Glimmers Day 9 Hope; It’s Coming: Digging Deeper

1) Did the vision given to Habakkuk (verse 2) offer him any hope?
The context of Habakkuk 2 places the people of Israel in a predicament they had created for themselves. Because of their disobedience towards God, they are experiencing the consequences of being among godless people (Chaldeans, aka the Babylonians). In the first chapter (Habakkuk 1:3, 3:1), the prophet is literally questioning God’s plan for His people in Judah. He recognized their unfaithfulness, but He believes God is good. God’s answer, through a vision, is probably not the answer that initially produced in Habakkuk a hopeful heart. In essence, God said it would get worse before it got better. When God told Habakkuk He was going to deal with Judah’s rebellion by using their enemies to do so, Habakkuk had to rely on the kind of faith mentioned by the author of Hebrews (Hebrews 11:1-2). The kind of faith that doesn’t have all the answers. Though we aren’t given much information about Habakkuk’s vision itself, the kind of ‘hope’ it apparently offered was the waiting and trusting God’s character and His Word kind.

2) When people talk about their hope, especially non-Christians, they are most often referring to a feeling or mindset regarding their future. With this in mind, what is the difference between biblical hope and the hope we frequently observe in many people?
One of the ways Webster defines hope is “to want something to happen or be true … without any basis for expecting fulfillment”. Typically, we have this in mind when we hope for something. It’s more like a wish. But biblical hope is much more than a wish. In verse 3, God tells the prophet that it “will certainly come.” Biblical hope centers our desire in “someone … accompanied by expectation of fulfillment.” The Bible dictionary connects hope to words like “trust” and “confidence” and “eager expectation”.
“The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the whole earth…He gives strength to the faint and strengthens the powerless. Youths may become faint and weary, and young men stumble and fall, but those who trust in the Lord will renew their strength, they will soar on wings like eagles, they will run and become weary, they will walk and not faint.” (Isaiah 20:28-31)
Peter reminds us that “after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to His eternal glory in Christ, will Himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you.” (1 Peter 5:10)
Biblical hope is about Who. In Luke 2, Simeon waited expectantly for God’s promised One for many years. God was faithful to allow him to see the promise unfold. God will always accomplish His good purpose, even if we have to wait for it.

3) Are we, as people of the new covenant, still waiting for that “appointed time” (verse 3) of which was spoken to Habakkuk or was this vision fulfilled?
Reading Old Testament prophecies can leave us wondering if they were meant only for the specific reader/hearer or if they had future application. We study the context of a passage to help us understand what is occurring. In verse 3, the ‘appointed time’ would come specifically, and will come ultimately. Though there would be waiting, God was faithful in His judgment against Babylon (Isaiah 13; Jeremiah 50-51) and the enemy kingdom would certainly fall. (Daniel 5:28-30)
As we meditate on these words of God to Habakkuk in context of all of Scripture, I believe we can also conclude that God was communicating His ultimate judgment and redemption. At the ‘appointed time’ God will render His judgment on His enemies and He will save His people through His Son. Every single word of His will come to pass exactly as He has spoken. The God of Habakkuk never changes. Just as He told the prophet, he spoke similarly to John. “Mark my words: I AM TRUE AND FAITHFUL.” (Revelation 21:3-5)
So, the answer to the question is YES! “For every one of God’s promises is ‘Yes’ in Him. Therefore, through Him we also say ‘Amen’ to the glory of God!” (2 Corinthians 1:20-22)