Habakkuk/Part 1/Commentary

Habakkuk

Outline

I. The Prophets Complaint: The problem of evil in Judah: 1:1-4 II. God's Response: The Chaldeans will be used to punish Judah: 1:5-11 III. The Prophets Dilemma: “How can a Holy God use a wicked agent?” 1: 12-17

Introductory Comments "When Habakkuk the prophet saw so much evil unpunished and unchecked among his people (apparently, in Judah), he asked the Lord ‘how long' it would be until the Lord took some action ....The Lord replied that he would allow a 'fierce' army from Chaldea to invade the land, an army that would 'gather captives like sand' and would 'seize dwellings not their own' ....The Lord's answer did not satisfy Habakkuk, and he continued his complaining, saying that the Chaldeans, though sent 'for punishment' of Habakkuk's sinful people, were themselves more 'wicked' than the ones being punished (1 :12-13)" (The Spiritual Sword, "The Justice of God", Hugo McCord, p. 30, Vol. 26, July 1995).

Chapter 1 1:1 "The oracle which Habakkuk the prophet saw." "oracle": "The prophet called his writing a massa, a 'burden'. This Hebrew noun is derived from a verb meaning 'to lift up' and consequently signifies 'what is lifted up', and thus 'a burden'. The message Habakkuk presented is indeed a weighty one... if there ever was a heavy message, Habakkuk had one" (Bible Knowledge Comm. p. 1508). “Saw": Habakkuk not only saw injustice, but God revealed to Habakkuk what would happen in the future. ''The word 'saw' (hazah), when used of the prophets, often means to see a vision

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(cf. Isa. 1:1; 2:1; Ezek. 12:27; Amos 1:1; Micah 1:1). Receiving glimpses from God into the future" (Bible Knowledge Comm. p. 1508).

1:2 "How long, 0 Lord, willi call for help, and Thou wilt not hear? I cry out to Thee, 'Violence!' Yet Thou dost not save".

"How long, 0 Lord, will I call for help": This implies that Habakkuk had been praying to God about this problem for some time. Observe that God at times allows even the most faithful to go without an answer to their prayers (2 Corinthians 12:8-9), and one of the hardest things in life to endure is the silence of God. When God does not appear to be doing anything about the external problems which we are facing, and when it seems that God isn't cooperating with the time schedule which we have devised. "Thou will not hear": The word “hear” is used in the sense of not responding.

Habakkuk asked a question that many had asked before and since, "Why doesn’t God do something about this situation?"

"I cry out to Thee, 'Violence!"': The prophet is not complaining about the violence in the surrounding nations, but rather the violence among his own people. "The tragedy confronting Habakkuk is something that disturbs many of God's people---and has done so through the years. Why is evil and suffering rampant in our world? Goodness and justice, on the other hand, seem to fail. We believe in a God of justice and goodness. But we ask ourselves, if God is good and just, why does evil win out? Why do the good people suffer? ..... It seems as if the heavens are the brass and that his prayers are simply bouncing back. He hears them reverberating around the universe. In effect he says, 'Why, God? How long must I call for help and you won't listen? It just seems that all I get back from you is a loud, stony silence. He goes on, 'Oh, there is another thing, God. I have been checking on the history of my people and I see you intervening down through the years. If we ever needed intervention it is now---and you don't intervene....How is it, God, that you are so against wrong but you go on tolerating wrong?" (Taking God Seriously, Briscoe pp. 118-119).

1:3 "Why dost Thou make me see iniquity, and cause me to look on wickedness? Yes, destruction and violence are before me; Strife exists and contention arises" "Why doest Thou make me see iniquity": The complaint is, "God how can You continually allow such things to happen? How can you seemingly allow such evil to go completely unchecked and unpunished?" ''The interesting thing about Habakkuk's doubt, however, is that it is freely expressed-2

but notice to whom he expresses it. Our world is full of people who are fully of doubts about God, theology, and morality, but they never express those doubts to God. They form societies. They get gripe groups together or they pull out of the situation where they may possibly find some answers and isolate themselves in their bitterness. The important thing to notice about Habakkuk is this: While he is a man who has doubts and dares to express them, he doesn't make the mistake of ruling God out of the picture" (Briscoe p. 119). Observe that the prophet forgets that God “sees” far more inquity and injustice on a daily basis than he does. We fail to realize that, unlike ourselves who can turn off the news or isolate ourselves from tragedy God does not. God is always beholding all the suffering and evil in this world.

