Habakkuk 1:10Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

Ignoring their ancestral traditions, they placed their faith in the Egyptians, Syrians, and Tyrians, harboring unrealistic hopes of enduring prosperity, which led them to live in indulgence and negligence. Thus, once again, he conveyed to them that their visions were futile, and that the events to unfold would not align with their expectations. The Babylonian will come, he asserts, and although the people of Israel may appear as countless as the sands, he will return with the inhabitants of Judah as captives. Despite the multitude of powerful allies that Judah possesses, they will find that they are easily vanquished. ‘He will mock kings, and his oppressors will play,’ for he bound Jehoiakim and many other leaders, taking them to Babylon, where they became subjects of ridicule to their conquerors. Even the mightiest cities fell to his might, reducing their capture to mere sport in his eyes. It will necessitate fortifications; indeed, Alexander captured Tyre, which, though it lay far from solid land in the sea, like an island, was taken nonetheless. Likewise, Satan seized Israel, who had turned away from Christ, treating the leaders and esteemed priesthood as objects of derision, whom it is not inappropriate to term tyrants, for they governed the people and reveled in their own glory and power over them. Yet, they would not have become a source of mockery to the devil's cruelty had they adhered to the commands of the Savior, maintaining faith and holiness through the Spirit; the Savior of all, who places every foe beneath his feet, would have spoken to them as well, ‘I give unto you power to tread upon the serpent, and upon the scorpion, and upon all the power of the enemy’ (Luke 10:19).

The phrase, 'From himself his judgement and heavy burden shall come forth,' which Simmachus phrases as, 'he himself shall judge and shall go out according to his own judgement,' should be interpreted either as him appointing rulers from his own ranks, suggesting that his might is not reliant on warriors from foreign lands, or as an indication that his fate will mirror the fate he imposes on others, suffering the same defeats he has dealt out. His cavalry, descending from distant lands, will be more devastating in their rapid pursuit and destruction than leopards and wolves that prey at dusk, ferocity increasing as evening falls, as it’s said, 'for by day their hunger compels them to seize prey.' Thus, the horsemen streak not to battle, as they face no opposition, but to hasten with the speed of an eagle diving for its meal, subduing all within their flight. Just as the biting wind causes all green things to fade, their mere sight will decimate everything before them, with captives and loot so plentiful that even hyperbole could liken it to grains of sand. Indeed, Nebuchadnezzar will dominate the world, pursuing kings before his chariot, mocking them, taking delight in their defeat; he will be so powerful and arrogant that he will attempt to conquer nature itself, overpowering the strongest cities by sheer force. He will approach Tyre, creating a causeway from the sea, transforming the island into a peninsula, thereby preparing an approach to the city amidst the waves. Consequently, he will scoff at every stronghold, encircle it, and capture it, a fact corroborated by the prophet Ezekiel, who states, 'Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, made his army weary with great labour against Tyre. Every head was made bald and every shoulder bare. But no reward was given to him, nor to his army under Tyre, for the labours in which they served against him' (Ezekiel 29:18). Once his embankment is completed and no other force stands in his way, his heart will swell with pride; believing himself to be divine, he will erect a golden statue in Babylon, summoning all nations to worship him. Yet, upon doing this, he will be transformed into a beastly form and will ultimately fall," a notion that Aquila and Symmachus translated as 'and will be deficient,’ stemming from the meaning of vasam (אִם), which signifies 'to have a flaw,' highlighting how he shall no longer be what he once was—a substitution often seen in St. Paul’s works. This phrase also resonates with our language's subtleties, such as 'the army is beaten' instead of 'defeated' or 'destroyed,' and similarly, 'the vineyard and the field have sinned' instead of 'the grapes and the fruit have no growth.' The concluding remarks: 'This strength of his is the strength of his God,' should be interpreted with irony, implying 'This is the might bestowed by Bel, his god.' To honor this deity, he ordered all nations to submit formally, under threat of death. We will now transition to the LXX, seeking to elucidate the individual thoughts while grasping their figurative essence: 'Behold, I will raise up the Chaldeans, a merciless and indefatigable nation, traversing the expanses of the earth to possess lands that are not theirs.' God threatens those who scorn His Providence by inciting the Chaldeans, a name suggesting 'as demons,' referring either to malevolent angels executing His wrath against sinners or to the souls of those wicked individuals through whom He metes out justice. The foresaid Chaldeans, a fierce and relentless people, spare no one and swiftly execute their orders. They tread upon the earth: 'For