"Greetings in the Name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ for 2 March 2014, from Cindi, a daughter of the King of kings and Lord of lords."
Today's Blogs Title: "The Prophet's Question and the Lord's Reply"
Today's Blogs Scripture Reading: Habakkuk 1:1-17
Today's Blogs Key Verse: Habakkuk 1:12 "Are You not from everlasting, O Lord my God, my Holy One? We shall not die. O Lord, You have appointed them for judgement; O Rock, You have marked them for correction."
The Hebrew concept "listen" means more than simply hear. Habakkuk knows that God listens to his complaint. What he cannot understand is why God does not act in response to his pleas. In this case, God explains to the prophet "for our instruction." You and I typically will not know why there seems to be no answer to our prayers. But we as Christians can be sure that God does hear and has reasons for any apparent delay.
When the words "violence" "injustice" and "wrong" as in the Old Testament as they are use in verse 3, without reference to some specific foreign enemy, they typically characterize conditions among God's people. Despite Josiah's religious reforms, there had been no moral and social transformation. Habakkuk has been driver to a conclusion that we as a child of God should remember: "Conversion with transformation is imitation."
God's Law was locally administered by elders, who heard civil as well as as criminal cases. To work, this system required honest judges and witnesses who would not lie. What Habakkuk is saying in verse 4, is that there are so many more wicked than righteous persons that justice "never prevails" in the courts.
In verses 6-11, Habakkuk describes the mighty Chaldean's who ruled Babylon from 625 to 539 B.C. These verses graphically describe the military strategies adopted by the Babylonian forces, featuring swift, slashing cavalry attacks, verses 8-9, and sieges which featured construction of great earthen ramps that over topped the highest walls and permitted an assault on a city's forces.
In verses 13-17, Habakkuk raises the question, "Tolerating the treacherous." If the wicked "succeed" they will exalt their power as their god. Even worse, it will seem to all, that mankind is like a fish in the sea, with no moral governor supervising human affairs. How can God permit the wicked to prosper and thus raise questions, not only about His moral governance of the universe, but also His very existence?
How many times have you and I wondered how God could also the wicked to prosper. In Chapter 2 we will have an answer.
Have a God Filled and Spirit Led Day. Go in Peace and Serve the Lord our God with Gladness. Love God More Today. ALWAYS remember that when you have a spiritual, emotional, relational, physical, or financial dilemma in your life and you yell out, "I CAN'T," Listen to the Sweet, Soft, and Tender Voice of God as He WHISPERS to you, "BUT I CAN."
Jesus Reigns, and He Is, Has Been, and ALWAYS Will Be In Complete and Total Control. May God's Peace, Love, Strength, and Grace be with you all. May we a Christians reach to heaven with one hand and with the other reach out to this lost and dying of this planet. May we as John at the close of the Book of Revelation say, "Come, Lord Jesus, Come."
Your Sister in Christ,
Cindi
Today's Blogs Title: "The Prophet's Question and the Lord's Reply"
Today's Blogs Scripture Reading: Habakkuk 1:1-17
Today's Blogs Key Verse: Habakkuk 1:12 "Are You not from everlasting, O Lord my God, my Holy One? We shall not die. O Lord, You have appointed them for judgement; O Rock, You have marked them for correction."
The Hebrew concept "listen" means more than simply hear. Habakkuk knows that God listens to his complaint. What he cannot understand is why God does not act in response to his pleas. In this case, God explains to the prophet "for our instruction." You and I typically will not know why there seems to be no answer to our prayers. But we as Christians can be sure that God does hear and has reasons for any apparent delay.
When the words "violence" "injustice" and "wrong" as in the Old Testament as they are use in verse 3, without reference to some specific foreign enemy, they typically characterize conditions among God's people. Despite Josiah's religious reforms, there had been no moral and social transformation. Habakkuk has been driver to a conclusion that we as a child of God should remember: "Conversion with transformation is imitation."
God's Law was locally administered by elders, who heard civil as well as as criminal cases. To work, this system required honest judges and witnesses who would not lie. What Habakkuk is saying in verse 4, is that there are so many more wicked than righteous persons that justice "never prevails" in the courts.
In verses 6-11, Habakkuk describes the mighty Chaldean's who ruled Babylon from 625 to 539 B.C. These verses graphically describe the military strategies adopted by the Babylonian forces, featuring swift, slashing cavalry attacks, verses 8-9, and sieges which featured construction of great earthen ramps that over topped the highest walls and permitted an assault on a city's forces.
In verses 13-17, Habakkuk raises the question, "Tolerating the treacherous." If the wicked "succeed" they will exalt their power as their god. Even worse, it will seem to all, that mankind is like a fish in the sea, with no moral governor supervising human affairs. How can God permit the wicked to prosper and thus raise questions, not only about His moral governance of the universe, but also His very existence?
How many times have you and I wondered how God could also the wicked to prosper. In Chapter 2 we will have an answer.
Have a God Filled and Spirit Led Day. Go in Peace and Serve the Lord our God with Gladness. Love God More Today. ALWAYS remember that when you have a spiritual, emotional, relational, physical, or financial dilemma in your life and you yell out, "I CAN'T," Listen to the Sweet, Soft, and Tender Voice of God as He WHISPERS to you, "BUT I CAN."
Jesus Reigns, and He Is, Has Been, and ALWAYS Will Be In Complete and Total Control. May God's Peace, Love, Strength, and Grace be with you all. May we a Christians reach to heaven with one hand and with the other reach out to this lost and dying of this planet. May we as John at the close of the Book of Revelation say, "Come, Lord Jesus, Come."
Your Sister in Christ,
Cindi
