Habakkuk’s Faith: Hind’s feet on high places
Faith: Most Christians understand what faith is, but what does deep faith look like? And, along with that question, I have another one. Do you know what “deer-feet” faith looks like? If you haven’t heard of that, then read on.
Faith isn’t faith without testing
As the prophet closes this beautiful little book we see that faith is given a prominent position in all three chapters. The prophet’s faith is shaken by his country’s downward spiral. We see that in the opening verses of the book. But his faith is lifted when he turns to the Lord, bringing his burden to him. A stunning answer in the second half of chapter one leads him to declare, in chapter two, that his faith in God is still unwavering. But when we get to this final chapter he’s resigned to wait and see the resulting punishment upon his people of Judah. Habakkuk is willing to see everything fall apart and lose every earthly good if that is what the Lord determines is best.
Have Faith in God, who hears your prayers of faith
Habakkuk 3:1 The prayer of faith
“A prayer of Habakkuk the prophet upon Shigionoth.”
The book began with a ‘burden.’ Now it ends with a ‘prayer.’ He opened by approaching the Lord with the burdens he felt as he saw the spiritual decline of Judah. The Lord provided an answer to the prophet’s complaint. That answer was surprising, disappointing, and probably very disheartening.
In this last section, the prophet reveals his strong faith and trust in God’s sovereign will. We see in chapters two and three, some of the greatest expressions of faith in the whole of scripture. It’s important to note in the last section that the word prayer, isn’t a request from the prophet. It’s a grand expression of trust and words of honor directed at the Lord’s arrival, in which he will accomplish his will. Prayer is not limited to the act of humans begging God to do what they want. Prayer is talking to God or in this case words expressing praise regarding God’s just actions.
Habakkuk 3:2 O Lord, remember to show mercy
“O Lord, I have heard your speech and was afraid. O Lord, revive Your work in the midst of the years, in the midst of the years, make it known, in wrath remember mercy.”
The prophet admits he “heard” the “speech” of the Lord, and “was afraid.” There is a lot of poetic language in this chapter but there is none in this statement. He was genuinely afraid of what the future held for his home, his country, and probably his own family. In the first chapter, he asked the Lord to help change the direction the country was going. God told Habakkuk, that the change would come but it would be dramatic and hard to believe. The Babylonians were arriving soon. Everything the prophet complained about such as moral and spiritual decay, would be solved. The problem is that the country would be left in ruins.
In the second chapter, we read the famous verse about faith. “The just shall live by faith,” are the words he used to describe his response to the Lord’s words. His solution would require enduring faith. In this verse, he asks the Lord to “revive your work.” The judgment from Babylon hasn’t begun but the prophet prays for the restoration of Israel, God’s work. That’s a strong faith in action by the prophet.
He asks the Lord, “remember” to show “mercy” to your rebellious people.
Habakkuk 3:3 God’s glory covered the heavens
“God came from Teman and the Holy One from mount Paran. Selah. His glory covered the heavens, and the earth was full of his praise.”
At this point in the prayer, he gets very expressive. He pulls from rich imagery from past scriptures and stories as he describes the arrival of the Lord and the judgment he brings to the nation. There are no descriptions of attacking forces or armies on horseback etc. It’s just descriptions of the Almighty arriving to bring justice to an unjust society.
A walk with God is a walk of faith
Habakkuk 3:4 Our faith is strengthened in God’s presence
“His radiance is like the sunlight; He has rays flashing from His hand, And there is the hiding of His power.”
Keep in mind as we read this passage, that this is a description of God. No one has seen God in the fullest sense and lived to tell about it. Habakkuk either saw this in a vision or he is using descriptive language to pique our attention.
In our finite and weak human form, we apparently couldn’t handle the presence of the Lord. Moses was very close on Mount Sinai. He asked to see the Lord in full glory and permission was not granted. God gave him a quick glimpse and it made his face glow with a brilliant light. This glow on Moses’ was so bright the children of Israel asked him to put a veil on his face so they could look at him.
The Lord’s face is too bright to look upon. It was like trying to look at the noonday sun. He saw rays of brilliant light coming either from his hands or his sides, depending on the translator’s interpretation.
Pulpit’s Commentary says this about the hiding place of God’s power.
“There was the hiding of his power.” There, in that ineffable light, was the hiding place of his majesty. He clothes himself with light as with a garment (Psalm 104:2), and the splendor is the mantle of that presence which eye of man cannot behold (Exodus 24:17; 1 Timothy 6:16). Farrar quotes Psalm 18:11, “He made darkness his secret place.”
Habakkuk 3:5 Pestilence and plagues
“Before Him goes pestilence, And the plague comes after Him.”
After describing God’s brilliant glory, the prophet turns the reader’s attention to the purpose of God’s appearance. He arrives for vengeance and justice. Therefore, pestilence and plagues in various forms go before him. He used the same methods in Egypt, and Canaan (Exodus 23:27; 1 Samuel 5:9, 11), and also among the people of Israel. (Numbers 11:33; Numbers 14:37, & Leviticus 26:25) Psalm 18 has a similarly frightening representation of the Lord’s appearance. See here. (Psalm 18:12, 13)
In the Book of Joel, Locusts began the judgment of Israel.
https://thewritelife.tech/2017/11/08/psalm-four-hear-prayer-o-god-now-let-me-rest-in-sleep/
Faith that survives the trials
Habakkuk 3:6 Will your faith collapse when the mountains fall?
