Habakkuk 2:1-4, 9-20

God’s Reply to the Prophets Complaint

2:1 I will stand at my watchpost,

and station myself on the rampart;

I will keep watch to see what he will say to me,

and what he will answer concerning my complaint.

2 Then the LORD answered me and said:

Write the vision;

make it plain on tablets,

so that a runner may read it.

3 For there is still a vision for the appointed time;

it speaks of the end, and does not lie.

If it seems to tarry, wait for it;

it will surely come, it will not delay.

4 Look at the proud!

Their spirit is not right in them,

but the righteous live by their faith. (Habakkuk 2:1-4, NRSV)

9 “Alas for you who get evil gain for your houses,

setting your nest on high

to be safe from the reach of harm!”

10 You have devised shame for your house

by cutting off many peoples;

you have forfeited your life.

11 The very stones will cry out from the wall,

and the plaster will respond from the woodwork.

12 “Alas for you who build a town by bloodshed,

and found a city on iniquity!”

13 Is it not from the LORD of hosts

that peoples labor only to feed the flames,

and nations weary themselves for nothing?

14 But the earth will be filled

with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD,

as the waters cover the sea.

15 “Alas for you who make your neighbors drink,

pouring out your wrath until they are drunk,

in order to gaze on their nakedness!”

16 You will be sated with contempt instead of glory.

Drink, you yourself, and stagger!

The cup in the LORD’s right hand

will come around to you,

and shame will come upon your glory!

17 For the violence done to Lebanon will overwhelm you;

the destruction of the animals will terrify you-

because of human bloodshed and violence to the earth,

to cities and all who live in them.

18 What use is an idol

once its maker has shaped it-

a cast image, a teacher of lies?

For its maker trusts in what has been made,

though the product is only an idol that cannot speak!

19 Alas for you who say to the wood, “Wake up!”

to silent stone, “Rouse yourself!”

Can it teach?

See, it is gold and silver plated,

and there is no breath in it at all.

20 But the LORD is in his holy temple;

let all the earth keep silence before him! (Habakkuk 2:9-20, NRSV)

On November 20, 2006 (Monday in the week of the Sunday closest to November 16, Year Two) comments were repeated with revision and supplement from November 15, 2004, (Monday in the week of the Sunday closest to November 16, Year Two); they are repeated here with further editing and supplement:

Habakkuk’s second complaint end with expectation of the LORD’s answer: “I will stand at my watchpost, / and station myself on the rampart; / I will keep watch to see what he will say to me, / and what he will answer concerning my complaint” (Hab. 2:1). And the LORD answers with instruction for the prophet: “Then the LORD answered me and said: / Write the vision (NOzH!, chāzôn); / make it plain (rx2B!, bā’ēr) on tablets, / so that a runner may read it” (v. 2). The recent Jewish translation says, “Write the prophecy (NOzH!, chāzôn) down, / Inscribe it clearly (rx2B!, bā’ēr) on tablets, / So that it can be read easily” (Hab. 2:2b, c, d NJPS 1985, 1999). According to William L. Holladay, the verb rxB (b-’-r) occurs three times in the Hebrew Bible, meaning “make plain, explain (law)” in Deut. 1:5 and in the phrase rx2B . . . T!b4t1k!v4 (w^ekātabtâ . . . ba’ēr), meaning “record carefully” in Deut. 27:8; Hab. 2:2). Ehud Ben Zvi says, “The response [of the LORD] comes in the form of the speaker’s report of a revelation” (The Jewish Study Bible, 2004, on Hab. 2:1-20).

“For there is still a vision (NOzH!, chāzôn) for the appointed time,” says the LORD; / it speaks of the end, and does not lie. / If it seems to tarry, wait for it; / it will surely come, it will not delay” (Hab. 2:3). What will surely come and not delay is apparently divine justice, the lack of which Habakkuk has lamented. Gregory Mobley says, “The LORD replies that divine justice will come in due time; for the meantime, see v. 4” (NOAB, 3^rd ed., 2001, on Hab. 2:2-4), and adds, “The prophet is instructed to make a record of the divine response, eventually to be authenticated by events (cf. Isa. 30:8)” (ibid., on vv. 2-3). “This verse,” says Ben Zvi, “is associated in Jewish tradition with the coming of the Messiah and is reflected in the language of the twelfth principle of the thirteen principles of faith of Maimonides” (op. cit., on v. 3).

