Nahum 2:8-13

Dark clouds are on the horizon. Pray for America. Pray for the nations of the world. Pray that all eyes are opened to the salvation offered in Jesus Christ. God wants no one to perish…no one. It is terrifying to think that a nation can lose its covering of God. Beginning in January of 2018 Holy Spirit has led me back to this passage many, many times. 

The world is in the throes of a battle between good and evil.

Much of Nineveh lay under water when the city fell but this image of a pool without water describes an empty artificial pool or reservoir. The city will be empty of people just like a reservoir that has been drained. No one heeds the call to halt the retreat. The Babylonian Chronicles—which are tablets that record the history of Babylon—state that the amount of treasure in Nineveh was “a quantity beyond counting.” The Assyrians had collected a massive amount of wealth from looting cities like Susa, Babylon, Damascus, Samaria, Memphis, and Thebes. The once mighty predator of the ancient Near East is now the prey. Assyria will no longer conquer other nations. Faithlife Bible.

 The nation that had made so much of taking captives would be made a captive by others. Halt! Halt!: No one would listen to their shouts of panic. Assyria had despoiled many nations, including Samaria and the cities of Israel. There seemed to be no end to the loot that could be found within its walls. Nonetheless, even Nineveh was exhausted of its treasures. At long last, it was empty. Nineveh was the city of lions. Yet despite all the horrors that the lion of Nineveh had brought to other nations, it would no longer need to be feared by anyone. Although the Babylonians conquered the city, they were only God’s instruments. Nineveh’s greatest foe was the Lord of hosts Himself. NKJ Bible.

Nahum 2:8-13

8 Though Nineveh of old was like a pool of water,

Now they flee away.

“Halt! Halt!” they cry;

But no one turns back.

9 Take spoil of silver!

Take spoil of gold!

There is no end of treasure,

Or wealth of every desirable prize.

10 She is empty, desolate, and waste!

The heart melts, and the knees shake;

Much pain is in every side,

And all their faces are drained of color.

11 Where is the dwelling of the lions,

And the feeding place of the young lions,

Where the lion walked, the lioness and lion’s cub,

And no one made them afraid?

12 The lion tore in pieces enough for his cubs,

Killed for his lionesses,

Filled his caves with prey,

And his dens with flesh.

13 “Behold, I am against you,” says the Lord of hosts, “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 be heard no more.”

Genesis 49:9 | Judah is a lion’s whelp; From the prey, my son, you have gone up.He bows down, he lies down as a lion; And as a lion, who shall rouse him?

2 Kings 19:9 | And the king heard concerning Tirhakah king of Ethiopia, “Look, he has come out to make war with you.” So he again sent messengers to Hezekiah, saying,

2 Kings 19:23 | By your messengers you have reproached the Lord, And said: “By the multitude of my chariots I have come up to the height of the mountains,To the limits of Lebanon;I will cut down its tall cedars And its choice cypress trees; I will enter the extremity of its borders,To its fruitful forest.

Isaiah 5:29 | Their roaring will be like a lion,They will roar like young lions; Yes, they will roar And lay hold of the prey; They will carry it away safely, And no one will deliver.  

Ezekiel 19:2 | and say:‘What is your mother? A lioness:She lay down among the lions;Among the young lions she nourished her cubs.