How we view God affects what we believe he will do and what we believe he can do. Because of this our beliefs about God are some of the most important things we contemplate.
Our beliefs about God affect the way we answer the following questions. Is our God big, or is our God little? Is our God all-knowing, or is our God figuring it out as he goes along? Is our God in control, or is our God being controlled? Is our God capable of doing all things, or is our God incapable of some things? Is our God perfect, or is our God imperfect? Is our God competent, or is our God incompetent?
As we read the book of Habakkuk we are learning how Habakkuk views God and in this way, we are learning what Habakkuk believes God will do and can do in both Habakkuk’s situation and in our lives.
Habakkuk 3:3–15 contains a visual revelation. These verses are a positive response to Habakkuk’s prayer for divine mercy in Habakkuk 3:1–2. In response to Habakkuk’s prayer (recorded in Hab 3:1–2) God gives Habakkuk a reminder of God’s past mighty acts. Those reminders of God’s past mighty acts are designed to stimulate faith in God for the future. A simpler summary would be this: God’s work in history gives us confidence in the future.
Habakkuk 3:3–15 is a theophany.[1] A theophany is a manifestation of God on earth and “an appearance of God in great power and glory.”[2]
We read about the awesome appearance of God in Habakkuk 3:3–7. Habakkuk records God leading Israel toward the promised land (Hab 3:3) as well as the light from God’s presence. “His radiance is like the sunlight; He has rays flashing from his hand, and there is the hiding of His power” (Hab 3:4, NASB).[3]
We read about the amazing acts of God in Habakkuk 3:8–15. In this section, God reveals his progress. “In indignation You marched through the earth; in anger You trampled the nations” (Hab 3:12, NASB).God’s not tiptoeing through the tulips. He’s triumphant over the towers of nations. He’s trampling over the nations that are in his path. In this section, God also reveals his preservation. “You went forth for the salvation of Your people, for the salvation of Your anointed. You struck the head of the house of the evil to lay him open from thigh to neck. Selah” (Hab 3:13, NASB).
The message of this theophany in front of Habakkuk is simple: God’s past acts give confidence for the future. In a similar way we will learn this: God’s work in history gives us confidence for our future.
[1] The clearest theophany in Scripture, besides Habakkuk 3:3–15, is Exodus 19:9, 18.
[2] Waylon Bailey, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, vol. 20, The New American Commentary (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1999), 358.
[3] Scripture taken from the New American Standard Bible, Copyright The Lockman Foundation 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995. Used by permission.