THE BOOK OF NAHUM

Lesson 7, Chapter 3

We completed the first 2 chapters of Nahum the last time we met. Chapter 2 opened with the vision of a sentinel bringing a message of good news to the people of Judah. In Nahum’s time and for centuries later, such an image would have been in the minds of the Judeans as a messenger sent from an Israelite army general to tell the people of Jerusalem and Judah that Israel had won the battle. Only much later did this message change from being one of deliverance from a foreign invader or oppressor to the coming of a spiritual Savior.

Part of the good news that was brought was that with the defeat of Assyria will come a full and uninterrupted resumption of the Shabbat, the biblical feasts and appointed times, sacrificing and even the submission of vow offerings. The Book of Ezekiel tells modern times God Worshippers that once Yeshua returns, this will happen again; and in quite detailed language in the final 8 chapters of his book.

To end chapter 2, the oracle of God to Nahum makes it clear that Assyria’s demise will be total and final. The Assyrian Empire will never rise again. Within this judgment is also the message that the cause of God’s harsh judgment on Assyria is twofold: 1) Assyria was brutal, violent, used its power to take whatever it wanted, and had no fear of the God of Israel. And 2), they oppressed Israel, using that violent brutality against them, and even after sending the prophet Jonah many decades earlier to offer them a chance to repent (which they did for a short time), Nineveh had returned to their brutality against the Israelites.

What we also see is that what God ordained against Assyria was a rule… a pattern… for all nations who did the same as Assyria. Even if that Assyria-like nation was not a direct oppressor of Israel, God would still judge them for it. But… if they WERE an oppressor of Israel in the same brutality, then the judgment would be even more harsh and final. Bottom line: the nations that have continually brutalized and attacked Israel since their rebirth as a nation in 1948, are going to be decimated by Yehoveh. Without doubt, as I present this lesson, Iran is the chief brutalist over Israel and has been for decades. Their fate… now or later… will be horrendous.

As we move on to Nahum chapter 3, this is the longest chapter of this short book. Nahum sort of reframes and summarizes what is going to happen to Assyria; both the reasons for it, and what it is going to result in. It is again reiterated that God’s wrath will be final and permanent upon Assyria. The images we get of the catastrophe Assyria will suffer are most vivid and frank. Let’s read Nahum chapter 3.

READ NAHUM CHAPTER 3 all

The first word to open this chapter is, most appropriately, woe. In Hebrew it is hoy. Hoy is used in a couple of different ways in the Bible. It is used in funeral processions, especially by the paid mourners, as a lament. And it is used as an ominous cry of a realization that something bad is about to happen, or something bad is already happening. In a message such as this one in Nahum, it is that of God’s doom upon a people.

Yehoveh declares an epithet upon Nineveh: in His eyes they are the city of bloodshed. That is, bloodshed is their identity. It is not just something they do, it is something they are. At least they are to God, and in the end that is all that really matters. It is something all God Worshippers need to take to heart not just on a national scale but also a personal one as well. What is our identity before God? It is that which will determine our ultimate fate. While I won’t again quote the passage, one of the better places to see this same principle in action is Matthew chapter 7 when Yeshua warns that just because a person claims Him; and just because they claim to do good works in Him; and just because they attend services regularly and even seem like good people, that doesn’t not mean that He acknowledges them. It comes down to a sincere mind that obeys what His Father commands. Those who do not do this, despite whatever they want to call themselves, are called “lawless”, and as a result Yeshua says, “I never knew you”.

Nineveh (Assyria) was lawless. Their identity was as the lawless. They were full of lies (Thou shalt not lie) and full of robbery (Thou shall not steal) and were a city of bloodshed (Thou shall not murder). Here are 3 basic commandments of God that Nineveh not only disobeyed, but their practices grew to such of a scope that it characterized their general behavior. Once a general behavior becomes a characterization of a group or a person, that becomes their identity. Actually, most English versions of verse 1, miss a vital point. The words that are usually translated as “full of” lies, is in Hebrew kullah kahas(h), which most accurately means “all of her a lie”. That is, a person can be full of cancer, but obviously not every part of that person is cancerous, and therefore the person does not become a cancer as his or hers identity. Rather, “full of” to us means “lots” or it has spread. But “all of” means entirely or nearly entirely, and that’s what we must understand. “All” is a greater degree than “full of”, so these words are not synonyms. Nineveh had become a Sodom-like enemy of God, and so would suffer a Sodom-like destruction from which there would be no return.

