Standing On Hind Feet
Habakkuk 2:2 “And the Lord answered me: “Write the vision; make it plain on tablets, so he may run who reads it.”
Habakkuk 2:3 “For still the vision awaits its appointed time; it hastens to the end—it will not lie. If it seems slow, wait for it; it will surely come; it will not delay.”
Habakkuk 2:4““Behold, his soul is puffed up; it is not upright within him, but the righteous shall live by his faith.”
Habakkuk 2:5 ““Moreover, wine is a traitor, an arrogant man who is never at rest. His greed is as wide as Sheol; like death he has never enough. He gathers for himself all nations and collects as his own all peoples.””
Habakkuk 2:6 “Shall not all these take up their taunt against him, with scoffing and riddles for him, and say, “Woe to him who heaps up what is not his own— for how long?— and loads himself with pledges!””
Habakkuk 2:7 “Will not your debtors suddenly arise, and those awake who will make you tremble? Then you will be spoil for them.”
Habakkuk 2:8“Because you have plundered many nations, all the remnant of the peoples shall plunder you, for the blood of man and violence to the earth, to cities and all who dwell in them.”
Habakkuk 2:9 ““Woe to him who gets evil gain for his house, to set his nest on high, to be safe from the reach of harm!”
Habakkuk 2:10 “You have devised shame for your house by cutting off many peoples; you have forfeited your life.”
Habakkuk 2:11 “For the stone will cry out from the wall, and the beam from the woodwork respond.”
Habakkuk 2:12 ““Woe to him who builds a town with blood and founds a city on iniquity!”
Habakkuk 2:13 “Behold, is it not from the Lord of hosts that peoples labor merely for fire, and nations weary themselves for nothing?”
Habakkuk 2:14 “For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord as the waters cover the sea.”
Habakkuk 2:15 ““Woe to him who makes his neighbors drink— you pour out your wrath and make them drunk, in order to gaze at their nakedness!”
Habakkuk 2:16 “You will have your fill of shame instead of glory. Drink, yourself, and show your uncircumcision! The cup in the Lord’s right hand will come around to you, and utter shame will come upon your glory!”
Habakkuk 2:17 “The violence done to Lebanon will overwhelm you, as will the destruction of the beasts that terrified them, for the blood of man and violence to the earth, to cities and all who dwell in them.”
Habakkuk 2:18 ““What profit is an idol when its maker has shaped it, a metal image, a teacher of lies? For its maker trusts in his own creation when he makes speechless idols!”
Habakkuk 2:19 “Woe to him who says to a wooden thing, Awake; to a silent stone, Arise! Can this teach? Behold, it is overlaid with gold and silver, and there is no breath at all in it.”
Habakkuk 2:20 “But the Lord is in his holy temple; let all the earth keep silence before him.””
Habakkuk 3:1 “A prayer of Habakkuk the prophet, according to Shigionoth.”
Habakkuk 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.”
Habakkuk 3:3 “God came from Teman, and the Holy One from Mount Paran. Selah His splendor covered the heavens, and the earth was full of his praise.”
Habakkuk 3:4 “His brightness was like the light; rays flashed from his hand; and there he veiled his power.”
Habakkuk 3:5 “Before him went pestilence, and plague followed at his heels.”
Habakkuk 3:6 “He stood and measured the earth; he looked and shook the nations; then the eternal mountains were scattered; the everlasting hills sank low. His were the everlasting ways.”
Habakkuk 3:7 “I saw the tents of Cushan in affliction; the curtains of the land of Midian did tremble.”
Habakkuk 3:8 “Was your wrath against the rivers, O Lord? Was your anger against the rivers, or your indignation against the sea, when you rode on your horses, on your chariot of salvation?”
Habakkuk 3:9 “You stripped the sheath from your bow, calling for many arrows. Selah You split the earth with rivers.”
Habakkuk 3:10 “The mountains saw you and writhed; the raging waters swept on; the deep gave forth its voice; it lifted its hands on high.”
Habakkuk 3:11 “The sun and moon stood still in their place at the light of your arrows as they sped, at the flash of your glittering spear.”
Habakkuk 3:12 “You marched through the earth in fury; you threshed the nations in anger.”