“He stood and surveyed the earth; He looked and startled the nations. Yes, the perpetual mountains were shattered, The ancient hills collapsed. His ways are everlasting.”
Habakkuk sees the Lord take his stand while he surveys the earth and those upon whom he is bringing judgment. His glory filled the heavens. And now, in his full glory, he sets his gaze on the earth, measuring it, as he walks. His mere look “startled the nations.” The mountains, some having stood as long as the earth itself, seem immovable. But they are shattered in this prophetic vision. (Deuteronomy 33:15). (compare Micah 1:4; Nahum 1:5). God’s ways are everlasting, or before the existence even of time. Those ancient hills and mountains were some of God’s chief creative acts but they will tremble and perish in his presence. See Job 40:19; Proverbs 8:22;
Habakkuk 3:7 God’s enemies tremble
“I saw the tents of Cushan under distress, The tent curtains of the land of Midian were trembling.”
Here we get the first indication that this judgment is not limited to Israel or Babylon. The prophecy begins to take on similarities that so many others do throughout the Bible. From a specific focus on Judah, it now expands to countries farther away but to whom God had promised he would visit when the time of judgment was due. Cush and Midian are mentioned.
The “curtains of the land of Midian were trembling” should cause us to refer back to the times of Gideon. The Midianites, a persistent foe of Israel, were overcome by Gideon’s three hundred men, Judges 7:13. We remember also that Cush, or Ethiopia, and Midian, were parts of Arabia. The Arabians were near the Ethiopians, or the Cushites, 2 Chronicles 21:16, and Sinai, as a part of Horeb, was where Moses fed the flock of his father-in-law, who was a priest in Midian. In the final, end-of-days judgments, Cush and Midian won’t miss out on the fun.
Habakkuk 3:8 Is this a rage against the waters?
“Did the LORD rage against the rivers, Or was Your anger against the rivers, Or was Your wrath against the sea, That You rode on Your horses, On Your chariots of salvation?”
The Lord wasn’t angry with the Red Sea when he divided it into two in order to let his people pass through it. Nor when he let go of the East wind that held the waters up like a wall. He let the waters crash down again upon the charging Egyptian warriors. He has done similar things over the centuries, using the elements of land water, fire, etc. as tools of judgment against those who resist his will.
Habakkuk 3:9 The earth is split by the rivers
“Your bow was made bare, The rods of chastisement were sworn. Selah. You cleaved the earth with rivers.”
Habakkuk describes the Lord as “a man of war” (Exodus 15:3). His bow is “made bare” when the covering of the bow was laid aside in order to make it ready for use. The bow case often included the quiver that held the arrows. Here, the Lord as the archer pulls the bow free from the case and readies it for war.
The cleaved earth could refer to Noah’s Flood or some less severe judgment in which God passed judgment using a river. (Genesis 7:11; Psalm 77:16). Or as seen here in Psalm 74; Psalm 78; Psalm 105. But though the prophet could be referring back to these instances he more likely is not speaking about a particular incident but is referring to the way the Lord judges using the elements of the earth.
Habakkuk 3:10 The mountain will shake.
“The mountains saw You and quaked; The downpour of waters swept by. The deep uttered forth its voice, It lifted high its hands.”
He’s able to capture the true essence of the Almighty in saying that the mountains quake at his presence. When Moses spent those 40 days on Mount Sinai, the mountain shook while lightning and thunder shook the earth and lit up the sky.
Sheets of rain fell from the sky and rose up from underground fountains during the flood. “The windows on high are open, and the foundations of the earth do shake” (Isaiah 24:18). That link takes the reader to another prophet’s words in which Isaiah sees the end of the world in its final judgment.
Habakkuk 3:11 The sun and moon stand still
“The sun and moon stood still in their place at the light of your arrows as they sped, at the flash of your glittering spear.”
This passage and several others like it, stretch the imagination and intellect beyond understanding. The God who created everything can do as he will with the laws of physics, but generally, his miracles seem to stay within those physical laws which he created. Holding the sun and moon in their place baffles our ability to comprehend his power, but so too, should the birth of a baby in a mother’s womb. Or, for that matter, a worm wrapping itself in a cocoon and turning into a butterfly is pretty amazing as well. For us, it’s dumbfounding, but for God, it’s a quick snap of the wrist and anything is possible. Faith in the impossible is easy when that faith is in the God who reveals himself in the creation and the words of the Bible.
Habakkuk 3:12 God marches through the nations
“You did march through the land in indignation, you did thresh the heathen in anger.”
