There is a reason why we're starting the book of Nahum and if you have a look at chapter number
one, verse number one, it begins by saying the burden of Nineveh. So the title for this sermon,
there's the same title that Nahum gives his sermon, is the burden of Nineveh, the burden of
Nineveh. And you know, we just previously ended the series on the book of Jonah and of course,
Jonah was preaching to the same city, the city of Nineveh, which was the capital city of ancient,
the ancient Assyrian kingdom, Nineveh was that capital and great city. And of course,
we saw in the type of Jonah that, you know, God's, it was a wicked city, God's desire was to destroy
it. But hey, Jonah's a great preacher, he was able to turn the hearts to the Lord God, they were
saved and then they repented from their evil and God did not destroy their city. And now we get to
basically the second book about the city of Nineveh. This is like part two, if you want.
If you want to look at the city of Nineveh as a two-part series, you'll definitely start with
Jonah as part one and then the book of Nahum as part two. And you know, we don't know exactly,
you know, it's hard to sort of judge exactly when the events of Nahum took place as far as how many
years from Jonah. But you know, it's estimated that somewhere between 80 to 150 years. You know,
basically, I guess it doesn't really matter, you know, how far it is. But the point is,
it's enough time for several generations to have passed through, right? The generation that got
saved by the preaching of Jonah is not the same generation that Nahum is now preaching to. There's
been several generations. And as it is, we've made many times in the Bible, even if it's the
Israelites, you know, you can have a great generation, love, loving the Lord, serving the
Lord. But all it takes is a few generations where they drop the ball. The parents don't instruct
their kids in the proper way. The children seek, you know, they don't have the same remembrance and
the same fondness, the same zeal for God as the previous generation. And so we see this continually
take place. And it always sat into my heart when I see how the generations that go by, they drop
that ball, and they do not serve the Lord the way they ought to. And it brings to mind just a
continual remembrance how important it is that if you're a parent, you know, to raise your children,
to love the Lord, you know, to raise your children to fear the Lord. And, you know, it's one thing to
have your own faith, and for your children to tag along to church or for your children to tag along
and soul winning, but really, they have to learn it themselves. They have to appreciate themselves.
They have to learn and have a desire to serve God with their own lives. Because of course, it is
their own walk with God that will keep them serving the Lord faithfully all the days of their life.
And so easily, you know, let's say 100 years has gone by. And what do we find? We find that the
city of Nineveh has turned away from the Lord, they're back to wickedness. And then we see that
God is very angry at them. And I do believe that God is thinking back to the time when Jonah
had his great preaching and how they turn their hearts to God as we read through this chapter.
But let's look at verse number one again, it says the burden of Nineveh. So this preaching, this
sermon from from Nahum is a great burden on Nineveh. Okay, this is not a sermon that's light
and delightful and pleasant to the ears. This is going to be a great burden for the city of Nineveh.
It says the book of the vision of Nahum, the El Coshite, Nahum the El Coshite. Now,
again, we don't know much about the prophet Nahum. Okay, we learned that is an El Coshite,
meaning that he's from the city or the town of El Cosh. But people generally do not know where
this is, where this is located. And part of the reason for that, of course, you know, he had been
Israelite or you know, but one thing that we learn here is that, well, one of the thoughts, you know,
why don't we have the sort of good historical records of the city? The main reason that people
think might be the case is that the city had a change of name. Okay. And so you'd be familiar,
of course, cities and even countries have change of names, as history goes on, this can happen.
And it's possible, it's possible that when you read the New Testament, that the city of Capernaum,
you may remember that city or the town of Capernaum, that could very well have been El Cosh.
Okay. And the reason people say that is because, I mean, think of the name Capernaum, you know,
Capernaum, Capernaum. And we're looking at the prophet Nahum. Okay. So Capernaum basically means
the town or the village of Nahum. And so it could be, it could be, I don't know for sure,
but it could be that El Cosh was renamed Capernaum. And that's the city that we're more familiar with,
of course, when it comes to the Bible. All right, let's keep going there. Verse number two,
it says, God is jealous. Now, jealous is a good attribute to have. I've taught this before.
But, you know, when we in our modern vernacular use the term jealous, we misuse it. Many times
we mean to say envious, where someone looks at another person, and they're envious of what
they've achieved, envious of who they are, envious for their possessions. You know, that, that, of
course, is a negative attribute that is a sin, envy is a sin. But jealous is talking about,
speaking about the things that belong to you. And, you know, God's name is jealous. You know,
God speaks about himself being a jealous God when he speaks to the nation of Israel. And so
when he looks at the nation of Israel, of course, is a jealous God, because that nation belongs to
him. They entered into that covenant, that agreement with God, that God will be their God,
and that they would be the people of God. And so it's quite interesting. And this is why I believe
God is harkening back to the preaching of Jonah here. It's interesting that God is speaking to the
Assyrians, okay, Gentiles, if you want to put it that way, to the city and say, God is jealous.
