.

[John Weaver] The first one is Professor C.F. Kyle, in his Archaeology of the Old Testament, he gives us this information, he says, the conclusion which recent discoveries lead is that the name of Nineveh was used in two senses. First, for one particular city, and secondly, for a complex of four large primeval cities, including Nineveh proper, the circumvalliation of which is still traceable, the mounds of which cover the land. The names of these four component cities which made up vast Nineveh quadrangle are Nimrud, Cajuchik, Khorsabad, and Kermales. To go around these would be to cover a distance of 60 miles, which would be to the old reckoning of 20 miles a day, would be a three-day journey. Same thing Jonah says. This quadrangular picture of ancient Nineveh is borne out by Siculus, the famous Sicilian historian and contemporary of Julius Caesar.

[John Weaver] He asserts that it was a quadrangle 150 stadia in length, 90 in breadth, and 480 in circumference. so that it was a parallelogram with its longer sides making 36 miles and its shorter sides 24 miles, the circumference being about 60 miles.

[John Weaver] Now listen, the walls were 100 feet high and so broad that three chariots could be driven abreast on them. So 100 feet high and three chariots abroad, that's got to be a minimum of 12 to 15 feet thick. Did you know the width of railroad track is still the width of the Roman chariot? So you take three railroad tracks and you've got to have a little extra width so that they can run. So they were a minimum of 15 feet thick. Talking about these walls now, they were fortified with 1,500 towers, each of these were 200 feet in height. So you have 1,500 towers, each one of them 200 feet in height.

[John Weaver] Based on a trigonometrical survey of the locality, the full area of the Assyrian metropolis has been computed as 350 square miles, which is some 20 miles more than that of London today. and fifty square miles. He goes on. He says, of course, it must be understood that Greater Nineveh included great gardens, Orchards and even pastures and cornfields. This need not surprise us. The great walled towns of Babylonia seem to have enclosed large spaces for cultivation and pasture, so that in case of long siege, they were largely self-contained.

[John Weaver] It is this fact which explains the mention in Jonah 4 and verse 11 that there was also much cattle there. So you have Nineveh then being a vast, vast empire and you're thinking 350 square miles. But Nineveh is not only known for her vastness, she is also known for her vileness. Look in your Bibles to the book of Nahum 1 and verse 14. God said, And the Lord hath given a commandment concerning me, that no more of thy name be sown out of the house of thy gods will I cut off the graven image and the molten image, that I will make thy grave, for thou art vile."

[John Weaver] Now I'm going to deal with this phrase a little bit later. But notice just their vileness.

[John Weaver] Now turn to Nahum chapter 3, the end reading of verse 1, and let me give you an illustration of the vileness. God says, Woe to the bloody city! It is all full of lies and robbery. The prey departeth not. The noise of a whip, the noise of the rattling of the wheels, of the prancing horses, and of the jumping chariots. The horsemen lifted up both the bright sword and the glittering spear. And there is a multitude of slain, and a great number of carcasses, and there is none end of their corpses. They stumble upon their corpses. because the multitude of the whoredoms of the well-favored harlot, the mistress of witchcrafts, that setteth nations to her whoredoms, and families to her witchcrafts.

[John Weaver] Behold, I am against thee, saith the Lord of hosts, and I will discover thy skirts upon thy face, and I will show the nations thy nakedness, and the kingdoms thy shame, and I will cast abominable filth upon thee, and make thee vile, and will set thee as a grazing stock." shall come to pass that all that look upon thee shall flee from thee, and say, Nineveh is laid waste. Who will bemoan her?

[John Weaver] Which shall I seek comforters for her?" And then if you'll look at that last verse again, the last phrase or the last question in verse 19, for upon whom hath not my wickedness passed continually?

[John Weaver] Now, if you were to read some of the Assyrian reliefs, You will find that they bragged. I mean, they were boastful concerning their vileness and their torture. Out of consideration, especially for the women here, I'm just going to read this rather than for me to explain to you the gruesomeness of their torture. But listen to what John Urquhart tells us. He says this. No considerations of pity were permitted to stand in the way of Assyrian policy. It could not afford to garrison its conquest, and it practiced a plan which largely dispensed with the necessity for leaving garrisons behind the Assyrian armies.

[John Weaver] There was unsparing slaughter to begin with. The kings seemed to gloat in their inscriptions over the spectacle presented by the field of battle. They describe how it was covered with the corpses of the vanquished. This carnage was followed up by fiendish inflictions upon individual cities. The leading men, as at Lahish, when Sennacherib had conquered that city, were led forth, seized by the executioners, and subjected to various punishments, all of them filled to the brim with horror.

[John Weaver] Some of the victims were held down while one of the band of torturers, who are portrayed upon the monuments gloating fiendishly over their fearful works, inserts his hand into the victim's mouth, grips his tongue, and wrenches it out by the roots. In another spot, pegs are driven into the ground. To these, another victim's wrists are fixed with cords. His ankles are similarly made fast, and the man is stretched out, unable to move a muscle. The executioner then applies himself to the task, and beginning at the accustomed spot, the sharp knife makes its incision. The skin is raised inch by inch until the man is skinned and flayed alive.

[John Weaver] These skins are then stretched out upon the city walls, or otherwise disposed of in such a way so as to terrify the people and leave behind long enduring impressions of Assyrian vengeance. For others, long sharp poles are prepared. The sufferer, taken like all the rest from the leading men of the city, is laid down. The sharpened end of the pole is driven in through the lower part of the chest. The pole is then raised, bearing the writhing victim aloft.

[John Weaver] It is planted in the hole dug for it, and the man is left to writhe in pain and die." The late Professor Sacy says this, The barbarities which followed the capture of the town would be almost incredible were they not a subject of boast in the inscriptions which record them. Asher Banniple's cruelties were especially revolting. Pyramids of human heads marked the path of the conqueror. Boys and girls were burnt alive or reserved for a worse fate. Men were impaled, flayed alive, blinded, or deprived of their heads and feet or their ears and noses.

[John Weaver] While the women and children were carried into slavery, the captured city plundered and reduced to ashes, and all the trees in the neighborhood cut down. Nor is this all about the horrible Assyrian mania for blood and vengeance, but we forbear." So the Assyrians were not only a vast empire, they were exceedingly vile.

[John Weaver] Now, the book of Nahum can be outlined with three simple points, and let me give them to you like this. Chapter one, is Nineveh's doom declared? Chapter two, is Nineveh's doom described? And chapter three, is Nineveh's doom deserved?

[John Weaver] Now, let me impress this upon you. The name Nahum means comfort or consolation. And you have to understand that to get the significance of this book. Because he is comforting and consoling the people of Judah and Jerusalem with the fact that these vile, wicked people who are in control of the world, the then known world, shall be destroyed. And he is telling them that it shall be a vindication of God's holiness and God's truth and God's justice.

[John Weaver] God will defend his own. God will defend his law and his holiness. We must learn a very important principle. If you're taking notes, write this principle down. Here it is. The salvation of the godly entails the destruction of the wicked. The salvation of the godly entails the destruction of the wicked. God delivered Noah and his family as it destroyed the old world. God delivered Lot as it destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah. God delivered Israel from Egypt as he destroyed the Egyptians. God delivered his people in the book of Judges, and each time he did, he destroyed their enemies. Here it is. It is impossible to have salvation without judgment. Salvation and judgment go together. Do you realize that even our salvation in Jesus Christ is based upon judgment?

[John Weaver] For instance, look in your Bibles to the book of Romans chapter 3 and verses 23 and 24. Just showing you that our salvation in Jesus Christ is based upon judgment. Look what the Bible says. Romans 3, notice verse 24. Being justified freely by His grace, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, OK? We're talking about justification by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.

[John Weaver] Now look at verse 25, whom God has set forth to be a propitiation through faith in His blood to declare His righteousness for the remission of sins that are past through the forbearance of God. Now I want to call your attention to verse 25, whom God has set forth, we're talking about Christ, to be a propitiation through faith. What in the world is a propitiation? The Greek word is halasmos, and it literally means to placate, to appease, to satisfy. What are we talking about? The wrath of God was against us. Why? We're sinners. We violated His law. We're rebels. We're wicked. We're ungodly. We're undone. And the wrath of God was about to fall upon us, but Jesus Christ came as our substitute And He came and stood in our place, and the wrath of God fell upon Him, and as our propitiation, He satisfied and placated the wrath of God so that God is no longer angry with His people. You see, we only have salvation because Jesus Christ was judged in our place.

[John Weaver] You cannot have salvation apart from judgment. If you look in your Bibles, the second Thessalonians chapter one. Second Thessalonians chapter one. Someone says. Well, Brother Weaver, I don't like all this stuff about judgment and the wrath of God, and all I'm going to do is I'm just going to pray for the Lord to come back and take us out of this mess. Well, you go ahead. But I want you to know what you're praying for. Look at it in 2 Thessalonians 1, beginning with verse 7.

[John Weaver] The Apostle Paul writes, and to you who are in trouble, rest with us. When the Lord Jesus Christ shall be revealed from heaven with His mighty angels in flaming fire, taking vengeance on those who know not God and obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ, who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord and the glory of His power. You can't even pray for our Lord's return without praying for judgment.

[John Weaver] When he comes back, he's going to judge the wicked. All I'm trying to show you, folks, is that salvation and judgment go together. You cannot have one without the other. Now, I want you to look back in your Bibles. I'm going to tie it together for you to the book of Nahum. Nahum chapter one. And by the way, go ahead and turn in your Bibles to Romans chapter 10 as well. Let me just show you a comparison of these two verses. Turn to Romans 10 and hold that. Romans 10. Now, let's read, first of all, Nahum 1 and verse 15. Look what God says.

[John Weaver] Behold upon the mountains the feet of him that bringeth good tidings. that publisheth peace. O Judah, keep thy solemn peace, perform thy vows, for the wicked shall no more pass through thee, ye is utterly cut off." Let me ask you, what is the theme of the book of Nahum? The wrath of God against the Assyrian Empire. Oh, verse 15 again, Behold upon the mountains the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace." What is the good tidings that Nahum is bringing? God shall destroy his enemies. Now look in Romans 10 and verse 15.

[John Weaver] In the context, we're talking about preaching. Look at it. And how shall they preach except they be sent? As it is written, how beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace. and bring glad tidings of good things. Isn't that amazing? When you look at Nahum 1 and verse 15, it is the good tidings of judgment. When you look at Romans 10 and verse 15, it is the good tidings of grace. You remember that passage in Romans 11 and verse 22?

[John Weaver] Behold the goodness and the severity of God. But notice, if you would please, the truth of God's judgment is good tidings. It is good tidings to his people. It's not good tidings to his enemies. But it's good tidings to his people. One last passage. Look in your Bibles, the second Corinthians chapter two. And there is one word I want you to really note. And I'll explain this passage. Notice 2 Corinthians 2 and verse 14. 2 Corinthians 2 and verse 14. Now, thanks be unto God, who always.

[John Weaver] Causes us to triumph in Christ. And make it manifest the savor of the knowledge by us in every place. Now, how often does God make us Triumph. Always. We never fail. The preachers never fail. God's preachers never fail. We always triumph. Ah. You say, Brother Weaver, that didn't mean that everybody gets saved every time you preach. Oh, no, no. Watch. Watch the following verses. Paul explains a statement. He says in verse 15, For we are unto God a sweet savour, that is, a sweet smell of Christ in them that are saved and in them that perish. To the one we are the savour of death unto death, and to the other the savour of life unto life.

[John Weaver] And who is sufficient for these things? Now, here's what the Apostle Paul is talking about. Let me just try to give you an illustration. Let's suppose there's a hundred people in this room today. A hundred unsaved people. And I stand and I preach Christ and his word. And as I'm preaching, the power of God falls. And let's say that all 100 people are converted by the grace of God.

[John Weaver] Now, the illustration that Paul is using is from those Old Testament sacrifices where he had that sweet smelling savor, that sweet odor from the sacrifice that was on that altar. It's kind of like. You smell of that steak as it's being grilled, you know, you just like to smell it. A hundred people, I'm preaching the power of God falls. And they're all converted. You know what God does? God says, my son is preached and I'm satisfied.

[John Weaver] Let's do it the other way. I preached to 100 unsaved people, and at the end, all of them shake their fist in my face and clench their teeth. And they say, if you don't get out of here, we'll kill you right now. We don't ever want to hear you again. Don't you ever come back here. You know what God says? My son is preached and I'm satisfied.

[John Weaver] We're the saver of life unto life and death unto death. And I want you to understand something, folks. When the Word of God is preached and people receive it, we're the saver of life unto life. When the Word of God is preached and people reject it and hate it, we're the saver of death unto death. But both are going to ultimately glorify God. Some will glorify His grace, while the rest will glorify His justice. Behold the goodness and the severity of God, but both will glorify God. God will do what is right, and I can assure you the wicked shall in no wise escape God will not acquit the wicked. And as we look in the book of Nahum at the doctrine of the wrath of God, you're going to see how God is righteous and holy and just in punishing the wicked. Let's pray.

[John Weaver] Father, we do ask in the name of Jesus Christ that you would speak to our hearts, that you would help us Encourage us, build us up in the most holy faith, and may your will be done in our lives. In Christ's name we pray, Amen.

The Wrath of God - 1 of 5

John Weaver | SermonAudio

Lecture Metadata	Details
Speaker	John Weaver
Source	SermonAudio
Media ID	817071817170
Subject	New Testament Studies
Course	Revelation: Witness, Judgment, and the Throne
Genre	Sermon
Date	2007-03-25
Dictation Name
Book	Book 160: The Wrath of God — Chapter 1
Source Timed Segments	84

Formatted Transcript

Introduction to Nahum and the Wrath of God

Weaver introduces the book of Nahum, its general theme of God's wrath, and defines God's wrath as a holy revulsion against sin and a defense of His holiness.

Nahum chapter one in your Bibles, Micah, Nahum, and then Habakkuk. Nahum chapter one. And I want today to begin a brief series on the book of Nahum. So I want to encourage you to read this book every day. There's only three chapters. It's going to take us five or six weeks to get through it. The general theme is on the wrath of God, which you're going to find out as we cover it today. And I was going to read the entire first chapter today, but due to my sinus and allergies, I'll probably only read a few verses because I really only will probably not even get past verse one today. But look at Nahum chapter one, verse one,

Scripture Reading — Nahum 1:1-3

"The burden of Nineveh, the book of the vision of Nahum, the Elkishite. God is jealous of the Lord and revenging, the Lord revenging and is furious. The Lord will take vengeance on His adversaries, and He reserveth wrath for His enemies. The Lord is slow to anger and great in power, and will not at all acquit the wicked."

