Patience in perplexity

HABAKKUK HAS VISION

I found the opening verses of Habakkuk (King James Version) rather hard to take in, so I turned to the Moffatt Translation of the Bible. What a surprise! The opening verses were easy to read. I had forgotten that Moffatt shifts verses around. The canny James Moffatt has shifted verses 5 to 11 to the opening position of the chapter, so that we are given the real crux of the oracle or vision up front, as it were.

 

[Having consulted Moffatt, I wondered about the man. I found that he was Scottish, born in
Glasgow; became a church minister, translator, professor of church history, etc. His Introduction is long. I like the potted history of the Jewish people we find on pages viii and ix, e.g. “Palestine lies between Egypt and Assyria or Babylonia, and the story of the Hebrew clans who became the nation of Israel and then the Jewish people, lies between a captivity in each country.”

But – we are not blogging about Moffatt’s translation.]

 

OVERVIEW

The Introduction to Habakkuk (Haa-buk-kukk) in the New Revised Standard Bible directs: “...one must be attentive with eye and ear to the powerful images of justice and injustice, confidence and doubt, salvation and judgment, God and humankind.” Quite thrilling really.

 

OUTLINE

The Bible Dictionary gives an outline of the book:

I.  Title (1:1)

II.  Dialogue-lament (1:2–2:19)

      A. Lament on the success of the wicked (1:2-4)

      B. God’s response (2:5-11)

      C. Lament on the success of Babylon (1:12-17)

      D. God’s response (2:1-5)

      E. Five woes against the wicked (2:6-19)

III. Hymn on God’s victory over his enemies (2:20–3:19)

 

PROPHECY

Noting “II. Dialogue-lament” above, it occurs to me that we can have a similar dialogue with God. Habukkuk was a prophet.  As students of Christian Science, we are prophets as we work with the Glossary definition of “prophet” In Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy: Prophet.  A spiritual seer; disappearance of material sense before the conscious facts of spiritual Truth (p.593:4).

 

The One Volume Bible Commentary by J.R. Dummelow references Hab. 2: 4 (KJV): “Behold, his soul which is lifted up is not upright in him: but the just shall live by his faith”. Dummelow writes: “All that we know of the person of Habakkuk is that he was a great prophet who has left us one of the noblest and most penetrating words in the history of religion…This is one of the profoundest utterances of the Old Testament.” 

 

I will see what some other translations have made of this verse – many are listed in Bible Hub.

 

·        Christian Standard Bible
Look, his ego is inflated; he is without integrity. But the righteous one will live by his faith.

 

·        New Living Translation
“Look at the proud! They trust in themselves, and their lives are crooked. But the righteous will live by their faithfulness to God.

 

·        New International Version
“See, the enemy is puffed up; his desires are not upright— but the righteous person will live by his faithfulness —

 

PATIENCE IN PERPLEXITY RE WORLD SORROW

The sorrow which stirs Habakkuk's...

From the October 1934 issue of The Christian Science Journal

"THE ABINGDON BIBLE COMMENTARY."

THE sorrow which stirs Habakkuk's heart is not a national but a great world-sorrow; and . . . the book suggests that the secret of patience in perplexity is an indomitable faith in the purpose of God and in the ultimate defeat of evil and triumph of good. . . .

Two great and permanent truths expressed by the prophet deserve special mention.

(1) The universality of the divine government of the world. ...

(2) The righteous shall live by his faithfulness.

In other words, righteousness, fidelity, steadfastness constitute elements of permanency which endure forever.

— From "THE ABINGDON BIBLE COMMENTARY."

found on JSH-Online.com

 

“Patience in perplexity.”  Isn’t that what we are needing at this time of world-wide consternation and perplexity.  We can have pure trust in God’s “working His purpose out” as Hymn 82 tells us (Christian Science Hymnal). Irving Tomlinson reports in his Twelve Years with Mary Baker Eddy: “A helper in Mrs. Eddy's household once said of her: ‘One time she told us not to say there is too much or too little of anything. She said: God governs. He knows best. He will do all things right.’ This shows pure trust.”

 

I think I get a little of the import of the words quoted above: “...one must be attentive with eye and ear to the powerful images of justice and injustice, confidence and doubt, salvation and judgment, God and humankind” as we study the prophet’s message.

 

Joyce Voysey