Like God is jealous about them. Okay, again, because there was a generation that got saved,
there was a generation that got right with God, they became the people of God as it were.
And so it is right for God to be jealous about this city, that yes, once there were worship and
praises coming from this Gentile city toward the Lord God through the preaching of Jonah.
And so it makes perfect sense that God is jealous toward Nineveh as well. God is jealous,
it says, look how mad God is. And the Lord revengeeth. I'm going to take revenge on you,
Nineveh now. And it says the Lord revenges times two, revenge times two, okay, and is furious.
The Lord will take vengeance. I mean, this is like, revenge, revenge, revenge, vengeance times
three. Vengeance, of course, is the noun. Revenge is the verb, okay. So three times God is saying,
I'm taking vengeance upon you. God, the Lord will take vengeance on his adversaries. Now,
think about that term adversary. That's all about an enemy. Okay, God no longer looks at the city
of Nineveh as his people. He sees it as his enemies. It says, and he reserveth wrath for
his enemies. There it is, adversaries, enemies. That's how God is feeling toward this nation
right now. And so this is a judgment. This is a Syrian empire. You know, I mean, this is about
Nineveh, but as we think about the city of Nineveh, of course, if the city of Nineveh is
going to be destroyed as the capital city of the Assyrian empire, then of course, we're talking
about the whole empire ultimately falling down and being destroyed, okay. And this is what,
of course, Naim is preaching about. Now, it may very well be that the events, the timing of this
preaching, as you may be familiar with, the nation of Israel was broken up into two kingdoms. You've
got the northern kingdom of Israel and the southern kingdom of Judah. And, you know,
as a church, we've looked at Jeremiah and how the southern kingdom of Judah was taken into
captivity by the Babylonian empire. But about a hundred years before that took place, the northern
kingdom of Israel was taken into captivity by the Assyrian empire, okay, by the Assyrians.
And so, obviously, God used the Assyrians to judge the wicked nation of Israel, but now it
was time for the Assyrians to be judged. And, you know, the Assyrian empire basically was overthrown
by what would eventually become the Babylonian empire. We know that the Babylonian empire was
the great empire of that day. Not only did they take the southern kingdom into their power,
but also they ended up taking over the Assyrians. And so, yeah, the Babylonian empire was the great
kingdom that took over the Assyrians. So, you know, God is prophesying, or Naim is prophesying,
that this city and this kingdom will be taken over, and, you know, this is God's wrath, this
is God's vengeance, because they've done wickedly, all right? All right, let's keep going there.
Verse number three. Now, again, verse number three reminds us of the words that he said to Jonah,
or, you know, what we read about in the book of Jonah, I should say, because it says in verse
number three, the Lord is slow to anger. So even though he's taken great revenge on the city of
Nineveh, it says the Lord is slow to anger. That should remind us, you know, I'll just, you don't
need to turn there, I'll just quickly read to you from Jonah chapter four, verse number two. This is
Jonah praying to God. It says in Jonah chapter four, verse number two, and he prayed unto the
Lord and said, I pray thee, O Lord, was not this my saying when I was yet in my country? Therefore,
I fled before unto Tarshish, for I knew that thou art a gracious God and merciful, slow to anger,
there it is, and of great kindness, and repentest thee of the evil. And so, you know, God was
supposed to destroy Nineveh at the time of Jonah, but because they got right with God, God repented,
he's slow to anger, all right, and this is something that, you know, Jonah recognizes about
God, you're slow to anger, this is why you gave the Ninevites more opportunities to get right with you
rather than destroying them straight away. And now when we get to Nahum, again, verse number three,
the Lord is slow to anger, okay, and because we just read in verse number two how God's going to
take vengeance, you know, he's got his fury, he's angry at this nation, but again, the Lord is slow
to anger, he's given them time, you know, like I said, there's been about a hundred years or so
that's taken place, God has given them time, the generations have turned away from the Lord
to make things right, but now it's too late, now God is going to destroy this nation and destroy
this empire. It says the Lord is slow to anger, in verse number three, and great in power,
and will, look at this, and will not at all are quite the wicked. He says, look, I'm not,
the word quite means to let go or to be made free, he goes, I'm not going to let the wicked
go free this time, you know, he did in the time of Jonah, he repented, he gave them the opportunities,
all right, he forgave them, he goes, not this time, this time if you're wicked, you're going
to be judged for your wickedness, you're going to cop it, it says the Lord have his way in the
whirlwind and in the storm and the clouds are the dust of his feet. I love that image there,
you know, when we look at the clouds, you know, they're up high and they look kind of beautiful
when it's a nice sunny day, but to God the clouds are just like his dust as he walks, you know,
through the heavens, the cloud just represents the dust, you know, when we think of dust as
something that is dirty and, you know, not look, not well looked after, I guess, and that's the
image of the clouds and so God of course speaking of his greatness, you know, that God is a great
God and you just can't continue in weakness, God will step in and correct that. Verse number four,
it says he rebuketh the sea and maketh it dry, now that should bring to remembrance the fact that
God can make the sea dry, the miracles that took place, you know, when Moses led the Israelites
through the Red Sea, he made the land dry, when Joshua led the Israelites into the promised land,
