Habakkuk Chapter 3
7/30/24 11:38 AM
Solitary Man
solitaryman.substack.com
20240725
Hab 3:1 A prayer (tef-il-law – supplication, a hymm) of Habakkuk the prophet upon Shigionoth (technically a rambling poem, from a root that can mean a sin through ignorance).
We now come to the final chapter. After Habakkuk cries out in his ignorance of God’s ways, and waits for his answer, God responds with an answer that Habakkuk did not expect. To remedy Judah’s wickedness, God will raise up a far worse nation to chastise them. He then promises to punish them even worse than he punished Judah, but only after God spends several verses describing in detail the exact nature of these wicked people. Thus we have learned several important spiritual principles thus far, which have already been covered in the commentaries on the previous 2 chapters.
This chapter serves as the conclusion of this prophet’s ministry, at least as far as what God wanted preserved for all time. It is called prayer. The word tef-il-law occurs 77 times, and in every instance it is translated as prayer. However besides verse 2, there are no other petitions to be found in this entire chapter. Thus it is understood that this word encompasses a broader meaning of the word prayer than we normally understand. This chapter recounts God’s fearsome and mighty hand in the history of Israel, so it’s really a hymn of praise and wonder.
The word Shigionoth in only found in the title of Psalm 7. There is much disagreement as to the precise meaning of this word. The most likely interpretation is that it is some sort of musical instruction, as confirmed by the words in verse 19. Some would take it to mean ‘after the manner of a song’, indicating that this chapter should be sung. The word connotates an erratic, or wandering song, perhaps reflecting the wanderings of the nation of Israel, not just in the wilderness, but in the spiritual journey that they undertook in their entire history. The root word connotes the idea of sin through ignorance. Perhaps we are to see this song as God’s response to the people’s ignorance of God’s ways in judgment, as evidenced by the kind of questions Habakkuk posed to the Lord.
In the following verses, we shall see exactly how God wants to be made known. I can guarantee you that it will not line up with traditional Christian theological emphasis. God here has a chance to emphasize any character trait that he so chooses. Let us see what aspect of Himself that he wants us to grasp.
Hab 3:2 O LORD (Yehovah), I have heard (shama) thy speech (shay-mah – something heard, a sound or announcement), and was afraid (yaw-ray – to revere, to dread, terribleness): O LORD, revive (khaw-yaw – to keep alive, preserve, quicken, recover, repair, restore, save) thy work in the midst (centre) of the years (age), in the midst of the years (age) make known; in wrath (ro-ghez – anger, rage, the crash of thunder) remember mercy (raw-kham – compassion, pity).
Whenever you see LORD all in capitals, it is always the true name of God, which is Yehovah or Yahweh. It is essentially the only name Habakkuk uses in this entire work, indicating that these are the words of the one true god.
By now we should all know that shama means to hear intelligently, with the implication of total obedience. Hear in Hebrew does not mean just listening, but more of a soldier receiving orders from his commanding officer. This art has truly been lost in the church, as we are more of a listen but not do kind of people. We are to shama shay-mah, that is, we are to obey what we have heard, if it comes from the mouth of the Lord.
If we truly shama, it should always lead to yaw-ray. This is not only reverence, but fear and dread. Dread in that we know by revelation that it is a truly frightening thing to be found in known disobedience to the living God, as Paul tells us:
Heb 10:31 It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.
I find it noteworthy how yaw-ray sounds similar to Yud-he-vav-heh, or Yah-weh. Almost as if in the name itself you should be able to perceive the true fear of the Lord that goes hand in hand with his name.
We have teased out some subtleties in the first sentence, but I want us to go back and just simply absorb it as it stands. The prophet heard the word of God, and he was afraid. He didn’t say he was comforted. Nor did he say it gave him goosebumps all over, or brought him perfect peace. It didn’t make him want to shout and run around the church. Nor did it cause him to start waving flags or shout hallelujah and amen. It made him afraid. When God tells us like it is, when he shows us our true spiritual condition, and the true reality around us, it should usually frighten the socks off us! If your pastor is not instilling a healthy fear of the Lord into your life, then he is not doing his job.
