Habakkuk 3
Today's Passage: Habakkuk 3
In the first two chapters of Habakkuk, we have seen a kind of conversation between Habakkuk and the Lord. Habakkuk has asked the Lord why He is allowing injustice and idolatry to continue, and then asking why He would use nations who are even worse than the Israelites to punish Israel. God describes a future that may seem slow in coming, but will eventually come: God will bring Babylon down. Evil in the world will one day be addressed and ended for good.
Chapter 3 is the prayer of Habakkuk, beginning with the prophet asking God to act now, just like He did in leading the Israelite people out of Egypt in the book of Exodus. Just like when God came and split the sea in the battle against Pharaoh and his armies, Habakkuk says that one day God will once more bring His judgment against evil nations.
In verse 13, the prophet points out that God will save His people and His anointed one. This “anointed one” is a reference to the Messianic King, Jesus! So in this poem that God has revealed through Habakkuk, there will be a future exodus that is an image of the exodus story of the past. It’s this confident expectation that allows Habakkuk to conclude this book with praise to our Heavenly Father.
Habakkuk 3:17-18 says, “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.”
No matter what happens in this world, we know the end of the story. Jesus will return and make all things new!
How does this comfort you in the midst of international turmoil? What else stood out to you from this book of the Bible?
Written By: Kaitlin White
In the first two chapters of Habakkuk, we have seen a kind of conversation between Habakkuk and the Lord. Habakkuk has asked the Lord why He is allowing injustice and idolatry to continue, and then asking why He would use nations who are even worse than the Israelites to punish Israel. God describes a future that may seem slow in coming, but will eventually come: God will bring Babylon down. Evil in the world will one day be addressed and ended for good.
Chapter 3 is the prayer of Habakkuk, beginning with the prophet asking God to act now, just like He did in leading the Israelite people out of Egypt in the book of Exodus. Just like when God came and split the sea in the battle against Pharaoh and his armies, Habakkuk says that one day God will once more bring His judgment against evil nations.
In verse 13, the prophet points out that God will save His people and His anointed one. This “anointed one” is a reference to the Messianic King, Jesus! So in this poem that God has revealed through Habakkuk, there will be a future exodus that is an image of the exodus story of the past. It’s this confident expectation that allows Habakkuk to conclude this book with praise to our Heavenly Father.
Habakkuk 3:17-18 says, “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.”
No matter what happens in this world, we know the end of the story. Jesus will return and make all things new!
How does this comfort you in the midst of international turmoil? What else stood out to you from this book of the Bible?
Written By: Kaitlin White
1 Comment
The final verses of this chapter draw similarities to the book of Job. We are living in a time where there is constant loss, hardship, and turmoil. It seems like in every turn we make, something else fails. But having the heart and mind to say as Habakkuk - "Though 'all these bad things happen', I will rejoice in the Lord, I will take joy in the God of my Salvation" - is a statement I want to be willing to make every day! Merry Christmas CPC!