CRITICAL NOTES.]
Habakkuk 1:11. Then] Elated by victory. Change] Lit. the wind passes by; the storm of violence like the wind sweeps over the land. Some refer it to the Chaldee nation, who change in mind, lose reason and moderation, and get proud. Power] is their god, or “(saying that) his power is his own, as one who is a god to himself” [Grotius]. Henderson gives—“Then it gaineth fresh spirit; it passeth onward and contracteth guilt, (saying,) Is this his power through his God.”
Habakkuk 1:12.] God now vindicated in opposition to the boast of the enemy. God eternal and holy. Die] The Chaldeans will not destroy, only correct us. Mighty] Lit. Rock (Deuteronomy 32:4). Thou] They are only thy instruments.
Habakkuk 1:13. Look] inactively upon violence. Deal] Chaldeans once allies of the Jews, now violent oppressors (Isaiah 21:2; Isaiah 24:16). Right] Bad as Jews were, they were much better than their enemies.
Habakkuk 1:14.] God made his people defenceless as the fish, left them in disorder, and without any to care for them.
Habakkuk 1:15.] The enemy easily catches them and exults in his success.
Habakkuk 1:16. Sacrifice] Idolize their military skill and power by which they gained success. Ancient Scythians offered yearly sacrifices to a sabre set up as a symbol of Mars [Keil].
Habakkuk 1:17. Therefore] shall he empty] Lit. spread his net continually to destroy nations? Empty it and throw it in again for a fresh draught? It is implied that God will not permit such conduct to go unpunished, but the answer is reserved for the sequel.
Habakkuk 1:5-11]. God’s answer to the complaint. Behold] prophet and people. God is about to act, and they will be terrified at its results (cf. Acts 13:41).
HOMILETICS
SUCCESS ABUSED.—Habakkuk 1:11; Habakkuk 1:16
Elated with success, the Chaldeans pass over all bounds and restraints. In pride and arrogance they attribute all glory to themselves or their gods, deify their own power, and incur the Divine displeasure. They were intoxicated with their success and abused it. Success is abused—
I. When it is over-valued. Men cry, “Nothing succeeds like success,” and aim at it, for its own sake. In anticipation and possession it is over-estimated. It creates pride, and sometimes overturns reason. “The human heart,” says Volney, “is often the victim of the sensations of the moment; success intoxicates it to presumption, and disappointment dejects and terrifies it.”
II. When it is thought to cover sins. If sinful acts are crowned with success, they are considered proofs of prowess, matters of boasting and exultation. The end is thought to justify the means. The Chaldeans rejoiced in conquests gained by the miseries of the Jews, grew haughty and insolent, and prepared themselves for ruin by worshipping their own power. Speed in the wrong direction is construed into providence; favour to sinful projects and success in evil courses are taken as signs of God’s approval. Thus, because God suffers mischief to prosper, men forget their guilt and rejoice in iniquity. But they prosper only to die, and like beasts fatten to fit them for slaughter. Fat may be their portion and plenteous their meat (Habakkuk 1:16), but “he slew the fattest of them” (Psalms 89:31).
III. When it is ascribed to wrong sources. Men render Divine honours to themselves and their idols rather than to God, who alone gives skill and success.
1. They attribute success to idols. “Imputing this his power unto his god.” The Chaldeans ascribed success to Bel and Nebo, and blasphemously argued that because they had conquered his people, Jehovah was inferior to their gods. Ancient Romans deified their standards and arms. Savage nations have made idols of their implements and arrows. There is no truth in that religion which dishonours the true God, and no stability in that prosperity which is attributed to idols. “He shall exalt himself, and magnify himself above every god, and shall speak marvellous things against the God of gods, and shall prosper till the indignation be accomplished” (Daniel 11:36).
