An attacker advances against you, Nineveh. Guard the fortress, watch the road, brace yourselves, marshal all your strength! – Nahum 2:1

Today's Scripture Reading (April 28, 2023): Nahum 2

The Assyrian Kings brutally ruled over their Empire, even by ancient standards. The Assyrians loved torturing their enemies and practiced inflicting pain while keeping the subject alive. One of the tortures the Assyrians perfected was removing the skin off of a person without allowing them to die. It really is no wonder that Jonah balked at going to the Assyrian capital of Nineveh.

As a result of the nation's evil, God took a stand against the Assyrian Empire. Eventually, Assyria would fall to a coalition of countries, including Babylon and the Medes. But Nahum's point is that it is not really these nations that would defeat Assyria. God was tired of their way, and he was the attacker who mustered his focus against the Assyrians. And if God is the attacker, then the fourfold advice of the verse needs to be seen as irony. Nahum tells Nineveh that they should guard the fortress, watch the road, brace themselves, and marshal every bit of their strength against the coming attack. But if the attacker is God, then none of that truly matters. Regardless of how Nineveh decided to fight, they would be on the losing end of the struggle.

Scottish Theologian George Adam Smith wrote of the fall of the Assyrian Empire that "the Besieger of the world is at last besieged; every cruelty that he has inflicted upon men is now to be turned upon himself." It is sometimes fun to think about the list of possible nations arrayed against Assyria, but it is actually just an academic exercise. Looking at the Babylonian Empire, Jeremiah writes these words coming straight from the mouth of God.

"You are my war club,
    my weapon for battle—
with you I shatter nations,
    with you I destroy kingdoms,
with you I shatter horse and rider,
    with you I shatter chariot and driver,
with you I shatter man and woman,
    with you I shatter old man and youth,
    with you I shatter young man and young woman,
with you I shatter shepherd and flock,
    with you I shatter farmer and oxen,
    with you I shatter governors and officials.

 

"Before your eyes I will repay Babylon and all who live in Babylonia for all the wrong they have done in Zion," declares the Lord (Jeremiah 50:20-24).

God would use other nations to defeat Babylon, and Nahum uses a similar idea to say that God would be the one who would use the Babylonians and the Medes to defeat Assyria. And there is no defensive arrangement that can save the Assyrian Empire if God is besieging it.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Nahum 3

Personal Note: Happy Birthday to my grandson, James.