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May 4, 2016 |
| Habakkuk's Questions | ||
In this study we will look at the first two chapters of the book of Habakkuk. In these verses Habakkuk, a prophet, appears to be asking questions of God and God is answering him. In fact the whole thing is a prophecy from God so the questions attributed to Habakkuk are really from God and are God's way of bringing a warning to his people, Israel. In this study we will treat the questions as though they are from Habakkuk, but it's important to know they are not.
Habakkuk is called one of the minor prophets. That isn't because he was a lesser prophet in some way but because very little of his prophecy is recorded in the Bible. We know from other books of the Bible that there were many prophets in Israel, most of whom contributed nothing to the Bible. We believe their prophetic ministries were intended only for the people in their times. Other prophets such as Elijah are written about but no prophetic messages from them were carried down to us.
Other prophets such as Isaiah and Ezekiel wrote very large books. Some of their prophecies were for the people of their time and were fulfilled and are recorded that we might see the power of God. Others were given as promises that would be fulfilled much later. In our time some of those have been fulfilled and some remain as promises to us.
The historical context is important here. Habakkuk is one of the many prophets God sent to Israel to warn them they had turned away from God and what the consequences would be. The people did not listen. In time, after many warnings, the Assyrians were used by God to conquer the northern tribes of Israel and drag them away. A little later, God used the Babylonians to conquer the southern tribes and drag them away.
These two chapters of Habakkuk contain a message to Israel, a warning that God has seen their wickedness and has a plan to deal with it. Somewhat surprisingly, these chapters also include hints and out-right references to the period following the Second Coming.
In summary, there is a lot to learn and apply from these chapters.
1 The oracle which Habakkuk the prophet saw.
This is a common beginning for prophets. The word "oracle" seen here is translated in different ways. The word "vision" is used in some other translations and is better known to us. We can't be certain Habakkuk saw images at the same time he received this prophecy. The Hebrew word means "perceived" but that could just mean that it came to his understanding.
2 How long, O Lord, will I call for help, and You will not hear? I cry out to You, "Violence!" yet You do not save.
Habakkuk's question is clear - how long will you allow violence to continue before you step in to save the afflicted. As we'll see, he isn't talking about physical violence so much but lying, cheating, stealing, and all forms of wickedness. Understand that Habakkuk is speaking about Israel only and not the rest of the world.
3 Why do You make me see iniquity, and cause me to look on wickedness? Yes, destruction and violence are before me; strife exists and contention arises.
He asks why he has to look upon the law-breaking and wickedness. Habakkuk is obviously a righteous man and it pains him to have to see all the evil going on around him. He says these things happen right before his own eyes.
I expect all Christians have had the same experience. We see the foolishness of the things done in the world and we find the images and words used by the world sting us. Afterward we feel a bit polluted by the experience.
4 Therefore the law is ignored and justice is never upheld. For the wicked surround the righteous; therefore justice comes out perverted.
Because you do not step in to correct this, he says, there is no longer any justice or what passes for justice is not just. The righteous are surrounded by the evil ones and unable to escape those who set traps for them. The righteous follow the rules and are preyed on and cheated by those who don't follow the rules.
1a. Summarize what Habakkuk is saying. What is his complaint to God?
The answer will come in two parts
We all have benefited from being given time to repent. If not, the population of the earth would be much smaller, probably zero. At first God warns his people. If they do not listen to that warning a time comes when God must step in. Essentially that will be God's response to Habakkuk's question - this is how I will deal with it.
1b. How do you think Habakkuk would like to see this problem solved?
We can't say for sure but he probably doesn't want God to smite them with a plague or anything like that. Maybe he is thinking in terms of a surgical lightning strike that would take out only the bad people. He may not have even thought about how he would like to see it stopped. He just wants it stopped because he is forced to see all that evil.
1c. Is Habakkuk seeing the situation from God's perspective? What does God want to see happen?
Habakkuk can only see their evil actions. In God's eyes they have become very evil, more than Habakkuk may realize. If Habakkuk is thinking about a surgical strike against the evil people only, that would take out far more people than he is expecting.
God wants them to turn back to him. That would also achieve Habakkuk's desire. But how can that be done? God has been sending prophets to tell them they are offending God and there will be consequences. We know the people will eventually hear those warnings so often, without anything happening, that they become tired of hearing them and they ignore the warnings. What is God to do?.
