From Splendor to Shadow

Lessons From the Proud Assyrian Empire

Inspiration has likened Assyria at the height of her prosperity to a noble tree in the garden of God, towering above the surrounding trees: “Under his shadow dwelt all great nations.” “All the trees of Eden ... envied him.” Ezekiel 31:6, 9. SS 191.1

But the rulers of Assyria, instead of using their blessings for the benefit of mankind, became the scourge of many lands. Merciless, with no thought of God or their fellowmen, they pursued the fixed policy of causing all nations to acknowledge the supremacy of gods of Nineveh, whom they exalted above the Most High. God had sent Jonah to them with a message of warning, and for a season they humbled themselves before the Lord of hosts and sought forgiveness. But soon they turned again to idol worship and to the conquest of the world. SS 191.2

The prophet Nahum, in his arraignment of the evildoers in Nineveh, exclaimed: SS 192.1

Woe to the bloody city,
All full of lies and booty—
No end to the plunder!

Horsemen charging,
Flashing sword and glittering spear,
Hosts of slain, heaps of corpses,
Dead bodies without end—
They stumble over the bodies!

Behold, I am against you, says the Lord of hosts.
Nahum 3:1, 3, 5, RSV

With unerring accuracy the Infinite One still keeps account with the nations. While His mercy is tendered, with calls to repentance, this account remains open; but when the figures reach a certain amount which God has fixed, the ministry of His wrath begins. The account is closed. SS 192.2

“The Lord is slow to anger, and great in power, and will not at all acquit the wicked.” “Who can stand before His indignation? and who can abide in the fierceness of His anger?” Nahum 1:3, 6. SS 192.3

It was thus that Nineveh became a desolation, “where the lion brought his prey, where his cubs were, with none to disturb.” Nahum 2:11, RSV. SS 192.4

Zephaniah prophesied of Nineveh: “Herds shall lie down in the midst of her, all the beasts of the field; the vulture and the hedgehog shall lodge in her capitals; the owl shall hoot in the window, the raven croak on the threshold; for her cedar work will be laid bare.” Zephaniah 2:14, RSV. SS 192.5

The pride of Assyria and its fall are to serve as an object lesson to the end of time. “The Lord is good, a stronghold in the day of trouble; and He knoweth them that trust in Him. But with an overrunning flood He will make an utter end” of all who endeavor to exalt themselves above the Most High. Nahum 1:7, 8. SS 192.6

This is true not only of the nations that arrayed themselves against God in ancient times, but also of nations today who fail of fulfilling the divine purpose. In the day of final awards, when the righteous Judge of all the earth shall “sift the nations” (Isaiah 30:28), heaven's arches will ring with the triumphant songs of the redeemed. “Ye shall have a song,” the prophet declares, “as in the night when a holy solemnity is kept; and gladness of heart, as when one goeth with a pipe to come into the mountain of the Lord, to the Mighty One of Israel ... . Through the voice of the Lord shall the Assyrian be beaten down, which smote with a rod.” Verses 29-31. SS 193.1