Gravity

The scatterer has come up against you. Man the ramparts; watch the road; dress for battle; collect all your strength. For the LORD is restoring the majesty of Jacob as the majesty of Israel, for plunderers have plundered them and ruined their branches. The shield of his mighty men is red; his soldiers are clothed in scarlet. The chariots come with flashing metal on the day he musters them; the cypress spears are brandished. The chariots race madly through the streets; they rush to and fro through the squares; they gleam like torches; they dart like lightning. He remembers his officers; they stumble as they go, they hasten to the wall; the siege tower is set up. The river gates are opened; the palace melts away; its mistress is stripped; she is carried off, her slave girls lamenting, moaning like doves and beating their breasts. Nineveh is like a pool whose waters run away. “Halt! Halt!” they cry, but none turns back. Plunder the silver, plunder the gold! There is no end of the treasure or of the wealth of all precious things. (Nahum 2:1-9 ESV). Very little is known about Nahum, but from his writing we gain a sense of his keen intellectual and literary abilities, his command of certain OT themes and literatures, and perhaps most importantly his love and humility before a gracious, holy and vengeful God. The Hebrew name Nahum means “compassion,” or “comfort” and is interesting in light of God’s promises throughout the book of comfort and deliverance for his people. They were hard times for the people of Israel. I’ve noticed that in hard times, people look for something to anchor them. They need something they can count on. May I suggest gravity? You can count on gravity. It never fails. A recent survey shows more Americans than ever claim “no religion.” Gravity may be all they can believe in. But gravity doesn’t take the heart very far. There are better options for people anxious to know if there’s anything more than death in the end. Not for people in Nineveh, the capital of the Assyrian empire. For them, the scatterer is coming. Their best efforts are as hopeless as defying gravity. Do all you may, Nahum says. Run to your battle stations (v. 1). Put extra metal plating on your chariots. Call out your elite troops. Go ahead. Run to your weapons, practice your drills (vv. 3-5). The prophet knew that Nineveh was finished, like a pool leaking water (v. 8). God’s plan, not technology or empire, was the sure and certain future for human history. What an incredible message for our day. When people have begun to live by “an abundance of caution” there is a better option. God’s love is our hope when life is scary. Our hope comes from knowing that the “Scatterer” is also the “Gatherer,” the Lord who makes safe the way of all who are his chosen children. Don’t be afraid. God is near, and in control.