In the totality of this question we see another thing, a complaint raised with God. This comes in the form of "Why?". It is acceptable to take our complaints to God and to vent our frustrations. We don't understand God's ways so it's natural to say "I know you are in control of everything so why did you let this happen?" What we must be careful not do is accuse God of doing evil.
Habakkuk has made his case. He wants God to step in to correct this situation. But, whatever he has thought of as a solution, that isn't what he gets.
5 "Look among the nations! Observe! Be astonished! Wonder! Because I am doing something in your days - you would not believe if you were told. 6 For behold, I am raising up the Chaldeans, that fierce and impetuous people who march throughout the earth to seize dwelling places which are not theirs.
This translation (NASB) uses the word "Chaldeans" where we would more commonly use "Babylonians." God's answer is that the prophet himself will see how God will deal with the sin of Israel. God is going to raise up the Chaldeans to attack Israel. Keep the idea in mind that they will seize dwelling places that are not theirs. We'll be seeing it again.
7 They are dreaded and feared; Their justice and authority originate with themselves.
God now begins to describe the characteristics of the Chaldeans, except this isn't a description of them yet. At the time of this prophecy they were neither dreaded nor feared. The Babylonians haven't exactly been a big player on the world stage.
The description of the Babylonians here and much of the remainder of the text is given in Prophetic Present tense. Things are described as happening in the present that will not happen for some time. In this case it will be something like 20 years until this is fulfilled.
At the time of this prophecy the Assyrian Empire has suddenly collapsed leaving a gap in the power structure of the area. The Babylonians, who were kept in check by the Assyrians, are now prepared to fill that gap. That is how God will raise them up.
These are not a good people and certainly not a Godly people. They set their own standards for justice and they give themselves the authority to do the things they do. This way of thinking may have come about many years before under a Chaldean named Hammurabi who devised the first standard law. Though this is seen by the world as a significant development for societies, that law was defined by men without the justice and authority of God.
The wisdom of men is the foolishness of God.
8 Their horses are swifter than leopards and keener than wolves in the evening. Their horsemen come galloping, their horsemen come from afar; they fly like an eagle swooping down to devour. 9 All of them come for violence. Their horde of faces moves forward. They collect captives like sand.
Now God describes their armies. They will move forward in a large group like zombies, a mass of uncaring faces moving swiftly. They will capture countless people.
10 They mock at kings and rulers are a laughing matter to them. They laugh at every fortress and heap up rubble to capture it.
These Chaldeans will have no fear of the people in power in the countries they will attack and they will not be stopped by their walls. The verse refers to the technique that was used to overcome a wall, building a ramp out of stones and dirt and whatever else they could find.
11 Then they will sweep through like the wind and pass on. But they will be held guilty, they whose strength is their god."
This verse contains three key elements to understanding Habakkuk's next question and God's response to it. God has described these Chaldeans as blowing through Israel and continuing on. History and the Bible confirm this. The Babylonians conquered Israel and continued on south into Egypt. The message to Habakkuk is that there will be massive destruction of Israel, maybe even total destruction.
The second key is that, although the Chaldeans are being used by God to correct Israel, what they are doing is still wrong and they will be punished for it.
The third key is that their own strength is their God. This may seem like an odd idea. We understand worshiping idols and money and other things we can touch and feel, but your own strength is so insubstantial.
2a. In summary, what is God's plan for dealing with all the evils in Habakkuk's complaint?
This might seem harsh but it's necessary. They have turned away from God and ignored God's warnings.
This also shouldn't be a surprise to Israel. In Deuteronomy, written 1,000 years before, before they even entered the land God gave them, God tells them they will turn away from him, and they will be conquered and cast out of the land.
2b. How does a person worship something so insubstantial as his own strength? We praise our God by telling him what he has
done for us. What words would be used to praise this
God?
When we Christians think of salvation we think of salvation in the afterlife. But a person who does not believe in an afterlife or in a salvation in the afterlife is looking for salvation in this life, salvation from poverty, slavery, hunger, early death, etc. Therefore an imaginary god or something physical like money might seem like it could save him. Remember the parable that Jesus told about the rich man with good crops.
