The Burden of Habakkuk
By
Gary Primo
Aug. 3, 2019
Habakkuk 1:1 - The burden which Habakkuk the prophet did see.
2 - O LORD, how long shall I cry, and you wilt not hear! Even cry out unto you of violence and you will not save!
3 - Why do you show me iniquity, and cause me to behold grievance? For spoiling and violence are before me: and there are that raise up strife and contention.
4 - Therefore the law is slacked, and judgment does never go forth: for the wicked do compass about the righteous; therefore wrong judgment proceeds.
5 - Behold you among the heathen, and regard, and wonder marvellously: for I will work a work in your days, which you will not believe, though it be told you.
Well things certainly have not changed much since Habakkuk’s day. Does his burden sound remarkably familiar? Are there not times when we feel that our prayers are going unheeded, our work going unrewarded?
Let’s get some background on this individual.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Habakkuk
Habakkuk,[a] who was active around 612 BC, was a prophet whose oracles and prayer are recorded in the Book of Habakkuk, the eighth of the collected twelve minor prophets in the Hebrew Bible.[1] He is revered by Jews, Christians, and Muslims.
Almost all the information we have about Habakkuk is drawn from the book of the Bible bearing his name,[2] with no biographical details provided other than his title, "the prophet".[3] Outside the Bible, he is mentioned over the centuries in the forms of Christian and Rabbinic traditions, but these are dismissed by modern mainstream scholars as speculative and apocryphal.
Almost nothing is known about Habakkuk, aside from what few facts are stated within the book of the Bible bearing his name, or those inferences that may be drawn from that book.[2] His name appears in the Bible only in Habakkuk 1:1 and 3:1, with no biographical details provided other than his title "the prophet."[3] Even the origin of his name is uncertain.[1]
For almost every other prophet, more information is given, such as the name of the prophet's hometown, his occupation, or information concerning his parentage or tribe.[6] For Habakkuk, however, there is no reliable account of any of these.[7] Although his home is not identified, scholars conclude that Habakkuk lived in Jerusalem at the time he wrote his prophecy.[8] Further analysis has provided an approximate date for his prophecy and possibilities concerning his activities and background.
Beyond the Bible, considerable conjecture has been put forward over the centuries in the form of Christian and Rabbinic tradition, but such accounts are dismissed by modern scholars as speculative and apocryphal
Although Habakkuk’s name is preserved for us in Scriptures, almost nothing else is known about the man. All we know is approximately when he wrote his prophesy – 612 BC. That was after the captivity of Northern Israel and before the Babylonian captivity of Judah.
So, what is so burdensome about doing Yahuwah’s work? It is that we are basically working blind. Yahuwah does not reveal things to us until he is good and ready. And sometimes the things He asks of us, horrify us. What exactly is it that horrifies us? It is having to operate outside of whatever the societal norm is. We are afraid to be different. We do not want to stand out in the crowd. We do not want to abandon our family and friends. We do not want to lose our jobs. We do not want to be estranged from just about everything. We want someone else to be “the weird one”.
Well folks, being weird for Yahuwah is indeed an honour that we should all take pride in. Why would we care what the world thinks of us anyway? We are the ones who have found Yahuwah’s good grace – they have not. Therefore, it is the worldly that are the weird ones, not us. We are the blessed ones.
So, what was it that Yahuwah was revealing to Habakkuk? It was of the coming Chaldean invasion of Judah.
Hab. 1:6 - For, lo, I raise up the Chaldeans, that bitter and hasty nation, which shall march through the breadth of the land, to possess the dwelling places that are not theirs.
7 - They are terrible and dreadful: their judgment and their dignity shall proceed of themselves.
But, why was Yahuwah going to use the Chaldeans in such a manor?
12 - Are you not from everlasting, O LORD my Elohim, mine Holy One? We shall not die. O LORD, you have ordained them for judgment; and, O mighty Elohim, you have established them for correction.
Yes the Children of Judah had gone astray – again. They were in need of correction. Sometimes, we find ourselves in need of correction also; and, even though we may hate being corrected, we really do need it before we can carry in our efforts to become one with the Creator. Therefore, we should welcome all correction from Yahuwah. It is how we are perfected.
This correction was not about Habakkuk, but the entire nation of Judah. Can you imagine standing before an entire nation of your peers and telling them they had to change their evil ways. Here in Canada we would likely be labeled a terrorist.
13 - You are of purer eyes than to behold evil, and cannot look on iniquity: wherefore look you upon them that deal treacherously, and hold your tongue when the wicked devours the man that is more righteous than he?
Now I am sure we have all wondered about this question. For example; why would Yahuwah allow the life of an innocent child’s to be terminated and allow the wicked to survive and flourish? The only answer I can think of is; they are getting their reward today; whereas, there will be no future reward for them – e.g. eternal life.
Eternal life is the only reward we should be focused on. Yet, we continue to seek physical rewards. In seeking such physical rewards we are no better than the rest of the world. We are all unique individuals with our own personal issues. We are all in need of correction in some field or another.
Another popular human reaction is to blame Elohim when things go wrong in our lives – even those who have no belief in Elohim at all. I find that very strange. It is like blaming the teacher for our failing grades. Yahuwah is never to blame for our troubles, we are. Whenever we point the finger at anyone else, there are always three fingers pointing right back at us.
Hab. 2:4 - Behold, his soul which is lifted up is not upright in him: but the just shall live by his faith.
