Today's Word Radio

Brett Meador: When the Lord is against you and he says he’s going to destroy you, and I’ve got to tell you, the gospel is so beautiful because we realize the Lord doesn’t want to destroy anybody. But if you really want to be rebellious against the Lord, he will destroy you.

Kurt: Pastor Brett Meador with a reminder though the Lord is slow to anger, he’s also great in power. And unless you repent and turn from your sins and say, “Lord, forgive me for those sins,” which the Lord is hoping you’ll do—he is everything but forcing you to do that—but if you want to really be destroyed, then you will be destroyed.

The prophet Nahum exposed how Nineveh, the once powerful and feared capital of the Assyrian Empire, became subject to God’s just judgment. As our look into the book of Nahum continues, we’re reminded that through the eyes of God, no one is beyond accountability. Pastor Brett Meador reminds us through our study of today’s word how the Lord alone is sovereign over all.

Brett Meador: So I told you chapter one is the destruction of Nineveh is decreed, but chapter two is the destruction of Nineveh is described for us in verse 1 through 13. It says in verse one: “He that dasheth in pieces is come up before thy face: keep the munition, watch the way, make thy loins strong, fortify thy power mightily. For the Lord hath turned away the excellency of Jacob, as the excellency of Israel: for the emptiers have emptied them out, and marred their vine branches.”

Basically, this is the Lord saying, even as you marred the branches of the vine of Israel, so will Nineveh, your branches be marred is what he’s saying there. Verse three: “The shield of his mighty men is made red (that is with blood). The valiant men are in scarlet: the chariots shall be with flaming torches in the day of his preparation, and the fir trees shall be terribly shaken. The chariots shall rage in the streets, they shall jostle one against another in the broad ways: they shall seem like torches, they shall run like the lightnings.”

Do you guys remember in the movie Ben-Hur, the chariot race scene? One of the most amazing scenes in all of movie history, I have to say. But one of the things that they stole from the Assyrians, actually, in that movie was, remember when the guys came out with the chariots and they had the blades sticking out of their wheel hub and try to hack up the wheels of the other guy? And if it was successful, the chariot would just high side or whatever and throw the occupants out. The Assyrians were the ones who did that. They were the ones who put the blades on their chariot wheels. They’re the first ones who did that and that was kind of the language when you read the ancient Hebrew of this.

When it says in verse four, “The chariots shall rage in the streets, they shall jostle one against another in the broad ways,” that’s what that’s talking about. So basically it’s saying mayhem is going to be happening on the city of Nineveh with the chariots and all that, the flaming torches and blood splattering everywhere. We also see who these Assyrians are in verse five.

It says: “He shall recount his worthies: they shall stumble in their walk; they shall make haste to the wall thereof, and the defense shall be prepared. The gates of the rivers shall be opened, and the palace shall be dissolved.” Remember when I read about the flooding, the historical account? That’s where the walls dissolved by the water, the clay brick that the city was built on was deteriorated by the flood, and that’s why the gates failed. And the word dissolved there is a good word.

Verse seven: “And Huzzab shall be led away captive, she shall be brought up, and her maids shall lead her as with the voice of doves, tabering upon their breasts. But Nineveh is of old like a pool of water: they shall flee away, stand, stand, shall they cry; but none shall look back.” So people are going to be running for their lives. The idea is also there’s going to be pillaging and plundering like in verse eight they shall flee away and stand away.

Verse nine: “Take ye the spoil of silver, and take the spoil of gold: for there is none end of the store and glory out of the pleasant furniture. She is empty, and void, and waste: and the heart melteth, and the knees smite together, and much pain is in all loins, and the faces of them all gather blackness.” So this is just speaking of the horrible destruction. If you could picture it, they put it quite colorfully here.

Verse 11: “Where is the dwelling of the lions, and the feeding place of the young lions, where the lion, even the old lion, walked, and the lion’s whelp, and none made them afraid? The lion did tear in pieces enough for his whelps, and strangled for his lionesses, and filled his holes with prey, and his dens with ravin. Behold, I am against thee, saith the Lord of hosts, and I will burn her chariots in the smoke, and the sword shall devour thy young lions: and I will cut off thy prey from the earth, and the voice of thy messengers shall be no more heard.”

So basically, they were walking around like lions, they had it all dialed in, but the Lord says, “But I’m going to wipe you out and you’re going to be destroyed.” One more historical account, this comes from R. Campbell Thompson and R.W. Hutchinson in a work called "A Century of Exploration at Nineveh" from 1929 the writings. Nineveh would be destroyed by fire. Archaeological excavations at Nineveh had revealed charred wood, charcoal, and ashes.

There was no question about the clear traces of burning in the temple as also the palace of Sennacherib for a layer of ash about two inches thick lay clearly defined in the palaces on the southeast side of the level of Sargon’s pavement. So verse 13 says, “I am the Lord, and I will burn her chariots in the smoke, and the sword shall be devoured.” This is all part of the description—the burning of fire, the flooding with water—all accounted for. When the Lord is against you and he says he’s going to destroy you, he’s going to do that.

And I’ve got to tell you, the gospel is so beautiful because we realize the Lord doesn’t want to destroy anybody. But if you really want to be rebellious against the Lord, he will destroy you if you really want that. And you’ll feel like a lion—“I’m an atheist, man, I know what I’m doing, I’m smart, I’m an intellectual”—and you think you’re a lion. But the Lord’s saying, “Yeah, but you’re a sinner who’s going to be destroyed unless you repent and turn from your sins and say, ‘Lord, forgive me for those sins,’” which the Lord is hoping you’ll do, he’s everything but forcing you to do that.

But if you want to really be destroyed, then you will be destroyed. And man, we could go on and talk about where we are personally, but also corporately as a nation. Because unless we repent nationally, I’m worried about where we’re going and what our future holds. The Lord, in seeing the destruction of Nineveh, I can’t really see any reason why God wouldn’t eventually say the United States, time’s up, just like he described here of destruction.

But you say, “Well, Brett, I don’t know, man, this is pretty brutal.” Well, this final chapter will help us understand why the Lord finally said time’s up. So we have the destruction of Nineveh is decreed, number one. The destruction of Nineveh is described, number two, there in chapter two. But number three, the destruction of Nineveh is deserved, and that’s this final chapter. Verses one through three, they deserve because of their cruelty. You can jot that down in your notes: The destruction of Nineveh is deserved because of their cruelty.

Look at verse one: “Woe to the bloody city! it is all full of lies and robbery; the prey departeth not; the noise of a whip, and the noise of the rattling of the wheels, and of the prancing horses, and of the jumping chariots. The horseman lifteth up both the bright sword and the glittering spear: and there is a multitude of slain, and a great number of carcasses; and there is none end of their corpses; they stumble upon their corpses.”

We’ve got to remember that there’s a bigger picture than just this world and this life and the ugliness of war and sin. God is righteous and somehow it’s going to come out in the wash. And when we all go and stand before the Lord, we won’t say that was unfair. Understand, the Lord is going to say vengeance is mine. And honestly, you definitely don’t want to be certain people in history when God targets you for the evil that you did.

It’s all going to come out in the wash, even people that were killed unfairly, I think the Lord is going to be able to restore eternally. So we see the destruction of Nineveh that’s deserved because of cruelty. They paraded their weapons and their power, that’s verse one and two. Verse three, so many dead people you stumble on them. By the way, there’s historical battles—World War I, they just threw millions of people in the meat grinder just to kill up millions of soldiers just piled up. You were literally walking on dead bodies in the foxholes. This is kind of biblically what the Bible’s saying about Nineveh, there would just be dead bodies everywhere. Really sad.

So because of their cruelty, the Lord says you’re going to be toast. Verse four, that brings us to the second section, because of their carnality the Lord’s going to judge them. Look at verse four: “Because of the multitude of the whoredoms of the well-favored harlot, the mistress of witchcrafts, that selleth nations through her whoredoms, and families through her witchcrafts. Behold, I am against thee, saith the Lord of hosts; and I will discover thy skirts upon thy face, and I will show the nations thy nakedness, and the kingdoms thy shame.