Habakkuk 3:13 “You went out for the salvation of your people, for the salvation of your anointed. You crushed the head of the house of the wicked, laying him bare from thigh to neck. Selah”
Habakkuk 3:14 “You pierced with his own arrows the heads of his warriors, who came like a whirlwind to scatter me, rejoicing as if to devour the poor in secret.”
Habakkuk 3:15 “You trampled the sea with your horses, the surging of mighty waters.”
Habakkuk 3:16 “I hear, and my body trembles; my lips quiver at the sound; rottenness enters into my bones; my legs tremble beneath me. Yet I will quietly wait for the day of trouble to come upon people who invade us.”
Habakkuk 3:17 “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,”
Habakkuk 3:18 “yet I will rejoice in the Lord; I will take joy in the God of my salvation.”
Habakkuk 3:19“God, the Lord, is my strength; he makes my feet like the deer’s; he makes me tread on my high places. To the choirmaster: with stringed instruments.”
e. Habakkuk said he trusted the LORD God as his strength (v.19). The LORD strengthened the prophet in at least two ways.
1) The LORD made Habakkuk as surefooted as a deer. Deer are known for their surefootedness, their incredible balance and stability even in the most difficult terrain. They can stand firmly and navigate safely the greatest heights and the steepest cliffs. The prophet declared his trust in the LORD to make him surefooted, even during great suffering. The LORD would strengthen the prophet and His people to navigate the most difficult days and the harshest times.
2) The LORD gave Habakkuk the power to climb to the heights, to be victorious. He would empower the prophet and His people to do more than just endure. They would not only persevere and survive all that was to come but would also be strengthened through it. They would be cleansed and purified through the trial of judgment. They would turn back to the LORD, their loving God who had established them as His own. In the midst of their suffering, the people would cry out to the LORD to save and help them. This was the LORD’s plan and sure promise. Habakkuk knew God’s promises and trusted them. Therefore, he did not sink into hopelessness or despair. Rather, he was filled with anticipation and joy. He would rejoice in and praise the LORD no matter what came—all because he trusted in God his Savior.
In the midst of their defeat, the people of God would again become victorious. After shame and dishonor, the people would find honor once more. Their God would not allow them to be shamed forever. He would not allow them to be scattered, exiled, or lost permanently. He would hear their prayer of repentance and their cry for deliverance. He would regather and restore them at His appointed time.
Thought 1. Oftentimes, we do not understand God’s judgment or why He brings affliction into our lives. We cannot comprehend why He allows bad things to happen to us or to those we love. God’s Word teaches that He uses trials and afflictions for many reasons: to strengthen us, to correct us, to discipline us, to force us to turn from sin. Simply stated, God uses trials and tribulations in order to protect us and society—to keep us from harming ourselves and others. Apart from such judgment, many more people would continue in sin, causing more and more injury, corruption, and suffering in the world. More people would be doomed to eternal separation from God. Seen in this light, God’s judgment is an incredible act of mercy. In fact, many of the trials and afflictions we suffer in life are truly blessings in disguise. This is why Habakkuk was able to rejoice and praise the LORD even though judgment was coming. God’s Word speaks clearly on this subject:
“And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock [Christ]” (Mt. 7:25).
“For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory” (2 Co. 4:17).
“Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby” (He. 12:11).
“Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the LORD hath promised to them that love him” (Js. 1:12).
“That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ” (1 Pe. 1:7).
“Fear none of those things which thou shalt suffer: behold, the devil shall cast some of you into prison, that ye may be tried; and ye shall have tribulation ten days: be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life” (Re. 2:10).
“But he knoweth the way that I take: when he hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold” (Jb. 23:10).
“When he slew [judged] them, then they sought him: and they returned and enquired early after God” (Ps. 78:34).
“Before I was afflicted I went astray: but now have I kept thy word” (Ps. 119:67).
“And I will bring the third part through the fire, and will refine them as silver is refined, and will try them as gold is tried: they shall call on my name, and I will hear them: I will say, It is my people: and they shall say, The LORD is my God” (Zec. 13:9).
“And he shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver: and he shall purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer unto the LORD an offering in righteousness” (Mal. 3:3).
Thought 2. Why did God use the wicked Babylonians to punish His people? This was one of Habakkuk’s many questions—one that the LORD chose not to fully answer, at least not directly. Although God did not provide the answer Habakkuk had perhaps been looking for, we can learn much from the prophet’s response and also from other parts of God’s Word. Two possible answers to the prophet’s question are: