Nahum 2:10–13 (NKJV)
She is empty, desolate, and waste!
The heart melts, and the knees shake;
Much pain is in every side,
And all their faces are drained of color.
Where is the dwelling of the lions,
And the feeding place of the young lions,
Where the lion walked, the lioness and lion’s cub,
And no one made them afraid?
The lion tore in pieces enough for his cubs,
Killed for his lionesses,
Filled his caves with prey,
And his dens with flesh.
“Behold, I am against you,” says the LORD of hosts, “I will burn your chariots in smoke, and the sword shall devour your young lions; I will cut off your prey from the earth, and the voice of your messengers shall be heard no more.”
This passage teaches a tough lesson about the LORD’s priorities. Here Nahum gives a harsh description of how the Ninevites will feel and likens them to a pride of lions being wiped out. “Where is the dwelling of the lions?”
But in verse 13, it’s the LORD speaking. After giving some specifics about what will happen to Nineveh, He notes where that leads. “The voice of your messengers shall be heard no more.”
No other consequence is mentioned. This is the endpoint of their destruction. The LORD isn’t just eliminating people; He’s eliminating their civilization. This includes their philosophy and their ethics—the voice of their messengers. In other words, He’s exterminating the evil at the heart of who they are. The people aren’t the point of this any more than the buildings are.
That’s spiritual warfare.
One of the key lessons of theology is, “It’s not all about you.” This is especially true of spiritual warfare.
The times spiritual warfare has been most apparent haven’t been times of great death and destruction; they’ve been scandals. While we are hunted by evil forces, the war is between kingdoms.
And please don’t think that I mean to minimize the plight of the victims in these scandals. Their suffering is the foundation of why these events are scandalous.
But these scandals are distinctive in the way that they’re embarrassing.
That’s the stamp of spiritual warfare.
