LESSON 15
V. Habakkuk's Psalm/Song/Prayer of Praise (chapter 3)We are in chapter 3, the concluding chapter of our fearless prophet's oracle and Part V of the General Outline of this small book.
We just saw in the first 2 verses of chapter 3 how Habakkuk's approach to God was different from his approach in the first chapter. We noticed his humility and his awe of his mighty and glorious, powerful God.
We saw how he no longer was obsessed with the sins of Judah and Babylon, but had begun to focus on God and His work in history. God's deeds were "His deeds," not man's. And then he asks God to remember mercy as He displays His wrath.
Now lets go further into chapter 3:
(3) God came from Teman,
the Hoy One from Paran.
Selah.
His glory covered the heavens
and His praise filled the earth.
(4) His splendor was like the sunrise;
rays flashed from His hand,
where His power was hidden.
(5) plague went before Him;
pestilence followed His steps.
(6) He stood and shook the earth;
He looked and made the nations tremble
The ancient mountains crumbled
And the age-old hills collapsed.
His ways are eternal.
(7) I saw the tents of Cushan in distress,
the dwellings of Midian in anguish.
In verse 1 Habakkuk referred to God's mighty deeds: he "stands in awe" of them.
Now he recounts many of those deeds -- not in a chronological or precise way a historian would (like in 1 and 2 Chronicles and 1 and 2 Kings) but in a poetic, symbolic way, using grand word pictures. There is great beauty in these images.
Throughout the verses (3-15) Habakkuk is recounting the history of the Jewish people, from their location in Egypt, through their release and freedom, their journey in the wilderness and then into the Promised Land.
Look at verse 3: God came from Teman, the Holy One from Mount Paran.
Teman and Mount Paran are ranges in southern Israel bordering on the Sinai. God came out of those mountains to meet with Moses and deliver His law.
In Exodus 19 we read about the thunder and lightning and thick cloud that covered Mount Sinai. And there was a very loud trumpet - not one constructed by man nor loud with the breath of man, but a sacred trumpet from God and His own mighty hosts. "The smoke billowed from it [the mountain] like smoke from a furnace, the whole mountain trembled violently, and the sound of the trumpet grew louder and louder..." (Exodus 19:18-19).
(Trumpets also pay an important part in the Last Days. See Revelation 8).
Habakkuk is looking back to that mighty deliverance.
Verse 4 goes further. His splendor was like the sunrise, rays flashed from His hand where His power was hidden."
Is he thinking here of the shining shekinah glory of the cloud that covered God's presence? That cloud that stood between the people of Israel and the Egyptian armies when they crossed the Red Sea, and later led them through their wilderness wanderings?
Verse 5 - the plagues of Egypt
Verse 6 - He "shook the earth and made nations tremble" when His people conquered the Promised Land. And likely Habakkuk was also thinking about the way God was again going to show His omnipotent power by "shaking the nations" when Babylon was taken over.
There is another astonishing element at the end of verse 6: His ways are eternal. Look at that - it is in contrast to the rest of verse 6 - the ancient mountains would crumble, but God is eternal -- doesn't it remind you of chapter 2, verse 4 where the phrase "the just shall live by faith" is inserted like a "by the way" in the middle of describing the way the ungodly live?
Here is that same writing style - this time reminding us of God's "otherness" - how His ways are different.
This is a great jewel we should treasure. Even as the age-old hills collapse, God is eternal.
Verse 7: the tents of Cushan and the dwellings of Midian...
in Judges 3 we read about the destruction of Cushan, one of the kings hostile to Israel who was overpowered by Othniel, one of the judges of the Hebrews.
An ever greater threat than Cushan, whoever, was the Midianites. There are many references to them in the Old Testament. Habakkuk likely was thinking of their battle with Gideon, another judge (Judges 6). So probably the period of the judges is the time-frame Habakkuk is referring to in this verse.
Habakkuk's oratory continues...
(8) Were You angry with the rivers, O LORD?
Was Your wrath against the streams?
Did You rage against the sea
When You rode with Your horses
And Your victorious chariots?
(9) You uncovered Your bow,
You called for many arrows.
Selah.
You split the earth with rivers.
(10) the mountains saw You and writhed.
torrents of water swept by;
the deep roared and lifted its waves on high.
Verse 8 refers to the parting of the Red Sea and the Jordan River. At the Red Sea Pharaoh's horses and chariots were lost. "The Egyptians you see today you will never see again," Moses assured his people. (Exodus 14).
