Yahweh Yeshah, God our Deliverer

Look to the mountains--the feet of one bringing good news and proclaiming peace! Celebrate your festivals, Judah; fulfill your vows. For the wicked one will never again march through you; he will be entirely wiped out. - Nahum 1:15 HCSB

God’s people were threatened by the Assyrians, a shockingly cruel and vindictive people. A generation before, Jonah had warned the Assyrians at Nineveh of God’s displeasure and they mended their ways for a time.[1] However, they failed to pass the message on to their children who restarted the old wicked ways.

They began conquering the nations around them, and once they had taken a city, they granted no clemency. They would ruthlessly destroy, loot, rape and enslave the conquered populace. Those that survived would be uprooted, displaced and exiled in some distant part of the Assyrian empire.

On an ancient monument, one Assyrian king had the following inscribed: "Their men, young and old, I took as prisoners. Of some I cut off the feet and hands; of others I cut off the noses, ears, and lips; of the young men's ears I made a heap; of the old men's heads I built a minaret."[2]

No wonder the people of Israel trembled! No wonder they feared for their lives and the lives of their children. God looked at their fear and He called out to them, “Look to the mountains--the feet of one bringing good news and proclaiming peace! Celebrate your festivals, Judah; fulfill your vows. For the wicked one will never again march through you; he will be entirely wiped out.” Soon (around 612 BC) the Babylonians, the Medes and the Scythians swarmed over the Assyrian empire, wiping them out. They have never been a major empire since.

This same language of deliverance was used by Isaiah concerning the Babylonians saying, “How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of the herald, who proclaims peace, who brings news of good things, who proclaims salvation, who says to Zion, "Your God reigns!"[3] In 331 BC, the Babylonians were conquered by the Greeks under the command of Alexander the Great.

There is one other place where this same promise is made. Paul stated, “And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written: How welcome are the feet of those who announce the gospel of good things!”[4]

We have a great enemy who seeks our destruction; his name is Satan. He has worked toward our demise for millennia. He is as cunning as he is powerful and he knows all our weaknesses. He uses our own desires against us. He deceives and ensnares us from our youth.

However, God is crying out again, “Soon! Very soon you will see the destruction of your enemy. Trust in me and I will see you through this.” Those who listened to and followed Yahweh before survived the Assyrians and the Babylonians. Dare we trust Yahweh Yeshah (God our Deliverer) one more time?


[1] Jonah 3:4
[2] Asshurizirpal Inscription
[3] Isaiah 52:7 HCSB
[4] Romans 10:15 HCSB