Daily Devotions
Habakkuk
"Therefore the law is powerless"
Text: Habakkuk 1:4
THE GREAT LAWS OF GOD
The divine laws of God were given for definite reasons. The following may be highlighted. (Deeper understanding may be found in the Book of Deuteronomy.)
1. To prevent lawlessness.
2. To promote godliness.
3. To reveal deeper knowledge of the Being of God.
4. To cause blessings from the Lord to be given to an obedient nation.
5. To uphold justice in the land.
6. To ensure that the poor would not be victimized.
7. To punish the wicked.
BUT WHAT IF PEOPLE DISREGARDED THE LAW
Judah in the days of Habakkuk had virtually forsaken the Divine laws of the Lord God!
“Therefore, the law is powerless,
And justice never goes forth.
For the wicked surround the righteous;
Therefore perverse judgment proceeds.”
Habakkuk 1:4
1. Justice in the land
a) This was meant to be upheld.
b) But corruption saw to the demise of justice in the land.
c) The law was “powerless” because it was not upheld by the judges.
d) Thus, justice was not served.
2. “The wicked”
a) They corrupted the judges and the judicial system.
b) The wicked surrounded the righteous and law of the land was not upheld.
c) Often this is a reference to the rich and powerful who grossly abused the law.
3. “Therefore perverse judgment proceeds”
a) This is a sad but logical consequence.
b) The poor would always be the victim.
THE PLIGHT OF ISRAEL AND JUDAH
Both nations suffered terribly because of the miscarriage of justice! Israel fell badly to the Assyrians in 722 BC. Judah should have learned vital lessons from the collapse of a sister-state. Sadly, Judah continued to walk in the darkness of grave injustice! This was a formula for total disaster in the making!