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Of Long Ropes and Full Cups

Read

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 Is Sealed

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.

Contemporary English Version, Second Edition (CEV®) © 2006 American Bible Society. All rights reserved.
See this passage in other languages or Bible versions

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.

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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 45 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 six delightful children. He owes all this to Christ Jesus.

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