Habacuque 1
Warren Wiersbe · Citado em PreceptAustin
Habacuque 1
Wiersbe - God had warned His people time and time again, but they wouldn’t listen. Prophet after prophet had declared the Word (2Chr 36:14–21), only to be rejected, and He had sent natural calamities like droughts and plagues, and various military defeats, but the people wouldn’t listen. Instead of repenting, the people hardened their hearts even more and turned for help to the gods of the nations around them. They had tried God’s long-suffering long enough and it was time for God to act. (Be Amazed) Habakkuk 1:12 Are You not from everlasting, O LORD, my God, my Holy One? We will not die. You, O LORD, have appointed them to judge; And You, O Rock, have established them to correct.: Are you not from everlasting: Dt 33:27 Ps 90:2 93:2, Isa 40:28 57:15 La 5:19 Mic 5:2 1Ti 1:17 6:16 Heb 1:10-12 13:8 Rev 1:8,11 My God - Isa 43:15 We will not die - Hab 3:2 Ps 118:17 Isa 27:6-9 Jer 4:27 Jer 5:18 Jer 30:11 Jer 33:24-26 Jer 46:28 Eze 37:11-14 Am 9:8,9 Habakkuk 1 Resources - Multiple Sermons and Commentaries HABAKKUK'S SECOND SET OF QUESTIONS Habakkuk's questioning of God is a reflection of his doubt which we should distinguish from overt unbelief. Habakkuk is not exhibiting so much a weak faith (or lack of faith) but a perplexed faith. Wiersbe explains it this way… Keep in mind that there’s a difference between doubt and unbelief. Like Habakkuk, the doubter questions God and may even debate with God, but the doubter doesn’t abandon God. But unbelief is rebellion against God, a refusal to accept what He says and does. Unbelief is an act of the will, while doubt is born out of a troubled mind and a broken heart. Habakkuk is confused by the fact that God will use the more evil Babylonians against His evil people. It's as if Habakkuk is thinking "two wrongs do not make a right!" And so he was perplexed. Are You not from everlasting (qedem), O LORD, (God's Covenant Name) - Why does Habakkuk begin this section with a question? First note that he is not questioning God but is asking a rhetorical question which expects an affirmative reply - Yes, God is the Everlasting God (See in depth study) is the idea. Habakkuk is confused by why God is going to use the evil Babylonians to discipline His people. How often we find ourselves in a similar state - confused by events the sovereign God has allowed into our life - Why me God? Why now? What did I do to deserve this? etc. We need to take a "clue" from Habakkuk. When we are perplexed by the Lord’s "strange dealings" with us, it is essential to begin with the right approach to God. We need to begin with "right thinking" about God. And so the prophet begins by thinking of God as the everlasting One. My God - God is Elohim which speaks of His supreme might. Note that Habakkuk uses the personal possessive pronoun "my" which reflects intimacy. My Holy One - His essential being is that He is Holy, sinless and set apart from sinful humanity and righteous in all his dealings - Anticipating this same Name in Hab 3:3 We will not die - There is some difference of opinion on how this should be translated. Thus some version ascribe this to God, the idea being "You shall not die." However the Septuagint is rendered "we shall not die" and most of the common translations agree (ESV, NIV, KJV). And so this is Habakkuk's declaration which in context is based on what he has just said about God, what he knows to be true about "his" Holy God and his God's everlasting faithfulness to the unconditional covenant He had made with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob (cp Ge 12:1-3, Ge 17:7, 19). In other words, even though God would bring the Babylonians to discipline Judah, He would not totally destroy them. Throughout the OT, we see that God always retains a remnant of genuine believers. You, O LORD, have appointed them to judge - God has ordained that Babylon judge Judah. As alluded to above, we again see God's sovereignty over the nations. By way of application, in light of this truth, how much more should we consider Him as sovereign over the lives of individuals! And You, O Rock - In 1Cor 10:4 Jesus is the "Rock" (See Scripture chain on God as our Rock) Have established them to correct - Habakkuk is not arguing with God, but recognizes the fact that God had ordained for the Babylonians to be His agent of punishment. Notice also that it does not say "destroy" but correct (03198 - yakah) which conveys the idea of chastise or discipline. Yakah is translated reproves in Pr 3:12 and in the Septuagint (Lxx) with the verb paideuo which was the Greek verb used to describe training or disciplining of children, even using correction and punishment if a necessary part of the training. Here