The Prophets: Habakkuk "Yet I WIll Rejoice in the Lord"

S = Habakkuk 3:2, 17-19
3:2 O Lord, I have heard the report of you,
    and your work, O Lord, do I fear.
In the midst of the years revive it;
    in the midst of the years make it known;
    in wrath remember mercy…

3:17-19

Though the fig tree should not blossom,
    nor fruit be on the vines,
the produce of the olive fail
    and the fields yield no food,
the flock be cut off from the fold
    and there be no herd in the stalls,
¹⁸ yet I will rejoice in the Lord;
    I will take joy in the God of my salvation.
¹⁹ God, the Lord, is my strength;
    he makes my feet like the deer's;
    he makes me tread on my high places.

O = Habakkuk lived during a time characterized by violence… wickedness… strife… people ignoring the law… where justice is perverted. He cried out to the Lord, as I know I have done, “How long?” When would God come and deal with the social injustice, oppression, and personal corruption? God’s answer surprised Habakkuk. God was going to use the Chaldeans (Babylon) to judge his people. Habakkuk asked a second question, “How come them?” for they seemed to be worse than Judah. In chapter 2, God assured him that the Chaldeans would be judged for their own sins [Ambitiousness (6-8); Covetousness (9-11); Violence (12-14); Moral Shame (15-17); Idolatry (18-19)]

In Chapter 2 there are three significant verses containing truth even beyond the need of the immediate context:

• 2:4b “…but the righteous [just] shall live by his faith…
• 2:14 “For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD.”
• 2:20 “The LORD is in His holy temple, let all the earth keep silent before Him.”

God is seen as sovereign over nations and history. Habakkuk was facing a very difficult season of time and did so by drawing near to God in honest communication, simple trust, and heartfelt worship.

A = I am impressed by Habakkuk’s honesty with God about his questions and his resolve to pray, to remember God’s work in the past and worship the Lord through whatever frightening circumstances may come. I need to be able to do likewise. I have found it helpful to re-write 3:17-19 from my own situation. I would suggest that it might be helpful for those reading this as well.

P = O Lord, I know you are just and righteous and will deal with the evil in the world. You will do it in your way and in your time. I will rest in the embrace of your plan though at times it frightens me I will trust in your goodness and mercy! I pray that this week you would set my feet securely where I can give thanks and rejoice in you. Amen.