2. They attribute success to their own power. “They sacrifice unto their net, and burn incense unto their drag.” When men deny God, they deify themselves, and adore their own skill. Ajax called his sword his god, and thanked it for all its brave achievements. Belshazzar said, “I will be like the Most High” (Isaiah 14:14); the Prince of Tyre said, “I am a god” (Ezekiel 28:22); and Antichrist “exalts himself above all that is called God” (2 Thessalonians 2:4). Nebuchadnezzar was proud of the might of his power, and the Assyrian declared, “By the strength of my hand I did it; and by my wisdom, for I am prudent” (Isaiah 10:13-15). Sad are those events in life which minister pride, and give occasion to men to deprive God of honour and exalt themselves. “He who boasts of a thing,” says Luther, “and is glad and joyous on account of it, but does not thank the true God, makes himself into an idol, gives himself the glory, and does not rejoice in God, but in his own strength and work.”
“To our own nets ne’er bow we down,
Lest on the eternal shore,
The angels, while our draughts they own
Reject us evermore” [Keble].
GOD’S CHARACTER A GROUND OF CONSOLATION IN DISTRESS.—Habakkuk 1:13
The prophet turns again to God in sublime contrast to the deifying of human power—vindicates the character of Jehovah as opposed to idols, and declares entire confidence in him as the true ground of consolation in distress—“Art thou not from everlasting?” &c.
I. God is Eternal. Go back as far as possible in thought, God was before thought. In the beginning God. “From everlasting to everlasting thou art God.” Hence,
1. God is unchangeable in his purpose. He is a rock firm and immovable. From the eternity of his nature the prophet infers the eternity of his purpose. “My God.” He has delivered in the past, and will deliver in the present and in the future (2 Corinthians 1:10). Whatever changes he never changes. His people lay hold of his covenant, claim a special interest and express a strong hope in it. “Therefore we shall not die.”
1. Temporally we shall not die. God will reserve a remnant of the Jews to return from captivity to the land of their fathers, to build his temple and enlarge his Church. 2. Spiritually we shall not die. He will keep his promise, and we shall not lose an interest in a better life.
3. Eternally we shall not die. God having loved once will love to the end—will never cast off his people. In eternal wisdom God hath given eternal redemption, and an eternal inheritance.
2. God is unchangeable in his providence. The prophet might be distressed at the description of the enemy—the condition of his people might perplex and seem to contradict the covenant, but present judgment was only temporary chastisement. Their enemies would not destroy, but only correct them. The rod was in the hands of God. Because God lived, they would live (John 14:19). Men might be wicked, cruel, and perverse, but he was always the same. Clouds may hide the light, but do not destroy the sun. “Why art thou cast down, O my soul?” &c.
“Now thou array’st thine awful face
In angry frowns, without a smile;
We, through the cloud, believe thy grace,
Secure of thy compassion still.”
II. God is holy. “Mine Holy One.” The prophet implores God as an individual and in the name of Israel. God in a special manner separated them from other nations, avowed and adopted them as his own. He therefore takes special interest in them, and will exercise special mercy towards them (Hosea 11:9). The chastisement of the enemy confirmed his holiness and purified his people. The victorious heathen were unholy, imputed power to idols, but he was the Holy One of Israel whom they reproached (Isaiah 37:23). God’s holiness then is—
1. A guarantee of punishment to sin.
2. Of deliverance to his people: and,
3. Of justice and right to all men. Among his people, or in the wicked, God will not leave sin unpunished. “Who is like unto thee, O Lord, among the gods? Who is like unto thee, glorious in holiness, fearful in praises, doing wonders?”
GOD DOES NOT APPROVE OF SIN.—Habakkuk 1:13
Men are tempted to think it is vain to serve God, when he permits the wicked to triumph over them. True views of God will check such thoughts. He cannot look upon sin with approbation. His eyes are too pure to behold evil and connive at it. We infer from this that God is holy, and will certainly punish sin.
I. The testimony of Scripture proves this. From beginning to end it sets forth the holiness of God. In rite and ceremony, in precept and doctrine, its constant voice is heard, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty.”
