Sometimes when we believe
something to be one way we find out later that it is totally
different than what we first believed. It has been this way for
Habakkuk who thought God was aloof, distant and uncaring about all
the injustice that Habakkuk was seeing in his people. God has shown
Himself aware, prepared, ready and able to not only know the
situation, but also to remedy it. One by one we have been studying
the indictments of God against the Chaldeans whom He used as His
instrument of justice, and now the tables are turned upon these
Chaldeans who thought themselves the source of their victory.
Habakkuk continues God's words in Habakkuk chapter two and verse
seventeen:
For the violence of
Lebanon shall cover you, and the spoil of beasts, [which] made them
afraid, because of men's blood, and for the violence of the land, of
the city, and of all that dwell therein.
God now
tells the Chaldeans once again His reasons for being against them,
“For the violence of Lebanon shall cover you, and the spoil of
beasts,” One of the greatest mistakes we can ever make is to
believe that God is uninvolved in our situations. He shows Himself
aware that Israel was attacked, and He even knows how the beasts of
Israel suffered. The very suffering that was brought upon Israel
shall cover the Chaldeans. Remember our theme learned from Paul the
apostle in Galatians chapter six and verse seven: “Be not
deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man sows, that shall he
also reap.”
Notice also that God knows the affect that the attacks had upon the
Israelites, “which made them afraid,” As with the
Israelites, God knows what makes us afraid. When we encounter
opposition or contrary foes or circumstances, God sees. God knows,
and even when the Israelites wondered if God was interested, He was.
He saw how the Chaldeans' abused and used the Israelites, and He see
those who abuse us in our lives as well.
In addition to God seeing the violence of Lebanon and the spoil of
beasts that made them afraid, we discover more of what made them
fearful, “and for men's blood, and for the violence of the land,
of the city, and of all that dwell therein.” Let's imagine for
the moment what those who lived through the conquering endured. They
saw men's blood spilled on the ground around them, and possibly some
of this blood was their relatives and loved ones. They saw violence
everywhere as the Chaldeans came in and took advantage of person
after person and item after item. They watched as evil people
pillaged them, beat them, and took advantage of them. No one was
safe, and everyone was affected by their conquest. They must have
wondered, “How can God allow this? Why is this happening to us?
Where is God when you need Him?” Certainly they must have believe
that God did not know or care, but they were wrong as we see that God
does indeed know what is happening to them.
We may have situations as the Israelites that seem so wrong against
us. We might even wonder if God is watching everything that is
happening to us right now. We can be assured through this verse that
God is indeed watching, accounting, and readying a plan for the
conditions that have been so violent against us, have spoiled us, and
made us afraid. We must trust Him as those who have not seen yet, but
know that God has a plan and He is working it out.
Next
time we will discover how graven images have no power for their
subjects, 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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