"Yes destruction and violence…strife...contention": Destruction and violence would include crime and robbery. Strife and contention are the natural results of self-centeredness (James 3: 14-18; Titus 3:3). “Destruction includes violent treatment causing desolation and violence would involve malicious conduct intended to injure another" (Bible Knowledge Comm. p. 1509).

1:4 "Therefore, the law is ignored and justice is never upheld.

For the wicked surround the righteous; therefore, justice comes out perverted" The word "ignored" means literally, to become cool or numbed. The divine Law appeared to have suffered a knockout blow. "The Law, Torah, the revealed code which governed the moral, domestic, and political life, 'is chilled', is benumbed... is no longer of any force of efficacy, is become a dead letter" (P.P. Comm. pp. 1-2).

There are times in our modern society when it seems that the Bible has very little influence or convicting power, yet Habakkuk had forgotten that the law of God had a tremendous influence on his own life. Next time we are tempted to say, "Nobody wants the gospel message", let us remember-that we do! It changed our lives (Romans 1: 16).

"Justice is never upheld”: Justice comes out perverted, We seem to naively think that judges are immune from partiality or evil, yet when a society begins to cave into evil, the justice system of that society also begins to crumble. When a verdict is rendered, or when it is claimed that justice has been done, it is a perverted sense of right and wrong (Isaiah 5:20). We see the same "perversion of justice" in our society. The citizens or legislature of this country enacts a good decent law and the courts strike it down because certain judges claim it is an unjust law. The Supreme Court decision to legalize abortion was an example of justice which 3

came out perverted. Once again, be impressed that the moral compass of any country is not inherently found in its judicial or legislative system. Such a system can be influenced by the world as much as any other human arrangement. As a society becomes more corrupt, the verdicts rendered by its judges and courts will only reflect this downward trend.

God's Responds 1:5 "Look and observe the nations! Observe! Be astonished!

Wonder! Because I am doing something in your days------You would not believe if you were told".

"Look and observe the nations!": Look among the nations, because God is going to select one of those nations and use them to punish Judah. "In the dialogue between Habakkuk and Jehovah, one of the most Practical lessons of prophecy may be learned: Jehovah's use of the nations.

God may tolerate wickedness to a point, but judgment is inevitable") The Minor Prophets, Homer Hailey, p. 277). "Be astonished! Wonder!": "In effect, God is giving Habakkuk a little preamble here. 'All right', he says, 'you're asking me for answers to prayer. Sit back, listen up---you are going to get one. What I'm going to tell you, you are going to find utterly unbelievable, you're going to find what I have decided to do totally incomprehensible" (Briscoe p. 120). "In your days": Habakkuk would live through this coming judgment (3: 16). Therefore the date of the book must be kept within his lifetime. "You would not believe if you were told"-"that you will have to see to believe" (Tay).

"The modern reader gets a message loud and clear: God's ways are not our ways; He has entirely different ways of working than we do" (Briscoe p. 118).

Even a righteous man like Habakkuk would have a hard time accepting God's answer or solution to the problem. There is a great lesson here for us concerning how we study the Bible. We need to be very careful that we do not reject a teaching of Scripture because it doesn't seem to be right, fair or logical to us. What I feel and what God feels are often too different things (Proverbs 16:25). God's ways are not our ways (Isaiah 55:8-9). In addition, we also learn that apart from inspiration, the prophet was just as blind as the rest of us. No religious man or woman every reaches a point of infallibility---apart from divine inspiration. We can be members of the church for forty years but such doesn't mean that we have a reached a point in which we intuitively know what is on the mind of God.

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This book should also teach us a lesson about complaining. Like Habakkuk, we often complain about sorry conditions which we see in the church, in this community, in the state, nation or the world. "Why doesn't God do something", is often the underlying complaint. Yet do you really want God to do something?

Are we prepared if God does do something? Because God doing something might mean a tremendous amount of hardship for ourselves! God doing something might mean total economic collapse or as in this book, being overrun and devastated by a cruel army.

1:6 "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" "I am raising up the Chaldeans": “This was His selection from among all the nations. Incredible! The Jew could see Jehovah at work in his own nation, but it was preposterous that He would raise up a nation so bitter and fierce as the Chaldeans" (Hailey p. 277). There is a point that needs to be noted here, that is, evil men may succeed and prosper, because God might be trying to teach us a lesson. God may allow other religious groups and cults to prosper and multiply, in the attempt to motivate us to see the need for teaching others. Just because a group is prospering doesn't mean that they are right with God. God has allowed evil nations to conquer and prosper. The Chaldeans are described as being, “fierce”, that is cruel, savage, vengeful, and ruthless. They are also described as being “impetuous”, "It's people readily committed atrocities without forethought or remorse" (Bible Knowledge Comm. p. 1509).

