Nahum 1:4

He rebuketh the sea, and maketh it dry, and drieth up all the rivers: Bashan languisheth, and Carmel, and the flower of Lebanon languisheth. HE REBUKETH THE SEA - as Jesus did (, "Then he arose, and rebuked the winds and the sea; and there HE REBUKETH THE SEA - as Jesus did (, "Then he arose, and rebuked the winds and the sea; and there was a great calm"), proving Himself God (cf. ). BASHAN LANGUISHETH - through drought; ordinarily it was a region famed for its rich pasturage (cf. , "the oil languisheth"). AND THE FLOWER OF LEBANON - its bloom; all that blooms so luxuriantly on L...

Nahum continues his discourse, — that God, in giving proof of his displeasure, would disturb the sea or make it dry. There may be here an allusion to the history, described by Moses; for the Prophets, in promising God’s assistance to his people, often remind them how God in a miraculous manner brought up their fathers from Egypt. As then the passage through the Red Sea was in high repute among the Jews, it may be that the Prophet alluded to that event, (Exodus 14:22.) But another view seems to me more probable. We indeed know how impetuous an element is that of the sea; and hence in Jeremiah 5:22, God, intending to set forth his own power, says, that it is in his power to calm the raging of the sea, than which nothing is more impetuous or more violent. In the same manner also is the majesty of God described in...

1-8 About a hundred years before, at Jonah's preaching, the Ninevites repented, and were spared, yet, soon after, they became worse than ever. Nineveh knows not that God who contends with her, but is told what a God he is. It is good for all to mix faith with what is here said concerning Him, which speaks great terror to the wicked, and comfort to believers. Let each take his portion from it: let sinners read it and tremble; and let saints read it and triumph. The anger of the Lord is contrasted with his goodness to his people. Perhaps they are obscure and little regarded in the world, but the Lord knows them. The Scripture character of Jehovah agrees not with the views of proud reasoners. The God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ is slow to wrath and ready to forgive, but he will by no means acquit the wicked; and there is tribulation and anguish for every soul that doeth evil: but wh...

Verse 4. _HE REBUKETH THE SEA_] The Red Sea, and the rivers: probably an allusion to the passage of the _Red Sea_ and _Jordan_. The description of the coming of Jehovah, from the third to the sixth verse, is dreadfully majestic. Nahum 1:3 He is represented as controlling _universal nature_. The _sea_ and the _rivers_ are dried up, the _mountains_ tremble, the _hills_ melt, and the _earth_ is burnt at his presence. _Bashan, Carmel_, and _Lebanon_ are withered and languish: streams of _fire_ are poured out, and the _rocks_ are cast down to make him a passage. If then, the _seas_, the _rivers_, the _mountains_, the _hills_, the _rocks_, and the _earth_ itself, fail before Jehovah, or flee from his presence, how shall _Nineveh_ and the _Assyrian empire_ stand before him?...

HE REBUKETH THE SEA AND MAKETH IT DRY - Delivering His people, as He did from Pharaoh Psalms 106:9, the type of all later oppressors, and of antichrist. “His word is with power; to destroy them at once with one rough word (Wisd. 12:9). The restlessness of the barren and troubled sea is an image of the wicked. “And drieth up all the rivers” Isaiah 57:20, as He did Jordan. His coming shall be far more terrible than when all the hearts of the inhabitants of the land did melt. “Bashan languisheth and Carmel; and the flower of Lebanon languisheth” Joshua 2:11. Bashan was richest in pastures; Carmel, according to its name, in gardens and vineyards; Lebanon, in vines also and fragrant flowers...

EXPOSITION NAHUM 1:1 Part I. THE JUDGMENT UPON NINEVEH DECREED BY GOD. NAHUM 1:1 § 1. _The heading of the book. _The book has a double title, the first giving the object of the prophecy, which otherwise would not be evident; the second, its author, added to give confidence in its contents. THE BURDEN; _massa _(Habakkuk 1:1)—a term generally used of a weighty, threatening prophecy (Isaiah 13:1), though translated by the LXX. λ

HE REBUKETH THE SEA, AND MAKETH IT DRY,.... As he did the Red sea, when the children of Israel passed through it as on dry land; which shows his power and sovereignty over it; that it is at his command, as a servant at his master's; and since the wind and sea obey him, what is it he cannot do? see Isaiah 50:2; AND DRIETH UP ALL THE RIVERS; that is, he can do it if he will; he divided the waters of Jordan, through the midst of which the Israelites passed on dry ground; and will dry up the river Euphrates, to make way for the kings of the east; and as for Tigris, on the banks of which the city of Nineveh stood, of which the inhabitants boasted, and in which they trusted for their security, he could dry up, and make way for the enemy to enter in; or make that their enemy, and overflow them with it, as he did; see...

ANALYSIS AND ANNOTATIONS CHAPTER 1 The Purpose of God in Dealing with the Assyrian Oppressor _ 1. The superscription (Nahum 1:1) _ 2. Jehovah's majesty in judgment (Nahum 1:2) 3. His people comforted and assured (Nahum 1:7) 4. The judgment of Assyria and the result (Nahum 1:14) Nahum 1:1. The burden of Nineveh; it means that there is to follow a weighty prophetic oracle concerning the great world city of Nineveh whose dimensions are given by Jonah, which have been confirmed by excavations. The next sentence gives us the definite i

THE AVENGING WRATH OF YAHWEH. Yahweh is a jealous and vengeful God sensitive to the honour of Himself and His people who marcheth through whirlwind and storm to save them from the enemy. Before His presence sea and rivers dry up, Bashan, Carmel, and Lebanon wither, the mountains quake and the earth itself is upheaved. How then can mortal man face the glow of His anger? To such as trust in Him He is a stronghold in the day of trouble; but His adversaries He thrusteth into darkness, taking not vengeance twice, but making a full end of them and all their devices. Though for a time He may remain silent, He is storing up wrath against them; and all of them shall be mown down like thorns, or burnt in the fire as stubble. NAHUM 1:2 B (the N stanza) ought clearly to follow Nahum 1:9_ a_, while...

HE REBUKETH THE SEA. Reference to Pentateuch (Exodus 14.) Compare Psalms 106:9. AND DRIETH UP, &C. Compare Joshua 4:23.Psalms 74:15....