Broken Threads of Power (Nahum 3:14-19

14 Draw thee water for the siege; strengthen thy fortresses; go into the clay, and tread the mortar; make strong the brickkiln.

A. Nahum warns ahead of time that the Assyrians should begin preparations for the siege even though God has decreed its destruction.  The reason for this being that it is human nature, even with the Word of God so blatantly declared, to rely on man-made solutions to spiritual problems.  If Nineveh had repented at Nahum's prophecy the way they did to Jonah's (because the declarations of Jonah were just as bleak), God surely would have turned away His wrath and give them another chance.  

15 There shall the fire devour thee; the sword shall cut thee off; it shall devour thee like the canker-worm: make thyself many as the canker-worm; make thyself many as the locust.

A.  It does not matter how many or how strong the preparations, the fire of God's wrath will tear them down with ease.  

B.  Locusts come in overwhelming numbers.  They are an unstoppable force that devastate every habitat they enter.  This is similar to the way sin works in our lives.  One or two small issues may not show up on the radar or do any real damage, but when our lives becomes plagued with them we are quickly overcome by them.

C.  Nahum yet again tells the Ninevites to prepare further by multiplying themselves like locusts.  Yet again he is pointing out that man made solutions will have no effect on the declared plans of God.  They can build stronger fortifications, and they can raise up great armies and multiply, but God's fire will still accomplish what it comes to do.

16 Thou hast multiplied thy merchants above the stars of heaven: the canker-worm ravageth, and fleeth away.

A.  Nahum is added a third thread to the supposed strength of Nineveh.  First the strength of walls, then the strength of armies, and now the strength of the massive amount of finances the lubricated the engine of war.  Every aspect of the city would be swallowed into darkness.

B.  The Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown commentary says the following, "Nineveh, by large canals, had easy access to Babylon; and it was one of the great routes for the people of the west and northwest to that city; lying on the Tigris it had access to the sea. The Phoenicians carried its wares everywhere. Hence its merchandise is so much spoken of."

17 Thy princes are as the locusts, and thy marshals as the swarms of grasshoppers, which encamp in the hedges in the cold day, but when the sun ariseth they flee away, and their place is not known where they are.

 A.  "Princes" in the Amplified Version is also frequently translated "crowned ones".  This is because during the time of Assyria it wasn't just the King or princes who wore crowns, but in fact  many governing leaders and officials wore different types of crowns to designate rank.

These crowned princes put on quite a show of strength when the nation seemed strong, but fled like locusts when the enemy came.

18 Thy shepherds slumber, O king of Assyria; thy nobles are at rest; thy people are scattered upon the mountains, and there is none to gather them.

A.  The shepherds, those who of all the Ninevites should have known to see the times and repent to God for their sin.  The blood of that nation is on them more than anyone else.  They had the history of the days of Jonah not far behind and surely saw their nation quickly abandoning what had been instilled by the Word of God, but they chose instead of embrace Dagon their other false gods.  It was because of their heathen and selfish choices that their people were scattered on the mountains, that no one came to save them.

19 There is no assuaging of thy hurt: thy wound is grievous: all that hear the report of thee clap their hands over thee; for upon whom hath not thy wickedness passed continually?

A.  If any prophecy is true it is this one.  Nineveh was wounded and destroyed, and to this day has never been rebuilt.  It is a mere tourist attraction with no semblance of the world dominating throne it once contained.  

B.  Nineveh, as is always the case with world powers, was a source of every kind of sin.  They harlotry, thievery, lies, deception, murders, and other heinous sins they and their king taught and promoted spread like a sickness, and it cost them their nation.

This study was done using the Amplified Bible, which I don't have permission to publish, so I will replace the verses here with the American Standard Version.  Because of that some of the comments may not totally make sense because the AMP has expanded explanations.  I would highly recommend going to a site like BibleGateway.com where you can read the AMP version for free.