in Hab 1:12, the Septuagint translates yakah with the related word paideia which also means discipline, training, chastisement, correction. This conveys the idea that Judah's exile to Babylon was meant to be "corrective training", so to speak. When God seems to be crushing us or bewildering us with life-threatening providences, how should we respond? Habakkuk teaches us to go back to the truth we know about God and he began with the truth that God is everlasting, eternal. Run into the strong tower of the truth about God, the great doctrines of God, the great Names of God, for they are the warp and woof of our existence and the foundation of our day to day survival. As the beautiful old hymn Like a River Glorious rightly reminds us ("stayed" = secured upright as if with a "stay" a large strong rope used to support a mast! Apply that picture to your life dear storm tossed saint!) Stayed upon Jehovah, Hearts are fully blessed Finding as He promised, Perfect peace and rest (Like A River Glorious Vocal) Ries describes Habakkuk's response… Assuring himself of the reality of God, he proclaims boldly, we shall not die, no matter what may happen. And in this day of turmoil and gross and blatant wickedness, we, too, need a fresh view of God. We, too, need to see Him as personal, sovereign, holy, eternal, all-caring—the covenant-keeping Jehovah. The early Church, too, faced most trying days, but did exploits because it had a similar view of and faith in God (cf. Acts 4:24–31). (The Wesleyan Bible Commentary) Note that the Hebrew word everlasting in Hab 1:12 is not olam but qedem, which in this context is essentially synonymous with olam. As discussed above, Habakkuk's opening question is rhetorical (for effect), expecting a resounding "Yes!". Though Habakkuk could not see God, He trusted God, because He knew Him through His Names and attributes, choosing to recall six of His Names/Attributes in Hab 1:12. This truth about God enabled the prophet to walk not by sight but by faith (2Cor 5:7-note, 2Cor 4:18-note, see Ro 10:17-note). Indeed Elohim, Jehovah (His covenant Name and God does NOT break covenant!), the Holy One, is from everlasting (olam). Even His Name Rock speaks of His everlasting nature. He is our Rock (Dt 32:4 = first description of Rock as a Name of God; cp Dt 32:15, 18, 30-31 - "Jeshurun" is Israel). As such He is permanent, dependable, secure, stable, steadfast, One Who can be counted upon, and an immovable, unshakeable Source of protection in time of trouble! (cp Ex 33:22; Ps 18:2) His attributes and character are forever (eternally) unchangeable! And so Habakkuk's conclusion based on the truth he knew about God is "We will not die" Beloved, we can apply this truth to our life, for Habakkuk's confident declaration is the same declaration every child of El Olam can triumphantly proclaim. Because He is El Olam, the everlasting God, and we are in Him, in the everlasting Christ, we too are now everlasting and will not die - we may die physically but we will not experience the second (eternal) death, which results in everlasting separation from the Everlasting God! Notice also that Habakkuk twice employed the personal, possessive pronoun (my) describing the everlasting One as "my God, my Holy One," a God Who is not impersonal, disinterested, uninvolved, but One Who in a mysterious sense can be "possessed" by the man or woman who trusts in Him (ultimately of course trusting in Christ). The Everlasting God is actively (not passively like "Deism" teaches) involved in our lives. He is not just "up there" and disinterested. The Everlasting God has been interested in and intimately involved with His creation from everlasting to everlasting (Amen!). There is not a day that goes by that God is not interested and involved in the life of His children, including your life, dear follower of Christ! In other words, the ancient prophet clearly had faith in God's character as revealed in and through His glorious Names, and based on that truth, he was able to confidently testify that Judah would not be completely destroyed. Yes, God would discipline His disobedient chosen people, but He would not annihilate them, for He had cut an everlasting covenant with their fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, and He would not break the covenant promises! The Everlasting God has also cut an Everlasting New Covenant (Heb 13:20-note) with all who by grace believe in the Eternal One, Christ Jesus. The upshot is that El Olam will keep us safe forever! The eternal God assures us eternal security based on His eternal covenant. And He is not a man that He should lie. Beloved, do you wrestle with the doctrine of eternal security, believing as some teach that you can lose your salvation? If