Through the prophet Nahum, God reveals a few reasons why things were going so badly for Nineveh. The prophet said, "Thy shepherds slumber, O king of Assyria: thy nobles shall dwell in the dust." Because the king had failed to train up the next generation of leaders, there were now major problems in the land. When a leader fails to develop the next generation, the organization's leadership capacity is severely limited to the following:
- the leaders who happen to be available by chance
- the generation currently alive
- the finite amount of gifting we possess
- the existing limits of our wisdom
- the current reach of our influence
Because the king had missed out on developing leaders, he could not stop what happened to the people of Nineveh. The population had grown too large for a single leader to turn things around. Now he had to face the following challenges.
- Blindness. The current generation of leaders is blind to the problems in the land (v. 18)
- Confusion. The people are scattered, and no one is gathering them (v. 18)
- Frustration. The people had no relief and no healing for their wounds (v. 19)
- Chaos. Everyone who heard of Nineveh's fate clapped their hands in mockery and scorn. (v. 19)
Nahum 3:18-19
18 Thy shepherds slumber, O king of Assyria: thy nobles shall dwell in the dust: thy people is scattered upon the mountains, and no man gathereth them.
19 There is no healing of thy bruise; thy wound is grievous: all that hear the bruit of thee shall clap the hands over thee: for upon whom hath not thy wickedness passed continually?
Bible passage