And he told a parable to them: "A certain rich man's land brought him many crops. 17 And he thought to himself and said, 'What shall I do, for there is no place for me to gather my crops?' 18 And he said, 'I shall do this: I shall pull down my barns, and I shall build and enlarge them, and I shall gather all my produce and my goods.' 19 And I shall say to my soul, 'My soul, you have many goods laid up for many years, be contented, eat, drink and be merry.' 20 Then God said to him, 'Fool, in this night your soul will be required from you, and whose will these things be which you have prepared?' 21 Thus is whoever lays down a treasure for himself and is not rich in God." (Luke 12:16-21)
In this case the salvation he wanted was to come from the gods of food and wealth. He worshiped those gods by accumulating more and more and by trusting in them. Similarly, a God of strength would be worshiped by building up more weapons and armies and by trusting in them.
Like any god, a god of strength can also be praised but it sounds a little different, for example "We are strong, no one can defeat us", "we have destroyed our enemies", and "our armies are the biggest and have the very best weapons." I'm afraid many Americans have also put their faith in the god of strength.
Habakkuk is stunned by this revelation that the Chaldeans will blow through Israel. We'll see that this is not the kind of correction he wanted to see for Israel. First he asks whether Israel will survive at all.
12 Are You not from everlasting, O Lord, my God, my Holy One? We will not die. You, O Lord, have appointed them to judge; and You, O Rock, have established them to correct.
The reasoning behind the words "we will not die" is a bit obscure. He is saying that
Still Habakkuk knows that the Babylonians blowing through Israel, capturing walled cities, and taking many prisoners will be very destructive and he wonders to God if this is the best way to correct Israel.
13 Your eyes are too pure to approve evil, and You cannot look on wickedness with favor. Why do You look with favor on those who deal treacherously? Why are You silent when the wicked swallow up those more righteous than they?
The key to this verse is "more righteous than they". Habakkuk asks how a pure God can build-up the evil Chaldeans to use them to punish righteous Israel. Habakkuk would prefer the correction for Israel would come from within "the family." Unfortunately, by the time this judgment will fall on Israel they will be even less righteous than Habakkuk first complained about.
Essentially Habakkuk's complaint here is how does raising up a great evil make anything better. Yes, the evil in Israel is destroyed but now there is a major power on the world stage who is evil. He will flesh out this complaint as we go along.
Habakkuk is going to be using the metaphor of fish symbolizing men for the next few verses.
14 Why have You made men like the fish of the sea, like creeping things without a ruler over them?
In this verse he asks why isn't anyone in charge of mankind so they don't get into this mess. This is a hint pointing toward the Second Coming, when God will be ruler over all mankind. In later verses there will be specific references to the Second Coming period.
15 The Chaldeans bring all of them up with a hook, drag them away with their net, and gather them together in their fishing net. Therefore they rejoice and are glad. 16 Therefore they offer a sacrifice to their net and burn incense to their fishing net; because through these things their catch is large, and their food is plentiful.
Habakkuk says that if the Babylonians find success in their god of strength (symbolized by a net) will they not continue to worship that god and make sacrifices to it, specifically incense (prayer). How does this serve God's desire that people should worship him and make sacrifices to him? If they believe their worship leads to success, why would they stop?
17 Will they therefore empty their net and continually slay nations without sparing?
Habakkuk finishes his reasoning by asking why the Babylonians wouldn't just keep throwing the net in and catching more fish and never stop until there were no nations left.
Altogether Habakkuk expresses a lot of concerns with God raising up an evil nation to punish Israel. I think at the heart of it, though, is that he doesn't like the idea of a less righteous nation being used by God.
1 I will stand on my guard post and station myself on the rampart; and I will keep watch to see what He will speak to me, and how I may reply when I am reproved.
Habakkuk closes with an interesting point. He sees himself as a watchman on the wall prepared to alert the nation at the first sign of trouble. He says he is asking these questions so that he will be able to answer Israel when they ask the same questions of him.
2 Then the Lord answered me and said, "Record the vision and inscribe it on tablets, that the one who reads it may run.
God's message is that the words he spoke in the first answer need to be stored in a way that will last. The reason given is a bit obscure and debated by some. The intent is that a person will have time to hear it, take it to heart, and make changes - essentially repentance. We have a similar expression in English - to run with it. This idiom is defined as "to do something independently 'You just have to give them the job and let them run with it.'"1
3 For the vision is yet for the appointed time; it hastens toward the goal and it will not fail. Though it tarries, wait for it; for it will certainly come, it will not delay.
The second reason to store it in a lasting way is that it will be a while until it is fulfilled, which only makes sense if the country is to have the time to change.