The final part of verse 1 says that “her prey never departs” (the CJB is so far off the mark that it isn’t helpful). However, “her prey never departs” is pretty awkward and hard to make sense of. Something like “it (meaning Nineveh) is never without prey” is what it means. In an irony, Nineveh herself is about to become as prey. The proud Ashurbanipal is recorded as saying: “The whole territory of my land in its entirety is filled to its farthest border with tribute and booty”.

Verses 2 and 3 simply must be read together in order to have the full dramatic effect that is intended (and, without doubt) never should have been separated into 2 verses to begin with!

CJB Nahum 3:2-3 2 The crack of the whip! The rattle of wheels! Galloping horses, jolting chariots, 3 cavalry charging, swords flashing, spears glittering- and hosts of slain, heaps of bodies; there is no end to the corpses; they stumble over their corpses.

While the CJB might not be the most literal, it does a very good job of translating this verse in a way discernable by Western ears and to help grasp the effect that Nahum is trying to achieve. We get this long series of abrupt, staccato descriptions…sights and sounds… of the scene inside of Nineveh as the battle for the city begins in earnest. All these things are happening at once; the sounds becoming mixed together into a violent symphony. It is chaotic and desperate. It reminds one so well of a passage from the Song of Debrah where it speaks of the demise of Sisera.

CJB Judges 5:27 He sank down at her feet, he fell and lay there; he sank at her feet, he fell- where he sank down, there he fell dead.

The Song of Deborah and Nahum are Hebrew poetry; and so, the way accents are used along with these rapid-fire, short phrases, creates a mood and a tone to engross the hearer. It is the chaos of war. The graphic quality we see in Nahum’s writing is gripping; perhaps nothing in the entire Bible exceeds it! These are the sounds of battle in his era. For the civilians, it must have been terrifying. Nahum essentially positions himself as an eyewitness; an observer watching all this happen and then reporting it like a war correspondent. It is interesting that we will find very similar wording and other parallels to what we’re reading here in the Book of Habakkuk, which again emphasis the close interplay that many of these Prophets had with one another either in person, or the later Prophet borrowing from the writings of the earlier.

“Hosts of the slain, heaps of bodies” Nahum reports. Clearly the enemy is now inside of Nineveh’s walls. The living stumble over the dead and dying. As in Egypt when God’s wrath over that nation left nearly every home of the Egyptians with corpses, death was a veil… a fog… that covered wherever one stood. Let’s not get caught up in what Babylon was doing to Assyria. This is God exercising His wrath using Babylon as His instrument. The death sentence He passed upon Assyria was inescapable. Would not the wise person see the folly and pain that is happening because of resistance to God’s will and His deliverance? And yet, it happens this way to this day, and the vast majority of the world’s population and their nations sets themselves up for just this scenario. Listen to Revelation speak of the repeat of what we’re reading here.

CJB Revelation 9:20-21 20 The rest of mankind, those who were not killed by these plagues, even then did not turn from what they had made with their own hands- they did not stop worshipping demons and idols made of gold, silver, bronze, stone and wood, which cannot see or hear or walk. 21 Nor did they turn from their murdering, their involvement with the occult and with drugs, their sexual immorality or their stealing.

Verses 4 and 5 are another pairing that should have remained as one verse. Reading the first without the second interrupts the scene.

CJB Nahum 3:4-5 4 "Because of the continual whoring of this whore, this alluring mistress of sorcery, who sells nations with her whoring and families with her sorcery; 5 I am against you," says Yehoveh-Tzva'ot. "I will uncover your skirts on your face; I will show the nations your private parts and the kingdoms your shame.

Nineveh is characterized as a zonah: a prostitute, a whore. This glorious and sparkling city is being compared to a seductive harlot. She dazzled and drew in the unsuspecting. Nations wanted what Nineveh offered just as men lusted after what the whore offered. Not all of the nations of the Assyrian Empire were taken by force. Some were glad to become allies and part of the Empire, because of what seemed like the best path to advance themselves. But this treacherous friendship Assyria offered was a mirage. Like a lying politician seeking votes, the implications and promises of being attached to them were like fresh bait. The smaller nations were happy to bite at it. Again, in the End Times, will we encounter this same situation, and so the Bible uses the same sort of characterizations of the evil that is perpetrating such infidelity towards God.

