Nahum 3:1-19

God has great amounts of experience at judging people and nations for their sin.  He has demonstrated His willingness to destroy people from entire nations and even the entire planet in the past.  Unfortunately, people have learned to ignore history and make assumptions about their own well-being that are simply not true.  Nineveh was one such nation.  They were strong and feared by many, but they also had many enemies.  Their greatest problem was the sin of their culture and their refusal to submit themselves to God.  The same could be said for many of our cultures.  Too many nations and individuals continue to live as if there were no consequences for our sin.

WHY NINEVEH WILL BE DESTROYED: In a word, the reason given for the coming destruction of Nineveh is: sin.  Sin is always the motivating factor behind the judgment of God.  The sins of men are what led Jesus to be judged on our behalf.  Those who refuse to trust Christ and recognize Him as their only hope for salvation continue under God’s judgment for their sin.  Nineveh was an extremely sinful nation.  They were wealthy, powerful and proud.  They were also an extremely violent and cruel society.  When they vanquished a foe it was not enough for them to take the spoils of war and take the people as captives.  They would brutally torture their captives and completely disregard the dignity of human life.  The corpses of their victims would left in heaps and even skinned to be used as leather.  They were an idolatrous people who worshiped themselves and the gods of their own making.  They were an immoral people who practiced prostitution as common behavior. 

WHAT NINEVEH’S DESTRUCTION WILL BE LIKE: God declares His hatred of this way of life and He is against them in every way.  He promises to embarrass them and humiliate them, covering them with the own filth so that all nations will be appalled by what they have seen and shrink away at sight of her.  He reminds them of the judgment that came upon Thebes, another strong and wicked nation that fell under God’s judgment.  They were geographically located in a secure place and were allied by many other strong and powerful nations but none of that mattered when God judged them.  Thebes became a nation of slaves as on every street the men were auctioned off.  God warns Nineveh that her judgment will be just like this judgment.  Their troops would become weak and all of their fortresses would be breeched.  No matter how strong they thought they were, they would be helpless to stand against the judgment of God.  The leaders and the commoners of Nineveh had fallen asleep and they would only awaken to find themselves in judgment and destruction.  This is the condition of many nations and many hearts.  Evil is multiplied but the people are completely oblivious to the danger of God’s judgment to come.  One day all of that will change but they will awaken to find it is too late and they will be eternally condemned.  Jesus is the only hope to escape this judgment.