NAHUM CHAPTER 3: WOE TO THOSE WHO NEED TO REPENT
Nahum chapter 3 begins with a small significant word: “Woe”
This is a passionate cry of grief or despair and is meant to grab someone’s attention as they are being cried out. It is an “attention getter,” but also more than that. The attention is gotten, but then grievous information or terrible truths are communicated after.
Why is there a “woe” in verse 1?
Because of the last word in verse 19: “cruelty”
How was Nineveh cruel?
We know from the historical record that Ninevites were cruel to their enemies in war. Examples: they would often stack heads into pillars, decorate the walls of the city with the skins of their enemies, burn people alive, cut off limbs, and bind those parts to trees. They would also stake alive people together in pillars of the living.
There was a reason Jonah didn’t want to go there.
We note that the “woe” is further explained in verse 5 where God explains that He is against them. God promises that the people of Nineveh will be brought low and brought to shame because of how they have treated fellow human beings.
There is also a promise given in verse 19 that nothing they do will turn the wrath around. They have a fatal wound. 3:19 harkens back to 2:1 where the people of Nineveh might guard, watch, brace, and marshal, but it will all be for nothing because it is the YHWH of Hosts that brings the judgment. Sin is full up and payment is due for the people of this culture.
SUMMARY OF NAHUM
As we keep Nahum 1-3 in mind, we must understand that to out outside of God’s will is a hopeless place. It is also a violent and unforgiving place. Nahum brought the message of woe to Nineveh for their destruction. The ultimate goal, as we see in the Book of Jonah, is that God wants every heart to turn to Him away from their wicked ways. Repentance is always the path. Always.
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Dwelling In Scripture 