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Punishment for Nineveh
The Lord said:
1Doom to the crime capital!
Nineveh, city of murder
and treachery,
2here is your fate—
cracking whips,
churning wheels;
galloping horses,
roaring chariots;
3cavalry attacking,
swords and spears flashing;
soldiers stumbling
over piles of dead bodies.
4You were nothing more
than a prostitute
using your magical charms
and witchcraft
to attract and trap nations.
5But I, the Lord All-Powerful,
am now your enemy.
I will pull up your skirt
and let nations and kingdoms
stare at your nakedness.
6I will cover you with garbage,
treat you like trash,
and rub you in the dirt.
7Everyone who sees you
will turn away and shout,
“Nineveh is done for!
Is anyone willing to mourn
or to give her comfort?”
Nineveh's Fate
8Nineveh, do you feel safer
than the city of Thebes?
The Nile River
was its wall of defense.
9Thebes trusted the mighty power
of Ethiopia and Egypt;
the nations of Put and Libya
were her allies.
10But she was captured and taken
to a foreign country.
Her children were murdered
at every street corner.
The members of her royal family
were auctioned off,
and her high officials
were bound in chains.
11Nineveh, now it's your turn!
You will get drunk and try to hide
from your enemy.
12Your fortresses are fig trees
with ripe figs.
Merely shake the trees,
and fruit will fall
into every open mouth.
13Your army is weak.
Fire has destroyed the crossbars
on your city gates;
now they stand wide open
to your enemy.
14Your city is under attack.
Haul in extra water!
Strengthen your defenses!
Start making bricks!
Stir the mortar!
15You will still go up in flames
and be cut down by swords
that will wipe you out like a field
attacked by grasshoppers.
So, go ahead and increase
like a swarm of locusts!
16More merchants are in your city
than there are stars
in the sky—
but they are like locusts
that eat everything,
then fly away.
17Your guards and your officials
are swarms of locusts.
On a chilly day
they settle on a fence,
but when the sun comes out,
they take off
to who-knows-where.
18King of Assyria,
your officials and leaders
are sound asleep,
while your people are scattered
in the mountains.
Yes, your people are sheep
without a shepherd.
19You're fatally wounded.
There's no hope for you.
But everyone claps
when they hear this news,
because your constant cruelty
has caused them pain.
Reflect
This passage would make an excellent script for a movie depicting a bloody war. One of my young mentees was a child soldier who has now come to know Christ. Isaac has seen, heard and practiced unspeakable things, some of which we come across in this brutal passage. Most people you speak to from his country though will tell you the war was inevitable. For the level of corruption, injustice and evil in the land, the full scale war that broke out was inevitable. Their cup was full. Same with Nineveh, serious enough in its “constant cruelty” to be nick-named “crime capital.”
It is true that God is slow to anger, abounding in love and gracious, but after giving us a long rope, when he strikes, it is deadly. The people of Nineveh had been given a long rope, a very long rope – this was 100 years after Jonah had preached and they had repented and restoration happened; now their cup was full. God struck.
Is there a city or country that comes to mind, which you can stand in the gap for right now? God has promised to hear and heal such a land.
On the other hand, is there something God has continually warned you personally about that you’re still engaged in; that has become a besetting sin. Be warned; he will not strive with you forever. One day you will come to the end of the rope, no matter how long the rope is (and boy, is his rope long!); one day your cup will be full. And the judgment of God meted out willmake the ears of those who hear tingle and their jaws drop.
Respond
Almighty God, who takes away the sins of the world, I repent of my evils ways that you’ve warned me about several times and in several ways over and over again. I acknowledge that in your mercy you have spared me and I repent for taking it for granted. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Yaw Perbi
Dr. Yaw Perbi is a physician, pastor and president of International Student Ministries Canada (ISMC). He is the founder and Global CEO of The HuD Group and has ministered in 25 countries on five continents. Yaw is a Fellow of the Africa Leadership Initiative and a Lausanne Movement Catalyst. Dr. Perbi currently resides in Montreal, Canada with his dear wife Anyele and four delightful children. He owes all this to Christ Jesus.