A study of the Minor Prophets, Part IV.
By Darren Johnson
A Commentary on the book of Habakkuk & Zechariah.
Publisher’s Note:
The Scripture quotations found herein are from the text of the Old King James, 1611 Authorized Version of the Bible.
Any deviations there from are not intentional.
The publisher owns the copyright and hereby gives anyone permission to reproduce or transmit in any form and any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or any information storage, retrieval system, multimedia, or Internet system, any part or all of this publication. However, he may not sell any of it for profit.
Matt. 10:8 “…freely ye have received, freely give.”
A study of the Minor Prophets, Part III. ©Darren Johnson 2010.
Table of Contents
Introduction …………..…..……….…4
I. Habakkuk 1: ……….……….…5-6
II. Habakkuk 2: ...….….……….....7-9
III. Habakkuk 3: ….…..…………10-12
IV. Zechariah 1: .…….……...... 13-15
V. Zechariah 2: ….…..……...... 16-17
VI. Zechariah 3: ….…..……...... 18
VII. Zechariah 4: ….……....……....19-21
VIII. Zechariah 5: .……..…..……..22-23
IX. Zechariah 6: …...………...…..24-25
X. Zechariah 7: ….……..…….....26-27
XI. Zechariah 8: …..…..………....28-30
XII. Zechariah 9: …...……….…....31-33
XIII. Zechariah 10: ..……..………..34-35
XIV. Zechariah 11: …...……….…..36-38
XV. Zechariah 12: ….……..……...39-40
XVI. Zechariah 13: ...……..…….…41-42
XVII. Zechariah 14: …………….…43-45
XVIII. Salvation Message ….…...….46-47
Introduction
The purpose of this book is to motivate you to study the Minor Prophets from Hosea to Malachi. These books of the Bible in Christianity today are rarely studied and often overlooked. For the Bible believing Christian, every book in the Bible is important and loaded with truths and everyday applications(II Tim. 2:15, 3:16-17). In this book we will look at the books of Habakkuk and Zechariah.
The book of Habakkuk can be divided into three parts: the burden, the vision and the prayer of Habakkuk. The prophet Zechariah prophesied at the same time as Haggai during the restoration of Israel under Media Persia rule(Ezra 5:).
Habakkuk 1:1-4 The burden which Habakkuk the prophet did see.
:2 O LORD, how long shall I cry, and thou wilt not hear! even cry out unto thee of violence, and thou wilt not save!
:3 Why dost thou shew me iniquity, and cause me to behold grievance? for spoiling and violence are before me: and there are that raise up strife and contention.
:4 Therefore the law is slacked, and judgment doth never go forth: for the wicked doth compass about the righteous; therefore wrong judgment proceedeth.
A burden is a source of great concern. God put a burden on Habakkuk’s heart for the people of Judah to listen to the words of God. The land was full of violence(crime and murder), great sin or iniquity and stealing or spoiling. There was strife or lack of agreement and contention or the act of striving in debate in the land. People who cause strife and contention are usually those who are trying to bend the rules to get away with sin in their actions and dealings with others.
Because of all of the sin being tolerated, the law of God is slacked or the responsibility of it is avoided and as a result, judgment on sin doesn’t come forth and rule the land. As a result, the land is run by wrong judgments and the wicked are oppressing the righteous.
Habakkuk 1:5-6 Behold ye among the heathen, and regard, and wonder marvelously: for I will work a work in your days which ye will not believe, though it be told you.
:6 For, lo, I raise up the Chaldeans, that bitter and hasty nation, which shall march through the breadth of the land, to possess the dwellingplaces that are not their's.
The Chaldeans helped the Babylonians in taking over Jerusalem(II Chron. 36:16-17). As a result, the walls of Jerusalem, the house of the Lord and the houses of Jerusalem were burnt to the ground(Jer. 52:7-15).
Habakkuk 1:7-10 They are terrible and dreadful: their judgment and their dignity shall proceed of themselves.
:8 Their horses also are swifter than the leopards, and are more fierce than the evening wolves: and their horsemen shall spread themselves, and their horsemen shall come from far; they shall fly as the eagle that hasteth to eat.
