Are We Better than Thebes?

Young people don't think about growing old. The wealthy can't conceive of a life of poverty. Arrogant winners think they will never lose.

While the city Nineveh wasn't young, she was wealthy and victorious. These Assyrians were also very cruel, subjecting their defeated foes to terror and torture on a scale unimaginable today. But, when Nineveh threatened the people of God, the prophet spoke out: "Are you better than Thebes? She became an exile."

Thebes was the capital city of Egypt, a mighty city with great wealth. Located on the Nile, she thought the river would provide safety from attack. The Assyrians in Nineveh destroyed Thebes completely, however, and subjected them to unspeakable atrocities of war. But, the prophet warned, it is in these spectacular victories that the seeds of defeat are sown.

The Assyrians should have been able to see the similarities. Situated on the Tigris, Nineveh considered herself untouchable. She was wealthy and powerful. The prophet was saying, in essence, "Do you remember what you did to Thebes? It's going to happen to you."

Is America like the Ninevites today? Do we think that we will be spared while other nations are judged and condemned? Are we so arrogant that we think we are above defeat? We all need to read Revelation 18, in which the fall of another great - albeit symbolic - city is lamented: "Fallen! Fallen is Babylon the Great!" When that was written, it was a clear reference to Rome. But the parallels to the United States are quite eerie. Are we better than Thebes?