so, may the truth about His great Name, El Olam, give you an unshakeable hold on the great truth that El Olam's hold on you is eternally unbreakable! As a corollary: Habakkuk was wrestling with a difficult question - Why would God use an evil nation to punish His chosen people? Notice that in the process, the prophet appeals to God's names (and/or attributes) - Everlasting, Jehovah, Elohim, Holy One, Jehovah (second time) and Rock. This is a good pattern to practice when you are confused and cannot understand your circumstances, which may (often do) include trials and afflictions. Make the conscious choice (enabled by the Holy Spirit) to focus on God's character as revealed in His glorious Names. John
Habacuque 1
Wiersbe notes that Habakkuk needed to remember two truths… (1) God had used other tools to chasten His people—war, natural calamities, the preaching of the prophets—and the people wouldn’t listen; (2) the greater the light, the greater the responsibility. Yes, the Babylonians were wicked sinners, but they were idolaters who didn’t know the true and living God. This didn’t excuse their sins (Ro 1:18ff), but it did explain their conduct. The Jews claimed to know the Lord and yet they were sinning against the very law they claimed to believe! Sin in the life of a believer is far worse than sin in the life of an unbeliever. When God’s people deliberately disobey Him, they sin against a flood of light and an ocean of love. Hiding My Face - I’m a news junkie. I like knowing what’s going on in the world. But sometimes the atrocities of life make me feel as if I’m a kid watching a scary movie. I don’t want to see what happens. I want to turn away to avoid watching. God reacts to evil in a similar way. Years ago, He warned the Israelites that He would turn away from them if they turned toward evil (Dt. 31:18). They did, and He did (Ezek. 39:24). The prophet Habakkuk had not forsaken God, but he suffered along with those who had. “Why do You show me iniquity,” he asked the Lord, “and cause me to see trouble?” (Hab. 1:3). God’s response to His confused prophet indicates that even when evil obscures the face of God, our inability to see Him does not mean He is uninvolved. God said, “Look among the nations and watch—be utterly astounded! For I will work a work in your days which you would not believe, though it were told you” (Hab 1:5). God would judge Judah, but He would also judge the invading Babylonians for their evil (see Hab 2). And through it all, “The just shall live by his faith” (Hab2:4). When world events cause you to despair, turn off the news and turn to Scripture. The end of the story has been written by our holy God. Evil will not prevail.— Julie Ackerman Link Lord, we praise You for Your displays of power in the past and Your promises of victory in the future, for they replace our fear of the world with confidence in You. Amen. Don’t despair because of evil; God will have the last word. Habakkuk 1:14 Why have You made men like the fish of the sea, like creeping things without a ruler over them?: Habakkuk 1 Resources - Multiple Sermons and Commentaries Why have You made men like the fish of the sea - When combined with the following verse, it is clear that Habakkuk is describing Judah as helpless against the Babylonians. ESV Study Bible - Habakkuk’s charge against God is that he allows mankind to act like lower creatures (fish and crawling things) with no rulers or judges, so that wickedness goes unchecked. Habakkuk 1:15 The Chaldeans bring all of them up with a hook, drag them away with their net, and gather them together in their fishing net. Therefore they rejoice and are glad.: Bring: Jer 16:16 Eze 29:4,5 Am 4:2 Mt 17:27 Therefore: Jer 50:11 La 2:15,16 Eze 25:6 Ezek 26:2 Ezek 35:15 Rev 11:10 Habakkuk 1 Resources - Multiple Sermons and Commentaries The Chaldeans bring all of them up with a hook - This refers to the ancient practice by conquering nations of leading away their captives with hooks in their noses or lower lips, which was not only painful but also very humiliating. Mesopotamian monuments depict long lines of captives with hooks through their lips being dragged off to Babylon. Amos prophesied removal by hooks… The Lord GOD has sworn by His holiness, “Behold, the days are coming upon you when they will take you away with meat hooks, And the last of you with fish hooks. (Amos 4:2) Drag them away with their net - This is a vivid picture of the conquered victims being treated like fish caught in a net. Mesopotamian rock reliefs often portray prisoners being hauled off to captivity in nets. Their net… fishing net - The first net is a "throw net" as used by a fisherman standing on the shore. The second net is a "dragnet" used by men in a boat.