Sometimes when we are in the
midst of victories or difficulties we do not realize the significance
of them until they are over. The heat of the battle often so absorbs
us that we fail to understand the full implications of our actions.
Such was the case of the Chaldeans. They went about their business of
pride and greed and defeated city after city and nation after nation
without regard to who was watching and what would take place because
of it. God has been indicting them for their actions, and He adds to
their charges in today's verse found in Habakkuk chapter two and
verse thirteen:
Behold, is it not of
the LORD of hosts that the people shall labor in the very fire, and
the people shall weary themselves for very vanity?
Once
again we have the word “Behold” employed by Habakkuk. It
means “take a look”, “observe”, “pay attention to”.
Habakkuk questions his readers as he points to Jehovah God “the
LORD of host” while he makes his appeal on behalf of God. God is
involved. God is paying attention, and as we discussed earlier in
this book rather than God being uninvolved and aloof, the Heavenly
Father is engaged.
Habakkuk
asks, “is it not of the LORD of host that the people shall labor
in the very fire”. The lusts and desires of the Chaldeans is
insatiable. They are driven to get more and more and more. One
conquest is not enough, and as it is with most victories, the joy
from one accomplishment only leads a person to desire the next one.
For example, as soon as the Super Bowl or World Series is won,
commentators and players are looking toward the next one. This was
the condition of the Chaldeans, except that their victories were
related to life and death. They were so involved in their laboring in
the very fire that they could not see themselves being consumed by
it.
Habakkuk added, “and the
people shall weary themselves for very vanity?” It
was Solomon the King of Israel who made the word “vanity” such a
well known word when he wrote in the book of Ecclesiastes. He wrote
in chapter one and verse two, “Vanity of vanities, says
the Preacher, vanity of vanities; all [is] vanity.” In
other words, most things in life are filled with vanity and
emptiness. They are temporary, brief and fleeting. This was the way
of the Chaldeans. They “wearied” themselves over activities that
do not last. From one venture to the next they grew more and more
tired as they labored for temporary things. The day of reckoning has
arrived, and God is the attending judge. These Chaldeans who seems so
victorious were being shown the real reward for their actions:
laboring in the very fire of pride and greed, and wearying themselves
in vanity.
What
about us? Do we find ourselves laboring in the “very fire” of
prideful and greedy activities? Are we driven day by day to have one
victory after another which only leads to desiring another victory
ahead? Are we involved in vain propositions or temporary positions
that weary our souls and bodies? As we meditate upon our positions
today, let us do so in light of what Jesus said about the way we
should live as recorded in the gospel of John in chapter six and
verse twenty-seven:
Labor not for the meat
which perishes, but for that meat which endures unto everlasting
life, which the Son of man shall give unto you: for him hath God the
Father sealed.
We find
this everlasting “meat” in the word of God and in the
relationship with Him. Let us all be consumed by the riches and rest
that accompany fellowship with the Heavenly Father.
Next
time we will look into the future as God speaks about the way the
Earth will be, 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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