Bible Book Club: Habakkuk

Showing posts with label Habakkuk. Show all posts

Sunday, July 29, 2012

Put Habakkuk Back on the Prophets Shelf

Yahoo! You are done with another prophetic book. Only two major and three minor prophets to go! WOOHOO!

Habakkuk Conclusion - The Righteous Will Live by Faith and Rejoice

WHAT DID YOU LEARN?

I did things a bit differently for this book because I wanted you to interact with the text and do a bit of your own inductive study before my background and reflection.

What really stood out to you? How did God speak to you through the text in the way of application?

Tea42 of the first Bible Book Club suggested watching a YouTube video of Don Francisco singing "Jesus is Lord of the Way I Feel"

BACKGROUND

Habakkuk prophesied from 621-609 B.C. and was a contemporary of Nahum and Jeremiah. He prophesied during the reigns of Josiah (640-609 B.C.) and Jehoiakim (609-598 B.C.). Despite the brief period of relief under the reforms of Josiah, Judah was about to be crushed by the rising power of Babylon (Chaldea). Shortly after Jehoiakim came to power, Habakkuk wrote his lament (dirge) over the ungodly conditions around him.

Amid this impending doom, Habakkuk asked difficult questions. He saw the decay around him, and his heart was broken. He asked the age-old question that we have all asked:

Why is there evil in the world?
Why do the wicked prosper?

He asked them boldly and confidently, and God answered.

Habakkuk 1

This chapter is mostly about Habakkuk's honest questions: "How long, O LORD, must I call for help, but you do not listen? Or cry out to you, 'Violence!' but you do not save?" (1:2) Why are you silent when the wicked swallow up those more righteous than they?" (1:13)

Habakkuk 2

This is God's answer: "I will use Babylon as my hand of judgment against Judah, but I will punish them for their sins in due time" (my paraphrase). God says that "the righteous will live by faith" (2:4, also echoed in Romans 1:17, Galatians 2:20, 3:11, 12; Hebrews 10:38). We can trust that, despite evil seeming to reign in this world, "The earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea" (2:14).

Habakkuk 3

Habakkuk's responded in a prayer for mercy and in praise to God:

LORD, I have heard of your fame;

I stand in awe of your deeds,

O LORD, Renew them in our day,

in our time make them known;

in wrath remember mercy. (3:2)

Though the fig tree should not blossom

And there be no fruit on the vines,

Though the yield of the olive should fail

And the fields produce no food,

Though the flock should be cut off from the fold

And there be no cattle in the stalls,

Yet I will exult in the Lord,

I will rejoice in the God of my salvation

The Lord GOD is my strength,

And He has made my feet like hinds' feet,

And makes me walk on my high places.

(Habakkuk 3:17-19)

AMEN!!!!!!

REFLECTION

As I was meditating this morning, I was lifting up prayers for a friend going through a difficult time with her family, another facing bankruptcy, and others whose marriages have fallen/are falling apart. It could be overwhelming, and I could lose sight of God in the midst of all of this, but through the years, I have gone back to the words of Habakkuk 3:17-19 over and over again, and it gives me perspective and hope!

Early on in my journey of faith, I started out quoting these verses through gritted teeth and clenched fists, wanting to believe them despite my circumstances. Over the years, my jaw has relaxed, and my fists have opened in praise to God. I have seen enough of the glory, majesty, and sovereignty of God so I can say them with a full heart and testify to the truth that He, alone, is my salvation and strength. Life can still be very difficult, but He has proven over and over and over again that He is who He says He is.

It may be hard to relate to the economic conditions in this agrarian culture. In that day, figs and grapes were symbols of a prosperous and contented life. Olives were used for hairdressing, fuel, medicine, and food. Consequently, they were important for economic health and vitality. The cattle produced milk, butter, and cheese. Sheep produced wool clothing. Modern-day indicators of economic vitality might be things like the stock market, unemployment rate, credit card debt, etc.

We had our own "fig, grape, and olive" crisis last year when my husband lost his job (2008) and took another one with a 40% pay cut. OUCH! In 2009, his bosses asked him to apply for a job within his existing agency that would have restored us to our previous pay scale only to be beat out because of Affirmative Action laws that discriminated against my white male husband and favored a far less qualified female candidate to satisfy "diversity" quotas. DOUBLE OUCH!

Sounds like a recipe for a pity party, but we took Habakkuk's perspective and continued to trust, exult, and rejoice in the Lord. Only a month after the news in 2009, I looked at George and said, "WOW, if you had gotten that job, we never would have been available to do what we are doing now!"

God has us involved with some Kingdom work that would have been greatly hindered with George commuting three hours to and from work almost every day! God worked even through silly Affirmative Action laws! He IS truly sovereign We CAN trust in Him!

Joy comes as a byproduct
of confidence in God,

not certainty in our circumstances.

The Daily Walk, Sept. 19, 2008

AMEN AGAIN!

