Habakkuk 3:1-7 - I have heard of your fame

3:1

This final chapter has the appearance of a psalm. Indeed, 3:1 and 3:19 include musical terms normally associated with psalms. “Shigionoth” is such a term, “selah” also occurs in v 3, 9 and 13. This psalm, or prayer of praise, comes after Habakkuk’s complaints to God, and God’s response. If we just bottle up our frustrations or lack of comprehension we will never fully praise God. If instead, we are open with God, but knowing that it is us who need to change, not Him, then we will reach far deeper levels of praise and faith than if we just pretend to trust God.

3:2

Remember the situation Habakkuk was in. He was a prophet, so he knew of the things that God had done in the past. Yet in his day he looked at the nation of Israel and saw little apart from disobedience and lack of faith. He looked at the nations and saw nothing better. He now stands before God in faith and calls on God to make His presence felt in this day. He also calls on God to have mercy as well as wrath.

3:3-7

Teman and Mount Paran were both in Edomite territory, and is reminiscent of God helping Israel in the Exodus and subsequent conquest. Habakkuk is looking back to the times spoken of in v2 when he says “I have heard of your fame”. Habakkuk is expecting God to act once again on Israel’s behalf. God came in great power and glory and rescued Israel.

Plague and pestilence were used in the signs against Pharaoh, but they were also used against Israel herself when she sinned against God. As the people of God we need to follow the ways of God, otherwise we put ourselves in great danger. The Lord came with power and the earth trembled.

“I saw ...” Habakkuk is now expecting God to act again. At the start of this book he had been complaining that God was doing nothing, now his faith has been restored and he fully expects God to act. God works by producing faith within a man or woman, for faith is evidence of what is to come. As the KJV says “faith is the substance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen” (Heb 11:1). Faith that comes from God, and is founded on His word (as opposed to the vain imaginations of men) is what will come first before the outworking of God’s plan. It is how He will often work in our lives. We so often want to see the reality first, but God’s way is to produce faith in us, then the manifestation of that faith will take effect.

Habakkuk 2:15-20 - And still more woe

2:15-17

The next woe is for Babylon intoxicating her neighbours and then taking advantage of them. This is done in a very literal way in society. There are many industries which exploit people’s vices, making them dependent upon some vice or other, then fleecing the. Drugs are perhaps the most obvious, but pornography, gambling and drink all do the same some degree. We need to be aware of the spirit that is behind these things. The devil seeks to entice people and then humiliate and destroy them. Babylon would herself become drunk and be put to shame, she would receive justice for her evil ways. The same principle will apply to all society today. Her evil ways would rebound on to herself. We need to be fully aware that judgement is real.

2:18-20

The Bible is sometimes mocked as being superstitious, but the Bible is brutally honest about the utter uselessness of idols. The chapter closes with a mocking of those who trust in idols, for they are utter fools. They are trusting in their own creation, how can their own creation help them? The idol is lifeless, so how can it give any guidance? So instead of facing up to the truth the cover it in gold and silver, as if that will magically bring the thing to life. But of course, we are so much more sophisticated now. Or perhaps we aren’t? What is the dominant worldview in the West? It is that life came from nothing. But science keeps proving that atheistic notions are wrong. The fact that the universe had a beginning had an awful hard job getting accepted, it was resisted because if it had a beginning, then maybe there was a creator who began it! The fine-tuning arguments show how finely tuned so many aspects of the universe are, so scientists come up with multiverse theories. We cannot see or detect, or interact, with any of these other universes, but we must do something to avoid there being a God! In the media you will hear that evolution is a “fact”. It isn’t, there are many holes in the theory and it cannot explain all it purports to explain. But people are desperate for there not to be a God, for if there is a God there is One to whom we are answerable.

The truth is that there is a God and there are times when the wisest thing is to be silent before Him, waiting to hear what He has to say.

Habakkuk 2:9-14 - Yet more woe

2:9-11

This woe could be directed at Babylon, but also applied to some in Judah, for gaining wealth by unjust means was something that took place in Judah. Using unjust means can seem attractive, it can seem to offer some sort of security, but ultimately it will lead to ruin. In the course of pursuing unjust gain will mean that one day we have to answer to God, to answer to Him for the lives we have ruined in our pursuit. The ultimate cost of pursuing unjust means is our loss of respect and ultimately loss of our lives forever. There is a God who sees all, and to whom all will one day have to give an account. A society that loses sight of this is one that will ultimately collapse. As we become increasingly secular we become a society that is accountable to no one, with the ensuing consequences. The stones and timber in Babylon were often plundered from other nations, and quite possibly built with slave labour. They would cry out in testimony against Babylon.