it was the Jordan River that was made dry in that occasion as well, so it's all about how God
is a miraculous God, that God has control over the nature and there's a reason why this is said,
you know, God's just basically saying look I've got control over the weather, over nature,
over the seas and I'll explain to you why he mentions this a bit later as we keep going through
this chapter, it says and drive up all the rivers, Basham, Basham is in the region of Syria,
it says Basham, Languishef and Carmel, Carmel is the mountain ranges of Israel, it says and the
flower of Lebanon, Languishef, God is saying look I can control the weather, I can control the rain,
the sea, I can make things dry, I can bring the rains, you know, there are places in the world
that language is not just Israel, it's Carmel, it's Basham, it's Lebanon, God has control over
the weather all across the whole world, okay, verse number five, the mountains quake at him
and the hills melt and the earth is burned at his presence, yea the world and all that dwell
therein, so God's presence makes the mountains quake, it makes the mountains melt, now this is
not just poetic language, okay, keep your finger there and please turn to Judges, keep your finger
there, turn to Judges chapter 5, turn to Judges chapter 5 and while you're turning to Judges
chapter 5, I'll read to you from Exodus 19, you turn to Judges 5, I'll read to you from Exodus 19
verse number 17 which reads, this is the time when Moses came to Mount Sinai with the Israelites
and Moses brought forth the people out of the camp to meet with God and they stood at the
nether part of the mount and Mount Sinai was all together on a smoke because the Lord descended
upon it in fire and the smoke thereof ascended as the smoke of a furnace and the whole mount quakes
greatly, so when God brings his presence to the earth, you know, he's got to in a way protect the
Israelites, they're at the bottom of the mount, he's at the top, when he comes down there's fire,
there's smoke, the mountain quakes, you know, it's like a furnace is burning that mountain,
now you're there in Judges 5, look at Judges 5 verse number 3, Judges 5 and verse number 3,
the Bible reads, here O ye kings, give ear O ye princes, I even I will sing unto the Lord,
I will sing praise to the Lord God of Israel, Lord when thou wentest out of Seir, when thou
marches out of the field of Edom, look at this, the earth trembled and the heavens dropped,
the clouds also dropped water, look at verse number five, the mountains melted from before
the Lord, even that Sinai from before the Lord God of Israel, isn't that interesting,
we see how Mount Sinai quaked and it melted, okay, so you know, put that thought in your mind,
you know, there are some people that believe they have found Mount Sinai, well Mount Sinai would
have been a little bit bigger, a little bit taller before the Lord God descended upon it and it
literally melted with fire, okay, I mean that's the power of God, just his presence, he brings the
fire, you know, he's a powerful God, a great God, a God that deserves fear, a God that deserves
worship and praise and then we consider what are we to the Lord God but dust and yet he loved us
so much to send his son to die for us, praise God for the God that we worship and love,
let's keep going there, Nahum chapter one, verse number six,
who can stand before his indignation, now that word indignation is another way of saying anger,
who can stand before God's anger, I mean look, if God just turned on the glory, just his presence,
if the Lord descended, you know, upon you, you would melt, I mean and that's not even God being
angry, what if God descended and was angry, I mean who could possibly stand before God,
now of course when it comes to indignation, it's not just anger, it's anger due to being offended
or being insulted, okay, so God is telling the Ninevites, look you've insulted me, you offended
me because they were made right with God, God gave them a chance, all right, to be delivered
and now they've gone back to their old ways, they've offended, they've been sold to God
and now God does definitely have to destroy the city, it says and who can abide in the fierceness
of his anger, his fury is poured out like fire and the rocks are thrown down by him,
so what I want you to do now is keep your finger there and go to Deuteronomy, go to Deuteronomy
chapter 32 and verse number 21, we see that his fury is poured out like fire, what does this mean,
please go to Deuteronomy chapter 32 and verse number 21,
now when we go to Deuteronomy 32, 21, Moses is reminding this new generation of Israelites that
are going to go into the promised land that, you know, if they keep the covenant with God,
they're going to be blessed, they're going to be on the land but if they break the covenant,
that they're going to be cursed and so part of the curses of breaking God's covenant with
with the Lord, let's have a look at this in Deuteronomy 32 verse 21, Deuteronomy chapter
32 verse number 21, this is of course Moses speaking to the nation of Israel, the Israelites,
okay, this is what God says, God is speaking about the Israelites, they have moved me to jealousy
with that which is not God, so notice God is jealous about the Israelites but then when it
comes to Nineveh, God is jealous for the Ninevites because they got saved and they should have
continued, they could have stayed, you know, they would have been, you know, their nation,
their kingdom could have been the greatest nation, the greatest kingdom if they just set the God of
Israel as their God continually, okay, it says they have provoked in Deuteronomy 32, 21, they
have provoked me to anger with their vanities and I will move them to jealousy with those which are
not a people, I will provoke them to anger with a foolish nation, look at verse number 22, for a
fire is kindled in mine anger and shall burn down to the lowest hell, so when we know when God gets
angry, it, you know, comes forth as a fire, even the lowest hell, you know, we talk about the fires
