Nahum 2:1 - Meaning and Application

Here is an alarm of war sent to Nineveh, Nahum 2:1. The prophet speaks as if the danger is already near. It is neither uncertain nor far off: “Look around you and see, the one who shatters things has come against you.” Nebuchadnezzar, the Babylonian king known for crushing nations, is the one in view here. Babylon is called “the hammer of the whole earth” (Jeremiah 1:23). His attack on Nineveh is open, bold, and threatening, as if he is announcing his plan to destroy it.

So Nineveh is told to prepare as much as it can. Guard the fortresses, watch the roads, post sentries at every gate, and brace for battle. The command to “make your loins strong” means, in plain words, to be ready and steady for action. The call to strengthen power is spoken with irony. Even if Nineveh does everything it can, it will not stop the blow of God’s judgment, because no plan or strength can stand against the Lord.

Then the prophet gives the reason for the war, Nahum 2:2. The Lord has turned away the glory of Jacob, that is, of Israel. This may mean one of two things. The Assyrians had once abused Jacob, the southern kingdom, and Israel, the northern kingdom, emptying them and ruining their vine-branches. God will now call them to account for that violence, even though it happened long before. Or it may mean that God is now using Nebuchadnezzar to turn away Jacob’s pride by taking the two tribes into captivity, just as he had already humbled Israel.

Either way, the point is clear. God is humbling proud cities, even the ones close to him. Samaria has been brought low, and Jerusalem will be humbled too. If that is so, then Nineveh, that proud city, will not escape either. The emptying of Jacob’s land and the ruin of its vineyards show that God can strip away the greatness of any city. He will also bring down Nineveh’s own glory.

The prophet then gives a vivid picture of the terror of the attacking army. The shields of the mighty men are red, and likely their other weapons and gear are too. They may already seem stained with blood, or they may be marked to show they mean to slaughter without mercy. The red color may also suggest a signal that they will give no quarter. The soldiers wear scarlet, which points both to the bloody work they plan and to the wealth of the army, since rich clothing often went with a powerful force.

The chariots are compared to flaming torches on the day of preparation. As they move in, they flash like lightning. Their wheels strike sparks from the stones, and the drivers rush forward with fierce energy, like Jehu driving hard. Or the chariots may literally have carried flaming torches as they advanced at night, like Gideon’s men with their lamps in pitchers, serving both as a guide and as a terror. The fir trees are shaken, meaning either the great men of Nineveh are stunned, like tall trees over smaller ones, or the earth itself trembles under the march of the army.

The war chariots are especially terrifying, Nahum 2:4. They rush through the streets with wild force, as if the chariots themselves were angry. There are so many of them, and they move so fast, that even the broad roads seem crowded. Their iron frames shine so brightly in the sun that they look like torches at night. They race along like lightning, fast and destructive.

Nebuchadnezzar’s commanders are called his worthies, his noble heroes. He sends them out at once, without delay, because he is opening the campaign with the siege of Nineveh. Some read the phrase to mean they remember their duty and carry it out faithfully. So intent are they on their task that they stumble in their quick march, yet they do not fall. They hurry to the wall, open trenches, and prepare the covered way, a protected route to shield them from enemy arrows.

The siege is pressed so hard that the gates of the rivers are opened, Nahum 2:6. These are likely the gates of Nineveh that led to the Tigris River, on which the city stood. The enemy will force through them, or someone will betray them to him, and he will enter by that route. Then the palace will be dissolved, either the king’s house or the temple of Nisroch, his god, since the same word can mean both. When the God of heaven rises against a people, neither palaces nor kings, neither temples nor false gods, can protect them. All of them fall together.

The result will be deeply sad. The queen, or the royal woman called Huzzab, will be taken captive, Nahum 2:7. Some take her name to mean “the established one,” as if she felt safe because she was hidden away. But she will be discovered, brought out in disgrace, and led away as a prisoner. Her servant women will go with her, but they will not be there to comfort her. They will be weak and trembling, unable to bear the shock and hardship. Their grief will sound like the mourning of doves, and they will beat their breasts in sorrow and distress.

The people of Nineveh were many, yet none of them could stand against the invaders or hold their ground (Nahum 2:8). Nineveh had long been like a pool of water, full of people, as a pond is full of water. In Scripture, water can picture large crowds (Revelation 17:15), and Nineveh had indeed been a great city for a long time. In Jonah’s day, there were 120,000 young children there (Jonah 4:11), and cities usually kept growing over the years.

Still, even with so many people ready for public service, they could not give one another courage. Instead, they would run away like cowards. Their leaders would try to stir them up, calling out, “Stand firm, stand firm, take heart, and we will be all right.” But no one would even look back. They would have no courage left at all, and each person would think the safest course was to escape as fast as he could. He would not even turn to see who was calling him. This shows that God can take away the spirit of the strongest and boldest in a time of trouble, so they become like a pool of water that has dried up.

The city’s wealth would also become the enemy’s prize, and all its rich goods would fall into the hands of the conquerors (Nahum 2:9). They would urge one another to plunder: “Take the silver. Take the gold.” The officers would stir up the soldiers to make the most of the victory. There was plenty there for them, because the store of money and plate was endless. Nineveh, which had long been like a pool of water, had gathered up a great deal of mud, so to speak, and it had also collected much glory from its fine furnishings and treasured vessels. All of that, which they had boasted in, would now become the conquerors’ spoil and their pride. Those who heap up wealth and luxury do not know who will one day wear their clothes or divide their silver (Job 27:16-17). So this rich city is left empty, wasted, and ruined (Nahum 2:10). See how empty worldly wealth is. Instead of protecting its owners, it only makes them easier to harm.

The soldiers and the people would have no courage to come out and defend the city. Their hearts would melt like wax before fire, and their knees would shake together, as Belshazzar’s did in his fear (Daniel 5:6). They would not be able to stand their ground, and they would not even be able to escape. Great pain would seize their loins, as happens in intense fear, so that they could not even hold themselves upright. Their faces would turn dark with terror, like a pot that has been kept over the fire day after day. Guilt in the conscience fills people with fear in a day of judgment, and those who place their happiness in this world’s wealth feel ruined when their silver, gold, and beautiful goods are taken away.