Hab 3:16 | KingComments | STEP | The prophet sees what will come over his people at the coming of the Chaldeans. What he “heard” refers back to . This filled him with fear that penetrated his inward parts and bones, the soft and the hard parts of his body. Daniel had the same experience ( ). Habakkuk did not tremble out of fear, but because of the impressiveness of what he heard; he was upended. At the same time, there is a deep calm in view of “the day of distress” (cf. ). The day of distress is the great tribulation ( ; ; ; ). Here it is the day of distress for Babylon, “the people … [who] will invade us”. Habakkuk knows that he will come through that day because the LORD will defeat the enemy. We see a preview of this in the judgment of Belsazar ( ). It is hard for Habakkuk to see that the inevitable blow that God must give His people is done by such a wicked enemy. The effect on him is the flowing away of all power. In himself he sees only misery and destruction. But his fellowship with God and the reflection on His ways and also on His promises give him confidence besides fear. That is the result of the spiritual exercise Habakkuk went through. This will also be the result of our spiritual exercises when things happen that we cannot understand, but of which we learn to see that God is above it and has His purpose, a purpose for the benefit of us as His own. To the extent that everything in and of us is gone and all trust in ourselves is gone, to that extent our trust in God will increase. If we tremble inwardly because of being in God’s presence and seeing His ways, there will be nothing that makes us tremble in view of external events, people’s ways.

‏ Habakkuk 3:16

Habakkuk Trembles and Waits Quietly

The prophet sees what will come over his people at the coming of the Chaldeans. What he “heard” refers back to Hab 3:2. This filled him with fear that penetrated his inward parts and bones, the soft and the hard parts of his body. Daniel had the same experience (Dan 8:27 ; Dan 10:8). Habakkuk did not tremble out of fear, but because of the impressiveness of what he heard; he was upended.

At the same time, there is a deep calm in view of “the day of distress” (cf. Psa 94:13). The day of distress is the great tribulation (Mt 24:21; Rev 7:14; Jer 30:7; Dan 12:1). Here it is the day of distress for Babylon, “the people … [who] will invade us”. Habakkuk knows that he will come through that day because the LORD will defeat the enemy. We see a preview of this in the judgment of Belsazar (Dan 5:30).

It is hard for Habakkuk to see that the inevitable blow that God must give His people is done by such a wicked enemy. The effect on him is the flowing away of all power. In himself he sees only misery and destruction. But his fellowship with God and the reflection on His ways and also on His promises give him confidence besides fear. That is the result of the spiritual exercise Habakkuk went through.

This will also be the result of our spiritual exercises when things happen that we cannot understand, but of which we learn to see that God is above it and has His purpose, a purpose for the benefit of us as His own. To the extent that everything in and of us is gone and all trust in ourselves is gone, to that extent our trust in God will increase. If we tremble inwardly because of being in God’s presence and seeing His ways, there will be nothing that makes us tremble in view of external events, people’s ways.