"Who march": "Under Nabopolassar it (Babylon) was rising to a new zenith of power and conquest. In their march nothing stopped them; Nineveh, Haran, and later Carchemish, where Pharaoh-Necho was defeated---all had fallen into his hand. And now the Chaldeans were being raised up and were on their way to punish Judah" (Hailey p. 278). Briscoe notes, "If we are going to try to do something just, do we look for unjust people to bring justice about? No, we say, if we want justice we need just people, and if we want good to triumph, we need good people" (p. 120).

1:7 "They are dreaded and feared. Their justice and authority originate with themselves."

"Dreaded and feared": Indicating that when the book was written the Chaldeans had already established a fearful reputation as being a ruthless and 5

relentless foe. "Their justice...originate with themselves": "From their might proceeds their right" (Jerus); "no right they acknowledge... but what themselves bestow" (Knox). They are a very arrogant nation, own no master, acknowledge no superior, and they attribute their present superiority to their own power and skill. "They are a self-willed people who acknowledge no master.

Their own will is their rule of right" (Hailey p. 278). Babylon will not be the last Superpower which refused to acknowledge God and who believed that might makes right. This evil nation would have been very comfortable with the humanistic philosophy which says that man is a product of chance evolution and is therefore autonomous and accountable only to himself. The Babylonians were big believers in the idea that "right" is what we think is right-period!

1:8 "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."

Indicating that the cavalry and chariot forces of the Chaldeans were extremely swift and effective in battle (Jeremiah 4:29; 6:23). "Keener than wolves in the evening": "More fierce than" (JPS). Wolves in the evening would be seeking prey. "Wolves that prowl for food in the evening, and are then fiercest" (P.P. Comm. p. 2).

1:9 "All of them come for violence. Their horde of faces moves forward. They collect captives like sand."

"The nation's entire military force would be engaged in the invasion and would be irresistibly victorious" (Bible Knowledge Comm. p. 1510). "Plunderers all" (Knox). "Wholly for violence does he come" (AAT). This army isn't coming to make peace, they are coming to kill, destroy, and wreck havoc. "Their whole being is set on violence, destruction, and conquest" (Hailey p. 278). "They collect captives like sand--indicates the multitude of people which they already have taken captive. "Babylon followed the practice of Assyria in transporting captive peoples from their own land to one afar off. This would discourage any spirit of nationalism and revolt" (Hailey p. 278).

1:10 "They mock at kings, and rulers are a laughing matter to them. They laugh at every fortress, and heap up rubble to capture it."

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The Chaldeans are extremely arrogant. They scoff at kings, princes, whole nations and every one who has tried to stand in their way. They are not intimidated by the mightiest of fortresses. Remember, in 612 B.C. with the assistance of some other forces, the Chaldeans had destroyed the city of Nineveh, which was thought to be impregnable. The wall around Nineveh was 40 to 50 feet high, it extended for two miles along the Tigris River and for eight miles around the inner city. The city wall also had fifteen main gates. If the Babylonians had taken Nineveh, then they could equally take Jerusalem or any other fortified city in Judah. "Heap up rubble to capture it": This refers to the siege wall or ramp that was a common military practice in the ancient east (2 Kings 19:32; Ezek. 4:2), and was more developed by the Babylonians. Against the walls of a city the Chaldeans would build artificial mounds composed of earth and whatever else they could find. These earthen walls around a city would enable: 1. Battering rams and siege towers to be brought against the walls of the city 2. Cut off all means of escape out of the city and supplies from coming into the city.

1:11 "Then they will sweep through like the wind and pass on.

But they will be held guilty, they whose strength is their god".

"Sweep through like the wind": (KJV "Then shall his mind change, and he shall pass over"). The word translated in the KJV (ruah) , can also mean 'mind' or 'spirit', and the word 'change' can mean 'to pass through'. "The Chaldean inroad is compared to a tempestuous wind, which carries all before it" (P.P. Comm. p. 3). "But they will be held guilty": Such a verse poses a serious problem for the atheist, agnostic, evolutionist or skeptic. Why should the Babylonians be held guilty? If man is the measure of all things, if might makes right, if there is no absolute truth, then how is guilt to be assessed? Or, how do we prove that there is even such a thing as guilt? Obviously, God will hold them guilty. "Although the Lord raised them up, they reacted in the same manner as the Assyrians before them who took all the credit rather than praising God (cf.