“Look at the proud!” says the LORD. “Their spirit (Owp4n1, naphšô) is not right (hr!w4y!-xlo, lō’-yāš ^erāh) in them, / but the righteous (qyD9c1, tsaddîq) live by their faith (Otn!Umx$B@, be’ ^emûnāthô)” (v. 4). A couple related corrections have been suggested for the first line, yw9p4n1, naphšî for Owp4n1, naphšô. “my nephesh” (‘spirit’?) for “your nephesh,” and ht!c4r!, rāts^ethāh, for hr!w4y!, yāš ^erāh, “is (not) pleased” for “is (not) right” (cf. K. Elliger, W. Rudolph, edd., Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia [BHS], 1970, apparatus on Hab. 2:4). Compare the Septuagint translation, eja;n uJlposteivlhtai, oujk eujdokei: hJ yuchv mou ejn aujtw:/ (ean hyposteilētai ouk eudokei hē psychē mou en autō(i) ), so cited in Hebrews 10:38, and translated as “My soul takes no pleasure in anyone who shrinks back” (Heb. 10:38 NRSV). There are also suggested alterations of the word hl!P4fu, ‘upp^elāh, which is considered “corrupt” (Holladay, Lexicon, s.v. hl!P4fu, ‘upp^elāh), the alternatives (lP!fu, ‘uppāl or lP!f1, ‘appāl) apparently support the translation “proud” (NRSV).

But the second line, quoted in Rom. 1:17; Gal. 3:11; Heb. 10:38, stands out as a major text for the the Christian doctrine of justification by faith. This point, a well known fact, is recognized by Ehud Ben Zvi. Citing the recent Jewish translation, “But the righteous man is rewarded with life / For his fidelity” (Hab. 2:4b, c NJPS 1985, 1999), he says, “the saying also had an important influence in Christianity, and in particular in the doctrine of justification through faith (see Rom. 1:17; Gal. 3:11; Heb. 10:38-39)” (op. cit., on Heb. 2:4). Here too, there is an issue of meaning, not based on different texts, but the meaning of a key term. The LORD assures Habakkuk that “the righteous (qyD9c1, tsaddîq) live by their faith (Otn!Umx$, ’ ^emûnāthô)” (v. 4b). Based on its use, hn!Umx$ (’ ^emûnāh) seems to mean rather “faithfulness” than “faith.” Holladay lists six different meanings: “1. steadiness” (e.g. Exod. 17:12), “2. reliability” (e.g. of men 1 Sam. 26:33, of God, Deut. 32:4), “3. honesty (e.g. Jer. 5:1, 3), “4. permanent duty (of an office, 1 Chron. 9:22), “5. adv. a) be’ ^emûnâ [as in Hab. 2:4] conscientiously 2 Chron. 31:12; b) ’ ^emûnâ adv. acc. in faithfulness” (Ps. 119:75), “6. security” (Ps. 37:3) (op. cit., s.v. hn!Umx$, ’ ^emûnāh). Because the related verb can mean “view something as reliable, believe: word Exod. 4:8f; put trust in (person), confide in, w. [preposition] b^e 1 Sam. 27:12 . . .” or “rely upon (God), believe in: w. b^e Gen. 15:6 . . .” (ibid., s.v. Nmx, ’-m-n, hif.), there is a case for translating hn!Umx$ (’ ^emûnāh) as “faith” rather than “faithfulness.” The Septuagint translates hn!Umx$ (’ ^emûnāh) with pivstiV (pistis), which can have either meaning, depending on the context. It is defined as “(1) that which evokes trust and faith,” as in Mt. 23:23; Rom. 3:3; Tit. 2:10 and other texts, or “(2) state of believing on the basis of the reliability of the one trusted, trust, confidence, faith” with various uses in reference to faith in God or in Christ (Bauer-Danker-Arndt-Gingrich [BDAG], A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and other Early Christian Literature, 3^rd ed., 2000, s.v. pivstiV, pistis).

In the present context, given the contrast between “the proud” (Hab. 2:4a) and “the righteous [who] live by their faith (NRSV, or ‘faithfulness’ NRSV text note c),” scholars tend to prefer “faithfulness.” Gregory Mobley defines “the substance of the message: The righteous survive by remaining steadfast, reliable, faithful. Here the contrast is primarily between the oppressed Judahites (the righteous) and oppressing Chaldeans (the proud)” (op. cit., on v. 4). Ben Zvi holds a similar view:

In its original context the saying is clearly interwoven with the first part of the v. The saying there focuses on a person whose life is swollen and crooked. Then the v. moves to the opposite pole, a pious person who keeps his or her trust in the LORD under the dire circumstances described in the book, i.e., when the righteous are asked to wait while those who do not deserve worldly power wield it over them. The text does not identify such persons with any particular characters, thereby facilitating different identifications and accordingly, diverse readings of the text. Given the general focus in the book on Babylonia and its wickedness, readers may have understood the negative character in the first line as pointing at the king of Babylonia, as an archetypal representative of both the Babylonian empire and any proud people who rely on their own power. (loc. cit.)

