"And the LORD answered me, and said, Write the vision, and make it plain upon tables, that he may run that readeth it. For the vision is yet for an appointed time, but at the end it shall speak, and not lie: though it tarry, wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not tarry. Behold, his soul which is lifted up is not upright in him: but the just shall live by his faith." Habakkuk 2:2-4 KJV
The judgment of which God spoke was surely coming. He would use the Chaldeans to punish His own rebellious and disobedient people who had slacked off in their obedience to God's law and who were living in wickedness and violence.
Habakkuk, the prophet, questioned how God could allow wickedness to go unpunished and then how He could use a people even more wicked than His own people to carry out His judgments. God's answer revealed that He would use the Chaldeans to judge those in Judah who were living in wickedness and sin, but He would then also judge the Chaldeans for their giving the glory of their successes to their idols. Read Habakkuk 1:1 -- 2:4.
This ancient prophecy is fitting for us today because our own nation and people have turned away from the LORD God and His Word and exalt sin and wickedness. While it may appear to us that God does nothing, He will not allow our nation's sin to go unpunished. We do not know how soon God's judgment will come, but it will come -- for our rejection of God and His Word, for the murder of millions of unborn, for our pride, sexual perversions, violence and thievery (often protected by the law), etc. And God may very well use a nation more evil than ours to exact His judgment upon us.
Those who remain proud and rebellious will come under the judgment of the Almighty God. But the just -- those who humble themselves and repent, looking to Christ and His cross for mercy -- will live by their faith in Christ Jesus.
O just and merciful God, we pray for Your divine judgment upon those who rebel against You and reject Your Word but pray that You would have mercy upon us and forgive our sins for the sake of Christ Jesus and His innocent sufferings and death upon the cross in our stead. In His name we pray. Amen.
[Devotion by Randy Moll. Scripture quotations are from the King James Version of the Bible.]
Editorial on 10/05/2016