Oops, I Think I Spoke Too Soon.
"O LORD, I have heard the report of you, and your work, O LORD, do I fear. In the midst of the years revive it; in the midst of the years make it known; in wrath remember mercy." (Habakkuk 3:2; English Standard Version).
Have you ever rushed to a conclusion about somebody and then later find out you were completely wrong because you didn't have all the facts at your disposal? Better yet, have you ever been wrongly judged by someone who didn't know the whole story? Well, it shouldn't surprise anyone that God is the target of more unfair criticism and rash judgments than anyone else ever! How many Bible stories can you recall where somebody is going around saying this or that about God, only to be completely be silenced when God reveals Himself to that person? I'm thinking about the story of Job, and right after God reveals Himself to Job, all Job could do was humbly repent of his idiotic ideas of God's fairness.
Well, Habakkuk finds himself in a similar predicament. The Prophet was complaining that the wicked Chaldeans were going to be God's instrument of judgment on His people. In chapter 2, vv. 6-20, God basically tells His prophet, "Look, the Chaldeans will get theirs, therefore, BE SILENT, I'm in control!" In today's passage we have Habakkuk's response. Notice Habakkuk's three-fold response:
1. Reverence ("O LORD, I have heard the report of you, and your work, O LORD, do I fear"). After getting a peek under the curtain of God's plans, Habakkuk shrinks back in fear and reverence. People who read the Bible lightly think that miraculous events happened often. Yet, when you really study the Bible, miracles are very rare (that's why they're called miracles). Aside from creation itself, there are really only three main time frames when God worked a lot of miracles: 1) During the time of Moses and the Exodus; 2) During the time of Elijah & Elisha and the dawning of the prophetic age; and 3) During the time of Jesus and the Apostolic age. It was during those three epochs that most of the Bible was written. Miracles usually accompany new revelation.
The point of all this is that we can sometimes forget that God is working even when He is not doing the miraculous. In fact, working through natural forces and human history is God's prefered method of enacting His will. When Habakkuk got a preview of God working, his response was fear. Why fear? It seems to me a perfectly valid response when one gets to see a corner of the grand tapestry God is weaving. What immense power, intelligence and wisdom to be able to move through the course of human history guiding and directing all the billions of choices we all make during a day. In the Bible, anytime someone comes into contact with God's divinity they react in fear and awe.
2. Revival ("In the midst of the years revive it; in the midst of the years make it known"). I think it's natural for people to want to live during historic times. Wouldn't it be great to live during the time of Jesus and see Him feed the 5,000? Or howabout during the time of Moses and see the parting of the Red Sea? Habakkuk, sensing that God was working something big, crys out for God to work a mighty revival among His people. This is something we all should be praying for; that God would work a mighty work during our day, and that we would get to be a part of it! Imagine looking back and saying, "Yeah, I was there when God worked a great revival in 2004. Souls were being won, and Christ was exalted everywhere, and I was privileged to play a part in it."
3. Petition ("In wrath remember mercy"). Now, what God was about to do was judge Judah. They were in rebellion and God was bringing judgment. Although Habakkuk wants a revival, he is mindful that his country is about to be divinely judged. He calls upon God to be merciful during this time of wrath. We need to remember that all the unbelieving people in the world are blinded to the truth of God's word (2 Corinthians 4:4). Even though they are deserving of God's wrath and judgment, we need to pray that God will be merciful to them as He was to us and open their eyes to the truth of the gospel.
Application Time. Habakkuk provides us a good object lesson on trusting the power and wisdom of God. Going back to what was said at the beginning, we need to realize how little we know about what's going on, even in our own lives. We think we know so much, and that we can stand in judgment of God. Yet when God shows up, we see how puny we are and how little we actually do know. Every trial, every blessing, everything that is happening in our lives, and the lives of countless others, is being measured out precisely according to God's pre-ordained plan. Every now and then, we get a little peak under the curtain, and we're like, "WOW! Is that what God was doing?" It all goes back to what God said in Habakkuk 2:4, "the righteous shall live by their faith."