2:12-14

Babylon used brute force to build her empire, having no concern for justice. For a time force with no regard for justice may seem to work, whether on an individual level, or at a national level. But a time of reckoning will certainly come. Earlier in the book we have seen Habakkuk complaining about the seeming lack of justice, and God’s apparent inaction. We now learn that the Babylon has just been mounting up her own punishment. All her efforts will ultimately be in vain.

The eventual outcome is that “the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord”. In the West today governments and the elite are abandoning God’s ways as quickly as they can. For a time they may seem to be triumphant, but ultimately their efforts are all in vain. For the final outcome is that God’s glory will fill the whole earth.

Habakkuk 2:5-8 - Woe to him

2:5

Babylon would become extremely powerful, but also equally proud, thinking her success was down to her own abilities. This is an all too common trait among individuals and among nations, sadly sometimes even among churches. If we have success then we think it is down to us. God warned Israel repeatedly not to think her success was down to any righteousness of her own. We need to remember that we are creatures, created beings, utterly dependent upon God for the very breath in our lungs, let alone any success we might have. Babylon became drunk on wine. Successful nations often descend into debauchery. It happened to Rome, it is happening to the West. Babylon sought military conquest, the West seeks material wealth.

2:6

At the time Babylon was all powerful, but a time would come (about 538 BC) when all she had conquered would mock her. As the saying goes, “how the mighty are fallen” and “pride comes before a fall”. She exploited many nations, but eventually disaster would befall her. If we are given wealth and power, then we are given it to administer justice and mercy, not to feather our own nest, and definitely not to exploit others. We need to remember this as individuals, we also need to remember it as nations. There is nothing wrong with wealth, but there can be everything wrong with the way it is acquired and the way it is used.

2:7,8

NIV says “creditors” and ESV says “debtors”, somewhat confusing! However, the meaning is clear. One day the nations that she exploited would rise up and take from Babylon. God brings about justice for the oppressed. Babylon would become their prey. When a people forget that there is a God, that we are created and are ultimately accountable to our Maker they become fools.

Babylon had also shed much blood and brought about much destruction. We see this again and again in history, Nazi Germany and communist Russia are more recent examples. It could be said that the West has brought about much destruction in the Middle East with ill-conceived adventures.

Habakkuk 2:4 - The righteous will live by faith

2:4

“He is puffed up”, this refers to the pride of Babylon. So how is a righteous man to live in such times? He is to live by faith. We will not understand life just by looking at events, we need to trust in God. We need to trust in His character, in who He is. There is uncertainty about the exact translation of the latter half of verse 4. It could be “live by his faith” or “live by his faithfulness”. There is also uncertainty about whether it is the faith of the believer, or the faithfulness of God that it is talking about. “Live by his faith” seems to be the best translation.

“The righteous will live by faith” is quoted on several occasions in the New Testament. In Romans 1:17 Paul writes “ For in the gospel the righteousness of God is revealed - a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, as it is written “The righteous will live by faith”.

Now in Romans Paul gives his most eloquent and complete exposition of salvation by faith, but superficially that does not seem to be what Habakkuk is talking about. Habakkuk is concerned about the immediate political situation. Is Paul taking things out of context and just using a useful phrase because it fits his argument (a common trick used by some preachers!) Not at all. First, Habakkuk most definitely is concerned about sin, his first complaint is concerned about the sin in Judah. Secondly, we make a mistake when we divorce “life situation trust” and “theological salvation”. Ie trusting God in a particular situation, and having a theological understanding of how a holy God can possibly bless a hopelessly sinful people. The Bible never does this. If we look at the gospels in particular we see many people who came to Jesus in faith. They all received help, Jesus often commended their faith, and on several occasions He specifically said their sins were forgiven. Yet not one of them made a “prayer of salvation” or recited the “four spiritual laws”. “Life faith” and “theological faith” are not two alternative routes, they go together. The fundamental change in a person is their willingness to trust in God. The reality of this faith, this trust, will show itself in our trusting God in real life circumstances. The theology explains how God can possible bless us. But the theological understanding of salvation is also important. For the theological understanding is based on the infinite love of God for us, and on how that love has shown itself in action in sending His Son, and has achieved concrete results through the cross and resurrection. So the better we understand the “theology” of salvation the better we will know God, His heart and love for us, and this will make us better able to trust Him in life-circumstances.

Other quotes of this verse are Galatians 3:11 and Hebrews 10:38.

Habakkuk 2:1-3 - Write down the revelation

2:1

Verse 1 of Chapter 2. is so instructive. Habakkuk has observed the situation, he is acutely aware of what is going on, and now of God’s plans. He is horrified by them, but he still has faith in God. He cannot believe that what he perceives the situation to be is all there is. So he stands watch. When we see things going on in our society that are clearly against God’s will our response should be to watch and pray. And Habakkuk looks to God and expects to get an answer from God. We should never be fooled by events in thinking that God is not in control.

2:2

The “revelation” (NIV) is translated “vision” in ESV and others. The Hebrew word used refers specifically to a vision given to a prophet. God is going to give Habakkuk some understanding, ie revelation. But this revelation is not for Habakkuk alone, he is to write it down and make it plain “so that a herald may run with it” (NIV). Literally it says “so that he who reads it may run with it”. God gives understanding to people so that they can make the word of God clear to many.

It was to be written on tablets. The Babylonians normally wrote on tablets, the Israelites far less so, though there are obvious exceptions such as the Ten Commandments.

2:3

The revelation would certainly come to pass. It might seem to take a long time, but it most definitely would not prove false. “It waits an appointed time”. There is a definite order to history. Time is linear. Many civilisations thought of time as being cyclical, with events recurring, just going round in circles. The Bible reveals that there is a definite end in view. However, the route to the end, and the time it takes will often not fit with our preconceived ideas. This was the case with Habakkuk. The current events did not make sense to him, as the first chapter shows, and God giving Babylon so much power on purpose did not seem the best answer. Moreover, there would be a considerable delay before Babylon was destroyed. Yet God’s answer will come at exactly the right time.

Habakkuk 1:12-17 - Complaining again!

1:12

Habakkuk is none too pleased with God’s answer and so complains again to God, but notice that he does this on the basis of God’s character and attributes. These are not just the whinges of a faithless man, but the agonising of one who believes in God, there is a fundamental difference between the two.

So Habakkuk starts by outlining some of God’s attributes. Of course, God does not need to be reminded of who He is or what He is like, but this is part of the conversation between Habakkuk and God. In the end it is Habakkuk who will be changed, not God. First, God is from everlasting. He is eternal, without beginning, and without end. This eternal God has appointed the Babylonians to execute judgement upon Judah, to punish Judah.

1:13

Now Habakkuk could fully appreciate the need to punish Judah, indeed their sin was the source of his first complaint, but to do this with the Babylonians? God is pure, He cannot tolerate evil. Yet His answer to Habakkuk’s first complaint involved using a nation that was even worse than Judah! Surely God should do something to stop Babylon, not be encouraging them and positively using them to punish Judah. For bad as Judah was, they were nowhere near as bad as Babylon. As an aside, a common human reaction to being accused of sin is to point someone else who is worse than us. There is always someone else who is worse than us, but that is never an excuse for our own sin.

1:14,15

Habakkuk describes the situation as being like fish in the sea. Fish were created by God to be caught, they have no overriding purpose. It seems like people, including Judah were just the same. They had no idea what they were doing in life, apart from existing, and Babylon was sweeping up the people just as a fishing boat gathers up fish. Just as the fisherman is glad with his catch, so Babylon was glad with her conquests. The world seemed to be there for Babylon’s benefit.

Habakkuk is using dramatic language to describe the situation, and note that there is no doubt in his mind that God has ordained this. There is no attempt in his mind, as there often seems to be in ours, to excuse God of responsibility.

1:16,17

Just as the fisherman is happy, so Babylon is happy. Moreover, Babylon worships her strength. She makes an idol out of her military prowess and offers incense to her idols. And the conquest seems to go on and on. Will this carry on forever?