Habakkuk, Zephaniah

Habakkuk was a contemporary of Zephaniah and Jeremiah, so he came on the scene towards the end of the nation of Judah, just prior to the Babylonian invasion. Habakkuk saw the wickedness of his fellow citizens and asks God why he tolerates such evil. In this book we get the opportunity to ease drop on their conversation.

Hab 1:2-3 “How long, O Lord, must I call for help, but you do not listen? . . . Why do you tolerate wrong.”

Habakkuk asks the same questions we sometimes ask. "Are you still there God?" "Are you answering your mail?" "Why don’t you answer me?" "Why don’t you fix this mess?" Habakkuk felt the same frustration that we feel. We hurt and feel ignored by God. We pray for the sick and many still die. We pray for healed relationships and they remain broken. We pray for a job and remain unemployed. The Psalmist felt the same. In Psalms 44:23-24 he cries out, "Awake, O Lord! Why do you sleep? Rouse yourself? Do not reject us forever. Why do you hide your face and forget our misery and oppression." Job also was troubled by what he saw in his country. Job 24:12 reads, "The groans of the dying rise from the city, and the souls of the wounded cry out for help. But God charges no one with wrong doing."

Hab 1:5, “Look at the nations and watch- and be utterly amazed. For I am going to do something in your days that you would not believe.”

So God responds by saying, in effect, "Settle down, Habakkuk. I have a plan that will knock your socks off." So what is this plan? Hab 1:6, “I am raising up the Babylonians, that ruthless and impetuous people.” So God has a plan, in fact, he has had it all along. He is going to use the Babylonians as his instrument to discipline the Jews. 

Hab 1:13, “Your eyes are too pure to look on evil; you cannot tolerate wrong. Why then do you tolerate the treacherous? Why are you silent while the wicked swallow up those more righteous than themselves?”

Habakkuk is shocked. How can a holy God use those bums, the Babylonians, who are worse than the Jews, to punish the Jews.

Hab 2:3-4, “For the revelation awaits an appointed time; it speaks of the end and will not prove false. Though it linger, wait for it; it will certainly come and will not delay . . . See, he is puffed up; his desires are not upright-but the righteous will live by his faith."

Here God is saying, "I not only have a plan, but I also have a timetable. Meanwhile, “the just shall live by faith." This expression, “the just shall live by faith” is repeated in Rom 1:17, Gal 3:11and Heb 10:38. 

I am reminded of something that one of my instructors at Emmaus Bible College asked. He asked us: "Is it all right if God knows something that you don’t?"

We still live with unanswered questions. As I study Bible commentaries, scholars will sometimes comment, "This is a difficult passage in a difficult book." Or, "scholars are not in agreement as to the exact meaning of this passage." No one has all of the answers. 

Didn’t Job want to know "WHY?" with regards to his suffering? He asked God for an answer. God responded by saying, in effect, "I’m God and you are NOT. I don’t have to answer to you." Job never did get an answer. Yet in spite of not knowing "why", he ends his book praising God.

Hab 3:16-18, “I heard and my heart pounded, my lips quivered at the sound; decay crept into my bones, and my legs trembled. Yet I will WAIT patiently for the day of calamity to come on the nation invading us . . . yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will be joyful in God my Savior.”

God is still on his throne. He has a plan and a timetable. He doesn’t have to share it all with us. So, we live by faith.

ZEPHANIAH

According to Jewish tradition, Zephaniah was a descendant of Hezekiah, one of the good kings of Judah. He was a contemporary of Jeremiah, Nahum and perhaps Habakkuk. So this places him towards the end of the kingdom of Judah, just before the Babylonians invaded Jerusalem. It shouldn’t surprise us that his message is similar to Jeremiah’s warning against Judah and neighboring nations with some words of hope for their return.

Zeph 1:4, 6, “I will stretch out my hand against Judah and against all who live in Jerusalem. I will cut off from this place every remnant of Baal . . . those who turn back from following the Lord and neither seek the Lord nor inquire of him.”

Zeph 2:3 “Seek the Lord, all you humble of the land, you who do what he commands. Seek righteousness, seek humility; perhaps you will be sheltered on the day of the Lord’s anger.”

This is encouraging to hear that not everyone was unfaithful.

The rest of chapter two deals with other nations.

Zeph 3:3, “Her officials (those in Jerusalem) are roaring lions, her rulers are evening wolves. Her prophets are arrogant; they are treacherous men. Her priests profane the sanctuary and do violence to the law.”

To call someone "evening wolves" means that they feed on their own people, much like wolves who feed at night.

The rest of this chapter speaks of their ultimate return from captivity in Babylon. Oftentimes he even takes a look into the distant future, the Millennium.

Zeph 3:9, “Then will I purify the lips of the peoples, that all of them may call on the name of the Lord and serve him shoulder to shoulder.”

Zeph 3:13, “The remnant of Israel will do no wrong; they will speak no lies, nor will deceit be found in their mouths. They will eat and lie down and no one will make them afraid.”

Zeph 3:20, “At that time I will gather you; at that time I will bring you home.”

Unlike the total destruction of other nations, the nation of Judah is only going to be punished, not destroyed.