Habakkuk Pt. 1 A heartbroken prophet seeks answers from Jehovah.

Good morning to all of our Readers. 

I pray daily for the Lord's blessings, protection and guidance for each one of you. 

As a reminder, we are taking a break from our study of John's gospel but we will come back to it at a later date. Please keep your notes and downloads of our studies in John so when we do resume, you will be able to keep all the lessons together. 

Today, we will begin a study of a Minor Prophet named Habakkuk. This man lived around 612 BC and was given a vision by Jehovah of the Babylonians besieging Judah, destroying Jerusalem and carrying the people into captivity for 70 years.

The prophets Nahum and Zephaniah were contemporaries of Habakkuk, meaning that the time frame of their ministries overlapped. Habakkuk is quoted by 3 major doctrinal books of the New Testament being cited in Romans, Galatians and Hebrews. 

Around the world today the people of God are perplexed by increasing turmoil, rising terrorism, mounting tragedies, unprecedented economic upheaval, widespread epidemics like COVID-19 and cultural tensions boiling over. Sometimes our world seems like a bomb with a short fuse lit and ready to explode.

People ask penetrating questions. Why is there so much oppression? Why is there so much injustice? Why do evil people seem to prosper? Why is so much hatred exploding around us?

Why isn't God doing something about this mess? Why are the righteous people of God suffering so much?  

More than 2,600 years ago a prophet of God named Habakkuk experienced  a similar anguish deep within his soul. He was different from many of the prophets of God because they generally declared His message to His people. Habakkuk actually had a dialogue with God about many important and perplexing issues that filled him with grief and uncertainty. I think we can safely say that there are many parallels between what Habakkuk experienced and what many of us are experiencing in 2020.

What does the name Habakkuk mean? It means one who folds his arms and embraces. It has the idea of a prophet who seeks to embrace God's people to comfort them as a mother comforts a weeping child. Habakkuk was one who sought to encourage the people to seek Jehovah and walk in His ways because things would get better for the nation.  

Habkkuk 1:1  The burden which Habakkuk the prophet did see.

What we know for certain about this man is that he was an ordained prophet of Jehovah and well educated because he took part in liturgical singing at the Temple. His writing presents a prophet who is deeply sensitive and as poetic as the Psalmists. His prophecy closes with a doxology of praise to Jehovah and the closing notation states "To the chief singer on my musical instruments."

What was the historical context for Habakkuk's prophecy? It was a time of international turmoil along with a growing national malfeasance among the government of Judah. The Babylonians emerged as a world power after defeating the powerful Assyrians and then trouncing the Egyptians. 

2 Kings 23:36-37  Jehoiakim was twenty and five years old when he began to reign; and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem. And his mother's name was Zebudah, the daughter of Pedaiah of Rumah. 37) And he did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD, according to all that his fathers had done. 

While the Babylonians and Assyrians were warring against each other, good King Josiah had time to implement spiritual reforms (2 Kings 21-23). After his death, Pharaoh placed Jehoiakim, a son of Josiah on the throne. Jehoiakim was a very evil king who quickly undid the spiritual reforms of his father. 

What is a burden? The Hebrew word "massa" means that which is lifted up from the ground, a heavy burden. Thus, a prophecy that is a "massa" is a heavy and weighty word from God with a theme of judgment.

The burden Habakkuk writes about is something that he saw. The word "see" in the text is most often used by God's prophets seeing something that will take place in the future (See Isaiah 1:1; 2:1; Ezekiel 12:27; Amos 1:1 & Micah 1:1 for examples). 

Habakkuk's anguish.

• Lord, Why don't you hear my prayers?

Habakkuk 1:2  O LORD, how long shall I cry, and thou wilt not hear! even cry out unto thee of violence, and thou wilt not save! 

First, Habakkuk is asking the question "Jehovah, why does it seem you are indifferent to my supplication and prayers?" The prophet has been pouring out his heart to the LORD for some time but he feels Jehovah is not listening to his complaints and concerns. "How long?" he cries, indicating that he has been praying about these matters for quite a while.

The Psalmists David (Psalm 13:1-4) Asaph (Psalm 74:1-2) and the sons of Korah (Psalm 88) each expressed similar complaints to the Lord. Violence was all around the prophet from the rising Babylonian empire to leaders in Judah. Violent things were done to nations and the people with great injustice going on. 

• Lord why are you indifferent to widespread sin and suffering?

Habakkuk 1:3-4  Why dost thou shew me iniquity, and cause me to behold grievance? for spoiling and violence are before me: and there are that raise up strife and contention. 4) Therefore the law is slacked, and judgment doth never go forth: for the wicked doth compass about the righteous; therefore wrong judgment proceedeth. 

Habakkuk sees iniquity which is a twisting of God's holy standard into something that is not holy. It is a perversion of the way of God. Then, he sees grievance which refers to people not being rightly judged by the Judges who were supposed to uphold God's law. It was really bad that the prophet had to see the wickedness that was prevalent in Judah, but he was perplexed as to why God also saw it and seemingly did nothing about it.

Spoiling or taking someone's goods or property from them is part of the ongoing violence that Habakkuk lived through. Certain people were inciting civil strife and contention and gross injustice was taking place.

The holy law of God was "slacked." This is an interesting word that means to become feeble, numb and unable to move. Judah's judges were not applying the holy law of God to the cases that came before them to the point that the prophet complained that right judgment was never ordered.  

Wicked people hemmed in the righteous people seeking justice in the courts to the degree that only a wrong or flawed judgment was handed down by the judges. 

Thoughts to Ponder...

I am struck by how relevant the inspired writings are from a prophet who lived more than 2,600 years ago! The problems Habakkuk faced are eerily similar to the conditions many of us face today. As it was then, God's word remains our greatest resource and we must seek our God in His word to find rest for our souls. 

I am reminded again that the people of God in any generation are to be a praying people. This prophet was overwhelmed by conditions that he saw God's people suffering under and he prayed to Jehovah for a long period of time about those things. We too, should be known as those who pray without ceasing to our loving Father for His help in all our situations. 

We may be asking the same questions of God that Habakkuk asked. "Lord, why don't you hear my prayers?" and "Lord, why aren't you doing something about all the wrongdoing in the world today?

Habakkuk is not chastened or condemned for asking the questions that he did. Rather, God helps him understand that even though he doesn't see anything happening, God is still at work judging sin and helping His people. 

The word of God is the sword of the Spirit and is the only offensive weapon for a believer in the spiritual warfare around us. We must never allow the scriptures to become slacked. We must present the truth to others, we must show it to those who live in sin or who do wrong, so that the God of heaven may prick their hearts with it. Keep the Spirit's sword at your side, ready do use, believer!

I pray that our study of the prophet Habakkuk will energize our souls to earnestly seek Him, to discern His will and to place our cares upon His everlasting arms.

 

Bob