Habakkuk 3: A Prayer (psalm): Acceptance of the Lord’s Power

[Preliminary Comments: This prayer reveals the understanding he has of the Lord’s history and thus now, the trust and confidence in Him he may now have, WHATEVER is going on around him.]

v.1,2 Habakkuk prays for his people in the light of history with God

v.1 A prayer of Habakkuk the prophet. On shigionoth. [possibly a musical instrument, suggesting it was written to be sung]

v.2 LORD, I have heard of your fame; I stand in awe of your deeds, LORD. Repeat them in our day, in our time make them known; in wrath remember mercy. 

[Note: Habakkuk knows his history, knows of God and what He has done with Israel in the past, and that has stirred a holy fear in him as he requests that the Lord will intervene for them in the present, in like manner.]

v.3-15 He recounts various events & aspect of the Lord’s activity on Israel’s behalf

v.3 God came from Teman, the Holy One from Mount Paran. [prior to the attempt to enter the Promised Land] His glory covered the heavens and his praise filled the earth. 

v.4 His splendor was like the sunrise; rays flashed from his hand, where his power was hidden. 

v.5 Plague went before him; pestilence followed his steps. 

v.6 He stood, and shook the earth; he looked, and made the nations tremble. The ancient mountains crumbled and the age-old hills collapsed— but he marches on forever. 

v.7 I saw the tents of Cushan in distress, the dwellings of Midian in anguish. 

v.8 Were you angry with the rivers, LORD? Was your wrath against the streams? Did you rage against the sea when you rode your horses and your chariots to victory? 

v.9 You uncovered your bow, you called for many arrows. You split the earth with rivers; 

v.10 the mountains saw you and writhed. Torrents of water swept by; the deep roared and lifted its waves on high. 

v.11 Sun and moon stood still in the heavens at the glint of your flying arrows, at the lightning of your flashing spear. 

v.12 In wrath you strode through the earth and in anger you threshed the nations. 

v.13 You came out to deliver your people, to save your anointed one. You crushed the leader of the land of wickedness, you stripped him from head to foot. 

v.14 With his own spear you pierced his head when his warriors stormed out to scatter us, gloating as though about to devour the wretched who were in hiding. 

v.15 You trampled the sea with your horses, churning the great waters. 

[Note: It is difficult to fit the various descriptions with Israel’s history. Perhaps it is best simply said, these are all signs of the Lord’s power and greatness that were manifest at various times in Israel’s history.]

v.16-19 Such things bring the fear of the Lord – but also total trust

v.16 I heard and my heart pounded, my lips quivered at the sound; decay crept into my bones, and my legs trembled. Yet I will wait patiently for the day of calamity to come on the nation invading us. 

v.17 Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls, 

v.18 yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will be joyful in God my Savior. 

v.19 The Sovereign LORD is my strength; he makes my feet like the feet of a deer, he enables me to tread on the heights.

[Note: These characteristics and acts of the Lord leave Habakkuk filled with holy awe, which means he will simply wait patiently for the Lord to do what He will in respect of His people. But at the same time Habakkuk recognizes that these works of power mean that whatever seems to be going on in life around him, he will utterly trust in the Lord and praise Him and rejoice that He does all things well [implied]. God will be everything he needs.]

[Additional Comments: This final chapter reveals how the prophet has moved on from questions and doubts to a place of absolute trust in the Sovereign Lord. As he has pondered on all he knows of Israel’s history and the workings of God in it, he realizes he has been treading on holy ground and bows his heart in submission and total trust in the Lord. A remarkable ending.]

For those who may wish to make a study of this chapter, to perhaps think some more about what you have been reading, use the link below: