People generally have
confidence in whatever has brought them success. Some boast of
education. Others give accolades to their background, and still
others praise their looks, physical ability or station in life. In
other words, the tendency for most is to “worship” or “give
praise to” that which they believe brought gain their way. Such is
the noted behavior of what Habakkuk says the Chaldeans will do in
today's verse. As Habakkuk continues his defense and argument before
God as to why the Chaldeans should not be used for judgment against
Israel, he wrote in verse sixteen of chapter one:
Therefore they
sacrifice unto their net, and burn incense unto their drag; because
by them their portion [is] fat, and their meat plenteous.
Habakkuk's
latest metaphor to describe the Chaldeans is that they are like
fishermen who easily catch fish in their nets. Yesterday we learned
that they not only catch men singularly, but also with nets and
dragging nets. Now Habakkuk shares their reaction to their catch:
“Therefore they sacrifice unto their net, and burn incense unto
their drag.” That is, they worship them. How many times have we
seen credit given to something other than the one to whom credit is
due. In this case remember that it is the Lord God in Heaven who
chose the Chaldeans, and He gave them the ability and access to
conquer in the first place. It is not unlike the person who has
surgery and then walks into the doctor's office and begins to praise
the scalpel while the doctor is in the room. They might say, “Oh
glorious scalpel. You have done such a wonderful job for me. You have
made just the right incision, and now I am all better because of
you.” This, I'm sure, would take the surgeon off guard, and he or
she would probably wonder if the person giving praise should next
visit the psychiatric ward. But giving credit and praise to things
other than God Himself seems to be second nature for most.
Habakkuk
next writes, “because by them their portion is fat, and
their meat plenteous.” The
idea is that they give praise to their nets and drags because they
attribute their fullness or completeness to their tools. They have
fat portions. They have plenty of meat, and their supply certainly
came from the nets and drags, right? Wrong. Their supply came from
the Lord. So many times people forget who provides and protects them.
They forget that there would be no provision if it were not for God
above. They believe themselves to be solely responsible for their
advancement, gain, and promotion, and thus, they give praise to
something other than God. This is the case with the Chaldeans
according to Habakkuk, and he cannot understand why God who knows
they are this way would allow them to conquer his people.
Where
do we attribute our successes today? Where do we point our praise? Is
it in our accomplishments, our training, our education or position?
Is it our hard work, fortitude, bravery or determination? Are these
none other than our “nets and drags” or are they simply tools
through which the Heavenly Father above has blessed us, and
ultimately all praise is due unto Him? Maybe this should be our soul
searching today as we learn more and more about attributes that
Habakkuk believed were undesirable in those whom God chose to use.
Next
time we will look at the final argument in this chapter from
Habakkuk, 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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