Waiting for God (1)
I will stand at my guard post and station myself on the watchtower; and I will keep watch to see what He will say to me, and how I may reply when I am reprimanded. Habakkuk 2:1 NASB
Reprimanded – Are you waiting for the judgment of God? The prophet was waiting. But notice the oddity of his metaphor. Standing guard . . . stationed at the watchtower . . . keeping watch: these all describe visual attention. That’s what guards do. They watch! But Habakkuk isn’t attending to something visual. He’s listening at attention. The contradictory vocabulary is enough for us to stop and reconsider. That’s the point. If you want to hear what God has to say, you will have to act as if you were on guard duty. Focused. Intense. Not distracted by the business of life.
But not just diligent. Habakkuk is also expecting tôkēḥâ. Rebuke. Reproof. Judgment. The word is particularly important in the Prophets.
The forensic use is clearest in the covenant lawsuit context. See Huffmon, JBL 78:286–95. Psalm 50:8, 21, Hos 4:4, and Mic 6:2 are considered cases where Yahweh in his covenant relation with a people who have repeatedly broken the covenant, now brings a lawsuit against them after the pattern of Deut 32. Dahood translates Ps 50:21c, “I will accuse you and draw up a case before your eyes” (AB, 16, p. 304, but ASV “reprove,” NIV, “I will rebuke you and accuse you to your face”). He refers to Job 40:2 where the nuance of the participle môkîaḥ “he who accuses” God (RSV “he who argues”) is clearly present as understood by the ancient versions. However, the most familiar passage where yākaḥ occurs is in Isa 1:18 which is within a covenant lawsuit. Following a record of rebellion where Yahweh, the plaintiff, condemns Judah for their self-designed religious festivals (1:10–15), Isaiah issues a call to repentance (1:16–20). Within this context then we should understand the expression “let us reason together” (KJV, NIV as meaning “let us debate our case in court.” Micah 6:2 supports this notion, speaking of “the indictment of Yahweh,” then of Yahweh’s case against his people” (rîb “lawsuit, case”) in parallel with the phrase “with Israel he will dispute” (RSV and ASV “will contend,” NIV “is lodging a charge,” BDB “will argue”). This judicial element, which is the primary meaning of yākaḥ, has a clear theological basis as seen in Isa 11:3, where the activities of “the Stem of Jesse, the Branch” is spoken of as one who “will not judge (šāphaṭ) by what his eyes see, nor make a decision by what his ears hear.”[1]
Habakkuk is waiting for God’s verdict; a verdict that will affect him and the people; a verdict that expresses God’s rebuke over covenant unfaithfulness. Justified. It will surely come, even if delayed. Habakkuk’s vigilance gives us an insight into our future. But it could have been avoided. We could have practiced the positive side of tôkēḥâ in our community and eliminated God’s ultimate judgment. In fact, if we’d paid attention to the use of tôkēḥâ in Leviticus, we would not be in this position now. That occurrence is in Leviticus 19:17:
It is not without significance that Lev 19:17 enjoins the people of God to confront their neighbors when they sin, “thou shalt surely rebuke your neighbor” (ASV), “you may surely reprove” (NASB). RSV weakens it considerably with “you shall reason with.” This in view of the command “you shall be holy, for I the Lord your God am holy” (v. 2). But this confrontation has two reasons attached: to avoid developing a hatred for the neighbor, and to avoid complicity in his sin. Verse 18 further amplifies the action with the second great commandment, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” Confrontation, rebuke, correction is to be considered, therefore, as an integral part of brotherly love.[2]
What does all this mean for us? There is only one possible answer: accountability. And there is only one possible solution: repentance. tôkēḥâ is guaranteed. Preparation for tôkēḥâ is up to us.
Topical Index: tôkēḥâ, rebuke, reproof, Leviticus 19:17, Habakkuk 2:1
