An Introduction to Habakkuk

Habakkuk

An Introduction

 

Why Do You Tolerate Wrong? (1:1-11)

Of a number of the “minor” prophets, including Nahum and Obadiah, we know little more than their names. It is possible that we know even less about the prophet Habakkuk, as this was probably not his true name. It may have been a nickname, taken either for the word for embrace (chabaq) or the name of a plant (habbaququ). Whatever his name was, his prophecy concerned the fall of Jerusalem to the Babylonians, and so he was roughly contemporary with Zephaniah and Jeremiah, though certainly at the beginning of the latter’s lengthy ministry.

The book of Habakkuk is arranged as a series of dialogues between the prophet and the Lord. In this beginning lament, the prophet asks a question familiar throughout history: How long, O Lord (1:2-4)? If we listen carefully, when we hear the Psalmist cry “Will you forget me forever?” (Psalm 13:1) or “Will you be angry forever?” (Psalm 79:5-6) or our prophet ask “Why do you make me look at injustice?” we can recognize that this is always a self-centered cry. With even the saints in heaven, we must be prepared to wait a little longer (Revelation 6:9-11).

The prophet continues with another question that has been on our lips for ages – the question asked by everyone who has ever wondered how evil can exist in the world of a good God: “Why do you tolerate wrong?” This question is most famously asked by Job (Job 21:14-17) and is central to the question of the role of God in the present world. While many, like the prophet, believe that justice has been perverted, others have believed that God is no longer active in this world (Jeremiah 5:12).

What kind of answer was the prophet expecting? The word from the Lord is that he is active in this world in ways we cannot understand and would not believe. The prophet must have reeled to hear that the Lord’s answer to the injustice around him in Jerusalem was to have the city overrun by a foreign army who would displace the people of God from their homes and from the temple of the Lord (1:5-6). If we dare have faith, God is active in our world in ways to wonderful for us to understand (Isaiah 55:8-11; Psalm 139:1-6).

The Righteous Will Live By Faith (1:12-2:20)

In the second dialogue, the prophet expresses his dismay at the method the Lord has appointed for his justice (1:12) and asks if the invader will be given reign to operate outside the Lord’s mercy (1:17). The Lord replies that the revelation of his purpose may be delayed, but the righteous must live by faith. This instruction is ancient (Genesis 15:6) with a more modern revelation (John 3:16). But instead we trust in our own devices (2:18-19) calling ourselves children of wood and stone (Jeremiah 2:26-28). These devices will always fail us; the Lord alone remains (2:20).

Yet I Will Rejoice in the Lord (3:1-19)

Finally, the prophet can only stand in awe (3:1-2). The wrath of the Lord is terrible beyond words (3:6). It is not an easy thing to trust in a Lord whose ways are beyond understanding. Though it shakes him to his core, the prophet will wait patiently for the Lord (3:16-18). The just shall live by this faith, that the Lord is at work in this world (John 5:16-20).

Nahum: An Introduction

Nahum

An Introduction

 

Nahum (1:1)

The name “Nahum” means “comforter” and it was not an uncommon name in the Bible. The “Nehum” mentioned among those returning to Jerusalem with Zerubbabel is perhaps a different spelling of the same name (Nehemiah 7:7). In the New Testament, the name appears in the genealogy of Christ (Luke 3:25) and the name of the New Testament city Capernaum means “City of Nahum” or “City of Comfort”. Our Nahum was an Elkoshite, which means “son of Elkosh”, but probably means “from Elkosh”. Though several theories have been presented, the location of this city is unknown.

As with many of the other “minor” prophets, we know little about Nahum beyond his prophetic words recorded in this small book.

A Jealous and Avenging God (1:2-7)

The opening section of Nahum are an acrostic, though of course this is not evident in our English translations. This section, which extends through verse 11, is considerably different in style than the remainder of the book, which has a more advanced poetic form, though this largely has been lost in translation, as well. In explanation for this change in style, scholars suggest that this first section is an adaptation of an preexisting hymn which Nahum reapplied in his situation.

Most generally, the book of Nahum asserts the active role of God among all peoples in all times. This section, and indeed the book, may be summarized as declaring that God is patient, not inactive. His patience is to our benefit, but it has its limits. For Nineveh, that limit has been reached.

Having summarized the message of the book, we can begin to consider the manner in which this message is conveyed. Nahum begins by declaring that God is a jealous and avenging God. These two related attributes are never pleasant in humans, and we should consider how they apply to God.

In the Ten Commandments, jealousy is revealed as a basic characteristic of God (Exodus 20:4-5; Deuteronomy 5:8-9). It is this very characteristic which typifies the angry, judgmental, “Old Testament God” which we find so difficult to reconcile with the New Testament revelation. He is, for example, the God who praised Phinehas as “jealous with my jealousy” (Numbers 25:3-11) and whose jealous anger burns as the very fires of hell (Deuteronomy 32:21-22).

When his patience is exhausted, God acts out of his jealous anger to bring forth vengeance: punishment that is justly deserved. He reserves this expression of jealousy exclusively to himself (Romans 12:19). Our patience is not God’s patience, and with the Psalmist we would often call for the God of vengeance to shine forth (Psalms 94:1). But even the saints in heaven are told to wait a little longer (Revelation 6:9-11).

How can we reconcile the idea of the jealous vengeful God with the good, caring God that is our refuge? Essentially, how do we reconcile the Old Testament God of anger with the New Testament revelation? After all, there is no God but God (Isaiah 45:5-7).

First, we must remember that when we speak of anger, jealousy, and vengeance, or even patience, goodness, and love, we are using human ideas and attributes to describe God, and when we describe God in human terms, we always fall short. These words may guide us, but we can only come to understand and trust the anger of God in the same way we have come to know and trust the love of God – and that is by faith (Psalm 34:4-8).

An End of Nineveh (1:8-14)

Nineveh was in ancient Assyria. We first read of it very early on in Biblical history, as it was founded by a great-grandson of Noah (Genesis 10:8-12). The KJV gives the name Asshur as the founder, but this would be out of place in the genealogy. Modern translations take this word to be “Assyria” and the name of the founder to be Nimrod. Nineveh attained great stature and importance during the reign of Sennacherib, who is mentioned in the Bible together with Nineveh (2 Kings 19:35-36).

Of course, we are most familiar with Nineveh through the book of the prophet Jonah, who preceded both Sennacherib and Nahum (2 Kings 14:23-25). Nineveh had already become a wicked city, and God sent Jonah to preach against it (Jonah 1:1-2). But at that time the people of Nineveh repented, and the Lord had compassion on them – even if Jonah did not (Jonah 4:10-11). The repentance of Nineveh was used by one greater than Jonah as a conviction of the people of his day, and of any day in which the people of God refuse to change their ways (Matthew 12:41).

I Am Against You (3:1-5, 19)

By the time of Nahum, Nineveh had sealed her own fate. She had not only become completely wicked herself, but had ensnared the nations with her worldly religion. The result was horrible. When the Lord removes his favor, the result is more horrible than we can imagine (Ezekiel 5:8-11).

Nahum’s prophecy to Nineveh reminds us that we serve a great and awful God. God is active, and we should be sure that, should God be against us, there would be no recourse and no remedy. But we should also be sure that no one can separate us from the love of God (Romans 8:31).

“I am the LORD; there is no other god. I will give you the strength you need, although you do not know me. I do this so that everyone from one end of the world to the other may know that I am the LORD and that there is no other god. I create both light and darkness; I bring both blessing and disaster. I, the LORD, do all these things. (Isaiah 45:5-7 GNB)

Joel - An Introduction

Joel

An Introduction

 

Hear This (1:1-12)

The name “Joel” is generally understood to be a contraction meaning “Jehovah is God” (yō’ēl : Yahweh + El). Besides the name of his father, that is the only personal information the prophet gives us (1:1). And while many of the prophets provide us with reference points by which we may date their ministry (Amos 1:1; Micah 1:1) like Obadiah, Joel does not (Obadiah 1:1). However, we may infer from his message that he lived and ministered in post-exilic Jerusalem (1:9, 13; etc.).

