Habakkuk Finds Joy in Future Fruit

Today’s Reading: Habakkuk 2:4–6; 3:16–19a

It may not be clear without the rest of Habakkuk, but he is talking about Babylon.
* Habakkuk uses the singular (he and his) to refer to the entire nation of Babylon.
* He is describing the nation that had conquered the region, including Israel.

It could seem as if the Babylonians were enjoying blessing; they had great power and prosperity, and they were God’s instrument of judgment on Israel.
* Were they going to continue to enjoy unhindered success, while Israel wastes away?
* God assures Habakkuk that Babylon’s “day of trouble” is coming.
* But for the time being, Habakkuk, and all of Israel, must accept hardship and poverty.

Like Jeremiah’s turn of hope in Lamentations, Habakkuk overcomes the circumstances of Israel’s defeat and exile with a God-ward perspective.
* He has no worldly reason for joy, but it finds abundant joy in the LORD (v. 18).
* He finds strength in having sure-footed faith (v. 19).

Not immediately, but ultimately, God’s purposes will be fulfilled.
* Present joy and strength are not built on present circumstances, but on purpose and hope.
* And there are no purposes greater than the LORD’s, and there is no hope higher than hope in the LORD.

How To Defeat Despair in Three Verses

Today’s Reading: LAMENTATIONS 1:1–2; 3:18–26

Jeremiah goes through a remarkable transformation in a few verses here.
* In verse 18, he has reached the bottom, weary and hopeless.
* But he finds his way back to hope in verse 21, and the following three verses explain how.

He builds his hope on the unchanging nature of God.
* God’s love and mercy are constant and endless.
* So, instead of looking at the changing world, he “calls to mind” these truths about God.
* He combats a tendency towards despair with a deliberate discipline.

Jeremiah’s proclamation, “The LORD is my portion,” may not make much sense to us.
* But in the context of Israel’s covenant with God, this is rich with meaning.
* The Levites were not given a portion of the promised land, but only the Lord (Num. 18:20).
* So, this is a statement of inheritance; Jeremiah’s hope is not only changing its source, but also its goal!

The cure for the despair of the world is the hope of, in, and for the LORD.