II. The testimony of Providence proves this. In the expulsion of angels from heaven and our first parents from Eden—in floods and fire—in the history of Israel, and in the punishment of the wicked. We see justice written in actions, and God’s abhorrence of sin in the judgments he has inflicted. Evil may array itself in wit and grandeur, or in villany and success, but it is always the abominable thing which the Lord hates. Its perpetrators are hated, and will be punished by him. “For thou art not a God that hath pleasure in wickedness: neither shall evil dwell with thee. The foolish shall not stand in thy sight; thou hatest all workers of iniquity.”
THE ENIGMAS OF LIFE.—Habakkuk 1:13-17
Troubled thoughts are not easily driven away. Circumstances arise in which perplexities increase—in which God’s conduct seems at variance with his Word, and in which God’s people find it difficult or impossible to solve the enigmas of life. The prophet seemed astonished, and expostulated with God at his proceedings against the Jews by the Chaldeans. “Wherefore lookest thou upon them that deal treacherously,” &c.
I. Why does God permit his people whom he loves to be persecuted? Why do the enemies who blaspheme thy name, deal cruelly and perfidiously with thy people?
1. They are devoured. “The wicked devoureth the man that is more righteous than he.” This has always been the lot of God’s people, from the days of Abel to the present time. “In the world ye shall have tribulation.” But this cruelty was great. They were hunted and devoured like prey.
2. They are destroyed. God permitted the weaker to be taken by the stronger. They were caught like fish in the sea, crushed like reptiles in the dust. They had no defender to protect nor avenge them. God was silent and held his tongue. This seems strange to those who trust in God. To punish the wicked may be the will of God, but to strike at the righteous is treason. Why then does God permit this? How can he love them? If God has fixed the times for executing his purposes why does he hide them from his people (Job 24:1)? “Wherefore do the wicked live, become old, yea, are mighty in power?”
II. Why does God, who is holy, permit sinners to prosper in wickedness? “Wherefore lookest thou,” &c.
1. Wickedness exulting over goodness. Rejoicing in its work of mischief and destruction. Men glory in their crimes.
2. Wickedness idolizing itself. “They sacrifice unto their own net.” Coarse forms of idolatry spring from a corrupt mind. When the idol is first set up in the heart, men will not be long before they worship their wealth and wisdom, their armies and navies.
3. Wickedness apparently perpetual. The enemy had gathered immense booty, and was rejoicing over it. They had caught the Jews like fish in a net. Will they devour what they have taken? Will they empty the net again, and unceasingly go on without check or punishment? asks the prophet. How perplexing were these things to his mind. They have been perplexing to the good in every age. The abnormal state of the world is a sore puzzle to most men. Ovid was tempted to say there were no gods. Brutus condemned virtue entirely when defeated, and Pompey declared that a mist had come over the eyes of Providence, when overcome by Cæsar. Thus men charge God foolishly. The Psalmist solved the problem in nearness to God (Psalms 73:17)—saw that this life was only a state of trial and probation. Things may stagger the godly now, for we are brutish in knowledge, impatient in spirit, and incapable of comprehending God’s plans. Wait patiently, all will be cleared up before the great tribunal. “How unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out!”
“Fixed to the hold, so might the sailor aim,
To judge the pilot, and the steerage blame,
As we direct to God what should belong,
Or say that Sovereign Wisdom governs wrong.”
HOMILETIC HINTS AND OUTLINES
Habakkuk 1:12. Notice,
1. The grievous affliction of God’s people. They were ready to die, oppressed, and almost annihilated.
2. The Divine appointment of this affliction. “Thou hast ordained them for judgment.” The enemy had no power over Israel but what God gave them. Hence the affliction was
(1) Appointed in measure.
(2) Appointed in duration.
(3) Appointed in instrumentality. All power is derived from God, and is under his control (Psalms 17:14). Men are in his hands, cannot destroy his people, nor frustrate his design.
3. The blessed design of this affliction. “Thou hast established them for correction.” Not for vengeance, not for their own ends and pleasure; but for correction. This correction is needed, and should be expected. “As threshing separates the corn from the chaff,” says Burton, “so does affliction purify virtue.” Michael Angelo saw in the rude block an angel form, and with a sculptor’s skill carved the image and revealed its beauty; so God “rough hews” his people, forms and fashions them by affliction into his likeness. “Blessed is he whom thou chastenest.”
