Wednesday Night Bible Studies

It is one thing to enjoy the rewards of honest toil.  It is quite another to become rich dishonestly at the expense of others.  In tonight's passage from Habakkuk, the LORD addresses his judgment on the nation that he has selected to chastise Judah.

Read more: Dishonest Gain

Habakkuk has asked the LORD if he intends ever to respond to the evil of the day (1:1-4).  The LORD's answer (1:5-11) is that he is already preparing the Babylonians to serve as his agents of chastisement for the sin of Judah.  Tonight we see Habakkuk's second complaint to the LORD (1:12-2:1) and the LORD's answer (2:2-5).

Read more: The Wicked Prosper

We have just completed a study of the prophet Nahum, whose preaching addressed the threat of Assyria.  Tonight we begin to study Habakkuk, whose ministry followed the overthrow of Assyria by Babylon, just before the fall of Jerusalem to the Babylonians.

Read more: The State of the Nation

During the Cold War, Nikita Khrushschev warned the United States that it would fall into the hands of the Soviet Union "like over-ripe fruit."  Ancient Assyria enjoyed dominant power in its day, and the Assyrians rules with cruelty.  The prophet Nahum delivers the LORD's judgment on Assyria with this same image of over-ripe fruit.

Read more: The End of Empire