The Prayer Of The Man Of Faith
HABAKKUK 3:1-2
Habakkuk’s problems began with what he saw happening around him in his own nation [1:2-4] and on the international scene [1:12-17]. How could God permit the violent and the corrupt to prosper? How could God use the arrogant and evil Babylonians as the instrument through whom he would chastise his people? the answer he received assured him of God’s intention to intervene, but counselled him that the outworking of the divine purposes would occur on God’s timetable, which might seem to involve delay. What the faithful have to do in the meantime is to continue to trust in God [2:4], confident that according to his promise he would bring judgement on the wicked.
- THE SOVERIEGN GOD
In this last byword of Chapter 2 [2:18-20] the Babylonian receives the message of the absolute certainty concerning the outworking of God’s righteous purpose
1. The Idols
a. The Description
The revelation brings attention to the idols: “what profit does the graven image bring…” [2:18].
§ The idol seems to have a mystical power to hypnotise: “a teacher of lies…” [2:18].
§ The idol has an uncanny ability to make an obvious lie believable: “the maker of his work trusts in him” [2:18].
§ The idols are speechless nothings: “a dumb idol” [2:18].
b. The Warning
The warning: “woe to him that says to the wood…” [2:19].
§ The foolishness of attempting to stir up a tree: “that says to wood, Awake…” [2:19].
§ The lifelessness of the idol: “there is no breath at all…” [2:19].
2. The God of Habakkuk
Chapter 2 closes with the proclamation that the Lord is in his holy temple, summoning all people to keep silence before him. The following verse contrasts the vitality of the one true God with the deadness and silence of the idols.
a. The Presence of God
The presence of God: “but the Lord is in his holy temple…” [2:20].
§ וַֽיהוָ֖ה – “the Lord” [2:20], ‘the sovereign covenant God of Israel’ [Exo.3:14].
§ בְּהֵיכַ֣ל קָדְשׁ֑וֹ – “in his temple the holy” [2:20], ‘dwelling place of God’; ‘the heavenly dwelling place’;
i. The Sovereign Presence
The temple, from the time of its dedication by Solomon, was established as the source from which divine instruction and help would go forth.
§ The “temple” stood in the midst of Isabel as the place of his presence and lordship among his people: “Solomon began to build the house of the Lord…” [1Kgs.6:1-2].
§ Even if God should have to chasten a disobedient people, the consecrated temple would remain the place where God would hear, forgive, and teach his people the good way: “then hear thou in heaven, and forgive the sin of thy people…” [1Kgs.8:36].
§ From the temple on Mount Zion, Yahweh would teach many people his ways: “the mountain of the Lord’s house shall be established in the top of the mountains…” [Isa.2:3-4].
ii. The Throne of God
The God of Israel reigns: “The Lord is in his holy temple; the Lord is on his heavenly throne” [Psa.11:4].
§ From there he is able to survey all that goes on: “He observes the sons of men; his eyes examine them” [Psa.11:4].
§ From there he scoffs at all who deny him on earth: “He that sits in heaven shall laugh…the Lord and his Anointed One” [Psa.2:4-6].
iii. The New Covenant
From a new covenant perspective, the equivalent concept is applied to the person of Christ, the church of Christ, and the individual believer:
§ The person of Christ: “destroy this temple…” [Joh.2:19].
§ The new Jerusalem: “The Lord God Almighty and the Lamb will be the temple of the new Jerusalem” [Rev.21:22].
b. The Reverential Awe
The reverential awe: “let all the earth keep silence…” [2:20].
§ הַ֥ס – “be silent” [2:20], particle, interjection, ‘a mark of inactivity’; ‘a hush’; ‘a call for reverential awe before him’;
§ מִפָּנָ֖יו – “before him” [2:20], literally ‘from to his face’;
§ כָּל־הָאָֽרֶץ – “all the earth” [2:20], ‘all the earth’s inhabitants’;
§ The same command is used in both Zephaniah and Zechariah in a context of expected judgement: “Hold thy peace at the presence of the Lord GOD: for the day of the LORD is at hand: for the LORD hath prepared a sacrifice, he hath bid his guests” [Zep.1:7]; “Be silent, O all flesh, before the LORD: for he is raised up out of his holy habitation” [Zec.2:13].
