Habakkuk was a prophet and he received this prophecy. There were many more prophets than those who have books in the Old Testament. Prophecy included more than the "canonical" prophecies.
The prophecy starts with Habakkuk making a complaint to God. The Bible actually has quite a list of complainers, Moses, David, Jeremiah and Job immediately come to mind. God can handle our complaints, and we do well to take them to Him.
It seemed to Habakkuk that he called out to God to no effect. Moreover, these were not mere selfish prayers, but prayers about the unrighteous state of the nation. The law (or Law) seems to have no effect, justice is nowhere to be found. How can God allow such a situation to continue?
Then the Lord answers him. God's answer is for Habakkuk to observe the nations and to be utterly amazed. It is not the nations who are in charge or who determine events, but the Lord. We do well to remember that today. We see our societies abandoning the last vestiges of Christian heritage, but God will intervene.
What God was going to do would be so amazing that Habakkuk would not believe it. God's ways are beyond our comprehension.
Why would Habakkuk not believe it? Because it would involve God raising up Babylon and conquering Israel. Assyria was on the wane at this point and Babylon in the ascendency.
However, while Babylon was God's instrument they were still responsible for their actions. Babylon trusted in her own strength and was ruthless.
So this was God's answer to Habakkuk. Not surprisingly he has a second complaint, which we will look at tomorrow.
So this was God's answer to Habakkuk. Not surprisingly he has a second complaint, which we will look at tomorrow.
No comments:
Post a Comment