Habakkuk 3:7-The People of Midian Will Experience Distress and Anguish at Jesus Christ’s Second Advent

Habakkuk 3:3 God will travel form Teman. Then, the Holy One will travel from Mount Paran. Selah. His majesty will cover the heavens so that His praise will certainly fill the earth. 4 In fact, His splendor will be like lightning. Flashing rays of light will come from His hand on His behalf. Indeed, there it covers His strength. 5 Plague will proceed from His presence. Correspondingly, pestilence will follow at His feet. 6 He will stand while He causes the earth to shake. He will look while He causes the citizens of the nations to tremble in fear while the ancient mountains will disintegrate. The primeval hills will be flattened. Ancient processions assist Him. 7 I see the people living in the tents belonging to the land of Cushan experiencing distress. The people living behind the tent curtains belonging to the land of Midian will be in anguish. (My translation)

As we noted in our exegesis of Habakkuk 3:3-5, Habakkuk 3:3-20 is a prayer which the prophet Habakkuk offered up to the God of Israel, which he directed to be sung in the temple as part of the worship of the God of Israel.

We also noted in verses 3-5 that Habakkuk 3:3-15 is not only prophetic referring to the events of the seventieth week and Second Advent of Jesus Christ but are also alluding to the mighty acts of God which He performed on behalf of the nation of Israel in past history such as during Israel’s exodus from Egypt under Moses.

As we also noted in detail in our study of Habakkuk 3:3, I adhere to the eschatological interpretation of Habakkuk 3:3-15 in the sense that he interprets these verses as being fulfilled in the future during the seventieth week of Daniel and the Second Advent of Christ.

Habakkuk 3:7 contains two solemn prophetic statements.

In the first, Habakkuk asserts that he sees in a vision the people living in the tents belonging to the land of Cushan experiencing distress while the second asserts that the people behind the tent curtains belonging to the land of Midian will be in anguish.

The reference to the tents and tent curtains in these two prophetic statements indicates that Habakkuk is speaking of a nomadic people.

The Septuagint understood the proper noun kû·šān (כּוּשָׁן), “Cushan” to refer to Ethiopia, which in the Old Testament times was Cush.

However, because this word is parallel here in Habakkuk 3:7 with the singular absolute proper noun miḏ·yān (מִדְיָן), “Midian,” most scholars believe that the proper noun kû·šān (כּוּשָׁן), “Cushan” refers to the Cushan that was near Midian which was located in the desert east of the Sinai Peninsula.

The parallel position of “Cushan” to the “land of Midian” here in Habakkuk 3:7 seems to indicate that Cushan was located geographically in the vicinity of Edom and Midian, which would be south and southeast of the Dead Sea.

I believe that Cushan is synonymous with Midian because of the parallel structure of these two prophetic statements.

Both speak of the people located in Cushan and Midian living in tents and both are described as suffering mentally.

The proper noun miḏ·yān (מִדְיָן), “Midian” speaks of the area east of the Jordan and south of Edom.

Later historians located the land of Midian in northwestern Arabia east of the gulf of Aqaba.

The Midianites descended from Abraham through Keturah according to Genesis 25:2 and 1 Chronicles 1:32.

Midian was the fourth son of this union.

The name “Midian” means “strife.”

Genesis 25:4 records that Ephah, Epher, Hanoch, Abida and Eldaah were sons of Midian.

The descendants of Midian were a well-known Arabian tribe.

They traded in gold and incense according to Isaiah 60:6, Genesis 37:25, 28, and did this from Moab to Sinai and Ephah according to Numbers 22:4, 7, Judges 6-8.

The first wife of Moses, Zipporah was a Midianite and her brother Hobab guided Israel through the steppe of Sinai (Num. 10:29-32) and later, Midianites in association with the Moabites fought Israel (Num. 25; 31:1-12) and Gideon drove them out of Israel (Judges 7-8).

