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Nahum 3 (ESV)

Woe to Nineveh

1 Woe to the bloody city,
all full of lies and plunder—
no end to the prey!
² The crack of the whip, and rumble of the wheel,
galloping horse and bounding chariot!
³ Horsemen charging,
flashing sword and glittering spear,
hosts of slain,
heaps of corpses,
dead bodies without end—
they stumble over the bodies!
⁴ And all for the countless whorings of the prostitute,
graceful and of deadly charms,
who betrays nations with her whorings,
and peoples with her charms.

⁵ Behold, I am against you,
declares the Lord of hosts,
and will lift up your skirts over your face;
and I will make nations look at your nakedness
and kingdoms at your shame.
⁶ I will throw filth at you
and treat you with contempt
and make you a spectacle.
⁷ And all who look at you will shrink from you and say,
“Wasted is Nineveh; who will grieve for her?”
Where shall I seek comforters for you?

REFLECTION:

• Here the prophet Nahum describes Nineveh as a city full of blood, deceit, rape, and robbery (1). In other words, it is a place of no justice, truth, and love. The Prophet also called it a prostitute (4), because of its shameful behaviour, only seeking to satisfy selfish desires and unscrupulous. Of course, such a city cannot escape God’s punishment. God once again said: “Behold, I am against you.” (5) It can be seen that God hates it. This city will be ravaged by a very powerful army, with countless dead people. God will make it shame before the nations, no one will pity it and comfort it (7).
• Nineveh used her prosperity, honor, and power to lure the nations with the same methods as prostitutes (4). It pretended to establish diplomatic relations with the nations, let them neglect to take precautions, and regarded it as a true ally, but when the time came, it looted and destroyed them. Although Nineveh was beautiful and attractive on the outside, it was full of treacherous and deceit inside. Behind the veil of beauty often hides seduction and murder. Whether it is a government agency, group or individual, do not be lured by them to lower personal moral standards or make compromises because of their attractive appearance.

PRAYER:

Dear Lord, please teach me to live in awe of You, and try my best to save the lost souls, so that more people will be spared the miserable punishment in the future.

HYMN:

Here I Am Lord – youtu.be/_b-ocGlQvzM