PEACE TO THOSE WHO LEAN ON HIM AND PERDITION ON THOSE WHO OPPOSE HIM In the first chapter God showed that He is jealous in His love and mercy towards those who lean on Him, however great their afflictions are. He is mighty in His wrath when the wicked persist on practicing their evils against His people, counting every opposition against any of His believers as though it is against Him personally. By his opposition, the wicked deprives himself of God the source of his life, joy, happiness, and glory; destroying himself by himself as he falls under God’s wrath. The kingdom of Assyria, with its great capital Nineveh, assumed that it conquered God, not realizing that God allowed her conquest to chasten His people for sometime. Nineveh, falling into oppression and savagery against the people of God together with blasphemy against God in every way, brought on itself complete destruction. Now this chapter demonstrates God’s work for the sake of those who lean on Him after being chastised, and what would dwell on those who oppose Him after giving them chances to repent their horrible evils. 1. Glory to the chastened believers 1–4. 2. Shame on the opposing aggressors 5–10. 3. God opposes the savage aggressors 11–13. 1. GLORY TO THE CHASTENED BELIEVERS: “The shatterer has come up against you. Guard the ramparts; watch the road; gird your lions; collect all your strength” (Nahum 2:1) God used Assyria as a rod of chastisement on His people; but when Assyria showed haughtiness in boasting against God and used every way to practice savagery against His people under chastisement, God sent Babylon –the “hammer of the whole earth”- against them (Jeremiah 50:23) to pour its hammers on the great Nineveh, publicly and daringly. He addresses Babylon, which He calls “the shatterer” saying: “You are My battle ax, and weapons of war; for with you I will break the nations in pieces, with you I will destroy kingdoms; with you I will break in pieces the horse and its rider; with you I will break in pieces the chariot and its rider; with you I will break in pieces the man and woman; with you I will break in pieces the old and young; with you I will break in pieces the young man and the maiden; with you I will break in pieces the shepherd and his flock; with you I will break in pieces the farmer and his yoke of oxen; and with you I will break in pieces the governors and rulers” (Jeremiah 51:20-23). God allowed the armies of Mede and Babylon to destroy Nineveh. It may look as though it is a war between nations and peoples, but it is actually allowed by God to support those who lean on Him, albeit under chastisement; and to punish the haughty Nineveh. That is why He proclaimed beforehand to Assyria that Nineveh will be publicly destroyed and that any attempt to defend it would be in vain, because the issue to destroy it has come from heaven. Any troops to guard its ramparts, to watch its towers, to encourage its men, or to strengthen its military capabilities would all be in vain, because “The horse is made ready for the day of battle, but the victory belongs to the Lord” 26 (Proverb 21:30). There is no way for Assyria to enjoy conquest as long as it opposes the Lord Himself. “For the Lord is restoring the majesty of Jacob; as well as the majesty of Israel; though ravagers have ravaged them and ruined their vine branches” (Nahum 2:2). The prophet proclaims the cause of this destructive war against Nineveh, which is that Assyria ravaged Jacob, ill-treated the Israeli captives, savagely attacked Judah, and boasted against the Lord of hosts that He is helpless to save them from the hand of Sennacherib, King of Assyria. The same way they ravaged Jacob and Israel, they will be ravaged; the same way they boasted against the Lord of hosts, shame will come over them and the lord will restore to His people their dignity after their chastisement. According to the Septuagint version, it came: “Someone will breathe in your face, to save you from your temptation” (Nahum 2:2 LXX). Theodoret of Cyrus believes that God presents a different kind of breath to save man; He “breathed into Adam’s nostrils the breath of life” (Genesis 2:7); then, when the work of that divine breath was lost, the Lord Christ came to renew the image of man and to restore it in the saintly apostles as well as in the rest of believers through them: “He breathed on them, and said to them: Receive the Holy Spirit” (John 20:12). God destroyed the Assyrians by the breath of His mouth to save His people; as a symbol of the work of the Lord Christ, who destroys the tyrant Devil by the breath of His Holy Spirit that He granted to His church1. “The shields of his warriors are red; his soldiers are clothed in crimson. The metal on the chariots flashes on the day when he musters them; the chargers prance” (Nahum 2:3). Here he describes the mighty men of the armies of Mede and Babylon, who attack Nineveh. “The shields of his warriors are red”: The warriors of the old preferred the red color for their shields on the one hand to terrify the enemy, and on the other hand, in case a warrior is wounded and his blood splashes over his shield, it would not be seen by the enemy and strengthen their hearts. Others believe that the shields of the Assyrians, as is proven by the excavations, were made of bronze, which appeared red with the reflection of the rays of the sun on them. “His soldiers were clothed in crimson”: Xenophon says that the Made soldiers were clothed in expensive crimson to demonstrate their might and riches. “The metal on the chariots flashes on the day he musters them”: This is a portrait of the fierceness of the battle, in which the chariots of the enemy race madly and the sparks dart when their wheels rub against the stony road to appear like torches of fire. He also probably means that the enemy chariots used to carry torches of fire to help them keep fighting day and night until the utter destruction of Nineveh. The warriors with Gideon used to carry torches inside pitchers (Judges 7:16) to guide them and to terrify their enemies. That was what God allowed on the appointed day “On the day He mustered them,” to let Nineveh get the fruit of her deeds. Some interpret “The chargers prance” as ‘The Cypress trees sway’: The enemy forces, like the haughty Cypress trees, sway to terrify Assyria. Or he probably portrays 1 Cf. Comm. on Nahum 2:1. 