Joseph was sold to the Midianites who intermarried with the descendants of Ishmael (Genesis 37:28).

The names “Ishmaelites” and “Midianites” in Genesis 37:25, 27, 28, 36 and Genesis 39:1 are synonymous terms, which is confirmed by Judges 8:24, which says of the Midianites “they had golden earrings, because they were Ishmaelites.”

Evidently, the descendants of Ishmael and Midian intermarried (See Genesis 25:2, 17-18; 29:9) since both were descended from Abraham, Ishmael’s mother was Hagar and Midian’s was Keturah.

The use of these two terms in Genesis 37 indicates that the term “Ishmaelite” was a generic term or general designation for “nomadic traders” or “desert tribes” whereas “Midianite” indicates a specific ethnic affiliation.

Or in other words, the term “Midianites” in Genesis 37 refers to a specific ethnic affiliation among the league of desert tribes or nomadic traders known by the generic use of the term “Ishmaelites.”

The Midianites occupied portions of the central and northern Sinai Peninsula in addition to their primary location which was in northwestern Arabia.

Thus, they were found in Moses’ day from the Arabian gulf in the south to the plains of Moab in the north.

It must be emphasized that there were no fixed boundaries as we know today for these people.

The Old Testament describes them as a nomadic people.

So, it would be foolish to think of fixing a precise location for these people.

Both of these prophetic statements recorded in Habakkuk 3:7 describe what will take place when the Lord Jesus Christ returns to planet earth at His Second Advent to establish His millennial reign on the earth.

However, as we also noted earlier, these two statements allude to the Exodus generations’ movements in the region of Midian and Cushan.

The nations that were located between Egypt and Canaan were Cushan and Midian who lived near Edom.

As the news of the God of Israel delivering the Israelites from Egypt and destroying Egypt and its armies, the people of Midian and Cushan were obviously terrified and lived in fear of their lives.

Other nations also lived in fear of Israel and her God (cf. Ex. 15:14-16; Deut. 2:25; Josh. 2:9; 5:1).

These two prophetic statements in Habakkuk 3:7 are related to the second prophetic statement that is recorded in Habakkuk 3:6, which asserts that when the Lord Jesus Christ returns to earth at His Second Advent, He will strike them with great fear when He merely looks at them.

Of course, His enemies will be those who will be trembling with fear at His presence and when He looks at them to destroy them.

Revelation 1:7 teaches that the people of the earth will mourn when the Lord Jesus Christ appears on planet earth at His Second Advent and this mourning will be that of His enemies because they will experience great fear because of His presence.

Therefore, the prophet Habakkuk is predicting that the people of Midian will be experiencing distress and anguish of soul because of the fear that they will experience when the Lord Jesus Christ returns at His Second Advent to destroy His enemies.

Now, Habakkuk 3:7 forms an inclusio with Habakkuk 3:3 since the latter speaks of Teman which was in Edom and located to the south of Israel and the former speaks of Midian and Cushan which were south of Edom.

As we noted in our study of Habakkuk 3:3, comparison of the first two prophetic statements recorded in this verse indicate that at His Second Advent, the Lord Jesus Christ will travel from Teman, and then to Mount Paran.

As we also noted in our study of Habakkuk 3:3, the first two prophetic statements in this verse echo Isaiah 63:1-3 since it asserts that the Lord comes from Edom with His garments covered in the blood of His enemies, which will take place at His Second Advent.

As we also noted, Habakkuk 3:7 asserts that Habakkuk saw a vision of the people living in the tents belonging to the land of Cushan experiencing distress.

It also asserts that the people living behind the tent curtains belonging to the land of Midian will be in anguish.

Therefore, a comparison of Habakkuk 3:3 with Isaiah 63:1-3 and Habakkuk 3:7 indicates that the people of Midian will experience great fear and anguish at the Second Advent when Jesus Christ kills His enemies in large numbers in Edom.