Habakkuk

My Bible Recap readings are around the time of the fall of the Southern Kingdom of Judah to the conquering Babylonians about 605 B.C. Habakkuk was a contemporary of the prophet Jeremiah but his message is different (and much shorter!). While finding this three-chapter minor prophet in the back of the Old Testament may be a challenge, the dialogue he has with God has a lot to say for the day and age we live in. If I were Habakkuk I might have said it this way:

HABAKKUK: How long, God, must your people of this nation call out for your help? It seems you don’t listen. When we cry to you that violence is everywhere, you do not act. Why must we always see such evil deeds, misery, destruction, and violence of this nation, her systems, and her people? Why must we be surrounded by people who love to destroy, to argue and to fight? Even in the law and courts system it seems that the wicked far outnumber the righteous and that justice has become perverted and unevenly applied. Why do you not act against these things?

GOD: My children, look around at the nations and be amazed! I AM doing something in your own day that you wouldn’t believe. I am raising up a people you do not expect – a people who are not known for righteousness but have plenty of resources. I am raising up a people who scoff at godly leadership, and whose strength is their god – and they will sweep into this world and make changes. They will be used by me to change your world. Wait and see what I do!

HABAKKUK: O Lord my God, the Holy One who is eternal, surely you do not plan to wipe out your people? Lord, our Rock, you have sent these people to correct and punish us for our many sins. But because you are pure and cannot stand the sight of evil, will you wink at their treachery? Will you be silent while the wicked swallow up the righteous? Must we be caught in their nets of deception, like dull fish, while they rejoice and celebrate? Will you let them get away with this forever? Will they succeed always in their heartless conquests? Why would you use a wicked people to correct your children? I’m going to sit here and wait to see how you answer my complaints and questions because this doesn’t seem right.

GOD: Oh, my children; how I love you! How I desire for you to know my heart in this situation. Write down my answer so that you can share it with others who also question my plans, purposes, and motives. My plans will be fulfilled, either in the near future or the distant future. You must wait patiently, even if the fulfillment seems to be taking a long time to come. Remember, my timing is perfect and there is no delay or hesitation in what I do. Look at the proud who trust in themselves, their wealth, their arrogance, and their crookedness. Now look at the righteous who live by their faithfulness to me. Compare those who live in righteousness with those whose greed has swallowed them and other people. But wait! Soon, those who were swallowed, oppressed, and stolen from will taunt and mock the wicked, joyfully announcing that the wicked have received what they deserve. While the ungodly became rich by extortion, plundering others, the tables will be turned and they will now be plundered. They encouraged violence in your land, believing their wealth would buy their security. The murders they committed are now shouted by the fortresses they built. Those who built cities and countries with money gained through murder and corruption will hear again the promise of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies: the wealth of these people will turn to ashes! Why, you ask? Because just as the waters fill up the sea, this earth will be filled with an awareness of my GLORY! Those who have forced their wickedness on you will soon be disgraced, exposed, even shamed. They who destroyed, committed murder and violence, and cut others down will themselves be cut down. They will not be able to count on their man-made idols of power and wealth who are silent. For I AM in my holy Temple. The evil of this world WILL be silent before me.

HABAKKUK Prays: We have heard all about you and are filled with awe by your amazing deeds. You are moving across the desert places. Your brilliant splendor fills the heavens and your praise fills the earth. Your coming is as brilliant as the sunrise. Your power goes before you and when you stop the earth shakes and the nations tremble. You shatter the everlasting mountains and level the eternal hills. You are the Eternal One! The people of this world who are aware of your Glory are trembling in terror. Your power marches across the nations in anger and tramples your enemies in your fury. You go out to rescue and save your chosen and anointed ones. We tremble with fear and shake in terror, waiting quietly for the day when disaster will strike the people who invade us. In this time of our deep need we pray you will help us again. In your anger, remember your mercy. Even though it seems our economic, governmental, educational, entertainment, arts, media, family, and even Church systems have become corrupted with no good fruit, we will rejoice in our Lord. In times of chaos and strife, you make us surefooted as a deer on a mountain. You are our strength. We are joyful because of the God of our salvation. May praise, glory, honor, and power be yours alone, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit! AMEN.

1:1 This is the message that the prophet Habakkuk received in a vision.

Habakkuk’s Complaint

How long, O Lord, must I call for help?
    But you do not listen!
“Violence is everywhere!” I cry,
    but you do not come to save.
Must I forever see these evil deeds?
    Why must I watch all this misery?
Wherever I look,
    I see destruction and violence.
I am surrounded by people
    who love to argue and fight.
The law has become paralyzed,
    and there is no justice in the courts.
The wicked far outnumber the righteous,
    so that justice has become perverted.

The Lord’s Reply

The Lord replied, 

“Look around at the nations;
    look and be amazed!
For I am doing something in your own day,
    something you wouldn’t believe
    even if someone told you about it.
I am raising up the Babylonians,
    a cruel and violent people.
They will march across the world
    and conquer other lands.
They are notorious for their cruelty
    and do whatever they like.
Their horses are swifter than cheetahs
    and fiercer than wolves at dusk.
Their charioteers charge from far away.
    Like eagles, they swoop down to devour their prey.

“On they come, all bent on violence.
    Their hordes advance like a desert wind,
    sweeping captives ahead of them like sand.
10 They scoff at kings and princes
    and scorn all their fortresses.
They simply pile ramps of earth
    against their walls and capture them!
11 They sweep past like the wind
    and are gone.
But they are deeply guilty,
    for their own strength is their god.”

Habakkuk’s Second Complaint

12 O Lord my God, my Holy One, you who are eternal—
    surely you do not plan to wipe us out?
O Lord, our Rock, you have sent these Babylonians to correct us,
    to punish us for our many sins.
13 But you are pure and cannot stand the sight of evil.
    Will you wink at their treachery?
Should you be silent while the wicked
    swallow up people more righteous than they?

