Bible Study:
Make Plain the VisionBible Study:
Make Plain the Visionby J. ANN CRAIG
Editor’s note: This is the second of four Bible studies on Scriptures that will be the focus during United Methodist Women’s Assembly May 14-17 in Orlando, Fla.
Then the Lord answered me and said:
Write the vision;
make it plain on tablets,
so that a runner may read it.
Habakkuk 2:2
This one verse must be understood within the context of the full book of Habakkuk, one of 12 minor prophetic books of the Bible. Familiar verses from Habbakuk include:
Habakkuk’s prophecy addresses violence:
Habakkuk deals with the tension between God’s justice, power and perfection, and the existence of evil.
Looking at the structure of Habbakuk reveals the prophet’s message. Chapter 1 and Chapter 2, verses 1-5 are written as alternating complaints and oracles, or speeches, from God. These are followed by a series of "Woe-to-you..." statements and finally a psalm or song.
Let’s look at the use of complaint and oracle through a modern-day parallel. A complaint might go:
In our own time of war and violence, Habakkuk’s words are poignant. Today, children, women and men are victims of war, grinding poverty, enslavement and sexual exploitation. Nations amass armies and weapons capable of mass destruction. Even with disarmament agreements, the billions of dollars needed to dispose of nuclear and chemical weapons create burdens on the poor. Land mines continue to maim and kill, and the United States refuses to sign a ban that would reduce such meaningless injury and death.
The oracle response to this complaint could read:
God is waking us up! There will come a time when even the most callous will say, "Enough is enough!" We will all cry out with God’s agony, "Let the children sing songs instead of slave at rug looms in Thailand! Let the children learn instead of sew buttons on shirts in New York City for $3 per day! Let the children laugh instead of search dumps in Brazil and the Philippines!"
Like the paragraphs above, Habakkuk shaped his text into complaints followed by oracles -- messages from God.
Then, at Chapter 2:6, a series of "woe to yous..." begins.
This classic prophetic style is used often by Isaiah, Jeremiah and Ezekiel. Jesus is shown using the woe-to-you structure often in Matthew and Luke, and twice in Mark.
Today, we might say:
Unfortunately, this modern-day list of woes can go on and on.
Tough reading
The final chapter of Habakkuk is a psalm complete with instructions for stringed instruments. Ironically, this book of the Bible that began as a complaint against violence, ends with God portrayed as a violent, revengeful warrior God.
This is not easy Bible reading. The text seems to condone it. But look more closely. Revenge is not brought about by righteous people. It is brought about by God. The righteous must wait for God.
Perhaps the prophet knew two things: violence breeds violence, and those who cultivate violence, oppression and exploitation may fall victim to their own plots.
A recurring theme in Habakkuk is the theme of waiting for God while believing God is acting:
The vision is plain to the prophet and to us. The world should be safe for children, women and men. The planet should be at peace. Yet, the vision in Habakkuk, like our world, is full of tension: tension between violence and revenge, tension between acting and waiting, tension between an all-powerful God and the presence of evil.
In the midst of this tension, we must be bold enough to stand upon the watchtower and write the vision big enough and bold enough for a runner to read as she or he passes by. Yet we must be patient enough that even if it seems to tarry, (we will) wait for it; it will surely come, it will not delay. (Habakkuk 2:3)
We must resist violence without seeking revenge. We must have faith in a God of love, even in a world where evil is sown like tares among wheat.
Our job is not easy, but we have heard the words of the prophet. We choose to make plain the vision!
J. Ann Craig is executive secretary for spiritual and theological development for the Women's Division.