Essay on Prophet Exegesis: Habakkuk

While most prophets focused on hearing the word of God and conveying it to the people (Tullock & McEntire, 2006, p. 289-290). Prophets rarely asked questions of God as they received his pronouncements. However, Habakkuk was different given how he frequently asked questions of God, such as, why are you taking action, or how will you accomplish this deed, after receiving God’s pronouncement. As a result, Habakkuk could be considered an early Jewish philosopher, given his propensity for asking important questions that ultimately clarified God’s pronouncements, intentions, and judgments.

Even in the days of Jeroboam I, the man who founded the Kingdom of Israel, God already knew that Israel would be troublesome. It was forewarned that, “…the LORD will strike Israel, so that it will be like a reed swaying in the water. He will uproot Israel from this good land that he gave to their forefathers and scatter them beyond the River, because they provoked the LORD to anger by making Asherah poles.” The Israelites’ reason of doubt for God was that they were unsure that they could take over their promised land. God told them that they could remove the current inhabitants, but they were convinced that they could not. Not believing in the word of the Lord led to their exile for forty years of “wilderness wandering.” They had forgotten all of the great things that He had done for them, such as delivering them from Egyptian enslavement. Hope was given up on Him

Albert Einstein once said “Peace cannot be kept by force; it can only be achieved by understanding.” This is an extremely powerful quote, and I will seek to convey its strength, as applied to our lives as Christians, upon the careful review of Sandra L. Richter’s The Epic of Eden: A Christian Entry into the Old Testament. Richter designed this text as merely a tool by which we might further our understanding of the Old Testament narrative. With one minor glitch in her system, Richter handled the task as that of an expert in the field would - with patience, attention to central detail, and arresting

Similar to the Epic of Gilgamesh, the Law Codes of Hammurabi unveil a society in which a harsh environment led to a set world view. In an age where it was commonly believed Mesopotamian gods had already preordained the future, Hammurabi’s code came to be viewed as the embodiment of these gods’ will. The prologue of Hammurabi’s Code proclaims that Enil (the storm god) is the “determiner of destinies of the land” and “functions over all mankind.”3 This opening verse of Hammurabi’s Code demonstrates the people of Babylon firmly believed their fate was set in stone by the gods.

I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.” God makes an extensive covenant to Abram, declaring that he will become a great nation. Little does Abram know, this is the dawn of the nation of Israel, God’s chosen

The year is 1792 BCE, Hammurabi of Babylon was tasked by the mighty God Marduk to “give justice to the people of the land and to let (them) have (good) governance, I set forth truth and justice throughout the land (and) prospered the

slewed them into captivity in Babylon. On one account of an Islamic historian he stated that "a

Jeremiah had instituted the help of his friend and secretary, Baruch, to take dictations. Together they created a scroll that warned of Babylonian danger. When the scroll was sent to the Jehoiakim, the king, He ripped the columns off with a knife and had them burned. Shortly after Jeremiah and Baruch started on another scroll, this one they did not send to the king. After warnings from Jeremiah Jerusalem was subdued by Babylon in 598B.C.E. Many were taken into Exile including the newly appointed king Jehoiachin. In 594B.C.E Babylon seemed vulnerable due to a revolt in King Nebuchadnezzer's army. Jeremiah was sent to Jerusalem by Yahweh to discourage this

Habakkuk is the 35th book in the Old Testament. Habakkuk was a Prophet and a Chorister. Its purpose was for Habakkuk to announce a message of judgment. Habakkuk declared that God is the Rock and that they would be judged. He was identifying the wickedness and sin of Judah before them. But first, Habakkuk asks God some questions. He started out with: 0 Lord, how long shall I cry and You not hear! I even cry out to You violence and You will not save! And why do you show me iniquity, and cause me to see trouble? God! why does the wicked prosper? Habakkuk also ask God; Are You not from everlasting, 0 Lord my God, my Holy One?

