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Summary Of The Book Of Habakkuk
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It is believed that the book of Habakkuk was written to Judah around the year 606 B.C., as Nineveh no longer exists, so it has to have been written some time after Nahum. There is nothing known about this prophet outside of this book, and it is believed that Habakkuk wrote the book himself, but it is uncertain. His name means "embraced" or could even be the name of an Assyrian flower. Also known as the prophet of the watchtower, he was one of the last prophets to write before the Babylonian captivity. Habakkuk was not written to prophecy to Judah or Israel about their destruction, but was written as if to God, with Habakkuk asking Him questions.
Among the complaints and questions that Habakkuk brings to God, the most prevalent is this: How can God allow evil to triumph over good? How can God use an evil nation to punish a good nation? Habakkuk feels as if God cannot, or will not hear his pleas and cries. Habakkuk sees strife in the world around him and it bothers him, because he doesn't understand why God would allow these things to happen to His own people. He wondered if God would ever allow justice to rule the world, and if so, when it would. This book is different than any of the other minor prophet books, as it is not God addressing His people through a prophet, but rather the prophet represents the people, and addresses (even challenges) God.
The people of Israel had been wicked, and God was once again punishing them for their heresies. It seemed to be a constant cycle with these people to fall away, fall into persecutions, and repent. In this instance, God used the Chaldeans, a wicked nation indeed, to punish the Israelites. Habakkuk's first question directed toward God is that of wondering why he sees the people of God ...
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God has answered all of Habakkuk's questions, and he now sees that God's actions are completely justified, however he is terrified of the power of God, and asks for mercy and hopes for compassion during the judgment time to come. Habakkuk hopes in God, and trusts in Him, and knows that whatever God does will be justified and righteous. Habakkuk's faith that the tribulations to come are necessary, and the way he accepts them (even though he himself will likely suffer from these things) is both notable, and admirable. Troublesome times come in all of our lives, we can not control that. What we can control however, is how we react, and the attitude we have during those darker times. Will we accept them the way that Habakkuk did, or will we let harder times turn us hard ourselves. "The same sun that melts the butter also hardens the clay." -Billy Graham.
Habakkuk wrote this book in the middle of one of the darkest periods of Israel’s history. According to Habakkuk 1:3-4, the way of the people lives were really messed up and wronged, where all the things that Habakkuk can see are injustice, violence, and conflict. Furthermore, all these conditions affect every parts of life and it causes the law losing its strength and justice is perverted. According to the passage’s flow, this book can be divided into two parts (1:1-2:20; 3:1-19) where each part, contains a different settings and Habakkuk’s conditions in dealing with the moral dilemma that he had about God’s holiness and God’s sovereignty over injustice. If we looked closely, the particular passages that I picked (Habakkuk 2:1-8), played such
Huck finds out that all of the bad things he did are coming back to haunt him. In chapter 31 when Jim gets sold for forty dollars, Huck realizes that “here was the plain hand of Providence slapping me in the face and letting me know my wickedness was being watched all the time whilst from up there in heaven.'; It also scared Huck because all this karma, what comes around goes around, was happening to him.
In the first chapter of God Behaving Badly, David Lamb argues that God is unfairly given a bad reputation. He claims these negative perceptions are fueled by pop culture and lead many to believe the lie that the God of the Old Testament is angry, sexist, racist, violent, legalistic, rigid, and distant. These negative perceptions, in turn, affect our faith. Ultimately, Lamb seeks to demonstrate that historical context disproves the presumptuous aforementioned. In addition, he defends his position by citing patterns of descriptions that characterize God throughout the Old Testament. “Our image of God will directly affect how we either pursue or avoid God. If we believe that the God of the Old Testament is really harsh, unfair and cruel, we won’t want anything to do with him” (Lamb 22). Clearly, they way Christians choose to see God will shape their relationship with Him.
Later around 792 BCE, the writing prophets come about with the powerful speaker Amos. Amos says a bunch of things that no one wants to hear such as the downfall of Israel’s Northern Kingdom and the death of the King. Then he really upsets everyone by saying that Israel will be sent into exile.
Ezekiel meaning the strength of God, is one of the four greater prophets in the Old Testament. Ezekiel was the son of a priest named Buzi. Not much is known about Ezekiel’s childhood; much more is know after the age of twenty-five. Ezekiel was taken captive in the captivity of Jehoiachin, about eleven years before the destruction of Jerusalem. He was one of the many members of a community of Jewish people who settled on the banks of the Chebar, a river of Babylon. Ezekiel began prophesying in 595 B.C, and finished prophesying in 573 B.C. Ezekiel prophesied for a period that lasted about twenty-two years. Ezekiel was a married man but little else is known about his family life, he also had a house in his place of exile. His wife died a sudden death during the siege of Jerusalem. He lived among the top of his companions in exile, and their elders consulted with him on all matters.
He wants to find a way to justify God’s actions, but he cannot understand why there are evil people who “harm the childless woman, / and do no good to the widow,” only to be rewarded with long, successful lives (Job 24:21). Job’s friends, say that God distributes outcomes to each person as his or her actions deserve. As a result of this belief, they insist that Job has committed some wrongdoing to merit his punishment. God himself declines to present a rational explanation for the unfair distribution of blessings and curses. He still suggests that people should not discuss divine justice since God’s power is so great that humans cannot possibly justify his
Just like how mortals have their own goals, deities also have an agenda. God, in the Hebrew Bible, has only two goals: to have humans obey Him blindly and to punish them if they disobey Him. In order to execute both of His plans, God uses violence. In Exodus 32, the Israelites who escaped Egypt insulted God by "making themselves a molten calf and bowing low to it and sacrificing to it" (Exodus 32:8), as well as claiming the calf to be the one who brought them out of Egypt (Exodus 32:4). By worshipping the idol of the calf, the Israelites had turned away from God. Because the Israelites disobeyed God, He ended up pursuing his other goal, to punish the people who disobeyed Him. Because of the Israelites' foolish act, God chose to inflict pain on them: "then the Lord sent a plague upon the people, for what they did with the calf that Aaron made" (Exodus 32:35). Since God never once appeared in front of humans as a man, the only way for the Israelites to experience God's anger and disappointment, and ultimately the power he yields, is through His physical punishment: the plague. Also, vice versa, the plague was the physical representation God needed in orde...