Application
The triumph of faith is to look at difficulties from above, from the perspective of heaven.
§ We are not to get so drawn down to earthly perspective that we forget about God’s control in history.
§ Habakkuk stands assured of the abiding lordship of his God, of his justice in prosecuting all violators of his holy law, and of his infinite mercy in granting life to all who will trust in him and in the provisions he has promised for the sinner.
§ Similar progression to the Psalmists experience in Psalm 73: “When I tried to understand all this, it was oppressive to me till I entered the sanctuary of God; then I understood their final destiny” [Psa.73:16-17].
- THE PROPHET’S PRAYER – GENERAL
The overarching theme of Chapter 3 may be seen as a poetic elaboration of [2:4].
§ Despite all the cataclysmic calamities and judgements that shall come from the hand of God himself, “the just shall live by his steadfast trust” [2:4].
§ This permeating theme of the book now finds explicit elaboration in terms of the necessity of God’s intervention for faith to be victorious.
§ Faith triumphs in life by the intervening power of God may serve as a theme for this chapter.
1. The Superscription
a. The Prayer
The appropriate response of all those who wait upon God in times of difficulty: “the prayer of Habakkuk…” [3:1].
§ תְּפִלָּ֖ה - “prayer” [3:1], ‘speaking or making requests to God’; possible etymology – ‘to notch the edge of a sword’; ‘to break or cut’; ‘to fall’;
i. The Temple
The centrality of the temple in the prayers of God’s people is underscored in the dedicatory prayer of Solomon.
§ He urges the Lord that he hears and answers when Israel’s enemies have defeated them and they turn to pray “in this house” [1Kgs.8:33].
§ Having recognised that the Lord is “in his temple” [2:20], he now offers his prayers to that temple with the expectation that the Lord will hear and answer.
b. The Musical Direction
The directions: “upon Shigionoth” [3:1].
§ עַ֖ל – “on” [3:1],
§ שִׁגְיֹנֽוֹת - “Shigionoth” [3:1], ‘a type of Psalm’;
§ The word comes from a root that means ‘to err’ and then ‘to reel to and fro’. In combination here with the word “on” the most plausible suggestion regarding its meaning is that it should be sung to a tune that conveys great excitement, or perhaps rapid changes of emotions.
§ The term appears as a musical directive in Psalm 7: “Shiggaion of David, which he sang unto the LORD, concerning the words of Cush the Benjamite” [7:1].
Application
The prayer indicates that the prophet has no further case to make.
§ He pleaded his cause; he has concluded his dialogue with the Almighty.
§ Now he leads God’s people to an acceptance of the just and merciful orderings which the Lord has revealed to him.
§ As Habakkuk ‘looks down the corridors of time’ he composes a song; the prophets echoes a tradition that goes back to Moses: “now therefore write ye this song for you, and teach it to the children of Israel: put it in their mouths, that this song may be a witness for me against the children of Israel” [Deu.31:19].
2. The Basis of Prayer
a. The Remembrance – The Past
The prophet looks back to what the Lord has done: “O Lord, I have heard your speech…” [3:2].
§ שָׁמַ֣עְתִּי - “heard” [3:2], qal perfect, ‘use of organ of hearing to process information’; includes the twin ideas of ‘hearing’ and ‘responding/obeying’;
§ שִׁמְעֲךָ֮ - “speech” [3:2], ‘message, report, news’; ‘fame, renown’; ‘what is well known’; ‘what is generated on hearing news of someone relayed by another’;
i. The Narrow Perspective
The narrow perspective would restrict this to what the Lord has announced to Habakkuk:
§ The announcement of oppression: “I raise up the Chaldeans…” [1:6].