This is the only petition in this prayer, which is really more of a teaching, or a recitation of the mighty works of God, followed by the closing spiritual lesson that we are to absorb after meditating on this entire work.
Habakkuk asks God to revive his work in the midst of the years. At this time, make yourself known. I am sure that Habakkuk is pleading for his time period, which was in the midst of the age of the law, or the old covenant. However we should all be praying this prayer in whatever age we find ourselves in. Note also that revive has a much more comprehensive aspect. It encompasses a total rescue, renewal, and restoration. We all desire to be made whole.
The verse ends with a timeless plea. In wrath remember mercy. We are at the start of the final end time judgment on all flesh. Since 2020, evil things have fallen upon us continually. We have hardly had a respite or a break. And this is just the beginning. Now, more than in almost all generations, we desperately need to see this prayer come to pass. If we cannot avert the terrible judgments of the Lord, but we can most certainly petition the throne room of heaven for more mercy in the midst of wrath. Mercy to spare his remnant, to hide us from the worst of it. To spare our friends and loved ones. To be merciful to the ignorant, even if there is no mercy left for the truly wicked. So many people simply have no idea what is really going on. They have been lied to so comprehensively, that they are not able to distinguish fantasy from reality any longer. Unless God removes the blindness from their eyes, they have no ability to comprehend the calamity that we are all in.
Let us never stop asking God for mercy, and remind him of a related promise in this passage:
Lam 3:21 This I recall to my mind, therefore have I hope.
Lam 3:22 It is of the LORD’S mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not.
Lam 3:23 They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness.
Hab 3:3 God came from Teman, and the Holy One (kaw-doshe) from mount Paran. Selah. His glory (grandeur, majesty) covered (filled) the heavens, and the earth was full of his praise (laudation, shining).
The prophet has now seen the imminent punishment on his people by the Babylonians, and then their subsequent judgment. He sees the parallels between the Egyptian enslavement of the past, and hopes for the same deliverance now as was afforded then. This is why he pleads for mercy in the midst of God’s wrath, hoping to shorten the just punishment, so that the power and glory of God may be manifested to all the earth once more, even as it was in the time of Pharaoh.
Teman denotes the south, and was the name of two Edomites. Paran comes from a root word that means to gleam. The Jamieson-Fausset-Brown bible commentary has this to say:
from Teman—the country south of Judea and near Edom, in which latter country Mount Paran was situated [Henderson]. “Paran” is the desert region, extending from the south of Judah to Sinai. Seir, Sinai, and Paran are adjacent to one another, and are hence associated together, in respect to God’s giving of the law (De 33:2). Teman is so identified with Seir or Edom, as here to be substituted for it. Habakkuk appeals to God’s glorious manifestations to His people at Sinai, as the ground for praying that God will “revive His work” (Hab 3:2) now. For He is the same God now as ever.
These 2 places are connected in Deut 33:2:
Deu 33:2 And he said, The LORD came from Sinai, and rose up from Seir unto them; he shined forth from mount Paran, and he came with ten thousands of saints: from his right hand went a fiery law for them.
The glory of his perfect law is said to have shined forth from Seir, or Edom, and from mount Paran. From God’s own right hand came this fiery, shining manifestation of his character, represented in the law of Moses. In a sense one could say God’s glory, or his shining, arose upon them our of Edom and mount Paran. This is confirmed in the song of Deborah:
Jdg 5:4 LORD, when thou wentest out of Seir, when thou marchedst out of the field of Edom, the earth trembled, and the heavens dropped, the clouds also dropped water.
Jdg 5:5 The mountains melted from before the LORD, even that Sinai from before the LORD God of Israel.