With his bow and spear in hand, the sword, no doubt ready at his side, he marches through the land. Many of the prophets use words like anger along with vivid descriptions of earthquakes and the like. But, it’s clear throughout the scriptures that God doesn’t act rashly or in fits of rage. Only at the appointed times will God act and then only after years, and often centuries does he bring judgment. The prophets use words like anger and wrath because it fits our understanding, but the Lord gives numerous warnings and only acts when he decides there is no longer a benefit to waiting. Many are saved by his longsuffering patience. Even those who never turn to him at least have the benefits afforded to all who enjoy the beauty of His creation.
Habakkuk 3:13 Cutting off the head of the snake.
“You went forth for the salvation of thy people, even for salvation with thine anointed; you wounded the head out of the house of the wicked, by discovering the foundation unto the neck. Selah.”
Here we see why the Lord must act when he does. He is just and holy, and though he suffers along with the acts of humanity’s cruelty, he eventually must act. Men, women, and children of faith have put their trust in him. Promises were made to those people of faith, that he would deliver them from evil. Prayers of faith, in times of persecution, have been lifted up to him. Without action and justice on behalf of the oppressed, God wouldn’t be able to claim he is just and holy. Holiness requires action against the oppressors.
In the end, God will go “forth for the salvation of his people.” The house of the wicked has been run by Satan for all these centuries. He is the snake or Leviathan. (see here.) The head of that snake will be cut off in order to bring about lasting peace.
Habakkuk 3:14 He turned their weapons on themselves
“You pierced with his own spears The head of his throngs. They stormed in to scatter us; Their exultation was like those Who devour the oppressed in secret.”
In some of the Bible stories we read, God’s people find themselves under intense pressure from invading forces. It’s a similar situation that Judah found themselves in with Babylon breathing down their neck. Depending on the circumstances God would use unique ways to turn the tables on their enemies. Sometimes sudden rains would make chariot wheels stick in the mud, rendering them useless. Other times darkness and indecision during battles caused enemies to fight amongst themselves and leave God’s people literally reaping the benefits of enemies killing each other. In this verse, God’s prophet warns that the enemies’ own spears will be used against him.
Faith that stands on troubled waters
Habakkuk 3:15 Walking on water
“You did walk through the sea with thine horses, through the heap of great waters.”
There are no troubled waters that challenge the Lord’s ability to save his people. From the raging waters and giant swells of Noah’s flood to the sudden storms upon the Sea of Galilee, the Lord has always been more than capable of walking through or on top of troubled waters to save those who call upon him in faith.
Habakkuk 3:16 Waiting quietly for the day of distress.
“I heard and my inward parts trembled, At the sound my lips quivered. Decay enters my bones, and in my place, I tremble. Because I must wait quietly for the day of distress, For the people to arise who will invade us.”
The prophet begins to close his message. He’s writing down what he sees or is guided by the Spirit to write. It has left him trembling, quivering, and feeling nearly dead inside. As we read his words it appears he is speaking triumphantly about his Great God who is coming to save his people. But it sinks in with a feeling of great sorrow that the God of judgment was going to make a stop in Judah first. The prophet began by asking God to help. The Lord told him he would, but it was going to get ugly first. The God who shook mountains and cleaved the earth with rivers was going to march through Judah and clean house of the stench of deep sin.
Faith that inspires others
Habakkuk 3:17 The prophet’s gold-star faith
“Though the fig tree should not blossom And there be no fruit on the vines, Though the yield of the olive should fail And the fields produce no food, Though the flock should be cut off from the fold And there be no cattle in the stalls;”
This little-known prophet, who wrote this obscure book expressed some of the greatest faith in the Bible. It’s no wonder he was the first to write that famous declaration of faith, (The just shall live by faith.) that inspired the Apostle Paul and the reformation of the Church that moved Martin Luther. Now, in this spectacular verse, he writes that he is willing to see everything in life fall to pieces around him and still he won’t lose faith in God. Though everything else is gone he would cling to his God. That’s gold-star faith, that we all should strive for.
Habakkuk 3:18 I will rejoice in the Lord.
“Yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will joy in the God of my salvation.”
There was a time during Jesus’ ministry when many started to become disillusioned with the Lord’s challenging words. Many people began to leave and return home. Jesus asked the twelve disciples if they would also leave. We see Peter’s response in the verse below. Habakkuk had that same attitude. God is my salvation. To whom would I turn?
John 6:68
Simon Peter answered him, “LORD, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.
Faith for the High places
Habakkuk 3:19 Giving me hinds’ feet for the high places
“The LORD God is my strength, and he will make my feet like hinds’ feet, and he will make me walk upon mine high places. To the chief singer on my stringed instruments.”
Here, in the last verse, we find the deer feet I mentioned at the start of this article. The “hinds” were like deer or gazelles who were capable of leaping high onto the mountainsides to quickly escape the trouble that came from approaching enemies. Like Habakkuk, we need to focus on who God is and not who our enemies are. Let’s set our minds on godly things and worry less about our circumstances and challenges.
We have a Lord who can walk on water, shake the mountains, raise the dead, and stop the sun from moving. He will solve the enemy’s problem in time, but sometimes we are required to go through tough challenges. If our faith is to grow, if we are going to get deer-feet faith, we may need to go through troubling times in the valleys.
Would he become what the watcher intended, or would he let friends die?
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