The North, Assyria and Nineveh Zephaniah 2:13

When Zephaniah began to prophesy concerning the LORD's punishment of Judah and Jerusalem, he included cities such as Gaza, Ashkelon, Ashdod and Ekron as well as countries such as Moab, Ammon and Ethiopia in his writings. In chapter two and verse thirteen of his prophesy, he added “the north, Assyria, and Nineveh” to his list where we read:

And he will stretch out his hand against the north, and destroy Assyria;

and will make Nineveh a desolation, and dry like a wilderness.

The verse begins, “And he will stretch out his hand against the north, and destroy Assyria;” Zephaniah continued his prophesy with the words “And he will stretch out” which is one Hebrew word, “natah” which means “to extend, spread out, pitch, turn, pervert, incline, bend, bow and thrust aside” “his hand” or “hand of strength, power and special portion” “against the north” which refers to “the northern direction” “and destroy” or “perish, vanish, go astray, be exterminated, kill, give up, blot out and lose” “Assyria” which means “a step” and was “the second son of Shem, eponymous ancestor of the Assyrians”. Not only was the LORD going to move in judgment against Judah, Jerusalem, and these other countries, but “Assyria” was to experience the punishment of God as well.

The verse goes on to say, “and will make Nineveh a desolation, and dry like a wilderness.” Zephaniah more specifically wrote, “and will make” or “put, place, set and appoint” “Nineveh” which means “abode of Ninus” and was the “capital of the ancient kingdom of Assyria; located on the east bank of the Tigris river, 550 miles (880 km) from its mouth and 250 miles (400 km) north of Babylon” “a desolation” or “devastation and waste”. Zephaniah continued, “and dry” or “drought and desert” “like a wilderness” which refers to “a pasture and uninhabited land”. When the LORD would bring his judgment upon “Nineveh”, the capital city of “Assyria”, there would remain only a barren desert-like wilderness to be seen.

When we meditate upon this prophesy of Zephaniah, we discover once again the thoroughness of the punishment of the LORD. The country of “Assyria” was to be barren and empty, and the capital city “Nineveh” that once flourished with people was to be a barren desert land. There is no city, regardless of how prominent and embellished it may be, that can withstand the judgment of the LORD should He come against it, and the power of Almighty God is able to bring the greatest efforts of man to nought should He desire to do so. Since this is true with cities, how much more should we as individuals desire to keep a relationship with His Son Jesus Christ lest we be made as a wilderness ourselves? May the LORD Jesus remind us of the country of “Assyria” and the city of “Nineveh” should we ever begin to stray away from His side.

Next time Zephaniah shares how “flocks shall lie down” within the city of Nineveh, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.

Until tomorrow…there is more…

Look for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, and the new devotional “One Year in the Sermon on the Mount” in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com ; http://www.barnesandnobles.com ;