Tuesday 01 December 2015

Psalm: Psalm 136:1-9

Background

The opening verse of this book identifies the author as "theprophet Habakkuk", but nothing else is known of him as a historicfigure. In verse 6 of chapter 1 there is a referenceto the Chaldeans, and this is the only clue to the possible datingof the book. The Chaldeans normally refers to the Neo-BabylonianEmpire of the late 7th century BC that controlled Jerusalem until538 BC. The setting for the work is therefore likely to be that ofa time of turmoil in Judah at the end of the 7th and going into the6th century BC.

Central to the book is the theme of justice and the plight ofGod's people. In verse2 of chapter 1 Habakkuk begins the complaint against Godwith an echo of the psalms: "O LORD, how long shall I cry for helpand you will not listen?". There then begins a conversation betweenHabakkuk and God concerning the nature of God's response, orapparent lack of it, to injustice. The passage for today contains asnippet of that conversation.

Habakkuk, in his altercation with God, draws his complaint fromwhat he believes to be true about God, contrasted with what heexperiences as the lot of his people. This echoes those psalmswhich are psalms of lament. What he sees and experiences doesn'tmatch with what he believes about God and so Habakkuk enters intothis dialogue with God.
 

To Ponder

• How does your understanding of God shape what you long to seein the world

• What do you want to say to God in the light of what ishappening in the world? How do you think God might answer?

• Try to develop a pattern of dialoguing with God. It will taketime but may prove a stimulating way to develop yourspirituality.