Isaiah 10:5-19; Daniel 4:25,32; 5:20-22).

"They whose strength is their god": "Whose own power is their god" (Amp). "For them, 'might was right' became 'might was divine'" (Bible Knowledge Comm. p. 1510). Nothing has changed. To this day there are nations and individuals who attribute all their achievements to their own strength. God is given no credit whatsoever. Rather, the theme is often, "I did it my way".

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Many people are under the mistaken impression that if they succeed for the moment at something----that such is an automatic admission on the part of God or "destiny" that what they did was right. Observe that everyone worships some thing or someone (Romans 6:13,16; Matthew 6:24). Everyone has an object of devotion. It might be self, wealth, fame, intellect, human wisdom, or military power.

Habakkuk Is Perplexed "God's amazing disclosure left the prophet even more perplexed and bewildered.

Habakkuk's complaint about the sin and lawlessness in Judah...was met by God's response that He was not ignorant of His people's conduct. Judgment was on its way... The prophet was astonished. Just as God said he would be (v.

5). He was appalled that Yahweh would employ so evil an instrument to punish Judah. Habakkuk expressed his deep concern" (Bible Knowledge Comm. pp.

1510-1511). Briscoe notes, "God has been warning His people Judah that judgment is coming. They have not heeded the warnings. They have had a rollercoaster experience of good kings, bad kings-and then good kings again. They have seen revival (under such kings as Hezekiah and Josiah) when they have done things properly---and then they have promptly turned away and gone back to their old ways. They have seen the dreaded Assyrians decimate Israel and Samaria The dreaded Babylonians are emerging at the top of the pile of nations God answers in effect,' ....Do you think the Assyrians were overthrown by chance? ....Do you think that the Egyptians were defeated by chance? Do you think that these people coming in from the east and from the south and from the north, converging in this particular place---that it is all by chance? ... The Babylonians are on top of the heap, and those rascals are going to be the instrument of My judgment on Judah" (p. 121).

1:12 "Art Thou not from everlasting, O Lord, my God, my Holy One? We will not die. Thou, O Lord, hast appointed them to judge; and Thou, O Rock, hast established them to correct."

"Art Thou not from everlasting" Consider the contrast in this verse. The Chaldeans placed all their confidence in their own power. Habakkuk places all his confidence in the eternal God. "However devastating the divine judgment may sound, the prophet drew consolation and hope from God's holiness and faithfulness. In a sea of confusion, Habakkuk clung to the life buoy of God's holy character. In a chaotic storm, the prophet grasped the rock of his steadfast Lord" (Bible Knowledge Comm. p. 1511).

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"My God, my Holy One?": Habakkuk viewed God as being his God, and he took this relationship to be very personal indeed. There is a great lesson here for us.

For certain situations might cause us to doubt the effectiveness of God's ways or His message. Habakkuk was convinced that God was holy, therefore God would always do what was right—even if from a human perspective it seemed to be unjust. Compare with 1 Cor. 10: 13; James 1: 13; 1 John 1:5. When we say, "God why did you allow this to happen to me... ", in reality we are questioning the wisdom, power and morality of God's dealings. We are virtually accusing God of being immoral in allowing such and such to happen to us or a loved one. In addition, Habakkuk knew that God is eternal, therefore God is the most relevant being in the universe-in any generation. Since God always exists His Word remains the most relevant message that mankind could possess. The issues, topics and commands in His Word are the most relevant of issues or topics (1 Peter 1:23-25). The person who believes in the eternal nature of God will not wonder if the Church or the gospel message are still relevant to the needs of mankind.

"We will not die": Even though many in Judah would die, I believe that Habakkuk is speaking of the nation. Since Israel is the nation through whom the Messiah will come (Genesis 12:3). God will prevent the Chaldeans from totally destroying the nation of Israel. The prophet here might be speaking for the faithful few left in the land (Romans 11 :1-4). "We may be chastened, corrected, and even carried away, but we will not perish" (Hailey p. 279). The Septuagint renders this verse, "let us not die". Yet, good and righteous men and women in the past have died when God had to judge a nation (1 Samuel 31 :2).

Likewise good king Josiah had died a number of years ago in battle.

"Hast appointed them to judge": "You have decreed the rise of these Chaldeans to chasten and correct us for our awful sins" (Tay).

