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"Desolation shall be at the threshold"

Text: Zephaniah 2:14

A GRIM DESCRIPTION OF THE DESTROYED CITY OF NINEVEH

Zephaniah proclaimed a prophecy of the destruction of Nineveh! The description was grim!

“The herds shall lie down in her midst.
Every beast of the nation.
Both the pelican and the bittern
Shall lodge on the capitals of her pillars;
Their voice shall sing in the windows;
Desolation shall be at the threshold;
For He will lay bare the cedar work.
This is the rejoicing city
That dwelt securely,
That said in her heart,
‘I am it, and there is none besides me.’
How has she become a desolation,
A place for beasts to lie down!
Everyone who passes by her
Shall hiss and shake his fist.”
Zephaniah 2:14-15

1. “He will lay bare the cedar work”

a) The LORD God Himself whom Assyria despised would be the One who would destroy Nineveh.

b) The city may have prided itself in having beautiful wood like cedar to adorn homes, but the home would be destroyed.

2. Nineveh at its height

a) It boasted and rejoiced conceitedly that there was none like her.

b) The city of Nineveh felt totally secure against all enemies.

c) They had not reckoned correctly the power of the Lord God.

3. The aftermath of war when Babylon defeated Assyria

a) Desolation would come to the city.

b) Passers-by would hiss and shake their fists at Nineveh (hurling insults).

4. The inhabitants of Nineveh

a) Herds of cattle

b) Every beast of the nation (instead of human beings)

They will overrun the city of Nineveh.

c) Pelicans and bitterns

i) These were birds that dwell in marshes.

ii) The great land of Nineveh once called “the rejoicing city” would become marshland.

iii) Pelicans and bitterns would make their home in the wet marshland.

iv) They would even fly to the window sills of empty houses and sing there.

d) The arrogant Ninevites would have no song of victory to sing now.