Habakkuk and Zephaniah

Considered "minor prophets" because of the volume of their work, not the quality, Habakkuk and Zephaniah were contemporaries of Nahum and Jeremiah. The upcoming siege and captivity of Judah was to be landmark event in the history of Israel, so it should be of no surprise to us that there was so much prophetic activity at this time. Of specific interest to me were the words of the Lord to Habakkuk after he questioned God's use of Babylon to discipline the people of Judah. Habakkuk had a legitimate complaint, "should you be silent while the wicked swallow up people more righteous than they?". Habakkuk did not doubt that they deserved punishment for their sins. In his opening paragraph, he listed a variety of social injustices that were plaguing the nation. But it did not seem fair that people who were worse sinners than they, should have the upper hand. Remember that the people of this time were very works-oriented and did not subscribe to the belief that "all had fallen short of the glory of God"

God's response to Habakkuk's complaint spoke to the eventual judgement of Babylon. Verse 3 says, "This vision is for a future time. It describes the end, and it will be fulfilled. If it seems slow in coming, wait patiently, for it will surely take place". So it seems Babylon would be taken down in the near future, as it was by the Persians, but also in the distant future...the end times. Do you know where Babylon is on our modern map? Iraq! End times prophecy center around the middle-eastern region, which certainly fits with what is happening in our newspapers. Interesting, no?

Tomorrow's reading: Zeph. 2:8-3:20, 2 Chron. 35:20-27, 2 Kings 23:29-30, Jer. 47:1-7, 48:1-47