Sunday 28th April
Read Zephaniah 2:12-15
“‘You Cushites, too,
will be slain by my sword.’
13 He will stretch out his hand against the north
and destroy Assyria,
leaving Nineveh utterly desolate
and dry as the desert.
14 Flocks and herds will lie down there,
creatures of every kind.
The desert owl and the screech owl
will roost on her columns.
Their hooting will echo through the windows,
rubble will fill the doorways,
the beams of cedar will be exposed.
15 This is the city of revelry
that lived in safety.
She said to herself,
‘I am the one! And there is none besides me.’
What a ruin she has become,
a lair for wild beasts!
All who pass by her scoff
and shake their fists.” (NIVUK)
The final picture of desolation may be the most haunting. It is certainly the most far-reaching, going south below Egypt and north to Assyria. It is deceptively complete – for the flocks and herds seemingly peacefully lying down amidst this desolation (v14a) turn out to be wild animals and birds – not domesticated stock. The echo of hooting owls reverberates plaintively through this picture.
There is irony in the failure of these empires who claim almost divine authority (v15b) but who will ultimately be cast down by the One with actual authority (v12b). Yahweh will personally intervene to establish His name and remove theirs – they will become nothing more than a warning to everyone concerning the nature of pride and hubris.
The question it leaves us with is real. Where do we place our hope? Where do we find security and safety? Are we satisfied with all we have achieved and earned? Those empires were but they came to naught.
