Habakkuk 3:12

12 In fury you stride across the land, in anger you trample the nations.

Habakkuk 3:12 Meaning and Commentary

Habakkuk 3:12

Thou didst march through the land with indignation
Not the land of Canaan, fighting against the inhabitants of it, dispossessing them to make room for the Israelites, whatever allusion may be to it; but the antichristian land, the whole Romish jurisdiction, and all the states of it, through which the Lord will march in wrath and fury, when he pours out the vials of it upon them; or this is desired, and prayed for; for it may be rendered, "do thou march through the land" F18; foreseeing and believing that he would: thou didst thresh the heathen in anger;
or, "do thou thresh" F19, &c.; these are the Papists, called heathens and Gentiles in Scripture, because of the heathenish customs and practices they have introduced into the Christian religion, ( Psalms 10:16 ) ( Revelation 11:2 ) these are the nations that will be gathered together like sheaves of grain on a floor to be threshed; and when Zion the church of Christ, and Christian princes, will be called upon to arise, and thresh them; and the Lord by them will do it, namely, separate his own people from them, which are like wheat, and utterly destroy them, as chaff and stubble, ( Micah 4:12 Micah 4:13 ) .


FOOTNOTES:

F18 (deut) "progredlaris", Van Till.
F19 (vwdt) "tritures", Van Till.

Habakkuk 3:12 In-Context

10 The mountains see you and tremble; a torrent of water streams by; the deep thunders forth, as it raises enormous waves.
11 The sun and moon stand still in the sky at the light of your arrows speeding by, at the gleam of your glittering spear.
12 In fury you stride across the land, in anger you trample the nations.
13 You come out to save your people, to save your anointed one; you crush the head of the house of the wicked, uncovering its foundation all the way to the neck.
14 With their own rods you pierce the head of their warriors, who come like a whirlwind to scatter us, who rejoice at the prospect of devouring the poor in secret.
Complete Jewish Bible Copyright 1998 by David H. Stern. Published by Jewish New Testament Publications, Inc. All rights reserved. Used by permission.