In our study of Nahum chapter two, we will see what happens when a nation turns from trusting in God to trusting in themselves. This prophecy was fulfilled in the historical Battle of Nineveh in 612 BC when Babylonians and Medes came against the city. There are lessons in here for us (as Christians) as well as for the nation of Israel.
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A destroyer has risen in front of your face; guard the ramparts, keep watch on the road, brace yourselves, marshall all your strength.
In chapter 1, God mostly spoke to the people of Judah to reassure them that He was going to handle the Assyrians. Now, He is speaking directly to the people of Nineveh to proclaim judgment on them. God is almost mocking them as He tells them to trust in their own strength (which they have already been doing).
For ADONAI is restoring the pride of Ya'akov, along with the pride of Isra'el; because plunderers have plundered them and ravaged their vines.
God had used the Assyrians to correct the people of Judah but now it was time for God to deal with them. In dealing with them, He would restore His people. Many times, God will use people that we may not expect (those that do not know Jesus) to bring correction upon His children but, even so, He will not forsake us.
The shields of [Ninveh's] warriors are [dyed] red; the soldiers are wearing scarlet. The steel of the chariots flashes like fire as they prepare for battle. The cypress [spears] are poisoned.
The people of Nineveh had placed great trust in their military power. They loved the color red and had armored chariots to scare the people they came against.
The chariots rush madly about in the streets, jostling each other in the open places; their appearance is like torches, they run here and there like lightning. [The king of Ninveh] assigns his officers; they stumble as they march; they hurry to its wall and set up shields to protect the battering ram.
We see how the people of Nineveh trust in their military as they rush to defend the city against God. The scene is now set for God to display His power in the face of the most feared army of the day. It is much the same today as many nations threaten the country of Israel but it will be a great opportunity for God to show that He takes care of His people.
The gates of the rivers are opened, and the palace melts away.
In the Battle of Nineveh, the Tigris River reached flood stage and actually took out a section of the wall and caused the collapse of the palace. This can serve to remind us that God is in control of all things and He can even make the rivers do His will.
Its mistress is stripped and carried away; her handmaids moan, they sound like doves, as they beat their breasts. Ninveh is like a pool whose water ebbs away. "Stop! Stop!" But none of it goes back.
"Huzzab" means "fixed" and here we see that this "fixed" city has been removed by the hand of God. Its people mourned as they were taken captive.
Plunder the silver! Plunder the gold! There is no end to the treasure, weighed down with precious things. She is void, vacant; she is made bare. Hearts are melting, knees are knocking; every stomach is churning, every face is drained of color.
The Assyrian military machine had plundered much of the world around them and so the city of Nineveh was rich. All of this treasure was captured and taken at the time of its fall. The people must have watched in horror as they were dealt with in the same manner that their army had treated their neighbors.
What has become of the lion's den, the cave where the young lions fed, where lion and lioness walked with their cubs, and no one made them afraid? The lion would tear up food for his cubs and strangle prey for his lionesses; he used to fill his caves with prey, his lairs with torn flesh.
A lion feels secure in its den as nothing would dare to enter it and the same was true of the city of Nineveh. That city is now gone and the prophet asks them where their city is now.
"I am against you," says ADONAI-Tzva'ot. "Her chariots I will send up in smoke, the sword will consume your lion cubs, I will destroy your prey from the earth, and your envoys' voices will be heard no more."
God declares that it is He that is bringing the armies against Nineveh. It is the Lord that is judging the city and its inhabitants.
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