Why were infants dashed to pieces (Nahum 3:10)?

The verse in Nahum 3:10 that mentions infants being dashed to pieces is a difficult one to understand. However, looking at the context and history around this passage can help shed light on its meaning.

Nahum was a prophet who lived and prophesied sometime between 663-612 BC, during the time when Assyria was the dominant world power. The Assyrian Empire, based in what is now northern Iraq, was known for its cruelty and violence as it conquered nation after nation.

The book of Nahum contains prophecies of God’s judgment on Assyria and its capital Nineveh for its evil acts. Nahum 3:1-7 describes the “bloody city” of Nineveh and lists some of its sins: lies, robbery, sensuality, witchcraft, and commercial exploitation. Verse 10 then declares:

Yet she became an exile, she went into captivity; her infants were dashed in pieces at the head of every street; for her honored men lots were cast, and all her great men were bound in chains.

This graphic image of infants being killed is a poetic portrayal of the violence and cruelty of Nineveh’s military tactics. It echoes earlier Assyrian conquests where babies were brutally massacred by Assyrian soldiers:

• In 2 Kings 8:12 and 15:16, the Assyrians are said to have ripped open pregnant women and dashed children to pieces.
• An ancient Jewish commentary on Nahum 3:10 says the Assyrians “would take a child and place him at the entrance to the city and beat him until he was smashed.”
• An Assyrian inscription boasts of young boys and girls being dashed against city walls during a siege.

So this savage practice had happened before at the hands of the Assyrians. Nahum uses this shocking image to emphasize that now it would happen to Nineveh – God was going to judge them in kind for what they had done to others.

The verse also says “her honored men lots were cast, and all her great men were bound in chains.” This refers to the common practice of deporting and enslaving conquered peoples. The powerful leaders of Nineveh who once cast lots over captives would now themselves be bound in chains and exiled.

While the thought of killing babies is horrific and repulsive to us today, this metaphor would have resonated with Nahum’s original listeners. Using this disturbing image and irony, Nahum declares that God will judge Assyria’s appalling violence with violence and defeat. What they had sown, they will also reap.

Some key points to understand about Nahum 3:10:

• It’s a vivid prophetic picture of God’s coming judgment on Nineveh for its terrible cruelty.
• It echoes what the Assyrian army had done to babies in its conquests.
• It shows that violence and oppression ultimately turn back on the perpetrator.
• It reveals God’s justice and vengeance against such horrific acts.
• It warns all oppressive nations that God sees and judges evil.

While the idea of killing infants is abhorrent, Nahum uses this disturbing image from Assyria’s history to confront the people with their own sins and God’s righteous judgment. This verse teaches us that God cares deeply about injustice, and will ultimately deal with it either in this life or the next.

1. The Historical Context of Nahum

As mentioned earlier, Nahum prophesied during the height of the Assyrian Empire in the 7th century BC. At this time, Assyria dominated the Middle East through its brutal military power and war machine.

The Assyrians were ruthless conquerors, using horrific violence and cruelty to subdue rebellious provinces. Mass deportations, torture, beheadings, skinning people alive and other barbaric tactics were common Assyrian practices.

Nahum’s prophecy is specifically aimed at the city of Nineveh, which was the prosperous capital of the Assyrian empire. Nahum likely delivered his message sometime after 663 BC, when the Assyrian king Ashurbanipal had just crushed Egypt and several other nations that had rebelled against Assyria’s rule.

But a few decades later, the Assyrian empire began to unravel due to internal conflicts and the rise of Babylon. The Babylonians and Medes laid siege to Nineveh around 612 BC, eventually destroying the city completely just as Nahum had foretold.

So Nahum 3:10 has its context in this violent period of history when the Assyrians were terrorizing the region, before their own empire collapsed under God’s judgment.

2. The Literary Context in Nahum

Looking at the literary context of Nahum 3:10 is also helpful to understand this verse:

• Chapter 1 describes God’s anger and vengeance against Assyria.
• Chapter 2 foretells the ruin of Nineveh.
• Chapter 3 depicts Nineveh as a bloody, deceitful, greedy city ripe for judgment.

