| Nahum 3:7 And it shall come to pass, that all they that look upon thee shall flee from thee, and say, Nineveh is laid waste: who will bemoan her? whence shall I seek comforters for thee?
Those Who Give Mercy Get Mercy
What kind of help could you expect tomorrow if you lost all your leverage today? If you had no money and no authority, what kind of help could you expect to receive because people wanted to give it? You might think on that for just a moment, because some of the most powerful people and nations in this world have built themselves at the expense of others. History is full of the rise and fall of empires, almost all of whom came to their zenith by raw power and the leveraging of that power against others.
Assyria, represented by the great city Nineveh, was no exception. She came onto the world stage by sheer force of cruelty, exertion of power, and ambition. Nahum pronounced woe on this city built on the misery and at the expense of others. Thus, when the time came that they were weak and no longer had the leverage to force people to aid them, there was no help. The reason should be self-evident. Those who withhold or lightly esteem mercy can expect none.
Here was mighty Nineveh who lightly esteemed mercy on both sides. On one side, God had extended mercy to them 100 years before when Jonah had brought a message of judgment. Nineveh had turned to God, but they had forgotten God and very quickly regressed back to their old ways of cruelty and oppression. They lightly esteemed God's mercy and thus they lightly esteemed the mercy they could have shown to others who were not as powerful as they were.
What do you suppose the reaction of the world was when Assyria was at the mercy of someone else? Nahum 3:7 says, "And it shall come to pass that all they that look upon thee shall flee from thee, and say, Nineveh is laid waste: who will bemoan her? whence shall I seek comforters for thee?" There were no comforters for Nineveh, only those who rejoiced. The last verse of this book says, "All that hear the bruit of thee shall clap the hands over thee: for upon whom hath not thy wickedness passed continually?" They were reaping what they had sown.
Now you're an individual, not a nation, but you and I should both remember that the attributes that characterize our rise to power may also accompany our fall from power. Those who are merciful receive mercy. Those who are humble give it, and those who are wise do not take mercy for granted. They thank God for it and then pass it along.
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