Habakkuk 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!”

There is a lot of talk about a great revival that is coming, many are praying and fasting for a revival to sweep this nation.  I fear much of the prayer for revival stems from the fear that we as believers will be swept up in the judgment of God and we figure a good revival just might stave off a collapse of our economy or prevent California from slipping off into the ocean. It just may prevent a terrorist from releasing a dirty bomb, or a bio-weapon in our water supply.  Habakkuk was praying for God to do something about the violence in Israel, he was fasting and praying about it. He was actually fasting and praying for a revival.  Unfortunately, that was not how God answered his prayer.

The English word violence might not be our best choice for the Hebrew word  chaman.  But in some ways it is not. This word has extremely broad usages.  This is a word that can speak volumes. This word expresses the idea of wealth or pleasure that is obtained through violence, oppression, theft, etc.  In includes predatory lending, ponzie schemes, corrupt businessmen  who put others out of business to enhance their own. It includes corrupt means of government to obtains funds, like allowing a lottery to move beyond a game to an act of desperation among people.  It even includes those who get abortions so they can pursue their own selfish life styles.  Ultimately, it carries out the idea of  enhancing your own power, wealth and/or pleasure at the expense of another person.  Chaman (violence) even involves little things like overcharging for your services or a product.  Yes, even selling a used car for it’s market value but not telling the buyer it needs a new transmission. And even (don’t stone me, I’m just the messenger) that subtle difference of asking for a donation from someone and telling them rather than reminding them that God will (rather than saying  may) bless them in a financial way for that donation.  Chaman, the word in which we plug the English word violence into even refers to using God’s blessing as a tool to enhance your own power or wealth base. An example of this is giving an offering to get more from God rather than giving out of a sacrificial heart of love. That is what is encompassed in that word chaman that we translate as violence.  Do you have a better English word to plug in here? I would like to know.

Habakkuk cries to God in verse 2 asking why He allows all this to go on.  God answers that prayer by saying that He has answered Habakkuk’s first prayer.   He is preparing a coming judgment to fall on the nation.  There is an old saying that I get sick of hearing, but have to admit it is true; “Be careful what you pray for.”   Habakkuk is sort of regretting asking God  “Why do you not answer?”   God tells Habakkuk, that not only has He answered the prayer, but even explains just how He is going to deal with this chaman (violence).   He is preparing the Babylonians to overpower the nation, they will kill, rape, steal, plunder and destroy the nation.  Many will die, all will be destitute, they will starve and be homeless.   Their nation, one of the most powerful and wealthiest nations in the world will be reduce overnight into a nation like a third world nation.

That wasn’t the answer Habakkuk wanted. He wanted revival, he expected God to send a great revival in the land and there would be singing and dancing and everyone would be secure and happy and all that evil chaman would end.   Being reduce to poverty and third world nation status did  not seem to be the answer Habakkuk was hoping for.  Yet revival would come, just not in quite the way Habakkuk wanted.  Why should the just and righteous have to suffer along with the chaman makers?   God tells Habakkuk 2:4: “But the just shall live by faith.”  Well, that is not much of an answer until God brings Habakkuk  to the realization of verse 3:17-18: “Although the fig tree will not blossom, neither will there be fruit on the vines; the labor of the olive will fail, and the fields will yield no food, the flock will be cur off from the fold, and there will be no herd in the stalls: still I will be able to rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation.” 

Habakkuk finds himself prophesying that in the midst of this judgment, we will rejoice in the Lord. The word rejoice is alaz which means to be so full of joy that your are expressing it physically in a smile, a dance and a shout.  Now that is really joy.  In the midst of poverty and desolation you will also joy in the God of your salvation.  Here joy is the Hebrew word gayal  which means moving in a circle and/or trembling.  You will be so filled with the joy of the Lord you will spin like a top and actually tremble with joy.  But soft, the Gimel in the word gayal tells us that you will be transferring that joy to others.

So in answer to the question as to why we have to suffer for the sins of this nation.  The Lord’s answer is that  we won’t.  On yes, we may suffer the physical, natural result of God’s judgment, but that will only enhance and broaden the spiritual  result in Him and bring on a great revival.  He will make it worth our while.

But just between you and me, and I do hesitate to say this so just ignore what I am about to write and pretend I am not writing it and we can continue to be cool with each other.  I am not a prophet nor do I claim prophetic gifts. However, I have been searching for the heart of God now for seven years.  I discovered access to a special room in God’s heart, a quiet room of His heart, a weeping room where I see him weeping over the hearts of many. I first entered this room during my time of silence a couple years ago and I have entered into this room many times since. In that room I sense his pain, his heart break and as I reach out to touch his nail pieced hand I realize He is no longer going to send revival to His church.  I sense something else, something coming out of the corners and fringes of the church.  The hearts He is holding in His hands and weeping over are hearts of sincere believers, hearts of those who truly love God.  These hearts have been broken by the church itself.  Hearts that cannot pass through the doors of many of our churches today because they are not accepted.  They lack the gifts or talents to help expand the church ministry. Many are divorced and feel shut out of the church.  Many are practicing things that the church condemns and thus they are not welcomed in the church. Many cannot speak the party line of their denomination for want of conscience and are exclude from the fellowship. I see Jesus holding hearts which are longing and starving  for the Word of God but are like a square peg in a round hole when they attempt to find a church home.  I sense something very positive coming from the heart of Jesus. That quiet weeping room is becoming filled with an air of vindication. Screaming from these hearts that our Savior is weeping over is not the word revival, it is the word reformation.