Nahum 1:11-15

Nahum 1:11 (KJB)

There is one come out of thee, that imagineth evil against the LORD, a wicked counseller.

 

The counselor in view may be referring to Sennacherib the king himself who plotted to attack and defeat Judah or it may be referring to Rabshakeh who delivered the ultimatum to King Hezekiah.  2 Kings 18:19 (KJV) And Rab-shakeh said unto them, Speak ye now to Hezekiah, Thus saith the great king, the king of Assyria, What confidence is this wherein thou trustest?  Rabshakeh tried to shake the confidence of Judah and turn them from trusting the Lord to complying with the terms the Assyrians offered Judah.  Their plan was to get Judah to distrust the Lord and to trust Sennacherib and the Assyrians.  This is why this man was called a wicked counselor.  Anyone who counsels another to distrust the Lord and place their trust in man is wicked.

 

Nahum 1:12 (KJB)

Thus saith the LORD; Though they be quiet, and likewise many, yet thus shall they be cut down, when he shall pass through. Though I have afflicted thee, I will afflict thee no more.

 

Now the prophecy switches from the Assyrians to addressing Judah.  The Lord is assuring Judah that though the Assyrians be quiet, that is, well-disciplined and that they fear no danger because of their great might that they have enjoyed for years plus their many numbers which gave them a false confidence in believing that they could never be attacked and defeated.  Just as the angel of the Lord passed through the Egyptians on the tenth plague, the same situation will happen here.  The Assyrians will face a great slaughter to the point of defeat.  No army is too big for the Lord when he pronounces judgment and an end.  Then God assures Judah that he has afflicted them in the past by allowing the Assyrians to badger them but he will no longer afflict them by means of Assyria.  In a few decades however, Judah will be afflicted by the Babylonians in 587 B.C. but for now the Assyrian threat has been neutralized.

 

Nahum 1:13 (KJB)

For now will I break his yoke from off thee, and will burst thy bonds in sunder.

 

Since Assyria had demanded that Judah begin to pay tribute or else they would suffer the consequences, here God is assuring Judah that no longer would they be in bondage to Assyria as God will destroy them thus breaking the yoke of financial slavery and threats.  He will break those bonds in sunder, that is, remove or pull off those shackles of oppression with the destruction of Nineveh.

 

Nahum 1:14 (KJB)

And the LORD hath given a commandment concerning thee, that no more of thy name be sown: out of the house of thy gods will I cut off the graven image and the molten image: I will make thy grave; for thou art vile.

 

Now the prophecy switches back to King Sennacherib himself and God pronounces a three-fold judgment upon him.  First, he will have no descendants to rule in any capacity since God is telling him no more which means none and that is final.  The second judgment is that God is going to remove the graven and molten images out of their temples.  Those false gods have been the source of lies that have been perpetuated in their name for the benefit of the rulers.  This would also show that once a false god is defeated by another god, it means, the defeated god had no power to stop him.  God is showing that he is the true God and their gods were nothing but false images.  The third judgment that God is going to bring is that Sennacherib will be killed and will be buried.  The word “vile” carries with it the meaning of “small, insignificant, or light.”  In other words, in comparison to God, Sennacherib was only a small potato.  All his glory and all his wealth and strength means nothing as the day of his death and the death of his kingdom approaches.

 

Nahum 1:15 (KJB)

Behold upon the mountains the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace! O Judah, keep thy solemn feasts, perform thy vows: for the wicked shall no more pass through thee; he is utterly cut off.

 

Nahum now quotes a portion of a passage found in Isaiah.  Isaiah 52:7 (KJV) How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace; that bringeth good tidings of good, that publisheth salvation; that saith unto Zion, Thy God reigneth!   The good news being heralded to Judah is that their enemy Assyria is now suffering judgment at the hand of God.  This means they no longer have to live in cowering fear that the Assyrians would show up at their borders and attempt to destroy them.  They may now resume or continue on keeping the feasts in complete peace.  They may also continue it keep the vows they have made to God that if he delivered them then they would do certain things in response.  They were now assured by God that Assyria would no longer come through their land looking to plunder and collect unreasonable amounts of tribute.  The enemy has been totally cut off, that is, neutralized and no longer a threat to Judah.

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