This once great city with towers, palaces, temples, walls, moats and houses was wiped out without trace.  The lack of physical evidence of this mighty city should have served as a reminder that God keeps his word.  However, what actually happened was that scholars couldn’t see the proof of Nineveh and therefore began to doubt it’s original existence.  There was a shift in thought that it was not an actual happening but an allegory to tell of the might of God even over the nations that conquered his people.  While the bible contains history, happens, proverbs and parables, we need to be careful not to discount what we do not understand or cannot prove.

Chuck Swindoll tells the story of Dr Barnhouse who every Sunday would have a question and answer session with his church.  One young man calls out the question ‘How come the children of Israel walked through the wilderness for 40 years and their shoes did not wear out?  Dr Barnhouse replies with one profound word ‘God!’ The young man responds ‘Now I understand.’ To which Barnhouse said ‘No you don’t son, nobody understands.’

We may not ever fully understand God, his plans, his will or his ways.  There may always be an element of the unresolved mystery when enquiring of the awesomeness of God.

In 1847 a young explorer named Austin Henry Layard unearthed a mound in Iraq that had lay unnoticed for years.  His discovery of an ancient and majestic city was later confirmed to be the Nineveh that we recognise from the bible.  Let’s be careful not to let our lack of understanding turn mystery into myth.  We may not know everything but can rest in the knowledge that he is still God.