Habacuque 1

Habacuque 1

MacArthur adds that "Paul used it (Quote from Hab 1:5) to illustrate the destruction that the Old Testament pledges to sinners who refuse to repent and submit to the Lord." You would not believe if you were told - The revelation is going to be so incredible that if a man told Habakkuk, he would not believe it! But this is God speaking, so he must believe it! (cp Nu 23:19a) Habakkuk 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.: Raising up - Dt 28:49-52 2Ki 24:2 2Ch 36:6,17 Isa 23:13 39:6,7 Jer 1:15,16 Jer 4:6,8 5:15 6:22,23 21:4 25:9 Habakkuk 1 Resources - Multiple Sermons and Commentaries Kitto - Habakkuk begins his poem with one animated portraiture, and closes it with another. Surely there is no poet who ever described the march of a conqueror—mighty and full of arrogance, in more vivid colors than he has done that of the Chaldeans—“That bitter and impetuous nation, which traverseth the wide regions of the earth, to seize upon habitations belonging not to it,” etc.; riding upon horses “swifter than leopards, and fiercer than evening wolves,” etc. Who has ever uttered more derisive taunts than those in which the prophet proclaims the eventual triumph of the oppressed people over their proud tyrants—fallen from the height of their grandeur, and trodden beneath the feet of their enemies. (Hab 2:8-17) What poet has traced with so much force and sublimity as this one, the dread solemnity of universal nature when the Lord descends upon the earth. (Hab 3:3-15). (Daily Bible illustrations) For - Again we encounter a term of explanation, which causes us to pause to ponder the passage (the "3P's") asking the question, "What is God explaining to Habakkuk?" Clearly God is answering Habakkuk's original questions, explaining that (1) He will punish wicked Judah for her sins and (2) He will use the even more wicked Chaldeans (Babylonians). Behold (hinneh) is used to call attention to the text and specifically to direct the reader to give special attention to what is being said. "Listen up" is the idea. I am raising up the Chaldeans (Babylonians) - This is clear evidence that God is Sovereign over nations and kings (cp Pr 21:1-note by Bridges). This is a reiteration of the prophecy Moses had spoken to the second generation of Israel as they prepared to enter the land of Canaan, a land whose enticements to sin and idolatry would prove too much for them to resist (Read Dt 28:49-52). And so some 800 years earlier through Moses, God had predicted the fall of Jerusalem to the Babylonians, who He now specifically identifies. Fierce… impetuous… seize - These are words which should make anyone tremble! And remember that although God is speaking to Habakkuk, He has used the plural signifying that this was a message to all Judah, all who had ears to hear what the Spirit was saying. It is now too late to avert divine discipline, but presumably those who heard and heeded could have made some preparations for the coming invasion, although they too would not be able to avoid it. Moses had warned this would come to pass declaring… They (the Chosen People) have made Me jealous with what is not God; They have provoked Me to anger with their idols. So I will make them jealous with those who are not a people; I will provoke them to anger with a foolish nation, (Dt 32:21) Habakkuk 1:7 "They are dreaded and feared; Their justice and authority originate with themselves.: Jer 39:5-9 Jer 52:9-11,25-27 Dt 5:19,27 Habakkuk 1 Resources - Multiple Sermons and Commentaries NLT - They are notorious for their cruelty. They do as they like, and no one can stop them. In response to Habakkuk’s perplexity and pleading, God broke His silence, stating He was not indifferent to Judah’s sin; but rather than revival, He was sending “dreaded and feared” judgment. They are dreaded and feared - And rightly so! Zedekiah would have done well to hear and heed Habakkuk's prophecy for he made the mistake of trying to flee Nebuchadnezzar who overtook him and "passed sentence on him" (Nebuchadnezzar was a law unto himself! Woe to those who must suffer the "justice" of evil men!), slaying Zedekiah's sons before his eyes (!), slaying all the nobles of Judah, blinding the king and binding him in shackles, and finally burning the king's palace and breaking down the walls of Jerusalem (no walls in the ancient world = no defense). (See Jer 39:5-9) Criswell comments on the character of the Babylonians as described in Hab 1:7-11… Autocratic arrogance, impetuous barbarity, and unquenchable lust characterize the Chaldeans. No fortress is too high, because with ferocity and speed they heap up mounds of earth to scale the height and conquer (Hab 1:10). Puffed up by their triumphs, they deify their own power ("ascribing this power to his god," Hab 1:11). Their justice and authority originate with themselves - To borrow a common expression, the Babylonians who recognized no superiors were "a law unto themselves!" They did what was right in their own eyes (cp Jdg 21:25) and it mattered