God continues to say that although the fulfillment is in the future, it is coming, be patient, at the right time it will come.
In the next section the text begins using the metaphor of wine causing drunkenness as a symbol for haughtiness (arrogance) causing spiritual confusion.
4 Behold, as for the proud one, his soul is not right within him; but the righteous will live by his faith. 5 Furthermore, wine betrays the haughty man, so that he does not stay at home. He enlarges his appetite like Sheol, and he is like death, never satisfied.
God says that the Chaldean's soul is messed up but then he makes a two pronged statement - the righteous will live by his faith. First, this means that the righteous of Israel will survive. This will not be a purposeless random destruction of Israel. It will be a winnowing, where the seeds are kept but the chaff is burned. Second it hints toward the new covenant and the Messiah. These verses are quoted repeatedly in the New Testament2
In verse 5 it says that arrogance confuses the Babylonians into leaving their land and going on conquests. God says of them that their arrogance (wine) has given them endless desire for more conquests, just as the place of the dead (Sheol) always has more room for the dead. He also compares that appetite for conquest with death which eventually consumes everyone. The use of the two symbols, Sheol and death, is certainly intentional as it relates to the huge loss of life that would result from the conquests.
He also gathers to himself all nations and collects to himself all peoples. 6 Will not all of these take up a taunt-song against him, even mockery and insinuations against him and say, 'Woe to him who increases what is not his-for how long-and makes himself rich with loans?'
God is using a technique here that is seen in other prophetic writings - the voices of people are used to tell the story. It doesn't mean that actual people will say this. It's just a different way of God saying what he wants to say.
What God wants to say is, woe to him who steals, for what is taken must be returned or paid for. The bigger point is that, what the Chaldeans are doing with their conquests will not end well. Historical records support that statement.
There are some useful insights here.
7 Will not your creditors rise up suddenly, and those who collect from you awaken? Indeed, you will become plunder for them. 8 Because you have looted many nations, all the remainder of the peoples will loot you - because of human bloodshed and violence done to the land, to the town and all its inhabitants.
I believe God is expressing more than just a moral point here. He is saying the universe is structured so that conquering peoples eventually pay for what they have done. It may not fall on the conquerors themselves but instead their children or grand-children. Likewise it may not be the defenders who rise up as creditors but their children or grand-children.
Part of the reason to believe the universe is structured this way, comes from Genesis where God says that the blood of Abel calls out to him. He is saying there is a universal justice standard that must be met. This is essentially the meaning behind the idiom "what goes around, comes around" or "we plant the seeds of our own destruction." Those are idioms people have developed over centuries based on their observations of life - the universe has a way of evening things up. That doesn't mean that we should be trying to help the universe make things "come around", that is, getting even ourselves.
Understanding this can benefit us when we consider retaliation for ourselves, someone else, people of our race, and people of our country. God's hand is on everything; his eye misses nothing. He says leave the justice to me. That applies all the way from the inter-personal level to the global level. God raises up kings and countries and takes them down again.
9 Woe to him who gets evil gain for his house to put his nest on high, to be delivered from the hand of calamity! 10 You have devised a shameful thing for your house by cutting off many peoples; so you are sinning against yourself.
Here again we return to the theme of a god of strength. God's message is woe and shame on you for trying to save yourself by doing evil to others. He continues by saying you are sinning against yourself, which means, the things that have been done will fall on your descendants if not you and your own family.
11 Surely the stone will cry out from the wall, and the rafter will answer it from the framework. 12 Woe to him who builds a city with bloodshed and founds a town with violence!
Again we see inanimate objects calling out for justice showing us that justice is not just at the personal level. This doesn't mean that the act of breaking a rock is an injury to the universe, but instead that nothing is missed in the accounting of the debt that must be repaid.
This verse also extends on the previous verse which discussed "sinning against yourself." In the same way anything that is built on evil gain is destined for justice.
13 Is it not indeed from the Lord of hosts that peoples toil for fire, and nations grow weary for nothing? 14 "For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea.
The question here is really, is it not God who has set in place the rules that say man must struggle to live and nations expire. This takes us back to the idea that the universe has been constructed to enforce justice.
Then the next verse makes an obvious Second Coming reference ... obvious to us in our time, I suppose. It was likely a mystery to the people of Habakkuk's time. The message to Habakkuk is that things will not always be this way. A time will come when the evil ones do not succeed at all. In every place there will only be the glory of the Lord.
