Habakkuk and Zephaniah (“the Lord protects”)

The righteous will live by his faithfulness

Prophet Habakkuk probably operates in the period of the great Babylonian power (VII-VI century BC), cited in his Book as an instrument of the Lord’s punishment (see Hab 1,6). The problem of the evil presence in the world torments Habakkuk: «LORD, how long will I cry, and you will not hear? I cry out to you “Violence!” and will you not save? Why do you show me iniquity, and look at perversity? For destruction and violence are before me. There is strife, and contention rises up» (Hab 1,2-3). Even the fact that the Lord uses a foreign invader to punish His people is difficult to understand: «Aren’t you from everlasting, LORD my God, my Holy One? We will not die. LORD, you have appointed him for judgment. You, Rock, have established him to punish. You who have purer eyes than to see evil, and who cannot look on perversity, why do you tolerate those who deal treacherously, and keep silent when the wicked swallows up the man who is more righteous than he, and make men like the fish of the sea, like the creeping things, that have no ruler over them?» (Hab 1,12-14). «The LORD answered me, “Write the vision, and make it plain on tablets, that he who runs may read it. For the vision is yet for the appointed time, and it hurries toward the end, and won’t prove false. Though it takes time, wait for it; because it will surely come. It won’t delay. Behold, his soul is puffed up. It is not upright in him, but the righteous will live by his faithfulness» (Hab 2,2-4). The Lord’s answer does not completely resolve the situation, but it offers the «righteous» a solid grasp in the vast sea of history (often contradictory and incomprehensible): the faithfulness to the Lord’s Word, the only real (and firm) landmark. St. Paul quotes these verses (from the Greek Bible of the Septuagint) to support the thesis that Christians are made righteous by the faith in Christ (see Rom 1,17; Gal 3,11), while the Letter to the Hebrews uses them to invite the persecuted Christians to courageously persevere (see Heb 10,38). The psalm in Habakkuk’s chapter 3 describe the Lord’s terrible intervention to save His people: «I heard, and my body trembled. My lips quivered at the voice. Rottenness enters into my bones, and I tremble in my place, because I must wait quietly for the day of trouble, for the coming up of the people who invade us. For though the fig tree doesn’t flourish, nor fruit be in the vines; the labor of the olive fails, the fields yield no food; the flocks are cut off from the fold, and there is no herd in the stalls: yet I will rejoice in the LORD. I will be joyful in the God of my salvation! The LORD, the Lord, is my strength. He makes my feet like deer’s feet, and enables me to go in high places» (Hab 3,16-19).
Prophet Zephaniah operates «in the days of Josiah, the son of Amon, king of Judah» (Zeph 1,1). His Book can be divided into three main section (like many other prophetical texts): oracles against the people of God (1,2-2,3); oracles against the foreign nations (2,4-3,8); promises of restoration to the people of God (3,9-20). The many idolatries of Judah and Jerusalem suggests that Zephaniah lives in the period when Josiah is still a child and he has not yet started his vast religious reform (see 2Kgs 22-23,30). The «day of the LORD», as we read in Prophet Amos, will be a moment of «distress and anguish», when the sinners will be eliminated. The medieval author of the Dies Irae took inspiration by Zephaniah’s descriptions. «The great day of the LORD is near. It is near, and hurries greatly, the voice of the day of the LORD. The mighty man cries there bitterly. That day is a day of wrath, a day of distress and anguish, a day of trouble and ruin, a day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and blackness, a day of the trumpet and alarm, against the fortified cities, and against the high battlements. I will bring distress on men, that they will walk like blind men, because they have sinned against the LORD, and their blood will be poured out like dust, and their flesh like dung. Neither their silver nor their gold will be able to deliver them in the day of the LORD’s wrath, but the whole land will be devoured by the fire of his jealousy; for he will make an end, yes, a terrible end, of all those who dwell in the land. Gather yourselves together, yes, gather together, you nation that has no shame, before the appointed time when the day passes as the chaff, before the fierce anger of the LORD comes on you, before the day of the LORD’s anger comes on you. Seek the LORD, all you humble of the land, who have kept his ordinances. Seek righteousness. Seek humility. It may be that you will be hidden in the day of the LORD’s anger» (Zeph 1,14-2,3). From a humble and poor «remnant» will start the Lord’s restoration: «But I will leave in the midst of you an afflicted and poor people, and they will take refuge in the name of the LORD. The remnant of Israel will not do iniquity, nor speak lies, neither will a deceitful tongue be found in their mouth, for they will feed and lie down, and no one will make them afraid. Sing, daughter of Zion! Shout, Israel! Be glad and rejoice with all your heart, daughter of Jerusalem.



The LORD has taken away your judgments. He has thrown out your enemy. The King of Israel, the LORD, is in the midst of you. You will not be afraid of evil any more. In that day, it will be said to Jerusalem, “Do not be afraid, Zion. Do not let your hands be weak.” The LORD your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save. He will rejoice over you with joy. He will calm you in his love. He will rejoice over you with singing» (Zeph 3,12-18).
In the next post we will read Haggai and Zechariah.