Scripture References 2-28-2026

God's Wrath Against Nineveh

 

Nahum 1:1-15 NIV  A prophecy concerning Nineveh. The book of the vision of Nahum the Elkoshite.  (2)  The LORD is a jealous and avenging God; the LORD takes vengeance and is filled with wrath. The LORD takes vengeance on his foes and vents his wrath against his enemies.  (3)  The LORD is slow to anger but great in power; the LORD will not leave the guilty unpunished. His way is in the whirlwind and the storm, and clouds are the dust of his feet.  (4)  He rebukes the sea and dries it up; he makes all the rivers run dry. Bashan and Carmel wither and the blossoms of Lebanon fade.  (5)  The mountains quake before him and the hills melt away. The earth trembles at his presence, the world and all who live in it.  (6)  Who can withstand his indignation? Who can endure his fierce anger? His wrath is poured out like fire; the rocks are shattered before him.  (7)  The LORD is good, a refuge in times of trouble. He cares for those who trust in him,  (8)  but with an overwhelming flood he will make an end of Nineveh; he will pursue his foes into the realm of darkness.  (9)  Whatever they plot against the LORD he will bring to an end; trouble will not come a second time.  (10)  They will be entangled among thorns and drunk from their wine; they will be consumed like dry stubble.  (11)  From you, Nineveh, has one come forth who plots evil against the LORD and devises wicked plans.  (12)  This is what the LORD says: "Although they have allies and are numerous, they will be destroyed and pass away. Although I have afflicted you, Judah, I will afflict you no more.  (13)  Now I will break their yoke from your neck and tear your shackles away."  (14)  The LORD has given a command concerning you, Nineveh: "You will have no descendants to bear your name. I will destroy the images and idols that are in the temple of your gods. I will prepare your grave, for you are vile."  (15)  Look, there on the mountains, the feet of one who brings good news, who proclaims peace! Celebrate your festivals, Judah, and fulfill your vows. No more will the wicked invade you; they will be completely destroyed.

The symbol for Nineveh was a picture of house with a fish in it some say represents the Goddess Ishtar

What is the Significance of Nineveh in the Bible?  From Got Questions

Nineveh is notable in the Bible as the capital city of Assyria, a longtime enemy of Israel. Located in what is now modern Iraq, Nineveh is mentioned in Scripture as a place that turned away from sin through a warning by God, but which was later destroyed.

The first mention of Nineveh is in the Table of Nations, (Genesis chapter 10, commonly known as the Table of Nations, is a list of the patriarchal founders of seventy nations which descended from Noah through his three sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth) .which describes the many cities Nimrod built in Assyria including “Nineveh, Rehoboth Ir, Calah and Resen, which is between Nineveh and Calah—which is the great city” (Genesis 10:11–12). Nineveh was known for its great wealth, power, and prestige. The Assyrians were notorious for their cruelty and idolatry (Nahum 3:19). Their capital, Nineveh, contained many temples, including one to Ishtar, the Assyrian goddess that some scholars believe was the namesake of Nineveh.

In 2 Kings 19:36 and Isaiah 37:37, Nineveh is depicted as the center of the Assyrian Empire and home to King Sennacherib. Sennacherib led a successful campaign against many nations, but he failed to take Jerusalem due to the Lord’s intervention. He returned to Nineveh and was later killed in the temple of the Assyrian god Nisrok (2 Kings 19:35–37).

Nineveh is well-known as the place where the prophet Jonah was sent by God to preach (Jonah 1:2). Jonah was reluctant to go, probably because of the Assyrians’ great wickedness, and he tried to run from the Lord’s command. God intercepted Jonah and sent him to the Ninevites by making a great fish swallow him (Jonah 1:3, 17). In Nineveh, Jonah proclaimed the coming judgment on that city (Jonah 2:10; 3:1–4). Instead of rejecting the Lord’s warning, the Ninevites humbled themselves and repented of their sin, from the king on down. The whole city fasted, put on sackcloth, and sat in ashes—they even dressed their animals in sackcloth (Jonah 3:5–9). Seeing that the city of Nineveh repented of their wickedness, “God relented concerning the judgment he had threatened them with and he did not destroy them” (Jonah 3:10, NET).

Jesus mentioned the Ninevites and their repentance, contrasting that response to the unbelief of the Pharisees and teachers of the law (Matthew 12:39–41). Rejecting Christ has no excuse: “The people of Nineveh will also stand up against this generation on judgment day and condemn it, for they repented of their sins at the preaching of Jonah. Now someone greater than Jonah is here—but you refuse to repent” (Luke 11:32, NLT). Being far greater than the prophet Jonah, Jesus had shown Himself to be the Messiah, but the Jewish people still refused to believe in Him or repent of their sin (Matthew 12:22–24). The Ninevites had responded to God’s message delivered by a lesser man (Jonah 3:5), and here was God’s message delivered by the Son of God Himself.

Although Nineveh escaped destruction during the time of Jonah, a later generation still had to face a reckoning. The prophet Nahum prophesied of the destruction of the city because of the people’s evilness. Nahum’s predictions for Nineveh’s destruction came to pass when the Babylonians, Medes, and Scythians sacked the city in 612 BC. Nineveh’s walls had been breached by flood waters, allowing their attackers to enter the city. The city’s ruin was ultimately a product of God’s divine wrath (Nahum 1:8–10). The Lord declared judgment on the city because of Nineveh’s wickedness: “Woe to the city of blood, full of lies, full of plunder, never without victims!” (Nahum 3:1).

God’s judgment on Nineveh and the nation of Assyria as a whole was holy and just, given their cruelty, bloodshed, and idolatry (Nahum 1:2–3). The Ninevites during Jonah’s time, who believed God’s message and repented, will forever be remembered as a people who turned their hearts toward the Lord and believed despite their overall lack of knowledge about Him (Jonah 4:10–11). The Ninevites who were spared judgment should be a motivation for all people to seek God’s mercy and choose the path of humility and repentance.