§ The end of the oppression: “the vision is yet for an appointed time, but at the end it shall speak…” [2:3].
ii. The Broad Perspective
The broad perspective would extend the “fame” to what the Lord did at the exodus:
§ Habakkuk is basing his prayer, not on some private experience, but on the common heritage of Israel: “things from of old – what we have heard and known; what our fathers have told us” [Psa.78:3-4].
§ Habakkuk goes back to the foundation of faith in the Lord, the God of the covenant, as he invites the people to join in the singing of the Psalm.
§ God’s reputation because of the exodus: “Now if thou shalt kill all this people as one man, then the nations which have heard the fame of thee will speak” [Num.14:15];
§ Solomon’s reputation: “when the queen of Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon concerning the name of the LORD, she came to prove him with hard questions” [1Kgs.10:1];
b. The Awe
The prophet stands in awe of the Lord: “and was afraid…” [3:2].
§ יָרֵאתִי֒ - “afraid” [3:2], ‘to fear’; ‘to revere, respect’; ‘to stand in awe’; “Then the men feared the LORD exceedingly, and offered a sacrifice unto the LORD…” [Jon.1:16];
§ יְהוָ֗ה – “O Lord” [3:2], Jehovah the covenant God of Israel [Exo.3:14];
i. Israel’s History
The prophet is in awe of how the Lord has worked in the history of his people: “of your deeds…” [3:2].
§ פָּֽעָלְךָ֙ - “your work” [3:2], ‘work, wages’;
§ The word is used in the Old Testament to refer to God’s acts in history, not his acts in creation’; “Thou shalt bring them in, and plant them in the mountain of thine inheritance, in the place, O LORD, which thou hast made for thee to dwell in…” [Exo.15:17];
§ It is quite natural to see the reference to the “work” of the Lord as referring to the announcement given earlier to Habakkuk: “I will work a work in your days…” [1:4].
§ Despite that, it is used here to refer to the way in which the Lord has been at work in the history of his people: “We have heard with our ears, O God, our fathers have told us, what work thou didst in their days, in the times of old” [Psa.44:1] [see also Psa.77:12; 95:9].
Application
There is movement from remembrance of what the Lord has done in the exodus to entreaty for action.
§ Example: “we have heard with our ears…” [Psa.44:1]; “Awake, O Lord! Why do you sleep?” [Psa.44:23-24].
§ In the New Testament, this progression of thought looks back to the cross and resurrection of Christ as the definitive unveiling of God’s power to save: “May the God of peace, who through the blood…” [Heb.13:20-21].
3. The Lord’s Programme
a. The Announcement
God’s appointed time: “for the vision is yet for an appointed time…” [2:3].
§ לַמּוֹעֵ֔ד - “appointed time” [2:3], ‘designated time’; ‘season with a purpose designed by authority’;
i. The End
The end of time: “at the end it shall speak and not lie…” [2:3].
§ לַקֵּ֖ץ - “end” [2:3], ‘finish’; ‘point of time marking the completion of duration’;
ii. The Eschatological Judgement
Later, similar phraseology was used by Daniel to refer to the time of the coming of the Messiah, when judgment would finally fall on the powers of this world and the Lord’s action against evil in all its manifestations would be made unmistakably clear:
§ The certain end: “And both these kings' hearts shall be to do mischief, and they shall speak lies at one table; but it shall not prosper: for yet the end shall be at the time appointed” [Dan.11:27].
§ The great temptation: “And some of them of understanding shall fall, to try them, and to purge, and to make them white, even to the time of the end: because it is yet for a time appointed” [Dan.11:35].
§ The future: “But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the end of the time…” [Dan.12:4].
b. The Context of the Prayer
In the prophet’s prayer there is a special emphasis on the phrase: “in the midst of the years…” [3:2].