“The heart of the matter,” according to R. Lansing Hicks and Walter Brueggemann, “is that the righteous who are faithful to God have power to live but the proud (i.e. unrighteous) do not endure. Here the contrast is primarily between Israelites and Chaldeans; but the verse has, properly, received wider application (Rom. 1:17; Gal 3:11; Heb. 10:38-39).” (NOAB, 2^nd ed., on Hab. 2:4). Paul emphasizes his doctrine of justification by faith, but Hebrews refers to the “endurance, so that, when you have done the will of God, you may receive what was promised” (Heb. 10:36), followed by the quotation from Habakkuk 2:3-4 (Heb. 10:37-38), and his extended list of Old Testament heroes and heroines of faith (chap. 11).

The reading from Habakkuk continues with a series of “Woes” directed at the time to Israel’s enemies, but which denounce sins of tyranny and oppression wherever they occur (Hab. 2:6-20). Mobley says, “Though a rapacious empire seeks to devour other nations, their respective fortunes are reverted in the end (cf. Isa. 14:1-21). These nations get the last taunting word, delivered in the style of funeral laments (. . . cf. 1 Kings 13:30; Jer. 22:18)” (op. cit., on Hab. 2:5-20). Each woe begins with “Alas (yOh, hôy) for you,” followed by an indictment for wrongdoing. The first is addressed to oppressive lenders. “Alas for you who heap up what is not your own!” (v. 6b, cf. vv. 6b-8). They will be repaid in kind, “Will not your own creditors suddenly rise, / and those who make you tremble wake up?” (v. 7). The second woe is directed to those “who get evil gain for your house, / setting your nest on high / to be safe from the reach of harm!” (v. 9). For them “The very stones will cry out from the wall, / and the plaster will respond from the woodwork” (v. 11). The third woe is upon those “who build a town by bloodshed, / and found a city on iniquity!” (v. 12). Their actions are self-serving, for they “labor only to feed the flames, / and nations weary themselves for nothing,” which is not from the LORD (v. 13). The prophet must interject a note of relief here, saying, “the earth will be filled / with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD, / as the waters cover the sea” (v. 14; cf. Isa. 11:9). But the woes continue. “Alas for you who make your neighbors drink, / pouring out your wrath until they are drunk, / in order to gaze on their nakedness!” (v. 15). The enemy will find himself “sated with contempt instead of glory”; he will be made to drink until he staggers, for the LORD’s cup “will come around to you”–what goes around comes around, as they say–“and shame will come upon your glory” (v. 16). The “violence done to Lebanon” will be turned against the enemy (v. 17a), “because of human bloodshed and violence to the earth, / to cities and all who live in them” (v. 17c, d). The woes that indict the enemy, the Babylonians for these acts of violence are concluded with a woe directed at their idolatry. The basis is anticipated (v. 18) before the “Alas” statement (v. 19). The prophet asks, “what use is an idol / once its maker has shaped it” (v. 18a, b). This “cast image” is “a teacher of lies,” for though “its maker trusts in what he has made,” his product “cannot speak!” (v. 18:c, d, e). The idolater is taunted. “Alas for you who say to the wood, Wake up! / to silent stone, Rouse yourself! / Can it teach?” (v. 19a, b, c). We are reminded of Elijah’s taunting of the priests of Baal at Mt. Carmel (1 Kgs. 18:27-29). Habakkuk points out that the idol is not a living being. “See, it is gold and silver plated, / and there is no breath in it at all” (v. 19d, e). And the prophet closes the chapter with a refrain from the Psalms. “But the LORD is in his holy temple; / let all the earth keep silence before him” (v. 20; cf. Ps. 11:4).

James 2:14-26

Faith without Works Is Dead (Cp Gen 22; Josh 2)

14 What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if you say you have faith but do not have works? Can faith save you? 15 If a brother or sister is naked and lacks daily food, 16 and one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and eat your fill,” and yet you do not supply their bodily needs, what is the good of that? 17 So faith by itself, if it has no works, is dead.

