The shields of his mighty men are made red, The valiant men are in scarlet. The chariots come with flaming torches In the day of his preparation, And the spears are brandished. (Nahum 2:3)
Red was a favourite colour of the Babylonian and Median armies, and as the people of Nineveh watch from the ramparts they would see the blood red shields, and the scarlet uniforms, the chariots flashing with metal as preparations are made, and the soldiers fiercely brandishing their long spears of pine.
The chariots rage in the streets,
They jostle one another in the broad roads;
They seem like torches,
They run like lightning. (Nahum 2:4)
Many see this as a prophetic reference to automobiles in the streets
The voice of your messengers shall be heard no more (Nahum 1:13)
Nineveh enjoyed its status as a power-center of the world and gloried the fact that the voice of her messengers commanded attention in palaces all over the world. That day would come to an end under the judgment of God.