§ בְּקֶ֤רֶב - “in the midst” [3:2], ‘the inner part’; ‘the middle’; ‘a reference to Habakkuk’s own time’;
§ שָׁנִים֙ - “years” [3:2], ‘year, age’; ‘period of time marked by seasons’;
i. Broad Time Perspective
One way of looking at the reference to “in the midst of the years” [3:2] is that the prophet considers himself to live between the time when the Lord intervened on behalf of his people at the Exodus [he is going on to describe that in 3:3-7] and the time of the Lord’s final intervention.
§ The “middle of the years” then refers to the prophet’s own time; this was neither the beginning nor the end of the Lord’s dealing with his people, but was still a time when the relief from distress was required.
§ The prophet’s vision is directed forward: “for the earth shall be filled with the knowledge…” [2:14].
§ The “midst of the years” then refers to the time between the two acts of judgement revealed to Habakkuk in his earlier dialogue: the time between the purging judgement that must fall on the house of God itself and the consuming judgement that must avenge God’s elect – the crucial period before the destruction of God’s enemies.
§ The prophets perhaps struggled to understand: “what manner of time the Spirit of Christ, which was in them, did signify…” [1Pet.1:10-11].
ii. Narrow Time Perspective
An alternative interpretation is to see “in the midst of the years” [3:2] as referring to the time of oppression, and a much less broad time perspective.
§ What was facing Habakkuk was the reality of the Babylonian power being exercised in Babylon [1:6].
§ Habakkuk is speaking as one in the middle between the coming of the Lord’s chastisement on his people in the form of the Babylonians and the Lord’s intervention to overthrow these oppressors.
§ Aware of his people’s present anguish he pleads that God act now on their behalf.
Application
Calvin’s suggestion that it alludes to the midpoint of history between Abraham and Christ is more plausible, since this understanding would have greater meaning to Habakkuk as an old covenant prophet.
§ From the old covenant perspective, the time when God chose the race of Abraham to the coming of Christ, was the whole course, as it were, of their life, when we compare the people to a man; for the fullness of their age was at the coming of Christ.
§ From a new covenant perspective, the “midst of the years” [3:2] is with reference to the first coming of Christ and His return, when he will bring final judgement and final deliverance of his people.
- THE PROPHET’S PRAYER – PETITIONS
1. Petition 1 – Preserve Life
a. The Petition
The petition: “in the midst of the years revive…” [3:2].
§ חַיֵּ֔יהוּ - “revive” [3:2], piel imperative with 3rd masculine singular suffix, , ‘to live, be alive’; ‘to restore to life’;
i. The Preservation of Life
The verb “revive” can have the interpretation ‘to preserve life’:
§ The preservation of life that exists: “Of fowls also of the air by sevens, the male and the female; to keep seed alive upon the face of all the earth” [Gen.7:3].
§ To keep alive what is threatened with death: “the children of Israel were fruitful, and increased abundantly…” [Exo.1:7].
ii. The Giving or Restoring of Life
The verb “revive” can also have the interpretation ‘to give or restore life’:
§ To bring back to life what is dead: “See now that I, even I, am he, and there is no god with me: I kill, and I make alive; I wound, and I heal…” [Deu.32:39].
§ The new life of creation: “The spirit of God hath made me, and the breath of the Almighty hath given me life” [Job.33:4].
b. The Singular Suffix
The petition “revive” [3:2] has a third masculine singular suffix. To whom or what does the masculine singular suffix refer?
§ In the context, the “work” or the “deeds” is the nearest antecedent.
§ It is improbable that a personal reference to the nation as God’s “work” is intended, though the verb can be understood as revive: “Wilt thou not revive us again: that thy people may rejoice in thee?” [Psa.85:6].
§ Calvin: ‘the Israelites were set apart by the Lord, and they are rightly called his work; as we read in another place: “The work of thine hands thou wilt not despise,” [Psa.138:8].
§ And God often says, “This is my planting,” “This is the work of my hands,” when he speaks of his Church’.
i. The Preacher’s Commentary
The renewal that the prophet calls for is not primarily a spiritual renewal and revival, but a reviving of God’s purpose and program.