And I will cast abominable filth upon thee, and make thee vile, and will set thee as a gazingstock.” In other words, you’ll stand there just to be people to look at you and go, “Whoa.” Something that seemed so alluring, something that seems so attractive, is now become so vile. Verse seven: “And it shall come to pass, that all they that look upon thee shall flee from thee, and say, Nineveh is laid waste: who will bemoan her? whence shall I seek comforters for thee?” So because of their carnality, there was harlotry, witchcraft, the idea is sexual perversion, sexual immorality, that’s the idea here. So Nineveh was a place of great cruelty and violence, but also carnality of sinfulness.

But number three on the list of things why they deserve to be destroyed is because of their stupidity. Check out verse eight: “Art thou better than populous No?” Now you’re saying, “Brett, wait a minute, what? Is it read that way?” No, but it should be read this way: “Art thou better than populous No?” What do you mean, Brett? What’s the difference? Yes or no, is God asking a rhetorical question? No. He’s talking about No, the city of No.

As it turns out, it was a city of Thebes in Egypt. And this is something you might miss because about thirty-something years before Nineveh was destroyed, there was at that time—we don’t really talk about this battle because it’s so far in history—but back then, this was fresh on their mind. Just 30 years earlier, the city of Thebes and all of its surrounding cities of Egypt were destroyed also profoundly. And Thebes was considered almost like Nineveh, impenetrable. They were smart, nobody could destroy them, but they were utterly destroyed.

So if you would, you could almost read it like, “Art thou better than the population of,” and think of a city that was destroyed in battle completely or horribly. That’s what the Lord’s saying. He’s comparing to them to something they would have been familiar with: the destruction of the city of No. And so he says: “Art thou better than that population of No, that was situate among the rivers, that had the waters round about it (just like you, the moat and the river and the walls is the idea), whose rampart was the sea, and her wall was from the sea?

Ethiopia and Egypt were her strength, and it was infinite; Put and Lubim were thy helpers. Yet was she carried away, she went into captivity: her young children also were dashed in pieces at the top of all her streets: and they cast lots for her honorable men, and all her great men were bound in chains.” This happened, by the way, in 633 BC when Thebes and the surrounding areas and the strongest city of No was destroyed. And the Lord’s saying, “You think you’re better than No?” And the answer is no.

Well, it goes on, verse 11: “Thou also shalt be drunken: thou shalt be hid, thou shalt also seek strength because of the enemy. All thy strongholds shall be like fig trees with the firstripe figs: if they be shaken, they shall even fall into the mouth of the eater.” Now we’re getting into something that’s interesting because this next section, basically verses 11 and onward, we’re going to talk about their weakness. But there’s even more of a specific description about their weakness. They deserve to be destroyed because of their cruelty, their carnality, they deserve to be destroyed because of their stupidity.

But number four on this, because of their effeminacy. Their effeminacy? What? Is that a word? It is. They became too feminine as men. So it’s basically verse 11 and 12 is talking about their weakness of their fig trees shaken, and they’re going to fall, and things are not—that’s weakness. Verse 13: “Behold, thy people in the midst of thee are women: the gates of thy land shall be set wide open unto thine enemies: the fire shall devour thy bars. Draw thee waters for the siege, fortify thy strongholds: go into clay, and tread the mortar, make strong the brickkiln.

There shall the fire devour thee; the sword shall cut thee off, it shall eat thee up like the cankerworm: make thyself many as the cankerworm, make thyself many as the locusts. Thou hast multiplied thy merchants above the stars of heaven: the cankerworm spoileth, and flieth away.” Why is all this stuff going to go bad? The King James puts it: “thy people, behold thy people in the midst of thee are women.” What does the NIV say there? Anybody? All your troops, right? All your troops are women.

Now, if you’re a woman here, don’t be offended. But as it turns out, hand-to-hand combat in Bible times, women didn’t do very well in that. I know we have a few Joan of Arcs in history and stuff like that and Deborahs even in the Bible, you could say. But was she really out there with a sword hacking people up? Probably not, not Deborah at least, but she was leading. This is a controversial thing, but the Lord is basically saying your men have become more effeminate or like women.

And by the way, this is something that happened to Rome as well. With homosexuality becoming accepted in Rome, if you read—which is no longer allowed—but some of the old works of like "The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire," one of his main points, and it used to be textbook in America’s schools back in the old days, like my grandpa’s day, they used to read "The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire." But the problem is, as it turns out, they said basically it was an internal falling of the Roman Empire through just sin and sin specifically of homosexuality.

And it makes the case that pretty much every civilization started to really openly embrace homosexuality, it weakened them morally and it weakened them and eventually would lead to their fall and demise. Interesting that we’re a world that largely sees it that way. But one of the things, like I have it on good sources—I can’t really tell too much information about this—but we had a guy at a forward position in Iraq that was had some very serious situations that he was working on as a like special forces kind of thing.

And they had everything right where they needed to be, and they were called out and they shut down everything for diversity training. And they got made sure that their diversity training and making sure their transgender roles and everything was in place, but they pretty much lost all advantage of that whole situation that they had. It was heartbreaking to hear and there’s a lot of that that goes on in our military today. I’m not trying to make too much of a point other than I think the United States, we’re following Nineveh almost point for point.

If you read this whole book of three chapters again, almost point for point we’re following the same debauchery and sinfulness. Well, let’s finish her up here. It says in verse 17: “Thy crowned are as the locusts, and thy captains as the great grasshoppers, which camp in the hedges in the cold day, but when the sun ariseth they flee away, and their place is not known where they are. Thy shepherds slumber, O king of Assyria: thy nobles shall dwell in the dust: thy people is scattered upon the mountains, and no man gathereth them.

There is no healing of thy bruise; thy wound is grievous: all that hear the bruit of thee shall clap the hands over thee: for upon whom hath not thy wickedness passed continually?” This final question of this story, who’s going to survive this is really it? And the answer is no one. They’re all going to die, they’re all going down, and the captains and the strong men, they’re like bugs that when the sun comes out they flee away and you don’t know where they go. That’s really what it’s all saying.

Now, by the way, on this effeminate part of this, you know what’s interesting? Let me just talk about an old-school traditional value that doesn’t have any traction anymore, but I’m going to say it anyway. In previous generations, and I’m going to say pretty much from somewhere in the 60s or 70s and backward throughout all history, it was men who went to war. Did we say that the reason women would not go to war is because they were weak and losers? No.

The reason historically the world and all nations throughout all of history didn’t send their women to war is honestly because women, in a good society, in a better society—and I know there were corrupt societies, of course—but like in the United States, why didn’t we send our girls into Iwo Jima or some of these battles against Germany and the like? We had some horrible battles. Why didn’t we send our ladies there? There was a thing that we used to have where we thought women were meant to be honored, and you didn’t put them in place of danger.

Not because we think they’re weak, but because we actually honor them. The Bible actually says that, that we as husbands are to dwell with our wives according to knowledge, giving honor to the wife, and then it does say as the weaker vessel. But it’s not weaker inferior, it’s just she’s made differently—the wine glass versus the root beer mug. One vessel’s weaker than the other; the wine glass is weaker, but which one’s better? I mean, the root beer mug you can slam it around and it can take abuse, but the wine glass, you put it on display because it’s really a thing of beauty.

And now we’ve said not only do we send women into battle, which makes me nervous, I think, it’s interesting when you see the IDF and the way that happens in Israel with the women in military, and these are amazing women, capable. I’m not arguing that women can’t be capable in military situations, I’m not arguing that. I’m just saying there was a day where we said, “No, women should be put in this place of honor,” and then the men, we kind of took the hit on battle.