of hell, you know, that is the anger of God, you know, I hate that teaching where the people say,
well if you die without Christ, you know, you're going to face an eternity of separation from God
in hell, that's not true, in hell you are in the very presence of the anger of God, it's God's anger,
God's wrath that kindles the fires of hell, all right, so look, you're not getting away from God
when you go to hell, you're just facing the wrath of God for all eternity, that's what's happening
to a soul that dies without believing on Jesus Christ, now it continues there in verse number 22,
and shall consume the earth with her increase and set on fire the foundations of the mountains,
now we get a bit more information about how this judgment, this anger comes forth upon a nation,
in verse number 23 it says, and I will heap mischiefs upon them and I will spend mine arrows
upon them, and so God is speaking how a nation when it suffers the anger, the fires of God,
there's going to be mischief in the nation, okay, there's going to be arrows, so there's going to be,
there's going to be, you know, invading armies coming in and attacking the people,
look at verse number 24, and they shall be burnt with hunger, that's another description of God's
fire judgment is hunger, famine, a lack of food, okay, and devoured with a burning heat,
so, you know, the weather, you know, no rain, you know, drought and just the heat of the sun
beating down upon a people, again God's wrath, and with bitter destruction I will also send
the teeth of beasts upon them and the poison of serpents of the dust, so even the wild animals,
you know, can come and ravish a people, that's part of God's anger, God's fire,
verse number 25, the sword without and terror within shall destroy both the young man and
the virgin, and the suckling also with the man of grey hairs, so young and old, they're all
going to suffer if they turn against the Lord God by the sword invading armies, this is the fire of
God's judgment, he's given us a description of what that looks like, and ultimately of course
that fire burns down to the lowest hell, all right, let's go back to Nahum chapter 1 and verse
number 7, so you know the same judgments that God said would happen to Israel is now going to happen
to the city of the Ninevites, and you know when we get to verse number 7, it just sort of, verse
number 7, just kind of, it's like this, what's it saying, like a sore, it sticks out like a sore
thumb, it's like, hold on, how did we all of a sudden get to verse number 7, it says in verse
number 7, because you know you might say well I don't like this, the old testament teaching
pastor, can't you teach us the nice things of the new testament, you know constantly hearing about
God's wrath and God's anger, hasn't God changed, that's the old testament, you know God is good
now, God is loving now, you know God has changed, but look at verse number 7, the Lord is good,
amen, you know even when God is pouring out his wrath on a wicked nation or a wicked city,
God is still good, this is righteousness, this is the goodness of God that he has to judge sin
and wickedness, so all of a sudden like out of left field right, the Lord is good, hold on,
we're talking about God's anger, God's wrath, and then the prophet says no, the Lord is good,
look at this, a stronghold in the day of trouble, now I'll give you a moment why I believe this
has been preached by Nahum, and so you know he's a stronghold in the day of trouble, we know that
the sea of Nineveh is going to face a day of trouble, God's going to destroy it,
and then it says and he knoweth them that trust in him, he knoweth them that trust in him,
you know when we say to be saved you have to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ,
what we're saying is you have to trust in the Lord Jesus Christ, belief and trust go hand in hand,
it's the one and the same thing, we're trusting Christ, his death, his burial resurrection,
to have paid for our sins, to have paid for our home in heaven, if we put our trust alone,
our faith alone, our belief alone on Jesus, then we become his, and what's wonderful it says and
he knoweth them that trust in him, you know the moment you trusted in the Lord he's never going
to forget you, he knows you in the time of trouble, so this sounds a little bit out of left
field, and you might say well maybe it's the Lord's thing about the Israelites right now,
you know God's people, and I'm sure this is relevant to them, this is relevant to us,
all right if we're facing a day of trouble, you know it's nice to remember that God knows us,
he hasn't forgotten about us, he's a place of refuge, a stronghold, a place of protection,
you know even if our city is falling apart, you know it's on fire, the Lord has sent a conquering
army to destroy it, to take over it, we know that as God's people his eye is upon us, and we can run
to him and he'll protect us and keep us safe. Well I believe verse number seven, again the title of
the sermon is The Burden of Nineveh, I believe that verse number seven are for the Ninevites
that have still, even though they're few and far between, you know just a few remnant,
that have stayed the course, you know generations have still believed in the Lord God,
they're still walking the paths that Lord God has laid out through the preaching of Jonah,
you know even though Nineveh as a majority has turned against the Lord,
you know I think it's reasonable and logical to believe there are still some Ninevites,
some people that are still saved, they've passed down the teach and the gospel,
you know the people still, some very few, very few, just like it is in any city right,
just like it is in Sydney, there's very few people that are truly saved, children of God isn't there,
and so I believe God's name is encouraging the believers in Nineveh, the very few, hey even
though God's going to destroy the city, hey but if you have trusted in him, if you're one of God's
people, that God knows who you are, God's going to protect you, he's going to keep you safe during
this time when the city and the nation and the kingdom of Assyria is going to be destroyed.
Verse number eight, it says but, so even though the Lord is good, even though the Lord does look
upon his people, it says but with an overrunning flood, he will make an utter end of the place
thereof and darkness shall pursue his enemies, and so it's quite interesting, you know many
times when the bible speaks of a flood that destroys a city, many times it talks about a
nation, a nation that comes and destroys, and yes there was a nation, there was a military force,
as I said the Babylonians okay, the Medes and the Persians, they are all the, I think it was
the Medes that came forth and conquered over Nineveh, and so yes there was an army, but you
know what, even we can also take this literally because, and I looked into this, but there are
several historical records that say that Nineveh was destroyed by a flood okay, even though yes
there was an army, there was a conquering, it was burnt by fire as well, as many times it happened
in the ancient world, but also a flood, you know the river banks, you know they overflowed, and
this is why I believe earlier in the chapter God is speaking that he's in control of the weather,
that he can make the dry, he can make the land dry, he can make the rivers dry,
you know he can make it rain, or he can make it you know cause droughts, and so not only was
Nineveh conquered, but he was then destroyed by a flood, and I'll just quickly read to you just a
little portion that I found online, this is from archaeologist Austin Henry Layard who wrote in his
work Discoveries at Nineveh, he writes that the palace had been destroyed by fire, and then it
says the alabaster slabs were almost reduced to lime, and many of them fell to pieces as soon as
uncovered, so as they're discovering the city, as they're finding parts of it, it's kind of just
falling to pieces, it says the places which others had occupied could only be traced by thin white
deposits like a coat of plaster left by the burnt alabaster upon the wall of sun-dried bricks,
then it says this was the extent of my discoveries at Nineveh from the dimensions of some of the
halls, look at this, it is evident that the ruins are those of a building of great extent and
magnificence, the man upon which it stood, so the man upon which this great building stood
was once washed, was once washed by the river, was taken, destroyed by the river, and so you can see
that, yeah, and this is just one historian, there are several historians or archaeologists that can
attest to this city actually, you know, being destroyed by a flood, okay, and you know, I guess
when we think about Australia in the last few years with the heavy, strange heavy rains down the
east coast, there's been a lot of floodings and you guys know full well, you know, there are houses,
there are places completely destroyed by the power of water as it breaks the banks of rivers and
destroys, you know, easily destroys, you know, buildings and the construction of man, so,
you know, it's quite interesting that it's also literal the fact that this flood would make an
utter end of the place thereof, as it says there in verse number eight, all right, look at verse
number nine, it says, what do you imagine against the Lord? He will make an utter end. Affliction
shall not rise up the second time. God is saying look, Nineveh, it's all over, you're not getting a
second chance, you got the chance with Jonah, he says now it's going to be an utter end, look
affliction shall not rise up the second time, meaning that the Assyrians did afflict as they
were a powerful kingdom, they did afflict, obviously they afflicted the northern kingdom of Israel
and God is saying look you're not going to afflict the second time, you're not going to get another
chance at this, you know, this is the end of the Assyrian empire, okay, verse number 10, for while
they be folding together as thorns, I'm going to break this up before I read the whole verse there,
so this is talking about their strength, so the Assyrian empire of course had a strong army which
is how they were able to conquer different cities and nations, so it says here that, you know,
they're describing the military, the strength of the Assyrians as being like getting thorns,
we know thorns can prickly, they can hurt but it's folding together, so it's like not just a
thorn, you know, a vine of thorns but it's been folded, it's got several thorns, it's got strength,
it's got power, it's got military might, the Assyrian empire but then he says and now we
talk about the weakness of the empire, it says and while they are drunken as drunkards, so we see
one of the weaknesses of the Assyrians that they were drunks, you know, they were addicted to their
alcohol and this is the weakness that God would use to overthrow them, it doesn't matter how
strong they are in the military form, okay, but as soon as those soldiers get drunk, you know,
they can't think straight, they can't fight right and God would use this time, a place, a time of
drunkenness where they would be conquered, it says they shall be devoured as stubble fully dry
and so that should be another reminder for us Brevin to stay away from the alcohol,
it's a weakness, it's a weakness, you want to destroy your life or you want to be easy to,
you know, make it easy for the enemy to attack you, you know, that's what alcohol does, you know,
it destroys your brain cells, doesn't cause you to think straight, doesn't cause you to fight
