Thebes was a city in Egypt (v8) which like Nineveh had been protected by a great river. Thebes also had strong allies (v9) but it all was to no avail (v10).

The Lord is seeking for Nineveh to learn the lesson from other situations in life. They need to realise that ultimately all kingdoms which seem secure will one day pass away. Nineveh’s fortresses will fall and her army will fail (v11-13). As Egypt falls so too will Nineveh.

Anything we rely on outside of the Lord will be fragile. What are you truly relying on? Is it really God or could it be your money, your work, your ability, your own wisdom? One way we can test how reliant we are on God will be by looking at our prayerfulness or lack of it.

The account of a pending attack is very descriptive (v14-15). It is to bring home the seriousness and reality of what will happen. Merchants (v16), soldiers (v17) and nobles (v18) they rely on will fly away like a swarm of locusts. Her reliance was on those who were just in it for themselves.

The church should be so different. We should be caring and reliable to others.

Their wound will be fatal (v19) and many will rejoice over their destruction. Evil will have its day, but its day will be short. (Revelation 17 v3-6; 18 v1-10)