15 Woe to you who make your neighbors drink, who mix in your venom even to make them drunk so as to look on their nakedness! 16 You will be filled with disgrace rather than honor. Now you yourself drink and expose your own nakedness. The cup in the Lord's right hand will come around to you, and utter disgrace will come upon your glory.
The metaphor of wine and drunkenness is used again here and so the message is not about literal nakedness. Instead it is saying the Chaldeans use their god of strength to confuse their neighboring countries, get a look at what they have and take advantage of them. They use the stories of their previous conquests to frighten other countries and weaken them so they can be conquered more easily.
God continues to say what we would say now as "what goes around comes around". In your confusion "you have come to believe your own press" and think you are invincible. The end of an empire comes when it becomes over extended, having believed there were no limits to what they could achieve.
Christians should recognize the use of a cup and its contents to symbolize events in the future. The message is that the Babylonians filled up the cup and now it's coming around to them. That lines up perfectly with the universe's self-correcting mechanism, "what goes around, comes around." The glory they think they have will be covered by disgrace.
17 For the violence done to Lebanon will overwhelm you, and the devastation of its beasts by which you terrified them, because of human bloodshed and violence done to the land, to the town and all its inhabitants.
In summary, everything that the Babylonians have done to animals, people, the land, the cities, including terror and bloodshed will come back on them. It did. In our time the city of Babylon no longer exists as a habitable city.
Notice that the end of this verse is identical to the end of verse 8. This is probably done to stress its importance.
18 What profit is the idol when its maker has carved it, or an image, a teacher of falsehood? For its maker trusts in his own handiwork when he fashions speechless idols.
God goes for the big picture view now by referring to the Chaldeans god of strength as an idol. In describing the foolishness of idolatry, he says the god of strength lies to them. He means it tells the Chaldeans they can conquer and capture whatever they want, they can never lose, which isn't true. Justice doesn't allow for that. It tells them earthly salvation can be had this way.
The proof of the fact that this lie is never true comes from history. The great empires of the world lie shattered on the ground. Most believed the lie until they discovered they were over-extended and couldn't support their territory. Generally this came about because their successes had corrupted the government, if not the people.
Continuing on he says their god of strength is something created by them; what sense does it make to put their trust in it. This can be said another way. If you could create something that could save you, why wouldn't you just save yourself?
God also gave similar words to other prophets, co-workers with Habakkuk, about the uselessness of worshiping idols. In those cases the message was specifically for Israel who was heavily into idolatry at time. I can't help but think that this part of Habakkuk's message is not only directed at the Babylonians.
There are underlying assumptions in what God says here that are good to understand. No man thinks that he worships a chunk of wood. Instead he believes that he worships a god through the wood. They worship and pray to the wood, believing that the worship and prayers are transferred to the god. But God says it doesn't work that way. Just as he cannot be worshiped through an object, neither could another god be worshiped that way. Of course there is no other god. Therefore the man who believes he worships through wood, whether God or some other god, is really just worshiping wood.
19 Woe to him who says to a piece of wood, 'Awake!' To a mute stone, 'Arise!' And that is your teacher? Behold, it is overlaid with gold and silver, and there is no breath at all inside it.
The defective thinking behind idolatry is again displayed. God's point is that it isn't much of a god if you have to tell it to wake up and to start to move. Which leaves the question, why would you want such a god as a teacher. God is speaking of the Chaldeans god of strength, a god that is even less material than wood or stone. Yet this god teaches the lie that they are strong and can never be defeated.
A subtle point is made by mentioning that their god is overlaid with precious metals. How can a god as immaterial as a god of strength be overlaid in gold? Simple, a god of strength needs money, silver and gold, to keep it going. This is a high maintenance god.
20 But the Lord is in His holy temple. Let all the earth be silent before Him."
Compared to these pieces of wood and stone that cannot speak, the text contrasts Yahweh as alive and in his temple.
This table breaks down Habakkuk's questions and God's answers
| Habakkuk's Question | God's Answer |
|---|---|
How long will you allow wickedness to continue?
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In your time, correction will come
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How can you build up an evil people to deal with more righteous Israel?
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1 Jeremiah 12:1, Psalm 73:3, Job 21:7
2 http://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/run+with+it
3 Romans 1:17, Galatians 3:11, Hebrews 10:38