TUESDAY, JANUARY 17
Scripture: Habakkuk 1:5-8

Habakkuk 1:5-8 is a very important passage. It says, “Look among the nations and watch— Be utterly astounded! For I will work a work in your days Which you would not believe, though it were told you. For indeed I am raising up the Chaldeans, A bitter and hasty nation Which marches through the breadth of the earth, To possess dwelling places that are not theirs. They are terrible and dreadful; Their judgment and their dignity proceed from themselves. Their horses also are swifter than leopards, And more fierce than evening wolves. Their chargers charge ahead; Their cavalry comes from afar; They fly as the eagle that hastens to eat.” What a picture of the devastation that was coming on Jerusalem. But the word was given as a warning. That warning was one that could either be heeded or rejected. If we heed warnings, there is repentance and heeding that warning turns to mercy for the people and salvation from the warning of judgment. But a failure to repent guarantees the warning will come to pass. What is interesting about this passage in Habakkuk 1 is that we find it referred to in the New Testament.