But I wonder, are we a culture now that says we don’t really honor that? In fact, I believe if we’re not careful we’re erasing women altogether in our culture. When we have women swimmers against male swimmers—“But Brett, that’s not a male, he says he’s a woman, so we just think he’s a woman." That’s ridiculous. Like it’s ridiculous to say that this man competing against women, breaking all the records, and they’re acting like, “Wow, she’s a really good swimmer.”

And when he swam against other men, he was not even close to being talented. And so it’s funny to watch even some of the women’s libbers from the 1970s, they’re all saying, “Yeah, we can’t really do this stuff, that’s wacko.” Because we’re erasing women altogether. But all that to say, don’t be offended when the Bible, when God calls these men of Nineveh that the army is like women. It’s not an insult to women, it’s actually an insult to these men who had allowed their culture to do kind of what our culture is doing, I think right now.

And it’s linked to things like homosexuality and even the transgenderism and us erasing gender and not—it’s just part of the wacko mindset of today. We should probably get back to whatever God thinks about women and men, and the Bible says, God says: “Male and female did he create them.” The Bible doesn’t say he created an infinite number of in-between, that’s not what God created. And so let’s not be duped by this world and is it too late for America? I don’t know, I hope not. I still am a patriot, I pray for revival in this land, I pray that we’ll break off our sin and repent of all that stuff. But if we don’t, if we don’t repent and if we don’t think that God’s going to pour out his wrath upon America, I think we’re naive. Let’s learn from the story of Nineveh and the prophet Nahum that we repent as a nation. Pray for this country.

Kurt: Pastor Brett Meador noting how much of what displeased God in today’s word from the book of Nahum alarmingly seems all too familiar to what we’ve observed today. And I trust you’ll stay right there as Pastor Brett will join me here in a moment to close our time in the book of Nahum.

But first, Today’s Word is the radio ministry of Athey Creek Church just south of Portland, Oregon, where Pastor Brett Meador’s the senior pastor. Our vision is to proclaim the hope of salvation and help people know Jesus, their savior, through careful study of the Bible. We invite you to find out more by going to todayswordradio.com. If you’ve missed any portion of this study, you’ll find all of Pastor Brett’s messages online at todayswordradio.com.

All right, I have Pastor Brett with me. As we finish this book from the prophet Nahum, Brett, what truths can we take for today from Nahum’s words to the Assyrian people?

Brett Meador: Well, Kurt, Nahum gives us two big reminders that are incredibly, profoundly relevant, I think, for today. And so the first one is God sees the injustice of this world and he will deal with it. I think that’s a question people have, you know, as if there’s a God out there, then why are there so many injustices? God sees them and he will deal with them. The Bible says that the Lord, vengeance is his. So the Assyrians, they were brutal, they oppressed the nations, they crushed the weak, terrorized people. And for a while, it looked like they were getting away with it, but Nahum assures us that no evil will escape God’s sight, that he’s slow to anger, but he’s also just.

The second component of Nahum really reminds believers that the Lord is a refuge as well in time of trouble. I love what is it, Nahum 1:7 is a gem right there in scripture: “The Lord is good, a stronghold in the day of trouble; he knoweth them that trust in him.” And so the Lord sees us. Even though the world’s shaking and quaking around us, we have a safe place in Christ. God’s judgment on Nineveh was his protection of the people. There’s a two-sided coin: he’ll bring down the proud, but he’ll lift up those who put their trust in him. And that truth, I think, Kurt, is timeless.

Kurt: That is such an encouragement to the character and the graciousness of our wonderful Lord. Thank you, Pastor Brett, as we close out the book of Nahum here on Today’s Word. Well, if you’d like more information about Athey Creek Church, Pastor Brett Meador, or Today’s Word, you can visit our website at todayswordradio.com. That’s todayswordradio.com. And that’s all the time we have. Next time, Pastor Brett will reference how the New Testament Apostle Paul applied the vision given to this next prophet, and that’s Habakkuk.

Today’s Word with Pastor Brett Meador is an outreach of Athey Creek Church in West Linn, Oregon.