Daily Blast - Minor Prophets: Day 22
Scripture
“11 Where now is the lions’ den,
the place where they fed their young,
where the lion and lioness went,
and the cubs, with nothing to fear?
12 The lion killed enough for his cubs
and strangled the prey for his mate,
filling his lairs with the kill
and his dens with the prey.”
Reflection
In chapter 2, Nahum speaks of the fall of Nineveh, a once-great nation turned to rubble. Throughout this chapter, Nahum goes to great length to describe the destruction that falls upon the city. A verse that particularly caught my eye was Nahum’s metaphor (2:11-12). Within these two sentences, the people of Nineveh are compared to lions. Simply put, Nahum is comparing the Ninevites to a great beast. He is using rhetoric to show that even a lion – king of its homeland – can be destroyed easily by the hand of God. However, looking more deeply at this metaphor, Nahum is also exposing the barbarity of the Ninevites. He is comparing the citizens to lions whilst also suggesting that they are far worse: whilst lions hunt their prey to feed themselves, the Ninevites are hunting each other, enslaving and degrading others for their benefit. Through exploring these verses further, it is clear that God is not destroying the Ninevites to prove His strength. Not at all. This grieves God. Instead, it is drawing attention to the fact that God is a just and good God, who will not stand people abusing others.
As we continue into chapter 3, Nahum tells us how Nineveh’s downfall brings about the destruction of Assyria. This is slightly ironic as Nahum points out that the now destroyed Assyrian nation was founded upon the destruction of others. In 3:19 he states that those who hear of their devastation rejoice because their oppressors are finally being judged.
Whilst the book of Nahum could be interpreted as quite a pessimistic book of the Bible, it is actually quite encouraging. This book tells a tale of how despite the cruel and self-centred actions of others, a just God rules over us all and will not stand for the oppression of His people.
Challenge
Today I challenge you to pray a prayer of thanks to God for showing us justice, that we do not need to live in a world of fear or one where we seek revenge because our almighty God has us under His protection.