:9 They shall come all for violence: their faces shall sup up as the east wind, and they shall gather the captivity as the sand.
:10 And they shall scoff at the kings, and the princes shall be a scorn unto them: they shall deride every strong hold; for they shall heap dust, and take it.
The Chaldeans were a fierce and dreadful enemy. They had a ruthless and fearless army. They had no regard for the rulers of the nations. They helped the Babylonians take over the world in their time.
Habakkuk 1:11 Then shall his mind change, and he shall pass over, and offend, imputing this his power unto his god.
The leader of the Chaldean army will give glory to the god of this world(II Cor. 4:4) or Satan for his victory. However, remember that God allowed it to happen to fulfill prophecy(Dan. 2:). God uses the heathen(Babylonians and Chaldeans) to judge God’s people(Judah) and then uses other heathen(Media Persia) to judge the ones who judged God’s people(Babylonians, etc.). Sometimes people can be possessed by the Devil or devils and get supernatural evil powers(e.g. witchcraft, mediums, etc.).
Habakkuk 1:12-14 Art thou not from everlasting, O LORD my God, mine Holy One? we shall not die. O LORD, thou hast ordained them for judgment; and, O mighty God, thou hast established them for correction.
:13 Thou art of purer eyes than to behold evil, and canst not look on iniquity: wherefore lookest thou upon them that deal treacherously, and holdest thy tongue when the wicked devoureth the man that is more righteous than he?
:14 And makest men as the fishes of the sea, as the creeping things, that have no ruler over them?
God is the eternal God(Rev. 1:5). The nation of Israel will not die but restored as a nation in the millennium with Jesus as their king. The Chaldeans and the Babylonians are ordained for judgment like any other lost nation(Ps. 9:17, Dan. 2:). God is holy(I Pet. 1:16). God gives man a free will to choose him or not. God will one day judge the wicked(Rev. 20:12-13). However, He allows evil to occur to fulfill His perfect will.
God is the creator of mankind(Gen. 1:26). The fish are abundant and diverse in their sizes, colors and shapes like mankind is as a result of the DNA code within him. The creeping things are insects that like fishes, have no physical ruler over them. Man is under God’s authority and the authorities set up by Him(for more information, go to www.NewLifeLafayette.com and download my teaching on Proper Authority).
Habakkuk 1:15-17 They take up all of them with the angle, they catch them in their net, and gather them in their drag: therefore they rejoice and are glad.
:16 Therefore they sacrifice unto their net, and burn incense unto their drag; because by them their portion is fat, and their meat plenteous.
:17 Shall they therefore empty their net, and not spare continually to slay the nations?
Angle means to fish with a hook and line. A drag is a kind of fish net that is drawn along the bottom under water. So the wicked are like fishermen who capture men with their bait, hook and net. Their goal is to destroy those who they catch for their benefit. The devices that benefit the wicked, turn into an idol or god to them. That is why they worship their net and drag. E.g. People serve the idol of money because of what they benefit, not whether it is right or wrong.
In the case of the Babylonians and the Chaldeans, they conquered the world and slew or killed all people of all nations, like a fisherman would kill all fish of any shape, size, or color. So Habakkuk’s burden is against the wicked who run around practicing lawlessness and giving glory to their idols or false gods, whether it be in the nation of Judah or abroad.
Habakkuk 2:1-3 I will stand upon my watch, and set me upon the tower, and will watch to see what he will say unto me, and what I shall answer when I am reproved.
:2 And the LORD answered me, and said, Write the vision, and make it plain upon tables, that he may run that readeth it.
:3 For the vision is yet for an appointed time, but at the end it shall speak, and not lie: though it tarry, wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not tarry.
Habakkuk is standing, watching and waiting to see what the Lord will tell him. God’s response to Habakkuk’s burden against the wicked is a vision. God commands the prophet to write down everything so anyone can read it(Exod. 31:18). This is typical Bible inspiration(II Pet. 1:20-21), God speaks and man writes it down. Then what is written is copied perfectly(Ps. 12:6-7, 19:7) and it is part of the Old King James Bible today.
