వ్యాఖ్యానం ప్రస్తుతం ఆంగ్లంలో మాత్రమే అందుబాటులో ఉంది. తెలుగు అనువాదం పురోగతిలో ఉంది.
Nahum 1 — The Lord Is Slow to Anger
A prophecy against Nineveh, the great Assyrian capital that had once repented at Jonah's preaching but had returned to cruelty. The Lord is jealous and avenging — but slow to anger and great in power. He is good, a stronghold in the day of trouble. He knows them that trust in Him. But the wicked shall not go unpunished. Nineveh's end is announced.
“The Lord is good, a strong hold in the day of trouble; and he knoweth them that trust in him.”
— Nahum 1:7
- v.1-8 The character of God — jealous and merciful
- v.9-14 The judgment against Nineveh announced
- v.15 Good tidings for Judah
Slow to anger, and great in power. The combination is significant. Slow because He is great — He need not strike immediately. The weak react quickly; the strong can afford to wait.
The clouds are the dust of his feet. Stunning imagery. What towers above us as the sky is, to Him, the dust kicked up by His walking. The scale of His being puts every human power in perspective.
In the middle of a prophecy about Nineveh's destruction, this gentle verse. The same God who judges the enemy preserves His own.
He knoweth them that trust in him. God's knowledge of His people is not abstract or general; it is personal and protective. 2 Timothy 2:19 — the Lord knoweth them that are his.
What do ye imagine against the Lord? A rhetorical question to the proud. The same nation that had once trembled at Jonah's preaching now plotted against the Lord. The question is timeless.
Affliction shall not rise up the second time. When God finally judges Nineveh, He will not need a second wave. His verdict, once executed, will stand.
Quoted from Isaiah 52:7 and applied here. The feet of him that bringeth good tidings. The messenger announces the fall of the oppressor.
Paul cites the same verse in Romans 10:15 about gospel preaching. The good tidings that Judah heard about Assyria's fall foreshadows the good tidings the world hears about sin's fall — the gospel of Christ.
When the wicked seem to prosper and the persecutor seems unstoppable, return to Nahum 1:7. The Lord is good, a stronghold in the day of trouble; and he knoweth them that trust in him. The same God who lets Assyria flourish for a century will eventually shake it down to the ground. He knows His own. Trust Him with the timing.
The feet of the messenger in Nahum 1:15 are claimed by Paul for gospel preachers (Romans 10:15). The good news that came to Judah — the oppressor's power broken — is the gospel that comes to every captive soul. Christ is the One who has broken the oppressor for every believer. His feet, walking the roads of Galilee and the path to Calvary, were the truly beautiful feet that brought the news of peace.
God is jealous. The same divine attribute named in Exodus 20:5. Not pettiness, but the fierce protection of an exclusive covenant. He will not share His worship with idols, nor His people with their oppressors.
He reserveth wrath for his enemies. Wrath delayed is not wrath denied. The Assyrians had a century of grace after Jonah; that century was running out.