The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him and what came to my heart and mind in Habakkuk 2:3,
"The revelation awaits an appointed time; it speaks of the end and will not prove false. Though it linger, wait for it; it will certainly come and will not delay."
As Habakkuk makes his complaint about the sinful condition of Judah and is told a more evil people are to come (the Babylonians) to destroy the evil-doers in Judah, the Lord's answer gives rise to a second complaint by Habakkuk. Even thought there is wickedness in Judah that vexes Habakkuk, he is further confounded at the Lord's answer he is going to use a more wicked people than that of Judah to destroy them.
In response to Habakkuk's second complaint, the Lord tells him the Babylonians, too, will be judged by the Lord. "Though it linger, wait for it; it will certainly come and will not delay."
There is no question in my mind but that this is prophetic, not just for Habakkuk's day, but for our's as well. "it speaks of the end and will not prove false". We are to be patient, the day of reckoning will come. We find other passages of Scripture where the Lord tells those who are his to have patience and endure while the Lord carries out his agenda, prolonging the time before the wicked have their day with the Lord.
I am reminded of the fifth seal in the book of Revelation 6:9-11, "When he opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain because of the word of God and the testimony they had maintained. They called out in a loud voice, 'How long, Sovereign Lord, holy and true, until you judge the inhabitants of the earth and avenge our blood?' Then each of them was given a white robe, and they were told to wait a little longer, until the full number of their fellow servants, their brothers and sisters, were killed just as they had been."
"The revelation awaits an appointed time; it speaks of the end and will not prove false. Though it linger, wait for it; it will certainly come and will not delay."
As Habakkuk makes his complaint about the sinful condition of Judah and is told a more evil people are to come (the Babylonians) to destroy the evil-doers in Judah, the Lord's answer gives rise to a second complaint by Habakkuk. Even thought there is wickedness in Judah that vexes Habakkuk, he is further confounded at the Lord's answer he is going to use a more wicked people than that of Judah to destroy them.
In response to Habakkuk's second complaint, the Lord tells him the Babylonians, too, will be judged by the Lord. "Though it linger, wait for it; it will certainly come and will not delay."
There is no question in my mind but that this is prophetic, not just for Habakkuk's day, but for our's as well. "it speaks of the end and will not prove false". We are to be patient, the day of reckoning will come. We find other passages of Scripture where the Lord tells those who are his to have patience and endure while the Lord carries out his agenda, prolonging the time before the wicked have their day with the Lord.
I am reminded of the fifth seal in the book of Revelation 6:9-11, "When he opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain because of the word of God and the testimony they had maintained. They called out in a loud voice, 'How long, Sovereign Lord, holy and true, until you judge the inhabitants of the earth and avenge our blood?' Then each of them was given a white robe, and they were told to wait a little longer, until the full number of their fellow servants, their brothers and sisters, were killed just as they had been."
In my younger years, I had a hard time imagining these kinds of things during my lifetime, martyrdom, believers killed for the sake of the gospel. Where Foxe's Book of Martyrs is filled with accounts of those who might fit right in with the complaint of those we read of in Revelation 6:9-11, I could not imagine in my lifetime those who might legitimately voice the same complaint. Not any more. With the horror many of us feel today, the words of Scripture jump to life right before our own eyes!
Habakkuk's prophecy was for the time leading up to the Babylonian captivity of the remnant of Judah... and also of the end of the age we live in that will culminate in the return of Jesus Christ for his own and the judgement of those who have rejected him.
Just fascinating!
Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!
If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just respond and let me know.
Trevor Fisk
trevor.fisk@gmail.com
Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!
If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just respond and let me know.
Trevor Fisk
trevor.fisk@gmail.com
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