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| 1 The burden which Habakkuk the prophet did see. |
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| 2 Jehovah, how long shall I cry and thou wilt not hear? I cry out unto thee, Violence! and thou dost not save. |
O LORD, how long – Habakkuk, representative of all who love righteousness, asks how long it will be until the present evil world will give place to the world to come "wherein dwelleth righteousness." (2 Pet. 3:13) R622:2
Shall I cry – Have I entreated. R622:1
Of violence – Because of violence. R622:1
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| 3 Why dost thou cause me to see iniquity, and lookest thou upon grievance? For spoiling and violence are before me; and there is strife, and contention riseth up. |
Spoiling – Robbery. R622:1
And there are – And there is a judgment, but oppression is more powerful. R622:1
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| 4 Therefore the law is powerless, and justice doth never go forth; for the wicked encompasseth the righteous; therefore judgment goeth forth perverted. |
Slacked – Powerless. R622:1
Judgment doth never – Justice cometh not forth victorious. R622:1
Wrong judgment proceedeth – Therefore doth justice come forth perverted. R622:1
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| 5 See ye among the nations, and behold, and wonder marvellously; for I work a work in your days, which ye will not believe, though it be declared to you2. |
Behold ye – Look ye about. R622:2
The Lord answers the complaint. R622:2
Wonder marvellously – Be astonished and astounded. R622:2
Work a work – The harvest work, and a change in dispensation. R1487:3
Referred to by Paul (Acts 13:40, 41) as applicable to the R1487:3
First, gathering his saints and separating them as wheat from tares; second, the binding of the tares; third, the heavens rolling together as a scroll; fourth, the elements of earth getting ready for the final conflagration. R1488:2
"His work, his strange work." (Isa. 28:21) R1487:3
Fulfill a work. R622:2
In preparation for Christ's glorious reign. R1487:6
Ye will not believe – Conservative Pharisees of today shake the cautious head, saying that we cannot be on the eve of a new dispensation, for " lo, all things continue as they were from the beginning." (2 Pet. 3:4) R1488:5
Though it be told you – If you did not see some evidences you would consider the things impossibilities. R622:2
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| 6 For behold, I raise up the Chaldeans, that bitter and impetuous nation, which marcheth through the breadth of the earth, to possess dwelling-places that are not theirs. |
The Chaldeans – Communists, Socialists, Nihilists, etc. R622:2
Babylon was the capital of Chaldea, so symbolic Babylon reigns over the civilized world, and the masses are fitly termed the Chaldeans. R622:2
Nation – People. R622:2
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| 7 They are terrible and dreadful: their judgment and their dignity proceed from themselves. |
Their dignity – Their burden, or restraint. R622:2
Proceed of themselves – From them shall proceed the judgment. R622:3
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| 8 And their horses are swifter than the leopards, and are more agile than the evening wolves; and their horsemen prance proudly, and their horsemen come from afar: they fly as an eagle that hasteth to devour. |
Their horses – Doctrines. R622:3
Are swifter – Indicating their rapid spread. R622:3
More fierce – Showing the ferocity of the doctrines. R622:3
Their horsemen – Teachers of these doctrines, the leaders. R622:3
Shall come from far – Will be foreigners. R622:3
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| 9 They come all of them for violence: the crowd of their faces is forwards, and they gather captives as the sand. |
All for violence – Their mission is violence. R622:3
As the east wind – Be set in opposition to the east--the direction of the sunrising, representing the dawn of the Millennial day. R622:3
The captivity – The bounden ones. R622:3
These shall cause a measure of judgment to come upon the evil institutions, yet they will be in opposition to the true light. R622:3
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| 10 Yea, he scoffeth at kings, and princes are a scorn unto him; he derideth every stronghold: for he heapeth up dust, and taketh it. |
Heap dust – Cast up earth mounds. R622:3
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| 11 Then will his mind change, and he will pass on, and become guilty: this his power is become his +god. |
Then – By reason of their successes. R622:3
His mind change – Not realizing that they have been used to overthrow oppression. R622:3
He shall pass over – Become surpassingly proud. R622:3
Unto his god – Boasting themselves of the victory of Liberalism. R622:3
Not realizing that they have been used as the Lord's great army to overthrow oppression and bring down the proud. R622:3
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| 12 --Art thou not from everlasting, Jehovah my God, my Holy One? We shall not die. Jehovah, thou hast ordained him for judgment; and thou, O Rock, hast appointed him for correction. |
Art thou not – The prophet represents the true saints as addressing Jehovah. R622:4
O mighty God – O Protector. R622:4
For correction – Thou hast appointed them to correct nations. This is the confidence of the saints. R622:4
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| 13 Thou art of purer eyes than to behold evil, and canst not look on mischief: wherefore lookest thou upon them that deal treacherously, and keepest silence when the wicked swalloweth up a man more righteous than he? |
Of purer eyes – Nothing short of perfection can find favor in God's eyes. R1610:2
Than to behold evil – With approval. R5901:6*, R1351:5*
God detects the smallest deflection in our hearts, and his character is so holy that he cannot but hate it. R5902:1*
We must be purified from all iniquity before we can have the approval of God. R5901:6*
Hence ultimately all who are in any way imperfect will be destroyed. R1610:2
He will not permit evil to all eternity, for this condition would not be pleasing to him. R5211:4
Canst not look on – Recognize with any degree of allowance; countenance. F120; R870:3, R386:6, R5901:6*
Denoting his abhorrence. R1351:5*, R5901:6*
According to the principles of divine government and law, he has no degree of allowance; he cannot condone sin nor admit its necessity in any degree. E418
This does not signify a perfection in the flesh, but a perfection of heart, of intention, of will, of endeavor. R5902:1
In eastern countries long ago, to show the face was a mark of favor; to turn the back, a mark of disfavor. B188
To have pardoned Adam, God would have made himself a liar. The absolute unchangeableness of God is the firm foundation upon which all his loving promises rest. R386:6
Since the ransom has been laid down, Jehovah, in due time, will no more disregard and treat men as sinners, turning his back upon them, but will send refreshment from his face, his favor, through Jesus, his agent in the restitution of all things. (Acts 3:19-21) B188
Iniquity – Thus the destruction of the wicked in the Second Death is the essence of wisdom. Ultimately all evil shall be destroyed. R5211:4
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| 14 And thou makest men as the fishes of the sea, as the creeping things, that have no ruler over them. |
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| 15 He taketh up all of them with the hook, he catcheth them in his net, and gathereth them into his drag; therefore he rejoiceth and is glad: |
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| 16 therefore he sacrificeth unto his net, and burneth incense unto his drag; for by them his portion is become fat, and his meat dainty. |
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| 17 Shall he therefore empty his net, and not spare to slay the nations continually? |
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