2 Chronicles 3, Nahum 2

This devotional is about Nahum 2.

The book of Nahum is a prophecy about God’s punishment on Assyria. This prophecy was directed toward Ninevah, according to Nahum 1:1, but Ninevah was the capital city of Assyria. So, the defeat that Nahum prophesied about Ninevah would be experienced by the entire nation of Assyria.

Assyria was the nation God used to punish the Northern Kingdom of Israel for their sins. Although the Assyrians did not conquer the Southern Kingdom of Judah, the Assyrian army did attack Judah several times.

God’s coming punishment on Assyria was announced in Nahum 1 and described in Nahum 2-3, so our reading for today was a description for the Assyrians about what God’s attack against them would be like. And, what a vivid description it was:

Verse 1 sarcastically calls the Assyrians of Ninevah to get ready because the attack was coming. The words of verse 1 are sarcastic because the attack was described in chapter 1, verses 7-8 as an “overwhelming flood” so there was really nothing the army of Assyria will be able to do, even if they prepared.
Verse 3 continued the vivid description of attack by describing the shields and clothing of the attacking nation as “red.” That’s often interpreted to mean that the attacking soldiers were covered in blood.
Verse 4 said that the chariots of the attacking nation would fly through the streets “like lightning.”

You get the idea. Nahum 2 describes an attack that would be terrifying and devastating, The attack was carried out by a coalition of nations, but they were carrying out the vengeance of the Lord. Let me re-read verse 13 to you: “‘I am against you,’ declares the Lord Almighty. ‘I will burn up your chariots in smoke, and the sword will devour your young lions. I will leave you no prey on the earth.'” (Nahum 2:13).

Why was God so angry with the Assyrians? Why did they face such a devastating attack from the Lord?

One reason was their “endless cruelty” (3:19). Archeological discoveries have proved this to be true. According to the NIV Study Bible’s note on Nahum 3:3, one of Assyria’s kings, Shalmanezer III, bragged about taking the severed heads of his enemies and building a pyramid out of them. So, the Assyrians were guilty before God of unprecedented cruelty and they were hated by people for that cruelty as well.

But another reason why God punished the ancient Assyrians was that their attacks on Israel and Judah were religious in nature. Nahum 1:9 and 11 talk about their “plot against the Lord.” The Assyrians were bloodthirsty and cruel because they hated the true God. Their attacks against Israel and Judah were designed to vanquish the living God by killing and brutalizing his people. This is why God brought such a heavy dose of punishment on the people of Ninevah. He did so to defend his honor and to pay back his enemies for harming his covenant people. Nahum 1:2 described God as “a jealous and avenging God.” Here in Nahum 2:2, God promised to “restore the splendor of Jacob.”

Please understand that the hostility and persecution that believers face, even today, is hostility against our Lord God. The war that is going on right now in Israel is another attack on God’s covenant people–even though they are unbelief. Nations that persecute Christians by locking them up or even killing them are trying to attack our Lord Jesus Christ himself. Even the social pressure and shame we receive for standing against sin and owning our allegiance to Christ is spiritual in nature, a repudiation of the Lord who saved us.

The message for us today from Nahum is to remember that God will exact vengeance on his enemies in this era just as he did on the Ninevites back then. This will happen when Jesus returns. His second coming will bring God’s vengeance on those who have attacked his people because they hate Him.

If you are facing any kind of persecution because you are a Christian, take heart. We don’t know when, but someday when Jesus returns, he will have his revenge. Second Thessalonians 1:6-7 says, “God is just: He will pay back trouble to those who trouble you 7 and give relief to you who are troubled, and to us as well. This will happen when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven in blazing fire with his powerful angels.”

Trust the Lord’s promise to reward you if you stand for him and to punish those who oppose him by hurting you. Don’t give up following Jesus or retaliate against his enemies. Trust the Lord and wait for his day of vengeance to come.