O Lord, I have heard the report of you, and your work, O Lord, do I fear. In the midst of the years revive it; in the midst of the years make it known; in wrath remember mercy.
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Though the fig tree should not blossom, nor fruit be on the vines, the produce of the olive fail and the fields yield no food, the flock be cut off from the fold and there be no herd in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the Lord; I will take joy in the God of my salvation. God, the Lord, is my strength; he makes my feet like the deer’s; he makes me tread on my high places. (Habakkuk 3:2-19)
Background:
Habakkuk was a prophet in Judah before the people of God were taken into captivity. Acting as a representative for the people, he takes their complaints before the Lord in the first chapter of his book. As he looks around him in Judah, he sees violence and injustice. He complains that “destruction and violence” are before him, and “strife and contention arise.” “The law is paralyzed,” and “justice never goes forth.” He begins his complaint by asking, “How long shall I cry for help, and you will not hear?” (1:2). He, and those he represents, are frustrated that God has done nothing to punish those in Judah who continually sin against him.
God answers Habakkuk’s complaint by telling him that he has a plan. God says, “I am doing a work in your days that you would not believe if told” (1:5). He is going to bring the Chaldeans (the Babylonians) to invade Judah and carry the people into captivity, as he had warned and promised in Deuteronomy 4. God says, “Don’t worry. I have everything under control, and I will punish the evildoers.”
This was not what Habakkuk had in mind. The Chaldeans were worse than the Israelites! How could God possible use a violent, heathen, Gentile race to punish his own people? How was it just to favor a nation of even worse sinners? But, God assures Habakkuk that the Babylonians will also be punished. As we know, the Medes later came and overthrew the Babylonians. In telling of the eventual overthrow of the Chaldeans, God informs Habakkuk that “the righteous shall live by faith” (2:4), a verse later referenced by Paul in his letter to the Romans.
At this, Habakkuk realizes that God is, indeed, the sovereign ruler of the universe, and that he is just in all he does. Thus, he prays the prayer found in chapter 3 of his book.
The Prayer:
I have heard the report of you (v. 2): It is as if Habakkuk answers God’s question to Isaiah, “Who has believed what he has heard from us? And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?” (Isaiah 53:1). God had spoken in answer to Habakkuk’s complaint, and Habakkuk had heard.
and your work, O Lord, do I fear (v. 2): Not only did Habakkuk hear the word of the Lord, He knew what it meant for the people of Judah. He knew that punishment was coming for all their sins against God, and he knew that it was to be a harsh punishment. The people would be overrun by heathen foreigners and carried into captivity, away from the land which the Lord had given them. When he thought of the Lord’s punishment, he was filled with fear.
In the midst of the years revive it; in the midst of the years make it known; in wrath remember mercy (v. 2): Habakkuk was fearful of the people suffering for a great number of years. Was he told how long the captivity would last? Was he afraid of their suffering for seventy years? What he asks is that God would rescue and revive his people (his work) before the end came. Interestingly he asks the Lord to do it because it is his work. In other words, rescue and revive the people, because they are God’s people, not because of anything they had done. He calls for God to reveal himself in the midst of their trouble and to have mercy, even in the midst of his wrath. Of course, this is the very thing God does, as is so evident from Isaiah.
Habakkuk now begins to recount the history of God’s bringing the children of Israel out of Egypt and giving them the law at Mount Sinai.
God came from Teman, and the Holy One from Mount Paran (v. 3): Teman was the eldest son of Eliphaz, the first-born son of Esau. His tribe settled in the area south of Judah, and the name of the land soon came to mean “south.” Paran was a mountain in the area, closely associated with Mount Seir and Mount Sinai. Here Habakkuk speaks of God’s descending on the mountain when he gave the law to the people through Moses. Thus he speaks of God’s “splendor covering the heavens,” the earth full of his praise,” “his brightness like the light,” and “rays flashing from his hand.” This is the same language used by Moses in Deuteronomy 33:2-4.
before him went pestilence (v. 5): This section tells of God bringing the plagues upon Egypt. Pestilence went before him, and the plagues followed at his heels. Thus, his power and might were exhibited against the Egyptians who refused to release his people.
he stood and measured the earth; he looked and shook the nations (v. 6): After delivering the children of Israel from Egypt, the Lord brought them, eventually, into the Land of Promise. There he forced out the nations already in the land and divided it among the tribes of his people. God is sovereign. He does what he says he will do. He had told Abraham that he would deliver his descendants from their slave masters and bring them back to the Land of Promise. He had told the Israelites that they would be disobedient, and he would punish them for their disobedience. Now the time of their judgment had come.
Was your anger against the rivers; or your indignation against the sea (v. 8); the sun and moon stood still in their place (v. 11): In bringing the people out of Egypt and to the land, God parted the waters of the Red Sea and the Jordan River. In a day of battle, he caused the sun to stand still in the sky, so that the Israelites could conquer their enemies.
you went out for the salvation of your people (v. 13): God cared for his people. Even in the midst of forty years in the wilderness and battles to take the land which he had promised to their forefathers, God cared for his people.
I hear, and my body trembles; my lips quiver at the sound; rottenness enters into my bones; my legs tremble beneath me. Yet I will quietly wait for the day of trouble to come upon people who invade us (v. 16): Again, the words of the Lord bring fear and trembling to Habakkuk. When he considers all that the people will have to suffer as punishment for their disobedience and turning from God, it causes his knees to go weak and his lips to quiver. Yet, as he remembers the history of God’s dealing with his people, and God’s work for the salvation of his people, he is content to wait for the full term of the punishment to come, and for God to then punish those whom he used to invade Judah. In the end, God will save his people.
Habakkuk then completes his journey from frustration, to comfort, to worship. Though the fig tree does not blossom, there is no fruit on the vine, the olive trees fail, God is sovereign. Though the fields yield no food, there are no longer flocks of goats and sheep, and there are not cattle in the stall, God is sovereign. Though everything the people might hope in is completely decimated, yet the prophet will rejoice in the Lord. Though circumstances are dire, yet he will praise the Lord who is his strength, for he gives him sure feet in times of trouble, and he raises him from the depths of despair to the high places of divine security.
Relevance:
God is sovereign, and he works all things together for the good of those who love him and are called according to his purpose (Romans 8:28). Even in the midst of discipline, God is still a merciful God, and he cares for his people. So, with Paul, we can rejoice in our sufferings (Romans 5:3), and we give thanks in all circumstances (1 Thessalonians 5:18).
