Habakkuk 3

1-9a 9b-15 16-19

1-9a

1

Chapter 3 departs from Habakkuk crying our and God answering of chapters 2 and 3 to a prayer from Habakkuk to God, praising him and asking for mercy. The full meaning of Shigionoth us unknown but some believe it signifies intense musical emotion, its singular tense, shiggaion, is at the beginning of Psalm 7 and the inclusion of instructions to a choirmaster at the end of chapter 3 lead to believe that this prayer was meant to be sung like a Psalm and Shigionoth is a description of a musical style that has been lost to the ages.

2

Habakkuk starts off his prayer/song to God with acknowledgement of what God had shown him in the visions in response to Habakkuk’s complaints from chapters one and two. He has heard the Lord and understands what God intends to do, and he is afraid. But he is not afraid of God, he is afraid for Judah and the condemnation from God’s wrath on his people. Saying that wrath like he is about to pour out on Judah has not been seen in many years, but this will not be the total destruction of Judah and God’s chosen people for in his wrath God will remember mercy.

3

Teman was an Edomite city named after a grandson of Esau and Mount Paran was in the Sinai peninsula, both were places where God had displayed his power when Israel was entering the land of Canaan. Deuteronomy 33:2 “He said, “The Lord came from Sinai and dawned from Seir upon us; he shone forth from Mount Paran; he came from the ten thousands of holy ones, with flaming fire at his right hand.” Selah is another sort of musical element seen in some Psalms, most believe it to mean that there is a pause in the song. After the pause Habakkuk continues to praise God and His creation.

4

God holiness is described as brightness, like when God let Moses see his passing on Mount Sinai and in turn Moses face shown brightly, or like the Shekinah glory leading Israel out of Egypt and through the wilderness.

5

But God also hates sin and his anger and punishment of sin displayed as pestilence and plague that are used multiple times in God’s wrath.

6

Our God is big and mighty and can see and hold all the earth in his grasp and shake it if that was his desire, the high mountains and hills would crumble down to flat land at God’s command.

7

Both Cushan and Midian are probably both the same peoples of the Sinai peninsula as Moses wife was call both Midianite and Cushite.

8

Habakkuk rhetorically ask God if when he stopped the rivers flow, like the Jordan, or dried up the seas was his anger at the rivers or the seas, these displays of his powers are not against the natural world but in punishment or aid of man. Like a battle ready force riding out on horses or chariots.

9a

God readies his war bow and takes it out of its covering, calling for many arrows. God will save whom he will save and punish whom he will punish.

9b-15

9b

God is the creator of this universe, he says to the waters run here or there and divide the land according to his will.

10

The mountains tremble at his sight, the deep waters obey God’s command.

11

God has set everything in its place, sun moon and stars and just like rays of light God’s arrows of wrath flash with divine power.

12

Habakkuk recalls all of the foes of Israel that God triumphed over, threshed in anger, when they fled Egypt and also claimed the promised lands of Canaan.

13-14

God was with them and was for their salvation, God crushed them, all of the wicked nations God gave into the hands of his chosen people, all of those who came out against God and Israel thinking that they would defeat them like a whirlwind destroys all in its path as if Israel was a weak and poor nation that would be triumphed over quickly and quietly.

15

But God was with his people and crushed those who were against them, like the Red sea crashing down on Pharaoh and his army. Habakkuk prays to God, praising his holiness, his power, and praising all that he had done for Israel and Judah in the past.

16-19

16

As Habakkuk’s prayer comes to an end he acknowledges what he has heard from the Lord and although he is afraid and trembles down into his bones he will quietly wait for God’s judgement to be handed out by the Chaldeans.

17

Verses 17 through 19 contain what we all can and should pray and take comfort in. Not matter how bad we perceive this world to get, all of the crops could fail, all the livestock die off and hunger sweeps across the globe.

18

Habakkuk and we will still rejoice in God, and take comfort in our salvation, because this world is not what we have our hope in.

19

God, our Lord and saviour is our strength and it is in Him that we have our hope and faith. He will never let us go, and even if we have hardship and trials in this world, hunger, pain, loss, that will be just a puff of smoke and a vapor when compared to our promised eternity in Heaven with our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.