"The Lord hath His way in the whirlwind and in the storm, and the clouds are the dust of His feet. He rebuketh the sea, and maketh it dry, and dryeth up all the rivers. Bashan languisheth, and Carmel, and the flower of Lebanon languisheth. The mountains quake at Him, and the hills melt, and the earth is burned at His presence, yea, the world and all that dwell therein." "Who can stand before His indignation? And who can abide the fierceness of His anger? His fury is poured out like fire, and the rocks are thrown down by Him."

Now, the general theme that I'm going to be dealing with for the next several weeks is the wrath of God. The wrath of God is an awesome subject. You must remember that God's wrath is related not only to His power, but also to His holiness. In fact, God's wrath is an exhibition of His defense of His law and His holiness. It is also a demonstration of His power against all who rebel against Him. Let me give you just a brief definition of the wrath of God. You could say it like this. The wrath of God would include that it is indeed a holy revulsion of God's being against all that is a contradiction to Himself, especially His holiness. The justice of God is the penal infliction upon the ungodly due to the exercise of God's wrath. God's wrath is the eternal detestation of sin by holy God. So if you really want to know what the wrath of God is, it is a holy revulsion of God to all that is in contradiction to Him. It is a holy detestation of sin.

The Meaning of Nahum's Name: Comfort in Judgment

The name Nahum means comfort or consolation, showing that God's righteous judgment against His enemies is a comfort to His people.

Now although the book of Nahum deals with the wrath of God, I find it extremely interesting that the name Nahum actually means comfort or consolation. Now, how in the world could you have a name like Nahum, meaning comfort and consolation, in a book that's dealing with judgment and the wrath of God? Well, I believe his name is indicative of the fact that God's righteous judgment, that is, God's holy wrath against His enemies and against the enemies of His people, is and should be understood as a comfort and consolation to His people. In fact, the Bible teaches that. Let me just show you. Hold Nahum 1. But look in your Bibles, first of all, to Psalm 58. Psalm 58, and let's begin reading there with verse 10. Psalm 58, verse 10. In fact, all of Psalm 58 deals with God's judgment against the wicked. And then God says this, "The righteous shall rejoice when he seeth the vengeance," that is God's vengeance. "He shall wash his feet in the blood of the wicked." Now, some of you may remember that a multitude of years ago, I preached a sermon on this entire Psalm and the title of it was "Washing Your Feet in the Blood of the Wicked." And this is exactly what God says. "He that is the righteous shall wash his feet in the blood of the wicked so that a man shall say, Verily, there is a reward for the righteous. Verily, he is a God that judges in the earth." So the Bible says when the righteous seeth the vengeance, he shall rejoice. Yea, he shall wash his feet in the blood of the wicked.

Biblical Basis for Rejoicing in God's Judgment

Scripture teaches that the righteous rejoice when God judges the wicked, as seen in Psalm 58 and Revelation 19.

If you look in your Bibles to the book of Revelation, chapter 19, beginning there verse 1, just showing you that it is scriptural for the righteous to rejoice when God judges the wicked. In Revelation chapter 19, beginning there with verse 1, notice what the scripture says. Revelation 19 verse 1,

Scripture Reading — Revelation 19:1-3

"And after these things I heard a great voice of much people in heaven saying, Hallelujah, salvation and glory and honor and power unto the Lord our God. For true and righteous are His judgments. For He hath judged the great whore, who did corrupt the earth with her fornication, and hath avenged the blood of His servants at her hand. And again they said, Hallelujah." "And her smoke rose up for ever and ever."

So here the saints are rejoicing at God's righteous judgment in the earth. So the very name Nahum then means comfort or consolation, in the fact that we know that God shall indeed judge His enemies, our enemies, and shall destroy them. So, Scripture then teaches that God's wrathful judgment should be a source of profound praise from His people. It teaches us that God will not allow the wicked to escape. God is still on His throne, no matter how much the wicked wish otherwise. He is still God, He is still sovereign, He is still omnipotent, He is still omniscient, and He is still able to defend His holiness and His law.

The Wicked's Deception and God's Certain Judgment

The wicked wrongly imagine they will escape judgment, but God will judge even the secrets of men, as stated in Romans 2:16.

Now, let me just quote very quickly from Psalm 10, because I'm going to be preaching from Psalm 10 in just a few weeks, and I'll cover these verses in detail. But you see, the wicked wrongfully imagine these against God. In fact, in Psalm 10 and verse 6, the Bible tells us that the wicked say, "I shall never be in adversity." In other words, they're never ever going to be in a position where they need God or they need deliverance or anything like that. And then verses 7 through 10 shows you in that Psalm the wickedness that proceeds from them because of their wrong thinking. When you get down to verse 11, the Bible says, "They believe that God hides His face, that God will not see, that somehow God will not know what they do." Well, very obviously, God does not come down with Alzheimer's.

He knows exactly what sinners do, and He knows exactly how to judge them. And then when they believe vainly that somehow God will not judge them, they are extremely deceived. The Bible says in Romans 2 and 6, you should be close there. Look in Romans chapter 2 and verse 16. Romans 2 verse 16. Look, if you would, what the scripture says. Romans 2 verse 16. To show you how that God is going to judge the wicked. In Romans 2 and verse 16, the Apostle Paul writes, "In the day when God shall judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ according to my gospel." So God is not only going to deal with the open acts of rebellion, God is even going to deal with the secrets of men. You know, the Bible says that some men's sins are open, going beforehand to judgment. In other words, everybody knows about their sins, their wickedness, and their rebellion. But the rest of that verse says some men's sins are secret, and they follow after.

So just because someone does something, and seemingly never gets caught and gets by with it in this world, in this life, does not mean that they shall escape the righteous judgment of God. Certainly, they shall not.

Key Verse and Historical Dating of Nahum

Nahum 1:3 is the key verse, and the book was likely written between 663 and 626 BC, after the fall of Thebes and the captivity of the northern tribes.

Now, if you look in your Bibles to the book of Nahum, chapter 1 and verse 3, I want to point out that this is basically the key verse in this book. Nahum 1, verse 3. Look at it. "The Lord is slow to anger, and great in power, and will not at all acquit the wicked. The Lord hath His way in the whirlwind, and in the storm, and in the clouds, and in the dust of His feet."

Now I'm not going to be giving an exposition of this verse today. I'll deal with it later. But notice if you would, "The Lord is slow to anger, and great in power, and will not at all acquit the wicked." It should be a comfort and a consolation to all of the people of God to know that the wicked shall not escape punishment. They shall not get away with their sins. You know, you and I look around today and we see the corruption and the filth and the vileness, even in our own government. And we want to shake them. Well, let me tell you, God shall do more than shake them. They shall not escape.

Now remember the word Nahum means comfort and consolation. Nahum the prophet also prophesied and was a contemporary of Isaiah and Micah. So Nahum, Isaiah, and Micah all prophesied at the same time. Now let's talk about, just by way of introduction today, the date of the book of Nahum. If you want to know when the book of Nahum was written, I believe I can show you, generally speaking. I don't suppose anyone could know the exact date, but you can know pretty closely. When you study the book, you're going to find that, first of all, Nahum is addressing Judah and Jerusalem. What does that mean? Well, you remember that ten northern tribes were taken into captivity in 722 BC. So if you look in chapter 1 and verse 15, "Behold upon the mountains the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace, O Judah, keep thy solemn feast, perform thy vows." And so here he is addressing Judah. Why? Because the northern kingdoms had already gone into captivity. Secondly, if you look in chapter 3 and verse 8, the date is settled because of the reference to No.

Scripture Reading — Nahum 1:15

Nahum 3 verse 8. "Art thou better than populous No, that was situated among the rivers, that had the waters round about it, whose rampart was the sea, and her wall was from the sea?" Now, No refers to No-Amon or Thebes in Egypt. Thebes was overthrown in 665 and 664 BC by the Assyrian monarch Ashurbanipal. So Nahum then is writing after 722, after the overthrow of Thebes, which means that in all probability the date of this book would be from 663 to 626 B.C. somewhere in that area. So Nahum then is writing. Now go back to verse 1. He says, "The Burden of Nineveh, the book of the vision of Nahum the Elkishite." Now if I were to ask you, what does the word Elkishite mean?

The Identity of Nahum and the Meaning of 'Elkishite'

The term 'Elkishite' likely refers to Nahum's hometown, though its exact location is unknown; various traditions are discussed.

I'm sure that I could get several excellent ideas, but I want you to note that even the scholars are divided upon that word. Some say that it refers to his city, which is what I would think, but some of the others say that it refers to his father. Let me give you a reading of Calvin in his commentary. And he's dealing with this phrase, Nahum the Elkishite, and he says this, "Nahum calls himself an Elkishite. Some think that it was the name of his family. The Jews, after their banners, say that it was the name of his father. And then they add this, their common gloss, that Elkos himself was a prophet. For when the name of a prophet's father is mentioned, they hold that he whose name is given was also a prophet."

"But these are mere trifles, and we have often seen how great is their readiness to invent fables. Then determination of the word leads us to think that it was, on the contrary, the proper name of a place, and Jerome tells us that there was in his time a small village of this name in the tribe of Simeon. We must therefore understand that Nahum arose from that town and was therefore called an Elkishite." Jerome and Calvin says it was the name of a town. John Gill says it like this. He is called the Alkoshite from Alkosh or Al-Keshi, a village of Galilee, pointed out to Jerome as a place of note among the Jews, having traces of ancient buildings. Now listen to this. The name Capernaum. You remember the New Testament city of Capernaum? The name Capernaum, that is, the village of Nahum, seems to take its name from Nahum who resided in it, though he was born in Elkosh in the neighborhood.

Now, the interesting thing is this. In all probability, Elkosh was a town or city, but no one actually knows where it was really located. No one knows how long Nahum lived. No one knows how Nahum died. No one knows where Nahum is buried. Any additional information that you get, other than that which is in the Bible, is pure speculation. In fact, there are even debates as to where Elkosh really was.

Some side with Jerome and say there was a small village in Galilee. Others locate it 24 miles north of Nineveh, and then others located south of Judah. So no one really knows where he is from other than the name of the town, Elkosh.

The Unity and Aim of Nahum's Prophecy

Nahum's aim was to comfort Judah by assuring them of Assyria's destruction despite its power, and he prophesied the death of Sennacherib.

Now, when you look at Nahum's prophecy, and this is why I want you to read the book of Nahum every day, if you would, for the next month while I deal with this passage, because I want you to see in this book the unity of his aim. Nahum's object was to inspire his countrymen with the assurance that however alarming their position might seem, since they were going to be exposed to the attack of the Assyrian army, and remember the Assyrians had already carried away the ten northern tribes, that not only would Judah and Jerusalem be delivered, but that God would actually destroy the Assyrian empire and its capital and overthrow its king because of the iniquities of the Assyrians themselves. So, Nahum then is trying to exhort, encourage, and comfort, and console his people, look, God will deal with this wicked Assyrian monarch. So, when you look at the book of Nahum, the whole theme of the book of Nahum is the destruction of Nineveh and the Assyrian Empire. It is certain that Nahum was not only a prophet, but he was also a prophet during the time that Assyria was in its zenith.

It had its power, it had its prestige, it was standing in its glory and its strength. It was exceedingly terrible to all of its neighbors. And Nahum is the man who prophesied, along with Isaiah, of the death of Sennacherib and how he would die. You remember how Sennacherib and the whole Assyrian army had surrounded many of these towns and had come to Jerusalem to threaten Jerusalem, and how Hezekiah prayed to the Lord, and the Lord heard Hezekiah. Isaiah came on the scene, and Isaiah prophesied. Well, here in the book of Nahum, if you look in chapter 1 in verse 14, you have a prophecy concerning the death of Sennacherib. Look at it. "And the Lord hath given a commandment concerning thee, that no more of thy name be sown," that is, Sennacherib and Assyria, "out of the house of thy gods will I cut off the graven image, and the molten image, I will make thy grave, for thou art vile." Now notice what he said, "out of the house of thy gods will I cut off the graven image."

He says, no more of your name is going to be sown. Well, let me show you how that happened. Look back in your Bibles to the book of Isaiah, chapter 37. Isaiah 37. And this is a wonderful passage. This is a passage that I really enjoy reading. And you can't help but smile each time you read it, because this is where God smoked the Assyrian army. And in verse 36 says this, "Then the angel of the Lord went forth and smote in the camp of the Assyrians a hundred and fourscore and five thousand," that's 185,000 men.

"And when they arose early in the morning, behold, they were all dead corpses." Now when you read that, you know, everybody just woke up dead. Well, of course, you know it means those whom God did not kill. But He killed 185,000. Now look what God did in verse 37. "So Sennacherib king of Assyria departed, and went and returned and dwelt at Nineveh. And it came to pass, as he was worshipping in the house of Nisroch his god, that Adrammelech and Sharezer his sons smote him with the sword, and they escaped to the land of Armenia, and Esarhaddon his son reigned in his stead." What did God say in the book of Nahum? I'm going to kill you. I'm going to kill you in the house of your gods.

The Burden of Nineveh and the Severity of God

The word 'burden' denotes utter destruction, and the book of Nahum contrasts with Jonah to show both the goodness and severity of God.

Your name will not be sown anymore. And that's exactly what happened. And Nahum prophesied that. So Nahum was alive and preaching while Assyria was in its zenith. It was in its power. It was in its glory. And I'm going to tell you before I finish today how dangerous Nineveh and the Assyrian Empire really and truly was. Now, as you read the three chapters of the book of Nahum, each of these chapters views the destruction of Nineveh from a different angle. First of all, in chapter one, we see the certainty of Nineveh's overthrow. In chapter two, we see the depiction of the siege and the capture of the city. And then in chapter 3, we discover the wickedness of the Assyrian Empire that provoked the divine wrath. And if you look in the last verse, Nahum 3, verse 19, look at the last question that God asked. "For upon whom hath not thy wickedness passed?" So God is saying, look, you've been a wicked, vile people and I shall destroy you. Now, go back to the book of Nahum chapter 1 and look in verse 1.

We found out who Nahum was, but the Bible begins with these words in Nahum 1 in verse 1, "the burden of Nineveh, the burden of Nineveh." Now, you've got to understand the usage of the word burden. When we think of burden, we think of a heavy load, something that's extremely difficult to bear. But in the Bible, when you read the word burden, it is something that is heavy, but it is a word that is used to denote the utter destruction of a people or a city. For instance, if you will turn back in your Bibles to the book of Isaiah. Go to Isaiah, if you would, please. And look in chapter, let's see, Isaiah 13. We'll start there. Isaiah 13. And notice verse one.

Scripture Reading — Isaiah 13:1; 15:1; 17:1; 19:1

"The burden of Babylon, which Isaiah, the son of Amoz, did see."

And if you read the rest of this, he's talking about the destruction of Babylon. Look in chapter 15 and verse 1. "The burden of Moab. Because in the night Ar of Moab is laid waste and brought to silence; because in the night Kir of Moab is laid waste and brought to silence." Notice it's called the burden of Moab. And then if you look in chapter 17 and verse 1, "The burden of Damascus. Behold, Damascus is taken away from being a city." "It shall be a ruinous heap." And then if you look in chapter 19 in verse 1, "The burden of Egypt. Behold, the Lord rideth upon a swift cloud and shall come into Egypt, and the idols of Egypt shall be moved at His presence, and the heart of Egypt shall melt in the midst of it." Every time you see the word burden, it means that God is going to judge a city or a people, whether it's Moab, Egypt, Assyria, it doesn't matter. Now when the Bible talks about, in verse 1, the burden of Nineveh. Nineveh basically was the capital of Assyria. So you have Nineveh then as a synecdoche, which means it is a part which represents the whole. So therefore God, when He proclaims judgment against Nineveh, He is proclaiming judgment against the entire Assyrian empire. Now Assyria was built, especially Nineveh, that part of it, was built originally by Asshur, hence the word Assyria. It was built by Asshur, the son of Nimrod, but then it was enlarged later on by Ninus, who gave his own name, Nineveh, as the capital city.

Now let me repeat this because I don't want you to lose sight of this. The moral teaching in the book of Nahum is this, that God is holy, and God must deal with sin. Not just sin in His people which He shall deal with, but even sin in the heathen. He must deal with sin. That's why Nahum 1 verse 3 is a very important verse when he said, "and He will not at all acquit the wicked." Now, Nahum has been labeled as the most impassioned of the prophets because of the strong feeling that is expressed in his writings. Just look at verse 3. "The Lord is slow to anger and great in power and will not at all acquit the wicked. The Lord hath His way in the whirlwind and in the storm and the clouds are the dust of His feet." I mean, you can just hear this man preaching and this man proclaiming very passionately the sovereignty and the greatness of God.

Now, as you read through your Bible, especially the line of prophets, you're going to find that there are two books that deal with Nineveh and the Assyrian Empire. One of them is Nahum. Does anybody remember the other one? I thought I heard it. Jonah. Nahum and Jonah. Now, before, and I do want you to turn to the book of Jonah, but before you turn there, I want you to look in your Bibles to the book of Romans chapter 11 and verse 22. And then you can turn back a few pages to the book of Jonah. Okay. Look in Romans 11, if you would please, and verse 22. Look what the scripture says. Romans 11, verse 22.

"Behold, therefore, the goodness and the severity of God: on them which fell, severity; but toward thee, goodness, if thou continue in His goodness: otherwise thou also shalt be cut off." Now look what he said. "Behold, therefore, the goodness and the severity of God." When you look at the book of Jonah, you see the goodness of God in sparing a wicked people. When you look at the book of Nahum, you see the severity of God in judging a wicked people. Now go back in your Bibles to the book of Jonah. The book of Jonah, chapter 1, because let me show you something that everybody thinks about when they think about the book of Jonah. And that is Jonah running from God. Look at Jonah 1 in verse 3. "But Jonah rose up to flee into Tarshish from the presence of the Lord and went down to Joppa and he found a ship going to Tarshish. So he paid the fare thereof, and went down unto it, to go with them to Tarshish, from the presence of the Lord." So twice we're told that Jonah is running from the presence of the Lord. Now skip to verse 10.

"Then were the men exceedingly afraid, and said unto him, Why hast thou done this? For the men knew that he fled from the presence of the Lord, because he had told them."

Jonah's Flight and the Reason for His Anger

Jonah fled because he knew God would be merciful to Nineveh, and he wanted Assyria destroyed to spare Israel, as the prophets knew Assyria would be used to judge Israel.

Now go back in your Bibles to the book of Jonah. The book of Jonah, chapter 1, because let me show you something that everybody thinks about when they think about the book of Jonah. And that is Jonah running from God. Look at Jonah 1 in verse 3. "But Jonah rose up to flee into Tarshish from the presence of the Lord and went down to Joppa and he found a ship going to Tarshish. So he paid the fare thereof, and went down unto it, to go with them to Tarshish, from the presence of the Lord." So twice we're told that Jonah is running from the presence of the Lord. Now skip to verse 10.

"Then were the men exceedingly afraid, and said unto him, Why hast thou done this? For the men knew that he fled from the presence of the Lord, because he had told them." Now let me ask you. How do you flee from the presence of the Lord? Do you remember that passage in Psalm 139? Let me just turn back and read it. You don't have to turn there. I want you to hold the book of Jonah. But the passage in Psalm 139 that talks about God's omnipresence. Look at it. Psalm 139, verse 1. David says this, "O Lord, thou hast searched me and known me. Thou knowest my downsitting and my uprising. Thou understandest my thought afar off. Thou compassest my path and my lying down, and art acquainted with all my ways. Now look what he says. For there is not a word in my tongue, but lo, O Lord, thou knowest it altogether. Thou hast beset me behind and before, and laid thine hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high, I cannot attain unto it."

Now listen to what he says, "Whither shall I go from thy spirit? or whither shall I flee from thy presence? If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there. If I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there. If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me. If I say, Surely the darkness shall cover me; even the night shall be light about me. Yea, the darkness hideth not from thee; but the night shineth as the day: the darkness and the light are both alike to thee."

Now, what is David saying? David is saying, I cannot escape the presence of God. God is omnipresent. He is everywhere at once in the totality of His being. Period. Well, if Jonah was a prophet of God, and he was, how then could Jonah think that he could escape the presence of God? Well, let me tell you what Jonah was doing. Jonah was running away from the temple. The temple was the place where God had manifested Himself particularly and peculiarly. And so Jonah was saying to himself, I'm getting out of the presence of God because I'm leaving the temple.

That's why he went to Joppa and bought a ticket going to Tarshish. He was just getting out of there. Why? Well, you know that God had told Jonah he was going to send him to Nineveh to preach. Jonah didn't want to go to Nineveh to preach. And so Jonah ran. You know the story. My question is this. Why did Jonah run? Why did he not want to go to Nineveh to preach? Well, Jonah gives us the answer to that himself. Look at Jonah 4 and verse 1. Jonah 4 verse 1. "But it displeased Jonah exceedingly, and he was very angry." Now, look what Jonah did.

"And he prayed to the Lord and said, I pray thee, O Lord, was not this my saying when I was yet in my country? Therefore I fled before unto Tarshish: for I knew that thou art a gracious God and merciful and slow to anger and of great kindness and repentest thee of the evil." What did Jonah do? Jonah ran preaching through Nineveh, "Yet forty days and Nineveh shall be overthrown" and the people repented from the king on the throne to the lowliest handmaiden. They repented and Jonah got angry. Here was a preacher who did not want any converts. Here was a preacher who did not want anyone saved or spared. He said, God, didn't I tell you before I ever fled, I knew what you were going to do. I knew that you'd be merciful and gracious to these people. But Jonah did not want God to be gracious and merciful to these people. Why? Now listen. I want to show it to you from the Bible. But it was common knowledge among the prophets that God was going to use the Assyrian Empire to not only destroy the ten northern tribes, take them captive, but also to whip up all the southern tribes as well.

And the reason Jonah fled was this. He didn't want God to be merciful to those people. He wanted God to destroy them so that Israel might be saved. Ah, let me just show you. Look in your Bibles, first of all, to Isaiah 10. You say that's fanciful. No, it's not fanciful. Look at Isaiah 10, beginning with verse 5. Look what God says. Remember now, God sent the Assyrians. He sent Sargon II for once, for one of those kings, I forget the other one, Ashurbanipal, I believe, against the ten northern tribes. Look what God says in Isaiah 10 and verse 5, "O Assyrian, the rod of mine anger, and the staff in their hand is mine indignation." Look what God says, "I will send him against an hypocritical nation, and against the people of my wrath will I give him a charge, to take the spoil, and to take the prey, and to tread them down like the mire of the streets." God said, the Assyrian is the rod of mine anger. The staff in his hand is mine indignation.

The Vastness and Vileness of Nineveh

Nineveh was an immense city of 60 miles circumference with high walls, and it was known for extreme cruelty and torture, as described in historical sources.

"Now Nineveh was an exceeding great city of three days' journey." It took three days to travel through Nineveh. Look in chapter 4 and verse 11. "And should not I spare Nineveh, that great city, wherein are more than sixscore thousand persons that cannot discern between their right hand and their left hand; and also much cattle?" Now sixscore, a score is 20, that's 120,000 persons that cannot discern between their right hand or their left hand. So that means there were probably a minimum of 120,000 babies, children, who were not old enough to know the difference between left and right. I know some adults not old enough to know the difference between left and right, but 120,000 babies. Someone has said that probably, based upon this verse, there were over a million people that lived in Nineveh. I want to read to you, listen carefully, a couple of archaeological professors' descriptions of Nineveh, so you get some idea of her vastness.

The first one is Professor C.F. Keil, in his Archaeology of the Old Testament, he gives us this information, he says, "The conclusion which recent discoveries lead is that the name of Nineveh was used in two senses. First, for one particular city, and secondly, for a complex of four large primeval cities, including Nineveh proper, the circumvallation of which is still traceable, the mounds of which cover the land. The names of these four component cities which made up vast Nineveh quadrangle are Nimrud, Kuyunjik, Khorsabad, and Kermales. To go around these would be to cover a distance of 60 miles, which would be to the old reckoning of 20 miles a day, would be a three-day journey." Same thing Jonah says. This quadrangular picture of ancient Nineveh is borne out by Diodorus Siculus, the famous Sicilian historian and contemporary of Julius Caesar.

He asserts that it was a quadrangle 150 stadia in length, 90 in breadth, and 480 in circumference, so that it was a parallelogram with its longer sides making 36 miles and its shorter sides 24 miles, the circumference being about 60 miles. Now listen, the walls were 100 feet high and so broad that three chariots could be driven abreast on them. So 100 feet high and three chariots abroad, that's got to be a minimum of 12 to 15 feet thick. Did you know the width of railroad track is still the width of the Roman chariot? So you take three railroad tracks and you've got to have a little extra width so that they can run. So they were a minimum of 15 feet thick. Talking about these walls now, they were fortified with 1,500 towers, each of these were 200 feet in height. So you have 1,500 towers, each one of them 200 feet in height.

Based on a trigonometrical survey of the locality, the full area of the Assyrian metropolis has been computed as 350 square miles, which is some 20 miles more than that of London today, and fifty square miles. He goes on. He says, "Of course, it must be understood that Greater Nineveh included great gardens, orchards and even pastures and cornfields. This need not surprise us. The great walled towns of Babylonia seem to have enclosed large spaces for cultivation and pasture, so that in case of long siege, they were largely self-contained." It is this fact which explains the mention in Jonah 4 and verse 11 that there was also much cattle there. So you have Nineveh then being a vast, vast empire and you're thinking 350 square miles. But Nineveh is not only known for her vastness, she is also known for her vileness. Look in your Bibles to the book of Nahum 1 and verse 14. God said, "And the Lord hath given a commandment concerning thee, that no more of thy name be sown: out of the house of thy gods will I cut off the graven image and the molten image: I will make thy grave; for thou art vile."

Now I'm going to deal with this phrase a little bit later. But notice just their vileness. Now turn to Nahum chapter 3, the end reading of verse 1, and let me give you an illustration of the vileness. God says, "Woe to the bloody city! it is all full of lies and robbery; the prey departeth not; The noise of a whip, and the noise of the rattling of the wheels, and of the pransing horses, and of the jumping chariots. The 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: Because 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."

"Behold, 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. And I will cast abominable filth upon thee, and make thee vile, and will set thee as a gazingstock. And 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?" And then if you'll look at that last verse again, the last phrase or the last question in verse 19, "for upon whom hath not thy wickedness passed continually?"

Now, if you were to read some of the Assyrian reliefs, you will find that they bragged. I mean, they were boastful concerning their vileness and their torture. Out of consideration, especially for the women here, I'm just going to read this rather than for me to explain to you the gruesomeness of their torture. But listen to what John Urquhart tells us. He says this. "No considerations of pity were permitted to stand in the way of Assyrian policy. It could not afford to garrison its conquest, and it practiced a plan which largely dispensed with the necessity for leaving garrisons behind the Assyrian armies."

"There was unsparing slaughter to begin with. The kings seemed to gloat in their inscriptions over the spectacle presented by the field of battle. They describe how it was covered with the corpses of the vanquished. This carnage was followed up by fiendish inflictions upon individual cities. The leading men, as at Lachish, when Sennacherib had conquered that city, were led forth, seized by the executioners, and subjected to various punishments, all of them filled to the brim with horror." "Some of the victims were held down while one of the band of torturers, who are portrayed upon the monuments gloating fiendishly over their fearful works, inserts his hand into the victim's mouth, grips his tongue, and wrenches it out by the roots. In another spot, pegs are driven into the ground. To these, another victim's wrists are fixed with cords. His ankles are similarly made fast, and the man is stretched out, unable to move a muscle. The executioner then applies himself to the task, and beginning at the accustomed spot, the sharp knife makes its incision. The skin is raised inch by inch until the man is skinned and flayed alive."

"These skins are then stretched out upon the city walls, or otherwise disposed of in such a way so as to terrify the people and leave behind long enduring impressions of Assyrian vengeance. For others, long sharp poles are prepared. The sufferer, taken like all the rest from the leading men of the city, is laid down. The sharpened end of the pole is driven in through the lower part of the chest. The pole is then raised, bearing the writhing victim aloft." "It is planted in the hole dug for it, and the man is left to writhe in pain and die." The late Professor Sayce says this, "The barbarities which followed the capture of the town would be almost incredible were they not a subject of boast in the inscriptions which record them. Ashurbanipal's cruelties were especially revolting. Pyramids of human heads marked the path of the conqueror. Boys and girls were burnt alive or reserved for a worse fate. Men were impaled, flayed alive, blinded, or deprived of their heads and feet or their ears and noses."

