From Trials to Triumphs

The Voice of Habakkuk to the Suffering African Christian

Ntamushobora

• Publisher: Wipf and Stock
• Year: 2010
• eBook ISBN: 9781498271660
• Topic: Theology & Religion
• Subtopic: Religion

The purpose of this book is to encourage people who are struggling with understanding how a loving God seemingly allows evil in the lives of his children-that He jealously protects-and for the maturing of his children-whom He sincerely loves. The book, which is a result of a personal journey in the author's life and ministry, is a remarkable blending of an exposition of the biblical book of Habakkuk and a firsthand account of the contemporary struggles faced by believers in Africa. The author identifies with Habakkuk's struggles and sees how they apply generally to his own fellow Africans. More than merely identifying with Habakkuk's plight, however, the author also sees how Habakkuk worked through his struggles to a mature view of God's sovereignty and the necessity for a vital faith that trusts the Lord no matter what. This book will encourage you with its positive message of God's ultimate goodness-even in the midst challenging circumstances-and it will motivate you to submit your life to him, so that you may triumph over those circumstances through the power of the Holy Spirit.

Part One

The Message of Habakkuk Explained

This part addresses the contents of the oracle that Habakkuk received and its meaning to the Jews and the nations at that time.

1

Habakkuk’s Complaints: 1:1—2:20

It is impossible to bend the arms of God.

—Maasai Proverb

Questioning God: For How Long and Why: 1:1–4

Chapter 1 of Habakkuk shows us how the prophet complained before God and expressed his disappointment in God for seemingly tolerating Judah’s sin and for God’s way of punishing the Israelites using the worst of people, the Babylonians. Habakkuk received the oracle from the Lord (Hab 1:1). The word oracle is sometimes translated as “burden” and is thought to have implied a message of doom in the Old Testament.1 In Habakkuk’s case, the message that God laid upon the heart of his prophet was to pronounce judgment on Judah for her sin. The word of God is therefore the oracle. Habakkuk’s message came during a difficult time, when he had no support from the leaders who themselves were involved in evildoing instead of guarding the law of God and society. Governors and judges were involved in corruption for their own sake.

In Habakkuk 1:1 it is said that the prophet “saw” the oracle. How did Habakkuk receive the oracle in a vision form? Heflin, quoted by Barker and Bailey, points out that the word oracle is used here with a broader meaning and so it refers to divine revelation. For Heflin, “Habakkuk ‘saw’ means that he received divine revelation.”2 Habakkuk not only received it, but he also lived it. He saw the accomplishment of the things he prophesied.

Habakkuk 1:2–3 has two common distress calls: “How long?” (1:2) and “Why?” (1:3). Behind “how long” is the unspoken cry, “I have my limits.” Behind “why” is the insistence, “I must have reasons.” Habakkuk believed that the limits of his tolerance would be extended if he were able to understand why God was acting—or not acting—in a particular way.3 Prior says that Habakkuk’s fundamental lament and complaint before God is expressed in one word, “violence,” which comes six times in the prophecy and which denotes “flagrant violence of the moral law by which man injures his fellow man” or “continued oppression.”4 Habakkuk would like God to look at him and listen to him.

Habakkuk’s question received a response from God. God said, “I am going to use the Babylonians to punish the Jews” (Hab 1:5–6). The Babylonians were known to be cruel, powerful, and very swift in war. They were a large and evil force. That is why Habakkuk could not fathom God’s intention to punish the Jews by using the evil Babylonians. It was evident that God allowed the Jews to suffer because of their sins. But innocent people were suffering at the hands of the unjust. That treatment perplexed Habakkuk.

During Habakkuk’s time people had rejected God’s law in a way that the law had lost its power and became ineffective (Hab 1:3-4). Also, violence was fanned by such lawlessness that justice never went forth. This is summarized by the words, “The wicked hem in the righteous” (Hab 1:4). This led Habakkuk to ask the questions, “Why then does God not do anything about all these situations? Isn’t God willing to do something about it, or is he unable?” Habakkuk suggests that he would be very glad to be rid of the whole situation that he was experiencing (Hab 1:3: Why do you make me look at injustice?). But God makes him look at it, compels him to take in its force and ugliness, and requires him to feel its impact in his soul.

