Nahum 2:13
Behold, I am against thee, saith the LORD of hosts, and I will burn her chariots in the smoke, and the sword shall devour thy young lions: and I will cut off thy prey from the earth, and the voice of thy messengers shall no more be heard. Behold, I am against thee, saith the LORD of hosts, and I will burn her chariots in the smoke, and the sword shall devour thy young lions: and I will cut off thy prey from the earth, and the voice of thy messengers shall no more be heard.
Nahum's prophecy is chiefly concerned with Nineveh, the wicked capital of Assyria, foretelling its destruction and fall and the end of Assyrian dominance. In it the Lord declares Himself against Nineveh to destroy its military power and chariots, to devour its young lions, its young warriors and rulers, to cut off its prey and plunder from the earth, and to silence its messengers. Nineveh serves as a type of many later cities. Its ruins stand as evidence that the foretold downfall and judgment came to pass.
The prediction was fulfilled when Media, Egypt, and Babylonia joined against Assyria and the city fell. Assyria yielded to the united and superior power of her former dependencies, so that Nineveh fell and Babylon under Nabopolassar rose again to ascendancy.
The verse belongs also to the prophecy describing the day of God's preparation, when the chariots are like torches and run like lightning. This day is preparation for the second advent and the day of God and precedes the hour of judgment, so it is the period for warning the world about the judgment and the second advent. The appearance of swift-running chariots since the time of the end is a sign that this day of preparation has arrived.