Seeking for the truth
© 2004 -
The oracle that Habakkuk
the prophet received.
Habakkuk's Complaint:
How long, O LORD, must I call for help,
but you do not listen? Or cry out to you, "Violence!" but you do not save?
Why do you make me look at injustice?
Why do you tolerate wrong?
Destruction and violence are before me; there is strife, and conflict abounds.
Therefore the law is paralysed,
and justice never prevails.
The wicked hem in the righteous,
so that justice is perverted.
The Lord's Answer:
"Look at the nations and watch-
and be utterly amazed.
For I am going to do something in your days that you would not believe,
even if you were told.
I am raising up the Babylonians,
that ruthless and impetuous people,
who sweep across the whole earth
to seize dwelling places not their own.
They are a feared and dreaded people;
they are a law to themselves
and promote their own honour.
Habakkuk 1:1-
Habakkuk looked around the land of Judah, and all he could see was injustice, quarrels, disputes and conflicts.
People were barefaced, openly breaking the law of the land.
So that these laws were no longer workable.
True justice was trampled on.
So Habakkuk complains to God:
"How long, O LORD, must I call for help,
but you do not listen?
Or cry out to you, "Violence!"
but you do not save?"
It was a bad situation.
Then we have the Lord's answer and it is:
"I am raising up the Babylonians,
that ruthless and impetuous people," !!
Is this the answer he expected?!
What answer would we expect?
How about, that the Lord will raise up someone to lead the people back to God?
But no.
God is raising up the Babylonians to sweep across the earth!
The Lord was patient for a long time, but that does not mean that He will be so for always.
If they will not turn from their sins when He is patient.
Then He will take a different action against them.
He chooses to bring in the unrighteous Babylonians,
"They are a feared and dreaded people; they are a law to themselves and promote their own honour."
Why bring in an unrighteous, ruthless nation to invade Judah?
Because the people had not upheld the laws of God, they had not shown mercy to others, they had trampled justice underfoot.
Therefore the Lord would bring in the Babylonians who were also lawless, and who showed no mercy.
"judgment without mercy,
will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful." James 2:13
Basically it's the ‘you reap what you sow' principle.
Even though the Babylonians were unrighteous, they would execute God's righteous
judgement, upon the sinfulness of Israel.
This seems very much like Old Testament language, but the Apostle Paul actually quotes from Habakkuk in his sermon at a synagogue in Antioch:
'Look, you scoffers, wonder and perish,
for I am going to do something in your days
that you would never believe,
even if someone told you.' Acts 13:41 (ANIV)
This is quoting from Habakkuk immediately before;
"I am raising up the Babylonians, that ruthless and impetuous people,"
But Paul is not referring to the Babylonians, he is referring to the Romans who would shortly
totally destroy the Temple and the nation of Israel, because they had rejected Jesus as the Messiah.
The last words from the Lord in this section are:
"Then they sweep past like the wind and go on-
guilty men, whose own strength is their god."
This is an encouragement to the righteous because; the Lord will not allow guilty, proud rulers to rule for too long.
"Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall.
Better to be lowly in spirit and among the oppressed
than to share plunder with the proud." Proverbs 16:18-
We know that Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, became puffed up with pride and God brought him down, so that he ate grass until he gave the Lord the glory.
Belshazzar, Nebuchadnezzar's son, was also a proud man, and the Lord gave his kingdom
into the hands of Darius the Mede.
Angry image: thanks to Serif ART Gallery CD
Bowman image: thanks to GSP 100,000 clipart CD
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