Commentary: Habakkuk1-3. In the days of Habakkuk, crime and violence were the order of the day. Judah was deep in atrocities, yet God was silent. This posed a concern to Prophet Habakkuk which made him to remain on his knees to seek God’s intervention.

Habakkuk 1:1 “The burden which Habakkuk the prophet did see.”

God responded in a vision to him. God’s response started with the description of the nature of the instrument of correction, Babylon, He was going to use, Habakkuk 1:5-11. This was another ponder to the prophet. The prophet threw some questions to God based on the way He wanted to use the weapon in correcting His people. In chapter2, God told the prophet to write the vision down for it was not an instant one but for the future; even if it slows, it was the duty of the Prophet to be patient in waiting for its manifestation. This is a great lesson to us. There is a slow vision, i.e. takes more time to come to pass. Such vision demands our patience if is favorable; all we need to do in such cases is to write it down and read it constantly so that our faith can be built up. If the vision is not a good one, it only shows that God is giving time for man to go through the process of repentance.

Joel 2:13 “And rend your heart, and not your garments, and turn unto the LORD your God: for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repenteth him of the evil.”

Vision is the greatest virtue of a good Christian. It sustains their heart in being faithful to God in the midst of troubles. This is the meaning of the prophet’s statement;

Habakkuk 2:4 “Behold, his soul which is lifted up is not upright in him: but the just shall live by his faith.”

The Apostle used this phrase severally to encourage Christians going through difficult times; Romans1:17, Gal3:11 and Heb10:38. To be a Christian isn’t an exemption from trials and hard times. But the righteousness and faithfulness of God is revealed in it if we remain faithful to Him. The situation could be so bad as for us to draw back; we should not.

Hebrews 10:38 “Now the just shall live by faith: but if any man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him.”

The Christian, hereby referred to as the just, should be steadfast in trusting God in tribulations. The things that has happened or is happening in the spirit realm should be what matters to a child of God because that is where the reality holds. Habakkuk never relented in pressing God for answer to the problem that was on ground; the righteous being oppressed by the wicked and goes free, the law was so weak to the point of open perversion of justice. The crooked was increasing in wealth, innocent blood was shed to gain properties and rape became the usual phenomenon. God’s ways aren’t our ways. We should embrace His will and plan in getting problems solved even if the manner is alien, i.e. unfamiliar, to us. Habakkuk was concerned about the unruly behavior of his countrymen and how the innocent was being put to death and molested. When He contacted God on this issue, the manner God wanted to correct the menace was shocking to him; God was to use a more horrible people to correct that. Habakkuk regarded God’s way as wisdom. He embraced God’s option and concluded by praising Him in chapter 3. The evidence of a believer being faithful is to take delight in God’s will and embrace His response to all situations. The just shall live by faith. The glorious life of a believer is more evident in difficult circumstances. Habakkuk showed us how to praise God in such situations. After seeing the vision, he praised God acknowledging His mightiness. His description of God’s mightiness could have been what He saw in the vision and fear came upon him. Believers need to strive in prayer to see more of God, then worldliness becomes vanity to them. Apostle Paul saw the vision and revelation of the Lord; he submitted his brain power, i.e. acquired knowledge to the feet of Jesus for use. May the Lord unlock our understanding in the name of Jesus.

Let us seek for the old path where we could find rest. Let us listen to the trumpet’s sound, wherewith we could escape the calamity to come. Our reading for today is the book of Zephaniah Keep the fire of burning and alive.

Pastor Supo Abayode

+1-302-230-6792

MFM Delaware, USA