How does Ninive’s burden join judgment and relief?

Atlas of Saints · Chapter summary

Creator images and Ninive’s end precede broken bonds and Juda’s festival summons.

Chapter breakdown

The heading joins God’s majesty and goodness to his people with severity to enemies. Nahum the Elcesite’s vision bears Ninive’s burden. God is jealous and avenging, patient and powerful, not acquitting guilt. His ways are tempest and whirlwind, clouds his feet’s dust. Sea and rivers dry, Basan and Carmel languish and Libanus’s flower fades. Mountains tremble, hills are desolate and earth quakes; anger pours like fire and rocks melt. God gives strength in trouble and knows those hoping in him.

A passing flood ends a place the edition identifies as Ninive, while darkness pursues enemies. Schemes against God meet an utter end with no double affliction. Entangled thorns and feasting drinkers are consumed like dry stubble. The evil deviser is interpreted by some as Sennacherib; the edition prefers Holofernes because it regards Sennacherib’s attempt as earlier than the prophecy.

Those perfect and numerous are cut off and their leader passes, explained as forces’ strength and numbers not preventing defeat and disappearance. God says he has afflicted and will afflict no more, breaks the striking rod and bursts bonds. The command against name, graven and molten things and a disgraced grave is explained as concerning Ninive’s king and failing seed. Mountain feet announce good tidings and peace; Juda keeps festivals and vows because Belial passes no more. The edition identifies Belial as the wicked Assyrian. No exact hydrological mechanism or a general guarantee about every empire is supplied.

The story inside

God gives strength in trouble. The deviser receives alternative identifications. Belial is identified as the wicked Assyrian.

Lessons worth keeping

1
God gives strength in trouble.
2
The deviser receives alternative identifications.
3
Belial is identified as the wicked Assyrian.

Test your recall

What does the command name alongside festivals?

Source edition and notes

Douay–Rheims, revised by Richard Challoner (1749–1752). Project Gutenberg no. 1581. Locators refer to lines in the admitted pg1581.txt edition. Source notes may include Challoner commentary.

Lines 102044–102046
1:2. The Lord is a jealous God, and a revenger: the Lord is a revenger, and hath wrath: the Lord taketh vengeance on his adversaries, and he is angry with his enemies.
Lines 102064–102065
1:7. The Lord is good, and giveth strength in the day of trouble: and knoweth them that hope in him.
Lines 102075–102076
1:10. For as thorns embrace one another: so while they are feasting and drinking together, they shall be consumed as stubble that is fully dry.
Lines 102104–102107
1:15. Behold upon the mountains the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, and that preacheth peace: O Juda, keep thy festivals, and pay thy vows: for Belial shall no more pass through thee again, he is utterly cut off.