Habakkuk 3:16-19

HYMN OF FAITH. Habakkuk 3:16-19

RV. I heard, and my body trembled, My lips quivered at the voice; Rottenness entereth into my bones, and I tremble in my place; Because I must wait quietly for the day of trouble. For the coming up of the people that invadeth us. For though the fig-tree shall not flourish, Neither shall fruit be in the vines; The labor of the olive shall fail, And the fields shall yield no food; The flock shall be cut off from the fold, And there shall be no herd in the stalls; Yet I will rejoice in Jehovah, I will joy in the God of my salvation. Jehovah, the Lord, is my strength; And he maketh my feet like hinds-' feet, And will make me to walk upon my high places.
LXX. I watched, and my belly trembled at the sound of the prayer of my lips, and trembling entered into my bones, and my frame was troubled within me; I will rest in the day of affliction, from going up to the people of my sojourning. For though the fig-tree shall bear no fruit, and there shall be no produce on the vines; the labour of the olive shall fail, and the fields shall produce no food: the sheep have failed from the pasture, and there are no oxen at the cribs; yet I will exult in the Lord, I will joy in God my Saviour. The Lord God is my strength, and he will perfectly strengthen my feet; he mounts me upon high places, that I may conquer by his song.

COMMENTS

Within these few lines, we have the prophet in the highest degree of trembling and triumphing. In this world, God's people experience both. In heaven there is only triumph.
1. When we see a day of trouble approaching, it concerns us to lay up something in store for that day. The best way to so prepare is to tremble within ourselves at the Word of God.

Habakkuk's fear was that when the Chaldean came to lead off the people, he will break them up as Assyria broke up the northern kingdom. Should this happen, God's people would be no more and God's covenant would go unfulfilled. The fig-tree (Habakkuk 3:17) would not flourish, the vine would bear no fruit, the flock would be cut off and no herd would be in the stalls. Apart from His covenant people, God's purpose would not be realized.

Of course, the truth of this concern is seen historically in that God did not allow it to happen. The captives of Babylon were not scattered. Their children returned to rebuild God's temple.
2. The prophet had looked back on the experiences of the people in former ages, and had recalled great things God had done for them. From his trembling, he recovered himself. His fright gave way to faith and he was overwhelmed with holy joy. Despite the calamities he foresaw in the vision God granted him, he saw beyond it to the day of restoration.
It was the joy of faith. A century of suffering lay between the vision and the return of the remnant. Other centuries lay beyond before the coming of Him Who is the ultimate fulfillment of God's purpose in Israel.
Habakkuk closes on a note of optimism only possible to one who has finally learned to take God at His word despite outward appearances.

Chapter XVIIIQuestions

The Prophet's Poetic Prayer

1.

Habakkuk's final chapter is a poetic prayer. Its two sections are __________ and __________.

2.

How does God's answer to his second question strike Habakkuk?

3.

With what is the prophet primarily concerned in the first section of his prayer?

4.

Why does the prophet recall the past events of God's people?

5.

List the past events alluded to here.

6.

How can a loving God do what Jehovah did to the Canaanites in their overthrow by Israel?

7.

The second section of Habakkuk's prayer. the Hymn of Faith, shows the prophet progressing from __________ to __________.

8.

What is the best way to prepare for a day of adversity?

9.

In remembering God's past dealing with Israel, Habakkuk's fright gave way to __________.

10.

How do you account for the optimism with which Habakkuk closes?

For Gaza shall be forsaken, and Ashkelon a desolation: they shall drive oat Ashdod at the noonday, and Ekron shall be rooted up. lit the houses of Ashkelon shall they lie down in the evening. (Zephaniah 2:4; Zephaniah 2:7).

It was about this time that wild hordes of mounted nomads from the Caucasus swept into Mesopotamia, looting and ravaging. They forced their way through Palestine as far as the frontiers of Egypt. These were the Scythians. The Prophet Zephaniah foresaw with honor the havoc they would wreak in Palestine. Galloping Scythian horsemen, practising their characteristic shooting over the shoulder, decorate the lid of this bronze Etruscan urn.

And he will stretch out his hand against the north, and destroy Assyria (Zephaniah 2:13).

This prophecy of Zephaniah was fulfilled only twelve years after the death of Ashurbanipal. The Chaldeans, one of whom had been Merodach/baladan, the ally of King Hezekiah of Judah, had succeeded at last after a long and fruitless struggle against their mortal enemies the Assyrians, in making themselves masters of Babylon, and had allied themselves with a people from Iran, the Medes. The first city to fall before their joint assault was Ashur, which was taken in 614 B. c. This reconstruction shows the north/west side of this impressive metropolis, the oldest of the great cities of the Assyrian empire, lying on the west side of the Tigris, with its massive Temple of the god Ashur, who was its patron deity.