Habakkuk’s vision is fulfilled in the future or an appointed time at the end. This in the Bible refers to the restoration of the nation of Israel at the second coming of Jesus Christ(Dan. 12:4). At the second coming of Jesus, all of the wicked or lost people will be killed(matt. 25:31-46) and end up in hell. The beginning of the millennium will be all saved people, with the saved in eternal sinless bodies ruling with Jesus, who will be the worldwide dictator from Jerusalem.
Habakkuk 2:4-5 Behold, his soul which is lifted up is not upright in him: but the just shall live by his faith.
:5 Yea also, because he transgresseth by wine, he is a proud man, neither keepeth at home, who enlargeth his desire as hell, and is as death, and cannot be satisfied, but gathereth unto him all nations, and heapeth unto him all people:
God gives grace to the humble, but opposes the proud(Jam. 4:6). The just or the saved live by faith(Rom. 1:17). The fermented alcohol will cause a man to sin(Prov. 20:1, 23:29-33). The proud person is lifted up, he drinks alcohol(2:15), he doesn’t stay at home at be the leader of his household in providing and protecting his own. His desires are the ways of hell. People who go to hell pay for their own sins(Gal. 5:19-21) and are never satisfied. Sin never satisfies it only puts a person into bondage and addiction. The Babylonians were a worldwide lost power that was proud and their last leader drank out of the holy vessels, which was his demise(Dan. 5:23, 30).
Habakkuk 2:6-8 Shall not all these take up a parable against him, and a taunting proverb against him, and say, Woe to him that increaseth that which is not his! how long? and to him that ladeth himself with thick clay!
:7 Shall they not rise up suddenly that shall bite thee, and awake that shall vex thee, and thou shalt be for booties unto them?
:8 Because thou hast spoiled many nations, all the remnant of the people shall spoil thee; because of men's blood, and for the violence of the land, of the city, and of all that dwell therein.
A parable is a short moral story. A proverb is a saying that expresses a basic truth or practical precept. In Babylonia there was a lack of both timber and stone, and the thick clay deposited by the overflowing rivers was the only material adaptable to building. So there bricks were made out of thick clay. To be laden with thick clay means that you lived in lavish or expensive buildings and/or homes. God is saying that the Babylonians will be overthrown and spoiled one day because of their pride and sins(Dan. 5:30-31, Jeremiah 51:). Also we know that at the end of the tribulation period that Babylon, the economic center of the antichrist kingdom, will be destroyed(Rev. 18:).
Habakkuk 2:9-11 Woe to him that coveteth an evil covetousness to his house, that he may set his nest on high, that he may be delivered from the power of evil!
:10 Thou hast consulted shame to thy house by cutting off many people, and hast sinned against thy soul.
:11 For the stone shall cry out of the wall, and the beam out of the timber shall answer it.
Covet means to wish, long, or crave for something, especially the property of another person.
This evil covetousness, exalts a person into a high position that allows him to do evil and get away with it. Sounds like your typical Unites States governor and/or mayor in New Jersey or liberal Democratic congressman. Cutting off many people means that this person has killed a lot of people for his own benefit(e.g. a mafia leader in New York who is not captured by the police).
Murder is a sin against your own soul(Exod. 20:16). When the creation of God cries out against your sin, you know you have done something wicked.
Habakkuk 2:12-14 Woe to him that buildeth a town with blood, and stablisheth a city by iniquity!
:13 Behold, is it not of the LORD of hosts that the people shall labour in the very fire, and the people shall weary themselves for very vanity?
:14 For the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea.
A town and a city should be built and based on God’s righteousness, not man’s wickedness (Ps. 127:1). Once again, beware of the evil politicians that come up with foolish programs to build up towns and cities for their own benefit and at the expense of the taxpayer. When you labor for sin, you will reap what you sow. When you labor for righteousness you will reap a blessing in this life and the life to come(II Cor. 5:10).
Since God made the heavens and the earth by his power and wisdom, it should show his signature(Ps. 19:1-3, Gen. 1:). When you practice evil, you are going against God’s created order. In the millennial reign of Jesus, all the earth will literally be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord.