Book of Nahum: God a strong refuge Book of Nahum - Falling of 'the other' walls in the Old Testament The refuge of Nineveh falls, refuge in God remains A review of some key and interesting archeology finds concerning the fall of Nineveh with a flood, fire and fallen wall The father of Nebechadnezzer lay siege to Nineveh but only for 3 months The rivers overflowed, a 2.5 mile stretch of the city walls fell, the foundations undermined There was indeed flood. There was fire and the King put much of his treasures in his palace and burned it, so there was indeed fire all as Nahum said would happen. Sand and pebbles found in the archaeological ruins of the city attest to a flood along with the witness of Greek historians who also claimed the same Nahum warned the city of Thebes they feel secure surrounded by water to protect themselves but they will fall and so Nahum wrote long before the fall of Thebes. Another word that came to pass centuries later. The phrase 'how beautiful on the mountains are those who bring good news' occurs both in Isaiah and Nahum and quoted in Romans. The tomb of Nahum the Elkashite is said to be in AlQosh, Iraq https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tSK_zMZXZws

1. NahumNahum
on finding the right refuge
The Fall of Nineveh by John Martin 1840

4. Noah’s great grandson Nimrod
was a mighty hunter
Nimrod by David Scott 1832
Noah’s great grandson Nimrod
was a mighty hunter

5. and Nimrod founded Nineveh

6. Many centuries later
A long suffering God sent Jonah to Nineveh
with one of the greatest revivals in history
with a wicked city turning to God
It didn’t last
A century later
an unrepentant Nineveh would face judgement again

7. British archeologist A. H. Layard excavated the site in
1845-1854. He unearthed the great palace of King
Sargon along with a library of over 22,000 cuneiform
documents. King Sargon was mentioned by Isaiah the
prophet (Isa. 20:1).
see http://www.padfield.com/1996/nineveh.html

8. http://i.imgur.com/QzsqFWj.jpg

11. the walls stood 100 ft high
and wide enough for 3 chariots

13. 1:A pronouncement on Nineveh:
The Book of the Prophecy of Nahum the
Elkoshite.
2:
The LORD is a passionate, avenging God;
The LORD is vengeful and fierce in wrath.
The LORD takes vengeance on His enemies,
He rages against His foes.
1:A pronouncement on Nineveh:
The Book of the Prophecy of Nahum the
Elkoshite.
2:
The LORD is a passionate, avenging God;
The LORD is vengeful and fierce in wrath.
The LORD takes vengeance on His enemies,
He rages against His foes.
His way is in whirlwind and storm,
and the clouds are the dust of his feet.
Nahum 1:3b

14. Nahum
5: The mountains quake because of Him, And the hills
melt. The earth heaves before Him, The world and all that
dwell therein.
7-8: The LORD is good to [those who hope in Him], A
haven on a day of distress; He is mindful of those who
seek refuge in Him. And with a sweeping flood He makes
an end of her place, And chases His enemies into
darkness.
Nahum
5: The mountains quake because of Him, And the hills
melt. The earth heaves before Him, The world and all that
dwell therein.
7-8: The LORD is good to [those who hope in Him], A
haven on a day of distress; He is mindful of those who
seek refuge in Him. And with a sweeping flood He makes
an end of her place, And chases His enemies into
darkness.
Nahum
5: The mountains quake because of Him, And the hills
melt. The earth heaves before Him, The world and all that
dwell therein.

15. 5: The mountains quake because of Him, And
the hills melt. The earth heaves before Him, The
world and all that dwell therein.
7-8: The LORD is good to [those who hope in
Him], A haven on a day of distress; He is mindful
of those who seek refuge in Him. And with a
sweeping flood He makes an end of her place,
And chases His enemies into darkness.
7-8: The LORD is good to [those who hope in
Him], A haven on a day of distress; He is mindful
of those who seek refuge in Him. And with a
sweeping flood He makes an end of her place,
And chases His enemies into darkness.

