All who hear the
news about you clap their hands at your fall (Nahum 3:19).
We can date Nahum to
sometime after Assyria conquered the Egyptian city of Thebes (663 BC) and
before Assyria was itself conquered by Babylon (612 BC). By this time the now
weakening Assyrian Empire had wreaked havoc for well over a hundred years as
the most vicious military force ever known.
Not content to
conquer, Assyria subdued her enemies by exiling them to the far reaches of the
empire so that they could never again rally an army and fight back. Thus in 722
BC, Samaria (the capital of Israel – the northern kingdom) was conquered and
its people relocated, never to be heard from again. For the next hundred years,
Jerusalem (the capital of Judah – the southern kingdom) lived in fear it would
be the next to suffer Assyria’s wrath.
Nahum speaks out
against the aggressor empire, boldly proclaiming that Assyria would get a taste
of its own medicine and that one day soon Nineveh (the empire’s capital) would
be destroyed. The Lord is good, a refuge in times of trouble. He
cares for those who trust in him, but with an overwhelming flood he will make
an end of Nineveh (1:7,8).
The prophet
concludes by saying that no one will shed a tear for Assyria. No one will mourn
for her, and no one will offer her comfort (3:7). Rather, there will be
rejoicing at the news of her collapse.
TODAY’S MEDITATION
How will people react when
you’re gone? How can you change that for the better?
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