The Prophet’s Prayer
O Lord, revive Your work in the midst of the years!
In the midst of the years make it known;
In wrath remember mercy.
The Holy One from Mount Paran. Selah
His glory covered the heavens,
And the earth was full of His praise.
He had rays flashing from His hand,
And there His power was hidden.
He looked and startled the nations.
aAnd the everlasting mountains were scattered,
The perpetual hills bowed.
His ways are everlasting.
Was Your anger against the rivers,
Was Your wrath against the sea,
That You rode on Your horses,
Your chariots of salvation?
Oaths were sworn over Your1 arrows. Selah
You divided the earth with rivers.
The overflowing of the water passed by.
The deep uttered its voice,
And alifted its hands on high.
At the light of Your arrows they went,
At the shining of Your glittering spear.
For salvation with Your Anointed.
You struck the head from the house of the wicked,
By laying bare from foundation to neck. Selah
The head of his villages.
They came out like a whirlwind to scatter me;
Their rejoicing was like feasting on the poor in secret.
| << Habakkuk 3:1 | Habakkuk 3:3 >> |
What Does Habakkuk 3:2 Mean?
Habakkuk 3:1-19
Chapter 3 is Habakkuk's prayer. The best part of this song is that it shows that Habakkuk truly grasped what God was teaching him. The song is a prayer, the response that he promised God in Habakkuk 2:1. After being greatly chastened, he tells God that he understood what He was saying.
One commentator called this section "the greatest expression of faith in all the Bible." Habakkuk is a good example of what a person of true faith does. He obeys God by listening. He waits patiently for God's answer to his dilemma, and he receives understanding. Then, he expresses his faith in this song.
We could almost compare it with Job's expression of faith in Job 42:2-6. Habakkuk finally sees God as He really is, and he expresses his joy and his faith that God is on his and Judah's side. In the same way, we could express our faith and joy that He is on our side and the church's side because we know Him.
The prophet goes through all the ways that God has worked on behalf of His people, particularly the Exodus. He admits that he had forgotten all these things. He realizes that, though they were not understood at the time, all these acts of God worked to bring about what He had planned. God's acts brought Israel into the Promised Land and made them into a nation. No matter how much we fail to understand, God is still wonderful and working hard to bring us blessing. So he tells God, "I am sorry that I forgot all your power and that I let my fears get in the way."
Richard T. Ritenbaugh
Habakkuk
Habakkuk 3:2
Habakkuk's plea to God to revive His work is very interesting. God's work is salvation. As John 6:29 puts it, God's work is that we believe Him and His Son whom He has sent. In the midst of the years is a Hebraism that means "between now and the end." In effect, the prophet is beseeching God to save His people before all these terrible things mentioned in the first two chapters occur. Today, we might phrase it, "Cut Your work short." It is a plea for mercy and salvation.
Jesus actually answers this prayer in Matthew 24:22: "And unless those days were shortened, no flesh would be saved; but for the elect's sake those days will be shortened." The apostle Paul also confirms this in Romans 9:28, writing, "For He will finish the work and cut it short in righteousness, because the LORD will make a short work upon the earth."
Richard T. Ritenbaugh
Habakkuk
| << Habakkuk 3:1 | Habakkuk 3:3 >> |
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