Lions’ Dens

by: Mark Fackler

Among the Maasai people of Kenya, young boys once graduated into manhood by killing a lion with a spear, knife, or club. A long training program preceded the hunt. Youthful hearts needed to be shaped and instructed. To face those fearless yellow eyes and kill the beast meant that the youth’s courage passed the ultimate test.

Nahum’s imagery is best understood if you’ve actually faced the beast yourself and held your pounding heart in check while you drove a shaft into its heart. But we can still appreciate what Nahum was driving at. If someone has the power to enter the lion’s den, nothing else will stop him.

God is the hunter in this prophecy. The Assyrian empire is the lion. Though they believed they were safe, they would soon feel God’s spear. Who can stand up to him? Who can hide?

Some parts of the Old Testament world are hard to bring into the 21st century. God hunting and avenging evil is a difficult import. But Nahum reminds us: don’t oppose this warrior; don’t think you are beyond the reach of God. If your heart is a den where God is not welcome, invite him now. He will come there one way or another. Better as a friend than as a hunter.