The word “revelation” (“vision” ESV, ASV, KJ) that Habakkuk is to write on tablets is the Hebrew
word hazon and it refers to supernatural insight or message received by the prophet. The verb
form of the same word is used in Habakkuk 1:1:
“The oracle (hazah) that Habakkuk the prophet received.”
It is a message from God, and not some company vision statement or New Year’s resolution or
the mission statement from a purpose driven church, ministry, life, etc. It is to be written down
and preserved as a reference to guide, teach and empower a future generation of believers. It is to serve as a testimony to prove God’s existence, superiority and omnipotence in history. This “revelation,” “prophecy,” or “vision,” from God is to be made “plain” which means both to inscribe clearly and write accurately so that the content of the message is communicated and not lost in translation or carelessness. The “herald,” or qore in Hebrew, literally means “the one who reads” and refers to the man whose skill was reading and whose mission was to run with the message in order to communicate it to a person or to a group of people.
As so often is true of God’s work in history this revelation will seem to “linger.” But, the instructions included in this message are to “wait for it!” Habakkuk is told that in this revelation God’s word:
- Awaits an appointed time – its fulfillment is not for now, but for a determined time in the future
- Speaks of the end – “speaks” means “to breathe, to blow” continuously towards its
ultimate fulfillment in the end like wind continually blowing on sand or snow to form what
will ultimately be a sand dune or snow drift. God’s word is not idle, but is continually
creating its final purpose.
- Will not prove false – the message of the Word of God is not a lie; in fact, it is occurring now as God continues to blow history to its final goal
- Will certainly come – it will certainly come to completion as surely as it is being formed
right now
- Will not delay – the process is underway and it will not quit until it is finished. Think of it
as a download in process: God’s word will continue to download until it is complete. God’s word will not become like an unresponsive program that starts spinning like a little rainbow-colored optical disk during its download into history.
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