Nahum 3:1-7 lists the sins of Nineveh – violence, lies, materialism, exploitation, with verse 7 summing it up: “All who look upon you will shrink from you and say, Wasted is Nineveh; who will grieve for her?”.

Then verse 8 asks whether Nineveh is better than the Egyptian city of Thebes which also fell. Verses 9-11 describe Nineveh’s impending downfall using vivid imagery.

Verse 10 with its mention of infants being killed comes right after this list of sins and at the height of the description of judgment. It fits as a final clinching image of the brutality and carnage that Nineveh’s violence had caused and would now come back upon itself.

3. The Imagery of Killing Infants

The idea of babies being violently killed is understandably shocking and disturbing. But within Nahum’s topic, it powerfully communicates several things:

• Extreme cruelty – Killing helpless infants showed the utter inhumanity of Nineveh’s violence.
• Reversal of fortunes – Now Assyria’s own infants would be brutally slaughtered in defeat.
• Complete judgment – Everyone in Nineveh, even children, would suffer violent judgment.
• Sowing and reaping – Assyria’s violence against babies would come back upon them.

This shocking, appalling image with its ironic turnaround would have instantly conveyed to Nahum’s listeners the extreme nature of God’s wrath against Nineveh’s atrocities.

As mentioned before, there was historical precedent for this brutality. 2 Kings tells us the Assyrians would rip open pregnant Israelite women (2 Kings 15:16) and kill Israelite infants without pity (2 Kings 8:12).

An ancient Jewish commentary confirms this practice: “Whenever the Assyrian king captured a Jewish city, he would take a child and stand him by the gate, and beat him until his body broke into pieces – Go and do the same in Nineveh.”

So Nahum draws on this well-known Assyrian cruelty to paint a verbal picture of their judgment. Their own appalling practices would be used against them as poetic justice.

4. God’s Judgment Against Evil

Nahum’s prophecy carries a vital message – God sees injustice and will bring judgment:

• God hates cruelty, exploitation and violence.
• Those who sow oppression will reap the same.
• The wicked cannot escape God’s vengeance.
• God is patient, but ultimately judges.
• God cares deeply about protecting the vulnerable.

This truth still holds today. Unjust societies that oppress others and condone violence will incur God’s wrath sooner or later.

God’s judgment is sometimes delayed, but will come in His timing: “The Lord is slow to anger but great in power; the Lord will not leave the guilty unpunished” (Nahum 1:3). God may use human agents like the Babylonians to accomplish His purposes.

While we rightly recoil at violence against innocents, Nahum 3:10 shocks us into facing our own potential for evil. It reminds us that only God has the right to avenge injustice, not us.

5. A Difficult Verse

There’s no denying Nahum 3:10 is an extremely challenging verse. Some key questions it raises:

• Why would God approve of this disturbing imagery?
• Does God condemn child abuse in one place but condone it in another?
• How can a loving God use violence against violence?

There are a few factors to keep in mind here:

• Scripture records many instances of both human and divine violence without necessarily condoning them.
• God meets people within their cultural context, but ultimately seeks to transform them.
• Poetic language like this often uses shocking metaphors to convey important truths.
• God’s ways and thoughts are infinitely higher than ours (Isaiah 55:8-9).

Perhaps the main lesson from this difficult verse is that God hates injustice and oppression so much that He will use every means necessary, even violence, to deal with it.

This should instill in us a holy fear of God, motivating us to renounce sin and live justly. While we cannot fully explain or justify Nahum 3:10, we must affirm God’s uncompromising opposition to cruelty and look forward to the day when “He will wipe away every tear and there will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain” (Revelation 21:4).

6. Jesus’ Teachings on Violence

As Christians, we read the Old Testament through the lens of Jesus. So what did Jesus teach about violence, vengeance and judgment?

• He affirmed the Old Testament law of “an eye for an eye” but said His followers should not retaliate but “turn the other cheek” (Matthew 5:38-42).
• He stopped His disciples from calling fire down from heaven to judge a village (Luke 9:54-55).
• He rebuked Peter for using a sword, saying “all who draw the sword will die by the sword” (Matthew 26:52).
• He taught we should love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us (Matthew 5:44).
• He willingly submitted to unjust beating and execution without retaliation.