God’s Reply: His Sovereignty: 1:5–11

Habakkuk had been forced to watch the violence that was gradually taking place in his city and his nation. But as violence escalated, he gradually became depressed and desperate about the situation. God listened to Habakkuk and addressed the prophet’s burning concern in specific detail.

In answer to the prophet’s honest prayer, God tells him to look again, and to look further. The prophet is to look at the nations and see what God will bring to his attention. In 1:5, God says, “I am going to do something in your days . . .” But Habakkuk could not see it at once, for it was not yet there.

The verse continues, “That you would not believe even if you are told.”

God was going to raise up the Babylonians to chastise the Jews (Hab 1:6).

The focus of Habakkuk’s prayer had been local. But far away in Babylon, events were taking place that definitely were to change the course of human history. The events were a part of God’s participation in human destiny, and eventually they would exercise their impact on the prophet’s nation.

So, God used the Babylonians to challenge the Jews. The second part of verse 6 says, “That ruthless and impetuous people . . .” Prior, quoting Robertson,5 explains, “The Babylonian army moved at an astonishing speed: they became the world’s rulers over Babylonia, Assyria, Syria, Palestine and Egypt, when twenty years previously they hardly were known to exist.”6

God responds to Habakkuk’s cry with a promise of more violence in store for his people at the hands of a greedy invader on the rampage at the instigation of God himself. That was something Habakkuk could not fathom: God using the Babylonians?

Furthermore, God continues to tell Habakkuk how terrible the instrument he has chosen in order to punish Jews is. Habakkuk 1:7 says: “They are a feared and dreaded people; they are a law to themselves . . .” Many nations at that time feared the Babylonians because they were a law unto themselves and made their own rules in a different way from that which people were accustomed to. God warned his people that if they did not fear him then they would be forced to fear those who are less worthy of fear (Deut 28:47–48; Jer 5:15–22).

And with the Jews, God’s answer to Habakkuk’s lament about lawlessness and injustice is greater lawlessness and more injustice at the hands of terrifyingly cruel people. The situation in Habakkuk’s mind became worse. God was going to send a crueler people to punish a less cruel people. That was, of course, human reasoning. Evil is evil; there is no greater and lesser sin. God punished the Jews for their sin, though he did not condone the cruelty of the Babylonians. He used them to accomplish his purpose, after which they also endured what they deserved as punishment or retribution.

The Jews did not understand why God allowed the Gentiles to overrun their nation even though God had warned them through their law and prophets (1 Kgs 11:14; Deut 28:49–50). Wisdom teaches, “A man who remains stiff-necked after many rebukes will suddenly be destroyed without remedy” (Prov 29:1). Paul admonishes the Galatian believers, “Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows” (Gal 6:7).

In Habakkuk 1:8, God compares the Babylonians with leopards, wolves, and eagles—three types of animals that were excellent hunters, both fast and fierce. Leopards, wolves, and eagles are animals renowned for their speed and aggression in pursuing their victims. Robertson explains the above metaphor:7

The instrument of divine judgment would shrink long distances to nothing of consequence by the speed of horses. Flight from the avenger would be futile, for with the agility of a leopard leaping upon its prey this Chaldean (Babylonian) nation would rush after Israel. Raw hunger for power and for spoils would drive the nation in stalking its prey. As a ravenous appetite drives the wolves of the evening, making their senses even keener as the night wears on, so this barbarous nation would search out every fugitive from its powers of consumption.

From Robertson’s comments, it seems that the Babylonians’ horses were faster even than leopards; their army was eager to attack their enemies. Commenting on the second part of verse 8, “flying as a vult...

Table of contents

• Title Page
• Acknowledgments
• Preface
• Foreword
• General Introduction
• Part One: The Message of Habakkuk Explained
• Chapter 1: Habakkuk’s Complaints: 1:1—2:20
• Chapter 2: Habakkuk’s Song of Praise: 3:1–19
• Part Two: The Message of Habakkuk Lived
• Chapter 3: Suffering in the Life of a Christian
• Chapter 4: Evil Allowed by God for His Purposes
• Chapter 5: God’s Retribution
• Chapter 6: Understanding God’s Ways: The Path to True Worship
• Part Three: Hope in Africa Despite Trials and Complaints
• Chapter 7: There Is Hope for Africa
• Bibliography