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The publisher of peace.

Jesus did to sin and death what he had promised to do to Nineveh: “I will make your grave.”

By Charity Edwards   |  Read the verses.

Nahum 1:1-15

1An oracle concerning Nineveh. The book of the vision of Nahum of Elkosh.
2The LORD is a jealous and avenging God;
the LORD is avenging and wrathful;
the LORD takes vengeance on his adversaries
and keeps wrath for his enemies.
3The LORD is slow to anger and great in power,
and the LORD will by no means clear the guilty.
His way is in whirlwind and storm,
and the clouds are the dust of his feet.
4He rebukes the sea and makes it dry;
he dries up all the rivers;
Bashan and Carmel wither;
the bloom of Lebanon withers.
5The mountains quake before him;
the hills melt;
the earth heaves before him,
the world and all who dwell in it.
6Who can stand before his indignation?
Who can endure the heat of his anger?
His wrath is poured out like fire,
and the rocks are broken into pieces by him.
7The LORD is good,
a stronghold in the day of trouble;
he knows those who take refuge in him.
8But with an overflowing flood
he will make a complete end of the adversaries,
and will pursue his enemies into darkness.
9What do you plot against the LORD?
He will make a complete end;
trouble will not rise up a second time.
10For they are like entangled thorns,
like drunkards as they drink;
they are consumed like stubble fully dried.
11From you came one
who plotted evil against the LORD,
a worthless counselor.
12Thus says the LORD,
“Though they are at full strength and many,
they will be cut down and pass away.
Though I have afflicted you,
I will afflict you no more.
13And now I will break his yoke from off you
and will burst your bonds apart.”
14The LORD has given commandment about you:
“No more shall your name be perpetuated;
from the house of your gods I will cut off
the carved image and the metal image.
I will make your grave, for you are vile.”
15Behold, upon the mountains, the feet of him
who brings good news,
who publishes peace!
Keep your feasts, O Judah;
fulfill your vows,
for never again shall the worthless pass through you;
he is utterly cut off.

Verse 1.

Judah is being oppressed by an enemy called Nineveh. God’s word comes in an oracle, a burdensome message, to the prophet Nahum to pronounce judgment.

Verses 2-3a.

The oracle immediately establishes that God is passionate about justice, that injustice makes him angry. Yet, he is slow to anger, which tells us he has given Nineveh a long time to repent. The Judeans would have first thought that God was talking about his (and their) adversaries and enemies.

God’s anger has slowly been building against his enemies. But what will he do with it? What will his justice look like?

Verses 3b-6.

The Judeans had stories of God dealing out wrath upon them, and upon their enemies. They would have told and re-told stories of when God stopped the sun so their enemies could be vanquished; moved the seas so the Egyptians would drown; opened the ground to swallow up evildoers. They knew this destruction was not hyperbole; God is all-powerful.

The land stands no chance against the anger of a just God; the Ninevites stand no chance against him; we stand no chance either.

Verse 7.

A timely reminder in the middle of this chapter about anger, justice, wrath and punishment – God is all-good. Even his anger and judgment are good. He is safe for the people who take refuge in him.

Verses 8-11.

Just as Jonah did 100 years earlier, God lays out the wickedness of the Ninevites. He accuses them of “plotting against the Lord” and promises that they will not get away with it. We have no more hope of reaching God on our own than the Ninevites have of surviving the overflowing flood of God’s wrath.

Verses 12-13.

The Ninevites’ past atrocities against Judah were God’s punishment on Judah for their own wicked behavior. God’s justice goes both ways: turn from him and be punished; turn to him and be saved. The Ninevites know this from earlier in their history (cf: Jonah). But God has also promised to act; “I will afflict you no more.” We begin to glimpse that maybe there is hope for us.

Verse 14.

The Ninevites will turn to their gods to save them, but God will prove himself superior over their idols of metal and carved materials.

Likewise God proves himself superior over the idols of our own lives and hearts. Whatever our idols – money, comfort, security, control, power, people, approval – God is infinitely superior.

Verse 15.

God ends this chapter of judgment and justice with hope. God brought temporary peace to Judah, but they were eventually defeated by their enemies. Nevertheless, God had a plan to bring about greater, lasting peace.

Nahum prophesied about a person “who brings good news and publishes peace.” 650 years later, Jesus came to earth to defeat Judah’s – and our – greatest enemies: Sin and death.

Jesus, as God, fully understands the anger, judgment, and destruction that we deserve as sinners. He also brings the goodness of God to those who take refuge in him. On the cross we see God’s justice, as Jesus let all of God’s wrath be poured out on himself; in the resurrection, he defeated our enemies.

Jesus did to sin and death what he had promised to do to Nineveh: “I will make your grave.” He did for us what he had promised to Judah: “I will break [your enemy’s] yoke from off you.”

In Jesus, we have a refuge, Nahum’s “stronghold in the day of trouble,” an eternal legacy, and God’s own word that we are “utterly cut off” from our enemies. Because of the gospel, those promises of peace are ours.

Nahum 1:1-15

The publisher of peace.

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