Habakkuk 1:8-A Terrifying Five-Fold Description of the Babylonian Calvary

Habakkuk 1:1 The following is the message which God revealed to Habakkuk the prophet: 1:2 How long, Lord, must I cry for help? But you do not listen! I call out to you, “Violence!” But you do not intervene! 1:3 Why do you force me to witness injustice? Why do you put up with wrongdoing? Destruction and violence confront me; conflict is present and one must endure strife. 1:4 For this reason the law lacks power, and justice is never carried out. Indeed, the wicked intimidate the innocent. For this reason justice is perverted. 1:5 “Look at the nations and pay attention! You will be shocked and amazed! For I will do something in your lifetime that you will not believe even though you are forewarned. 1:6 Look, I am about to empower the Babylonians, that ruthless and greedy nation. They sweep across the surface of the earth, seizing dwelling places that do not belong to them.” 1:7 They are frightening and terrifying; they decide for themselves what is right. 1:8 Their horses are faster than leopards and more alert than wolves in the desert. Their horses gallop, their horses come a great distance; like a vulture they swoop down quickly to devour their prey. (NET)

In Habakkuk 1:2-4, we noted that the prophet Habakkuk on behalf of himself and the faithful remnant of Judah complains that the Lord had failed to judge the unrepentant, apostate individuals in the southern kingdom of Judah.

However, in Habakkuk 1:5-11, the Lord responds to these complaints by asserting that He will send the Babylonians as His instruments to judge these unrepentant, apostate individuals in the southern kingdom of Judah.

Habakkuk 1:8 continues the description of the Babylonians by presenting a five-fold description of these people and in particular they present a description of their horses as well as their calvary.

The first assertion describes their horses in their calvary as faster than leopards, which is not hyperbole but is true since the top speed of a quarter horse is 55 mph while the top speed of a leopard is 36.

O. Palmer Robertson writes “The horse and chariot of old would be roughly equivalent to today’s tanks, submarines, and jets. In attacking, they would overwhelm any opposition placed in their path. Though the distance was great, the Babylonian nation would arrive in Palestine with a full contingency and mounted troops. No weapons would be able to stand against them.”[1]

The second assertion in this verse describes their horses in their calvary as fiercer than wolves at dusk.

As we noted in our exegesis, horses would frighten and probably fascinate the citizens of the kingdom of Judah as well as the rest of the people of the Mediterranean world because they were scarce in that part of the world in the seventh century B.C. when Habakkuk wrote this book which bears his name.

Therefore, it is easy to see how the horses of the Babylonian calvary could strike fear in the hearts of the people because of their aggressiveness and speed, which they had never seen the likes of before.

O. Palmer Robertson writes “Raw hunger for power and for spoils would drive the nation in stalking its prey. As a ravenous appetite drives the wolves of the evening, making their senses even keener as the night wears on, so this barbarous nation would search out every fugitive from its powers of consumption.”[2]

The third and fourth assertions of the Babylonians in Habakkuk 1:8 describes their calvary men.

The third asserts that their calvary gallops while the fourth advances upon this statement and intensifies by asserting that their calvary come from a great distance.

The advancement and intensification is that not only is the calvary galloping on their horses but they are also have been traveling a great distance like a wolf.

Interestingly, wolves which are compared to the horses of the Babylonian army in the second description, travel between 10 to 30 miles a day in search of food or 550 miles in search of a mate.

This fourth description would be very discomforting to the citizens of Judah since they had a false sense of security because Judah was hundreds of miles from Babylon.

In fact, when Nebuchadnezzar defeated Neco at Carchemish in 605 B.C., they traveled 266 miles from Babylon to Nineveh.

Then, 285 miles from Nineveh to Carchemish.

Carchemish to Jerusalem is 387 miles.

That is a total of 938 miles from Babylon to Jerusalem.

So this fourth description would tell the citizens of Judah that the Babylonians would not be hindered from attacking them because of the great distance between them since they traveled great distances to conquer nations such as Egypt, which took place just prior to this prophecy in Habakkuk.

The fifth and final description of the Babylonian calvary in Habakkuk 1:8 is a comparative clause which is presented in a solemn manner by the prophet Habakkuk due to his use of the figure of asyndeton.

The reason for the use of this figure is that the God of Israel intended to use them as His instrument to discipline and judge the kingdom of Judah.

This fifth description of the Babylonian calvary is comparing the manner in which they conquered nations and the manner in which a vulture captures its prey.

Kenneth Barker writes “Like the suddenness of a bird of prey, the Chaldean army would attack Jerusalem and end the wickedness of Judah’s leaders. God had indeed been at work in the world. The Lord revealed to the prophet that even in Habakkuk’s day he was doing a work that would astound.”[3]

The Babylonian empire led by Nebuchadnezzar was serving God in that they were the instrument used to judge Judah and Jerusalem.

In Jeremiah 25:9, and 27:6, the Lord through the prophet Jeremiah describes Nebuchadnezzar as His servant because this king and his empire were the Lord’s instrument in judging Judah and Jerusalem.

God used Nebuchadnezzar to discipline the nation of Israel for their disobedience. Jeremiah 25:1-11 also teaches that the Lord delivered Judah into Nebuchadnezzar’s power because of their idolatry.

Also, a comparison of Leviticus 25:1-12, 26:32-35, 43, Jeremiah 25:11, 29:10 and 2 Chronicles 26:21 indicates that the Lord delivered Judah into Nebuchadnezzar’s power because they failed to respect the Sabbath Day and the sabbatic year in which every seventh year they were to let the land rest.

Therefore, by using Babylon to judge the unrepentant, apostate citizens of the southern kingdom of Judah, God was using evil to judge evil.

The Babylonians were unregenerate, deceived by the devil and living independently of God.

On the other hand, despite being in a covenant relationship with God, the unrepentant, apostate citizens of Judah were also involved in evil because they unrepentantly disobeyed the commands and prohibitions found in the Mosaic Law.

Notice that here in Habakkuk 1:8, the Lord is comparing the Babylonian calvary and their horses to predatory animals such as the leopard, wolf and the vulture.

Often in Scripture, heathen nations are often depicted by wild beasts in order to express the animal like character of these nations which are unregenerate and deceived by sin and Satan.

We see this in Daniel chapter seven in which the Babylonian, Medo-Persian, Greek and Roman Empire are depicted by the Holy Spirit as wild animals in order to convey to the reader God’s viewpoint of these nations, which are unregenerate and enslaved to sin, Satan and his cosmic system.

[1] Robertson, O. P. (1990). The Books of Nahum, Habakkuk and Zephaniah (p. 153). Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.

[2] Robertson, O. P. (1990). The Books of Nahum, Habakkuk and Zephaniah (p. 152). Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.

[3] Barker, K. L. (1999). Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah (Vol. 20, p. 306). Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers.