“For the Lord is restoring the majesty of Jacob as the majesty of Israel. For plunderers have plundered them and ruined their branches.”
– Nahum 2:2
The context of this verse, Nahum 2:2, is when we are reading about the destruction of Nineveh, the capital of Assyria. The Assyrians who had attacked and plundered God’s people in verse two. So now, with that context in mind, listen to this language. “For the Lord is restoring the majesty of Jacob as the majesty of Israel for plunderers have plundered them and ruined their branches.” There’s a ton we could talk about in just this verse as well as this whole chapter. But here’s the one picture I want to encourage you to take away today and for us to pray according to. Here’s the reality of Nahum chapter two, verse two, God will defend and restore His people who trust in Him.
God’s people wait for perfect justice knowing that God is our defender.
One of the wrestling’s we see all throughout the Old Testament and particularly many of these prophecies where God is declaring judgment at times among His people. He’s foretelling what’s going to happen to them because of their sin. And they’re starting to wonder, “Will you ever restore us? Why is this happening?” Particularly when they see nations like Assyria rising up and prevailing in different ways. They’re tempted to think, “Has God forgotten us?”
God is the Ultimate Bringer of Justice
Now, it’s obviously not exactly the same, but there are times when maybe you are treated unjustly. Or maybe you experienced suffering at the hands of another. This verse is a clear reminder that when that happens, you can know God will ultimately defend and restore you as you trust in Him. It’s part of why in the New Testament, we see clear commands not to seek revenge. Not even in a sense to defend ourselves but to trust in God as our defender, to trust in God is the one who will bring ultimate justice.
That doesn’t mean we don’t desire and do justice in the present. Micah chapter six, verse eight, certainly made that clear as God said that to His people, that He required that of His people. At the same time, we know, as long as we live in this fallen world, we will be waiting for perfect justice in our lives and in the world around us.
Nahum 2:2: God is Our Defender
And as we look to God in prayer, we can trust that He is our ultimate defender. He will restore. He will fully redeem all those who trust in Him. So we pray, Oh God, we look to you today as our defender when we are slandered, spoken against, mistreated, hurt in different ways. God, we’ll look to you as our defender, as the one who rises up on behalf of your people in love, in mercy, and care, the care of a father for his children. You are our defender, and we rest in you.
We trust in you. We pray that you would help us to live with our lives fixed on you as our defender. As the one who will ultimately bring justice. Oh God, we are so thankful that this world and evil and wickedness in it. Injustice and wrong in it, will not have the last word. We are so thankful that you have the last word, and you love us as we trust in you, and we say, “Yes, today, we trust in you.” We don’t put our trust in this world, ultimately, in people or the applause of this world. God, we specifically don’t seek the applause of people in this world. God, we seek you. We look to you, and we trust that you are our defender. You are our restorer. You are our Redeemer, and you will bring us to yourself, and your justice will reign.
Giving Our Trust to God
God, we pray for that, our father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come, your will be done earth as it is in heaven. We pray this to you, oh God, our defender, our restorer, and our Redeemer with total trust. All our trust in you because you are worthy of our trust. That’s why we pray in Jesus name because we know you are worthy of our trust through what you have done through your son. To make the way for our salvation to guarantee all the things that we have just prayed. That you will restore, and you will redeem. And you will bring ultimate justice. We pray all these things in the powerful name of Jesus, our Savior, our Lord, and King. Amen.
David Platt serves as a pastor in metro Washington, D.C. He is the founder of Radical.
David received his Ph.D. from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary and is the author of Don’t Hold Back, Radical, Follow Me, Counter Culture, Something Needs to Change, Before You Vote, as well as the multiple volumes of the Christ-Centered Exposition Commentary series.
Along with his wife and children, he lives in the Washington, D.C. metro area.
