Day 212: Habakkuk 1-3 | Read The Bible In A Year | Bible Study with Commentary by Dr. Manny Arango

Hey Bible nerds, this is Dr. Manny Arango. Welcome to the Bible Department podcast powered by ARMA. We are walking through the entire Bible in a year. You can go to the description or thebibledepartment.com to download a reading plan and join the journey. Family, welcome to day 212. Can't believe we've done 211 days already. That's amazing. Today we are in the book of Habakkuk or Habakkuk, however you like to say it. No judgment here. We got three chapters of the biblical text to go through today. So just one day in the amazing, lovely, fantastic book of Habakkuk. If you've already done the reading then you're gonna have tons of context for the stuff that I'm gonna share. Habakkuk is not a hard book of the Bible to like follow, but I'm gonna give you some structure and maybe highlight some things that you missed. If you haven't done the reading then how about you do the reading. Stop the video, pause the audio, and go do the reading. It's three short chapters and the Bible's good for you. So let's dive in. I'm always gonna give context clues, gonna give you as many nerdy nuggets as I can, and I'm always gonna leave you off with a timeless truth because this is not just a history lesson. It is designed to grow your faith. So context clues. We're getting down to the end of the kingdom, the southern kingdom of Judah, okay? We are right on the brink of the Babylonians coming in and completely destroying the southern kingdom of Judah in Jerusalem, burning to the ground. I'll continue to kind of reiterate this. Obviously, we've already studied that because we went through the book of Isaiah. So in the same way that you would put Nahum and Zephaniah right in between Isaiah chapter 39 and 40 in terms of the chronology, you're gonna do the exact same thing with the book of Habakkuk. This book in terms of historical context belongs right in between Isaiah chapter 39 and Isaiah chapter 40. I know it can be disorienting to kind of go forward in the timeline when you get to the end of Isaiah and then have to come back, but you're smart and you got this. All right, so I hope that that is clear. There are a lot of scholars that debate on exactly which king our guy Habakkuk is prophesying with or whose reign he's prophesying during. Some people would say it's Josiah, which would put him and Zephaniah as contemporaries, okay? That would mean that Zephaniah and Habakkuk are prophesying right around the same time. Some people would put

Habakkuk with Jehoiakim, not to be confused with Jehoiachin, but Jehoiakim. All right, that is the context. We're right down to the wire. All right, God has promised or God has prophesied. God has already, you know, set in motion that the southern kingdom of Judah is gonna experience mass deportation, that they're gonna go off into exile. Now, it's really just a question of when. And here comes the prophet Habakkuk. So, let's actually go to Habakkuk chapter 1, and I'll give you as many nerdy nuggets as I can. The beginning of the book kind of functions like a conversation, all right? And you may not realize this, but Habakkuk is actually the one talking from Habakkuk chapter 1, verses 2 to 4, and then verses 5 to 11, God is gonna give a response. So, Habakkuk is gonna talk, and then God is gonna give a response. And then Habakkuk is gonna pick up again at chapter 1, verse 12, to chapter 2, verse 1, and then God is gonna respond again. So, what we have from chapter 1, verse 2, all the way to chapter 2, verse 5, is a back-and-forth dialogue between Habakkuk and Yahweh. Habakkuk and Yahweh. So, if you don't know that, it could kind of be a little disorienting, because you don't know who's really talking, and so I'm gonna help highlight who's talking, and like, help you to navigate Habakkuk's argument, and what it is that's actually going on. Second thing is that this is a song of lament, okay? So, we've got some songs of lament in the Psalms. We also have Jeremiah's song of lament, which we know as the biblical book of Lamentations. So, lament is a style of literature, and Habakkuk is going to use it, because Habakkuk is absolutely stressed out by the idolatry, by the injustice, by the debauchery, by the inability of the Jewish people to live according to Torah. He is really grieved, like grieved at the immorality of the people of God.