As is the way of prophecy, Joel spoke to those in his immediate audience with the word of God concerning immediate events, but he saw at work in those events the timeless plan of God. But what those events might have been is not entirely clear, as Joel speaks variously of an unprecedented plague of locusts (1:2-4) an invading army (1:6 – probably a figurative description of the locusts) and a severe drought (1:10-12).

Declare a Holy Fast (1:13-20)

When we gather together, we often think of the words of David:

I was glad when they said unto me,

Let us go into the house of the LORD

(Psalms 122:1 KJV)

But if we found ourselves in the assembly that Joel called for, we would find it completely alien (1:13-14). Not only did Joel call for a fast – a discipline which is almost completely gone from our modern evangelical religion – but he called the people to put on sackcloth. The dress code in the contemporary worship has loosened dramatically, but we would be taken aback by such attire. Finally, Joel calls the people to wail and mourn in the presence of God. Surely the object of our Sunday worship is to feel better about ourselves, not to abase ourselves!

But Joel tells us that this manner of worship is completely natural; even the wild animals know enough to pant after their salvation (1:18-20). Like the wild animals, we may experience loss and turmoil that is beyond our understanding. Paul tells us that what words cannot express, the Spirit will express for us, and our prayers will be heard, even if they are nothing more than the panting and moaning (Romans 8:24-28).

Who Can Endure It? (2:1-11)

Having called the people into a sacred assembly, we might expect the prophet of the Lord to offer words of encouragement. Instead, Joel introduces a terrible thought: the Day of the Lord is coming! (2:1-3). If our hearts were pure and our bodies strong, this might be a comforting thought, but as we are the way we are, who among us can endure that day? (2:11; Ezekiel 22:14; Malachi 3:2).

So, Joel says, we must always wonder: is this the day? How can we know? Joel gives us one of the signs: the sun, moon, and stars will be dark (2:10). This is an allusion to the words of Isaiah which were quoted by our Lord in reference to “that day” (Isaiah 13:9-11; Matthew 24:29-33).

But the Ecclesiast also speaks of the darkening of the heavenly bodies in reference to a day that is always near (Ecclesiastes 12:1-2, 6-7). As we come before God, we come with fear and hope before the one who holds our very lives in his hands.

Rend Your Heart (2:12-17)

The sackcloth and ashes that Joel called for were to be an outward sign of an inward condition, just as it was common to tear one’s clothing as an outward sign of inward despair. The Lord has always rejected these outward signs where they do not reflect an inward attitude (2:12-13; Deuteronomy 10:16; Jeremiah 4:4; Hosea 6:6).

The Psalmist speaks of those whose gods are made by the hands of men. These gods may seem powerful, but they are not, and those who trust in them will be as helpless as their gods (Psalm 115:2-8). The words of Joel remind us that our God is not like that. If we will come together and call on his name, he will hear our prayer (2:12-13). This is both a comfort and a challenge. Why should the people say “Where is our God?” If the people who know God do not call on his name, how will those who do not know him?

This is our faith – both what we know and our way of knowing it – when we turn to God he answers us. Nothing else, no one else, can stand the test of faith, because only God is God (2:27; Isaiah 45:20-22; John 14:1-6).

The Great and Dreadful Day of the Lord (2:28-3:31)

After this, after the Lord has delivered us from whatever crisis we face or imagine, the Day of the Lord is yet to come. Some of our familiar images of that day are from Joel. For example, we know from Joel that it will be a day when there will no longer be any separation, and the Spirit of the Lord will be poured out equally on men and women, young and old. This is a unity we are promised in Christ (2:28-29; Galatians 3:26-28).

Joel also gives us the image of the moon that has turned to blood, an image that is repeated in Revelation (2:31; Revelation 6:12-16). But when it comes to plows and pruning hooks, the image in Joel is the opposite of what we expect (3:9-10; Isaiah 2:1-4; Micah 4:1-5). Can we have it both ways?

Joel wants us to remember that the Day of the Lord is both great and dreadful. On that day, on every day, the Lord alone is our refuge (3:16; Nahum 1:6-7; Psalm 18:2,6).