14 Are we only fish to be caught and killed?
    Are we only sea creatures that have no leader?
15 Must we be strung up on their hooks
    and caught in their nets while they rejoice and celebrate?
16 Then they will worship their nets
    and burn incense in front of them.
“These nets are the gods who have made us rich!”
    they will claim.
17 Will you let them get away with this forever?
    Will they succeed forever in their heartless conquests?

I will climb up to my watchtower
    and stand at my guardpost.
There I will wait to see what the Lord says
    and how he will answer my complaint.

The Lord’s Second Reply

Then the Lord said to me,

“Write my answer plainly on tablets,
    so that a runner can carry the correct message to others.

This vision is for a future time.
    It describes the end, and it will be fulfilled.
If it seems slow in coming, wait patiently,
    for it will surely take place.
    It will not be delayed.

“Look at the proud!
    They trust in themselves, and their lives are crooked.
    But the righteous will live by their faithfulness to God.

Wealth is treacherous,
    and the arrogant are never at rest.
They open their mouths as wide as the grave,
    and like death, they are never satisfied.
In their greed they have gathered up many nations
    and swallowed many peoples.

“But soon their captives will taunt them.
    They will mock them, saying,
‘What sorrow awaits you thieves!
    Now you will get what you deserve!
You’ve become rich by extortion,
    but how much longer can this go on?’

Suddenly, your debtors will take action.
    They will turn on you and take all you have,
    while you stand trembling and helpless.

Because you have plundered many nations,
    now all the survivors will plunder you.
You committed murder throughout the countryside
    and filled the towns with violence.

“What sorrow awaits you who build big houses
    with money gained dishonestly!
You believe your wealth will buy security,
    putting your family’s nest beyond the reach of danger.

10 But by the murders you committed,
    you have shamed your name and forfeited your lives.

11 The very stones in the walls cry out against you,
    and the beams in the ceilings echo the complaint.

12 “What sorrow awaits you who build cities
    with money gained through murder and corruption!

13 Has not the Lord of Heaven’s Armies promised
    that the wealth of nations will turn to ashes?
They work so hard,
    but all in vain!

14 For as the waters fill the sea,
    the earth will be filled with an awareness
    of the glory of the Lord.

15 “What sorrow awaits you who make your neighbors drunk!
    You force your cup on them
    so you can gloat over their shameful nakedness.

16 But soon it will be your turn to be disgraced.
    Come, drink and be exposed![e]
Drink from the cup of the Lord’s judgment,
    and all your glory will be turned to shame.

17 You cut down the forests of Lebanon.
    Now you will be cut down.
You destroyed the wild animals,
    so now their terror will be yours.
You committed murder throughout the countryside
    and filled the towns with violence.

18 “What good is an idol carved by man,
    or a cast image that deceives you?
How foolish to trust in your own creation—
    a god that can’t even talk!

19 What sorrow awaits you who say to wooden idols,
    ‘Wake up and save us!’
To speechless stone images you say,
    ‘Rise up and teach us!’
    Can an idol tell you what to do?
They may be overlaid with gold and silver,
    but they are lifeless inside.

20 But the Lord is in his holy Temple.
    Let all the earth be silent before him.”

Habakkuk’s Prayer

3:1 This prayer was sung by the prophet Habakkuk:

I have heard all about you, Lord.
    I am filled with awe by your amazing works.
In this time of our deep need,
    help us again as you did in years gone by.
And in your anger,
    remember your mercy.

I see God moving across the deserts from Edom,
    the Holy One coming from Mount Paran.
His brilliant splendor fills the heavens,
    and the earth is filled with his praise.

His coming is as brilliant as the sunrise.
    Rays of light flash from his hands,
    where his awesome power is hidden.

Pestilence marches before him;
    plague follows close behind.

When he stops, the earth shakes.
    When he looks, the nations tremble.
He shatters the everlasting mountains
    and levels the eternal hills.
    He is the Eternal One!

I see the people of Cushan in distress,
    and the nation of Midian trembling in terror.

Was it in anger, Lord, that you struck the rivers
    and parted the sea?
Were you displeased with them?
    No, you were sending your chariots of salvation!

You brandished your bow
    and your quiver of arrows.
    You split open the earth with flowing rivers.

10 The mountains watched and trembled.
    Onward swept the raging waters.
The mighty deep cried out,
    lifting its hands in submission.

11 The sun and moon stood still in the sky
    as your brilliant arrows flew
    and your glittering spear flashed.

12 You marched across the land in anger
    and trampled the nations in your fury.

13 You went out to rescue your chosen people,
    to save your anointed ones.
You crushed the heads of the wicked
    and stripped their bones from head to toe.

14 With his own weapons,
    you destroyed the chief of those
who rushed out like a whirlwind,
    thinking Israel would be easy prey.

15 You trampled the sea with your horses,
    and the mighty waters piled high.

16 I trembled inside when I heard this;
    my lips quivered with fear.
My legs gave way beneath me,
    and I shook in terror.
I will wait quietly for the coming day
    when disaster will strike the people who invade us.

17 Even though the fig trees have no blossoms,
    and there are no grapes on the vines;
even though the olive crop fails,
    and the fields lie empty and barren;
even though the flocks die in the fields,
    and the cattle barns are empty,

18 yet I will rejoice in the Lord!
    I will be joyful in the God of my salvation!

19 The Sovereign Lord is my strength!
    He makes me as surefooted as a deer,
    able to tread upon the heights.

(For the choir director: This prayer is to be accompanied by stringed instruments.) (Habakkuk 1-3 NLT)