18 But someone will say, “You have faith and I have works.” Show me your faith apart from your works, and I by my works will show you my faith. 19 You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe–and shudder. 20 Do you want to be shown, you senseless person, that faith apart from works is barren? 21 Was not our ancestor Abraham justified by works when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? 22 You see that faith was active along with his works, and faith was brought to completion by the works. 23 Thus the scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness,” and he was called the friend of God. 24 You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone. 25 Likewise, was not Rahab the prostitute also justified by works when she welcomed the messengers and sent them out by another road? 26 For just as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is also dead. (James 2:14-26, NRSV)

On September 4, 2007 (Tuesday in the week of the Sunday closest to August 31, Year One), comments were repeated from November 20, 2006 (Monday in the week of the Sunday closest to November 16, Year Two), when they were combined with revision and supplement from November 15, 2004 (Monday in the week of the Sunday closest to November 16, Year Two), and from August 30, 2005 (Tuesday of the week of the Sunday closest to August 31, Year One). The combined comments are repeated here:

Martin Luther is known to have criticized the Epistle of James as “an epistle of straw,” mainly because he felt that James’ teaching about faith and works, “I by my works will show you my faith” (James 2:18), was in contradiction with Paul’s teaching about justification by faith apart from works. This apparent “contradiction” arises if we fail to consider the different contexts. Paul teaches about becoming Christian believers through faith in the atoning work of Christ (Rom. 3:21-26), and being “set right,” with “the righteousness of God” not by works of law but by faith (Rom. 3:27-31). James addresses Christian believers, calling upon them to live out their faith and commitment to Christ by doing good works. This agrees with Paul’s call for the Galatians to live by the Spirit and not to “gratify the desires of the flesh” (Gal. 5:16), and with many of Paul’s other instructions about how to live as Christian believers.

James offers his comparison of faith and works. The former without the latter “is counterfeit” (Warren A. Quanbeck and Pheme Perkins, NOAB, 2^nd ed., on Jas. 2:14). They add, “Such faith cannot save (Mt. 25:31-46; Gal. 5:6).” Stephen Neill and Tom Wright discuss faith and works in a way that relates both to this reading from James and the comments on Habakkuk 2:4 (above).

Faith cannot be built on one narrow section of the Christian revelation without help from the other. . . . It is clear that the word [faith] is used with interestingly different connotations by Paul, by James, and by the writer to the Hebrews. The three in a broad general sense look respectively to the past, to the present, and to the future. In Paul faith means something like total surrender to God on the basis of the promises he has given to man in Jesus Christ. In James, faith means loving obedience to the commands of God. In Hebrews, faith means going forth boldly into the unknown, in the certainty that God is at the end of the journey as well as at its beginning. Clearly, each of these concepts is valid, Christian, and apostolic. Lacking any one of them our faith must be partial and one-sided” (pp. 203-204). (The Interpretation of the New Testament 1861-1986, 1988, pp. 203-204)

Paul and James both use Abraham as an example. Paul stresses the fact that Abraham’s faith was credited to him as righteousness (Gen. 15:6, discussed in Rom. 4). James also cites Genesis 15:6 (cited in Jas. 2:23), but his obedience in sacrificing Isaac (Gen. 22) is taken as a work that proves his faith (Jas. 2:22-24).

Luke 16:19-31

The Rich Man and Lazarus

19 “There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and who feasted sumptuously every day. 20 And at his gate lay a poor man named Lazarus, covered with sores, 21 who longed to satisfy his hunger with what fell from the rich man’s table; even the dogs would come and lick his sores. 22 The poor man died and was carried away by the angels to be with Abraham. The rich man also died and was buried. 23 In Hades, where he was being tormented, he looked up and saw Abraham far away with Lazarus by his side. 24 He called out, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue; for I am in agony in these flames.’ 25 But Abraham said, ‘Child, remember that during your lifetime you received your good things, and Lazarus in like manner evil things; but now he is comforted here, and you are in agony. 26 Besides all this, between you and us a great chasm has been fixed, so that those who might want to pass from here to you cannot do so, and no one can cross from there to us.’ 27 He said, ‘Then, father, I beg you to send him to my fathers house- 28 for I have five brothers-that he may warn them, so that they will not also come into this place of torment.’ 29 Abraham replied, ‘They have Moses and the prophets; they should listen to them.’ 30 He said, ‘No, father Abraham; but if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent’. 31 He said to him, ‘If they do not listen to Moses and the prophets, neither will they be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.’ (Luke 16:19-31, NRSV)

On June 2, 2007 (Saturday in the week of the Sunday closest to May 25, Year One), comments were repeated with some adjustment from November 20, 2006 (Monday in the week of the Sunday closest to November 16, Year Two), when comments were combined with revision and supplement from November 15, 2004, (Monday in the week of the Sunday closest to November 16, Year Two), and from May 28, 2005 (Saturday in the week of the Sunday closest to May 25, Year One). The combined comments are repeated here:

This story, which is found only in Luke, has been called a “parable” (e.g. Marion Lloyd Soards, NOAB, 3^rd ed., on Lk. 6:19-31; Eric Franklin, The Oxford Bible Commentary, p. 949, on Lk. 16:14-31). I once called it that in a public church meeting, and an elderly retired minister responded by saying, “That’s not a parable!” Apparently he took it as a report by Jesus of real events on earth, with Abraham, and in Hades (Lk. 16:22-23). I still believe that, as a parable, it makes its point as a stern warning to “the Pharisees, who were lovers of money, heard all this, and . . . ridiculed him” (v. 14).