APPLICATION

If everything you owned were suddenly taken away, would God be enough for you?

Rewrite Habakkuk 3:17-19 in terms of your modern-day situation. Then spend some time in praise and worship of the Lord.

PRAYER

Lord, we worship You for Your sovereignty over every aspect of our present circumstances. We rejoice in them and desire for them to be Your instrument in making us more conformed to Your image. Help us not to be afraid to have an honest dialogue with You, bringing our questions to You with confidence. Draw us close to You in understanding and teach us to rejoice in every circumstance. We ask this in the name of the One who, for the joy set before Him, went to the cross (Hebrews 12:2). Amen.

Saturday, July 28, 2012

Habakkuk - Tool Time Soaking

LINK: Habakkuk 1-3

BIBLE STUDY TOOL: INDUCTIVE STUDY

It has been a long time since we have had one of Bible Study Tool Time. So, we will soak in Habakkuk over the next two days. You can do a mini-inductive study of this book. Get some colored pencils out and have fun studying it for yourself! Here are some handouts to guide you through the process:

The Book Survey

The Basics of Inductive Study

I will see you tomorrow!

PRAYER

Lord, "Establish Your word to Your servant, as that which produces reverence for you"(Psalm 119:38). Amen.

Sunday, April 15, 2012

Introduction to the Prophetical Books

INTRODUCTION TO THE PROPHETICAL BOOKS

Download the Year Two BBC Overview and Timeline

The Bible is not written in chronological order but according to the type of book:

Books of Moses (Law or Pentateuch): Genesis - Deuteronomy
History: Joshua - Esther
Poetry and Wisdom Literature: Job - Song of Solomon
Major Prophets: Isaiah - Daniel
Minor Prophets: Hosea - Malachi

I find it easier to understand prophecy when it is read in the context of the historical period. So, that is why we are interspersing the prophets in the historical context of 2 Kings and 2 Chronicles.

I will not be doing a strictly chronological approach because I do not want to jump back and forth once we start a prophetic book. So, when we get to a book like Isaiah, that covers the reign of four kings of Judah spanning six decades, we will read through all of those kings in 2 Kings and 2 Chronicles before we study the entire book of Isaiah.

The prophetical books are broken up into two sections: 5 Major Prophets (Isaiah - Daniel) and 12 Minor Prophets (Hosea - Malachi). We will read them in chronological order. That way we will get breaks between the longer major prophets of Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel with the shorter Minor Prophets. Here is a brief rundown of the order of the historical dates for each prophet with the Major Prophets highlighted in bold. They are all B.C.:

841-824.....Obadiah (this date is hotly debated!)

825-809....Joel

784-772.....Jonah

767-755.....Amos

755-714.....Hosea

-----722 Assyrian Captivity of Northern Kingdom of Israel

739-681.....Isaiah

733-701.....Micah

650-620....Nahum

636-623....Zephaniah

627-574.....Jeremiah

574-538.....Lamentations

621-609.....Habakkuk

605-586 Babylonian Captivity of Southern Kingdom of Judah

605-536.....Daniel

593-559.....Ezekiel

------538 Cyrus of Persian issues edict allowing Jews to RETURN to land

520-505.....Haggai

520-489.....Zechariah

435-415.....Malachi

Theologically, the prophets concentrate on warnings of impending judgment, teachings about righteous living, encouragement to the faithful and oppressed, and predictions of God's future plans.

I am approaching the prophets with fear and trembling! :) I hope that you are game and that breaking up the longer books of the Major Prophets with the shorter books of the Minor Prophets will make it easier! I believe God has so much to teach us through the study of these books.

I LOVE what Eugene Peterson says about the prophets:

Over a period of several hundred years the Hebrew people gave birth to an extraordinary number of prophets – men and women distinguished by the power and skill with which they presented the reality of God. They delivered God’s commands and promises and living presence to communities and nations who had been living on god-fantasies and god-lies.

Everyone more or less believes in God. But most of us do our best to keep God on the margins of our lives or failing that, refashion God to suit our convenience. Prophets insist that God is the sovereign center [emphasis mine] not off in the wings awaiting our beck and call. And prophets insist that we deal with God as God reveals himself, not as we imagine him to be [Isn't that powerful? Ponder that for a moment].

These men and women woke people up to the sovereign presence of God in their lives. They yelled, they wept, they rebuked, they soothed, they challenged, they comforted. They used words with power and imagination whether blunt or subtle. . .

Prophets make it impossible to evade God or make detours around God. Prophets insist on receiving God in ever nook and cranny of life. For a prophet, God is more real than the next-door neighbor. (The Message Remix, p. 1194, 1197)

With fear and trembling, let us start the prophets in the next post!

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Tuesday, August 31, 2021

September in Jeremiah, Psalms, Lamentations, Habakkuk, 2 Kings, 2 Chronicles, and Ezekiel