4. The vigorous hope under this affliction. “We shall not die.” On the unchanging character and the eternal covenant of God, we ground our hope of deliverance, and our belief in the perpetuity of his Church. “Virtue,” says Dr. Moore, “can stand its ground as long as life; so that a soul well principled will be sooner separated than subdued.” “The Lord hath chastened me sore; but he hath not given me over unto death.” “I am the Lord, I change not; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed.” Let us thank God for discipline, and kiss the rod which smites us. It is not the stroke of a tyrant, but the chastening of a Father.
“Such sharpness shows the sweetest Friend,
Such cuttings rather heal than rend.”
The three titles of God in this verse are significant. “The God to whom the prophet prays is Jehovah, the absolutely constant One, who is always the same in word and work (see Genesis 2:4); he is also Elohai, my, i.e. Israel’s God, who from time immemorial has proved to the people whom he had chosen as his possession, that he is their God; and the Holy One of Israel, the absolutely Pure One, who cannot look upon evil, and therefore cannot endure that the wicked should devour the righteous” [Keil].
Habakkuk 1:14-15. The two figures (fish and reptiles) indicate the low and helpless condition of the Jews. The world is like a troubled sea, the weaker are caught and devoured by the stronger—the more venomous hurt and destroy the rest. Notice also the agencies of cruelty.
1. The angle;
2. The net; and
3. The drag. “Nebuchadnezzar and the Chaldeans are a faint image of Satan, who casts out his baits and his nets in the stormy sea of this life, taking some by individual craft, sweeping others in whole masses to do evil; and whoso hath no ruler, and will not have Christ to reign over them, he allures, hurries, drags away as his prey” [Pusey].
Habakkuk 1:15-16. Notice,
1. The instruments of wickedness.
2. The success of wickedness.
3. The insolence of wickedness. “Here is the growth of iniquity; for first they exercise all cruel inhumanity against the Jews, then they rejoice over them, and then doth the sin grow out of measure sinful, for they forbear not to provoke God himself by their pride of heart, robbing him of the glory of his own work, and ascribing it to themselves” [Marbury].
The career of a great conqueror has something intoxicating. Before Napoleon men degraded themselves and became idolaters. The sin of the world-power is two-fold; first, it deals with the property of God as if it were its own; secondly, it does not honour God for the success granted to it, but its own power [Lange].
1. The question—“Shall they?”
2. From whence the answer. (a) reason? (b) philosophy? (c) experience? (d) it must be left where the Psalmist leaves it (Psalms 74:22).
3. The right attitude in ch. 2.
Habakkuk 1:13-17. There is a limit set to the power of the wicked.
1. God is holy.
2. But the work of the wicked is unholy. For, (a) It is a work of hatred against the righteous. (b) It is an abuse of the powers bestowed by God. (c) It does nothing for God, but everything for itself (Habakkuk 1:15). (d) It does not give God honour, but makes itself an idol (Habakkuk 1:16).
3. Therefore it must have an end (Habakkuk 1:17) [Lange].
ILLUSTRATIONS TO CHAPTER 1
Habakkuk 1:12-17. Let us at all times cherish in our minds an unrelaxing certainty, that we shall always find the Almighty perfect in his justice to all, and in everything, and individually to each of us, as soon as we have sufficient knowledge of his operations with respect to us. Let us wait with patience until what we do not perceive or cannot comprehend shall be satisfactorily elucidated to us. We expect this equity in our intercourse with each other. Let us also so conduct ourselves, in all our thoughts and feelings with reference to Him, whatever may be his present or future dispensations personally to ourselves [Turner].
Shall they? Providence is often mysterious and a source of perplexity to us. Walking in Hyde Park one day, I saw a piece of paper on the grass. I picked it up; it was a part of a letter; the beginning was wanting, the end was not there: I could make nothing of it. Such is providence. You cannot see beginning or end, only a part. When you can see the whole, then the mystery will be unveiled. [Thomas Jones, 1871].