In The Word
Read: Habakkuk 1-2:5
Chaldeans Used to Punish Judah
1 The pronouncement which Habakkuk the prophet saw:
2 How long, Lord, have I called for help,
And You do not hear?
I cry out to You, “Violence!”
Yet You do not save.
3 Why do You make me see disaster,
And make me look at destitution?
Yes, devastation and violence are before me;
Strife exists and contention arises.
4 Therefore the Law is ignored,
And justice is never upheld.
For the wicked surround the righteous;
Therefore justice comes out confused.
5 “Look among the nations! Watch!
Be horrified! Be frightened speechless!
For I am accomplishing a work in your days—
You would not believe it even if you were told!
6 For behold, I am raising up the Chaldeans,
That grim and impetuous people
Who march throughout the earth,
To take possession of dwelling places that are not theirs.
7 They are terrifying and feared;
Their justice and authority originate with themselves.
8 Their horses are faster than leopards,
And quicker than wolves in the evening.
Their horsemen charge along,
Their horsemen come from afar;
They fly like an eagle swooping down to devour.
9 All of them come for violence.
Their horde of faces moves forward.
They gather captives like sand.
10 They make fun of kings,
And dignitaries are an object of laughter to them.
They laugh at every fortress,
Then heap up dirt and capture it.
11 Then they fly along like the wind and pass on.
But they will be held guilty,
They whose strength is their god.”
12 Are You not from time everlasting,
Lord, my God, my Holy One?
We will not die.
You, Lord, have appointed them to deliverjudgment;
And You, O Rock, have destined them to punish.
13 Your eyes are too pure to look at evil,
And You cannot look at harm favorably.
Why do You look favorably
At those who deal treacherously?
Why are You silent when the wicked swallow up
Those more righteous than they?
14 Why have You made people like the fish of the sea,
Like crawling things that have no ruler over them?
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 joyful.
16 Therefore they offer a sacrifice to their net
And burn incense to their fishing net,
Because through these things their catch islarge,
And their food is plentiful.
17 Will they therefore empty their net,
And continually slay nations without sparing?
God Answers the Prophet
2 I will stand at my guard post
And station myself on the watchtower;
And I will keep watch to see what He will say to me,
And how I may reply when I am reprimanded.
2 Then the Lord answered me and said,
“Write down the vision
And inscribe it clearly on tablets,
So that one who reads it may run.
3 For the vision is yet for the appointed time;
It hurries toward the goal and it will not fail.
Though it delays, wait for it;
For it will certainly come, it will not delay long.
4 “Behold, as for the impudent one,
His soul is not right within him;
But the righteous one will live by his faith.
5 Furthermore, wine betrays an arrogant man,
So that he does not achieve his objective.
He enlarges his appetite like Sheol,
And he is like death, never satisfied.
He also gathers to himself all the nations
And collects to himself all the peoples.
New American Standard Bible (NASB) Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation
Walking In The Word
The prophet cried out to God, “How long, O Lord?” Habakkuk continued to see evil, wickedness, violence, strife, contention, and destruction all around him. It seemed that God’s law and ordinances were ignored and justice was perverted. He knew that the Lord was sovereign, faithful, and righteous, and that His eyes were too pure to approve evil. Finally, the Lord answered Habakkuk and told him to record what he saw so that all who read it would be warned. The Lord’s response will come in His timing, and it will not fail. His people should wait on Him, living in faith.
You may be able to relate to that today. You may look around and see circumstances similar to what the prophet saw: those who do evil and wickedness are doing better than you, those who are disobedient to the Lord’s ways and teachings are getting away with it, and those who are in charge of justice are perverting it. However, Isaiah 5:20 says, “Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil…” and Revelation 22 says, “…for the time is near…Behold, I am coming quickly…to render to every man according to what he has done…Blessed are those who …may enter by the gates into the city. Outside are the dogs, the sorcerers, the immoral persons, the murderers, the idolaters, and everyone who loves and practices lying.” We are to stand our guard, keep watch, and live faithfully today and every day. Come, Lord Jesus!