The Scatterer

by: Mark Fackler

In hard times, people look for something to count on. If you’re desperate, there’s always gravity. You can count on gravity. It never fails. A recent survey shows more Americans than ever claim “no religion.” Gravity may be all they can believe in.

But gravity doesn’t take the heart very far. Aren’t there better options for people anxious to know if there’s anything more than death in the end?

Not for people in Nineveh, the capital of the Assyrian empire. For them, the scatterer is coming. Their best efforts are as hopeless as defying gravity. Do all you may, Nahum says. Run to your battle stations (v. 1). Put extra metal plating on your chariots. Call out your elite troops. Go ahead. Run to your weapons, practice your drills (vv. 3-5).

The prophet knew that Nineveh was finished, like a pool leaking water (v. 8). God’s plan, not technology or empire, was the sure and certain future for human history.

Here’s a better option: God’s love is our hope when life is scary. Our hope comes from knowing that the “Scatterer” is also the “Gatherer,” the Lord who makes safe the way of all who in trust him. Don’t be afraid. God is near, and in control.