"While the women and children were carried into slavery, the captured city plundered and reduced to ashes, and all the trees in the neighborhood cut down. Nor is this all about the horrible Assyrian mania for blood and vengeance, but we forbear." So the Assyrians were not only a vast empire, they were exceedingly vile.

Salvation and Judgment Are Inseparable

The salvation of the godly entails the destruction of the wicked; even our salvation in Christ is based on judgment, as He propitiated God's wrath.

Now, let me impress this upon you. The name Nahum means comfort or consolation. And you have to understand that to get the significance of this book. Because he is comforting and consoling the people of Judah and Jerusalem with the fact that these vile, wicked people who are in control of the world, the then known world, shall be destroyed. And he is telling them that it shall be a vindication of God's holiness and God's truth and God's justice. God will defend His own. God will defend His law and His holiness. We must learn a very important principle. If you're taking notes, write this principle down. Here it is. The salvation of the godly entails the destruction of the wicked. The salvation of the godly entails the destruction of the wicked. God delivered Noah and his family as He destroyed the old world. God delivered Lot as He destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah. God delivered Israel from Egypt as He destroyed the Egyptians. God delivered His people in the book of Judges, and each time He did, He destroyed their enemies. Here it is. It is impossible to have salvation without judgment. Salvation and judgment go together. Do you realize that even our salvation in Jesus Christ is based upon judgment?

For instance, look in your Bibles to the book of Romans chapter 3 and verses 23 and 24. Just showing you that our salvation in Jesus Christ is based upon judgment. Look what the Bible says. Romans 3, notice verse 24. "Being justified freely by His grace, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus," OK? We're talking about justification by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.

Now look at verse 25, "Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in His blood, to declare His righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God." Now I want to call your attention to verse 25, "Whom God hath set forth," we're talking about Christ, "to be a propitiation through faith." What in the world is a propitiation? The Greek word is hilasmos, and it literally means to placate, to appease, to satisfy. What are we talking about? The wrath of God was against us. Why? We're sinners. We violated His law. We're rebels. We're wicked. We're ungodly. We're undone. And the wrath of God was about to fall upon us, but Jesus Christ came as our substitute. And He came and stood in our place, and the wrath of God fell upon Him, and as our propitiation, He satisfied and placated the wrath of God so that God is no longer angry with His people. You see, we only have salvation because Jesus Christ was judged in our place.

You cannot have salvation apart from judgment. If you look in your Bibles, the second Thessalonians chapter one. Second Thessalonians chapter one. Someone says, "Well, Brother Weaver, I don't like all this stuff about judgment and the wrath of God, and all I'm going to do is I'm just going to pray for the Lord to come back and take us out of this mess." Well, you go ahead. But I want you to know what you're praying for. Look at it in 2 Thessalonians 1, beginning with verse 7. The Apostle Paul writes, "And to you who are troubled rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with His mighty angels, In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ: Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of His power." You can't even pray for our Lord's return without praying for judgment.

Good Tidings of Judgment and Grace

Nahum 1:15 and Romans 10:15 both speak of good tidings—one of judgment, the other of grace—and the preaching of the gospel results in either life or death, both glorifying God.

"Behold upon the mountains the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace! O Judah, keep thy solemn feasts, perform thy vows: for the wicked shall no more pass through thee; he is utterly cut off." Let me ask you, what is the theme of the book of Nahum? The wrath of God against the Assyrian Empire. Oh, verse 15 again, "Behold upon the mountains the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace!" What is the good tidings that Nahum is bringing? God shall destroy His enemies. Now look in Romans 10 and verse 15. In the context, we're talking about preaching. Look at it. "And how shall they preach, except they be sent? as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things!" Isn't that amazing? When you look at Nahum 1 and verse 15, it is the good tidings of judgment. When you look at Romans 10 and verse 15, it is the good tidings of grace. You remember that passage in Romans 11 and verse 22?

"Behold the goodness and the severity of God." But notice, if you would please, the truth of God's judgment is good tidings. It is good tidings to His people. It's not good tidings to His enemies. But it's good tidings to His people. One last passage. Look in your Bibles, the second Corinthians chapter two. And there is one word I want you to really note. And I'll explain this passage. Notice 2 Corinthians 2 and verse 14. 2 Corinthians 2 and verse 14. "Now thanks be unto God, which always

causeth us to triumph in Christ, and maketh manifest the savour of His knowledge by us in every place." Now, how often does God make us triumph? Always. We never fail. The preachers never fail. God's preachers never fail. We always triumph. Ah. You say, Brother Weaver, that didn't mean that everybody gets saved every time you preach. Oh, no, no. Watch. Watch the following verses. Paul explains a statement. He says in verse 15, "For we are unto God a sweet savour of Christ, in them that are saved, and in them that perish: To the one we are the savour of death unto death; and to the other the savour of life unto life."

"And who is sufficient for these things?" Now, here's what the Apostle Paul is talking about. Let me just try to give you an illustration. Let's suppose there's a hundred people in this room today. A hundred unsaved people. And I stand and I preach Christ and His word. And as I'm preaching, the power of God falls. And let's say that all 100 people are converted by the grace of God.

Now, the illustration that Paul is using is from those Old Testament sacrifices where he had that sweet smelling savour, that sweet odor from the sacrifice that was on that altar. It's kind of like you smell of that steak as it's being grilled, you know, you just like to smell it. A hundred people, I'm preaching the power of God falls. And they're all converted. You know what God does? God says, my Son is preached and I'm satisfied. Let's do it the other way. I preached to 100 unsaved people, and at the end, all of them shake their fist in my face and clench their teeth. And they say, if you don't get out of here, we'll kill you right now. We don't ever want to hear you again. Don't you ever come back here. You know what God says? My Son is preached and I'm satisfied.

We're the savour of life unto life and death unto death. And I want you to understand something, folks. When the Word of God is preached and people receive it, we're the savour of life unto life. When the Word of God is preached and people reject it and hate it, we're the savour of death unto death. But both are going to ultimately glorify God. Some will glorify His grace, while the rest will glorify His justice. Behold the goodness and the severity of God, but both will glorify God. God will do what is right, and I can assure you the wicked shall in no wise escape. God will not acquit the wicked. And as we look in the book of Nahum at the doctrine of the wrath of God, you're going to see how God is righteous and holy and just in punishing the wicked. Let's pray.

Study Guide

Major Themes

The Wrath of God as Holy Revulsion

Summary: God's wrath is a holy revulsion against all that contradicts His holiness, a defense of His law and character.

Evidence: Weaver defines God's wrath as 'a holy revulsion of God's being against all that is a contradiction to Himself, especially His holiness.'

Comfort for God's People in Divine Judgment

Summary: The righteous judgment of God against His enemies is a source of comfort and consolation for His people.

Evidence: Weaver states, 'his name is indicative of the fact that God's righteous judgment... is and should be understood as a comfort and consolation to His people.'

The Certainty of Judgment for the Wicked

Summary: God will not acquit the wicked; they cannot escape His judgment, even if they seem to prosper temporarily.

Evidence: Weaver emphasizes Nahum 1:3, 'He will not at all acquit the wicked,' and says, 'the wicked shall not escape punishment.'

The Goodness and Severity of God

Summary: God displays both goodness in sparing the repentant (Jonah) and severity in judging the unrepentant (Nahum).

Evidence: Weaver contrasts Jonah and Nahum, citing Romans 11:22: 'Behold therefore the goodness and severity of God.'

Salvation and Judgment Are Inseparable

Summary: Salvation cannot occur without judgment; even Christ's saving work involved propitiating God's wrath.

Evidence: Weaver says, 'It is impossible to have salvation without judgment. Salvation and judgment go together.'

The Vastness and Vileness of Nineveh

Summary: Nineveh was an immense and powerful city, but also exceedingly cruel and wicked, provoking God's wrath.

Evidence: Weaver describes Nineveh's size (60 miles circumference) and quotes historical accounts of Assyrian torture.

God's Sovereignty Over Nations

Summary: God uses even wicked nations like Assyria as instruments of His judgment, but He also judges them for their own sins.

Evidence: Weaver cites Isaiah 10:5, 'O Assyrian, the rod of mine anger,' showing God's control over Assyria.

The Preaching of the Gospel as a Two-Edged Sword

Summary: The preaching of God's word results in either life or death, both of which glorify God.

Evidence: Weaver explains 2 Corinthians 2:14-16, 'we are the savour of death unto death; and... life unto life.'

Key Arguments

God's wrath is a necessary aspect of His holiness.

Summary: God's wrath is not arbitrary anger but a holy revulsion against sin, defending His law and character.

Evidence: Weaver says, 'God's wrath is an exhibition of His defense of His law and His holiness.'

The righteous should find comfort in God's judgment of the wicked.

Summary: Scripture commands the righteous to rejoice when God executes vengeance, as it vindicates His justice.

Evidence: Weaver cites Psalm 58:10, 'The righteous shall rejoice when he seeth the vengeance.'

The wicked are deceived if they think God will not judge.

Summary: The wicked imagine God does not see or will not act, but He will judge even secret sins.

Evidence: Weaver references Psalm 10:11 and Romans 2:16 about God judging the secrets of men.

Nahum's prophecy was a timely comfort to Judah under Assyrian threat.

Summary: Nahum wrote to assure Judah that despite Assyria's power, God would destroy them and deliver His people.

Evidence: Weaver explains Nahum's aim was 'to inspire his countrymen with the assurance that... God would actually destroy the Assyrian empire.'

Jonah's reluctance to preach to Nineveh stemmed from his desire for Israel's preservation.

Summary: Jonah knew God would be merciful to Nineveh, but he wanted Assyria destroyed to prevent Israel's judgment.

Evidence: Weaver says, 'He didn't want God to be merciful to those people. He wanted God to destroy them so that Israel might be saved.'

Nineveh's destruction was deserved because of its extreme wickedness.

Summary: The Assyrians were notoriously cruel, boasting of their tortures, and God declared them vile.

Evidence: Weaver reads historical accounts of Assyrian atrocities and cites Nahum 1:14, 'for thou art vile.'

Salvation is impossible without judgment, as seen in Christ's propitiation.

Summary: Christ's death satisfied God's wrath against sin, demonstrating that salvation requires judgment.

Evidence: Weaver explains Romans 3:25, 'Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation... to declare His righteousness.'

The gospel message inherently includes both salvation and judgment.

Summary: Preaching the gospel results in either life or death, and both outcomes glorify God.

Evidence: Weaver interprets 2 Corinthians 2:15-16, 'we are unto God a sweet savour of Christ, in them that are saved, and in them that perish.'

Scripture References

Nahum 1:1-3

Context: Introduction to the book and the key verse about God's wrath and justice.

Nahum 1:3-6

Context: Description of God's power in judgment.

Psalm 58:10-11

Context: The righteous rejoice in God's vengeance.

Revelation 19:1-3

Context: Saints in heaven rejoice at God's righteous judgments.

Psalm 10:6, 11

Context: The wicked think they will never be in adversity and that God does not see.

Romans 2:16

Context: God will judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ.

Nahum 1:15

Context: Good tidings of peace to Judah; the wicked will be cut off.

Nahum 3:8

Context: Reference to No (Thebes) helps date the book.

Nahum 1:14

Context: Prophecy of Sennacherib's death in the house of his gods.

Isaiah 37:36-38

Context: Fulfillment of the prophecy: the angel kills 185,000 Assyrians, and Sennacherib is killed by his sons.

Isaiah 13:1; 15:1; 17:1; 19:1

Context: Examples of 'burden' oracles against Babylon, Moab, Damascus, and Egypt.

Romans 11:22

Context: Behold the goodness and severity of God.

Jonah 1:3, 10

Context: Jonah flees from the presence of the Lord.

Psalm 139:1-12

Context: God's omnipresence; no one can flee from His presence.

Jonah 4:1-2

Context: Jonah's anger at God's mercy on Nineveh.

Isaiah 10:5-6

Context: Assyria is the rod of God's anger against a hypocritical nation.

Hosea 9:3; 10:6-7; 11:5

Context: Prophecies that Israel would be taken captive to Assyria.

Amos 3:7

Context: God reveals His plans to His prophets.

Nahum 1:9-14

Context: God's judgment on Sennacherib and Assyria for their evil.

Romans 3:24-25

Context: Christ as propitiation, satisfying God's wrath.

Historical References

Assyrian Empire and Nineveh

Context: Nineveh was the capital of Assyria, a vast and powerful empire known for its cruelty.

Fall of the Northern Kingdom (722 BC)

Context: The ten northern tribes were taken captive by Assyria in 722 BC, which Nahum references.

Overthrow of Thebes (No-Amon) in 665-664 BC

Context: The reference to No in Nahum 3:8 helps date the book after 664 BC.

Sennacherib's invasion and death

Context: Sennacherib, king of Assyria, invaded Judah and was later killed by his sons, as prophesied.

Shalmaneser II and Sargon I

Context: These Assyrian kings were involved in the fall of the northern tribes.

Jerome's identification of Elkosh

Context: Jerome mentioned a small village named Elkosh in Galilee, possibly Nahum's hometown.

Capernaum (village of Nahum)

Context: The name Capernaum may derive from Nahum, suggesting a connection to the prophet.

Diodorus Siculus's description of Nineveh

Context: The ancient historian described Nineveh as a quadrangle 480 stadia in circumference.

Assyrian reliefs and inscriptions boasting of cruelty

Context: Archaeological findings show Assyrians gloried in torture, including flaying and impaling victims.

Ashurbanipal's cruelties

Context: The Assyrian king Ashurbanipal was particularly known for revolting cruelties.

Important Quotes

The wrath of God would include that it is indeed a holy revulsion of God's being against all that is a contradiction to Himself, especially His holiness.

Significance: Provides a clear definition of God's wrath as rooted in His holiness.

The righteous shall rejoice when he seeth the vengeance, that is God's vengeance. He shall wash his feet in the blood of the wicked.

Significance: Shows the biblical basis for rejoicing in God's judgment.

