Habakkuk 1
LIKE many of the Psalms, and the writings of Jeremiah, the book of Habakkuk in the wisdom and forethought of God, expresses some of the exercises of heart His people experience while passing through trial, and shows His interest in and care for them; faith and love to Him are seen to grow through the responses He makes to the cries of His tried ones.
Nahum was the last of the seven earlier “Minor Prophets”, while Habakkuk is joined in time with Jeremiah and Zephaniah, these three being raised up for a testimony in Judah during and following the reign of Josiah, the last godly king.
In verses 2, 3 and 4 the prophet is distressed because God has not answered his prayers; the state of Judah was very bad indeed, as Jeremiah, chapters 5, 6, 7, 8, etc. shows, and Habakkuk had earnestly sought the ear of God about it; but evil went on unchecked, and there was no evidence that He would interfere. Spoiling and violence, strife and contention abounded; the law (given by Moses) was treated lightly, and justice did not go forth; perverted judgment was the rule, because the wicked were strong and the righteous weak.
God does answer prayer (verses 5-11), but in His own time and according to His own wisdom; He is slow to anger, but will not at all acquit the wicked (Nahum 1:33The Lord is slow to anger, and great in power, and will not at all acquit the wicked: the Lord hath his way in the whirlwind and in the storm, and the clouds are the dust of his feet. (Nahum 1:3)). Among the nations great changes were developing under His hand; Assyria was declining, Media and Babylonia were rising; before long Nineveh would be besieged and destroyed, add the proud Assyrian kingdom would cease to exist. A little later the Babylonian empire was to be erected with old Chaldea at its base, and Nebuchadnezzar, its greatest monarch, would be given such authority as had never before been committed to a man (Daniel 2:37-38; 4:20-2237Thou, O king, art a king of kings: for the God of heaven hath given thee a kingdom, power, and strength, and glory. 38And wheresoever the children of men dwell, the beasts of the field and the fowls of the heaven hath he given into thine hand, and hath made thee ruler over them all. Thou art this head of gold. (Daniel 2:37‑38)
20The tree that thou sawest, which grew, and was strong, whose height reached unto the heaven, and the sight thereof to all the earth; 21Whose leaves were fair, and the fruit thereof much, and in it was meat for all; under which the beasts of the field dwelt, and upon whose branches the fowls of the heaven had their habitation: 22It is thou, O king, that art grown and become strong: for thy greatness is grown, and reacheth unto heaven, and thy dominion to the end of the earth. (Daniel 4:20‑22)). Verse 5 was evidently before the Apostle Paul, with other passages in his reference to the prophets in Acts 13:4141Behold, ye despisers, and wonder, and perish: for I work a work in your days, a work which ye shall in no wise believe, though a man declare it unto you. (Acts 13:41).
When the Chaldeans should come against Judah, they would be more violent, more relentless, and far more swift in attack than the Assyrians had been. In verse 6, for “the land”, read “the earth”, and in verse 9 for “the captivity” read “captives”. No power could long withstand them.
Habakkuk was overwhelmed at the thought of what was to come (unmistakably pointing to the captivity of Judah, like that of Israel), and the instruments that God would employ (verses 12-17). He turns again to prayer. The Chaldeans, he recalls, remonstrating with Him, were ordained for judgment, appointed for correction; why then should these wicked people he allowed to swallow up Judah, more righteous than themselves? Why should God look upon the treacherous Chaldeans? They would be like one catching fish with hook and net, mercilessly gathering human captives for themselves in abundance, and praising their false gods because of the success that was theirs. The end of the first chapter is properly at the close of chapter 2, verse 1, where the prophet is seen to be waiting upon God; what will He say to His servant, and what shall Habakkuk answer? A faithful shepherd, he stands upon his watch beside the flock God has entrusted to his care.
ML 05/30/1937