Today in our journey through the 66 books of the Bible we come to the minor prophet, Nahum.
Author
The traditional view is that Nahum was a prophet in the time of King Manasseh of Judah and that Nahum himself is the author of this book. Some modern scholars think the book was written later, making both the prophet Nahum and Nineveh symbolic of good vs. evil.
The name “Nahum” is related to the name “Nehemiah” and means “comfort”. Nothing is known about Nahum other than the name of his hometown, Elkosh, whose location remains uncertain.
Whoever the author of this book was, he was, indeed, a poet. Amidst vivid descriptions of fiery judgment, the prophet/poet Nahum has such great lines as this…
His way is in the whirlwind and the storm,
and clouds are the dust of his feet. (1:3)
I don’t know about you, but in my canon of great literature, and poetry in particular, I think images such as the clouds being the dust of God’s feet are hard to beat.
Date
The brief superscription (1:1) gives no idea of the date of Nahum’s activity. However, the author of this book refers to the conquest and sack of the Egyptian capital of Thebes (No-Amon) as a past event in Nahum 3:8. This indicates that the book of Nahum must have been written after 663 BCE. If the author of this book was writing before the fall of Nineveh, then the book was written between 663 and 612 BCE. If the author was writing pseudonymously in the name of Nahum, then the book may have been written after 612 BCE.
Themes
This is one of the most colorful and dramatic books out of the whole of Hebrew Scripture. The book of Nahum is, mainly, a poetic pronouncement against Nineveh, the capital of the Assyrian Empire. The Assyrians had destroyed the Northern Kingdom of Israel in 722 BCE and the northern tribes were, for the most part, carted off into exile, never to return to their homeland. The Assyrian Empire was certainly one of the most violent in ancient history when one considers the way in which the Assyrians treated their conquered subjects. This goes a long way toward explaining Nahum’s impassioned hatred of Nineveh. We only must think about how many modern Jews feel toward Hamas or Hezbollah to understand how ancient Jews must have felt toward the Assyrians. The book of Nahum functions as assurance to Judah that God is a righteous judge who will set all to rights in the end and therefore the Assyrian Kingdom will fall.
Nineveh was, of course, a real place in ancient times. However, in the book of Nahum, Nineveh also functions as a symbol of a sinful, overbearing, exceedingly oppressive political structure. The fall of Nineveh from the pinnacle of glory becomes an example for God’s people of the fate of worldly, powerful oppressors and of the great power of the Lord. Thus, this book may be seen as a message of hope and trust in the Lord for any who are oppressed by a “Nineveh” in their own time.
When read together with the book of Jonah, one gets the picture of a compassionate God who gives people opportunity to repent before judgment falls. The book of Nahum makes clear that our opportunities to repent will not last forever.
Intriguingly, in a Dead Sea Scroll pesher (interpretation) of Nahum, the prophecy’s original setting—the imminent fall of Nineveh—is ignored and the prophet’s words of judgment are turned against a group called “Seekers of Smooth Things” or “Flattery-Seekers.” It is made evident in the context of the pesher that these “Flattery-Seekers” are the Pharisees.
Structure
I. Superscription (1:1)
II. Nineveh’s Judge (1:2-15)
III. Nineveh’s Judgment (2:1-14)
IV. Nineveh’s Destruction (3:1-19)
Key Concept—Beautiful Feet
For our key concept today, I would like to focus on Nahum 1:15…
Look, there on the mountains,
the feet of one who brings good news,
who proclaims peace!
This verse sets forth a principle that is applicable in several contexts of deliverance. In the book of Nahum, the reference is to the good news of deliverance from the Assyrian threat.
In Isaiah 52:7, a similar statement is made in reference to deliverance from Babylonian exile. There we read…
How beautiful on the mountains
are the feet of those who bring good news,
who proclaim peace,
who bring good tidings,
who proclaim salvation,
who say to Zion,
“Your God reigns!”
The word picture, both in Isaiah and in Nahum, is a reference to messengers who run from the scene of a battle to bring news of the outcome to a waiting king and people. We saw an example of this back in 2 Samuel 18:26.
In the New Testament, in Romans 10, Paul quotes Isaiah as expressive of deliverance from sin through the good news of Jesus Christ. Paul writes…
How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can anyone preach unless they are sent? As it is written: “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!”
The statement, “How beautiful are the feet”, was later made even more famous by Handel in his Messiah.
I would like to spend the rest of our time today focused on Nahum 1:15. Let’s look at this verse together bit by bit…
Look, There on the Mountains
Why do both Nahum and Isaiah talk about good news coming over the mountains?
There are many mountains throughout Israel, but probably the thought in Nahum 1:15 is of the mountains surrounding Jerusalem. The mountain range that surrounds Jerusalem is known as the Judaean Mountains or Judean Hills. Perhaps the particular Jewish mountain most familiar to us is the Mount of Olives which rises above Jerusalem to the east and gives one a splendid view of the Old City. Any way one looks at it, a messenger bringing word of victory in battle to the capital of Judah would have had to cross mountains to get there.
Think of the challenge of such a trek in ancient times. Today we zoom over mountains by car, by bus, by train, or by plane. But it was much more of an ordeal before the advent of modern travel. Still, there are many people living in the 21st century who do not have the benefit of modern forms of travel. I think of the refugees from Africa who cross into Europe by the hundreds using boats hardly fit to carry them. Recently, a group of migrants, having crossed into Europe, made the trek over the Alps on their way to the United Kingdom. Some of them died in the attempt.
When we consider our own attempts to carry the good news of Jesus to others, it is striking how often we allow obstacles to deter us. We may not literally have to cross physical mountains to convey the good news to others, but we do have to cross mountains of spiritual obstacles. The question is: are we willing to make the attempt, or do we give up too easily?
The Feet of One who Brings Good News
Is it not intriguing that Nahum and Isaiah speak of “the feet” of one who brings good news? We would naturally think of the voice of one who brings good news. And the voice emanates from the mouth that is part of the face.
What do we look for when we pick up a friend or family member at the airport? We may identify them from a distance by their hair color, their height, weight, or even the shape of their body. I don’t know of anyone who identifies a friend or family member by their feet. When picking up a friend or family member at the airport, we long, most of all, to see the face of that loved one whom we have not seen for a while.
Yet, Nahum and Isaiah both speak of the feet of one who brings good news. And Isaiah, even more than Nahum, exults in the beauty of those feet.
How do we think about feet? I imagine that most of us don’t normally think of feet as beautiful. Yes, some people have a “foot fetish”, but usually we don’t spend much time talking about beautiful feet. Certainly, some feet are more beautiful than others. And for some of us, the older we get, the less beautiful we consider our own feet. We tend to look at the beautiful feet of youth with a tinge of longing for our youthful past.
One major difference between the feet of our culture and that of ancient Israel and Judah is that most of the time our feet are covered up, even here on the Cape. The people of ancient Israel and Judah would have either gone barefoot or worn sandals. And their sandals in ancient times were not even as elaborate as our sandals today. Their sandals would have been simple leather soles attached to their feet by thin straps.
Think of all the damage that could happen to one’s feet wearing such flimsy protection! And think of how dirty one’s feet would become just with the normal, everyday, walking around in the desert climate of Israel. No wonder that on visiting someone’s house the host would provide for the washing of his or her guests’ feet. And of course, we know the story of Jesus washing his disciples’ dirty feet at the Last Supper. What a job that must have been! It was thought to be a job fit only for a slave, but Jesus took it on.
So, why does Isaiah talk about the beauty of feet? Certainly, feet in ancient times, subjected to such exposure, had to be far less beautiful than modern feet with all our forms of protective foot ware.
And yet, and yet, and yet, Nahum invites us to behold the feet, and Isaiah even calls them beautiful. Why? Because it is the feet that bring the person, crossing the mountains with good news.
And what is that good news? Well, as we have already noted, in the case of Nahum and Isaiah it is the good news of deliverance from the enemy. In the Greek translation of Nahum and in the New Testament the word that is used is εὐαγγελίζω which means simply to announce good news. This is where we get our modern English word: evangelism.
We too have a message of good news to share with others. It is a message of deliverance in spiritual warfare, a message of deliverance from sin. Paul sums up the good news this way in 1 Corinthians 15…
Now, brothers and sisters, I want to remind you of the good news I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand. By this good news you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain.
For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures…
Those two words, good news, are often translated as the one word, gospel. Now when we hear the word, gospel, we often think of the four gospels: Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, that tell the story of Jesus, his life, death and resurrection. But the part of the gospel that Paul says he passed on, and we need to share with others, is the good news that Christ died for our sins and rose again from the dead.
Who Proclaims Peace
This leads us to the final phrase of Nahum 1:15 that we need to examine. Nahum says that the messenger who brings the good news of deliverance from the enemy, that messenger is proclaiming a message of peace.
The Hebrew word that is used here is that wonderful word most of us have heard before: shalom. In Nahum 1:15 this word is used to refer to peace as opposed to warfare, a sort of international peace, because an evil aggressor has been completely defeated. Think of how the people of Ukraine would feel if someone brought to them the news that Putin died, and the Russians were retreating from Ukraine.
But the meaning of the word shalom goes far beyond this sort of military or political peace. The word can be used to refer to complete soundness of mind, body, and soul. That is the shalom that we are given to proclaim, to share, with others.
Paul, in the New Testament, takes this great Hebrew concept, shalom, and joins it with a great Greek word, xάρις, which can be translated as “unmerited favor” or more simply, “grace”. For example, Paul writes to the Philippians, “Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.” (Philippians 1:2) Grace and peace, what a great summary of what we most need in life and what Jesus has to offer to everyone. What a great message we have, to share with the world.
That leaves me with only one question: are we ready, willing, and able to proclaim God’s peace to the world through Jesus Christ?
In Ephesians 6, Paul talks about being ready for spiritual warfare. In that regard he says we need to put on the full armor of God. That armor includes shoes for our beautiful feet. Paul talks about our feet being fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace.(Ephesians 6:15) Are you ready to run with the good news of God’s peace into the lives of others who desperately need to experience God’s grace and peace?
The story is told that Pheidippides (530–490 BC), an Athenian herald, was sent to Sparta to request help when the Persians landed at the city of Marathon in Greece. Pheidippides ran about 150 miles in two days, and then ran back. He then ran the 25 miles to the battlefield near Marathon and back to Athens to announce the Greek victory over Persia in the Battle of Marathon (490 BC) with the words “Χαίρετε νικωμεν”, “Rejoice! We win!” As the story goes, after Pheidippides delivered his message, he immediately collapsed and died from exhaustion.
I first heard this story from my mentor, Leighton Ford, whose son Sandy died on the operating table at the age of twenty-one due to a congenital heart defect. Sandy had two passions in his young life—running and sharing Christ with others. At the end of his beautiful memoir of his son, Leighton writes,
Pheidippides ran exhausted into Athens with news of the Greek victory at Marathon, shouting, “Rejoice! We conquer!” Sandy ran through the lives of those who knew him shouting, “Rejoice! He conquers!” Then, like the runner warrior Pheidippides, he died.
I can hardly think of anything better in life, than to use our life, and even our last breath, to run through the lives of others with the good news of Jesus Christ.
The writer to the Hebrews says,
Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.
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