And so I can like relate to Habakkuk. There are definitely times where I've been grieved, at the kind of lifestyles that leaders live, that people of God who claim to be Christians live. So I get the lament. And so the form of poetry that we have, isn't just poetry. This is definitely like a song of lament. And you could say Habakkuk is complaining. He's complaining to God. And you can see this chapter one, verse two, says this, Oh Lord, how long shall I cry for help? And you will not listen, or cry to you violence and you will not save. So Habakkuk is like, God, it's an emergency. And I just don't feel like you're answering. Verse three, why do you make me see wrongdoing and look at trouble? Destruction and violence are before me, strife and contention arise. So he's looking at Jerusalem and he's saying, why do I have to see this? And I'm saying something, but there's no solution. Also Habakkuk's level of just deep grief and lament, based on what his eyes are seeing, cause a lot of scholars to maybe doubt just how deep or heartfelt Josiah's reforms were. Now, no one's doubting how sincere Josiah was as an individual,

but there are a lot of scholars who would say based on what we have in Zephaniah and Habakkuk, if both of these men are prophesying during the reign of Josiah, they are looking at religious reform. They are seeing spiritual renewal and revival, but they're still both saying, God's gonna judge and my eyes are looking at injustice and idolatry and wrongdoing. Like maybe, just maybe Josiah's reforms were skin deep. Maybe the reforms were of veneer. I would say that one of the things that I think is the benefit of Josiah's reforms is that I think he's making the remnant that are actually the righteous remnant, the people who are the true Israel. He's making that remnant larger than it would have been. So is it the kind of reform that is actually changing the hearts and lives and thoughts of hundreds of thousands of people of Israel? Probably not. But is he making reform up at the top? Absolutely. Which should also signal to us that when we really want reform in our country, laws can only do so much. That doesn't mean that we don't go after, you know, reform in terms of the legal system. That is really important and that has a part to play. But ultimately, God wants people's hearts to turn to him.

And if their hearts don't turn to him, then man, the legal sphere has so much authority, but really like it's the church's job to help people to turn their hearts towards God. That there's a difference between what can be done at a government level versus what can be done like just boots on the ground, like knocking on doors, inviting people to church, like getting them to love God. So it may not always feel like we're changing our nation by inviting people to church, like getting them baptized. Like it may not feel like that is like the most we could do, but can I be encouraging? Actually, man, revival typically doesn't start from the top down, but it starts from the bottom up. And so a grassroots revival is actually great. I'm not saying anything against legal reform. That's actually amazing. And we've seen incredible leaps in terms of human rights being established in history because of legal reform. Just wanna create some nuance. All right, Zephaniah and Habakkuk are definitely saying, ah, like Josiah, this is awesome, but there's something that's lacking. So let's keep going with Habakkuk. Let's keep like reading his lament. Let's pick up in verse four. So the law becomes slack. and justice never prevails. The wicked surround the righteous,

therefore judgment comes forth perverted. Look at the nations and see, be astonished, be astounded. Now Yahweh's talking. So verse four is the end of Habakkuk's complaint, and now Yahweh starts talking. Look at the nations and see, be astonished. And by the way, your Bible's not gonna tell you that Habakkuk's done talking and now this is Yahweh. So our first nerdy nugget of the day is just knowing that verse two to verse four is Habakkuk, verse five to verse 11 is gonna be Yahweh. Let's look at what Yahweh says. All right, for a work is being done in your days that you would not believe if you were told, for I am rousing the Chaldeans. The Chaldeans are the Babylonians, okay? So nerdy nugget number two, okay? The Chaldeans are the, or the Chaldeans are the Babylonians. I'm rousing the Babylonians, that fierce and impetuous nation who march through the breadth of the earth to seize dwellings not their own. Dread and fearsome are they, their justice and dignity proceed from themselves. Their horses are swifter than leopards, more menacing than wolves at dusk. Their horses charge, their horsemen come from far away. They fly like an eagle swift to devour. They all come for violence with faces pressing forward. They gather captives like sand.

At kings they scoff and of rulers they make sport. They laugh at every fortress and heap up earth to take it. Then they sweep by like the wind. They transgress and become guilty. Their own might is their God. All right, so Habakkuk's got a complaint. God, Israel's idolatrous, look at all the sin and wrongdoing. And Yahweh's response is, yeah, I see it. I've already risen up the Babylonians to come and punish the people of Israel. And Habakkuk's response here in verse 12 is, no, no, no, no, no, that's not what I, don't do that, Jake. Habakkuk has a complaint. God gives a response of his solution to Habakkuk's complaint and Habakkuk is not happy. Here we go, here's Habakkuk's response in verse 12. Are you not from of old? Oh Lord, my God, my Holy one, you shall not die. Oh Lord, you have marked them for judgment and you, oh rock, have established them for punishment. Like essentially Habakkuk's response, they're more sinful than us. Like what? Your eyes are too pure to behold evil and you cannot look on wrongdoing. Why do you look on the treacherous and are silent when the wicked swallow those more righteous than they?

