Habakkuk is stunned, and he
has little understanding as to why God would use people as horrible
as the Chaldeans to be His agent of judgment against Israel. Habakkuk
knows God to be everlasting, holy, pure and unable to look upon
iniquity, and he is having trouble comprehending how God could allow
evil people to prevail over them. He has likened Israel to fish and
creeping things that are easy to be captured, and he sees that God is
going to let the wicked Chaldeans do the gathering. In verse fifteen
of the first chapter of his book, Habakkuk continues the metaphor of
fishing. He wrote:
They take up all of
them with the angle, they catch them in their net, and gather them in
their drag: therefore they rejoice and are glad.
First
Habakkuk wrote, “they take up all of them with the angle”. The
“angle” is a hook, and like a fisherman who casts his line into
the water to catch a fish, so will the Chaldeans do to the
Israelites. This is a single fish effort in most cases, and quite
possibly refers to picking off opponents one at a time. We will
notice the progression in volume as Habakkuk continues.
In
addition to taking them up with a hook, Habakkuk says, “they
catch them in their net.” More fish are usually caught at one
time with a net than a hook. Now Habakkuk believes that the Chaldeans
will progressively grow in their assaults and take groups of people
at at time, but he's not finished yet.
Not
only will the Chaldeans take them with a hook and catch them in
their net, but they will also “gather them in their
drag.” Some of us may have
been involved in a massive catch of fish that is so large that it
appears that the nets will break because of the haul. This is the
idea from Habakkuk in this phrase. Like the disciples who in the book
of Luke, chapter five and verse six it says, “And when
they had this done, they enclosed a great multitude of fishes: and
their net brake.” This refers
to the masses in Israel that will be conquered by the Chaldeans, and
now we see the progression of Habakkuk in his argument. First he
likens the conquest to a single catch. Then he sees the Chaldeans
catching them in their nets. Finally Habakkuk sees a massive
gathering of the children of Israel into the Chaldean's drag. Isn't
it amazing how we can elevate and sometimes exaggerate our future
when we are appealing for it to be different?
One
last thought brings us to Habakkuk's summation as to how the
Chaldeans will be because of this progression, “therefore
they rejoice and are glad.” If
we think about it long enough we may may able to hear Habakkuk's tone
of aggravation with these Chaldeans. There is nothing worse than
being beat and then having the opposing team rejoicing in our face
over the fact that they beat us. Imagine as we often see today the
haughtiness of those who simply conquer a small property and people
that they consider to be their enemies. Sometimes they are dancing in
the streets, yelling antagonistic phrases, and firing off weapons or
fireworks to celebrate their victory. Imagine Habakkuk's sick stomach
over the thoughts of this victory being from his people's defeat.
It
is interesting to note Habakkuk's acceleration of argument as he
appeals to God against the Chaldean choice. It's as if he thinks that
by making greater and greater arguments he will alter God's mind, but
nonetheless Habakkuk's words are useless except for giving him a
venue to vent. We have to wonder when we do not understand what God
is doing, do we too try with accelerated appeal to change His mind?
Do we make arguments, then greater arguments, and then even greater
arguments to the point of exaggeration to make God choose
differently? Or do we simply bow before Him and say, “God, you know
what is best, and I humbly bow before your choices for my life?”
Next
time we will see more of Habakkuk's accelerated arguments against
God's decision, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.
Until
tomorrow...there is more...
Look
for the new devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From
Generation to Generation” in all major bookstore sites,
www.amazon.com
; www.barnesandnobles.com
; download
to e-books, and find it locally at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore
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