Hello, my ‘Walking with Jesus’ friends on this Friday,
I wonder how much you know about the history of the city where you live? The city where I live, from what I’ve learned, only has history going back about 150 years.
But in the past few days we’ve been looking at one of the greatest cities of all time, Nineveh. For several centuries it was considered one of the most magnificent cities in the world far larger and far more developed than almost any other city, with sophisticated architecture and the finest art and music and libraries filled with education and even some famous ‘hanging gardens’! It was the capital city of the great Assyrian Empire which dominated most of the known world for centuries! During that period of world history, it was assumed this great city Nineveh would last forever.
But about 660bc God raised up a Jewish prophet named Nahum to proclaim a message from God that seemed unimaginable.
Nahum’s first messages come to a foreboding conclusion with these words to the people of Jerusalem: “No more will the wicked invade you; they will be completely destroyed!” (Nahum 1:15) Nahum’s messages had been very clear in their focus: God was about to pour out His judgment on the wicked Assyrians who had ravaged the northern kingdom Israel three generations before and had been continually harassing Jerusalem ever since.
God had protected Jerusalem from Assyrian attack once in the days of King Hezekiah in a miraculous way. (2 Chronicles 32:21,22) But now God’s promise was that He would destroy the vicious Assyrian army so Nineveh would never again be a threat to Jerusalem! It seemed impossible, but God had spoken, and the people began wondering if they dared HOPE for the impossible.
Nahum’s second chapter message was also foreboding: “An attacker advances against you, Nineveh. Guard the fortress, watch the road, brace yourselves, marshal all your strength! The LORD will restore the splendor of Jacob like the splendor of Israel though destroyers have laid them waste…” (Nahum 2:1,2) What a remarkable contrast! God promised He would bring avengers against the great city of Nineveh which at that moment seemed impregnable; while at the same time God promised He would restore Israel which at that moment was little more than rubble.
God continued painting the picture of Nineveh’s destruction as improbable as it seemed: “The chariots storm through the streets, rushing back and forth through the squares. They look like flaming torches; they dart about like lightning. Nineveh summons her select troops, yet they stumble on their way. They dash to the city wall; the protective shield is put in place. The river gates are thrown open and the palace collapses. It is decreed that Nineveh be exiled and carried away… Plunder the silver! Plunder the gold! The supply is endless, the wealth from all its treasures! Nineveh is pillaged, plundered and stripped. Hearts melt, knees give way, bodies tremble, every face grows pale… ‘I am against you’ declares the LORD Almighty…” (Nahum 2:4-10, 13) What an amazing, graphic description of one of the most remarkable events in all human history!
Today, all that remains of Nineveh, perhaps the greatest city in the world in 650bc, are two huge mounds of dirt covered rubble near the modern city of Mosul, Iraq. History recounts that for 12 years the Babylonians and Assyrians found themselves in frequent battles. Finally, in 612bc, after a long 3-year war, the joined forces of the Babylonians and the Medes did in fact breach the walls of Nineveh and they destroyed that great city slaughtering large numbers of inhabitants and burning to the ground most of the buildings after capturing and removing from Nineveh anything that was of great value.
The prophecy of Nahum chapter 1 & 2 came true about 50 years after Nahum wrote and proclaimed these messages! God poured out His judgment through the Babylonians and Medes on the Assyrians for their viciousness, especially their vicious ravaging of the northern kingdom Israel.
Meanwhile, as Nahum spoke these remarkable messages from God regarding God’s judgment of Nineveh and future restoration of Israel, perhaps these messages were reported to King Manasseh who was being held in captivity in Babylon. (2 Chron. 33:11) The record of 2 Chronicles 33:12,13 seems to be a remarkable example of God’s mercy: “In his distress, King Manasseh sought the favor of the LORD and humbled himself greatly before the God of his ancestors. And when Manasseh prayed to the LORD, the LORD was moved by his entreaty and listened to his plea; so, the LORD brought Manasseh back to Jerusalem and to his kingdom. Then Manasseh knew that the LORD is God!”
What do you see here my friends? Do you see the evidence that God’s ear is always open to the repentant cry of any person, no matter how evil or repulsive they are; no matter how they have rejected God’s truth or blasphemed God? Do you see evidence that God is always ready to forgive a genuinely repentant sinner no matter how grievous their sin? (2 Peter 3:9)
While we don’t have an exact date of this event, the record of 2 Chronicles 33 reports that King Manasseh evidently re-assumed his throne and his reign in Jerusalem and immediately he set about to undo much of the damage he had done to great heritage of his father King Hezekiah, as he sought to restore Jerusalem to its past days of bounty and blessing. “King Manasseh rebuilt the outer wall of the City of David…He stationed military commanders in all the fortified cities in Judah. He got rid of the foreign gods and removed the image from the temple of the LORD, as well as all the altars he had built on the temple hill and in Jerusalem. Then he restored the altar of the LORD, the God of Israel.” (2 Chronicles 33:14-16)
Can you imagine what a remarkable turnaround was happening in Jerusalem and in the Temple area during these months of renewal and restoration? Can you imagine what the people concluded about King Manasseh and his spiritual repentant revival? Have you ever seen such a transformation in a person who rejected their sinful ways and turned to Jesus Christ in repentance and was totally transformed by the Holy Spirit of God as 2 Corinthians 5:17 describes?
Let’s reflect on the dramatic historical truth we’ve seen today, and the power of God displayed both in the destruction of the great city of Nineveh and the transformation of King Manasseh and his return to Jerusalem. As you consider the world in which we live, what might God be preparing to do both in judgment and in revival? Here’s a song to help us reflect on what we’ve seen today.
Today’s Scripture: Nahum 2 & 2 Chronicles 33.
Choose below to read or listen.
Nahum 2
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2 Chronicles 33
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Bible images provided with attribution to www.LumoProject.com.
Have a comment or question about today’s chapter? I’m ready to hear from you, contact me here.
Pastor Doug Anderson
“Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, with our eyes fixed on Jesus…” (Heb. 12:1,2)
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