Habakkuk’s Complaint. Habakkuk 1:1-17
INTRODUCTION TO HABAKKUK
The prophecy of Habakkuk is concerned with the rise of the Chaldeans to power. Habakkuk had seen this mighty people used in inflicting judgment upon Nineveh, and they appeared to be the very instrument of God. But a problem arose when they were seen to be as the Assyrians whom they had destroyed. How could God use for any purpose a heartless, cruel nation, bent wholly upon evil? The prophet’s answer is that God will make all His dealings clear if we but wait for Him. “The just shall live by faith.” When the issues appear confused, the righteous can still remain steadfast and loyal to God-that is their life. “Be true; light will dawn.”
Hab_3:1-19 is a poem of great beauty, remarkable for its expression of unwavering faith. Though all gifts fail, the Giver Himself abides, and in Him the prophet will rejoice.
“The Just Shall Live by Faith”
1.THE PROPHET’S EXPOSTULATION, Hab_1:1-17; Hab_2:1-20
1. Why Are Iniquity and Injustice Permitted to Prevail? Hab_1:1-4
Reply: The Chaldeans Will Execute Judgment, Hab_1:5-11
2. How Can Power Be Given to So Wicked a People? Hab_1:12-17
Reply: Their Exaltation Is but Temporary, Hab_2:1-4
3. Five Woes against the Chaldeans, Hab_2:5-20
Habakkuk 1:1-17
The oracle (a burdensome message–a pronouncement from God) which Habakkuk the prophet saw.
HABAKKUK’S COMPLAINT
O LORD, how long will I call for help And You will not hear? I cry out to You, “Violence!” Yet You do not save.
Why do You make me see iniquity, And cause me to look on wickedness? For destruction and violence are before me; Strife continues and contention arises.
Therefore, the law is ineffective and ignored And justice is never upheld, For the wicked surround the righteous; Therefore, justice becomes perverted.
THE LORD’S ANSWER
[The LORD replied,] “Look among the nations! See! Be astonished! Wonder! For I am doing something in your days– You would not believe it if you were told. [Act_13:40-41]
“For behold, I am raising up the Chaldeans [who rule in Babylon], That fierce and impetuous nation Who march throughout the earth To take possession of dwelling places that do not belong to them. [2Ki_24:2]
“The Chaldeans are dreaded and feared; Their justice and authority originate with themselves and are defined only by their decree.
“Their horses are swifter than leopards And keener than [hungry] wolves in the evening, Their horsemen come galloping, Their horsemen come from far away; They fly like an eagle swooping down to devour.
“They all come for violence; Their horde of faces moves [eagerly] forward, They gather prisoners like sand.
“They make fun of kings And rulers are a laughing matter to them. They ridicule every stronghold And heap up rubble [for earth mounds] and capture it.
“Then they will sweep by like the wind and pass on. But they will be held guilty, They [and all men] whose own power and strength is their god.”
HABAKKUK’S SECOND COMPLAINT
Are You not from everlasting, O LORD, my God, My Holy One? We will not die. O LORD, You have appointed the Chaldeans [who rule in Babylon] to execute [Your] judgment, And You, O Rock, have established them to correct and chastise. [Deu_32:4]
Your eyes are too pure to approve evil, And You cannot look favorably on wickedness. Why then do You look favorably On those who act treacherously? Why are you silent when the wicked (Chaldean oppressors) destroy Those more righteous than they?
Why do You make men like the fish of the sea, Like reptiles and creeping things that have no ruler [and are helpless against their enemies]?
The Chaldeans bring all of them up with a hook, And drag them away with a net, And gather them together in their fishing net; So they rejoice and are glad.
Therefore, they offer sacrifices to their net And burn incense to their fishing net; Because through these things their catch is large and they live luxuriously, And their food is plentiful.
Will they continue to empty their net And [mercilessly] go on destroying nations without sparing?
F. B.Meyer
on
Habakkuk 1:1-17
THE APPARENT PROSPERITY OF THE WICKED
Habakkuk probably lived toward the beginning of the reign of Jehoiakim, when the Chaldeans were preparing to invade the land. Jerusalem was filled with wickedness. Crimes of violence and lawlessness had become so numerous that the prophet was appalled at the sight. He could only point to the fate of other nations, which must also befall Judah unless the people repented. Paul quotes Hab_1:5 in Act_13:41. The Chaldeans are compared to the leopard, the evening wolf, and the east wind. The prophet turns to Jehovah in an agony of expostulation and entreaty. Was He not from everlasting? Was He not Israel’s Rock? The prophet’s solace is the reflection, “We shall not die.” An ancient reading is, “Thou canst not die.” We are reminded of Rev_1:18. O thou undying, unchanging, life-giving Savior, we cling to thee amid the storms that sweep the world, as limpets to the rock.
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