§ The works the prophet called for belonged to God’s strange work of judgment (Is. 28:21), but the prophet prays that the work of judgment may come quickly so that it might all the more quickly be replaced by God’s saving work of restoring the nation.
§ Thus what had previously been a source of perplexity is now seen as a prelude to God’s grace.
ii. The New American Commentary
Based on the work of God in the past, the prophet called on God to “renew” his deeds in the present day.
§ In a sense, Habakkuk meant for God to work a new redemption from the tyranny of Babylon as he had delivered Israel from the old tyranny of Egypt.
§ The prophet showed his profound knowledge of the ways of God. The Lord is a God who acts on behalf of his people. “He made known his ways to Moses, his deeds to the people of Israel” [Ps 103:7].
Application
God is still on his throne; He acted in the past to overcome his enemies [3:2a]; he will do it again at the request of the prophet [3:2b].
§ So severe has the Babylonian oppression become, Habakkuk is viewing the Lord’s work on behalf of his people either dead or on the point of extinction.
§ The petition is for God to renew his awesome work of salvation of his people which had become only a report in Habakkuk’s time.
§ God is asked to revive his faithful people by granting them signs of hope amid the tumult…
§ The connection with the earlier monumental saying of [2:4] suggests that it is the “just by faith” whom the Lord shall preserve in life.
§ In either event, he is pleading that the Lord will intervene and deliver.
§ K & D - He therefore prays that the Lord will not delay too long the work which He designs to do, or cause it to come to life only at the end of the appointed interval, but will bring it to life within years, i.e., within the years, which would pass by if the fulfilment were delayed.
2. Petition 2 – Provide Understanding
a. The Petition
The petition: “in the midst of the years make known…” [3:2].
§ תּוֹדִ֑יעַ - “make known” [3:2], hiphil imperfect, ‘to know, possess information about’; ‘to cause to know’; ‘to know in an intimate and experiential way’;
§ בְּקֶ֥רֶב שָׁנִ֖ים - “in our time” [3:2],
b. The Petition for Experience
It is not merely the knowledge that this will happen that the prophet prays for, but the actual experience of it.
§
§
Application
3. Petition 3 - Remember Mercy
a. The Wrath
The essence of the prophet’s plea: “in wrath remember mercy” [3:2].
§ בְּרֹ֖גֶז - “in wrath” [3:2], ‘turmoil, excitement, anger’; ‘a state or condition of intense displeasure with an object, implying an action of anger will accompany’;
§ Habakkuk’s response to what he heard: “When I heard, my belly trembled; my lips quivered at the voice: rottenness entered into my bones, and I trembled in myself, that I might rest in the day of trouble” [3:16].
§ A quaking or shaking through strong emotions: “I saw the tents of Cushan in affliction: and the curtains of the land of Midian did tremble” [3:7].
i. The Lord’s Judgement
A related word is used by Isaiah to describe how the Lord is roused to carry out his unfamiliar and unwanted task of acting in judgment against his people: “For the LORD shall rise up as in mount Perazim, he shall be wroth as in the valley of Gibeon, that he may do his work, his strange work; and bring to pass his act, his strange act” [Isa.28:21].
§ This is what the Lord is exhibiting towards his people: “I will work a work in your days, which you will not believe…” [1:5-6].
§ There is a suggestion of this kind in Hosea with regard to Ephraim: “mine heart is turned within me, my repentings are kindled together. I will not execute the fierceness of my anger…” [Hos.11:8-9]; ESV – “my heart recoils within me; my compassion grows warm and tender. I will not execute my burning anger…” [Hos.11:8-9].
b. The Mercy
i. The Focus
The focus of the third petition: “remember mercy” [3:2].
