sections of Ills bnnk C-'O' -'s^- l» olc.i.
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his god.' But the answer raises only a fresh difficulty in the prophet's mind ; as he contem- plates tlic Chalcheans, and thinks of their rapacity, their inhumanity, their savage and contem])tuous treatment of the nations falling into their hands, the thought forces itself upon him, Can this be God's method of rectifying injustice? if He has ' ordained ' the power of the ChakUeans ' for judg- ment,' can it be part of His pure and holy pur- pose that they should to such a degree exceed the terms of their commission, and trample recklessly and indiscriminately upon all the nations of the known world '/ Is not this the prevalence of wrong upon a larger scale ? In 2'-* Habakkuk places him- self in imagination upon his prophetic watch-tower (cf. Is 21''), and 'looks out' to see what answer the Almighty will vouchsafe to his 'complaint,' or impeachment of the jiustice of God's government of the world. .J"'s answer, the signilicance of which is betokened by the terms in which it is introduced — it is to be written, namely, on tablets, that all may read it eitsily — is this : The soul uf the C'hahlman is elated xi-Wi pride : but the riijlueous shall lire by his faithfttlness.* The answer ex- I>re.sses a moral distinction ; and the distinction carries with it the different destinies of the Chal- da.'an and of the righteous. — destruction (it is implied), sooner or later, for the one, and life for the other. After dwelling for a moment more particularly — in a verse (v.'), of which the first words are desperately corrupt — upon the ambitious aims of the Chaldieans, the prophet develops at length the ruin destined in the end to overtake him, in the form of a taunting poem ("¥■?)< which he imagines, with dramatic vividness and pro- priety, to be pronounced ;igainst him by the nations whom he has outraged. The '^'f f consists of live ' woes ' (cf. Is 5*" ). denimncing in succession the insatiable lust of conquest displayed by the Chaldieans, the suicidal policy pursued by them in establishing their dominion, the dishonesty and cruelty by which the magnilicence of their cities w.as maintained, their wild and barbarous triumph over the nations which fell under their sway, their irrational idolatry (vv. <'■-''■'). At the close of the la.st 'woe," the prophet passes by contra.st from the contcm]ihition of the dumb and helpless idol to the thought of the living God, enthroned in His heavenly palace, before whom the earth must hold reverential silence (v.-").
Ch. 3 is very different in character from chs. 1. 2. Though called in the title a 'prayer,' the prayer, strictly so called, is limited to v.-, the main part of the cliaptet consisting of a lyric ode, of n^ inarkable sublimity and poetic force, in which the prophet develo])s the thought of J" coining to judg- ment, and executing vengeance on His people's foes. The prayer is that .1 would ' revive ' His 'work in the midst of years," i.e. renew or repeat, in the midst of the centuries that have pa.sseil since the exodus, the great 'work' (I's 44') of deliverance wrought by Him of old. The ode which follows is the amplitication of the thought thus expressed. The prophet pictures a theophany (vy 3-15) in which .!'' appears for the deliverance of His people and the discomlitiire of His foes. The theophany is manifestly delineated in colours sug- gested by the thought of the exodti.s, and in part (as V.') even borrowed from old poetic descriptions of it. The tenses (lus .sometimes is the case in
•Not fttith'. but moml sleadfastness nnil tntecHtv ; see tUo tiso of nji^K In 2 K lJ"i'») 22', Jer V -Jfli}), Pr 12«2!>. t'harln Strihutr'i Sons
270
HABAKKUK
HABAKKUK
Hebrew jioetry) are ambiguous ; ami it may bo doubtful wlietlier iu vv.^'^ the poet is describing, ill ideal colours, the past which he desires to see renewed, or the renewed work itself, which his imagination pictures as resembling the past. In either case, he describes (vv.''-^) J" as approaching from His ancient seat in Kdom (I'aran, of. ])t ;!3- ; Teman [in X.W. Kdom], cf. Seirand Kdom, Jg5*); the light of His ajipearing illumines the heavens ; the earth ipiakes, and nations tiee in consterna- tion. In vv.*-" the poet asks. What is the purpose of J^'s manifestation ? Is He wroth with se;is or rivei-s that He thus comes forth, causing the moun- tains to tremble, the sea to toss and roar, the sun and moon to hide themselves in terror? No; He comes forth for the salvation of His people, to annihilate those who sought to scatter it, and who delighted in the prospect of being able to ruin the people of God (vv. '--"). The description of the tlieo- phany ended, the poet, .speaking in the people's name, reverts to the thought of v.-". The prosjiect of .I"'s manifestation cannot be contemplated with- out alarm, even by Israel ; the poet's heart pal- pitates witli fear (v.'"^"^ is very obscure, and in parts evidently corrupt); on the other hand, even when scarcity and barrenness prevail in the land, he still cherishes a calm and joyous confidence in his God, who, he is persuaded, will yet ensure His people's salvation, and equip them (v.i'-*) with fresh life and strength.