The Lord is slow to anger, and great in power, and will not at all acquit the wicked.

Significance: Key verse of Nahum emphasizing God's patience and certain justice.

Behold, therefore, the goodness and the severity of God: on them which fell, severity; but toward thee, goodness, if thou continue in His goodness: otherwise thou also shalt be cut off.

Significance: Summarizes the dual aspects of God's character displayed in Jonah and Nahum.

I knew that thou art a gracious God and merciful and slow to anger and of great kindness and repentest thee of the evil.

Significance: Jonah's confession revealing why he fled—he knew God would be merciful to Nineveh.

O Assyrian, the rod of mine anger, and the staff in their hand is mine indignation.

Significance: Demonstrates God's sovereignty in using Assyria as an instrument of judgment.

It is impossible to have salvation without judgment. Salvation and judgment go together.

Significance: A key theological point that salvation requires judgment, fulfilled in Christ.

We are unto God a sweet savour of Christ, in them that are saved, and in them that perish: To the one we are the savour of death unto death; and to the other the savour of life unto life.

Significance: Illustrates the dual effect of gospel preaching, both glorifying God.

Discussion Questions

How does understanding God's wrath as a 'holy revulsion' against sin change your view of His character?

Context: Weaver defines God's wrath as a holy revulsion against all that contradicts His holiness.

In what ways can the judgment of the wicked be a comfort to believers today?

Context: Weaver explains that Nahum's name means comfort, indicating that God's judgment should console His people.

Why do you think the wicked often believe they will escape judgment, and how should this affect our prayers?

Context: Weaver discusses Psalm 10 and the deception of the wicked who think God does not see.

How does the contrast between Jonah and Nahum illustrate the balance of God's goodness and severity?

Context: Weaver contrasts the two books to show God's mercy and judgment.

What can we learn from Jonah's reluctance to preach to Nineveh about our own attitudes toward those we consider enemies?

Context: Weaver explains Jonah's desire for Nineveh's destruction to spare Israel.

How does the historical cruelty of Assyria help us understand the justice of God's judgment?

Context: Weaver describes the extreme vileness of Nineveh as deserving of God's wrath.

Why is it impossible to have salvation without judgment, and how does Christ's propitiation demonstrate this?

Context: Weaver argues that salvation and judgment are inseparable, with Christ bearing God's wrath.

How should the truth that the gospel is a 'savour of death unto death' to some affect our evangelism?

Context: Weaver explains 2 Corinthians 2:14-16, showing that preaching always triumphs, whether in life or death.

Applications

Find comfort in God's righteous judgment.

Summary: Believers should take comfort in knowing that God will judge the wicked and vindicate His holiness.

Evidence: Weaver states, 'God's righteous judgment... is and should be understood as a comfort and consolation to His people.'

Trust in God's timing and justice.

Summary: Even when the wicked seem to prosper, trust that God will not acquit them and will judge in His time.

Evidence: Weaver says, 'just because someone does something, and seemingly never gets caught... does not mean that they shall escape the righteous judgment of God.'

Rejoice in God's vindication.

Summary: Scripture encourages the righteous to rejoice when God executes vengeance, as it demonstrates His justice.

Evidence: Weaver cites Psalm 58:10, 'The righteous shall rejoice when he seeth the vengeance.'

Recognize the seriousness of sin.

Summary: Understanding God's wrath as a holy revulsion against sin should lead us to hate sin and pursue holiness.

Evidence: Weaver defines God's wrath as 'a holy detestation of sin.'

Preach the whole counsel of God.

Summary: The gospel includes both the goodness of salvation and the severity of judgment; both must be proclaimed.

Evidence: Weaver explains that preaching results in either life or death, and both glorify God.

Rest in Christ's propitiation.

Summary: Believers can rest assured that Christ has satisfied God's wrath on their behalf, securing their salvation.

Evidence: Weaver explains Romans 3:25, 'Christ Jesus... as our propitiation, He satisfied and placated the wrath of God.'

Pray for God's justice with a right heart.

Summary: While praying for Christ's return, understand that it includes judgment on the wicked, and align your heart with God's justice.

Evidence: Weaver points out that praying for Jesus' return is praying for judgment (2 Thessalonians 1:7-9).

Avoid Jonah's attitude of withholding mercy.

Summary: Learn from Jonah's wrong desire to see enemies destroyed rather than repent; we should desire God's mercy for all.

Evidence: Weaver describes Jonah's anger at God's mercy, showing a wrong heart attitude.

deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | clean_readable_transcript | 2026-06-06T00:43:58Z

deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | weaver_study | 2026-06-06T15:05:12Z

Clean Transcript

The Wrath of God - 1 of 5

Clean readable transcript. This view follows the Commentary.net cleaned segment text while preserving timestamps for audio follow-along.

