Writer woods.......

Why won’t you publish the defense strategy?

Iniquity abounds. Spoiling and violence are inescapable. Protagonists rear their heads in strife and contention. They surround the righteous and as a result…lots of wrong decisions. Plans go awry. Fed up with the endless procession of injustice Habakkuk cries out to the Lord. He asks for a time line. How long shall I cry…how long before you publish[1] the defense strategy? He follows with another, equally jarring, question. “Why are You showing me this violence and perversion? Habakkuk pleads with God on the groundswell of revelation. You are causing me to see this.

When the Lord responded Habakkuk’s moleskin notebook contained twenty characteristics of the Chaldeans.

ruthless
impetuous
seize dwellings of others
feared, dreaded
law to themselves
promote their own honor
horses swifter than leopards
fiercer than wolves at dusk
cavalry gallops headlong
horsemen come from afar
fly like vultures to devour
bent on violence
hordes advance like a desert wind
gather prisoners like sand
deride kings
scoff at rulers
laugh at fortified cities
build and capture earthen ramps
sweep past like the wind
guilty men whose own strength is their god

Impressive note taking waned in the wake of this breaking newsflash. “I work a work….I am raising them up.” Just when did the jolting declaration solidify in his understanding? “Behold among the heathen…I will work a work…I am raising up the Chaldeans.”

Habakkuk, meaning to embrace, is moved into action by the staccato pace of God’s word. Truth has spoken. With laser beam intensity Habakkuk makes his declaration. “I will stand...”

He shakes off apathy and indifference. He moves from prayer to proclamation. He seems to have discovered the proper place to take action. “…upon my watch.” He does not ask for a promotion nor is there any indication he requires others to join his cause. He simply states his intent. He offers to establish himself at the edge of the conflict[2]. He looks out with focused intent. From this new vantage point Habakkuk expects God to reveal His promise in the midst of the conflict. He expects salvation. Peter must have read his book.

Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust. 2 Pet 1:4 (KJV)

Did Habakkuk know … did he have previous experience with God’s rebuke? How could he be so certain the Word of the Lord would pierce him with conviction? Why was his heart set to receive correction? Why did he take the steps recorded in verse 1? Is there a key to the progression?

We are introduced to Habakkuk as he cries out in desperation. We watch him take copious notes. We listen as he boldly declares, “We will not die.” Then we see him set his own stage. He is ready to stand in the battle. Will he be sent with a word of correction as Nathan was to David? Or as Elijah to Ahab? Will he go to the leaders with a word of correction like Haggai? Will he be seized by the hair of his head and sent to prophecy to mountains, bones and the wind like Ezekiel? The drum roll begins as he waits in anticipation.

Write the vision.

The thundering voice of God whispers the conviction. Quit crying. Start writing. Quit focusing on the circumstances. Write the defense strategy I give you. Stand with a pen in your hand and write. Pass on the urgency. Communicate the necessity. Make people run…to the tower, just like you did. Help them see.

The name of the LORD is a strong tower: the righteous runneth into it, and is safe. Prov 18:10 (KJV)

The words filled the air silencing every human thought and reasoning. Was this the work which would bring forth the treasure? Write the book of prophecy, the divine communiqué from heaven? Write the oracles of God. Write the defense strategy. And just who is the targeted audience? Anyone who reads. This is a book for the masses.

God commissioned a ghostwriter then transitioned him from a cry of desperation to a pen of consecration. God spoke with clarity. He made it plain. Others may stand in pulpits. Some may be sequestered in prayer. Some may stand before kings but Habakkuk, you are called to write the defense strategy of heaven, a book which will cause the masses to cast off apathy and respond at an accelerated pace. God didn’t say it but it was clear. The defense strategy is not published yet….because you have not written it yet.

[1] 8085 שָׁמַע, שֶׁמַע [shama` /shaw·mah/] v n m. “publish”

[2] 4692 מָצֹור, מָצֹור [matsowr, matsuwr /maw·tsore/] n m. From 6696; 1 siege-enclosure, siege, entrenchment, siege works. 1a siege. 1b enclosure, siege-works, rampart.