properly and God will use that weakness to judge you and hurt you, alright, so we're now up to
verse number 11 and verse number 11, we kind of get a new thought to this sermon, okay, now
if you look at verse number 11, it says there is one come out of thee, there's one that's going
to come out of Nineveh or the Assyrian empire if you want to look at it that way and what I want
to explain to you here, so even though the Assyrians took over the northern kingdom,
you know, if you know your bibles, God did not allow them, they tried, they tried to overtake
the southern kingdom of Judah but God did not allow the Assyrians to do that because Judah at
that point in time was still right with God, alright, so before we read verse 11 and because
I want to give you the context, drop down to verse number 15 first, drop down to verse number 15
which reads, behold upon the mountains the feet of him that bringeth good tidings,
that publish of peace, oh Judah, that's the southern kingdom, okay, the southern kingdom
that God protected from the Assyrians, oh Judah, keep thy solemn feast, perform thy vows for the
wicked shall no more pass through thee, he is utterly cut off, alright, so the reason I wanted
to read that just so we can get back to verse number 11, we know that God is, yes, he's dealing
with the Assyrian empire, Nineveh, the capital city but this time in their relation to the southern
kingdom of Judah, okay, because once we understand that context then we can take some other
historical writings from the kings, from our second kings and we can understand what's taking
place here in this prophecy, so look at verse number 11, let's start there in verse number 11
again, it says, there is one come out of thee, there is one coming out of this empire, the
Assyrian empire, that imagineth evil against the Lord, a wicked counsellor, now who could this
possibly be, keep your finger there and please go to second kings 18, please go to second kings 18,
second kings 18 and verse number 13, second kings 18 and verse number 13,
the Bible reads, now is the 14th year of king Hezekiah, king Hezekiah was the king of Judah,
did Sennacherib, king of Assyria, so who's the king of Assyria at this time, Sennacherib,
okay, king of Assyria come up against all the fenced cities of Judah and took them,
so what I'm saying to you brethren, this one that comes out of Nineveh, this one that imagines
evil against the Lord, this one who is a wicked counsellor is the very king of Assyria, Sennacherib,
you say well hold on pastor, you know Sennacherib is the king, he's talking about a counsellor,
yeah you're right, I mean I guess you know a council, a king does give counsel, so
I'm sure you know we're looking at just another role that he holds but as we keep going through
name, the rest of chapter one, you'll definitely see that it's a hundred percent speaking about
this Sennacherib, okay and I'll show you why, okay but let's keep going there in 2 Kings 18
verse number 14, sorry at the end of verse number 13 it says come up against all the fenced cities
of Judah and took them, so yeah Assyria did try to overthrow Judah and was having some success,
you know some of the, I guess some of the border cities, they were coming as they were marching
towards Jerusalem, they were taking over some of those cities, now how does king Hezekiah respond,
now king Hezekiah in a large part is a good king, he's a godly king, I believe he's saved,
okay but he does something foolish, I guess he's fearful about what's going to happen,
he's seen what's happened to the northern kingdom, they've been dispersed, they've been taken into
exile, he's worried this is going to happen to him, it says in verse number 12, sorry verse
number 14, 2 Kings 18, 14 it says and Hezekiah king of Judah sent to the king of Assyria to
Lasech saying I have offended, return from me, he goes look I've offended you king, please return
from me, please go back, please don't take over Judah, okay that which now put us on me will I
bear, he goes whatever you want to put up on me we will bear that, basically saying we'll pay
whatever you want, whatever taxes, whatever you want, whatever resources, we'll give you anything
you want, we'll serve you, you know but just don't take over us, please don't destroy us,
you know and then it keeps going there, it says and the king of Assyria appointed unto Hezekiah
king of Judah 300 talents of silver and 30 talents of gold, so he goes all right, you know
Sennacherib goes all right, just give me your silver, give me your gold, right verse number 15
and Hezekiah gave him all the silver that was found in the house of the Lord
and in the treasures of the king's house, so I mean this is wicked of course, he should not
have taken the treasures from God's house and give it to this king, okay but that's what he
did out of fear, he should have turned to God, he should have gone to the prophets of God and
sought counsel from them but instead he's carrying out what king Sennacherib has asked of him
and then it says in verse number 16, at that time did Hezekiah cut off the gold from the doors of
the temple of the Lord and from the pillars which Hezekiah king of Judah had overlaid
and gave it to the king of Assyria, all right so they form this agreement, you know don't take
over us, leave us alone and king Sennacherib for a period of time agrees to that, he doesn't destroy
Judah but now you can definitely see that Judah is under the servitude of the king of Assyria.