Nahum chapter one in your Bibles, Micah, Nahum, and then Habakkuk. Nahum chapter one. And I want today to begin a brief series on the book of Nahum. So I want to encourage you to read this book every day. There's only three chapters. It's going to take us five or six weeks to get through it. The general theme is on the wrath of God, which you're going to find out as we cover it today. And I was going to read the entire first chapter today, but due to my sinus and allergies, I'll probably only read a few verses because I really only will probably not even get past verse one today. But look at Nahum chapter one, verse one, "The burden of Nineveh, the book of the vision of Nahum, the Elkishite. God is jealous of the Lord and revenging, the Lord revenging and is furious. The Lord will take vengeance on His adversaries, and He reserveth wrath for His enemies. The Lord is slow to anger and great in power, and will not at all acquit the wicked."
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"The Lord hath His way in the whirlwind and in the storm, and the clouds are the dust of His feet. He rebuketh the sea, and maketh it dry, and dryeth up all the rivers. Bashan languisheth, and Carmel, and the flower of Lebanon languisheth. The mountains quake at Him, and the hills melt, and the earth is burned at His presence, yea, the world and all that dwell therein."
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"Who can stand before His indignation? And who can abide the fierceness of His anger? His fury is poured out like fire, and the rocks are thrown down by Him."
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Now, the general theme that I'm going to be dealing with for the next several weeks is the wrath of God. The wrath of God is an awesome subject. You must remember that God's wrath is related not only to His power, but also to His holiness. In fact, God's wrath is an exhibition of His defense of His law and His holiness. It is also a demonstration of His power against all who rebel against Him. Let me give you just a brief definition of the wrath of God.
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You could say it like this. The wrath of God would include that it is indeed a holy revulsion of God's being against all that is a contradiction to Himself, especially His holiness. The justice of God is the penal infliction upon the ungodly due to the exercise of God's wrath. God's wrath is the eternal detestation of sin by holy God. So if you really want to know what the wrath of God is, it is a holy revulsion of God to all that is in contradiction to Him. It is a holy detestation of sin.
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Now although the book of Nahum deals with the wrath of God, I find it extremely interesting that the name Nahum actually means comfort or consolation. Now, how in the world could you have a name like Nahum, meaning comfort and consolation, in a book that's dealing with judgment and the wrath of God? Well, I believe his name is indicative of the fact that God's righteous judgment, that is, God's holy wrath against His enemies and against the enemies of His people, is and should be understood as a comfort and consolation to His people. In fact, the Bible teaches that.
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Let me just show you. Hold Nahum 1. But look in your Bibles, first of all, to Psalm 58. Psalm 58, and let's begin reading there with verse 10. Psalm 58, verse 10. In fact, all of Psalm 58 deals with God's judgment against the wicked. And then God says this, "The righteous shall rejoice when he seeth the vengeance," that is God's vengeance. "He shall wash his feet in the blood of the wicked." Now, some of you may remember that a multitude of years ago, I preached a sermon on this entire Psalm and the title of it was "Washing Your Feet in the Blood of the Wicked." And this is exactly what God says. "He that is the righteous shall wash his feet in the blood of the wicked so that a man shall say, Verily, there is a reward for the righteous. Verily, he is a God that judges in the earth." So the Bible says when the righteous seeth the vengeance, he shall rejoice. Yea, he shall wash his feet in the blood of the wicked.
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If you look in your Bibles to the book of Revelation, chapter 19, beginning there verse 1, just showing you that it is scriptural for the righteous to rejoice when God judges the wicked. In Revelation chapter 19, beginning there with verse 1, notice what the scripture says. Revelation 19 verse 1, "And after these things I heard a great voice of much people in heaven saying, Hallelujah, salvation and glory and honor and power unto the Lord our God. For true and righteous are His judgments. For He hath judged the great whore, who did corrupt the earth with her fornication, and hath avenged the blood of His servants at her hand. And again they said, Hallelujah."
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"And her smoke rose up for ever and ever." So here the saints are rejoicing at God's righteous judgment in the earth. So the very name Nahum then means comfort or consolation, in the fact that we know that God shall indeed judge His enemies, our enemies, and shall destroy them. So, Scripture then teaches that God's wrathful judgment should be a source of profound praise from His people. It teaches us that God will not allow the wicked to escape. God is still on His throne, no matter how much the wicked wish otherwise. He is still God, He is still sovereign, He is still omnipotent, He is still omniscient, and He is still able to defend His holiness and His law.
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Now, let me just quote very quickly from Psalm 10, because I'm going to be preaching from Psalm 10 in just a few weeks, and I'll cover these verses in detail. But you see, the wicked wrongfully imagine these against God. In fact, in Psalm 10 and verse 6, the Bible tells us that the wicked say, "I shall never be in adversity." In other words, they're never ever going to be in a position where they need God or they need deliverance or anything like that. And then verses 7 through 10 shows you in that Psalm the wickedness that proceeds from them because of their wrong thinking. When you get down to verse 11, the Bible says, "They believe that God hides His face, that God will not see, that somehow God will not know what they do." Well, very obviously, God does not come down with Alzheimer's.
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He knows exactly what sinners do, and He knows exactly how to judge them. And then when they believe vainly that somehow God will not judge them, they are extremely deceived. The Bible says in Romans 2 and 6, you should be close there. Look in Romans chapter 2 and verse 16. Romans 2 verse 16. Look, if you would, what the scripture says. Romans 2 verse 16. To show you how that God is going to judge the wicked. In Romans 2 and verse 16, the Apostle Paul writes, "In the day when God shall judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ according to my gospel." So God is not only going to deal with the open acts of rebellion, God is even going to deal with the secrets of men. You know, the Bible says that some men's sins are open, going beforehand to judgment. In other words, everybody knows about their sins, their wickedness, and their rebellion. But the rest of that verse says some men's sins are secret, and they follow after.
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So just because someone does something, and seemingly never gets caught and gets by with it in this world, in this life, does not mean that they shall escape the righteous judgment of God. Certainly, they shall not.
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Now, if you look in your Bibles to the book of Nahum, chapter 1 and verse 3, I want to point out that this is basically the key verse in this book. Nahum 1, verse 3. Look at it. "The Lord is slow to anger, and great in power, and will not at all acquit the wicked. The Lord hath His way in the whirlwind, and in the storm, and in the clouds, and in the dust of His feet."
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Now I'm not going to be giving an exposition of this verse today. I'll deal with it later. But notice if you would, "The Lord is slow to anger, and great in power, and will not at all acquit the wicked." It should be a comfort and a consolation to all of the people of God to know that the wicked shall not escape punishment. They shall not get away with their sins. You know, you and I look around today and we see the corruption and the filth and the vileness, even in our own government.
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And we want to shake them. Well, let me tell you, God shall do more than shake them. They shall not escape.
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Now remember the word Nahum means comfort and consolation. Nahum the prophet also prophesied and was a contemporary of Isaiah and Micah. So Nahum, Isaiah, and Micah all prophesied at the same time. Now let's talk about, just by way of introduction today, the date of the book of Nahum. If you want to know when the book of Nahum was written, I believe I can show you, generally speaking. I don't suppose anyone could know the exact date, but you can know pretty closely. When you study the book, you're going to find that, first of all, Nahum is addressing Judah and Jerusalem. What does that mean? Well, you remember that ten northern tribes were taken into captivity in 722 BC. So if you look in chapter 1 and verse 15, "Behold upon the mountains the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace, O Judah, keep thy solemn feast, perform thy vows." And so here he is addressing Judah. Why? Because the northern kingdoms had already gone into captivity. Secondly, if you look in chapter 3 and verse 8, the date is settled because of the reference to No.
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Nahum 3 verse 8. "Art thou better than populous No, that was situated among the rivers, that had the waters round about it, whose rampart was the sea, and her wall was from the sea?" Now, No refers to No-Amon or Thebes in Egypt. Thebes was overthrown in 665 and 664 BC by the Assyrian monarch Ashurbanipal. So Nahum then is writing after 722, after the overthrow of Thebes, which means that in all probability the date of this book would be from 663 to 626 B.C. somewhere in that area. So Nahum then is writing. Now go back to verse 1. He says, "The Burden of Nineveh, the book of the vision of Nahum the Elkishite." Now if I were to ask you, what does the word Elkishite mean?
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I'm sure that I could get several excellent ideas, but I want you to note that even the scholars are divided upon that word. Some say that it refers to his city, which is what I would think, but some of the others say that it refers to his father. Let me give you a reading of Calvin in his commentary. And he's dealing with this phrase, Nahum the Elkishite, and he says this, "Nahum calls himself an Elkishite. Some think that it was the name of his family. The Jews, after their banners, say that it was the name of his father. And then they add this, their common gloss, that Elkos himself was a prophet. For when the name of a prophet's father is mentioned, they hold that he whose name is given was also a prophet."
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"But these are mere trifles, and we have often seen how great is their readiness to invent fables. Then determination of the word leads us to think that it was, on the contrary, the proper name of a place, and Jerome tells us that there was in his time a small village of this name in the tribe of Simeon. We must therefore understand that Nahum arose from that town and was therefore called an Elkishite." Jerome and Calvin says it was the name of a town. John Gill says it like this. He is called the Alkoshite from Alkosh or Al-Keshi, a village of Galilee, pointed out to Jerome as a place of note among the Jews, having traces of ancient buildings. Now listen to this. The name Capernaum. You remember the New Testament city of Capernaum? The name Capernaum, that is, the village of Nahum, seems to take its name from Nahum who resided in it, though he was born in Elkosh in the neighborhood.
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Now, the interesting thing is this. In all probability, Elkosh was a town or city, but no one actually knows where it was really located. No one knows how long Nahum lived. No one knows how Nahum died. No one knows where Nahum is buried. Any additional information that you get, other than that which is in the Bible, is pure speculation. In fact, there are even debates as to where Elkosh really was.
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Some side with Jerome and say there was a small village in Galilee. Others locate it 24 miles north of Nineveh, and then others located south of Judah. So no one really knows where he is from other than the name of the town, Elkosh.
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Now, when you look at Nahum's prophecy, and this is why I want you to read the book of Nahum every day, if you would, for the next month while I deal with this passage, because I want you to see in this book the unity of his aim. Nahum's object was to inspire his countrymen with the assurance that however alarming their position might seem, since they were going to be exposed to the attack of the Assyrian army, and remember the Assyrians had already carried away the ten northern tribes, that not only would Judah and Jerusalem be delivered, but that God would actually destroy the Assyrian empire and its capital and overthrow its king because of the iniquities of the Assyrians themselves. So, Nahum then is trying to exhort, encourage, and comfort, and console his people, look, God will deal with this wicked Assyrian monarch. So, when you look at the book of Nahum, the whole theme of the book of Nahum is the destruction of Nineveh and the Assyrian Empire. It is certain that Nahum was not only a prophet, but he was also a prophet during the time that Assyria was in its zenith.
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It had its power, it had its prestige, it was standing in its glory and its strength. It was exceedingly terrible to all of its neighbors. And Nahum is the man who prophesied, along with Isaiah, of the death of Sennacherib and how he would die. You remember how Sennacherib and the whole Assyrian army had surrounded many of these towns and had come to Jerusalem to threaten Jerusalem, and how Hezekiah prayed to the Lord, and the Lord heard Hezekiah. Isaiah came on the scene, and Isaiah prophesied. Well, here in the book of Nahum, if you look in chapter 1 in verse 14, you have a prophecy concerning the death of Sennacherib. Look at it. "And the Lord hath given a commandment concerning thee, that no more of thy name be sown," that is, Sennacherib and Assyria, "out of the house of thy gods will I cut off the graven image, and the molten image, I will make thy grave, for thou art vile." Now notice what he said, "out of the house of thy gods will I cut off the graven image."
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He says, no more of your name is going to be sown. Well, let me show you how that happened. Look back in your Bibles to the book of Isaiah, chapter 37. Isaiah 37. And this is a wonderful passage. This is a passage that I really enjoy reading. And you can't help but smile each time you read it, because this is where God smoked the Assyrian army. And in verse 36 says this, "Then the angel of the Lord went forth and smote in the camp of the Assyrians a hundred and fourscore and five thousand," that's 185,000 men.
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"And when they arose early in the morning, behold, they were all dead corpses." Now when you read that, you know, everybody just woke up dead. Well, of course, you know it means those whom God did not kill. But He killed 185,000. Now look what God did in verse 37. "So Sennacherib king of Assyria departed, and went and returned and dwelt at Nineveh. And it came to pass, as he was worshipping in the house of Nisroch his god, that Adrammelech and Sharezer his sons smote him with the sword, and they escaped to the land of Armenia, and Esarhaddon his son reigned in his stead." What did God say in the book of Nahum? I'm going to kill you. I'm going to kill you in the house of your gods.
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Your name will not be sown anymore. And that's exactly what happened. And Nahum prophesied that. So Nahum was alive and preaching while Assyria was in its zenith. It was in its power. It was in its glory. And I'm going to tell you before I finish today how dangerous Nineveh and the Assyrian Empire really and truly was. Now, as you read the three chapters of the book of Nahum, each of these chapters views the destruction of Nineveh from a different angle. First of all, in chapter one, we see the certainty of Nineveh's overthrow. In chapter two, we see the depiction of the siege and the capture of the city. And then in chapter 3, we discover the wickedness of the Assyrian Empire that provoked the divine wrath. And if you look in the last verse, Nahum 3, verse 19, look at the last question that God asked. "For upon whom hath not thy wickedness passed?" So God is saying, look, you've been a wicked, vile people and I shall destroy you. Now, go back to the book of Nahum chapter 1 and look in verse 1.
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We found out who Nahum was, but the Bible begins with these words in Nahum 1 in verse 1, "the burden of Nineveh, the burden of Nineveh." Now, you've got to understand the usage of the word burden. When we think of burden, we think of a heavy load, something that's extremely difficult to bear. But in the Bible, when you read the word burden, it is something that is heavy, but it is a word that is used to denote the utter destruction of a people or a city.
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For instance, if you will turn back in your Bibles to the book of Isaiah. Go to Isaiah, if you would, please. And look in chapter, let's see, Isaiah 13. We'll start there. Isaiah 13. And notice verse one.
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"The burden of Babylon, which Isaiah, the son of Amoz, did see." And if you read the rest of this, he's talking about the destruction of Babylon. Look in chapter 15 and verse 1. "The burden of Moab. Because in the night Ar of Moab is laid waste and brought to silence; because in the night Kir of Moab is laid waste and brought to silence." Notice it's called the burden of Moab. And then if you look in chapter 17 and verse 1, "The burden of Damascus. Behold, Damascus is taken away from being a city."
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"It shall be a ruinous heap." And then if you look in chapter 19 in verse 1, "The burden of Egypt. Behold, the Lord rideth upon a swift cloud and shall come into Egypt, and the idols of Egypt shall be moved at His presence, and the heart of Egypt shall melt in the midst of it." Every time you see the word burden, it means that God is going to judge a city or a people, whether it's Moab, Egypt, Assyria, it doesn't matter. Now when the Bible talks about, in verse 1, the burden of Nineveh. Nineveh basically was the capital of Assyria. So you have Nineveh then as a synecdoche, which means it is a part which represents the whole. So therefore God, when He proclaims judgment against Nineveh, He is proclaiming judgment against the entire Assyrian empire. Now Assyria was built, especially Nineveh, that part of it, was built originally by Asshur, hence the word Assyria. It was built by Asshur, the son of Nimrod, but then it was enlarged later on by Ninus, who gave his own name, Nineveh, as the capital city.
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Now let me repeat this because I don't want you to lose sight of this. The moral teaching in the book of Nahum is this, that God is holy, and God must deal with sin. Not just sin in His people which He shall deal with, but even sin in the heathen. He must deal with sin. That's why Nahum 1 verse 3 is a very important verse when he said, "and He will not at all acquit the wicked." Now, Nahum has been labeled as the most impassioned of the prophets because of the strong feeling that is expressed in his writings. Just look at verse 3. "The Lord is slow to anger and great in power and will not at all acquit the wicked. The Lord hath His way in the whirlwind and in the storm and the clouds are the dust of His feet." I mean, you can just hear this man preaching and this man proclaiming very passionately the sovereignty and the greatness of God.
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Now, as you read through your Bible, especially the line of prophets, you're going to find that there are two books that deal with Nineveh and the Assyrian Empire. One of them is Nahum. Does anybody remember the other one? I thought I heard it. Jonah. Nahum and Jonah. Now, before, and I do want you to turn to the book of Jonah, but before you turn there, I want you to look in your Bibles to the book of Romans chapter 11 and verse 22. And then you can turn back a few pages to the book of Jonah. Okay. Look in Romans 11, if you would please, and verse 22. Look what the scripture says. Romans 11, verse 22.
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"Behold, therefore, the goodness and the severity of God: on them which fell, severity; but toward thee, goodness, if thou continue in His goodness: otherwise thou also shalt be cut off." Now look what he said. "Behold, therefore, the goodness and the severity of God." When you look at the book of Jonah, you see the goodness of God in sparing a wicked people. When you look at the book of Nahum, you see the severity of God in judging a wicked people.
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Now go back in your Bibles to the book of Jonah. The book of Jonah, chapter 1, because let me show you something that everybody thinks about when they think about the book of Jonah. And that is Jonah running from God. Look at Jonah 1 in verse 3. "But Jonah rose up to flee into Tarshish from the presence of the Lord and went down to Joppa and he found a ship going to Tarshish. So he paid the fare thereof, and went down unto it, to go with them to Tarshish, from the presence of the Lord." So twice we're told that Jonah is running from the presence of the Lord. Now skip to verse 10.
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"Then were the men exceedingly afraid, and said unto him, Why hast thou done this? For the men knew that he fled from the presence of the Lord, because he had told them."
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Now let me ask you. How do you flee from the presence of the Lord? Do you remember that passage in Psalm 139? Let me just turn back and read it. You don't have to turn there. I want you to hold the book of Jonah. But the passage in Psalm 139 that talks about God's omnipresence. Look at it. Psalm 139, verse 1. David says this, "O Lord, thou hast searched me and known me. Thou knowest my downsitting and my uprising. Thou understandest my thought afar off. Thou compassest my path and my lying down, and art acquainted with all my ways. Now look what he says. For there is not a word in my tongue, but lo, O Lord, thou knowest it altogether. Thou hast beset me behind and before, and laid thine hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high, I cannot attain unto it."
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Now listen to what he says, "Whither shall I go from thy spirit? or whither shall I flee from thy presence? If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there. If I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there. If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me. If I say, Surely the darkness shall cover me; even the night shall be light about me. Yea, the darkness hideth not from thee; but the night shineth as the day: the darkness and the light are both alike to thee."
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Now, what is David saying? David is saying, I cannot escape the presence of God. God is omnipresent. He is everywhere at once in the totality of His being. Period. Well, if Jonah was a prophet of God, and he was, how then could Jonah think that he could escape the presence of God? Well, let me tell you what Jonah was doing. Jonah was running away from the temple. The temple was the place where God had manifested Himself particularly and peculiarly. And so Jonah was saying to himself, I'm getting out of the presence of God because I'm leaving the temple.
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That's why he went to Joppa and bought a ticket going to Tarshish. He was just getting out of there. Why? Well, you know that God had told Jonah he was going to send him to Nineveh to preach. Jonah didn't want to go to Nineveh to preach. And so Jonah ran. You know the story. My question is this. Why did Jonah run? Why did he not want to go to Nineveh to preach? Well, Jonah gives us the answer to that himself. Look at Jonah 4 and verse 1. Jonah 4 verse 1. "But it displeased Jonah exceedingly, and he was very angry." Now, look what Jonah did.