The idea here is that Habakkuk is speaking of a couple of the representative places that the Israelites would associate with their wilderness wanderings, and the giving of the law, which was to be remembered as glorious.
Hab 3:4 And his brightness (brilliancy) was (exists as or becomes) as the light (illumination, sun); he had horns (kehren – a corner of the altar, ray of light, splendours) coming out of his hand: and there was the hiding (concealment) of his power (strength).
The King James could of been better translated if they stuck to the theme of light. God’s brilliancy exists as the sun itself, rays of splendour proceed out of his hand, and in that glory we find concealed, the real source of his power.
Is not the glory of God something that we all seek? Is this not what causes mortal flesh to either be struck dumb and fall as dead men before him, or be utterly consumed in its presence? The prophet is now taking us to the heights of heaven, where the very essence of the Holy One resides.
Hab 3:5 Before (from his face) him went the pestilence (deh-ber – the destroying plague), and burning coals (reh-shef – lightning, hot thunderbolt, fever) went forth at his feet.
I just shake my head in sadness at how gullible the biblically illiterate church has become. Because the theological foundation laid in our hearts is all wrong, we cannot hope to understand passages such as these. Because we think God is love, and only love, our hearts and minds usually just gloss over and skip verses such as these. I have heard preachers say that since there is no cancer in heaven, then it is never God’s will that any of his children should ever have cancer (or any other disease). So they are saying that Hab 3:5 is a lie. If one verse in the bible is a lie, then what verse can you trust? And where do they get the idea that there is no disease in heaven? They simply made it up. Of course no one in heaven suffers from any disease, but to then imply that God is incapable to smiting anyone with pestilence is absurd. If God has no access to pestilence, do they also claim that the wicked are never smitten by God either? That only the devil has such power? That means that in this area the devil is more powerful than God!
This is the kind of stupidity that modern churches teach. And it is all based in the sin of idolatry. They have created Yahweh in their own image, a god whose characteristics they are totally comfortable with. Out with that unpleasant judgment stuff, in with the love, grace, and acceptance! Don’t talk to me about pestilences and fevers, talk to me of blessing, prosperity, and riches for all!
The majority of commentators see the pestilence and fever as going forth to slay the enemies of God’s people, as in 1 Sam 5:9,11, Ps 78:50, the several plagues of Egypt in Exodus, and is alluded to in Ex 23:27 and Ps 68:1-2.
However, do not deceive yourselves in thinking that God only reserves the plague for your enemies. Walk like the people of Israel did in the wilderness, and tempt God like they did, and see if you do not risk the righteous retribution of the Holy One, as found in these verses:
Num 11:33 And while the flesh was yet between their teeth, ere it was chewed, the wrath of the LORD was kindled against the people, and the LORD smote the people with a very great plague.
Num 14:37 Even those men that did bring up the evil report upon the land, died by the plague before the LORD
Num 16:46 And Moses said unto Aaron, Take a censer, and put fire therein from off the altar, and put on incense, and go quickly unto the congregation, and make an atonement for them: for there is wrath gone out from the LORD; the plague is begun.
If you do not fear God yet, then I do not know what else God can do for you.
Hab 3:6 He stood (has taken his stand), and measured (shook) the earth: he beheld, and drove asunder (divided, terrified) the nations (goy); and the everlasting mountains (the mountains of old) were scattered (dashed in pieces), the perpetual (o-lawm) hills (the hills from all time) did bow (sink): his ways (hal-ee-kaw – walk, steps) are everlasting (o-lawm – concealed even in eternity, out of time, the vanishing point in the past).
God took the goyim’s measure. The divided the nations asunder at Babel. He removed the old mountains and hills in the flood, creating new and much larger ones. God’s ways, his way of acting, is eternal. It is not some idea or course of action thought up at the moment. His ways are eternal. He changes not.
Hab 3:7 I saw the tents of Cushan in affliction: and the curtains of the land of Midian did tremble.
Here is a historical reference that would of struck a relevant chord in Habakkuk’s audience of his day, but for us, we need to do a little digging to try and uncover exactly what he is referring to.
It would be similar to someone 500 years in the future reading of us referring to 911 and jan6, and unless there were corresponding documents, they would have no idea what we would be referring to.
The imagery may be thought of as reflecting back to Moses time, though a case can be made for a later time in their history, in the book of Judges. From Ellicott’s commentary for English Readers:
Probably the imagery is still borrowed from the Exodus story, the nations instanced being the borderers on the Red Sea—viz., Cushan (Cush, or Ethiopia) on the west, and Midian on the east side. A plausible theory, however, as old as the Targum, connects this verse with later episodes in Israel’s history. “Cushan” is identified with that Mesopotamian oppressor, “Cushan-rishathaim,” whom the judge Othniel overcame. (Judges 3:8-10). And “Midian” is interpreted by Judges 6, which records how Gideon delivered Israel from Midianite oppression. Both names thus become typical instances of tyranny subdued by Jehovah’s intervention.
Another possible interpretation is found in Benson’s Commentary:
Since Moses’s wife, who was a Midianite, is called (Numbers 12:1) a Cushite, Cushan may be here another name for Midian, and then the two members of this period will be equivalent; but if they be different, then the Cushites must have been an Arabian nation who dwelt in tents near the Midianites, and were seized with the same consternation, at the approach of Jehovah and his people Israel, as the latter were. The total overthrow which the Israelites gave the Midianites and their allies, as recorded Numbers 31:7-12, is probably here referred to.
When it comes to blatantly historical references to some ancient event such as this, we should not be shy in deferring to those men of academia who have done all the laborious legwork to bring to our attention such useful historical information that invariably may lead to further spiritual insight and illumination.
In other words, don’t reinvent the wheel, be grateful for the work of others, and don’t be too proud to acknowledge good teaching when you see it!
Hab 3:8 Was the LORD displeased (incensed) against the rivers? was thine anger (as smoke out of the nostrils) against the rivers? was thy wrath (rage) against the sea, that thou didst ride upon thine horses and thy chariots of salvation (yesh-oo-aw)?
So what has transpired in this song thus far? Habakkuk has heard the voice of the Lord, and it filled him with dread. He was filled with dread because God revealed his judgments unto him. It caused him to make his only plea in this entire song – in wrath, remember mercy. Habakkuk is then given a vision of the glory of the Lord. Although the image can only be described as one that was filled with indescribable light, greater than the sun, yet he reminds us that in this all surpassing glory, pestilence and fever are contained within that very glory for the disobedient and the rebellious. Pestilence that has been used against his own people, as well as his enemies.
When God goes forth, with judgment in his hands, he surveys the earth, and weighs it in his balance. What he found displeased him to such an extent that he scattered the nations, and transformed the very geography and topography of the planet itself in various cataclysmic judgments.
He then makes reference to well known locations that trigger memories of the great wilderness wanderings, and the giving of the law to his people.
Now in verse 8 the reference is obviously referring to the parting of the Red Sea, and the subsequent destruction of the armies of Egypt. He begins by asking why did God do this? Was God mad at the water and the sea, that he divided it and made it stand up? Obviously not, he did it to manifest the armies of God, fighting on Israel’s behalf, bringing salvation by riding upon horses and chariots.
This imagery is to remind us that God’s invisible army in the spirit realm was there to fight against the army of Egypt in the natural. It was said that the Lord took off their chariot wheels (Ex 14:25). God’s spiritual horses and chariots fought against Egypt’s horses and chariots, and utterly destroyed them.
This story is often mentioned in the scripture, as it has become God’s signature witness of his awesome miraculous power throughout the ages.
Note that the whole point was yesh-oo-aw, or salvation for the redeemed of the Lord. Yeshua, or Jesus, is the whole point of everything, isn’t he?