"O Rock": "As the sure and stable Resting-place and Support of His people (Deut. 32:4,15,37; Psalm 18:2; 31:2; Isa. 17:10)" (P.P. Comm. p. 4).

Habakkuk does not question the existence of God, nor the holiness and power of God. Neither is he questioning the fact that God will use the Chaldeans to punish Judah. The real question is found in the next verse. Neither is the prophet having a problem accepting the fact that God will punish Judah---for this is what the prophet wanted. Rather, Habakkuk is having a hard time accepting the fact that God will punish Judah will a nation which is far more wicked than Judah. "God, is this really fair?"

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Briscoe notes, "I have come across many people who have decided to pull the plug on God. They haven't liked the way He worked; they haven't liked the circumstances of life.....young people went to our single's meeting, but they found this or that wrong with them. What they really found wrong was that the partner they thought God owed them didn't show up ... Other people do just fine in their spiritual life until they get sick. Then for some reason they think they have the inalienable right to constant good health" (pp. 122-123).

1:13 "Thine eyes are too pure to approve evil, and thou canst not look on wickedness with favor. Why doest Thou look with favor."

"Too pure to approve evil": God cannot approve of sin in any form or among any people. So the prophet is perplexed. "Sinful though Judah had been, her wickedness was dwarfed by the atrocities committed by the Babylonians" (Bible Knowledge Comm. p. 1511). "In spite of the charge brought against Judah, it is possible that the prophet could be speaking of Judah in comparison to the Chaldeans; in the prophet's sight they would be more righteous than he (Babylon). But God does not see as man sees. The greater one's opportunity to know and do right, the greater is his sin when he refuses both. It seems probable, however, that he has in mind the faithful among the ungodly Jews who will suffer along with them when the judgment comes. How can God allow this? The answer is that it is an invariable law of God that the righteous must suffer along with the guilty" (Hailey p. 280).

Hailey brings up a good point. Often we look at the world and are disgusted by what we see, and yet we are not disgusted by our own sins. But when we sin, we are not sinning ignorantly---rather we are deliberately disobeying God (Luke 12:47-48; 2 Peter 2:20-22). We need to be more disgusted by our own sins, than the sins of those in the world.

1:14 "Why hast Thou made men like the fish of the sea, like creeping things without a ruler over them?"

"Without a ruler": "Helpless as fish, Judah's people were easy prey for powerful invaders. So helpless were they that they lacked the ability to organize themselves for self-protection. They were like sea creatures that are on their own, with no leader to guide them" (Bible Knowledge Comm. p. 1511). "If God gives up His people to the Chaldeans then they, too, have no king and no protection, but are equally helpless" (Hailey p. 280). Habakkuk hits a strong cord when he points out that without God's protection people are as helpless as 10

the fish in the sea. No, you can't save yourself and protect yourself from every danger. You are vulnerable!

1:15 "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."

1:16 "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."

"They offer a sacrifice to their net": "Their conquests provided not only a livelihood but also luxury ("they rejoice and are glad"). So these barbaric people paid homage to the instruments that contributed to their prosperity.... The Babylonians worshiped the means that brought them military success....Idolatry is not limited to those who bring sacrifices to burn incense to inanimate objects.

People of position, power, or prosperity often pay homage to the business or agency that provided them their coveted status. It becomes their constant obsession" (Bible Knowledge Comrn. pp. 1511-1512).

Habakkuk is stating that while God is allowing the Chaldeans to have success, the Chaldeans refuse to realize that truth. Instead of being drawn to God, the Chaldeans just keep on attributing all their success to idols or their military might. We see the same thing today. Individuals which God has allowed to occupy positions of tremendous power, but such people refuse to acknowledge God or that their success has anything to do with God. We might be tempted to ask the same question, "God why do you continue to allow this person to prosper when such prosperity only makes them more arrogant?"

1:17 "Will they therefore empty their net and continually slay nations without sparing?"

How long is God going to allow them to wreck havoc among the nations? "Will the spoiler empty his net of plunder to set out on a further expedition of rape and destruction? When will he be stopped?" (Hailey p. 281). "Shall they be permitted to be continually emptying their net in order to fill it again?" (P. P. Comm. p. 4). "How could He let a people continue in power when they so openly worshiped that very power as their god? Habakkuk was confused" (Bible Knowledge Comm. p. 1512). Most of us can put up with what appears to be unfair for a while, but we really encounter some problems when an injustice never seems to be resolved. Are we prepared to accept God's time schedule?

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