The Way

When the Fields Are Empty

Draft, under review

Hab 3:17–19

17Though the fig tree does not bud and no fruit is on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though the sheep are cut off from the fold and no cattle are in the stalls,

18yet I will exult in the Lord; I will rejoice in the God of my salvation!

19God the Lord is my strength; He makes my feet like those of a deer; He makes me walk upon the heights! For the choirmaster. With stringed instruments.

Berean Standard Bible. Read the full chapter

Theo-approved pending final check (theo-review-2)

Reflection

Habakkuk ends in a very different place from where it starts. Chapter 1 opens with a protest. The prophet asks how long God will tolerate violence in Judah (Hab 1:2–4). God's answer is worse than the question: He is raising up the Babylonians to judge Judah (Hab 1:5–11). Habakkuk protests again (Hab 1:12–17), then stations himself on the watchtower to wait (Hab 2:1). God tells him the vision will come at its appointed time, and that the one who is right with God lives by faithful trust (Hab 2:3–4).

Chapter 3 is a prayer-song recalling God's past acts of deliverance in Exodus imagery (Hab 3:3–15). Habakkuk trembles, yet he resolves to wait quietly for the coming day of distress (Hab 3:16). Then comes the climax. He lists six losses: fig, vine, olive, fields, flock and herd (Hab 3:17). This is total agricultural collapse, the economy of an ancient farming people wiped out. These are not hypotheticals. They describe what invasion would bring.

Even so, he will rejoice in the Lord (Hab 3:18). This joy is not denial. Habakkuk has seen the coming loss clearly. Nor does it come from the circumstances. Its object is God Himself, the God of his salvation. And the Lord is his strength, making his feet like a deer's on the heights (Hab 3:19). That is surefooted stability on dangerous ground, not escape from it (compare Ps 18:33).

Living by faith (Hab 2:4; Rom 1:17) looks like this: honest about loss, anchored in God's character, and steady while you wait.

Word study: verified (STEPBible)

chayil (Hebrew, Strong's H2428): strength, might, capability; also wealth or an army. In Hab 3:19 the Lord is the prophet's strength.

Cross-reference trail

  1. Hab 2:4: Living by faithful trust.
  2. Ps 18:33: Feet like a deer's on the heights.
  3. Rom 1:17: Paul's use of Hab 2:4.
  4. Phil 4:11: Contentment in every circumstance.
  5. 2 Cor 4:8: Afflicted but not crushed.

Go deeper

  • Question tree: How to Wait Well, waiting.how-to-wait (proposed route /ask/waiting/how-to-wait/)
  • Question tree: Enduring Trials, trials.enduring

Prayer

Lord, even if everything I depend on fails, be my joy and my strength on the heights.

Go deeper