Jesus expanded the Old Testament concepts of justice to emphasize mercy, forgiveness and non-violence. His kingdom is not advanced through force or coercion.

However, Jesus did warn about God’s coming judgment on unrepentant sinners who refuse His mercy (Matthew 10:28, Luke 12:5). But this final judgment is reserved for God alone to enact, not us.

As His followers, we are to emulate His example of radical love and forgiveness, even to those who wrong us. This transforms rather than perpetuates the cycles of violence.

7. Modern Application

While Nahum 3:10 is set in ancient times, the truths it conveys still resonate today:

• God cares deeply about injustice against the vulnerable like children.
• Those who live by violence can expect to suffer violence.
• God’s judgment is inescapable no matter how powerful oppressors seem.
• God may use the evil of some to punish the evil of others.
• Our shock at such verses should turn us away from condoning or ignoring injustice.

As Christians we can respond to evil in several ways:

• Work to protect the vulnerable in practical ways.
• Be a prophetic voice calling society and leaders to righteousness.
• Set an example through just living and renouncing violence.
• Pray for God’s kingdom to come and His will to be done on earth.
• Trust God’s ultimate judgment when we don’t see justice in the present.

Though troubling, Nahum 3:10 can move us to reflect on our own potential for evil and cling to Jesus’ example of self-sacrificial love. It assures us that no injustice will ultimately go unaddressed by our just and holy God.

8. Wrestling With Difficult Texts

Nahum 3:10 is one of those Bible verses many wish wasn’t there. It highlights some key principles for grappling with disturbing passages:

• Consider the historical and literary context carefully.
• Compare other Scripture passages on the same topic.
• Keep in mind Scripture’s literary genres and idioms.
• Interpret through the lens of Christ’s life and teachings.
• Affirm God’s justice while admitting our limited understanding.
• Let difficult texts spur us to pursue greater truth and righteousness.

Rather than glossing over or ignoring troubling verses, we must grapple with them honestly. This can strengthen our ethics and faith, forcing us to dig deeper into biblical truth.

We don’t need to justify or fully explain verses like Nahum 3:10. But prayerfully reflecting on them can mature our discernment and dependence on God’s wisdom.

9. The Wider Biblical Perspective

Seeing any single verse in isolation can distort its meaning. We must weigh Scripture against Scripture to gain a balanced perspective:

• The Bible shows God’s care for the vulnerable like children (Psalm 82:3-4).
• God condemns child sacrifice and the oppression of the weak (Leviticus 18:21, Exodus 22:21-22).
• God is perfectly just and righteous in all His dealings (Psalm 97:2, Deuteronomy 32:4).
• God delays judgment to allow time for repentance (2 Peter 3:9).
• God’s ways and thoughts are higher than ours (Isaiah 55:8-9).
• All evil will one day come under God’s judgment (Revelation 20:11-15).

Seen in light of Scripture’s unified message, Nahum 3:10 does not contradict God’s justice or biblical principles. Rather, it forcefully underscores God’s abhorrence of evil and the certainty of its eventual punishment.

10. Pointing to Christ

Like all Scripture, the difficult parts of Nahum ultimately point us to Christ:

• They show our desperate need for a Savior due to human violence and evil.
• They highlight God’s hatred of sin requiring judgment, which Christ took upon Himself.
• They motivate us to long for the peace and justice of Christ’s kingdom.
• They remind us that vengeance belongs to God, not us.
• They spur us to leave room for God’s wrath, clinging to Christ’s mercy.

Though challenging, Nahum 3:10 turns our eyes to Jesus – the only innocent one who bore God’s judgment for sinners. Now, through faith in Him, we can break free from violence and enjoy God’s forgiveness.

Nahum reminds us that we are not privy to all of God’s purposes. But we know “the wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness of people” (Romans 1:18). Our need is to humbly trust Him, share His heart for justice, and point people to salvation in Christ alone.