Becoming one with Yahuwah involves learning His righteousness. Apart from Yahuwah we have only self-righteousness. We determine our own laws that satisfy our self image. In acquiring the righteousness of Yahuwah, we must deny any self image and humble ourselves before Him as the lowly creatures we are – empty vessels waiting to be filled. We have nothing in ourselves to be self-righteous about.
Being self-righteous is about having an over abundance of unmerited faith in oneself. You recognize no other greater and; therefore worship yourself. Again, the only reward for such has been seen during their lifetimes and none await them in the future.
The just, on the other hand, live by their faith in Yahuwah and in a future reward. We worship the One we have all faith in, which is Yahuwah. We seek after His righteousness for ourselves.
Hab. 2:5 - Yea also, because he transgresses by wine, he is a proud man, neither keeps at home, who enlarges his desire as hell, and is as death, and cannot be satisfied, but gathers unto him all nations, and heaps unto him all people:
If we seek and cannot get enough of the praise of other men, our focus will not be on attaining the righteous character of Yahuwah for we will believe we are already perfect. This is the same mistake Adam and Eve made in believing they were already elohim. The praise of worldly individuals is easy to attain by physical means. Receiving the praise of Yahuwah is not so easy. And, since it is praise we seek, we naturally gravitate to whatever it is that will gain that praise more easily. Like water seeking the most convenient path, so do those seeking praise to look where they are more sure to find it.
Hab. 2:9 - Woe to him that covets an evil covetousness to his house, that he may set his nest on high, that he may be delivered from the power of evil!
10 - You have consulted shame to thy house by cutting off many people, and have sinned against your soul.
How many ancient castles were constructed in high mountainous areas which were difficult to access? They likely thought their fortresses were impenetrable. Yet, as far as what I have read in history, all were eventually penetrated. All the carnal dreams and ambitions of men are like leaves on a tree. Eventually they die all off and rot in the ground. The only dream that will endure for all eternity is that of becoming one with Yahuwah.
Hab. 2:12 - Woe to him that builds a town with blood, and establishes a city by iniquity!
13 - Behold, is it not of Yahuwah of hosts that the people shall labour in the very fire, and the people shall weary themselves for very vanity?
14 - For the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of Yahuwah, as the waters cover the sea.
The day is coming, folks, when the earth will indeed be filled with the glory of Yahuwah, but it is yet to come. The average man wearies waiting on Yahuwah to bring about his promises. The average man wants his reward immediately and if he cannot attain in by the only means possible, he will seek a counterfeit glory that will gain him nothing in the afterlife. And, for this counterfeit, he will expend more energy that in his pursuit of true righteousness.
Hab. 2:15 - Woe unto him that gives his neighbour drink, that putts your bottle to him, and makes him drunken also, that you may look on their nakedness!
16 - You are filled with shame for glory: drink you also, and let your foreskin be uncovered: the cup of Yahuwah’s right hand shall be turned unto you, and shameful spewing shall be on your glory.
17 - For the violence of Lebanon shall cover you, and the spoil of beasts, which made them afraid, because of men’s blood, and for the violence of the land, of the city, and of all that dwell therein.
18 - What profits the graven image that the maker thereof has graven it; the molten image, and a teacher of lies, that the maker of his work trusts therein, to make dumb idols?
There is an old saying, “God did not make man, man made god.” To those who coined the phrase, it means that man made god up. And for the most part, man did make up the gods he worships. But that is all that is true about the phrase. Yahuwah did make man and the proof is that we exist at all. The laws of the physical manifestation are such that make the theory of evolution a most ridiculous claim. If not for the righteous spirit of Yahuwah and the power that He wields because of it, there would be no physical creation. It is physically impossible for the physical creation to have created itself. But the foolishness of man is so great that even the greatest scientific minds cannot comprehend that fact.
The existence of a supreme creator being is an assault to the five main senses of mankind. They cannot see, feel, hear, taste or smell Yahuwah. Therefore, they seek something that does satisfy the five senses - an idol. Then the idol just sits there doing nothing but amplify our foolishness in bowing down to and worshipping it. Yet, how many lives have been sacrificed for such idols? Such live and die for nothing – a complete waste of skin.
Hab. 2:19 - Woe unto him that says to the wood, Awake; to the dumb stone, Arise, it shall teach! Behold, it is laid over with gold and silver, and there is no breath at all in the midst of it.
20 - But Yahuwah is in his holy temple: let all the earth keep silence before him.
Idols come in many different forms. Anything that comes before Yahuwah in our lives becomes an idol and a stumbling block to our salvation. Where there is no life, there is no salvation. Yahuwah is to be our prime focus at all times. We must not seek the good within us apart from Yahuwah’s spirit, because there is none. Therefore it is the goodness of Yahuwah which we must seek. We are to silence our foolish theories that attempt to sideline Yahuwah’s glory for our own. We have no glory apart from Yahuwah; and we will not see our true glory until we have been raised to glory by the Father.
Conclusion
For this study I have focused only on the 4 woes presented by Habakkuk. Sometime in the future, I will do a study on the entire book (3 chapters). These woes highlight the general attitude of man toward Yahuwah. Man may think he is already righteous (at least in his own mind) but it is as fleeting as the clouds, here one minute, gone the next. Only the righteousness of Yahuwah endures forever. Ours is but a foolish pipe dream.
People may laugh and ridicule us for our beliefs, but it will be us who have the last laugh. We will be in the Kingdom and sitting in judgment over the foolish of the earth. Those who knew and recognize us from the past are going to marvel that we really did know what we were talking about. And, at that time they are going to wish that they had listened. Hopefully they will repent at that time and Yahuwah will forgive them.
Yahuwah Bless
G.P.