“Your shepherds slumber, O king of Assyria; your nobles rest in the dust. Your people are scattered on the mountains, and no one gathers them. Your injury has no healing; your wound is severe. All who hear news of you will clap their hands over you, for upon whom has not your wickedness passed continually?” (Nahum 3:18–19, NKJV)

The destruction of Nineveh of the Assyrians is a tragic story of a strong nation that went bad. To this we could add Egypt, Babylon, Rome, and the Third Reich in Germany. This is what happens to any nation or people that ignores the revelation of God and the Word of God.

The Assyrians were arrogant, violent and cruel. They were despised by all other nations. God had given them opportunity to repent, which they did under the preaching of Jonah, but they quickly turned back to their idolatrous and wicked ways. When judgment came at the hands of the Babylonians and Medes, their shepherds (rulers) and nobles perished, and their people were scattered. They had conquered many nations and scattered people throughout the Assyrian empire. Now they were scattered with no one to gather them. They reaped what they had sown.

The law of sowing and reaping is a spiritual law that no one escapes.

“Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap. For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life.” (Galatians 6:7–8, NKJV)

The human tendency is to live however we want and then only after our life comes crashing down to consider the consequences of our attitudes and actions. But we can save ourselves much pain and judgment if we will realize that every thought, word and action is leading to a predictable outcome.

“Sow a thought and you reap an action; sow an act and you reap a habit; sow a habit and you reap a character; sow a character and you reap a destiny.” (Ralph Waldo Emerson)

If we sow to our sinful nature by obeying its cravings and passions, then we will reap corruption (decay, rottenness) judgment, and death (separation from God and others). But if we sow to the Spirit by obeying God’s commandments and following the leading of the Spirit, then we will reap peace, joy, spiritual riches, and everlasting life.

If in the spring you sow the seed of a tomato plant indoors and water the soil, then you can expect a tomato plant seedling to sprout up. Transplant this into your garden and it will produce tomatoes in the summer. This is a law of creation that every seed planted produces fruit after its own kind. Are you happy with how your garden is growing and the quality of the fruit you are bearing? If not, then what must you change? What seed can you sow today that will bear good fruit tomorrow?