In the year of 468 B.C., 50 years after the temple was dedicated to God and finished; a second group of exile Jews returned from Babylonia to their homeland, led by the scribe Ezra. It is said, that Ezra had a very eloquent character, when requesting to King Artaxerxes I, permission for him and a group of Jews to return to Jerusalem, and to grant him the necessary help for the temple. As a result, Artaxerxes I provided everything he asked for, because “the hand of the Lord his God upon him” (Ezra 7:6). God 's favor was upon Ezra for a number of reasons; he had prepared his heart leaving a life of obedience; he had prepared to inquire about the law as a scribe, he had prepared to fulfill it and to enforce it, and he had prepared to teach his statutes and decrees. The Bible teaches us that; “don 't just listen to God 's word. You must do what it says. Otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves” (James 1:22). This is what Ezra the scribe did for God. As a matter of fact, King Artaxerxes I decree displayed an awe and respect feeling towards God’s matters in spite of being a pagan king. As a consequence, Ezra had certain privilege. However, his main purpose was to bring to Jerusalem Artaxerxes gold and silver offered for the house of the Lord, return the remaining utensils and vessels that were still in Babylonia, in order to worship God. Correspondingly, Ezra blesses God for having been favored before the king. After these events Ezra finds a not very pleasant panorama in the

When the chastisement of God comes on people sometimes people who are innocent get hurt in the process. This was the case in this scripture. Habakkuk knew that they needed to be chastised for the unfaithfulness to God. He believes that God will stop, before they are destroyed. Faith in God is what separates Christians from the world. The world does not have hope. The resurrection is our hope. People who have confidence in themselves are not depending on God to get them through. There is no other freedom compared to the glory of God. The light is God. He is the light, like a garment God is clothed in to keep man from seeing Him. Most

Amos, as one of the Twelve Minor Prophets, evokes imagery of a fiery orator whose central theme is the pursuit of justice and righteousness which possesses significance in both ancient times and today. Amos elevates the concept of justice though human actions to a primacy in the lives of believers who established a covenant with God since the time of Abraham. We shall exegetically explore Amos 5:18-24.

God develops many special relationships with His people throughout the Old Testament. Another word to describe the relationship between God and his people is covenant. The word covenant goes into the details of the relationship. Within the five books of the Pentateuch (Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy), Historical books, Poetical books, and the Prophet books, one may pick up on the relationships being developed between God and humanity. God has an unconditional love for His people; He is always faithful to them. On the other hand, humanity has more of a conditional relationship with God. Humanity continuously falls short, making the love seem “conditional,” but are given a choice to either follow God into a relationship and receive love and benefits of the covenant or not. “No child of the covenant who presents to Him a faithless and insincere heart shall be included in its blessings.” Going off the idea of love being unconditional and conditional, this paper focuses on how the Old Testament is about God, humanity and their relationship.

1. Chapter 1: 2-4 highlights the prophet’s complaints: Habakkuk is concern about the injustice of the day. He opens his dialogue with a series questions, and accusations about how seemingly God is unconcern about the faithful. God responds (1:5-11) directly to the prophet, “look” (ra’ah) and “observe” (navat) God is going to use the Chaldeans a bitter and impetuous nation (1:6) to answer the concerns of Habakkuk.

Many argue that the Bible especially the Old Testament is not the inspired word of God because of the command to destroy the Canaanites. Many use this as a basis of their argument that the scriptures are not inspired by God because they wonder how could God, a God of non-violence, mercy and goodness command such a thing. The focus of this paper will be “how is one to respond to this accusation that the Old Testament is not inspired because of commands to destroy people such as the Canaanites? This paper will attempt to answer this question by offering contrary evidence, will argue that when God’s nature is properly understood, the command for destruction of the Canaanites is not against God’s nature and that God had justified reasons in this command. This paper will provide proof of the goodness, mercy and moral nature of God, as well as the accountability that God demands from all people. It will then show the justified reason for such commands not only for the Canaanites but other nations as well. This paper will show that in spite of the commands of destruction from God that Scripture is indeed inspired by God.