In the Midst of Years the Lord Works

“Look among the nations, and see; wonder and be astounded.  For I am doing a work in your days that you would not believe if told.  O Lord, I have heard the report of You, and Your work.  O Lord, do I fear.  In the midst of the years revive it; in the midst of the years make it known; in wrath remember mercy.”  Habakkuk 1:5; 3:2 (ESV).

Habakkuk is an unusual prophetic book in that it is a dialogue between the prophet and God rather than a message specifically addressed to the nation of Israel.  Scholars have not been able to date the writing of the book with accuracy.  It hints that the Babylonians are a threat to Israel, but we don’t know how long the prophecy may have been written before that event occurred in 605, 597 and 586 B. C.  In two cycles, chapters 1 and 2, we see first Habakkuk’s complaint, followed by God’s answer.  Then comes Habakkuk’s lofty prayer in chapter 3 when he reviews God’s mighty works and rejoices in Him.

Habakkuk laments:  “O Lord, how long  shall I cry for help, and You will not hear?” (1:2a).  God commands Habakkuk to “look among the nations.”  God is already raising up a nation that will be used as an instrument of punishment for Israel, the Chaldeans (Babylonians).  Babylon gained independence from Assyria in 626 B. C.  They continued to grow in power and actually defeated Assyria in 605 B. C.  Nebuchadnezzar became king and cemented the loosely knit Babylonians into an empire.  The nation flourished and conquered many lesser nations until Persia defeated it in 539 B. C.

Realizing that God is using one nation to punish another for its rebellion against God, Habakkuk can express a universal truth:  “I have heard a report of You and Your work, Lord, and I fear.”  In Habakkuk 2:1, Habakkuk declares that he will take his stand on the watchtower and wait to see what else God will say to him.  How many years transpired before Habakkuk knew for a certainty that God was in events we do not know.  He could declare with assurance that God should, “in the midst of the years revive His work…make it known,”  but “in wrath remember mercy.”  Like Habakkuk of old we recognize that our nation is not following the ways of the Lord.  He cannot withhold His wrath and punishment from us forever, because, as the famed Baptist preacher Dr. Robert G. Lee used to preach, “Pay Day Some Day,” (which sermon you can hear or read online) there will be a day of reckoning.  I was reading just yesterday an economic analysis of our nation’s financial standing.  We have been so selfish and uncontrolled in waste and unnecessary spending that the debt seems hopeless.  Our very greed and pursuit after easy money to satisfy our temporal pleasures are enough to cast us away from a just and righteous God.  We have idolized wealth to the exclusion  of tribute and obedience to Almighty God.  The Lord’s work in the midst of the years as in Habakkuk’s day will come with strength and power.  What do we see from our watch tower, our perspective?  Have we not had enough warnings to see the necessity for a drastic change from the downward plunge? 

Prayer.  Lord, we confess that we have become soft, selfish and seduced by too much luxury.  We have departed from Your covenant and gone our own ways.  Awaken us in the midst of these trying years.  Let us again take joy in the God of our salvation and turn to Thee for help.  Amen.