CJB Revelation 17:1–5 Then came one of the angels with the seven bowls; and he said to me, "Come, I will show you the judgment of the great whore who is sitting by many waters. 2 The kings of the earth went whoring with her, and the people living on earth have become drunk from the wine of her whoring." 3 He carried me off in the Spirit to a desert, and I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast filled with blasphemous names and having seven heads and ten horns. 4 The woman was dressed in purple and scarlet and glittered with gold, precious stones and pearls. In her hand was a gold cup filled with the obscene and filthy things produced by her whoring. 5 On her forehead was written a name with a hidden meaning, BAVEL THE GREAT MOTHER OF WHORES AND OF THE EARTH'S OBSCENITIES.

Nineveh was the named personification of evil in Nahum’s day. Babel (or Babylon) is the name personifying the same thing in the End Times. Thus, both are called whores. Assyria and Babel are successful at first, because they are so alluring. They hide or twist the truth; they don’t express the truth. They are also as prostitutes because they are not faithful; their love is bought and sold. As concerns prostitutes that are sorcerers, they are not faithful to God. Rather they turn to a different master using their witchcraft. It’s the other master that has given them their wealth and power, in exchange for their loyalty to him. And, then others see it, rationalize it, and adopt it themselves hoping to achieve the same results. As Hitzig said it a long time ago, the word for the sorcery that is used by Nineveh is in Hebrew Kas(h)apim, and it means secret wiles, which, like magical arts, do not come to light in themselves, but only in their effects.

It is interesting: evil in the form of sin is as often as not beautiful to look at and can bring instant gratification. Yes, evil can win battles. Wickedness can lead to riches and advantages. Agreeing to give in to these sinful things can often bring great pleasure. If it did otherwise, people wouldn’t be so prone to do it. In Western society, the most godless, immoral people can be the most admired if they are supremely wealthy or popular. The wicked Prosperity Doctrine that drives some Church branches is, indeed, that alluring harlot, which claims that the wealthier a person is, must be the measure of how godly they are, because God has blessed them with such material riches, proportionally to faith in Him. So, let’s do what they do, since we want what they have. In reality, according to the Scriptures, those who chase after such a path are harlots themselves because they cannot also be faithful to God at the same time.

CJB Matthew 6:24 No one can be slave to two masters; for he will either hate the first and love the second, or scorn the second and be loyal to the first. You can't be a slave to both God and money.

God’s position on these whoring nations, groups, and individuals begins verse 5: “I am against you”. The first word is hinneh, which is “behold” or “indeed”. It is an expression that here means “pay attention”. “I am against you” is immediately followed by who this “I” is; it is Yehoveh of hosts. The Hebrew tzva’ot that translates to hosts is meant in the military, Holy War sense. We actually find this term first used in the Bible in 1Samuel, and in Joshua,we find special reference to tzvah, the commander of the army of Yehoveh.

CJB Joshua 5:13-15 13 One day, when Y'hoshua was there by Yericho, he raised his eyes and looked; and in front of him stood a man with his drawn sword in his hand. Y'hoshua went over to him and asked him, "Are you on our side or on the side of our enemies?" 14 "No," he replied, "but I am the commander of Yehoveh's army; I have come just now." Y'hoshua fell down with his face to the ground and worshipped him, then asked, "What does my lord have to say to his servant?" 15 The commander of Yehoveh’s army answered Y'hoshua, "Take your sandals off your feet, because the place where you are standing is holy." And Y'hoshua did so.

Thus, the prophet adds the element of the cosmic powers to what is happening with Nineveh. In Holy War, the army of Heaven (warrior angels) are involved, along with those humans on earth who are fighting on the side of God in His battle with the enemy (and Holy War is always about Israel in both the historical and spiritual realms). Notice, going back to the very beginning of Nahum, that over and over God invokes the personal pronoun “I” to emphasize His direct involvement.

When we read that “I”, Yehoveh, will uncover your skirts, it is not uncovering “on” your face as the CJB has it, but rather it is “over” your face. This is an ancient Middle Eastern expression that is about shame. So, this is just what it sounds like; Nineveh, personified as a female, will have her skirt pulled up over her head by God. Therefore, it is not the skirt that is being uncovered, nor is it the face being covered over by the skirt, but rather it’s about what is under the skirt. To have one’s private parts be exposed by pulling up the skirt is really the closer meaning of the term nakedness in the Bible. That is what Adam and Eve each had covered over in the Garden of Eden by God when their sin opened their eyes such that they realized they were naked, so God made coverings for them to hide their private parts.

