At some point in our lives we learn about the consequences of behavior. I remember seeing a kid get spanked at daycare and thinking, “I don’t want to misbehave like him.” In high school I was late to class several times, received after-school detention, and realized, “I need to get to class on time.” After my first (and only) speeding ticket I attended an eight-hour traffic school class and thought, “Speeding is not worth this.”
Consequences for behavior is something the nation of Judah and the man Habakkuk had become acquainted with. When learning about future punishment for past sins of Judah Habakkuk writes, “Though the fig tree should not blossom and there be no fruit on the vines, though the yield of the olive should fail and the fields produce no food, though the flock should be cut off from the fold and there be no cattle in the stalls” (Hab 3:17, NASB).[1]
Here Habakkuk describes the luxuries people enjoy as well as the necessities they needed to survive. When Habakkuk tells us that “though the fig tree should not blossom and there be no fruit on the vines, though the yield of the olive should fail,”he describes the noblest fruit trees in the area. The fig tree, fruit, and olive represent choicest products of the land.[2]
When Habakkuk tells us “the fields produce no food, though the flock should be cut off from the fold and there be no cattle in the stalls,”he describes necessary items. The grain of the fields, the flock, and the cattle are the necessary items that produce bread, milk, and meat.
Without these items there will be no wine, no anointing oil, no vegetables, no milk, and no wool. This is a basic list of the produce and livestock that form the basis of an ancient economy. If these things go away the people cannot survive. Most importantly, this is not because of a plague or lack of rain, it will be directly from the hands of their enemies (Hab 1:6, 15). When Babylon comes to Judah they will destroy buildings, decimate crops, and ruin fields (Hab 2:2–20).
Imagine what life would be like if our country’s stock market closed, the banks did not open, the grocery stores were not able to get produce, and water was not flowing. Devastation would occur.
The lesson we learn from Habakkuk 3:17 is we recognize God will judge and do what he says. Let’s survey a little bit of Scripture to dive deeper.
God had told Judah that judgment would occur if they disobeyed him. As Israel was about to enter the Promised Land God gave Israel one last message. In Deuteronomy 28 we read about two predictions from God. One prediction was a promise of blessings (Deut 28:1–14) and the other prediction was a promise of curses (Deut 28:15–68).[3] Deuteronomy 28:49–51 provides a good example of God’s prediction of curses for Judah that he would send if Israel disobeyed him. “The Lord will bring a nation against you from afar, from the end of the earth, as the eagle swoops down, a nation whose language you shall not understand, a nation of fierce countenance who will have no respect for the old, nor show favor to the young. Moreover, it shall eat the offspring of your herd and the produce of your ground until you are destroyed, who also leaves you no grain, new wine, or oil, nor the increase of your herd or the young of your flock until they have caused you to perish.”
God told his people what would happen if they disobeyed him. Later God does what he said he would do. The prophet Jeremiah records the destruction of Jerusalem by the Babylonians in Lamentations 2:11–12, 20; 4:4, 9–10; 5:17–18. That destruction by the Babylonians is the one predicted in the book of Habakkuk.
It might be easy for us living under the promises of the New Testament to believe we are exempt from God’s judgment. However, the church shouldn’t be surprised either by God’s judgment. Galatians 5:19–21 provides strong warnings for people living today and so does Galatians 6:7–8, “for whatever a man sows, this he will also reap. For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life.”
I enjoy reading the Frank & Earnest comic in our local newspaper each day. In one comic Frank is reading the newspaper that has the following headline, “Wonderland News: Prince Charming in Big Trouble.” As Frank reads the newspaper he tells Earnest, “It was bound to happen eventually – Snow White, Sleeping Beauty and Cinderella met, and realized there is only one prince charming.”[4] The lesson is that our wrong deeds eventually catch up to us.
Scripture teaches us that there are penalties for sin in a Christian’s life. There’s a loss of fellowship (1 John 1:6), church excommunication (1 Cor 5:4–5), chastisement (Hebrews 12:6), and sometimes even physical death (1 Cor 11:30). When we do wrong, sin, and violate God’s commands, then we should recognize that God will judge us and do what he says.
[1] 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.
[2] As seen in Joel 1:7; Hosea 2:12; Mic 4:4; 6:15; Deut 6:11; 8:8.
[3] There are four times as many curses as there are blessings, either to follow ANE treaties or to foreshadow the future failure of Israel to keep the covenant.
[4] Bob Thaves and Thom Thaves, image #193356. Published March 18, 2022.