The first part of Nahum 1:5 reads “The mountains quake at him, and the hills melt.” When the Lord declared his fury against the Assyrians, in Nineveh, who were oppressing the people of Judah (God’s people), his power is described as one, to which even the natural elements (mountains and hills) succumb. So great is God’s power in his presence!

When the Lord delivered David from the hands of his enemies and the hand of Saul, David praised God by expressing that “God heard him when he cried out to the Lord and because of the Lord’s anger, the earth shook and trembled” (2 Samuel 22:8). When God went forth before his people and marched through the wilderness, the earth shook. When God visited his people on Mount Sinai during their Exodus, the mount itself was moved at the presence of God (Psalm 68:7-8) and the hills melted like wax at the presence of the Lord of the whole earth (Psalm 97:5; Judges 5:5) when God spoke (Psalm 46:6).

In the day of the Lord of hosts, everyone who is proud and lofty, and lifted up, like high mountains and hills shall be brought low and the Lord alone shall be exalted (Isaiah 2:12-14).

Points to ponder:
When God comes forth to fight for his people, even all the elements which signify stability, such as mountains and hills, shall shake and melt away at his presence. When Jesus died and yielded up the ghost on the Cross, the earth quaked and the rocks rent, and the graves were opened and the saints that slept were resurrected and came out of the graves after his resurrection (Matthew 27:50-53).
When and where God is present, there is nothing else stable except him. Jesus alone is the strong unshakeable foundation and Rock of our Salvation. Jesus is the presence of God with and in us. He is the Emmanuel, which when interpreted means ‘God with us’ (Matthew 1:23). At his presence, all the proud things of the world are brought low and only he is exalted with a name that is above all names (Philippians 2:9). And at the presence of Jesus is life – resurrected life – for the old things are passed away and the new is come to all who believe in his name (2 Corinthians 5:17). Are you alive with a resurrected life?

Nahum 1:5 (KJV)
5 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.