Bible Mountain Essay on Habakkuk 3:14-19

One of the realities of life is that bad things happen. People lose jobs. Investments go sour. Cancer strikes without warning. Criminals do bad things. War happens. Hurricanes and tornadoes strike.

Humans have a tendency to abandon God or blame Him when times get rough. The hardships of life are often used as proof that God does not exist.

Yahweh told Habakkuk that the Chaldeans were coming. Habakkuk fully expected their arrival to make life difficult. Instead of complaining about Yahweh, Habakkuk vowed that he would exalt in Yahweh no matter what happened when the Chaldeans invaded. We should follow his example.

Watch the video to learn more or scroll down to read the transcript.

Transcript:

One of the realities of life is that bad things happen. People lose jobs. Investments go sour. Cancer strikes without warning. Criminals do bad things. War happens. Hurricanes and tornadoes strike.

Humans have a tendency to abandon God or blame Him when times get rough. The hardships of life are often used as proof that God does not exist.

Yahweh told Habakkuk that the Chaldeans were coming. Habakkuk fully expected their arrival to make life difficult. Instead of complaining about Yahweh, Habakkuk vowed that he would exalt in Yahweh no matter what happened when the Chaldeans invaded. We should follow his example.

The third chapter of Habakkuk is a prayer, divided into three sections.

The first section declares that Yahweh is to be feared. Yahweh created the earth. He uses pestilence and plague to punish evil.

The second section reminds us that Yahweh is not mad at the rivers and seas when He brings His wrath. Instead, He is dealing with the sins of wicked people.

Major Break

There is a major break after the second section of the prayer. This sets up the following verses as the conclusion of the prayer as well as the conclusion of the book of Habakkuk.

Hab. 3:14 You pierced with his own sharpened rods

The head of his throngs.

They stormed in to scatter us;

Their exultation was like those

Who devour the afflicted in secret.

The pronoun you refers to Yahweh. The pronoun his refers to the head of the house of the wicked who is mentioned in chapter 3 verse 13. The pronoun they refers to the house of the wicked.

The wicked stormed in to scatter Israel, and they exalted like those who know they did something wrong.

Hab. 3:15 You tread on the sea with Your horses,

On the surge of many waters.

The pronoun you still refers to Yahweh. Yahweh is in control of the sea and the surge.

Hab. 3:16 ¶ I heard, and my inward parts trembled;

At the sound my lips tingled.

Decay enters my bones,

And in my place I tremble.

Because I must wait quietly for the day of distress,

For the people to arise who will invade us.

Yahweh had told Habakkuk in chapter one that the Chaldeans were coming to conquer Israel. Habakkuk trembled at that thought.

Hab. 3:17 Though the fig tree should not blossom

And there be no produce on the vines,

Though the yield of the olive should fail

And the fields yield no food,

Though the flock should be cut off from the fold

And there be no cattle in the stalls,

Habakkuk listed various calamities that were possible when the Chaldeans arrived. Essentially, Habakkuk’s concern was there would be no food.

This is something that often faces people in wartime. War disrupts agriculture, transportation, and retail. Some crops are destroyed before harvest. Even when crops are harvested, it is difficult to transport them. They may be wiped out while being moved. Even if the food arrives at stores, the stores may be damaged or unable to open. Consumers may have difficulty getting to the store. The consumer may not have money to buy food.

It doesn’t take all out war to hamper access to food, either. Rioting and civil unrest can create the same scenario. Furthermore, natural disasters like hurricanes, tornadoes, and floods can make it very difficult for people to live. Natural disasters can wipe out crops, destroy stores, disrupt transportation networks, and cut people off from the rest of the world.

Hab. 3:18 Yet I will exult in Yahweh;

I will rejoice in the God of my salvation.

Notice the word yet. The word yet creates a contrast with verse 17. Even if everything in verse 17 happened and there was no food, Habakkuk was still determined to exult in Yahweh.

This is the opposite of human nature. The natural tendency for humans is to blame God and abandon Him when there is no food. The hardships of war and natural disasters are often used as proof that God does not exist. However, we should respond as Habakkuk did and exult in Yahweh no matter the circumstances of our lives.

Hab. 3:19 Yahweh, the Lord, is my strength,

And He has set my feet like hinds’ feet

And makes me tread on my high places. For the choir director, on my stringed instruments.

The last line of chapter 3, which is also the last line of the book, is similar to many lines found in the book of Psalms. Habakkuk 3:1 tells us chapter 3 is a prayer. The last line of verse 19 tells us it was for the choir director on stringed instruments. It was sung.

One of the realities of life is that bad things happen. Humans have a tendency to abandon God or blame Him when times get rough. The hardships of life are often used as proof that God does not exist.

Yahweh told Habakkuk that the Chaldeans were coming. Habakkuk fully expected their arrival to make life difficult. Habakkuk knew the Israelites had brought the Chaldean invasion upon themselves because of their idolatry. Instead of complaining about Yahweh, Habakkuk vowed that he would exalt in Yahweh no matter what happened when the Chaldeans invaded.

We should follow Habakkuk’s example. God created a perfect world. Humans contaminated His world with sin. Bad things happen because humans are sinful people. Instead of blaming God when bad things happen, we should exalt in Yahweh.

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“Scripture quotations taken from the (LSB®) Legacy Standard Bible®, Copyright © 2021 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Managed in partnership with Three Sixteen Publishing Inc. LSBible.org and 316publishing.com.”