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"And he prayed to the Lord and said, I pray thee, O Lord, was not this my saying when I was yet in my country? Therefore I fled before unto Tarshish: for I knew that thou art a gracious God and merciful and slow to anger and of great kindness and repentest thee of the evil." What did Jonah do? Jonah ran preaching through Nineveh, "Yet forty days and Nineveh shall be overthrown" and the people repented from the king on the throne to the lowliest handmaiden. They repented and Jonah got angry.
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Here was a preacher who did not want any converts. Here was a preacher who did not want anyone saved or spared. He said, God, didn't I tell you before I ever fled, I knew what you were going to do. I knew that you'd be merciful and gracious to these people. But Jonah did not want God to be gracious and merciful to these people. Why? Now listen. I want to show it to you from the Bible. But it was common knowledge among the prophets that God was going to use the Assyrian Empire to not only destroy the ten northern tribes, take them captive, but also to whip up all the southern tribes as well.
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And the reason Jonah fled was this. He didn't want God to be merciful to those people. He wanted God to destroy them so that Israel might be saved. Ah, let me just show you. Look in your Bibles, first of all, to Isaiah 10. You say that's fanciful. No, it's not fanciful. Look at Isaiah 10, beginning with verse 5. Look what God says. Remember now, God sent the Assyrians. He sent Sargon II for once, for one of those kings, I forget the other one, Ashurbanipal, I believe, against the ten northern tribes. Look what God says in Isaiah 10 and verse 5, "O Assyrian, the rod of mine anger, and the staff in their hand is mine indignation." Look what God says, "I will send him against an hypocritical nation, and against the people of my wrath will I give him a charge, to take the spoil, and to take the prey, and to tread them down like the mire of the streets." God said, the Assyrian is the rod of mine anger. The staff in his hand is mine indignation.
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God said, I will give him a charge to take the spoil, and to take the prey and to tread them down like the mire of the streets. Isaiah knew this. Remember, Isaiah was a contemporary with Nahum. Look in chapter 7, if you would, please. Let's see, that's not the passage that I want. Just going over, if you would, Isaiah 37. Isaiah 37. Isaiah 37, I referred to this one earlier, but look in verse 14. Isaiah 37, verse 14.
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"And Hezekiah received the letter from the hand of the messengers and read it: and Hezekiah went up into the house of the Lord and spread it before the Lord. And Hezekiah prayed unto the Lord, saying, O Lord of hosts, God of Israel, that dwellest between the cherubims, thou art the God, even thou alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth: thou hast made heaven and earth. Incline thine ear, O Lord, and hear; open thine eyes, O Lord, and see: and hear all the words of Sennacherib, which hath sent to reproach the living God. Of a truth, Lord, the kings of Assyria have laid waste all the nations and their countries." And he goes on. Here's Sennacherib now against Judah and Jerusalem.
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Look in your Bibles to the book of Hosea. Go to the book of Hosea. I'm just showing you this was common knowledge among the prophets. Hosea. Look in chapter 9 and verse 3. Hosea 9 and verse 3. God is talking about His people. He says, "They shall not dwell in the Lord's land; but Ephraim shall return to Egypt, and they shall eat unclean things in Assyria." Look in chapter ten, verses six and seven. "It shall be also carried into Assyria for a present to king Jareb: Ephraim shall receive shame, and Israel shall be ashamed of his own counsel. As for Samaria, her king is cut off as the foam upon the water."
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Where are they going to carry it? Into Assyria. Look in chapter 11 and verse 5. "He shall not return into the land of Egypt, but the Assyrian shall be his king, because they refused to return." So it doesn't matter if you read Isaiah, Hosea, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, they all knew that God was going to use the Assyrians to whip the land of Israel. And Jonah did not want that to happen. Now, you remember that passage in Amos chapter 3 and verse 7. You don't have to turn there, but let me just read it to you or quote it. "Surely the Lord God will do nothing,
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except he reveal it to his servants, the prophets." What does that verse tell us? Whatever God's going to do, he tells his preachers first, and they preach and warn the people. That's exactly what these prophets were doing. And they were telling all the people that the Assyrians are going to come and destroy this land.
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Now, if you look back in your Bibles to the book of Nahum, chapter 1, beginning with verse 9, and I'm going to deal with this later on, but I'm just showing you that this passage refers to Sennacherib's invasion of Judah. Now, in 1 verse 9, "What do ye imagine against the Lord?" Of course, we read a little bit of Isaiah 37. "He will make an utter end: affliction shall not rise up the second time."
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"For while they be folden together as thorns, and while they are drunken as drunkards, they shall be devoured as stubble fully dry. There is one come out of thee, that imagineth evil against the Lord, a wicked counsellor," Sennacherib. "Thus saith the Lord; Though they be quiet, and likewise many, yet thus shall they be cut down, when he shall pass through. Though I have afflicted thee, I will afflict thee no more. For now will I break his yoke from off thee, and will burst thy bonds in sunder. And the Lord hath given a commandment concerning thee, that no more of thy name be sown: out of the house of thy gods will I cut off the graven image and the molten image: I will make thy grave; for thou art vile." So God is here referring to the Assyrians and especially Sennacherib as he invades Judah.
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Now you remember it was Shalmaneser who it was. It was Shalmaneser II and Sargon I under whom the ten northern tribes had fallen in 722 BC. You can read that in 2 Kings chapter 17 and 18.
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Now, Nineveh and the Assyrian Empire were known for two things. And I want to show you those two things. Nineveh and the Assyrian Empire were known, number one, for their vastness and number two, for their vileness. Now I want you to go back to the book of Jonah. We're going to look at the vastness first. Look in Jonah 3 and verse 3. Jonah 3 verse 3. "So Jonah arose, and went unto Nineveh, according to the word of the Lord."
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"Now Nineveh was an exceeding great city of three days' journey." It took three days to travel through Nineveh. Look in chapter 4 and verse 11. "And should not I spare Nineveh, that great city, wherein are more than sixscore thousand persons that cannot discern between their right hand and their left hand; and also much cattle?" Now sixscore, a score is 20, that's 120,000 persons that cannot discern between their right hand or their left hand. So that means there were probably a minimum of 120,000 babies, children, who were not old enough to know the difference between left and right. I know some adults not old enough to know the difference between left and right, but 120,000 babies. Someone has said that probably, based upon this verse, there were over a million people that lived in Nineveh. I want to read to you, listen carefully, a couple of archaeological professors' descriptions of Nineveh, so you get some idea of her vastness.
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The first one is Professor C.F. Keil, in his Archaeology of the Old Testament, he gives us this information, he says, "The conclusion which recent discoveries lead is that the name of Nineveh was used in two senses. First, for one particular city, and secondly, for a complex of four large primeval cities, including Nineveh proper, the circumvallation of which is still traceable, the mounds of which cover the land. The names of these four component cities which made up vast Nineveh quadrangle are Nimrud, Kuyunjik, Khorsabad, and Kermales. To go around these would be to cover a distance of 60 miles, which would be to the old reckoning of 20 miles a day, would be a three-day journey." Same thing Jonah says. This quadrangular picture of ancient Nineveh is borne out by Diodorus Siculus, the famous Sicilian historian and contemporary of Julius Caesar.
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He asserts that it was a quadrangle 150 stadia in length, 90 in breadth, and 480 in circumference, so that it was a parallelogram with its longer sides making 36 miles and its shorter sides 24 miles, the circumference being about 60 miles.
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Now listen, the walls were 100 feet high and so broad that three chariots could be driven abreast on them. So 100 feet high and three chariots abroad, that's got to be a minimum of 12 to 15 feet thick. Did you know the width of railroad track is still the width of the Roman chariot? So you take three railroad tracks and you've got to have a little extra width so that they can run. So they were a minimum of 15 feet thick. Talking about these walls now, they were fortified with 1,500 towers, each of these were 200 feet in height. So you have 1,500 towers, each one of them 200 feet in height.
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Based on a trigonometrical survey of the locality, the full area of the Assyrian metropolis has been computed as 350 square miles, which is some 20 miles more than that of London today, and fifty square miles. He goes on. He says, "Of course, it must be understood that Greater Nineveh included great gardens, orchards and even pastures and cornfields. This need not surprise us. The great walled towns of Babylonia seem to have enclosed large spaces for cultivation and pasture, so that in case of long siege, they were largely self-contained."
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It is this fact which explains the mention in Jonah 4 and verse 11 that there was also much cattle there. So you have Nineveh then being a vast, vast empire and you're thinking 350 square miles. But Nineveh is not only known for her vastness, she is also known for her vileness. Look in your Bibles to the book of Nahum 1 and verse 14. God said, "And the Lord hath given a commandment concerning thee, that no more of thy name be sown: out of the house of thy gods will I cut off the graven image and the molten image: I will make thy grave; for thou art vile."
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Now I'm going to deal with this phrase a little bit later. But notice just their vileness.
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Now turn to Nahum chapter 3, the end reading of verse 1, and let me give you an illustration of the vileness. God says, "Woe to the bloody city! it is all full of lies and robbery; the prey departeth not; The noise of a whip, and the noise of the rattling of the wheels, and of the pransing horses, and of the jumping chariots. The 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: Because 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."
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"Behold, 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. And I will cast abominable filth upon thee, and make thee vile, and will set thee as a gazingstock. And 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?"
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"Whence shall I seek comforters for thee?" And then if you'll look at that last verse again, the last phrase or the last question in verse 19, "for upon whom hath not thy wickedness passed continually?"
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Now, if you were to read some of the Assyrian reliefs, you will find that they bragged. I mean, they were boastful concerning their vileness and their torture. Out of consideration, especially for the women here, I'm just going to read this rather than for me to explain to you the gruesomeness of their torture. But listen to what John Urquhart tells us. He says this. "No considerations of pity were permitted to stand in the way of Assyrian policy. It could not afford to garrison its conquest, and it practiced a plan which largely dispensed with the necessity for leaving garrisons behind the Assyrian armies."
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"There was unsparing slaughter to begin with. The kings seemed to gloat in their inscriptions over the spectacle presented by the field of battle. They describe how it was covered with the corpses of the vanquished. This carnage was followed up by fiendish inflictions upon individual cities. The leading men, as at Lachish, when Sennacherib had conquered that city, were led forth, seized by the executioners, and subjected to various punishments, all of them filled to the brim with horror."
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"Some of the victims were held down while one of the band of torturers, who are portrayed upon the monuments gloating fiendishly over their fearful works, inserts his hand into the victim's mouth, grips his tongue, and wrenches it out by the roots. In another spot, pegs are driven into the ground. To these, another victim's wrists are fixed with cords. His ankles are similarly made fast, and the man is stretched out, unable to move a muscle. The executioner then applies himself to the task, and beginning at the accustomed spot, the sharp knife makes its incision. The skin is raised inch by inch until the man is skinned and flayed alive."
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"These skins are then stretched out upon the city walls, or otherwise disposed of in such a way so as to terrify the people and leave behind long enduring impressions of Assyrian vengeance. For others, long sharp poles are prepared. The sufferer, taken like all the rest from the leading men of the city, is laid down. The sharpened end of the pole is driven in through the lower part of the chest. The pole is then raised, bearing the writhing victim aloft."
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"It is planted in the hole dug for it, and the man is left to writhe in pain and die." The late Professor Sayce says this, "The barbarities which followed the capture of the town would be almost incredible were they not a subject of boast in the inscriptions which record them. Ashurbanipal's cruelties were especially revolting. Pyramids of human heads marked the path of the conqueror. Boys and girls were burnt alive or reserved for a worse fate. Men were impaled, flayed alive, blinded, or deprived of their heads and feet or their ears and noses."
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"While the women and children were carried into slavery, the captured city plundered and reduced to ashes, and all the trees in the neighborhood cut down. Nor is this all about the horrible Assyrian mania for blood and vengeance, but we forbear." So the Assyrians were not only a vast empire, they were exceedingly vile.
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Now, the book of Nahum can be outlined with three simple points, and let me give them to you like this. Chapter one, is Nineveh's doom declared? Chapter two, is Nineveh's doom described? And chapter three, is Nineveh's doom deserved?
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Now, let me impress this upon you. The name Nahum means comfort or consolation. And you have to understand that to get the significance of this book. Because he is comforting and consoling the people of Judah and Jerusalem with the fact that these vile, wicked people who are in control of the world, the then known world, shall be destroyed. And he is telling them that it shall be a vindication of God's holiness and God's truth and God's justice.
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God will defend His own. God will defend His law and His holiness. We must learn a very important principle. If you're taking notes, write this principle down. Here it is. The salvation of the godly entails the destruction of the wicked. The salvation of the godly entails the destruction of the wicked. God delivered Noah and his family as He destroyed the old world. God delivered Lot as He destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah. God delivered Israel from Egypt as He destroyed the Egyptians. God delivered His people in the book of Judges, and each time He did, He destroyed their enemies. Here it is. It is impossible to have salvation without judgment. Salvation and judgment go together. Do you realize that even our salvation in Jesus Christ is based upon judgment?
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For instance, look in your Bibles to the book of Romans chapter 3 and verses 23 and 24. Just showing you that our salvation in Jesus Christ is based upon judgment. Look what the Bible says. Romans 3, notice verse 24. "Being justified freely by His grace, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus," OK? We're talking about justification by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.
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Now look at verse 25, "Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in His blood, to declare His righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God." Now I want to call your attention to verse 25, "Whom God hath set forth," we're talking about Christ, "to be a propitiation through faith." What in the world is a propitiation? The Greek word is hilasmos, and it literally means to placate, to appease, to satisfy. What are we talking about? The wrath of God was against us. Why? We're sinners. We violated His law. We're rebels. We're wicked. We're ungodly. We're undone. And the wrath of God was about to fall upon us, but Jesus Christ came as our substitute. And He came and stood in our place, and the wrath of God fell upon Him, and as our propitiation, He satisfied and placated the wrath of God so that God is no longer angry with His people. You see, we only have salvation because Jesus Christ was judged in our place.
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You cannot have salvation apart from judgment. If you look in your Bibles, the second Thessalonians chapter one. Second Thessalonians chapter one. Someone says, "Well, Brother Weaver, I don't like all this stuff about judgment and the wrath of God, and all I'm going to do is I'm just going to pray for the Lord to come back and take us out of this mess." Well, you go ahead. But I want you to know what you're praying for. Look at it in 2 Thessalonians 1, beginning with verse 7.
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The Apostle Paul writes, "And to you who are troubled rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with His mighty angels, In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ: Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of His power." You can't even pray for our Lord's return without praying for judgment.
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When He comes back, He's going to judge the wicked. All I'm trying to show you, folks, is that salvation and judgment go together. You cannot have one without the other. Now, I want you to look back in your Bibles. I'm going to tie it together for you to the book of Nahum. Nahum chapter one. And by the way, go ahead and turn in your Bibles to Romans chapter 10 as well. Let me just show you a comparison of these two verses. Turn to Romans 10 and hold that. Romans 10. Now, let's read, first of all, Nahum 1 and verse 15. Look what God says.
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"Behold upon the mountains the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace! O Judah, keep thy solemn feasts, perform thy vows: for the wicked shall no more pass through thee; he is utterly cut off." Let me ask you, what is the theme of the book of Nahum? The wrath of God against the Assyrian Empire. Oh, verse 15 again, "Behold upon the mountains the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace!" What is the good tidings that Nahum is bringing? God shall destroy His enemies. Now look in Romans 10 and verse 15.
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In the context, we're talking about preaching. Look at it. "And how shall they preach, except they be sent? as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things!" Isn't that amazing? When you look at Nahum 1 and verse 15, it is the good tidings of judgment. When you look at Romans 10 and verse 15, it is the good tidings of grace. You remember that passage in Romans 11 and verse 22?
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"Behold the goodness and the severity of God." But notice, if you would please, the truth of God's judgment is good tidings. It is good tidings to His people. It's not good tidings to His enemies. But it's good tidings to His people. One last passage. Look in your Bibles, the second Corinthians chapter two. And there is one word I want you to really note. And I'll explain this passage. Notice 2 Corinthians 2 and verse 14. 2 Corinthians 2 and verse 14. "Now thanks be unto God, which always
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causeth us to triumph in Christ, and maketh manifest the savour of His knowledge by us in every place." Now, how often does God make us triumph? Always. We never fail. The preachers never fail. God's preachers never fail. We always triumph. Ah. You say, Brother Weaver, that didn't mean that everybody gets saved every time you preach. Oh, no, no. Watch. Watch the following verses. Paul explains a statement. He says in verse 15, "For we are unto God a sweet savour of Christ, in them that are saved, and in them that perish: To the one we are the savour of death unto death; and to the other the savour of life unto life."
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"And who is sufficient for these things?" Now, here's what the Apostle Paul is talking about. Let me just try to give you an illustration. Let's suppose there's a hundred people in this room today. A hundred unsaved people. And I stand and I preach Christ and His word. And as I'm preaching, the power of God falls. And let's say that all 100 people are converted by the grace of God.
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Now, the illustration that Paul is using is from those Old Testament sacrifices where he had that sweet smelling savour, that sweet odor from the sacrifice that was on that altar. It's kind of like you smell of that steak as it's being grilled, you know, you just like to smell it. A hundred people, I'm preaching the power of God falls. And they're all converted. You know what God does? God says, my Son is preached and I'm satisfied.
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Let's do it the other way. I preached to 100 unsaved people, and at the end, all of them shake their fist in my face and clench their teeth. And they say, if you don't get out of here, we'll kill you right now. We don't ever want to hear you again. Don't you ever come back here. You know what God says? My Son is preached and I'm satisfied.
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We're the savour of life unto life and death unto death. And I want you to understand something, folks. When the Word of God is preached and people receive it, we're the savour of life unto life. When the Word of God is preached and people reject it and hate it, we're the savour of death unto death. But both are going to ultimately glorify God. Some will glorify His grace, while the rest will glorify His justice. Behold the goodness and the severity of God, but both will glorify God. God will do what is right, and I can assure you the wicked shall in no wise escape. God will not acquit the wicked. And as we look in the book of Nahum at the doctrine of the wrath of God, you're going to see how God is righteous and holy and just in punishing the wicked. Let's pray.
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Father, we do ask in the name of Jesus Christ that you would speak to our hearts, that you would help us. Encourage us, build us up in the most holy faith, and may your will be done in our lives. In Christ's name we pray, Amen.
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deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | clean_readable_transcript | 2026-06-06T00:43:58Z