§ רַחֵ֥ם - “mercy” [3:2], ‘love, compassion’; ‘have feeling or attitude of strong affection toward an object, based on an association or relationship’;
§ A sovereign attribute of God: “I will make all my goodness pass before thee, and I will proclaim the name of the LORD before thee; and will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show mercy on whom I will show mercy” [Exo.33:19].
ii. The Family Love
The term “mercy” has an interesting connection with the family:
§ The term is ‘derived from the nominative µj,r&<, ‘womb’; the “womb” carries with it a picture of the tender care bestowed on an infant when it is most vulnerable.
§ The term has overtones of the intensity of a mother’s love for her child’: “Can a woman forget her sucking child, that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb…” [Isa.49:15];
§ The term is used to describe the fatherly love of God: “Like as a father pities his children, so the LORD pities them that fear him” [Psa.103:13];
iii. The Grace of God
The root µjr and its derivatives belong to the realm of grace and hope, expressing someone’s willingness to show favor.
§ A deeply felt love and compassion: “He will turn again, he will have compassion upon us; he will subdue our iniquities; and thou wilt cast all their sins into the depths of the sea” [Mic.7:19].
§ The Lord has created a bond which elicits a merciful response towards his own: “(For the LORD thy God is a merciful God;) he will not forsake thee, neither destroy thee, nor forget the covenant of thy fathers which he sware unto them” [Deu.4:31].
§ It cannot be that his anger will block out his compassion: “In a little wrath I hid my face from thee for a moment; but with everlasting kindness will I have mercy on thee, says the LORD thy Redeemer” [Isa.54:8].
c. The Petition
The petition: “in wrath remember mercy” [3:2].
§ תִּזְכּֽוֹר - “remember” [3:2], qal imperfect, ‘recall information’ with a focus on ‘responding with appropriate action’.
i. A Covenant Action
The plea for God to “remember mercy” is a plea for God to act according to his covenant promise:
§ Mercy in the midst of judgement: “And God remembered Noah, and every living thing, and all the cattle that was with him in the ark” [Gen.8:1];
§ Rescue from the place of bondage: “God heard their groaning, and God remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob” [Exo.2:24].
Application
The prophet implicitly acknowledges that this wrath is justified, but that does not stop him from presenting along with it the Lord’s attribute of mercy as the basis for his plea for assistance.
§ Asking for mercy is an admission of guilt: “after your loving kindness Lord, have mercy upon me” [Psa.51:1].
§ Calvin: He brings forward here nothing but the favour of adoption: thus he confesses that there was no reason why God should forgive his people, except that he had been pleased freely to adopt them, and to choose them as his peculiar people; for on this account it is that God is wont to show his favour towards us even to the last. as, then, this people had been once chosen by God, the Prophet records this adoptions, and prays God to continue and fulfil to the end what he had begun.
§ Since God then is not inexorable towards his people — nay, while he chastises them he ceases not to be a father; hence the Prophet connects here the mercy of God with his wrath.
The present era is still one in which the Lord chastens and purifies his own by judgement. The church still experiences periods of spiritual coldness rather than vitality.
§ Habakkuk’s prayer provides an appropriate model for approaching God, confessing our sin and pleading for his mercy.
§ In our weakness and helplessness we know our need for immediate help both to sustain is through times of difficulty and to restore the church to what it ought to be – alive and ever striving to establish God’s kingdom on earth as it waits for the return of its king.
- WHAT IS TO HAPPEN IN THE PROPHET’S OWN TIME [3:16-19]
Of the entire chapter, only [3:2] takes on the form of a petition for God to do something. The remainder of the prayer describes the greatness of God in the past and expresses the prophet’s quiet confidence in the work of God.
1. Habakkuk’s Meditation
Habakkuk sets out in greater detail his meditation on God’s past intervention in power on behalf of his people [3:3-15]. .
§ The splendour of the Lord [3:3-7].
§ The victorious warrior [3:8-15].
2. Qwdg
What is to happen in the prophet’s own time is taken up in the second section of the prayer [3:16-19].
§ Living by faith [3:16-19].
Application