NAHUM 3
The harlot (1–7). This image frequently occurs in Scripture for those who abandon truth and give themselves wholly to sin to gain wealth and pleasure. The Assyrian goddess of sex and war was Ishtar, a harlot. God would expose Assyria’s shame and make her vile.
The drunkard (8–11). How could drunken soldiers hope to win a war! The nation had to drink God’s cup of wrath (
The fig tree (12–13). Ripe figs will fall easily when the tree is shaken, and these figs would fall right into the farmer’s mouth! Nineveh’s defenses were inadequate, and the city would fall right into the enemy’s hands.
The locusts (14–17). Assyria had swarmed on other nations and stripped them, but now an army would swarm on them and empty the city of people and wealth. The great Assyrian leaders would be like cold locusts in a stupor; but when the heat came, they would wake up and try to escape. The mighty nation was just a swarm of weak insects!
The flock (18). The shepherds (leaders) were dead, and the sheep were scattered. Nobody would care for them or gather them.
The victim (19). Wounded and sick, the nation was about to die; there was no way to bring healing. Jeremiah used the same image concerning God’s people, but he promised that God would heal them (