He's saying Israel's more righteous than the Babylonians. Why would you raise up the Babylonians to teach us a lesson? And I don't know if you can relate to Habakkuk, but I don't know if you've ever complained to God about something and then he provides the solution or reveals to you what the solution is. And you're like, I hate this solution. This is not a good idea at all. Habakkuk is like, wait a minute, the people of Israel are far from you. They're wicked, they're sinful, they're idolatrous. God, do something, punish the wicked, please. God responds and say, yeah, I am gonna punish the wicked. Actually, I'm literally preparing the Babylonians behind the scenes right now, they're getting ready. And Habakkuk goes, no, not them. You can't use people more wicked than us to punish us. Verse 12, all the way to chapter two, verse one. And this is what Habakkuk says. I will, in chapter two, verse one, I will stand at my watch post and station myself on the rampart. I will keep watch to see what he will say to me and what he will answer concerning my complaint. Okay, so that's how he ends. He's like, I'll stand on the watch, I'll stand on the wall and I'll keep my watch post, man. But I think this idea is absolutely crazy. Verse 15, the enemy brings all of them up with a hook. He drags them out with his net.

He gathers them in his scene and he rejoices and exalts. Therefore he sacrifices to his net and makes offering to his scene. For by them, his portion is lavish and his food is rich. Is he then to keep on emptying his net and destroying nations without mercy? God, why would you use the Babylonians? Here is God's response, Habakkuk chapter two, verse two to five. Then the Lord answered me and said, write the vision, make it plain on tablets. so that a runner may read it." That verse right there gets taken, I mean, we just take that. And, you know, I've heard so many sermons about, you know, write the vision, make it plain on tablets, which is good, that's great, but it fits within a wider context of what Habakkuk is all about. For there is still a vision for the appointed time. It speaks of the end and does not lie. If it seems to tarry, wait for it. It will surely come. It will not delay. Look at the proud. Their spirit is not right in them, but the righteous live by their faith. Habakkuk, you have to have faith. You've gotta have faith in my plan and what I'm doing. I need you to, like, agree with this vision that I have

for bringing my people into alignment. And ultimately, moreover, wealth is treacherous. The arrogant do not endure. They open their throats wide as Sheol. Like death, they never have enough. They gather all nations for themselves and collect all people as their own. Hey, Habakkuk, don't worry. Dude, they open their throats wide as Sheol. Like death, they never have enough. Hey, everything you're saying I know, but I need you to get on board with what I'm actually saying. This is the back and forth between Habakkuk and Yahweh. Habakkuk and Yahweh. The people of Israel are wicked. Yeah, I know they're wicked. I'm raising up the Babylonians. No, not the Babylonians, dude. They're wicked too. And then God's response essentially is, yeah, I only have wicked people to use to chastise wicked people. That's not, sorry, there's only wicked nations. Okay, this leads us to all the way, I spent most of my time going through Nerdy Nuggets in chapter one. This leads us all the way. Chapter two really just outlines like what's wrong with societies because Babylon is not gonna be the last of its kind.

First of all, Babylon is replacing Assyria. And guess what? Persia is gonna replace Babylon. And guess what? The Greek empire is gonna replace the Persian empire. And guess what? The Roman empire is gonna replace the Greek empire. And so God is actually telling Habakkuk, this is not just a Babylonian problem or a Assyrian problem or a Persian problem. It's a human problem. And actually I am gonna use all these human kingdoms to my end. I am weaving history in such a way that even though it seems like it's just wicked kingdom after wicked kingdom, after evil kingdom, after evil kingdom, all these kingdoms really only have the power to be wicked because they don't know me. And so here's my, I'm maybe skipping ahead a little bit, but here's my timeless truth. And here's what God wants to say. And I may throw in some more nerdy nuggets, but I wanna give you my timeless truth is just because God uses someone doesn't mean that God condones or affirms or agrees with everything that person does. So God uses the Babylonians. He's gonna tell Habakkuk, I will use the Babylonians as my instrument,

but do not confuse my use of the Babylonians with me endorsing the Babylonians. Hey, I'm not endorsing what they do, but I am saying I will use what they do even if it's for my purpose. My purpose is righteous. Their intentions are evil. Their actions are evil, but I have the ability to use the evil that is in humanity for my holy purpose. I think this is timeless because there are leaders who are this way. Maybe just maybe you've ever been impacted positively by someone's ministry. And then you thought to yourself, and you found out years later that they were immoral or maybe they were caught in some kind of scandal. You're like, oh man. And you almost wanna throw the baby out with the bathwater. But God goes, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, stop, stop, stop. Just because I use that person to help bear fruit in your life doesn't mean that I'm condoning their behavior. God's use of someone does not mean that he agrees or endorses their behavior. And ultimately, guess what God promises Habakkuk? I'm gonna judge the Babylonians. I'm gonna use the Babylonians and then I'm gonna judge the Babylonians.

