Underrated Bible stories #3: Habukkuk's hair-raising experience

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Niemand
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Underrated Bible stories #3: Habukkuk's hair-raising experience

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Habakkuk's hair has an uplifting experience.

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So in #1 of this series, we saw how God helped a baldy from a mob of annoying children. (viewtopic.php?t=69474), then in #2 the strange role of clothes and nudity in Mark's gospel (viewtopic.php?t=69486), which are both stories we almost never discuss in Sunday School. Here's another which you'll never hear for slightly different reasons I'll go into later. We tend to dance through some parts of the Old Testament, but they do have some things to teach us.

In the lesser known Bible story thread I quoted a couple of people who mentioned the story of the wonderfully named Habakukk:
viewtopic.php?t=69006

Discussing the Book of Habakkuk, one person likes it:
Because it's relatable. A man loves God and his earthly country but sees how far it has strayed from God and is grieved by it.
In Habakkuk 1:2,. he is unusual in being one of the few prophets to question God: "O Lord, how long shall I cry, and thou wilt not hear! even cry out unto thee of violence, and thou wilt not save!"

But Habakkuk is not just found in his own book. Another person singles out the incident of
The angel grabbing on to Habakkuk's hair and flying him to Daniel.
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That story has him arguing with God as well...

Daniel 14:
Now there was in Jewry a prophet, called Habbacuc, who had made pottage, [soup] and had broken bread in a bowl, and was going into the field, for to bring it to the reapers. But the angel of the Lord said unto Habbacuc, "Go, carry the dinner that thou hast into Babylon unto Daniel, who is in the lions' den."
And Habbacuc said, "Lord, I never saw Babylon; neither do I know where the den is."
Then the angel of the Lord took him by the crown, and bare him by the hair of his head, and through the vehemency of his spirit set him in Babylon over the den. And Habbacuc cried, saying, "O Daniel, Daniel, take the dinner which God hath sent thee."
And Daniel said, "Thou hast remembered me, O God: neither hast thou forsaken them that seek thee and love thee."
So Daniel arose, and did eat: and the angel of the Lord set Habbacuc in his own place again immediately.


So the angel grabs Habakkuk from a field and takes him off to give Daniel some company this time and to break bread with him (a "type" or foreshadowing of the sacrament.)

The New Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition translates one of the verses as:
Then the angel of the Lord took him by the crown of his head and carried him by his hair; with the speed of the wind he set him down in Babylon, right over the den.
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I prefer this translation to the KJV because it conveys the idea of speed better than "the vehemency of his spirit" (the version above notes this as an alternative translation.) Then Habakkuk is either dragged all the way back to where he was by his hair, or is teleported back to his field to continue his work.

Then in a satisfying post-script, Daniel is taken out of the den right before the eyes of the King and Daniel's evil jailers are put into the den and eaten up by the hungry lions.

There is a lot of symbolism and meaning in this story:
* The Lord never forgets Daniel even when he is in deep trouble.
* Habakkuk is argumentative as usual, but fulfils his role.
* God provides a solution which is completely unexpected to both Daniel and Habakkuk (and probably the lions). Habakkuk does not know how to help Daniel but this is not a problem.
* The bread. We read Habakkuk "had broken bread in a bowl, and was going into the field, for to bring it to the reapers." Bread is made with grain and represents the final product which the harvesters are bringing in. In Mark 4:39, Jesus says of missionary work: "...when the fruit is brought forth, immediately he putteth in the sickle, because the harvest is come." This may itself be quote of Joel 3:14. We celebrate sacrament with bread among fellow converts, both of which are there as results of different harvest.
* Habakkuk says "Lord, I never saw Babylon". Babylon is famously the city of sin and oppression throughout most of the Bible. This represents Habakkuk's innocence and purity, and his doubt. Jeremiah 50:16 says "Cut off the sower from Babylon, and him that handleth the sickle in the time of harvest". Here the reverse happens to help Daniel.
* "Pottage" (soup) also appears in the story of Esau who famously sells off his birthright because of hunger, so maybe some symbolism there. Genesis 25:30: "And Esau said to Jacob, 'Feed me, I pray thee, with that same red pottage; for I am faint: therefore was his name called Edom.'" I find this harder to interpret.

Now there's maybe someone reading this scratching their head because they can't find Daniel 14. This a bit of a cheat as it's one of the Apocryphal additions to Daniel (which I discuss here -> viewtopic.php?t=69261) included at the end of the "Bel and the Dragon section.* You'd think the tyrants would have worked out it was a waste of time to throw Daniel in the lions' den, but according to the Apocrypha this happened a second of time. It's a cute story.

I don't make any claim for the additions to Daniel to be scriptural but it is a good story, and maybe does have something to teach us.

Habakkuk's life
Not much is known about Habakkuk's life. Most of the information can be taken from the Book of Habakkuk itself. According to Jewish tradition (the Zohar (Volume 1, page 8b)) Habakkuk is the boy born to the Shunamite woman through Elisha's blessing in 2 Kings 4:16:
And he said, About this season, according to the time of life, thou shalt embrace [חֹבֶקֶת‎ – ḥōḇeqeṯ] a son. And she said, "Nay, my lord, thou man of God, do not lie unto thine handmaid."
Some say his name is Akkadian instead. The Persians claim Habakkuk was a guardian of Solomon's Temple, but was later captured by the Babylonians (an interesting parallel to this story.) He has at least two alleged burial places.

Habakkuk is a good role model to those of us who struggle with God's will and question what is happening around us.

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* The Roman Catholics have this story in Daniel 14:33-39. Protestants have to find it in Bel and the Dragon section of Apocrypha (verses 33-39) if they have the Apocrypha in their Bible. Mormons... will just have to look up a different Bible edition!

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Niemand
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Re: Underrated Bible stories #3: Habukkuk's hair-raising experience

Post by Niemand »

Other underrated stories
I've done a series of posts on some Bible stories which don't garner a lot of attention. Here are eleven of them:
1 - Elisha and the Bears
viewtopic.php?t=69474

2 - Getting Naked with Jesus
viewtopic.php?t=69486

4 - Simon of Cyrene
viewtopic.php?t=69537

5 - Lefty Kills Fatty
viewtopic.php?t=69569

6 - The Idol of Dagon Bows to the Real God
viewtopic.php?t=69574

7 - Jesus Breaks Up a Funeral
viewtopic.php?t=69681

8 - Hundreds Killed by Farm Implement
viewtopic.php?t=69697

9 - Peter Swims out to See Jesus
viewtopic.php?t=69720

10 - Lapping it up Like a Dog
viewtopic.php?t=70815

11 - Paul bores a Man to Death
viewtopic.php?t=71863

12 - Herod needs to be Wormed
viewtopic.php?t=73176

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