An Answer of Unexpected Nature

Introduction

Why should we should we study the book of Habakkuk?

It is a portion of God’s Word.

2 Timothy 3:16–17 ESV

All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.

It is part of an often neglected group of Bible books. Habakkuk is one of the twelve, Minor Prophets, not minor in importance, but in size.

It presents questions that are timeless and boundless related to God’s justice, sovereignty and goodness.

It possesses insight on the eternal ways of God.

It proposes that trust is the correct response to God and his ways.

PRAY

Habakkuk 1:5–11 ESV

“Look among the nations, and see; wonder and be astounded. For I am doing a work in your days that you would not believe if told. For behold, I am raising up the Chaldeans, that bitter and hasty nation, who march through the breadth of the earth, to seize dwellings not their own. They are dreaded and fearsome; their justice and dignity go forth from themselves. Their horses are swifter than leopards, more fierce than the evening wolves; their horsemen press proudly on. Their horsemen come from afar; they fly like an eagle swift to devour. They all come for violence, all their faces forward. They gather captives like sand. At kings they scoff, and at rulers they laugh. They laugh at every fortress, for they pile up earth and take it. Then they sweep by like the wind and go on, guilty men, whose own might is their god!”

The Activity of the LORD (5)

Look among the nations, and see; wonder and be astounded - The prophet expressed his burden to the LORD. Why are you not listening and why are you being lenient. Habakkuk is burdened at the wickedness of God’s chosen people and God’s lack of action. He longed for God to do something. It should be noted Habakkuk likely longed for the reform and revival of Judah than for judgment.

Here, God responds. He calls Habakkuk to pay attention to the activity of the surrounding nations. As he looks, God tells him to be amazed or astonished and maybe more be afraid with fear. He is to be speechless in the face of terror. Why?

For I am doing a work in your days that you would not believe if told - God tells his prophet he is active on the scene. God did not fall asleep or fall from his throne. He declares himself in action, but in a surprising way. This is a work that he say Habakkuk will have a hard time believing. What was this work?

The Awakening of an Empire (6-7)

For behold, I am raising up the Chaldeans - Look, Habakkuk! I am arousing the Chaldeans or the Babylonians. Who were the Babylonians?

The Archaeological Encyclopedia of the Holy Land Babylon (City of); Babylonians

The greatness of Babylon began during its 1st Dynasty, especially in the reign of Hammurabi, the sixth king of that line. During his reign and that of his son numerous temples were built there and irrigation channels were excavated, but then the city suffered a rapid decline. It revived again in the 13th century BC but continued to suffer frequent onslaughts, resulting in destruction, at the hands of the rising Assyrian Empire. It was not until the downfall of Assyria that Babylon, in the time of Nebuchadnezzar II, rose again to the status of the most important city in Mesopotamia.

Yahweh is speaking of the rise of what historians call the Neo-Babylonian Empire. It lasted from 625-539- BC. The peak was 605-562 BC during the reign of Nebuchadnezzar. Babylon was located in modern day Iraq and parts of Kuwait, Syria and Iran.

That bitter and hasty nation - This people whom God was raising up were fierce or ruthless and violent and rash. They were known for mass deportations and executions of conquered peoples to secure submission and prevent rebellion.

Who march through the breadth of the earth, to seize dwellings not their own - What are the actions of this rising nation? They invade and make war on other to conquer so they can possess what does not belong to them.

Habakkuk had called for God to move, but this would be unexpected and unbelievable. John Gill writes, “The destruction of the Jewish nation, city, and temple, by the Chaldeans, though they were the instruments of it, it was the work of divine Providence; it was done according to the will of God, and by his direction, he giving success; and, being thus declared, was a certain thing, and might be depended on, nothing should hinder it; and it should be done speedily, in that generation, some then living should see it...”

They are dreaded and fearsome - The Chaldeans are terrifying and evoke fright in the minds of their enemies. Their justice and dignity go forth from themselves. - This phrase indicates the Chaldeans determined their own standards of righteousness and justice without reference to God.

Walter Kaiser comments, “The Babylonians were completely unprincipled and lawless, making up their own laws as they went. How ironical that lawless Judah should be confronted with a real taste of what it meant to be without the law of God or any vestige of its effects in society.”

The Awesome Power of Babylon (8-9)

Their horses are swifter than leopards, more fierce than evening wolves; Their horsemen press proudly on. Their horsemen come from afar; They fly like an eagle swift to devour. - The Chaldeans used quick cavalry movements to overwhelm their enemies during battle. Habakkuk uses powerful imagery to describe this portion of their war machine. The cavalry is compare to the speed of the leopard, the persistence of a pack of hungry wolves and the greed of circling birds of prey (eagles or vultures).

Deuteronomy 28:45–51 ESV

“All these curses shall come upon you and pursue you and overtake you till you are destroyed, because you did not obey the voice of the Lord your God, to keep his commandments and his statutes that he commanded you. They shall be a sign and a wonder against you and your offspring forever. Because you did not serve the Lord your God with joyfulness and gladness of heart, because of the abundance of all things, therefore you shall serve your enemies whom the Lord will send against you, in hunger and thirst, in nakedness, and lacking everything. And he will put a yoke of iron on your neck until he has destroyed you. The Lord will bring a nation against you from far away, from the end of the earth, swooping down like the eagle, a nation whose language you do not understand, a hard-faced nation who shall not respect the old or show mercy to the young. It shall eat the offspring of your cattle and the fruit of your ground, until you are destroyed; it also shall not leave you grain, wine, or oil, the increase of your herds or the young of your flock, until they have caused you to perish.

Their horsemen charge forward with arrogant confidence. They possess steady endurance to ride long distances to fill their appetites for war and destruction.

They all come for violence, all their faces forward. - The invading hoard is unified in the desire for bloodshed. The things that Habakkuk is complaining about in Judah are magnified and exemplified by the Chaldeans. They are resolute in their commitment to push forward their expansion. They all look ahead. There are none retreating or looking for a way out of the battles.

They gather captives like sand - As a result of their determination and ruthlessness, they are victorious and their conquer. Those whom are captured by them are numerous like the sand of the seashore.

The Arrogance of Babylon (10-11)

At kings they scoff, and at rulers they laugh. - The mock the royals and government officials over the kingdoms they topple. They make them a joke and a laughingstock. They treat them with scorn and ridicule. They laugh at every fortress, so they pile up earth and take it. - The also joke about the defenses of the villages, towns and cities they approach to ransack. The Babylonians were known for siege warfare. This is refers to them building up large mounds of dirt near a wall as a ramp in the city. Habakkuk states they take it. They breech the city.

Warren Wiersbe writes, “The Babylonians had no respect for authority, whether kings or generals. (One of their practices was to put captured kings in cages and exhibit them, like animals.) They laughed at gates and walls as they built their siege ramps and captured fortified cities. They worshiped the god of power and depended wholly on their own strength.”

They sweep by like the wind and go on - The invading multitude does its damage and moves on quickly to conquer more peoples and lands.

Guilty men - This is nation full of guilty men. They are men bent toward doing evil. Whose might is their god! - Though the Chaldeans worshipped other gods, Yahweh declares their functional god was their strength in war.

MacArthur make this summary about the Babylonians, “The Chaldeans are described as self-assured, self-sufficient, self-deified, and deadly.”

Practical Application

God often answers us in ways that are unexpected, unbelievable, and uncomfortable. How should we respond? The short answer is to trust him. However, there are reasons to rely on God. Here are some things to consider when you do not understand the ways of God?

Yahweh rules by right.

Psalm 103:19 ESV

The Lord has established his throne in the heavens, and his kingdom rules over all.

Daniel 4:34–35 ESV

At the end of the days I, Nebuchadnezzar, lifted my eyes to heaven, and my reason returned to me, and I blessed the Most High, and praised and honored him who lives forever, for his dominion is an everlasting dominion, and his kingdom endures from generation to generation; all the inhabitants of the earth are accounted as nothing, and he does according to his will among the host of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth; and none can stay his hand or say to him, “What have you done?”

Yahweh rules in power.

Isaiah 40:25–26 ESV

To whom then will you compare me, that I should be like him? says the Holy One. Lift up your eyes on high and see: who created these? He who brings out their host by number, calling them all by name; by the greatness of his might and because he is strong in power, not one is missing.

Yahweh rules by wisdom .

Proverbs 3:19–20 ESV

The Lord by wisdom founded the earth; by understanding he established the heavens; by his knowledge the deeps broke open, and the clouds drop down the dew.

Yahweh rules in goodness.

Psalm 145:8–9 ESV

The Lord is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. The Lord is good to all, and his mercy is over all that he has made.

The rule of God is most graciously seen in him redeeming a people for his good pleasure in his infinite wisdom by sending his Son to rescue sinners from the power of sin, death and the Devil because he has the right to do what pleases him.

Will you and do you trust the LORD who reigns?