Now keep your finger there in 2 Kings chapter 18, keep your finger there please, we are going
to return back but I just want us to compare this chapter with Nahum chapter 1, so go back to Nahum
chapter 1 and look at verse number 12, Nahum chapter 1 and verse number 12, it says thus
saith the Lord, though they be quiet, so though the Assyrian empire be quiet, this is like you
know being at peace, kind of like what God is saying is they're confident, they know they're
powerful, nothing's bothering them, they can go to any city, any nation and conquer them because
they're strong, okay so they're confident, they're quiet and likewise many, so there's many of them,
there's a great military force, God says yet thus shall they be cut down when he shall pass through,
though I have afflicted thee, I will afflict thee no more, okay so God allowed, God actually allowed
the Assyrians to afflict Judah to some extent, okay I guess Judah wasn't completely right with
God, God allowed some level of judgment from the Assyrians but God now says look I'm not going to
afflict you anymore with the Assyrians, okay it says there in verse number 13, for now will I
break his yoke from off thee and will burst thy bonds in sunder, so God says I will deliver you
from the hands of the king of Assyria, okay now go back to second Kings, go back to second Kings
and instead of chapter 18, just go to the next chapter, go to chapter 19,
go to chapter number 19 and so this relationship between king Hezekiah of Judah and king
Sennacherib of Assyria, this agreement it kind of went sour, it didn't work out the way they,
you know they wanted and so the king of Assyria decides no you know what we're just going to take
over Judah, okay because he's upset with king Hezekiah but what takes place here in second
Kings 19 verse number 35, second Kings 19 verse number 35 it says and it came to pass that night
that the angel of the Lord went out, look at this and smote in the camp of the Assyrians
and hundred four score and five thousand and when they arose early in the morning behold
they were all dead corpses, so Sennacherib king of Assyria departed and went and returned and
dwelt at Nineveh, okay so did God deliver Judah out of the hand of Ninevites, absolutely the
Lord sends one of his angels and you know just in the night he just wipes out this great portion
of the military might that they had, you know king Sennacherib wakes up, he goes man look at
all these dead soldiers all of a sudden, you know it scares him, I guess he realizes this is not
normal, this is supernatural, this must be the hand of God, so he goes back to Nineveh, okay so
God definitely came through protecting Judah as we read there in Nahum chapter 1.
Now go back to Nahum chapter 1 again, keep your finger there in second Kings 19, we're going to
come back to that, keep your finger there in second Kings 19, I'm just showing you how Nahum
prophesied these things and how it came to pass, okay in second Kings, look at verse number 14,
Nahum chapter 1 verse number 14, it says and the Lord has given a commandment concerning thee,
now when it says that God has given a commandment concerning thee, he's speaking about the
counselor that came out of Nineveh, of course it's the king, okay king Sennacherib, so this is
a message for king Sennacherib and the Lord has given a commandment concerning thee that no more
of thy name be sown, people aren't going to hear about your name anymore is what he's saying,
out of the house of thy gods, so of course king Sennacherib he worshipped false gods and he's got
his own house of the gods where he worships them, he goes out of the house of thy gods
will I cut off the graven image and the molten image, he goes I will make thy grave for thou
art vile, okay king Sennacherib is vile in the eyes of God and he says in the house of your gods
that's where you're going to make your grave, that's where you're going to die
says God about this individual in Nahum, okay so now let's go back to second Kings,
second Kings 19, second Kings 19 and verse number 36, we read verse number 36 already but let's just
read it again, second Kings 19 36 says so Sennacherib king of Assyria departed and went
and returned and dwelt at Nineveh but look at verse number 37 and it came to pass as he was
worshipping in the house of Nishrosh his god, all right, that Adra-Malek and Sharazah his sons
smote him with the sword, his own children kill their father, their own children kills the king
of Assyria, it says and they escaped into the land of Arminia and Isacharion his son reigned in his
stead, so is what Nahum prophesied, did it come true, of course it came true, praise God and so
you can see how when you compare Nahum chapter 1 and what took place with king Sennacherib in
second Kings 18 and 19 that it's definitely speaking about him, okay it can't be any clearer
than that and so of course God delivered Judah out of the hand of the Assyrians, back to Nahum
chapter 1, Nahum chapter 1 verse number 15, Nahum chapter 1 verse number 15 it says behold upon
the mountains the feet of him that bringeth good tidings that publisheth peace, so God is saying
you know or Nahum is saying that you know once the Assyrian empire is you know they flee and Judah's
been protected by God that the feet upon the mountain are going to be people, they're going
to be messengers coming along and just you know giving this good news, good tidings, no the king's
returned back to Nineveh, he's left us alone, there's all these dead corpses, good news and
everyone's happy you know Judah's been delivered, they're praising God, this great news, this peace
has come upon the nation of Judah and so this is what it's talking about, the people coming and
bringing this great message, good tidings, publishing peace, now if you're a soul winner
this verse should kind of ring a bell in your brain a little bit as well,
let's keep going there, it says oh Judah keep thy solemn feasts, perform thy vows
for the wicked shall no more pass through thee, he is utterly cut off, yeah so the Assyrian empire
they never came back to Judah, they never bothered them but you know a hundred years later or so
you know they became wicked as well and the Babylonian empire would be the ones that would
take them away into captivity but this is a great verse to finish upon because the southern kingdom
has been saved okay and the good news of their salvation has been received by these people,
behold upon the mountains the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, brethren you know what
the word good tidings can be translated to, the gospel, gospel means good tidings, it means the
good news, the good tidings that publish of peace, now please turn to Romans chapter 10, turn to
Romans chapter 10 for me, we'll end on this one, go to Romans 10 and while you're turning to Romans 10
I'll read to you from Isaiah 52 verse 7, Isaiah 52 verse number 7, so of course when it comes to
Nahum, when it comes to King Hezekiah, when it comes to Judah, we're talking about a very physical
deliverance okay from the hands of the enemy but of course God will take this language okay
and speak about the gospel of salvation being preached and being this great news, this peace
that we can receive as well, this spiritual peace, spiritual deliverance, spiritual salvation,
while you're turning to Romans 10 I'll read to you from Isaiah 52 verse number 7 which reads,
how beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that publish of
peace, hey that's what we already name okay and then it says that bringeth good tidings of good
that publish of salvation, that saith unto Zion, thy God reigneth, thy watchmen shall lift up the
voice with a voice together shall they sing for they shall see eye to eye when the Lord shall
bring again Zion and of course you know Isaiah the same language that Nahum used you know the
Apostle Paul under the inspiration of the Holy Ghost took this language into Romans chapter 10,
Romans chapter 10 and verse number 15, Romans chapter 10 and verse number 15 that says
and how shall they preach except they be sent as it is written how beautiful are the feet of them
that preach the gospel of peace and bring glad tidings of good things. Praise God if you're a
soul winner. You know I know that some Christians they can't bring themselves to soul win
you know that's between them and God you know there's some Christians they just don't have
that excitement you know I wish we all would have this and you know what I can tell you
there are times I'm excited to preach the gospel there are other times I'm just a little bit cold
and you know I get out there anyway but I just you know I'm just thinking about all the other
things that need to get done and you know I just want to bring the importance, the excitement,
the zeal of going and giving the gospel of peace, the glad tidings of good news.
You know we ought to be excited about it you know the level of excitement should be the same level
of excitement of seeing a foreign nation about to wipe you out and God steps in and delivers
you completely and the king of that foreign nation returns back to their land. The excitement
we've been delivered by God that same zeal and excitement and passion ought to be in the heart
of a soul winner that's the excitement that ought to be the heart of every saved individual.
We get that blessing brethren to bring the glad tidings to have beautiful feet in the eyes of God
you know we think about feet and they're kind of ugly looking aren't they you know if you walk
around barefoot for a while you're going to get all the dust and the dirt on your on your souls
but you know what if your feet get dirty going and preaching the gospel God says those feet are
beautiful beautiful in his eyes you know beauty you know God doesn't look at our outward appearance
and say look at that beautiful man that beautiful lady you know what God looks at and sees beautiful
your feet when you go and you preach the gospel so let that be an encouragement to you brethren
just as we finish off this chapter that you know what these stories in the old testament they're
great they're wonderful we learn about history but we want to take the spiritual lesson how can
we apply this to us well as we've seen you know we've been given the great honor the great privilege
to be zealous for God to rejoice in his salvation
and to be used by God to go out and preach the gospel to the lost okay let's pray.