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1. This is the message that
came to the prophet Habakkuk in a vision from God:
O Lord, how long must I call
for help before you will listen? I shout to you in vain, there is no
answer. "Help! Murder!" I cry, but no one comes to save. Must I forever
see this sin and sadness all around me? Wherever I look there is
oppression and bribery and men who love to argue and to fight. The law is
not enforced and there is no justice given to the courts, for the wicked
far outnumber the righteous, and
bribes and trickery prevail.
The Lord replied, "Look, and
be amazed! You will be astounded at what I am about to do! For I am going
to do something in your own lifetime that you will have to see to believe.
I am raising a new force on the world scene, The Chaldeans, a cruel and
violent nation who will march across the world and conquer it. They are
notorious for their cruelty. They do as they like, and no one can
interfere. Their horses are swifter than leopards. They are a fierce
people, more fierce than wolves at dusk. Their calvary move proudly
forward from a distant land; like eagles they come swooping down to pounce
upon their prey. All opposition melts away before the terror of their
presence. They collect captives like sand. They scoff at kings and princes
and scorn their forts. They simply heap up dirt against their walls and
capture them! They sweep past like wind and are gone, but their guilt is
deep, for they claim their power is from the gods."
O Lord my God, my Holy one,
you who are eternal-is your plan in all of this to wipe us out? Surely
not! O God our Rock, you have decreed the rise of these Chaldeans to
chasten and correct us for our awful sins. We are wicked, but they far
more! Will you, who cannot allow sin in any form, stand idly by while
they swallow us up? Should you be silent while the wicked destroy those
who are better than they? Are we but fish, to be caught and killed? Are we
but creeping things that have no leader to defend them from their foes?
Must we be strung up on their hooks and dragged out in their nets, while
they rejoice? Then they will worship their nets and burn incense before
them! "These are the gods who make us rich," they'll say. Will you let
them get away with this forever? Will they succeed forever in their
heartless wars?
2. I will climb on my
watchtower now, and wait to see what answer God will give to my complaint.
And the Lord said to me,
"Write my answer on a billboard, large and clear, so that anyone can read
it at a glance and rush to tell the others. But these things I plan won't
happen right away. Slowly, steadily, surely, the time approaches when the
vision will be fulfilled. If it seems slow, do not despair, for these
things will surely come to pass. Just be patient! They will not be overdue
a singe day! Note this: Wicked men trust themselves alone [as these wicked
Chaldeans do], and fail; but the righteous man trusts in me, and lives!
What's more, these arrogant Chaldeans are betrayed by all their wine, for
it is treacherous. In their greed they have collected many nations, but
like death and hell, they are never satisfied. The time is coming when all
their captives will taunt them, saying: 'You robbers! At last justice has
caught up with you! Now you will get your just deserts for your oppression
and extortion!"
Suddenly your debtors will
rise up in anger and turn on you and take all you have, while you stand
trembling and helpless. You have ruined many nations, now they will ruin
you. You murderers! You have filled the countryside with lawlessness and
all the cities too. Woe to you for getting rich by evil means, attempting
to live beyond the reach of danger. By the murders you commit, you have
shamed your name and forfeited your lives. The very stones in the walls of
your homes cry out against you, and the beams in the ceilings echo what
they say. Woe to you who build cities with money gained from murdering and
robbery! Has not the Lord decreed that godless nations gains will turn to
ashes in their hands? They work so hard, but all in vain! (The time will
come when all the earth is filled, as the waters fill the sea, with an
awareness of the glory of the Lord.)
Woe to you for making your
neighboring lands reel and stagger like drunkards beneath your blows, and
then gloating over their nakedness and shame. Soon your own glory will be
replaced by shame. Drink down God's judgement on yourselves. Stagger and
fall! You cut down the forest of Lebanon-now you will be cut down! You
terrified the wild animals you caught in your traps-now terror will strike
you because of all your murdering and violence in cities everywhere.
What profit was there in
worshiping all your man-made idols? What a foolish lie that they could
help! What fools you were to trust what you yourselves had made. Woe to
those who command their lifeless wooden idols to arise and save them. Who
call out to the speechless stone to tell them what to do. Can images speak
for God? They are overlaid with gold and silver, but there is no breath at
all inside! But the Lord is in his holy Temple; let all the earth be
silent before him."
3 This is the prayer of triumph that Habakkuk sang before the Lord.
O Lord now I have heard your
report and I worship you in awe for the fearful things you are going to
do. In this time of our deep need, begin again to help us, as you did in
years gone by. Show us your power to save us. In your wrath, remember
mercy.
I see God moving across the
deserts from Mount Sinai. His brilliant splendor fills the earth and sky;
his glory fills the heavens, and the earth is full of his praise! What a
wonderful God he is! From the hands flash rays of brilliant light. He
rejoices in his awesome power. Pestilence marches before him; plague
follows close behind. He stops; he stands still for a moment, gazing at
the earth. Then he shakes the nations, scattering everlasting mountains
and leveling the hills. His power is just the same as always! I see the
people of Cushan and of Midian in mortal fear. Was it in anger, Lord, you
smote the rivers and parted the sea? Were you displeased with them? No,
you were sending your chariots of salvation! All saw your power!
Then springs burst forth at
your command! The mountains watched and trembled. Onward swept the raging
water. The mighty deep cried out, announcing its surrender to the Lord.
the lofty sun and moon began to fade, obscured by brilliance from your
arrows and the flashing of your glittering spear. You marched across the
land in awesome anger, and trampled down the nations in your wrath. You
went out to save your chosen people. You crushed the head of the wicked
and laid bare his bones from head to toe. You destroyed with their own
weapons those who came out like a whirlwind, thinking Israel would be an
easy prey.
Your horsemen marched across
the sea: the mighty waters piled high. I tremble when I hear all this; my
lips quiver with fear. My legs give way beneath me and I shake in terror.
I will quietly wait for the day of trouble to come upon the people who
invade us. Even though the fig trees are all destroyed, and there is
neither blossom left nor fruit, and though the olive crops all fail, and
the fields lie barren; even if the flocks die in the fields and the cattle
barns are empty, yet I will rejoice in the Lord; I will be happy in the
God of my salvation. The Lord God is my Strength, and he will give me the
speed of a deer and bring me safely over the mountains. (A note to the
choir director: When singing this ode, the choir is to be accompanied by
stringed instruments.) |