The Wrath of God - 1 of 5

John Weaver | Freedom Ministries

In this introductory sermon on the book of Nahum, John Weaver explains that the book's theme is the wrath of God against Nineveh and the Assyrian Empire. He emphasizes that God's wrath is a holy revulsion against sin and a defense of His holiness. The name Nahum means 'comfort' or 'consolation,' indicating that God's righteous judgment against His enemies should be a source of comfort to His people. Weaver outlines the historical context, the vastness and vileness of Nineveh, and the inseparable link between salvation and judgment, culminating in the good tidings that God will destroy the wicked.

Introduction to Nahum and the Wrath of God

Weaver introduces the book of Nahum, its general theme of God's wrath, and defines God's wrath as a holy revulsion against sin and a defense of His holiness.

Scripture Reading — Nahum 1:1-3

"The burden of Nineveh, the book of the vision of Nahum, the Elkishite. God is jealous of the Lord and revenging, the Lord revenging and is furious. The Lord will take vengeance on His adversaries, and He reserveth wrath for His enemies. The Lord is slow to anger and great in power, and will not at all acquit the wicked."

The Meaning of Nahum's Name: Comfort in Judgment

The name Nahum means comfort or consolation, showing that God's righteous judgment against His enemies is a comfort to His people.

Biblical Basis for Rejoicing in God's Judgment

Scripture teaches that the righteous rejoice when God judges the wicked, as seen in Psalm 58 and Revelation 19.

Scripture Reading — Revelation 19:1-3

"And after these things I heard a great voice of much people in heaven saying, Hallelujah, salvation and glory and honor and power unto the Lord our God. For true and righteous are His judgments. For He hath judged the great whore, who did corrupt the earth with her fornication, and hath avenged the blood of His servants at her hand. And again they said, Hallelujah." "And her smoke rose up for ever and ever."

The Wicked's Deception and God's Certain Judgment

The wicked wrongly imagine they will escape judgment, but God will judge even the secrets of men, as stated in Romans 2:16.

Key Verse and Historical Dating of Nahum

Nahum 1:3 is the key verse, and the book was likely written between 663 and 626 BC, after the fall of Thebes and the captivity of the northern tribes.

Scripture Reading — Nahum 1:15

Nahum 3 verse 8. "Art thou better than populous No, that was situated among the rivers, that had the waters round about it, whose rampart was the sea, and her wall was from the sea?" Now, No refers to No-Amon or Thebes in Egypt. Thebes was overthrown in 665 and 664 BC by the Assyrian monarch Ashurbanipal. So Nahum then is writing after 722, after the overthrow of Thebes, which means that in all probability the date of this book would be from 663 to 626 B.C. somewhere in that area. So Nahum then is writing. Now go back to verse 1. He says, "The Burden of Nineveh, the book of the vision of Nahum the Elkishite." Now if I were to ask you, what does the word Elkishite mean?

The Identity of Nahum and the Meaning of 'Elkishite'

The term 'Elkishite' likely refers to Nahum's hometown, though its exact location is unknown; various traditions are discussed.

The Unity and Aim of Nahum's Prophecy

Nahum's aim was to comfort Judah by assuring them of Assyria's destruction despite its power, and he prophesied the death of Sennacherib.

The Burden of Nineveh and the Severity of God

The word 'burden' denotes utter destruction, and the book of Nahum contrasts with Jonah to show both the goodness and severity of God.

Scripture Reading — Isaiah 13:1; 15:1; 17:1; 19:1

"The burden of Babylon, which Isaiah, the son of Amoz, did see."

"Then were the men exceedingly afraid, and said unto him, Why hast thou done this? For the men knew that he fled from the presence of the Lord, because he had told them."

Jonah's Flight and the Reason for His Anger

Jonah fled because he knew God would be merciful to Nineveh, and he wanted Assyria destroyed to spare Israel, as the prophets knew Assyria would be used to judge Israel.

The Vastness and Vileness of Nineveh

Nineveh was an immense city of 60 miles circumference with high walls, and it was known for extreme cruelty and torture, as described in historical sources.

Salvation and Judgment Are Inseparable

The salvation of the godly entails the destruction of the wicked; even our salvation in Christ is based on judgment, as He propitiated God's wrath.

Good Tidings of Judgment and Grace

Nahum 1:15 and Romans 10:15 both speak of good tidings—one of judgment, the other of grace—and the preaching of the gospel results in either life or death, both glorifying God.

The Wrath of God - 1 of 5

John Weaver | SermonAudio

Lecture Metadata	Details
Speaker	John Weaver
Source	SermonAudio
Media ID	817071817170
Subject	New Testament Studies
Course	Revelation: Witness, Judgment, and the Throne
Genre	Sermon
Date	2007-03-25
Dictation Name
Book	Book 160: The Wrath of God — Chapter 1
Source Timed Segments	84

Lecture Guide

Outline

Introduction to Nahum and the Wrath of God: Weaver introduces the book of Nahum, its general theme of God's wrath, and defines God's wrath as a holy revulsion against sin and a defense of His holiness.
The Meaning of Nahum's Name: Comfort in Judgment: The name Nahum means comfort or consolation, showing that God's righteous judgment against His enemies is a comfort to His people.
Biblical Basis for Rejoicing in God's Judgment: Scripture teaches that the righteous rejoice when God judges the wicked, as seen in Psalm 58 and Revelation 19.
The Wicked's Deception and God's Certain Judgment: The wicked wrongly imagine they will escape judgment, but God will judge even the secrets of men, as stated in Romans 2:16.
Key Verse and Historical Dating of Nahum: Nahum 1:3 is the key verse, and the book was likely written between 663 and 626 BC, after the fall of Thebes and the captivity of the northern tribes.
The Identity of Nahum and the Meaning of 'Elkishite': The term 'Elkishite' likely refers to Nahum's hometown, though its exact location is unknown; various traditions are discussed.
The Unity and Aim of Nahum's Prophecy: Nahum's aim was to comfort Judah by assuring them of Assyria's destruction despite its power, and he prophesied the death of Sennacherib.
The Burden of Nineveh and the Severity of God: The word 'burden' denotes utter destruction, and the book of Nahum contrasts with Jonah to show both the goodness and severity of God.
Jonah's Flight and the Reason for His Anger: Jonah fled because he knew God would be merciful to Nineveh, and he wanted Assyria destroyed to spare Israel, as the prophets knew Assyria would be used to judge Israel.
The Vastness and Vileness of Nineveh: Nineveh was an immense city of 60 miles circumference with high walls, and it was known for extreme cruelty and torture, as described in historical sources.
Salvation and Judgment Are Inseparable: The salvation of the godly entails the destruction of the wicked; even our salvation in Christ is based on judgment, as He propitiated God's wrath.
Good Tidings of Judgment and Grace: Nahum 1:15 and Romans 10:15 both speak of good tidings—one of judgment, the other of grace—and the preaching of the gospel results in either life or death, both glorifying God.

Major Themes

Key Arguments

God's wrath is a necessary aspect of His holiness.

God's wrath is not arbitrary anger but a holy revulsion against sin, defending His law and character.

Weaver says, 'God's wrath is an exhibition of His defense of His law and His holiness.'

The righteous should find comfort in God's judgment of the wicked.

Scripture commands the righteous to rejoice when God executes vengeance, as it vindicates His justice.

Weaver cites Psalm 58:10, 'The righteous shall rejoice when he seeth the vengeance.'

The wicked are deceived if they think God will not judge.

The wicked imagine God does not see or will not act, but He will judge even secret sins.

Weaver references Psalm 10:11 and Romans 2:16 about God judging the secrets of men.

Nahum's prophecy was a timely comfort to Judah under Assyrian threat.

Nahum wrote to assure Judah that despite Assyria's power, God would destroy them and deliver His people.

Weaver explains Nahum's aim was 'to inspire his countrymen with the assurance that... God would actually destroy the Assyrian empire.'

Jonah's reluctance to preach to Nineveh stemmed from his desire for Israel's preservation.

Jonah knew God would be merciful to Nineveh, but he wanted Assyria destroyed to prevent Israel's judgment.

Weaver says, 'He didn't want God to be merciful to those people. He wanted God to destroy them so that Israel might be saved.'

Nineveh's destruction was deserved because of its extreme wickedness.

The Assyrians were notoriously cruel, boasting of their tortures, and God declared them vile.

Weaver reads historical accounts of Assyrian atrocities and cites Nahum 1:14, 'for thou art vile.'

Salvation is impossible without judgment, as seen in Christ's propitiation.

Christ's death satisfied God's wrath against sin, demonstrating that salvation requires judgment.

Weaver explains Romans 3:25, 'Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation... to declare His righteousness.'

The gospel message inherently includes both salvation and judgment.

Preaching the gospel results in either life or death, and both outcomes glorify God.

Weaver interprets 2 Corinthians 2:15-16, 'we are unto God a sweet savour of Christ, in them that are saved, and in them that perish.'

Scripture References

Nahum 1:1-3: Introduction to the book and the key verse about God's wrath and justice.
Nahum 1:3-6: Description of God's power in judgment.
Psalm 58:10-11: The righteous rejoice in God's vengeance.
Revelation 19:1-3: Saints in heaven rejoice at God's righteous judgments.
Psalm 10:6, 11: The wicked think they will never be in adversity and that God does not see.
Romans 2:16: God will judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ.
Nahum 1:15: Good tidings of peace to Judah; the wicked will be cut off.
Nahum 3:8: Reference to No (Thebes) helps date the book.
Nahum 1:14: Prophecy of Sennacherib's death in the house of his gods.
Isaiah 37:36-38: Fulfillment of the prophecy: the angel kills 185,000 Assyrians, and Sennacherib is killed by his sons.
Isaiah 13:1; 15:1; 17:1; 19:1: Examples of 'burden' oracles against Babylon, Moab, Damascus, and Egypt.
Romans 11:22: Behold the goodness and severity of God.
Jonah 1:3, 10: Jonah flees from the presence of the Lord.
Psalm 139:1-12: God's omnipresence; no one can flee from His presence.
Jonah 4:1-2: Jonah's anger at God's mercy on Nineveh.
Isaiah 10:5-6: Assyria is the rod of God's anger against a hypocritical nation.
Hosea 9:3; 10:6-7; 11:5: Prophecies that Israel would be taken captive to Assyria.
Amos 3:7: God reveals His plans to His prophets.
Nahum 1:9-14: God's judgment on Sennacherib and Assyria for their evil.
Romans 3:24-25: Christ as propitiation, satisfying God's wrath.

Historical References

Assyrian Empire and Nineveh: Nineveh was the capital of Assyria, a vast and powerful empire known for its cruelty.
Fall of the Northern Kingdom (722 BC): The ten northern tribes were taken captive by Assyria in 722 BC, which Nahum references.
Overthrow of Thebes (No-Amon) in 665-664 BC: The reference to No in Nahum 3:8 helps date the book after 664 BC.
Sennacherib's invasion and death: Sennacherib, king of Assyria, invaded Judah and was later killed by his sons, as prophesied.
Shalmaneser II and Sargon I: These Assyrian kings were involved in the fall of the northern tribes.
Jerome's identification of Elkosh: Jerome mentioned a small village named Elkosh in Galilee, possibly Nahum's hometown.
Capernaum (village of Nahum): The name Capernaum may derive from Nahum, suggesting a connection to the prophet.
Diodorus Siculus's description of Nineveh: The ancient historian described Nineveh as a quadrangle 480 stadia in circumference.
Assyrian reliefs and inscriptions boasting of cruelty: Archaeological findings show Assyrians gloried in torture, including flaying and impaling victims.
Ashurbanipal's cruelties: The Assyrian king Ashurbanipal was particularly known for revolting cruelties.

Important Quotes

The wrath of God would include that it is indeed a holy revulsion of God's being against all that is a contradiction to Himself, especially His holiness.

Provides a clear definition of God's wrath as rooted in His holiness.

The righteous shall rejoice when he seeth the vengeance, that is God's vengeance. He shall wash his feet in the blood of the wicked.

Shows the biblical basis for rejoicing in God's judgment.

The Lord is slow to anger, and great in power, and will not at all acquit the wicked.

Key verse of Nahum emphasizing God's patience and certain justice.

Behold, therefore, the goodness and the severity of God: on them which fell, severity; but toward thee, goodness, if thou continue in His goodness: otherwise thou also shalt be cut off.

Summarizes the dual aspects of God's character displayed in Jonah and Nahum.

I knew that thou art a gracious God and merciful and slow to anger and of great kindness and repentest thee of the evil.

Jonah's confession revealing why he fled—he knew God would be merciful to Nineveh.

O Assyrian, the rod of mine anger, and the staff in their hand is mine indignation.

Demonstrates God's sovereignty in using Assyria as an instrument of judgment.

It is impossible to have salvation without judgment. Salvation and judgment go together.

A key theological point that salvation requires judgment, fulfilled in Christ.

We are unto God a sweet savour of Christ, in them that are saved, and in them that perish: To the one we are the savour of death unto death; and to the other the savour of life unto life.

Illustrates the dual effect of gospel preaching, both glorifying God.

Discussion Questions

[Question]

How does understanding God's wrath as a 'holy revulsion' against sin change your view of His character?

[Context]

Weaver defines God's wrath as a holy revulsion against all that contradicts His holiness.

[Question]

In what ways can the judgment of the wicked be a comfort to believers today?

[Context]

Weaver explains that Nahum's name means comfort, indicating that God's judgment should console His people.

[Question]

Why do you think the wicked often believe they will escape judgment, and how should this affect our prayers?

[Context]

Weaver discusses Psalm 10 and the deception of the wicked who think God does not see.

[Question]

How does the contrast between Jonah and Nahum illustrate the balance of God's goodness and severity?

[Context]

Weaver contrasts the two books to show God's mercy and judgment.

[Question]

What can we learn from Jonah's reluctance to preach to Nineveh about our own attitudes toward those we consider enemies?

[Context]

Weaver explains Jonah's desire for Nineveh's destruction to spare Israel.

[Question]

How does the historical cruelty of Assyria help us understand the justice of God's judgment?

[Context]

Weaver describes the extreme vileness of Nineveh as deserving of God's wrath.

[Question]

Why is it impossible to have salvation without judgment, and how does Christ's propitiation demonstrate this?

[Context]

Weaver argues that salvation and judgment are inseparable, with Christ bearing God's wrath.

[Question]

How should the truth that the gospel is a 'savour of death unto death' to some affect our evangelism?

[Context]

Weaver explains 2 Corinthians 2:14-16, showing that preaching always triumphs, whether in life or death.

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