Man the Ramparts; Watch the Road

“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.

Desolate! Desolation and ruin!
    Hearts melt and knees tremble;
anguish is in all loins;
    all faces grow pale!” Nahum 2:1-10

Watch for rebellion, watch for judgment! War and judgment are ugly and destructive as the sin that spawns them. The prophet declares that holy God is never mocked, nor does He tolerate sin. He will uphold His majesty. Rather than point the finger or take pleasure another’s ruin, God’s people must keep watch and seek to understand His working in the world. Tremble at His holiness, submit to His discipline, be willing to learn. (Matthew 7:1-5; Luke 18:8-14)

God exists and does all things for His sake and glory. He acts in time and space so we might know and worship Him. His Spirit convicts of sin for our good and His glory, and when He judges sin it is for the same. We must neither grumble over His discipline nor gloat in another’s shame or reckoning, but humbly bow before the God who has been merciful toward us. He lovingly seeks out His own and saves without shaming or chastisement, and we can do the same. (Luke 15:4-7; John 16:8)

In the hum of life, our eyes can be so focused on details of today, or riveted by exciting opportunity, that we fail to look for what God is doing in the culture and nations. The tyranny of the urgent blinds us to the sad tyranny of people enslaved in sin, trapped in ignorance, or undergoing devastation. We jump to conclusions, blame, and wag the finger, and don’t stop to ponder God’s broader work, particular judgment, or expectation for us. Has the world’s desolation no meaning or conviction for us?

Do we pray with compassion for those under persecution and ruin? Do we take vengeful thoughts to the Lord, asking Him to guard our hearts and guide right thinking? How vigilantly do we keep watch on ourselves? Where have we been tripped up dismantling others’ motives and behavior and tricked into concluding we’re righteous in comparison, or above judgment? As God the Judge has extended grace to us, so may we to others. (Psalm 19:14; 139:23-24; Proverbs 4:23; Luke 17:3-4; Romans 12:19; Ephesians 4:32; Hebrews 10:30-31)

Lord, keep me trembling at Your holiness, and generous in grace and love.