I am using One Year Bible Online for my daily Bible study. For today, One Year Bible Online links here. I have found that by writing this daily blog of what I see when I read these scriptures, I get more out of them. I hope that by posting these ruminations others may get some benefit as well. In order to make that possible I read the passages and write my thoughts a day in advance. If you have any thoughts or comments regarding these verses or what I have written about them, please post them.
Habakkuk begins by crying out to God and asking Him how long will He wait before He acts. Habakkuk describes a time when the wicked far outnumber the righteous and justice has become perverted as a result. God responds to Habakkuk’s complaint by pointing out that He was raising up Babylon to bring judgment against the wicked. Included in God’s response was a reminder that just because God was going to use the Babylonians to do His will it did not mean that the Babylonians were not sinners. God tells Habakkuk that He will not completely wipe out His people, He will rescue those who rely on God.
God may allow the proud and arrogant to prosper for a time, but sorrow awaits those who use violence or deception to gain wealth and power. Those who trust in their own creations will discover that their sins come back upon them. In our time of need, God will help us if we rely on Him and trust His name. Even in His anger, He will be more merciful than we deserve. God will march forth in anger to rescue those who faithfully serve Him. He will bring destruction on those who think that they can prey upon the righteous. Even in the midst of my struggles, even when things still seem to be going wrong, I will rejoice in the Lord and have faith in His wonderful love.
John describes what he sees when the fifth and sixth trumpets sound. With the fifth trumpet a cloud of locusts would swarm the earth, bringing harm only to those people who did not bear the seal of God on their foreheads. They would bring such terror that those they descended upon would desire to die, but be unable to do so. When the sixth trumpet sounds, the four angels prepared for this day would be released. They would lead an army of 200 million mounted troops. This mighty army would spread plagues of fire, smoke, and burning sulfur throughout the earth. Despite these troubles, those who survived would refuse to repent and turn to God. They would continue to worship things of this earth and in their sins of murder, witchcraft, sexual immorality, and theft. Let us pray for our friends and those God brings us into contact with that they may turn from their sins and accept God’s wonderful grace. But let us also remember that there are those who will refuse to give up their sins, even in the face of the most terrible experiences imaginable. Everyone must decide for themselves to accept, or not, God’s wonderful grace, and each person will receive the consequences of their decision.
This is a difficult psalm for me, but it reminds us that there are times when songs of happiness and joy are inappropriate. There are times for mourning and crying out to the Lord, rather than of joy and happiness.
This proverb warns against slandering (falsely claiming someone did something wrong) an employee to his employer. If you do you will anger the one you slandered and pay the price for your lies.