HABAKKUK 1 AND 2 (SUBSTANCE OF A READING)

HABAKKUK 1 AND ^[p. 465] 2 (SUBSTANCE OF A READING)

Habakkuk 1: 1 - 17; Habakkuk 2: 1

Habakkuk is particularly a record of the exercises of faith in a time of great trial, and the result of these exercises in blessing and joy before any obtained deliverance — that is the book of Habakkuk in one word.

I think the book has a particular bearing on us today. No one can say it is not a time of peculiar trial.

The object God had in view in disappointing the prophet (verses 1 - 4) was that he might engage himself with what God was doing (see verse 5). It is God’s answer to his exercise. Though it looked outwardly as if God were doing nothing, He was doing something and He wanted faith to be occupied with what He was doing and to marvel at it. God is never quiescent. At present (1943) He has brought a great scourge upon Europe, but it is really for the correction of His people, it is for their good (verses 6 - 11). Instead of the prophet being overwhelmed and quaking he is just turned to God. He says, “Art thou not from everlasting, Jehovah my God, my Holy One?” It leads Him to take personal possession of God. And that is really what God would bring us to at the present time.

In quiet times we are apt to forget Him.

Those who fear Him and honour Him will never be objects of His anger; He will always be for them. Looking at the Chaldeans, he might say, ‘We shall die’, but looking at God — the eternal God — faith says, “We shall not die”. To come to the reality of God is a great thing, and the trials and testings of the present time are all to bring us to that. Faith is assured that if any trial or pressure comes, it is for the good of God’s people; it is impossible that it should be anything else.

Yet the prophet’s apprehension of God’s holiness adds to his exercise and makes things more difficult. How can such a God let things pass? So faith has its puzzles and difficulties. This is an exercise of faith. But faith always comes to the conclusion that if there is a puzzle, God has something special to say to me in it — in connection with that very thing. These are exercises of faith, not of unbelief.

The proper reaction to this is, I am to watch, I am to listen, God has something to say to me in this. It is a fine thing to know there is always a tower you can get up into and hear something you never heard before. When God is correcting His people it intimates there is always something in us needful for correction. “What shall I answer?” That is, he is under reproof and what is the thing to answer? God expects His people to understand and answer intelligently. On the tower he leaves all below and turns to hear what God has to say to him. God has something of reproof to say to Habakkuk, and he says, I want to know how to answer it. At a time like this there is a general call to His faithful people to get up on the tower and consider, each one for himself and herself, What does this mean? And when we get light from God we know how to answer. The psalmist says, “Before I was afflicted, I went astray”; and again, “It is good for me that I have been afflicted, that I might learn thy statutes” (Psalm 119: 67, 71). I do not see what the good of trouble is to anyone if we do not learn something; we might as well not have it.

And we come to the secret of God’s mind. Habakkuk had the great secret that lies at the base of everything. Take a tablet and write the vision that he that runs may read it-that is, the great secret underlying all Scripture. For God has a perfect answer to every problem that rises in the world or in the hearts of His people, and He is going to bring it all to light at the coming of the Lord. It is remarkable that when the Spirit of God quotes verse 3 in Hebrews 10: 37, He changes “it” to “he”. It is “it” to the prophet, but it is “he” to the apostles, that is, He connects it all with a Person. None of us would think of saying, ‘If the Lord tarry’. The Lord ^[p. 467] would never wish that we should put off His coming. It is wholly wrong for a Christian. But it was right for the prophet to say “tarry”, for there were 70 weeks to come. A Christian knows He will not.