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| 1 The burden which Habakkuk the prophet did see. |
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| 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! |
O LORD, how long – Habakkuk, representative of all who love righteousness, asks how long it will be until the present evil world will give place to the world to come "wherein dwelleth righteousness." (2 Pet. 3:13) R622:2
Shall I cry – Have I entreated. R622:1
Of violence – Because of violence. R622:1
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| 3 Why dost thou show me iniquity, and cause me to behold grievance? for spoiling and violence are before me: and there are that raise up strife and contention. |
Spoiling – Robbery. R622:1
And there are – And there is a judgment, but oppression is more powerful. R622:1
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| 4 Therefore the law is slacked, and judgment doth never go forth: for the wicked doth compass about the righteous; therefore wrong judgment proceedeth. |
Slacked – Powerless. R622:1
Judgment doth never – Justice cometh not forth victorious. R622:1
Wrong judgment proceedeth – Therefore doth justice come forth perverted. R622:1
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| 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. |
Behold ye – Look ye about. R622:2
The Lord answers the complaint. R622:2
Wonder marvellously – Be astonished and astounded. R622:2
Work a work – The harvest work, and a change in dispensation. R1487:3
Referred to by Paul (Acts 13:40, 41) as applicable to the R1487:3
First, gathering his saints and separating them as wheat from tares; second, the binding of the tares; third, the heavens rolling together as a scroll; fourth, the elements of earth getting ready for the final conflagration. R1488:2
"His work, his strange work." (Isa. 28:21) R1487:3
Fulfill a work. R622:2
In preparation for Christ's glorious reign. R1487:6
Ye will not believe – Conservative Pharisees of today shake the cautious head, saying that we cannot be on the eve of a new dispensation, for " lo, all things continue as they were from the beginning." (2 Pet. 3:4) R1488:5
Though it be told you – If you did not see some evidences you would consider the things impossibilities. R622:2
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| 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. |
The Chaldeans – Communists, Socialists, Nihilists, etc. R622:2
Babylon was the capital of Chaldea, so symbolic Babylon reigns over the civilized world, and the masses are fitly termed the Chaldeans. R622:2
Nation – People. R622:2
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| 7 They are terrible and dreadful: their judgment and their dignity shall proceed of themselves. |
Their dignity – Their burden, or restraint. R622:2
Proceed of themselves – From them shall proceed the judgment. R622:3
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| 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. |
Their horses – Doctrines. R622:3
Are swifter – Indicating their rapid spread. R622:3
More fierce – Showing the ferocity of the doctrines. R622:3
Their horsemen – Teachers of these doctrines, the leaders. R622:3
Shall come from far – Will be foreigners. R622:3
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| 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. |
All for violence – Their mission is violence. R622:3
As the east wind – Be set in opposition to the east--the direction of the sunrising, representing the dawn of the Millennial day. R622:3
The captivity – The bounden ones. R622:3
These shall cause a measure of judgment to come upon the evil institutions, yet they will be in opposition to the true light. R622:3
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| 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. |
Heap dust – Cast up earth mounds. R622:3
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| 11 Then shall his mind change, and he shall pass over, and offend, imputing this his power unto his god. |
Then – By reason of their successes. R622:3
His mind change – Not realizing that they have been used to overthrow oppression. R622:3
He shall pass over – Become surpassingly proud. R622:3
Unto his god – Boasting themselves of the victory of Liberalism. R622:3
Not realizing that they have been used as the Lord's great army to overthrow oppression and bring down the proud. R622:3
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| 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. |
Art thou not – The prophet represents the true saints as addressing Jehovah. R622:4
O mighty God – O Protector. R622:4
For correction – Thou hast appointed them to correct nations. This is the confidence of the saints. R622:4
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| 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?
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Of purer eyes – Nothing short of perfection can find favor in God's eyes. R1610:2
Than to behold evil – With approval. R5901:6*, R1351:5*
God detects the smallest deflection in our hearts, and his character is so holy that he cannot but hate it. R5902:1*
We must be purified from all iniquity before we can have the approval of God. R5901:6*
Hence ultimately all who are in any way imperfect will be destroyed. R1610:2
He will not permit evil to all eternity, for this condition would not be pleasing to him. R5211:4
Canst not look on – Recognize with any degree of allowance; countenance. F120; R870:3, R386:6, R5901:6*
Denoting his abhorrence. R1351:5*, R5901:6*
According to the principles of divine government and law, he has no degree of allowance; he cannot condone sin nor admit its necessity in any degree. E418
This does not signify a perfection in the flesh, but a perfection of heart, of intention, of will, of endeavor. R5902:1
In eastern countries long ago, to show the face was a mark of favor; to turn the back, a mark of disfavor. B188
To have pardoned Adam, God would have made himself a liar. The absolute unchangeableness of God is the firm foundation upon which all his loving promises rest. R386:6
Since the ransom has been laid down, Jehovah, in due time, will no more disregard and treat men as sinners, turning his back upon them, but will send refreshment from his face, his favor, through Jesus, his agent in the restitution of all things. (Acts 3:19-21) B188
Iniquity – Thus the destruction of the wicked in the Second Death is the essence of wisdom. Ultimately all evil shall be destroyed. R5211:4
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| 14 And makest men as the fishes of the sea, as the creeping things, that have no ruler over them? |
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| 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. |
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| 16 Therefore they sacrifice unto their net, and burn incense unto their drag; because by them their portion is fat, and their meat plenteous. |
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| 17 Shall they therefore empty their net, and not spare continually to slay the nations? |
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