Nahum 3:14-19: a reflection

14Draw water for the siege. Strengthen your fortresses. Go into the clay, and tread the mortar. Make the brick kiln strong. 15There the fire will devour you. The sword will cut you off. It will devour you like the grasshopper. Multiply like grasshoppers. Multiply like the locust. 16You have increased your merchants more than the stars of the skies. The grasshopper strips and flees away. 17Your guards are like the locusts, and your officials like the swarms of locusts, which settle on the walls on a cold day, but when the sun appears, they flee away, and their place is not known where they are. 18Your shepherds slumber, king of Assyria. Your nobles lie down. Your people are scattered on the mountains, and there is no one to gather them. 19There is no healing your wound, for your injury is fatal. All who hear the report of you clap their hands over you, for who hasn’t felt your endless cruelty?

As Nahum foretells the fall of the great and fearsome empire of Assyria, whose capital Nineveh seemed invincible, he shows that no earthly power, however dreaded, is beyond God's reach or exempt from its end. There is no healing your wound, Nahum says of the empire; your injury is fatal. Nineveh, the head of an empire that had terrified the nations with its cruelty, that seemed unassailable behind its fortifications and its vast forces, would fall, its wound beyond healing. All who heard the report of its fall would clap their hands, for who had not felt its endless cruelty? The mighty, cruel empire that seemed permanent came to its end. This shows that no earthly power, however fearsome, is beyond God's reach or exempt from its end. No earthly power, however fearsome, is beyond God's reach. Empires that seem invincible come to their end. Pride and cruelty do not last forever. Do not fear or envy the fearsome powers of the world; they too will end.

Notice what Nahum declares about this fearsome empire. Assyria was the terror of the nations, an empire of vast power and endless cruelty, that seemed invincible behind its fortifications and forces. Yet Nahum foretells its fall: its wound would be beyond healing, its injury fatal; and those who heard of its fall would clap their hands, for all had felt its cruelty. The empire that seemed permanent, unassailable, beyond challenge, came to its end. This holds a truth worth remembering. The fearsome powers of the world, the empires, forces, and authorities that seem invincible, that terrify and dominate, that seem permanent and beyond challenge, are not beyond God's reach, and are not exempt from their end. However great and dreaded they seem, they too will fall in God's time; pride and cruelty do not last forever. This means we need not be terrified by the fearsome powers of the world as though they were permanent and beyond God's reach, nor envy their strength. They stand under God, who brings even the mightiest and most dreaded to their end. We do well to remember that no earthly power, however fearsome, is beyond God's reach or exempt from its end, and so neither to fear nor to envy such powers. No earthly power, however fearsome, is beyond God's reach or exempt from its end. Do not be terrified by the fearsome powers of the world as though permanent. Pride and cruelty come to their end in God's time. Neither fear nor envy the dreaded powers of the world.

That is worth taking to heart, for no earthly power, however fearsome, is beyond God's reach or exempt from its end, and we need neither fear nor envy such powers, as Nahum foretold the fall of the dreaded empire of Assyria. We can be terrified by the fearsome powers of the world as though they were permanent and beyond challenge; but Nineveh, the terror of the nations, fell, its wound beyond healing. Nothing is beyond God's reach. Do not be terrified by the fearsome powers of the world as though they were permanent; remember that they too stand under God, who brings even the mightiest to their end. Remember that no earthly power, however fearsome and seemingly invincible, is beyond God's reach or exempt from its end, so that you need neither fear nor envy such powers, as Nahum foretold the fall of the great and dreaded empire of Assyria, whose capital Nineveh seemed invincible, declaring that its wound was beyond healing and its injury fatal; for Nineveh, the head of an empire that had terrified the nations with its cruelty and seemed unassailable behind its fortifications and vast forces, would fall, and all who heard the report of its fall would clap their hands since all had felt its endless cruelty, so that the cruel empire which seemed permanent came to its end, which holds a truth worth remembering, that the fearsome powers of the world, the empires, forces, and authorities that seem invincible and terrify and dominate and seem beyond challenge, are not beyond God's reach and not exempt from their end, since however great and dreaded they seem they too will fall in God's time and pride and cruelty do not last forever, so that we need not be terrified by them as though permanent and beyond God's reach, nor envy their strength, since they stand under God who brings even the most dreaded to their end, and we do well to remember this and neither fear nor envy such powers.

Lord, as Nahum foretells the fall of the great and fearsome empire of Assyria, whose capital Nineveh seemed invincible, he shows that no earthly power, however dreaded, is beyond your reach or exempt from its end. There is no healing your wound, Nahum says of the empire; your injury is fatal. Nineveh, the head of an empire that had terrified the nations with its cruelty, that seemed unassailable behind its fortifications and its vast forces, would fall, its wound beyond healing. All who heard the report of its fall would clap their hands, for who had not felt its endless cruelty? The dreaded, cruel empire that seemed permanent came to its end. Show me what Nahum declares about this fearsome empire. Assyria was the terror of the nations, an empire of endless cruelty, that seemed invincible. Yet Nahum foretells its fall: its wound beyond healing, its injury fatal; and those who heard of its fall would clap their hands, for all had felt its cruelty. The empire that seemed permanent, unassailable, beyond challenge, came to its end. This holds a truth worth remembering. The fearsome powers of the world, the empires, forces, and authorities that seem invincible, that terrify and dominate, that seem permanent and beyond challenge, are not beyond your reach, and are not exempt from their end. However great and dreaded they seem, they too will fall in your time; pride and cruelty do not last forever. This means I need not be terrified by the fearsome powers of the world as though they were permanent and beyond your reach, nor envy their strength. They stand under you, who bring even the most dreaded to their end. Take that to my heart, for no earthly power, however fearsome, is beyond your reach or exempt from its end. Keep me from being terrified by the fearsome powers of the world as though they were permanent, and from envying them; help me remember, Lord, that they too stand under you, who bring even the most dreaded to their end, so that I neither fear nor envy them.