No one goes unjudged. Here's another layer of our timeless truth. You don't really have to judge people because God is the judge of the earth. Like, like Habakkuk can calm down. Hey, dude, relax. I know you want the people of Israel to be judged for their wickedness. I know you want the Babylonians to be judged for their wickedness, but have faith in my ability to judge everyone rightly and to judge everyone with justice. Family, the wait is over. My brand new book, Crushing Chaos is out now and available everywhere books are sold. Literally today, I walked into a Barnes and Noble and I signed a bunch of copies at a physical location. So you can grab this book at a physical Barnes and Noble, or you can go to a Books A Million or Amazon or anywhere books are sold and grab a copy. If you enjoy reading the Bible from an ancient perspective, if you understand that the beauty of scripture is actually knowing it in context, then you'll love this book. And if there's any chaos in your personal life, I think that reading the Bible from an ancient perspective can actually help to crush the chaos in your life. I think this book is gonna be a New York Times bestseller. I really do. I think we wrote a good one.

I think you should get a copy today. All right, back to the episode. Our timeless truth for the day is that God is the only one that can judge. That just because God uses a nation or people group or a scenario does not mean that he endorses that scenario or gives it the stamp of approval. And I think that a lot of us sometimes believe that man, as long as I'm successful and that means that's the blessing of God. And the Babylonians aren't successful because they're blessed by God, they're successful because they're successful. And we can't always conflate or misconstrue the blessing of God with earthly success. Now let's go back for just a second and I'll give you one last nerdy nugget and we'll wrap up. Chapter three really culminates or climaxes with God promising, hey, kingdom after kingdom after kingdom after kingdom is gonna come. And actually I'm using all of this to bring history to a climactic end and my servant, the Messiah is actually gonna judge the whole earth. And so you can rest assured Habakkuk, don't fret, don't worry, I'm a God of justice. And so the book kind of finds its climactic end with a promise that God is gonna do what God is only able to do. So the book ends with Habakkuk actually giving praise.

He says this in chapter three, verse 17. It says, though the fig tree does not blossom and no fruit is on its vines, though the produce of the olive fails and the field yields no food, essentially though everything in my life sucks. Okay, here we go. Though the flock is cut off from the fold and there is no herd in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the Lord. I will exalt in the God of my salvation. God, Yahweh is my strength. He makes my feet like the feet of a deer and makes me tread upon the heights to the leader with stringed instruments. So this is a song of lament. Okay, and we can see at the end that you're supposed to play this with stringed instruments because it's a song of lament. So how does the book end? With Habakkuk saying, I don't like it, but I trust you. I don't like it. There's a bunch of issues. The problems didn't get resolved. The fig trees still don't blossom. The fruit is not on the vine. The olive fails. The fields yield no food. I still got all the problems that I had at the beginning of the book of Habakkuk, but you know what?

My hope is in Yahweh. My trust is in Yahweh. My faith is in Yahweh. If there's another timeless truth I could give today is even when God doesn't do what I want him to do, at some point I have to just say, oh Lord, you're not acting in the way that I want you to, but that's why you're God and I'm not. And so I'm gonna put my faith in you. All right, I hope that you got a lot of value out of studying the book of Habakkuk. Tomorrow is day 213. We got Jeremiah chapters one through four tomorrow. I can't wait to dive into the book of Jeremiah. Jeremiah is pretty much just as long as Isaiah. So get yourself ready for another trek through a pretty long book of the Bible. I'm proud of you, especially if you're on a streak. I love you. I'll see you tomorrow as we begin our journey through the book of Jeremiah. Love y'all, peace. Thanks so much for joining us on the Bible Department Podcast. If this episode was helpful, how about you leave a comment, share with a friend, and subscribe so that you never miss an episode. head to thebibledepartment.com.