We must attempt to grasp the strong negative status of shame in those types of shame and honor societies, of which virtually all societies in Nahum’s day were. Shame is an intolerable social status. Shame is the worst of the worst and it does NOT mean to be ashamed, which only expresses an emotional reaction (mostly about guilt). A person in the status of shame is shunned by people. That shamed person contaminates their entire family with shame. Thus, parents would even kill their own children (usually daughters) if the daughter caused the social status of shame upon herself. The word “guilt” plays no role in the matter of shame. It is hard for people in the West to understand this, but shame and honor are the underlying basis of society for most of the Arab world today, and especially for the Arab-Muslim world.

So, what God is doing here is to put shame on Assyria. One of the things that is so fascinating about this, is that ever since Israel came back as a nation in 1948, and as small as they are, they have fended off the entire Muslim and Arab world, even winning territory from Jordan, Syria, and Lebanon, such that those people they keep defeating speak of this as “catastrophe”. They call it Nakba. And for these people and nations, the catastrophe is that they have felt themselves personally and nationally “shamed” and that is one of the main reasons for their never-ending wars against Israel. Until they defeat Israel, they will (in their own eyes) remain in a condition of shame, which they cannot tolerate. I hope this helps you to understand the enormity of what we are reading here in Nahum about “uncovering your skirts”. The people of Nahum’s day would have gasped in horror at this. It’s not just about Assyria being defeated; it’s about being plunged into a permanent condition of shame from which they cannot escape.

And the final words of Chapter 3 verse 5 verify what I just told you, when it says: “I will show the nations your private parts and the kingdoms your shame.” Obviously, the pulling up the skirt and showing the private parts is but a Middle Eastern expression, and it is not literal. Since God is a God of patterns, then His treatment of Assyria is not unique. When we read Isaiah about the future of Babylon (and, for now, this was a historical happening, but it will happen again in the End Times), strikingly similar words are used.

CJB Isaiah 47:1–3 "Come down, and sit in the dust, you virgin daughter of Bavel! Sit on the ground, not on a throne, daughter of the Kasdim! No longer are you to be called dainty and delicate. 2 Take the millstones, and grind meal; take off your veil, strip off your skirt, uncover your legs, wade through the streams. 3 Your private parts will be exposed; yes, your shame will be seen. I am going to take vengeance, and no one will stand in my way."

In the end, the way God sees this matter of Assyria, Babylon, and all of God’s national enemies, is that they are committing harlotry. The harlotry is at least partly to do with their idolatry. Harlotry and idolatry go hand in hand. Thus, God classifies such nations (and on occasion, individuals) as zonah… prostitutes.

CJB Nahum 3:6-7 6 I will pelt you with disgusting filth, disgrace you and make a spectacle of you. 7 Then all who see you will recoil from you; they will say, 'Ninveh is destroyed!' Who will mourn for her? Where can I find people to comfort you?"

I just read 2 verses together because they are meant to be read that way… there is no credible reason to divide this long statement into halves and assign each a verse number. They are to be coupled together for the sake of context. Notice, again, the use of the word “I” when the words are coming from God. That is, He, personally, will cause this pelting of Assyria with filth. Let’s talk for a moment about the Hebrew word that is commonly translated as “filth”. The word (in the form used here in Nahum) is s(h)iqqus(h)im. For those who are reading, please note that I have added the letter “h” in parenthesis after the “s” for this word (and did so for a couple of other words today). The “h” or “heh” in Hebrew isn’t there. Rather, I’m simply demonstrating that the letter “s” is pronounced in two different ways in Hebrew, and each has its own meaning. Sometimes the “s” is just the simple, typical English way of saying “s” … as in the words Sam or sod or super. This reflects the Hebrew letter called “seen”. On the other hand, the exact same Hebrew letter can be pronounced like “sh” in English. For instance, as in the words she, shop, or shoot. When it is meant to be vocalized like this, the letter is called “sheen”. The difference is important because how that letter is vocalized makes a big difference in what that word means. I won’t be doing this too many times, but only as a teaching point and a reminder… as well as an explanation of why I will vocalize an “s” word a certain way at any given time.