The Gospel reading is the story of the rich man (often called Dives, from the Latin word for “rich,” a custom that started in the middle ages: “The word is not used in the Bible as a proper noun; but in the Middle Ages it came to be employed as the name of the rich man in the parable” (The Catholic Encyclopedia, at http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/05048a.htm, accessed again November 16, 2008). Marion Lloyd Soards points out that, “the person named here is not to be identified with the Lazarus of Jn. 11:1-44; 12:1, 9” (op. cit., on Lk. 16:20). The story seems to illustrate earlier statements about being faithful, not dishonest, whether you have “very little” or “much” (Lk. 16:10) and about not serving “two masters,” “God and wealth” (v. 13). The Pharisees, who were the point of the earlier sayings (cf. vv. 14-15), are still in view.

If the rich man did not flaunt his wealth by conspicuous consumption, one wonders what more he could have done. He “was dressed in purple and fine linen,” and he “feasted sumptuously every day” (v. 19). His expensive clothing reminds us of Jesus’ description of John the Baptist. “What then did you go out to see? Someone dressed in soft robes? Look, those who put on fine clothing and live in luxury are in royal palaces” (Lk. 7:25; cf. Mt. 11:8). One also wonders how Lazarus could have gotten near his table. The modern “Lazaruses” would more likely be found going through the dumpsters in back of the house. The story graphically portrays the condition of Lazarus, “who longed to satisfy his hunger with what fell from the rich man’s table,” and who was “covered with sores” so that “the dogs would come and lick” them (vv. 20-21). According to Soards, “the moral character of Lazarus is passed over to illustrate the fatal deficiency in the life of the indifferent rich man and the impossibility of altering his condemnation” (on vv. 21-22).

Upon their deaths, the conditions of the two men are reversed. “The poor man died and was carried away by the angels to be with Abraham” (v. 22a). But when the rich man died (v. 22b), he was “in Hades, where he was being tormented” (v. 23a). He was aware of Lazarus condition, though separated from him by “a great chasm” (v. 26). He cries out to “Father, Abraham,” for mercy, water to “cool my tongue; for I am in agony in these flames” (v. 24). Abraham’s response is a reminder of his life with its “good things” (v. 25). When the man asks that Lazarus be sent to warn his “five brothers” (v. 28), Abraham’s reply says that they have “Moses and the prophets,” which should be sufficient: “they should listen to them” (v. 29, cf. vv. 16-17, 31). Of the parable, Elwyn E. Tilden and Bruce M. Metzger say, “The main point (vv. 27-31) is that the Old Testament speaks an urgent and sufficient call to repentance (v. 17)” (NOAB, 2^nd ed., 1994, on Lk. 16:19-31). There is also a warning against trust in riches which recalls the Parable of the Rich Fool (Lk. 12:13-21) and a reminder to consider the needs of the marginalized and outcast (cf. Mt. 25:31-46). Eric Franklin says that “the parable of Dives and Lazarus . . . continues the theme of the dangers of riches and the self-centeredness they [the Pharisees] encourage” (loc. cit.). He adds:

Proclaiming the reversal of fortunes in the future age, it judges those who neglect the poor. Luke has Jesus direct it to the Pharisees, and it may be this parable that has encouraged him to call them lovers of money. Its final verse (31), which is an address of Abraham to Dives, would seem to contain Christian thoughts about the resurrection of Jesus. This widens out the meaning of the parable beyond its concern with money. It becomes a comment on the Pharisees who fail to respond, not only to Jesus himself but also to the Christian proclamation about him. If they had really understood Moses and the prophets, they would, like the loyally devout Jews of the infancy narratives, have responded to him. As far as Luke is concerned (as he will make abundantly clear through his picture of Paul in Acts), Christianity is the fulfillment of the Jewish faith. A responsive Jew will embrace Jesus as Christ (Acts 26:22-3). At [Luke] 16:31 a section of the journey narrative which began with 14:1 and which is largely concerned with the tragedy of the Pharisees rejection of Jesus is completed. (ibid.)

Ronald D. Worden, Ph.D.

rdworden@hgst.edu

deanworden@comcast.net