But God's horses and chariots are invincible!
God is often pictured in the Old Testament as riding in His chariots. Psalm 68:17 paints a stirring image for us
The chariots of God are tens of thousands, and thousands of thousands; the Lord has come from Sinai into His sanctuary.
And Isaiah 66:15 -17
See, the LORD is coming with fire, and His chariots are like a whirlwind; He will bring down His anger with fury, and His rebuke with flames of fire.
Maybe the best of all is Psalm 104:3 --
He makes the clouds His chariot and rides on the
wings of the wind.
(Isn't that the most powerful thing you can imagine? Just picture it!)
Back to Habakkuk 3, Verse 9: He gets out His bow and arrows - prepares to do battle!
And then notice the last line of that verse: You split the earth with rivers -- is this another "by the way" like in verse 6? And in chapter 2, verse 4? ("The just shall live by faith")
The powerful LORD who parted the Red Sea and the Jordan River - the I AM who delivered His people from slavery - is also the Ancient One who created the earth originally and split its surfaces with rivers and creeks and oceans and seas - I can't think of another prophet who used this singular writing technique -- inserting contrasting phrases in middle of his text.
And he does it casually, just in an off-hand manner, like we would say confidentially to someone "Oh, by the way, don't forget God made those rivers to begin with!"
Also notice how verses 3-7 are descriptions of God and His deeds. Now in verses 8-10 Habakkuk turns his attention directly to God and addresses Him about what He is doing.
Habakkuk is certainly an accomplished poet. I know it must be more beautiful in Hebrew. But, well, you know, you just have to work with what you have, right?
About Selah. We don't know exactly what the word means. It occurs in some of the psalms and appears to be a musical notation. It might mean pause -- like stop and consider these words. Or it might refer to a change in tempo - or perhaps a direction for musical instruments to crescendo at that point in the composition.
Verse 10 might refer to Noah's flood, or might just be expressing Habakkuk's poetic expression of the eternal God displaying His power.
FUN PROJECTS FOR LESSON 15
1. Read Exodus 19. Notice how God displayed Himself to Moses. Notice what signs in nature displayed God's power and presence.
2. Read Psalm 74:12-17. List God's deeds that are recorded in these verses.
3. Also in Psalm 74. Read verse 11. In this poem God's power is where? What about Habakkuk 3:4?
4. Read Psalm 104. The words of this psalm inspired Sir Robert Grant to compose one of our great hymns: O Worship the King.
Grant was born in 1779. His father was a member of Parliament and chairman of the prestigious East India Company. Robert followed his father into both and later became the governor of Bombay and was given a knighthood.
Robert Grant, Sr., had encouraged sending missionaries to India. Robert, Jr., did even more. He supported missionary work financially and wrote hymns for them to sing.
The music for this fine hymn was written by Johann Michael Haydn, the brother of the famous Franz Joseph Haydn. (Johann wrote over 350 pieces of music for the church.)
Sir Robert Grant composed the words in 1833. He was familiar with the pomp and elegance of the English Parliament and was no stranger to their King's royal position and illustrous power, but nothing compared to the King of the Universe in Grant's eyes.
Let's recall the words of this great hymn: (Sing it with all your heart to our great God and consider Who He is!)
O worship the King, all glorious above
O gratefully sing His power and His love
Our shield and defender, the Ancient of Days,
Pavilioned in splendor and girded with praise.
O tell of His might, O sing of His grace
Whose robe is the light, whose canopy space
His chariots of wrath the deep thunderclouds form,
And dark is His path on the wings of the storm.
The earth, with its store of wonders untold,
Almighty, Thy power hath founded of old,
Hath established it fast by a changeless decree,
And round it hath cast, like a mantle, the sea.
Thy bountiful care, what tongue can recite
It breathes in the air, it shines in the light,
It streams from the hills, it descends to the plain
And sweetly distills in the dew and the rain.
Frail children of dust, and feeble as frail,
In Thee do we trust, nor find Thee to fail;
Thy mercies how tender, how firm to the end!
Our Maker, Defender, Redeemer, and Friend.
*Note: I didn't understand "And sweetly distills in the dew and the rain" and so I looked it up -- In those days distill meant to drop or tickle down. What a beautiful picture of God's care - it breathes in the air...shines in the night...streams from the hills...and softly trickles down on us .....(sort of like Shakespeare's "Mercy" idea)...what a great God we have...
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and those people back then sure knew how to praise and worship!