As audiences continue to watch a film based off of a novel, they may find changes in scenes that variate from the novel . The changes being made can be effective, or ineffective depending on the preference of the audience. In The Hobbit written by J.R.R. Tolkien and The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey directed by Peter Jackson, a hobbit and a group of dwarves go on a journey in seek of their lost fortunes. Throughout their way, they run into some complications and never seem to avoid trouble. In the film, Peter Jackson makes a change based off of the chapter “Roast Mutton” In “ Roast Mutton”, Bilbo Baggins, a hobbit, tries to take food from a troll, when he gets causing the whole group to rush in one by one wondering where everyone was getting
How could a loving God command the killing of the Canaanites? In order to be able to answer this question there are certain causes that need to be considered and that are very important to take into consideration. Let’s look at the situation from God’s point of view in the matter of the destruction of the Canaanite race. Most of my evidence will be found within the Bible and historical record.
It’s around 2348 BC and there is violence everywhere. “The Lord saw that the wickedness of humankind was great in the earth and that every inclination of the thoughts of their hearts was only evil continually “(Genesis 6:5). God is saying that humans have stopped thinking (about the Lord) or following the Lord completely and going on about their business. When God saw this he “was sorry that he had made human-kind on the earth, and it grieved him to his heart” (Genesis 6:6). The word “sorry” in Genesis 6:6 is translated to the word “Nacham” in Hebrew. One of the definitions of this word is the word “repent”, and if we look at synonyms for repent we find the word “compassion”. In Genesis 6:7 God says “I will blot out from the earth the human beings I have created- people together with animals and creeping things and birds of the air, for I am sorry that I have made them.” Again we see the word “sorry” which leads us back to compassion. The definition of the word compassion in the dictionary is sympathetic pity and concern for the sufferings of others. This means that God changed his mind and was going to show compassion. These three verses show a lot of evidence that God is showing mercy and grace.
Correspondingly, other canonical prophetic books interpret Yahweh’s will during periods of social or political crisis.4 Many minor prophets wrote during one of the three critical periods: the Assyrian Crisis, the Babylonian threat, or the postexilic readjustment.5 During the Babylonian threat of the late-seventh century, Habakkuk served as a link between God and humanity. The Assyrian kingdom, led by Shalmanasar V, forced the people of Judah into harsh conditions through a heartless deportation. In time, political drama spread throughout the region. After 612 B.C.E. when Assyria fell to Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon, Habakkuk wrote his prophetic book, focusing on the agony of humankind’s struggle to progress in such a wicked world. His message of faith and morality transcended the evil within society, ultimately revealing to the Israelites that justice would prevail.
While the Jews were still trying to find the holy land, the brother of Moses, Aaron, established a priesthood. They build the tabernacle, a large tent, it became the center for Jewish worship. In 1077 B.C. a member of the tribe of Judah, David, became King of the Israelites. He firmly established kingship and priesthood in the nation's capital of Jerusalem. Solomon, David's son, built a large temple in Jerusalem. The messiah would come from David's line. There were three prophets, Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel, each warned of punishment from god.
Even though God saw people as evil, he wanted to show his grace. He wanted to separate certain people in the world as His chosen people. “He wanted a chosen people: 1. To whom He might entrust the Holy Scriptures. 2. To be His witness to the other nations. 3. Through whom the promised Messiah could come” (Mears 47). This covenant is made between God and Abram. This covenant marks the beginning history of Israel, God’s chosen people.
In the Book of Exodus the relationship between god and man was similar to relation between a master and servant or in other words a king and a subject respectively. God says “you shall speak all that I command you”(Exodus,7:2), it is very clear through this vision that Moses had that God wanted to have dominion and control over peo...
The common theme throughout the book of Isaiah is that the Lord is almighty. He is in control and He is worthy of trust. In chapters 7 and 8 of Isaiah we see one of the most misunderstood and well-known stories in the book. The setting of this story takes place during the split of Israel into the two kingdoms of Israel and Judah. There was already a great deal of stress between the two kingdoms, however this tension was intensified by the powerful nation of Assyria who threatened many of the surrounding smaller nations. This impending threat caused the king of Israel, Pekah, and the king of Syria, Rezin, to form an alliance so that they might able to defend against the Assyrians. Both Syria and Israel were pressuring Judah to join their coalition so they might benefit from Judah’s power and resources. However king Ahaz was not in favor of the alliance, for he wanted to keep his alliance with Assyria healthy. Consequently, Israel and Syria conspired against Judah, planning on besieging the city. We are told in Isaiah 7:6 that their desire was to replace King Ahaz with a man who would support them in their stance against the Assyrians. This man was to be “the Son of Tabeel”. Which means, “good for nothing”. This could mean that they just simply wanted to replace Ahaz with someone who would just be their pawn and would do what they say. On the other hand, according to some scholars, “Tabeel” is the name of an actual person or of a town in northeastern Palestine. Ahaz determined himself to never be replaced by that good for nothing. So he prepared the city to be besieged by Israel and Syria. The story really starts to take shape when the Prophet Isaiah is sent to Ahaz and he meets him at the end of the aqueduct of ...