Nahum 3: 1-7…. More dramatic poetry.

Woe to the bloody city,
all full of lies and plunder—
no end to the prey!
The crack of the whip, and rumble of the wheel,
galloping horse and bounding chariot!
Horsemen charging,
flashing sword and glittering spear,
hosts of slain,
heaps of corpses,
dead bodies without end—
they stumble over the bodies!
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.
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.
I will throw filth at you
and treat you with contempt
and make you a spectacle.
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?

Comment: You may have felt that the final statement of yesterday’s passage was enough, but through Nahum it seems that God wants to underline, write in bold print, put asterisks around what has previously been said. The poetry is so dramatic. Read it slowly again! What had they done to be called a ‘bloody city’? They are accused of lying and plundering. The sexual immorality leads to what we might call ‘gross statements’ of what God plans to do to their whores – to show their nakedness, and to throw faeces in their faces. This applies to both the harlots on the streets and to the leadership as they have been ‘moral harlots’ in their dealings with surrounding peoples. And there is no one to comfort them!

Prayer: Teach me, O Lord, to have that healthy fear of You, which is described in the book of Proverbs.