Yesterday we noted that Nahum had predicted that the army officers would flee the battle, and that the wound would be fatal. He had also predicted this would happen at a time when the soldiers would be dunk.

In Nahum 2:6, the prophet said that Nineveh would be hit with a flood. This reportedly happened while the Babylonians and Medes were attacking the great city around 612 BC. According to the Greek historian Diodorus Siculus, who lived in the First Century BC, heavy rains had caused the Tigris River to overflow and flood part of Nineveh. The flooding undermined and destroyed some of Nineveh’s protective walls. This probably helped the attacking forces conquer Nineveh. Nahum 2:6 (NIV): The river gates are thrown open and the palace collapses.

In Nahum 3:15, the prophet said that Nineveh would be damaged by fire. Archaeologists unearthed the site during the 1800s and found a layer of ash covering the ruins. According to the Encyclopaedia Britannica: “…Nineveh suffered a defeat from which it never recovered. Extensive traces of ash, representing the sacking of the city by Babylonians, Scythians, and Medes in 612 BC, have been found in many parts of the Acropolis. After 612 BC the city ceased to be important…” Nahum 3:15 (NIV): There the fire will devour you; the sword will cut you down and, like grasshoppers, consume you…
In Nahum 3:12, the prophet said that Assyrian fortresses around Nineveh would fall to attackers. A coalition of Babylonians, Scythians and Medes successfully broke through the fortresses. Ancient Babylonian records say the fortified towns around Nineveh began to fall in 614 BC, about two years before the total defeat of the Assyrian empire. Nahum 3:12 (NIV): All your fortresses are like fig trees with their first ripe fruit; when they are shaken, the figs fall into the mouth of the eater.

In Nahum 1:14, the prophet said Nineveh would have no descendants to carry on the prestige of Nineveh. Nineveh’s destruction in 612 BC marked a permanent end to the Assyrian Empire. The city itself never again rose to any significant importance. Today, Nineveh is an archaeological site in Iraq. Nahum 1:14 (NIV):The Lord has given a command concerning you, [Nineveh]: “You will have no descendants to bear your name. I will destroy the carved images and cast idols that are in the temple of your gods. I will prepare your grave, for you are vile.”
This prophecy, given by God through Nahum, was very specific.