Waiting on the Lord

The resolve of Habakkuk was to wait on the Lord to hear a response from the Lord. This involved faith and confidence that God both heard his prayer and would respond to his prayer.

Francis Anderson commented, “The silence of God vexed and grieved him, but he knew that there was nothing he could do about it. Or rather, all he could do was keep on praying, keep on waiting, keep on watching.” [1]

We need to make note of the Lord’s response. [vv. 2-3]

The LORD answered Habakkuk instructing him to write down the vision— including an event that was to happen in the future.

It should be noted here that the LORD is dependable:

He is dependable to respond.

He is dependable to give instruction.

He is dependable to act.

We need to trust the Lord’s judgment. [vv. 4-19]

Verse four is a key verse in this prophecy and in the Bible generally. It provides a contrast between the wicked, specifically Babylon, and the righteous. The wicked trust in their own strength and pride themselves in their accomplishments; the righteous live by faith in God and rest in His ability.

Generally, the latter part of this verse is foundational to the Gospel and for the Christian. Extended beyond the original hearers to those today, the Christian should understand the importance of trusting the Word of God and living by faith in God. This is characteristic of the righteous.

Notice that verses five through nineteen address the wickedness of the Babylonians:

Verse five is a concise statement about them dealing with their greediness and wickedness.

Verse six (a) deals with the response of all who have been opposed by Babylon- in their day of destruction taking up “taunt with mockery and riddles”

Verse six (b) introduces the first oracle: They have wrongly and greedily taken what did not belong to them; thus, those who remain will one day rise against them to take it back. [6b-8]

Verse nine introduces the second oracle: They have used the wealth of others dishonestly to build security and comfort for themselves; thus, the security and comfort they have built up will be destructed. [vv. 9-11]

Verse twelve introduces the third oracle: They have founded themselves as a people of violence; thus, violence will come to them with a vengeance, destroying their civilization. [vv. 12-14]

Verse fifteen introduces the fourth oracle: They have intoxicated their neighbors, exposing their wealth in order to attack them, overtake them, and build themselves bigger; Thus, their glory will be turned to shame and disgrace. [vv. 15-18]

Verse nineteen introduces the fifth oracle: They had worshipped idols of many kinds; thus, their idols would be destroyed and their inauthenticity exposed.

God will not allow injustice and wickedness (sin) to go unaddressed and unpunished. Though it may not look like we expect, it may not be in the timeframe we expect, and it may not be according to the plan we expect, we can trust the Lord’s judgment.

We need to silence our hearts in the presence of the LORD. [v. 20]

Perhaps the temptation of our hearts is to leap with joy as we read this- “woohoo! The unjust is getting what they deserve. Go God! Get it, big guy!” We think. Yet, verse 20 humbles us and causes us to realize that such a response is haughty and inappropriate.

Instead, such a verse should lead us to the following:

Acknowledge God’s reign over the whole earth (He is in his holy temple, on the throne)

Be silent in His presence, realizing our sinfulness in light of His holiness.

Reflective Questions:

[1] What is the biggest hindrance to your not waiting on the Lord?

busyness?

fear?

lack of faith/confidence?

control?

[2] Are you tempted to take matters into your own hands rather than to trust God’s judgment?

[3] When is the last time you were silent before the Lord?

Bibliography:

[1] Francis I. Anderson, “Habakkuk” in The Anchor Yale Bible, Vol. 23 (New York, New York: Doubleday, 2001), 196.

[2] Eric Redmond, William Curtis, and Ken Fentress, Exalting Jesus in Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk (Nashville, TN: Holman Reference, 2016).

[3] Adam Clarke, The Holy Bible with a Commentary and Critical Notes, New Edition., vol. 4 (Bellingham, WA: Faithlife Corporation, 2014).

[4] E. B. Pusey, Notes on the Old Testament: The Minor Prophets: Micah to Malachi, vol. 2 (New York: Funk and Wagnalls, 1885).

[5] Joe Sprinkle, “Habakkuk,” in CSB Study Bible: Notes, ed. Edwin A. Blum and Trevin Wax (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2017).

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