We’ve been on a dark journey as we’ve studied Nahum. Though his name means “comfort,” Nahum’s message has been anything but comforting for the Assyrians. For God’s people who had experienced evil and oppression at the Assyrians’ hands, though, this message of judgment brought great comfort.

Nahum 3 is the apex of the crescendo that has been building since chapter 1, and we will see the conclusion to this drama in verses 12–19. Verses 1–3 are written in quick staccato, each line no more than a few words: “Woe to the city of blood, full of lies, full of plunder, never without victims! The crack of whips, the clatter of wheels, galloping horses and jolting chariots!” (vv. 1–2). If you read these words out loud, you can feel the rising heartbeat, the increased blood pressure, the dread that comes with the Lord bringing His fierce wrath against the wicked.

In verse 5 the Lord again tells the Assyrians that “I am against you” and “I will lift your skirts over your face. I will show the nations your nakedness and the kingdoms your shame.”

For a nation as proud as Assyria, such contempt and shame would be unbearable. What’s more, there would be no one to “comfort” Assyria when the Lord brought His judgment (v. 7). Despite Assyria’s great power, “she was taken captive and went into exile” (v. 10), just as she’d conquered and exiled so many peoples of the ancient Near East.

Today’s passage is terrifying. Like the original audience, we should be comforted by God’s justice. But it also causes us to soberly consider our eternal destiny. Eternal life is in Christ alone, and without Him we will one day face God’s fierce wrath.

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