Nahum 1-3
Assyria, once the world’s superpower, the most feared of nations: Where are you now?
The LORD is good,
Nahum 1:7-9
a stronghold in the day of trouble;
He knows those who take refuge in Him.
But with an overflowing flood
He will make a complete end of the adversaries,
and will pursue His enemies into darkness.
What do you plot against the LORD?
He will make a complete end;
trouble will not rise up a second time.
Whereas Jeremiah assures Judah that the LORD will not make a full end there, Nahum tells Assyria just the opposite: The outcome for Assyria is most definitely a complete end. As Isaiah 10:5-27 makes clear, Assyria is the LORD’s instrument of judgment upon Israel and Judah — but unwittingly so, as Assyria’s own intent is evil. The LORD thus holds Assyria responsible for its arrogance and its brutality. And sure enough, Assyria’s descent from world domination to obscurity is remarkably swift at the hands of the Babylonians and the Medes — or, rather, by the LORD’s mighty hand.
Take heed, Russia. Take heed, China. Take heed, U.S.A.