16. Nahum
Behold, upon the mountains, the feet of him
who brings good news,
who publishes peace!
Keep your feasts, O Judah;
fulfill your vows,
for never again shall the worthless pass through you;
he is utterly cut off.
And a thought in Isaiah and Nahum
reflected on in Romans

17. One punch and Nineveh will go down for the
count
The prophet Nahum predicted the destruction of Nineveh in the book that bears his
name. The following items were to be a part of the destruction of that great city:
see http://www.padfield.com/1996/nineveh.html
1 An "overflowing flood" would "make an utter end of its place" (Nah. 1:8)
2 Nineveh would be destroyed while her inhabitants were "drunken like
drunkards" (Nah. 1:10)
The rivers overflowed
A section of a wall over 2 miles long fell
The father of Nebuchadnezzar goes in
with his army and Nabopolassar takes the city
Nabopolassar

18. There will be flood
There will be fire
There will be fear
The palace walls will fall
The armies of Nineveh flee
The city did fall by flood
And what of the fire?
The river gates are opened; the palace melts away;
Nahum 2:6

19. 3 Nineveh would be unprotected because "fire shall devour the bars of your
gates" (Nah. 3:13)
4 Nineveh would never recover, for their "injury has no healing" (Nah. 3:19)
5 The downfall of Nineveh would come with remarkable ease, like figs falling
when the tree is shaken (Nah. 3:12)
see http://www.padfield.com/1996/nineveh.html
The judgement will be final
The King had much of his
riches put in his palace
and burnt it so it could not
be taken
hence both flood and fire

20. In 612 B.C. Nabopolassar united the Babylonian army with an
army of Medes and Scythians and led a campaign which
captured the Assyrian citadels in the North. The Babylonian
army laid siege to Nineveh, but the walls of the city were too
strong for battering rams, so they decided to try and starve
the people out.
see http://www.padfield.com/1996/nineveh.html
Nebuchadnezzar’s father
attacks the city

21. A famous oracle had been given that "Nineveh should never
be taken until the river became its enemy." After a three
month siege, "rain fell in such abundance that the waters of
the Tigris inundated part of the city and overturned one of its
walls for a distance of twenty stades.
see http://www.padfield.com/1996/nineveh.html

22. Then the King, convinced that the oracle was accomplished
and despairing of any means of escape, to avoid falling alive
into the enemy's hands constructed in his palace an immense
funeral pyre, placed on it his gold and silver and his royal
robes, and then, shutting himself up with his wives and
eunuchs in a chamber formed in the midst of the pile,
disappeared in the flames.
see http://www.padfield.com/1996/nineveh.html

23. Nineveh opened its gates to the besiegers, but this tardy
submission did not save the proud city. It was pillaged and
burned, and then razed to the ground so completely as to
evidence the implacable hatred enkindled in the minds of
subject nations by the fierce and cruel Assyrian
government." (Lenormant and E. Chevallier, The Rise and
Fall of Assyria).
see http://www.padfield.com/1996/nineveh.html

24. The whole book is a foretaste
• of the gospel of mercy
• of the crisis of judgement

25. Through the whole account there is
also mention of mercy
•Nahum’s name means comfort
•The Lord is a safe refuge for those
who fear Him
•Beautiful are the feet of those who
announce good news

26. Nineveh will be like ripe figs on a tree
falling into a mouth
Nahum 3

27. Jonah ends on a note of God showing mercy.
There is no easing your hurt; your wound is grievous.
All who hear the news about you clap their hands over
you. For upon whom has not come your unceasing
evil?
Nahum 3:19
Nahum ends with judgement falling

28. Zephaniah adds a message of finality
And he will stretch out his hand against the north and destroy
Assyria, and he will make Nineveh a desolation, a dry waste like
the desert.
Zephaniah 2:13
It’s dry and it’s a dessert
Nineveh is near modern Mosul

29. even less stands today (post ISIS)