6 For, lo,
I raise up the Chaldeans, that bitter and hasty nation, which shall march
through the breadth of the land, to possess the dwellingplaces that are not
their's. 7 They are terrible and dreadful: their judgment and their dignity
shall proceed of themselves. 8 Their horses also are swifter than the leopards,
and are more fierce than the evening wolves: and their horsemen shall spread
themselves, and their horsemen shall come from far; they shall fly as the eagle
that hasteth to eat. 9 They shall come all for violence: their faces shall sup
up as the east wind, and they shall gather the captivity as the sand. 10And
they shall scoff at the kings, and the princes shall be a scorn unto them: they
shall deride every strong hold; for they shall heap dust, and take it. 11Then
shall his mind change, and he shall pass over, and offend, imputing this his
power unto his god.
Babylon,
like Alexander the Great and Genghis Khan of their day, a mighty nation, a
world super power with military dominance, but no so superior that God can’t
tame them. Not so strategic that they can elude God from using them like a tool
and them not even know it. G-d uses their National bent on world domination to
accomplish His will. They will end up thinking that their gods prompted them to
do this.
The Full
Life Study Bible says that, “God answered Habakkuk by telling him he already
had plans to chastise Judah for its sins. In this section a hint is given to
how Israel would be taken, by siege ramps (v.10). He would use the ruthless and
pagan Babylonians to correct Judah. That God would use such a wicked, pagan
people to punish Judah was astonishing to the prophet and unbelievable to God’s
people.”
Let me
further attempt to answer Habakkuk’s first question he posed to God about why
do the wicked go unpunished?
Well, first
off, we are forced to look at events from fragmented finite linear perspective
which is locked in the frame of time. God does not have those issues of
boundary, He sees the Big Picture. His reasoning and ways are beyond our
comprehension
Isa 55:8-9,
11 For my thoughts [are] not your thoughts, neither [are] your ways my ways,
saith the LORD. For [as] the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways
higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts… So shall my word be
that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it
shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper [in the thing]
whereto I sent it.
Time to us
is crucial and we think God is being slack but He’s not.
2 Peter 3:9 The Lord is not slack
concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to
us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to
repentance.
To Him a day
is like a thousand years and a thousand years a day (II Pet. 3:8).
Secondly, as
He told Moses, God is merciful and compassionate….
Exd. 34:6-7 And the LORD passed by
before him, and proclaimed, The LORD, The LORD God, merciful and gracious,
longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, Keeping mercy for thousands,
forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and that will by no means clear
[the guilty]; visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon
the children's children, unto the third and to the fourth [generation].
2 Peter 3:9b …not willing that any
should perish, but that all should come to repentance.
So ADONAI
provides ample space and time for a people to repent and from our point of view
it looks like He’s letting things slide. But when God has had “enough” and when
the line has been crossed and it’s beyond the point of no return, LOOK OUT!
Habakkuk;
Question: “How can God use a Nation more Wicked than Judah as the Scourge of
Chastisement (1:12-2:1)?”
In other
words, Habakkuk was confused became he knew the cruel reputation of the
Babylonians and wondered how a Holy G-d were more righteous than them!
The Stones
Tanak comments, “The conqueror may attribute his success to an idol; we
however, know that you have allowed Babylonia to punish us; but let us not be
wiped out!”
The Full
Life Study Bible says that, “…he was conflicted that God would not allow them
annihilate His own people and by that destruction cancel His redemptive purpose
for the Human Race.”
12 Art thou
not from everlasting, O LORD my God, mine Holy One? we shall not die. O LORD,
thou hast ordained them for judgment; and, O mighty God, thou hast established
them for correction. 13 Thou art of purer eyes than to behold evil, and canst
not look on iniquity: wherefore lookest thou upon them that deal treacherously,
and holdest thy tongue when the wicked devoureth the man that is more righteous
than he?
If you
cannot stand to look upon evil, how can you use a nation more evil than Judah
as an instrument of punishment? And if Babylonia be more evil how come they
haven’t been punished for their evil yet? Wouldn’t Babylonia attacking Judah
just increase their own evil? Is not Your silence and use of Babylonia means
You condone their evil?
I see it
this way, no one is above Torah, but some are held more accountable than
others, It’s not that God plays favorites or has double standards, but the
“enough” factor for God is different with different people. Here’s why, one
group has been chosen as the primary caretakers and dispensers of Torah
knowledge and so they are held more accountable.
James 3:1
My brethren, be not many masters, knowing that we shall receive the greater
condemnation.
Other
nations know general morality basics but do not know Torah as Israel does and
so they are not held as accountable. Both are held accountable, the punishment
is the same, but the amount of time that meads to judgment are different. Look
at it as liquid laundry detergent, one is concentrated so it is not as big and
you don’t use as much. The other is not and is a bigger size and because it is
a slightly diluted formula you have to use more. One cap is small and does not
take much to fill because it is a concentrated formula, the other is a larger
cap and is a diluted formula.
Or another
illustration; let’s say Israel is a teenager and Babylonia is a toddler. Let’s
say the teenager is playing ball in the house and ends up breaking a lamp. The
teenager is immediately punished because they know better and have been warned
numerous times before about not playing ball in the house. They got grounded
for a week and with restrictions of several privileges. The toddler does the
same thing but only gets a slap on the bum. Why? Because the toddler is too
young to truly understand the full ramification of his actions, yet a slap on
the bum is applied to connect the incident with a negative consequence, so that
the chances of a repeat offence is less likely and to give the toddler some
indication what he did was unacceptable.
Consequently
using Babylonia would hit two birds with one stone; it would fill their
judgment cup quicker, while at the same time get them to acknowledge their
wickedness because every time a nation is used to punish Israel they always end
up overdoing it, going too far and God ends up having to punish them for their
excessive cruelty to Israel. Also it will cause them to acknowledge God’s
sovereignty and supremacy while they see the impotency of their gods.
The Full
Life Study Bible comments; “Canst not look on iniquity. This phrase does not
mean that God does not see evil, for he observes everything; he is omniscient…
Rather, the statement means that God never looks on evil to condone or tolerate
it. What perplexed Habakkuk was this: God’s use of the wicked Babylonians made
it seem like He was tolerating their sin while punishing Judah, who, in spite
of all their evil, was still a more righteous nation than the Babylonians.”