S(h)iqqus(h)im is meant to be associated with paganism. It is used in a few different ways in the Old Testament, but it always has to do with something Yehoveh views as an abomination before Him. It can also be used directly as meaning excrement… animal or human. But, keep in mind, the word (when translated into filth), doesn’t mean it like when you were young, have been playing outside, and you come running into the house and your mother tells you to take a bath because you are filthy. In the West, filthy can and more often does mean you have dirt or grease or some typical and natural substance on you that needs to be washed off. It can also mean something that is immoral or disgusting to us. That is not how the Bible means it. Therefore, as concerns God and the Hebrews, when this word is used it adds the element of being ritually unclean. This makes it a strong word with a spiritual element to it. Next, when the verse says that “I will make a spectacle of you”, it is in relation to exposing Assyria’s shame. That is, Assyria won’t be able to hide it. Rather, it will become known everywhere because God is going to make sure that it does.

In verse 7, the gist of it is this: the entire world will be shocked, if not disgusted, at what Assyrian has become. The thought behind “then all who see you will recoil from you” is the ironic reversal of Assyria’s fortunes. At one time, all who saw Assyria fled from them out of fear. Now the same who fled from fear, will flee them in the sense of shunning something that disgusts them. No one associates with a person that is shamed. Assyria as a nation having been shamed, brings on the equivalent reaction from its neighbors.

As a sidenote; this is only the 3rd time in the Book of Nahum that the word Nineveh has been explicitly used. Rather, all other references to Nineveh are implied, and so some Bible versions add the word. And the reality is that since Nineveh actually stands for all the Assyrian Empire, then any reference or implication to Assyria or Nineveh is speaking of the same thing. This is pretty common in the Holy Scriptures whether they be written in prose or poetry. In retrospect, we also see that Assyria and Nineveh have turned into inherently negative terms. There is nothing good or moral to say about them. The same thing will eventually happen to Babylon, and even though centuries will pass after the rise and fall of the Babylonian Empire, even late into the New Testament the sheer mention of Babylon is meant to be purely negative. Nothing else needs to be added to the words Assyria, Nineveh or Babylon to explain that these are negative terms because there is nothing positive to say about them. They personify evil… belial… in every instance.

The second half of verse 7 asks the rather rhetorical question of who will mourn for Nineveh’s destruction, and who will offer Nineveh comfort? The expected answer is, of course, no one! The meaning is so self-explanatory that I don’t need to spend any more time with it. Here’s the thing: Nineveh and Assyria seemed to be beyond touchable by any human terms. No nation seemed to be powerful enough to resist her aggression and control. Egypt managed to make some gains far to the south, but not for long. Babylon also resisted Assyria and had limited success. But then God stepped in. He put Assyria on trial, judged her as guilty, and the sentence was death.

I ran across an old prayer by John Calvin that must be aimed at leadership. After reading Nahum to this point, there is a great lesson to be learned, and principle to be embraced. So, whatever position of leadership you may hold… family, business, congregation, or government… this is for you.

“Grant, Almighty God, that as we have now heard of punishments so dreadful denounced on all tyrants and plunderers, this warning may keep us within the limits of justice, so that none of us may abuse our power to oppress the innocent, but on the contrary, strive to benefit one another, and wholly regulate ourselves according the rule of equity.”

As we move on to verse 8, the Egyptian city of No-Amon is used as an example.

CJB Nahum 3:8 Are you any better than No-Amon, located among the streams of the Nile, with water all around her, the flood her wall of defense?

I’ll just spend a moment to speak again about the structure of the next few verses that can only be seen in their original Hebrew form. I do this to keep at the forefront of your minds that we are dealing throughout Nahum with Hebrew poetry, and there are nuances to it that only in fairly recent times have they been discovered. We first delved into this in the Introduction to Nahum, so now here is yet another uniquely Hebrew aspect to it.

Verses 3 – 8 form a canto. That is, it is unified section of this poem. Structurally, it is presented in what can be called a Menorah pattern. That is, there are 7 lines of poetry that revolve around a center point. A 3-1-3 arrangement, with the “1” being the center point and then 3 lines on each side it. For the sake of demonstration and clarity, I will use the way Duane Christensen presented it as it is the easiest to see. I will use the letters A, B, and C to denote a line of poetry on each side of the center point: and the letter X to identify that center point verse.

Vs. 8 is A. “To Nineveh: are you better than No-Amon on the Nile?”

Vs. 9 is B. No-Amon had a strong ally in Cush who “was her strength”.

Vs. 10a is C. She went into captivity with her infants dashed into pieces.

Vs. 10b is X. (the center point). The leaders of No-Amon were carried away in chains.

