Habakkuk 3:12

12 Angry, you stomped through Earth. Furious, you crushed the godless 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 Mountains saw what was coming. They twisted in pain. Flood Waters poured in. Ocean roared and reared huge waves.
11 Sun and Moon stopped in their tracks. Your flashing arrows stopped them, your lightning-strike spears impaled them.
12 Angry, you stomped through Earth. Furious, you crushed the godless nations.
13 You were out to save your people, to save your specially chosen people. You beat the stuffing out of King Wicked, Stripped him naked from head to toe,
14 Set his severed head on his own spear and blew away his army. Scattered they were to the four winds - and ended up food for the sharks!
Published by permission. Originally published by NavPress in English as THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language copyright 2002 by Eugene Peterson. All rights reserved.