Hab 3:9 Thy bow was made quite naked (in nakedness it was laid naked), according to the oaths (something sworn) of the tribes (thy rod or staff), even thy word (promise). Selah (suspension of music, pause). Thou didst cleave the earth with rivers.
I think we can improve upon the King James version by discounting the word tribes, as that is only the figurative meaning of the Hebrew word used in this verse. The theme is one of God’s cataclysmic judgments. In accordance with that theme, Habakkuk states emphatically by using 2 different Hebrew words that denote nakedness in describing how God’s instrument of wrath, in this case represented by his bow, was laid bare for all to see. It was not to he sheathed, but brought out for use according to his sworn promise that his rod or staff of punishment shall be wielded. The song then pauses at this point (by using the word selah). Then a new stanza begins by stating that the earth itself was cleaved asunder with various rivers, all by the hand of God. This last sentence should of probably been placed in the next verse.
Hab 3:10 The mountains saw thee, and they trembled (in fear, and possibly in pain): the overflowing of the water passed by (crossed over, passed away): the deep (abyss) uttered his voice, and lifted up his hands on high.
The theme of nature being utterly overwhelmed in dread and terror by the awesome judgments of Yahweh continue in this verse. The mountains themselves are said to of saw God, and they writhed in pain. How come the mountains themselves can recognize the work of God when judgment falls, but the Laodicean western church has no clue? They say that must be the devil, that is bringing such calamity. So they fail to recognize their creator, who could not make himself any more visible, and yet another opportunity for repentance passes them by.
The waters themselves overflow. Even the darkest depths of the seas exclaim in wonder, and assumes a posture of praise, as if they had hands to lift up to the Lord. This imagery again recalls the great wonder of the parting of the Red Sea, where the waters themselves passed away on either side, and the walls thereof were like two hands raised in worship of the creator.
Hab 3:11 The sun and moon stood still in their habitation: at the light of thine arrows (khayts – piercer) they went (walked), and at the shining (brilliancy) of thy glittering spear (of the lance that is cast forth like lightning).
The reader is now led to remember the story found in Joshua 10:12-14:
Jos 10:12 Then spake Joshua to the LORD in the day when the LORD delivered up the Amorites before the children of Israel, and he said in the sight of Israel, Sun, stand thou still upon Gibeon; and thou, Moon, in the valley of Ajalon.
Jos 10:13 And the sun stood still, and the moon stayed, until the people had avenged themselves upon their enemies. Is not this written in the book of Jasher? So the sun stood still in the midst of heaven, and hasted not to go down about a whole day.
Jos 10:14 And there was no day like that before it or after it, that the LORD hearkened unto the voice of a man: for the LORD fought for Israel.
Can one think of any miracle more spectacular than this? Try and convince a physicist of the truth of this passage. They will give you a hundred reasons as to why this is physically impossible according to the law of physics, and they would be correct. That is why this is called a miracle, there is no natural explanation to be found.
It always amuses me when the worldly wise try to explain away the miracles using some sort of natural phenomenon. Such as when the Israelites passed through the Red Sea, they state that the water was only knee deep. Well then it becomes an even greater miracle that the entire Egyptian army drowned in knee deep water! Or when every demon cast out in the new testament was a psychological issue only. Amazing how a psychological issue can cause a man to break every chain that they bind him with!
When God’s glory walks in pestilence and fever, when he stalks the heavens and the earth in his judgments, the very heavenly bodies stand still, and are as in darkness in comparison to the brilliance of the presence of God.
Hab 3:12 Thou didst march through the land in indignation (fury, rage, literally frothing at the mouth), thou didst thresh (trample, break, tear) the heathen (goy) in anger (af – wrath as if furious breathing from the nostrils).