not if it was wrong in God's eyes! Habakkuk 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.: Horses: Dt 28:49 Isa 5:26-28 evening: Ge 49:27 Jer 5:6 Zep 3:3 like an eagle: Jer 4:13 La 4:19 Eze 17:3,12 Ho 8:1 Mt 24:28 Lk 17:37 Habakkuk 1 Resources - Multiple Sermons and Commentaries Their horses are swifter than leopards - The Babylonians will "come with speed swiftly" with "chariot wheels like a whirlwind" (Isa 5:26, 28) Keener than wolves in the evening - This is clearly a metaphor. Whenever you encounter a "figure of speech" use your observation as an opportunity to practice the "3P's" (pause to ponder the passage) What is the picture God is painting? "Keen" (02300 - hadad) is a verb meaning to slash or sharpen and pictures that which is quick and in the present passage wolves that are "more alert" and so which are "fierce." Wolves prowl at night. Not having eaten all day, they are obviously ravenous and driven by their strong desire for food. We've all seen a pack of hungry wolves attacking their prey and it is not a pretty site to put it mildly! The Babylonians will not be "genteel" or "polite" invaders! This helps us understand why God had told Habakkuk that he would have difficulty believing this description (Hab 1:5). They fly like an eagle swooping down to devour - Moses prophecy in Dt 28:49 presented a vivid picture of the speed of these invaders “as the eagle swoops down". Have you ever seen an eagle dive on prey which was attempting futilely to escape?! Note that the Hebrew word for eagle (nesher) can also signify "vulture" which would certainly even more accurate given the context! Habakkuk 1:9 "All of them come for violence. Their horde of faces moves forward. They collect captives like sand.: Violence: Hab 1:6 Hab 2:5-13 Dt 28:51,52 Jer 4:7 Jer 5:15-17 Jer 25:9 Collect: Hab 2:5 Ge 41:49 Jdg 7:12 Job 29:18 Ps 139:18 Jer 15:8 Jer 34:22 Ho 1:10 Ro 9:27 Habakkuk 1 Resources - Multiple Sermons and Commentaries Their horde of faces moves forward - The NET Bible has "every face is determined." The NET Bible Note says that more literally the phrase is "The totality of their faces is to the east" (or "is forward"). The precise meaning of the Hebrew term megammat (Hebrew word translated "horde" in NAS) is unclear… NEB has "a sea of faces rolls on"; NIV "their hordes advance like a desert wind"; NRSV "with faces pressing forward." All of them come with violence - In other words "violence" is their goal, their intent! Judah's violence would be repaid with Babylonian violence (Same word hamas 02555 used in both verses, the name of the foe of modern Israel - Hamas). Judah had sown the wind of internal violence but would now reap the dread whirlwind of external violence! (See Hos 8:7 = What Shall the Harvest Be? Spurgeon Sermon, cp Gal 6:7-note, Gal 6:8-note) They collect captives like sand - Figure of speech (pause to ponder the passage). Pictures how easy the Babylonians take prisoners. It's as easy as scooping up sand in one's hand. Also could speak of the large numbers of prisoners "like sand." Habakkuk 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.: Mock: 2Ki 24:12 2Ki 25:6,7 2Ch 36:6,10 Habakkuk 1 Resources - Multiple Sermons and Commentaries They mock (cp same Hebrew word qalac in 2Ki 2:23, Ezek 22:5) - disparage, ridicule: mock, scoff, scorn. Rulers are a laughing matter to them - The Babylonians compiled an imposing list of vanquished kings. In 612 they had defeated Sinsharishkun at Nineveh, and in 609, his son Ashur-uballit at Haran; at Carchemish, in 605, it was to be the Egyptian, Neco. They were known to put captured kings in cages and exhibit like animals! Heap up rubble to capture it - This describes a common technique used to besiege ancient walled cities which were made vulnerable by piling up dirt, etc, to produce mounds which would would serve as long "earthen" ramps to the city's wall, enabling the enemy to easily scale the wall and capture the city (Jer 32:34, 33:4 Jer 52:4-7) Habakkuk 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.": Held guilty: Da 5:3, 4, 20 Habakkuk 1 Resources - Multiple Sermons and Commentaries NLT - They sweep past like the wind and are gone. But they are deeply guilty, for their own strength is their god. They (Babylonians) whose strength is their god - At Belshazzar's last drinking party in Daniel 5 the party goers "drank the wine and praised the gods of gold and silver, of bronze, iron, wood, and stone." Marduk (Jer 50:21, cp which some feel is the deification of the Nimrod of Ge 10:8-12) was the primary god of Babylon, later called Bel (Baal, but not to be confused with the earlier Canaanite Baal); the Babylonian creation epic (Enuma Elish) commemorates Marduk's victory over the forces of evil and honors him as "king of the gods" MacArthur - Though the Chaldeans were God’s instruments of judgment, their self-sufficiency and self-adulation planted the seeds for their own destruction (described in 2:2–20), as they stood guilty of idolatry and blasphemy before the sovereign Lord.