broad and spacious is the way that leads to death' (Matt. 7:13); this is the path walked by the affluent man in the Gospel, dressed in luxurious purple (Luke 16:19), among those mentioned: 'They lounge on ivory beds and indulge themselves in leisure; they gorge on lambs from the flock and drink fine wine' (Am. 6:4). Since they travel the wide path, they epitomize the breadth of the earth trampled underfoot by the Chaldeans. They refuse the narrow road leading to life, the same path trodden by the Apostle Paul, who glorified God amidst his sufferings and tribulations (1 Cor. 6:20). Yet the Chaldeans walk the expansive earth to seize territories that are not theirs. Indeed, every rational soul, although ensnared by vices and sins, becomes a residence for the Chaldeans, yet by nature, it is meant to house God. And despite the Gospel's warning of evil spirits declaring, 'I will return to my house, which I left' (Matt. 12:44), this should not be accepted because no rational being is intended to become a dwelling for demons. The scripture continues, 'He is fearful and glorious; from him alone shall his judgement proceed, and seizures shall depart from him.' The Chaldean incites fear due to the multitude of punishments he inflicts upon those who disregard Providence, yet he seeks the glory of divinity for himself. Among the naive and those who scorn God, he garners fame for his prognostications and false prophecies, as well as for healing the afflictions he himself has caused. The judgement and punishment for those who neglect God will originate from the Chaldeans, for, as the Apostle notes, they will face discipline in order to cease their blasphemies (1 Tim. 1:3). The one who repents and turns to God will break away from Chaldea, despite having been ensnared and among those he had captured. If we ever observe a person previously dedicated to the devil who then turns to God, we might articulate, 'His capture has departed from him.' For those who repent and reject the demons—to whom they akin to horses in harness—will, swifter than leopards and evening wolves, cast off their riders and emerge liberated, able to lift up the One who humbly rode on a donkey (Jn. 12:15; Zech. 9:9)—rushing from afar, eager and unsatisfied, they will soar like an eagle to feast upon the word of God, finally satiating their long-held hunger. The phrase χαι ἐξιππάζονται οι ιπππεῖς αὐτοῦ, translated in LXX as 'and his horsemen will rush on their horses,' was paraphrased by Simmachus to mean 'his horsemen shall be scattered'—implying they will fall and crash. The Arabian wolves, identifying the evening or western wolves, aptly represent those for whom a sinful life has become burdensome, who hastily abandon darkness; and as they depart from it, readying themselves to ingest the word of God, the end shall come for the wicked, namely the Chaldeans, who obstruct the flight of the penitent from turning to God. When the wicked are vanquished and captives are freed from their grasp, the word of God will gather as if reclaiming the sand from the Chaldean captivity, rejoicing over dominant kings, and causing cruel rulers to rejoice, as the arrival of the Savior signifies the defeat of the once-mighty adversary and the dismantling of his realm, which he showcased to the Savior in saying, 'All these things I will give you, if you fall down and worship me' (Matt. 4:9). Truly, it encourages wisdom and delights prudence when folly is overturned, and the erstwhile power of tyrants is dismantled and rendered absurd. For the great dragon was not merely made to become a source of triumph for the Lord; he, as the pinnacle of God's creation, became a jest for the angels. Furthermore, the Lord rendered him as prey for children, and anyone embodying cruelty and tyranny will face ridicule in the eyes of the word of God. He Himself declares, 'shall laugh at every fortification.' What fortification might this be but that of which the Apostle asserts, 'For the weapons of our host are not carnal, but mighty in the sight of God to the destruction of strongholds, to the frustrating of schemes, and of every height that rises up against God' (2 Cor. 10:4,5). Therefore, any strongholds—whether in rhetoric posing as grandeur opposed to truth or in earthly grandeur, wealth, and fortifications heralded in this age—shall all be cast down, and the word of God will find amusement in disassembling each stronghold. It shall build high mounds to prevail over all earthly obstructers, revealing their weaknesses to those who once mistook them for strong barricades. When this is accomplished, the spirit will amend; no longer punishing as before, It shall mediate for the sinners, reconciling them with their Creator; through all these acts, the might of our Lord is unveiled, for He alone will perform such astonishing feats. Consider how challenging these passages are, often at odds with historical reality; what we previously interpreted literally concerning the Chaldeans is now revealed in a figurative light, resonating with divine mercy and liberation for those who have escaped the clutches of the Chaldeans. History demands unwavering precision, allowing no divergence from its boundaries; figurative interpretations are more free yet constrained by principles that encourage the pursuit of piety and coherence in discourse, refraining from overly strained comparisons between disparate subjects.