Since the main theme of history in this passage seems to revolve around the Hebrew’s deliverance from Egypt, the Israelite would call to mind the Lord going before them as a cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night. God fought before them in Joshua’s day (Josh 5:13-15), enabling them to take possession of the land of Canaan. We see here the incredibly strong emotion evinced by the choice of Hebrew words used. This is so hard for the average Christian of today to wrap their head around. God may be incredibly patient, but when his anger is aroused, watch out! You do not want to be anywhere near. Many churches teach that God has spent all his anger at the cross. As if he will never be angry again. If that were true, then how does one account for the dozens and dozens of verses that describe the wrath of the Lord during the end times, for starters?
Yes, God did pour out his wrath on his son at the cross. Jesus has provided a way of escape. The cross allows us to flee from the wrath to come. But that wrath is coming, and even now is.
Oh God, please return to your people a proper understanding and knowledge of the fear of the Lord.
Hab 3:13 Thou wentest forth (You brought forth) for the salvation (yeh-shah – liberty, deliverance, prosperity, safety) of thy people (am – for a people, tribe, or flock), even for salvation (yeh-shah) with thine anointed (mash-i-yach – anointed or consecrated one); thou woundedst (crush, pierce, dash asunder) the head out of the house of the wicked, by discovering the foundation unto the neck. Selah.
God brought forth salvation for his people, even salvation via the mash-i-yach, or the anointed one. You crush the head of the wicked house, even razing his house down to its very foundation.
It is hard to top the strong allusion to Messiah in this verse. As God goes stomping about, in anger and indignation meting out one judgment or another, it is not simply to provide him with an outlet for letting off steam. It is to prepare the way for the coming of that great deliverer, the Messiah of Yahweh, that has been promised of old time. In conjunction with the coming of Messiah, the house of wickedness itself will be crushed at the head, and its very foundation will be razed to the ground. This is a hint of Jesus coming to the earth to destroy the works of the evil one. Judgment and salvation are all part and parcel of the same plan of God for his people.
Hab 3:14 Thou didst strike through (naw-kab – puncture, pierce, blaspheme, curse) with his staves (branch, rod, tribes) the head (to shake the head) of his villages (paw-rawz – to separate): they came out as a whirlwind (they rushed upon) to scatter me (to dash in pieces): their rejoicing (to jump for joy, exultation) was as to (was in comparison to) devour (consume) the poor (afflicted, humble) secretly (covertly).
The Hebrew is very obscure in this verse. To try and discern the proper meaning of each word is difficult, as several of the words used have a great latitude in possible meanings that are not related one to another. Thus we have to rely on context, and the suggestions of the best conservative scholars that have gone on before us.
My take is that God struck down the Canaanites by using the tribes of Israel (the sons Jacob). They took out the leaders of each town that they came to. They moved quickly to dash in pieces the enemy wherever he encountered them. Their joy in victory was in contrast, or comparison to, the wicked’s behavior in covertly picking off the poor and helpless of the tribes as they wandered.
I think you have to understand that we are still talking about the acts of God primarily, as the previous and successive verses all focus on Yahweh and the behaviors.
Hab 3:15 Thou didst walk (tread) through the sea (roaring ocean) with thine horses (to skip and leap for joy), through the heap (homer – unit of measure, bubbling up, a wave) of great (abundant) waters.
God is pictured as treading through the roaring sea with his horses, as opposed to Pharaoh, who when he dared to imitate the chariots of God, drowned for his efforts. The waters were said to be a heap, as they were bunched up in a heap on either side of the people as they passed through.
This completes the poetic description of God being with his people, delivering them from bondage, through trial and struggle, ultimately fighting for them as they went to possess their inheritance. The key point of this passage is that God was always present with his people as they travelled this road of salvation. Whether you are at the beginning, middle, or end of your own personal walk with Jesus, keep in mind that he has always been there, is there, and will continue to be there, right til the very end of your road, or deh-rek.
Hab 3:16 When I heard (shama), my belly (body) trembled (quaked); my lips quivered at the voice: rottenness entered into my bones, and I trembled (quivered) in myself, that I might rest (quieten, remain, settle down) in the day (yom) of trouble (tsaw-raw – tightness, affliction, adversity, tribulation): when he cometh up (ascends) unto the people (am – tribe, flock, nation), he will invade them with his troops (attack, overcome).
Habakkuk has shama’d the word of God. That is, he not only listened, but sought with all his might to understand with the intent of accepting and obeying. What Habakkuk has heard has caused his whole body to tremble violently in fear and dread. This response occurred because the prophet has grasped what God has been trying to convey. Yes, Judah has gone astray. Yes, they are not repenting. Yes, judgment is coming. Yes, the judgment will not be what you expect, it will be far worse.
The judgment will be executed by a nation that is far more wicked than you. It will be exceedingly unpleasant. You will have to try and find some solace in the fact that once God is finished using Babylon for his purposes, their judgment will be even more severe.
God then reminded Habakkuk of his great miraculous redemptive work in freeing his people from Pharaoh, and ultimately leading them to the promised land. Although there were many terrifying incidents during that time, there were also moments of unbelievable miraculous interventions to rescue them.
We then learn the whole point of this book. If we truly understand the redemptive purposes of God’s terrifying and dreadful judgments, then like Habakkuk, we we will rest in the day of our trouble. Our spirits will quieten down, and settle before the Lord as the calamities increase in our day. If we but reflect and meditate that God has in his arsenal every sort of miracle imaginable to accomplish his will, then we need not fear that his mighty and perfect will will ever be thwarted. His people, though judged severely at times, have survived even unto this day.
Habakkuk then completes this verse by stating that the Chaldeans will come up and attack and overcome Judah. Yet because of what God told him, painting a picture of unimaginable power and supreme sovereign control over all events, Habakkuk has learned to rest in Him.
As 2024 progresses, we are finding out that the satanic agenda is rolling ahead, almost unimpeded, it seems. We are discovering that we have very little power to do anything about anything. Yet if we truly understood God’s mishpat, his righteous judgments, we, like Habakkuk, would find a tremendous source of comfort, peace, and strength in this foundational truth. No matter how evil things get, God’s judgment will ensure that all will eventually be made right. We do not have to fear that evil will win, or that anyone will ever go unpunished. Since we cannot do a single thing to alter these world shaking events, let us strive to obtain the same revelation that Habakkuk obtained. I hope that my poor attempts at explaining these things are helping someone out there come to terms with our world as it is, and not as we wish it to be.
In the last 3 verses, we will find a fairly famous passage. Don Francisco made a great song out of it many years ago. Hopefully with what we have learned thus far, the full import and meaning of this passage will have much more meaning and impact.
Hab 3:17 Although the fig tree shall not blossom (flourish), neither shall fruit be in the vines; the labour of the olive shall fail, and the fields shall yield no meat; the flock shall be cut off from the fold, and there shall be no herd in the stalls:
Habakkuk has been given a vision of what is to come for Judah. Babylon will attack, and Babylon will end up destroying Judah. This is God’s will to do so. What that means is that the food supply will be cut off by the marauding invaders. The start of this last portion sounds very ominous. There is no prosperity or wealth for the people of God in this passage.
Hab 3:18 Yet I will rejoice (jump for joy) in the LORD (Yehovah), I will joy (spin around) in the God (elohim) of my salvation (yeh-shah – liberty, deliverance, prosperity).
So how can the prophet make this statement? Are there any believers in the western church that could honestly say the same thing? Would we not be furiously spending our time and energy looking up all our favorite prosperity verses, naming it and claiming it?
Habakkuk pulls no punches. He says that this scenario of an utter lack of food is a distinct possibility. In fact, in Judah’s future this is a near certainty. But because of what he has learned of God’s ways, a peace and assurance has overtaken his soul. He rests in the wisdom of God’s decisions for his life. He will not give in to panic, fear, and despair. He says he will choose to rejoice in the god who brings salvation to him. That elohim’s name is Yehovah.
The strange thing is that he has just declared that the fig tree will not (not might not) blossom. In other words, he knows a time is soon coming where there will be no physical prosperity. Yet he chooses to rejoice in the god who saves, which includes the idea of prosperity. What gives?
Perhaps we need to make a concerted effort to get rid of this material emphasis of the definition of true prosperity. Most of us are so focused on our health and wealth, that we are throwing away so many opportunities to grow in our spiritual walk with Jesus. We just can’t seem to stop emphasizing this material realm.
Even as the direct energy weapons have struck again in Jasper, Alberta, incinerating a good chunk of Canada’s most beautiful town, we are to learn from these things that all these material things are truly temporal. They can be taken away in a blink of the eye, either by God or by the enemy. You can name and claim all you want, but you are not in charge. God is in charge. When we finally are truly liberated from this bondage to our personal possessions and the love of material things, then, and only then, will be be able to join Habakkuk and many other saints of God in understanding where our source of true joy and peace comes from.
Hab 3:19 The LORD God (Yehovah Adonai) is my strength (virtue, source of riches), and he will make my feet like hinds’ feet, and he will make me to walk upon mine high places (bamah). To the chief singer on my stringed instruments.
What a way to end this book! Habakkuk echoes the words of the Psalmist:
Psa 18:33 He maketh my feet like hinds’ feet, and setteth me upon my high places.
I like the fact that the word for strength can also be translated as the source of riches. Here we see the true wealth of the child of God, and that is God, and God himself alone, especially in the person of our Lord God and Savior himself, Christ Jesus.
A child of God that has truly been set free from the cares of this life is said to possess hind’s feet. Many of us are familiar with Hannah Hurnard’s classic work, Hind’s Feet in High Places. A wonderful allegorical treatise on the journey of a true believer, much in the vein of Pilgrim’s Progress, by John Bunyan. Both works contain much to profit every believer.
If we truly want to walk in the high places, you will not find them in a problem free life. I think most of us are just like the world, where we seek comfort and escape from all bad things in life. Habakkuk says that he found peace only when he obtained a full revelation of God’s judgments. Since judgments are a fundamental part of our reality, then let us quit trying to pretend that they don’t exist. Let us quit trying to pretend that the end of days are not upon us. Let us quit trying to pretend that the world will ever go back to what it was before 2020.
Rather, let us be found with the courage to face our Babylon that has come to destroy us, and wipe us off the map. Let us remember the mighty works of God, and the fact that he even uses the Babylon’s of this world to accomplish his will. And let us remember our own personal redemption out of the bondage of Egypt, passing through our own Red Sea, and our entrance into the promised land of eternal life.
In closing, I wish to reproduce the notes I made in the margins of my bible some time ago.
Suddenly it’s as if Habakkuk receives revelation and realises that the obsessing over material prosperity is not the goal of life. God has his ways and the sooner we embrace his ways, which is reality, then the sooner we will find the will to rejoice and make the most of our relationship with God. Most Christians spend most of their energy trying to get God to conform to their reality. In these end times of the consummation of all things, the sooner we embrace God’s ways of judgment, the better the probability that we will become fruitful for the kingdom and be spared the worst of the troubles. Preservation of physical prosperity must never be our focus, but rather intimacy with Jesus.
Habakkuk is a book that calls us to face reality. Hard, cold, ugly, it matters not. What does matter is our utter acceptance of the will of God, regardless of where it leads. As the darkness continues to envelop the land, will we be found rejoicing in the Lord, as the prophet of old?
The book ends with a musical instruction, which is why some think Habakkuk was a Levite, who would of been familiar with musical arrangements, especially if he himself was a musician.
In any event, I pray that the lessons revealed in this short prophetic work, written so long ago, will speak to your heart, and help you to accept what is, and what is yet to come.
May the Lord richly bless you all!
Solitary Man
https://solitaryman.substack.com/