Vs. 11 is C’. Nineveh is addressed: You will become drunk and seek refuge.

Vs. 12 is B’. Your fortresses will fall like first-ripe figs to be eaten

Vs. 13 is A’. To Nineveh: “Look at your people… they are like women”.

Here’s the thing: clearly this structure is meant to gain the attention of Israelites by using a structural pattern that mimics the branch pattern of the Temple Menorah. Why? Because as much as this is all about Nineveh and the Assyrians absolute destruction, at the same time it is a great encouragement especially to the people of Judah. Do not think this changes the meaning if we don’t see this pattern. However, it certainly does change the emphasis and highlights the benefactors of God’s actions. It is my opinion that in our End Times future, we will see this same pattern played out but with different names assigned. That is, as in the opening line, A, we could say: “To the nations: are you better than Babylon?” Then B: “Babylon had a strong ally in the Medes who was her strength”. C: Babylon went into captivity with her infants dashed into pieces. X: (the center point) The leaders of the nations were put into chains and carried away. And so on.

This will only mean something to God’s Worshippers, and only when we are made aware of it. We can depend upon God and upon His patterns to explain what is, and what is coming. And poetic structures like Nahum’s can impress upon us that all is going to be done for the sake of Israel. As Paul said:

CJB Romans 11:25-27 25 For, brothers, I want you to understand this truth which God formerly concealed but has now revealed, so that you won't imagine you know more than you actually do. It is that stoniness, to a degree, has come upon Isra'el, until the Gentile world enters in its fullness; 26 and that it is in this way that all Isra'el will be saved. As the Tanakh says, "Out of Tziyon will come the Redeemer; he will turn away ungodliness from Ya'akov 27 and this will be my covenant with them, … when I take away their sins."

Truthfully, there is even more amazing structure to verses 8 – 13, which I’ll let you explore on your own if you would like to. Very briefly, it is that there is also an inherent pattern in the way Hebrew is vocalized in poetry, and it is called SAS units. That is Syntactical Accent Stress. Terrible name; but all it really means is how many syllables are accented within a word or a phrase. So, in Nahum’s super-complex poetry, it was constructed also employing a system of adding up the number of accented syllables that exist in a line of poetry and then creating a recognizable pattern out of it. And, amazingly, this SAS pattern also is absolutely perfect in this Menorah pattern of verses 8 – 13. So, those who have scoffed in the past (and who still do) at the reality of how Hebrew poetry is structured need to think again. It matters in proper Bible understanding, interpretation, and instruction.

The city of No-Amon was later renamed to Thebes. Today, it is called Luxor. It lies along the Nile River. I have had the privilege to visit this place, and it is one of the most impressive ruins I have even seen. This verse opens with a question: are you (Nineveh) better than No-Amon. To be more succinct in what it is asking, it probably ought to be worded “are you superior to No-Amon?” It feels like a rhetorical question that is to be answered with a yes or no, but we can’t really do that here. In one sense, the answer could be yes because, indeed, Assyria defeated No-Amon and brought it into Assyria’s sphere of influence. But, in another sense, the answer is “no” because Assyria is going to suffer the same fate as No-Amon. So, in the end, we can best understand the point of this short question as: will you, Nineveh, have a better fate than No-Amon?”

Interestingly, the city name of No-Amon means “the city of the god Amon”. And the meaning of the name Assyria is “the people of the god, Asshur”. So, the names of these two places are both directly tied to pagan gods. Not surprisingly, we find Yehoveh defeating those 2 gods and the city and nation named for them. And, equally not surprising, we find the matter of water as a protective defensive barrier for both Nineveh and No-Amon. Yet, in the end, that water didn’t save either one of them. So, for the prophet’s words to use No-Amon as the foil in this poem fits about as perfectly as it gets. This is merely highlighted with the final words of verse 8: located among the streams of the Nile, with water all around her, the flood her wall of defense?

Here’s what we’ll conclude today’s lesson with: those who do not learn from history are destined to repeat it. Do you struggle with a lack of humility, and so it seems God is always humbling you? Then you haven’t yet learned the lesson. Do national leaders think the measure of their nation is mostly about wealth and the size of their military? Then they haven’t yet learned the lesson that this is not enough; justice and morality are even more important. Clearly, the Assyrians were so high and mighty that they had yet to the learn the lessons of history, just as No-Amon had not; therefore, they would share the consequences of their pride making them unteachable.