The Lord Is In His Holy Temple

THE LORD IS IN HIS HOLY TEMPLE (HABAKKUK 2)

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A 50-second commercial from India features a young man standing by the road and an elderly woman sitting on a bench. The young man was enjoying a chocolate bar nearby when the woman dropped her walking stick by mistake. She asked him, “Young man, can you pick up my walking stick?” The young man said, “Yes,” but he did nothing, not moving an inch from the pillar he was leaning on.

The elderly woman then resignedly got up, stepped down the curb to pick up the stick herself. At that very moment, a giant piano fell from the sky to land on the bench where she was sitting moments ago. They both looked at each other and the sky in astonishment, and she said to the young man, “Thank you for doing nothing,” to which he replied, “It’s my pleasure.”

The ad ends with the product’s new taglines — “Sometimes, try doing nothing.”

In first chapter 1 the person who did all the talking was Habakkuk, but in chapter 2 the Lord did most of the taking except verse 1. The last time we were in chapter 1 the Israelites had a startling message. To their cry of injustice, God said He will use the Babylonians to punish the Assyrians who invaded and exiled the Israelites. To Habakkuk, the second or the latter was worse than the first or former. Wasn’t it better for God to leave things unattended as it was? It was unexpected, unusual and upsetting at the best. In chapter 1 was the conquest of the Babylonians, but in chapter spelled their condemnation.

Where is God when the world needs Him? What is God doing to correct the wrongs around us? Why is God not more visible or vocal?

You Might Be Disturbed, But Do Not Be Disgruntled

1 I will stand at my watch and station myself on the ramparts; I will look to see what he will say to me, and what answer I am to give to this complaint.

The preacher bought a lawn mower at a yard sale. “It runs great,” the seller said.

The next day the preacher brought it back. “Runs great? I couldn’t even start it!”

“Oh, it runs just fine,” the seller said with a smile, “but in order to start it you first have to cuss up a storm.”

“I’m not sure I can do that,” the pastor protested indignantly. “I haven’t used that language in years.” “Not to worry,” the seller said. “Just keep pulling on the start cord and it will all come back to you in no time.”

Habakkuk no longer courteously addressed the Lord as Lord” as in chapter 1 (1:2). The verbs “stand,” “station” and “look” are cohortatives – an imperative to oneself, translated as “Let me stand. let me station… let me look.” A Hebrew cohortative is an indirect imperative and not a direct imperative because, unlike the imperative which is directed to the second person (“you”), the writer commanded himself in the first person and not others. It was spoken with spunk, swagger and stubbornness. The three verbs corresponds to “stand, sit and see,” of which the last is to lean forward, look far and to wait for. There is a defiant, disputing and dare attitude. A see for yourself, look and see, and don’t you see attitude?

The noun “watch/station” (v 1) is translated as charge (Gen 26:5), keep (Ex 12:6), ordinance (Lev 18:30), safeguard (1 Sam 22:23), ward (2 Sam 20:3), watch (2 Kings 11:5) and office (2 Chron 7:6); it is derived from the verb “keep.” Habakkuk considered himself the champion, the crusader and the custodian of Israel. Weren’t they God’s people, the chosen people and the apple of God’s eye? This is unacceptable, inappropriate and unjust. Unlike the other two disturbed prophets who fled – Elijah lodging in a cave (1 Kings 19:9) and Jonah sleeping on a ship (Jonah 1:5), Habakkuk did not abandon his “watch” or station.

The noun “complaint” occurs 28 times in the Bible - reproof (14x), rebuke (7x), reproved (2x). The prophet risked being rebuffed, rebutted and reproached. He was prepared to intercede for Israel, instruct the Lord and inject his opinion, even at the risk of irritating Him, infuriating and insulting Him. Habakkuk was a prophet who kept watch with an attitude, an agenda and an appraisal.

The verb answer (v 1) is a minority translation (18x), whereas the majority translations are return (391x), again (248x) and turn (123x). No matter Habakkuk must have and will have his say even if he stood chastened, corrected and condemned. God uses us even when we frustrated, fiery and feisty.