Yahweh Says, I Am Against You

Nahum 2 is written like a vivid report from the battlefield, though it is a prophecy. He who dashes in pieces has come up against Nineveh. With bitter irony, the prophet tells the city to keep the fortress, watch the way, and fortify its power, because no defense will be enough. Verse 2 gives the reason behind the scene: Yahweh restores the excellency of Jacob, for destroyers had ruined his vine branches. Judgment on the oppressor is also rescue for the oppressed.

Nahum describes red shields, flashing chariots, and troops rushing to the wall. The gates of the rivers are opened, and the palace is dissolved. The city that had been like a peaceful pool of water now drains away as people flee, with no one looking back. The treasure it had gathered from other nations, an abundance of every precious thing, is carried off, and the hearts of its people melt.

Then Nahum uses a powerful image. Where is the den of the lions? Nahum pictures Nineveh as a lions' den that had filled its dens with prey taken from other peoples. Now Yahweh of Armies declares, behold, I am against you. He will cut off its prey from the earth, and the voice of its messengers will no more be heard. The city that frightened everyone would itself be silenced.