20160203 Wednesday, February 3 2016
Habakkuk 01: The Burdens And Oracles Of Prophecy

by Wayne Blank
See also 1 Year Holy Bible Reading Plan

"Say thou unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; This burden concerneth the prince in Jerusalem, and all the house of Israel that are among them"

Habakkuk, from the Hebrew word pronounced cawb-awk-cook, meaning embrace, was a prophet of the Kingdom of Judah (see Israel In History and Prophecy: Kingdom Of Judah) about twenty years before the Babylonian Empire made its culminating invasion in 586 BC (see Why Did Judah Fall To Babylon?).

Habakkuk's prophetic ministry was also a lament over how the people of the Kingdom of Judah (i.e. the tribes of Judah, Benjamin and Levi; see Jews - Three Tribes and Three Meanings) had arrogantly and defiantly ignored the warnings of the earlier prophets, as well as the prophets of that time (Habakkuk was a contemporary of Jeremiah; see A Faithful Winner Among Unrepentant Losers and Why Didn't Jeremiah Live In The Kingdom Of Israel?) and that the time of the LORD's Wrath was nearly upon them. Habakkuk and Jeremiah lived in a political and religious twilight zone of their nation - a twilight toward the sunset of the Kingdom of Judah, not the twilight toward sunrise - all because of their foolish refusal to repent.

The Hebrew word pronounced maw-saw means a burden, or something "heavy" to be delivered. As written in the Holy Scriptures, it was further used to refer to the responsibility and effort (and frequent danger) required to deliver a spoken prophecy, or "oracle" ("oracle" is not some sort of mystic or occult word; it simply means a spoken message i.e. from oral, a spoken oration) by a prophet. Hence the reason that translators accurately use "burden," "oracle" or "prophecy" to render the single Hebrew word into English.

Examples, from the beginning of the Book of Habakkuk:

"1:1 The burden which Habakkuk the prophet did see." (Habakkuk 1:1 in the King James Version)

"1:1 The oracle that Habakkuk the prophet saw." (Habakkuk 1:1 in the English Standard Version)

"1:1 This is the prophecy which Havakuk the prophet saw." (Habakkuk 1:1 in The Complete Jewish Bible)

Delivering the "burden" of prophecy was common to all of the prophets because, if the people had been obeying the LORD, there would have been no need of the prophets to deliver the LORD's warning to repent. It's also the reason that the true prophets were almost always feared and hated - while the corrupt false prophets were popular and loved (see also Where Did True and False Prophets Originate?).

"13:1 The burden of Babylon, which Isaiah the son of Amoz did see." (Isaiah 13:1 KJV)

"12:10 Say thou unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; This burden concerneth the prince in Jerusalem, and all the house of Israel that are among them." (Ezekiel 12:10 KJV)

So too then the "burden" of Habakkuk which "the prophet did see."

"1:1 The burden which Habakkuk the prophet did see.

1:2 O LORD, how long shall I cry, and thou wilt not hear! even cry out unto thee of violence, and thou wilt not save! 1:3 Why dost thou shew me iniquity, and cause me to behold grievance? for spoiling and violence are before me: and there are that raise up strife and contention.

1:4 Therefore the law is slacked, and judgment doth never go forth: for the wicked doth compass about the righteous; therefore wrong judgment proceedeth.

1:5 Behold ye among the heathen, and regard, and wonder marvellously: for I will work a work in your days, which ye will not believe, though it be told you.

1:6 For, lo, I raise up the Chaldeans, that bitter and hasty nation, which shall march through the breadth of the land, to possess the dwellingplaces that are not theirs. 1:7 They are terrible and dreadful: their judgment and their dignity shall proceed of themselves. 1:8 Their horses also are swifter than the leopards, and are more fierce than the evening wolves: and their horsemen shall spread themselves, and their horsemen shall come from far; they shall fly as the eagle that hasteth to eat. 1:9 They shall come all for violence: their faces shall sup up as the east wind, and they shall gather the captivity as the sand. 1:10 And they shall scoff at the kings, and the princes shall be a scorn unto them: they shall deride every strong hold; for they shall heap dust, and take it. 1:11 Then shall his mind change, and he shall pass over, and offend, imputing this his power unto his god.

1:12 Art thou not from everlasting, O LORD my God, mine Holy One? we shall not die. O LORD, thou hast ordained them for judgment; and, O mighty God, thou hast established them for correction. 1:13 Thou art of purer eyes than to behold evil, and canst not look on iniquity: wherefore lookest thou upon them that deal treacherously, and holdest thy tongue when the wicked devoureth the man that is more righteous than he? 1:14 And makest men as the fishes of the sea, as the creeping things, that have no ruler over them? 1:15 They take up all of them with the angle, they catch them in their net, and gather them in their drag: therefore they rejoice and are glad. 1:16 Therefore they sacrifice unto their net, and burn incense unto their drag; because by them their portion is fat, and their meat plenteous. 1:17 Shall they therefore empty their net, and not spare continually to slay the nations?" (Habakkuk 1:1-17 KJV)

Fact Finder: What "burden" did the Messiah carry?
See The Son's Burden Prophecy