15 Behold, 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.
There
is a hospital in our area where committed medical personnel treat children who
have various forms of cancer and other diseases. Happily, there are many cases when
a child is cured of the ailment by God’s hand through this wonderful staff. On
such an occasion, the staff throws the child a party and the child rings a bell
announcing the deliverance they now have over their life-threatening illness.
What
great news this is especially to those in bondage to some disease! Surely such
a pronouncement is worthy of celebration. Who among us would not also rejoice
over such great news?
That
is what we have in verse 15 (chapter 2, verse 1 in the Hebrew Bible). Nahum has
repeatedly pronounced the coming judgment upon Nineveh and the Assyrians. For
centuries, this evil empire has dominated the middle east bringing destruction
to many and hopelessness to others. The northern kingdom of Israel was
overthrown by them. They also held sway over the southern kingdom of Judah as a
constant threat of their destruction as well. But now, God, through His
prophet, has announced that is about to end!
The
verse begins with words almost identical to those found in Isaiah 42:7 (we aren’t
sure who wrote them first). Essentially, these two verses say the same thing: a
messenger has appeared on the mountains surrounding Judah and that messenger
announces the “good news” that the enemy of Judah has been defeated and the
people have been delivered from their bondage. Peace has come. Ring the bell!
This
terrific news of peace is followed by two commands: “keep your feasts” and “fulfill
your vows”. The first is likely a reference to three annual feasts of Israel:
Passover, Pentecost, and Tabernacles. Passover is a remembrance and celebration
of God’s deliverance of the Hebrew people from their bondage to Egypt.
Pentecost is a celebration of the newness of life given to God’s redeemed. Tabernacles
celebrates the continual abundance of God’s provision for His people. With the defeat
of the enemy, Judah may celebrate!
“Fulfill
your vows” is a reminder to the people to fulfill the commitments they have
made to God. To turn from your vow would be sin. In other words, Judah must
consecrate themselves to serve and obey God.
Why
should they celebrate? Why should they consecrate? “For never again shall the
worthless pass through you; he is utterly cut off.” Your enemy is through. Your
slave master has been forever defeated! Assyria will never again trouble Judah!
But
this verse not only provides good news for Judah and the Old Covenant people.
It also provides good news for the Church and the New Covenant people of God.
Paul quotes the similar verse from Isaiah in Romans 10:15 and interprets it has
the good news proclaimed by Gospel preachers. What great news such ministers deliver!
Ring the bell! We are sinners in bondage to sin and Satan. But Christ has
provided the deliverance from our sin and the devil. That’s good news! So, what
should we do?
First,
let us celebrate our deliverance! Let us celebrate with the Lord’s Supper, the
New Covenant counterpart to Passover. Let us celebrate the coming and
indwelling of the Holy Spirit, the counterpart to Pentecost. Let us celebrate
the daily provision of our Lord until He comes, the counterpart to Tabernacles.
Celebrate your deliverance, believer!
Second,
let us consecrate our lives to serve and obey our Deliverer. What God commands
us, let us do gladly. He has given us freedom and brought us peace.
And,
just like Assyria, the enemy of God’s people Judah, would never defeat and
control Judah again, Satan/sin will never defeat and control us again! God will
preserve His people and protect them until the day He comes!
Celebrate!
Consecrate! Ring the bell for deliverance provided by God’s Son the Lord Jesus
Christ has arrived!
Have
you been delivered? Have you repented of your sins and put your trust in Christ
for the keeping of your soul? The message has arrived. Have you received it?
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