{"id":78624,"date":"2020-08-10T17:26:49","date_gmt":"2020-08-10T14:26:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/?p=78624"},"modified":"2020-08-10T17:26:49","modified_gmt":"2020-08-10T14:26:49","slug":"whos-the-enemy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/whos-the-enemy\/","title":{"rendered":"Who’s The Enemy?"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[281],"tags":[],"acf":{"old_id":"78624","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":73524,"related_cahpter":"543","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content":{"description":"And are they past, present or future?\r\n\r\n","content":"

Habakkuk begins by plunging immediately into his central complaint – the apparent triumph of evil in the world. The entire book consists of Habakkuk’s direct and unforgiving questioning of God\u2019s ways, and the formulation of two answers that respond to his challenges.<\/span><\/p>\n

How long shall I cry, God, and You will not listen? I cry out unto You of violence, and You will not save … Therefore Torah has become impotent, and justice does not go out forever, for wicked surround the righteous; therefore, justice emerges perverted. (v. 2\u20134)<\/span><\/p>\n

His complaint begins with two questions \u2013 for how long, and why? In the culmination of his complaint, verse 4, Habakkuk decries the success of the \u201cwicked,\u201d but to whom is he actually referring? Answering this question will not only help us understand his complaint, but also provides a valuable clue as to the dating of his prophecy.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Three possibilities present themselves. One suggestion is that they are the Jewish kings of this period, whose corrupt rule over the people led to untold suffering and resignation. As such, dating Habakkuk\u2019s prophecy to either Manasseh\u2019s reign (696\u2013641) or to Jehoiakim\u2019s reign (608\u2013597) makes sense (but not Josiah (639\u2013608), one of Judah\u2019s great kings (II Kings 23:25)). The divine response that the Babylonians are serving as the instrument of God in order to deliver divine punishment (v. 5\u201311) means that God is using outsiders to punish his people, on account of their evil rulers. If so, Habakkuk is echoing Isaiah\u2019s message to Judah a century before, that the Assyrian invaders of that time were in fact \u201c<\/span>shevet appi<\/span><\/i>\u201d \u2013 the rod of God\u2019s wrath. (Isaiah 10:5).<\/span><\/p>\n

The second approach suggests that the \u201cwicked\u201d mentioned at the beginning of the prophecy are foreigners, and refers to Judah\u2019s Assyrian overloads. For centuries, their empire seemed invincible, but it would disappear at the hands of the Babylonians within decades, a shockingly speedy timeframe by the standards of ancient history. This approach would also date the prophecy to Manasseh\u2019s reign.<\/span><\/p>\n

The third and final approach also posits that the \u201cwicked\u201d are foreigners, but not about any existing injustice, but rather about a future injustice. As such, the entire book deals with one question only \u2013 why will the wicked Babylonians succeed? Rashi is the first one to suggest this understanding, and it is based primarily on the beginning of verse 3, \u201cWhy do You show me iniquity\u201d positing that the word \u201cshow\u201d is referring to the visions of the future, when Babylonia would oppress Judah.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Further support for this explanation can be found in verse 13, where Habakkuk contrasts the successes of the wicked Babylonians with the impending doom of the (relatively) righteous people of Judah. The first two approaches, which claim that Habakkuk is complaining about existing injustices, understand the word \u201cshow\u201d in verse 3 to be referring to Habakkuk\u2019s reaction to seeing the violence that surrounds him.<\/span><\/p>\n","image":{"ID":78625,"id":78625,"title":"hab1-enemy","filename":"hab1-enemy.jpg","filesize":0,"url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/hab1-enemy.jpg","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/whos-the-enemy\/hab1-enemy\/","alt":"","author":"7","description":"","caption":"","name":"hab1-enemy","status":"inherit","uploaded_to":78624,"date":"2020-08-10 14:26:38","modified":"2020-08-10 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