Nahum 2:1-13
Give serious thought to how a mighty people, a people who
for years have been the power of the world, can make battle against the unseen
God. Nahum seems to be mocking the
Assyrians in verse one; “The scatterer has come up against you. Man the ramparts; watch the road; dress for
battle; collect all your strength.” The
God who is and yet is not seen, has used many adjectives such as scatterer, or
when He was about to destroy Babylon we have this a term used in Jeremiah 51:1-2,
“Thus says the
LORD: “Behold, I will stir up the spirit of a destroyer against Babylon, against
the inhabitants of Leb-kamai, and I will send to Babylon winnowers, and they
shall winnow her, and they shall empty her land, when they come against her from
every side on the day of trouble.” Note: This writer needed a little better
understanding of the word winnower: “blow a
current of air through (grain) in order to remove the chaff.” You might ask who is, or what was the winnower that God used against
Babylon, it was the Medes and Persians.
In verse two we are
given insight into what God is about: “For the LORD is restoring the majesty of Jacob as the
majesty of Israel, for plunderers have plundered them and ruined their
branches.” In verses 3-10, it
is not clear if the Assyrian soldier is dressed in red or if this is referring
to the outcome of the battle. But in
verses 8-10 it becomes clear that Nineveh is the one losing the battle, and
what a great word picture is used: “Nineveh is like a pool whose waters run away. “Halt! Halt!” they cry, but none turns back. Plunder the silver, plunder the gold! There is no end of the treasure or of the
wealth of all precious things. Desolate!
Desolation and ruin! Hearts melt and
knees tremble; anguish is in all loins; all faces grow pale!”
Once more Nahum mocks
the Assyrian kings who often described themselves as lions, but now the God who
is, and His name is Yahweh mocks, for it is now the king and his young lions
that are being hunted and killed. If you
are one who put trust in government, you should listen to verse 13, “Behold, I am
against you, declares the LORD of hosts, and I will burn your chariots in
smoke, and the sword shall devour your young lions. I will cut off your prey from the earth, and
the voice of your messengers shall no longer be heard.” It seems to this writer that a
battle with Yahweh is a fools battle, and the cost will be greater than the
short pleasure of your boast of being king of the world, as one Assyrian king proclaimed,
and yet God has said, that king and his followers are for eternity living in
darkness.
Is history repeating
itself, is the United States repeating the foolishness of the Assyrians?
From the Back Porch,
Bob Rice
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