While reading Habakkuk chapter 2 this morning, I got very sleepy. So I went into the bedroom, put on a tape, laid down, and went to sleep. That was when this message came to me. Before going to Habakkuk, though, we are going to read from Ezekiel.
Ezekiel 3:17-21 Son of man, I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel;
therefore hear a word from My mouth, and give them warning from Me:
18 When I say to the wicked, You shall surely die, and you give him no warning,
nor speak to warn the wicked from his wicked way, to save his life, that same
wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood I will require at your hand.
19 Yet, if you warn the wicked, and he does not turn from his wickedness, or
from his wicked way, he shall die in his iniquity; but you have delivered your
soul.
20 Again, when a righteous man turns from his righteousness and commits
iniquity, and I lay a stumbling block before him, he shall die; because you did
not give him warning, he shall die in his sin, and his righteousness which he
has done shall not be remembered; but his blood I will require at your hand.
21 Nevertheless if you warn the righteous man that the righteous should not sin,
and he does not sin, he shall surely live because he took warning; also you will
have delivered your soul.
The prophet was a watchman. He was commissioned to watch over Israel, to care for them like a shepherd who watches over his flock. His responsibility was to warn the people, and if they sinned he was to correct them. As a watchman it was his responsibility to hear the voice of the Lord and to speak His Word.
Habakkuk, like Ezekiel, was also a watchman over God’s people. However, he could not understand why God was using a nation more wicked than His people to bring judgment upon them. So he began looking to the Lord for answers.
Habakkuk 2:1 I will stand upon my watch, and set me upon the tower, and will watch to see what He will say unto me, and what I shall answer when I am reproved.
Habakkuk is saying, “I know I’m not seeing things too good, but God is going to speak to me and give me His word.” It is very interesting the way the Septuagint reads in this verse. Instead of saying “what He will say unto me,” the Septuagint says “what He will say in me,” which is really more correct. When the prophet heard the word of the Lord, he was not hearing it apart from him. He was hearing the voice of the Lord in him. The reason a real man of God hears the voice in him is because the Spirit of the Lord is in him.
I will stand upon my watch: “I’m standing upon my watch! I’m accepting the responsibility of a watchman.” He is determined. So he says, “I set me upon the tower.” The watching here is persistent. “I’m going to stand on my watch until I hear what the Lord has to say. I’m not backing away from this thing. I will see what He will say in me.”
What about this tower? If you’ve ever done much waiting on the Lord, you realize you have to learn how to deal with distractions. You try to focus on the Lord and your mind plays tricks on you. It reminds you of all the things you should have done and didn’t. It is amazing how your mind will work to keep you distracted from focusing on the Lord. The carnal mind is your enemy (Romans 8:7) and it will bombard you with all kinds of things to think about other than the presence of the Lord.
So when Habakkuk says he’s going to set himself upon his tower he is saying, “I’m going to raise my spirit above earthly things.” When you lift your awareness above earthly things, you are shutting out the things on a lower level in order that you can hear the voice of the Lord. Everyone needs a tower like Habakkuk; that is, to learn how to lift his awareness out of the realms of confusion.
Copyright © 2008 by Henry DuBose