Saturday 03 November 2007

Background

Very little is known about Habakkuk, but he probably livedbetween 605 and 589BC and saw the nation of Judah turning its backon God. The people had forgotten him and given herself over tofalse gods and to evil pursuits. Habakkuk speaks of sin, violenceand vice as being rampant among the people of God, while those whoruled over God's people were slack and indifferent. The law of Godwas not being applied. There was spiritual falling away and moraldecline.

In trying to make sense of this situation, Habakkuk learns that Godis going to use another nation (Babylon) to punish the nation ofJudah. This creates more confusion and so, earlier in chapter 3 helooks back on the history and experience of God's dealings with thenation. He is brought face-to-face with God. He looks at thepresent in the light of the past and sees that God always saves hispeople in their distress. He always preserves the honor of hisname.

So, standing upon that plateau of faith, of all that he has seenand experienced of God, Habakkuk could have made a statement likethis: "I will praise him. Even if every visible prop holding me upis knocked away from under me, I will stand up and I will praisethe Lord my God. And I will do that because I have seen my God. Ihave seen that his ways are always ways of holiness andfaithfulness." (My interpretation of v.18)

It was out of a personal and amazing experience of salvation thatHabakkuk was able to pledge that he would give God thanks always,no matter the external state. He knew that he belonged to theliving God and that he therefore always had a reason to bethankful.

In the western world we have so many physical props that we canrely on to get us through each day, I wonder how much we rely onGod to guard and guide us and how much he asks us to use our owncommon sense that he has given us.

To Ponder

As you look back on your experience of walking inGod's ways, have you ever felt something of Habakkuk's confusionand then hope? What did you learn about the nature of God andyourself during those times?