27 how the Cypress trees sway with the strong trembling of the ground underneath the feet of the attacking forces. “The chariots race madly through the streets; they rush to and fro through the squares; their appearance is like torches, they dart like lightning” (Nahum 2:4) He demonstrates how the swift military chariots glitter like fiery torches amid the trees through the reflection of the sun rays, madly moving like lightning. “He calls his officers; they stumble as they come forward; they hasten to the wall; and the mantelet is set up” (Nahum 2:5). Some believe that he talks here about how the king of Assyria calls his mighty warriors to come to defend Nineveh; how they stumble as they come forward hastening to the walls, and how their efforts were in vain. Whereas others believe that the talk here is about Nebuchadnezer, King of Babylon, provoking his officers not to retreat however strong the walls of Nineveh are. Even if they stumble as they come forward, yet they would never despair; they dig trenches to protect themselves against the arrows of the forces under siege behind the walls of Nineveh. 2. SHAME ON THE OPPOSING AGGRESSORS: “The river gates are opened, the palace trembles” (Nahum 2:6). The gates of the city of Nineveh were open on the Tigris River, on the banks of which the city was built. Its western wall on the River extended to 4530 yards, and on its south, north, and east side there were huge water canals that could be filled with water from Khosru to surround the city by water from every side to impede the advance of the chariots and horses of an attacking enemy. It is claimed by the historian Theodors that during the third year of the siege a great flood caused 20 Firling (4400 yards) of the walls of Nineveh to collapse. By that the prophecy of Nahum was realized, saying: “The River gates are opened, the palace is dissolved” (6); the hearts of the king and those who were with him dissolved by fear to commit suicide by burning themselves together with their palace and wealth. According to the Septuagint version, it came: “The mountains collapsed” (Nahum 2:6 LXX). St. Ambrose believes that the mountains here are the great things, by which man feels haughty against God. “If you have faith as a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you” (Matthew 17:20)1. “It is decreed that the city be exiled, its slave women led away, moaning like doves, beating their breasts” (Nahum 2:7) Some scholars believe that he refers here to the queen of Nineveh, who escaped the fire and was led captive by the enemy in shame and disgrace, while others believe that he means the city of Nineveh itself. In either case the maidservants mourned like the incessant voices of doves, beating their breasts, a sign of grief and helplessness. “Though Nineveh of old was like a pool of water, now they flee away. ’Halt! Halt!’ they cry; but no one turns back” (Nahum 2:8). Because Nineveh was a city very crowded with inhabitants, it was likened to a great pool full of water (Isaiah 8:7; Jeremiah 51:13; Revelation 17:15). But all of them 1 On the Christian Faith, 3:14:115-116. 28 helplessly fled away, not heading the cries of their leaders: Halt! Halt! Having lost every hope, they aimlessly ran away in every direction. “Plunder the silver! Plunder the gold! There is no end of treasure; an abundance of every precious thing” (Nahum 2:9) The king burnt the royal palace with all its treasures, which was collected from annual taxes, spoils, and massive trade (Nahum 3:16; Hezekiel 27:23-24); yet the enemy confiscated a vast wealth of silver, gold, and valuables. “She is empty, desolate, and waste! The heart melts, and the knees shake; much pain is in every side, and all their faces grow pale” (Nahum 2:10). A bitter portrait of how that rich and great city, which submitted a multitude of nations, became empty, desolate, and waste; how the heart melts, the knees shake, and how the faces of its men grow pale. “Where is the dwelling of the lions, and the feeding place of the young lions; where the lion walked with the lioness and the lion’s cubs with no one to disturb them?” (Nahum 2:11). As indicated by the Assyrian monuments -the winged lions with a man’s head-, Nineveh, the capital of the greatest nation at that time, has been described as the den of lions and the pasture of lion’s cubs, where the king and the queen used to walk like a lion and a lioness in a forest. Now this mighty nation has lost everything and the surrounding nations stand wandering: Where are those men, mighty like lions, who made their nation rich on the expense of the other nations?! Now, the words of the psalm apply to it, saying: “The young lions lack and suffer hunger; but those who seek the Lord shall not lack any good thing!” (Psalm 34:10). 3. GOD OPPOSES THE SAVAGE AGGRESSORS: “The lion tore in pieces enough for his cubs; killed for his lionesses, filled his caves with prey, and his dens with flesh. ’Behold, I am against you,’ says the Lord of hosts, ‘I will burn your chariots in smoke, and the sword shall devour your young lions; I will cut off your prey from the earth, and the voice of your messengers shall be heard no more’” (Nahum 2:12-13) If the kingdom of Assyria has been proud of its armies and forces that knew no defeat, He, who is against it, is ‘the Lord of the heavenly hosts’, who brings justice to the oppressed, defends the humiliated, and grants a victory to the truth. The chariots of Assyria cannot stand before the divine wrath and are burned in smoke; its young lions are devoured by the sword, and as the kingdom of Assyria has done to the other nations, it shall be done to it (Obadiah 15). It shall be no more! 29 AN INSPIRATION FROM THE BOOK OF NAHUM 2 WHO WILL RESTORE TO ME MY DIGNITY, BUT YOU? The enemy has taken away my inner glory! Instead of heaven, the enemy reigned over my depths. He robbed me of my life, my glory. He robbed all my talents and energies; It is the mighty Assyria that humiliated my soul! Yet, here Your hand moves to restore the majesty of Jacob; I see Your hands stretched on the cross; Ready to embrace the whole world in love; To liberate it from the devil and his hosts. Here You are, O Lord, leading the battle Yourself! What enemy can stand before You?! Your chariots are mighty and active; they run like lightning. They come to occupy my heart, to grant it an exalted conquest; To expel the enemy from it and to take back all what he has robbed. My enemy will come out destroyed and helpless. My enemy assumed that he, like a lion, will devour with no one to confront; But his young lions died of hunger and lack of prey; His forces were destroyed, and he fell like lightning from the heaven of our hearts; To You is the glory, O Grantor of glory to those who lean on You!
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