Thou didst walk through the sea with thine horses, through the heap of great waters.
Thou didst walk through the sea with thine horses pictures God advancing triumphantly through the heap of great waters to save His people and defeat and punish their enemies and the nations. His horses make way for His chariots of salvation, for they are living angels sent on errands of mercy to rescue the lost from evil, keep them from sin and the enemy's traps, and restore them to God's image. The scene displays His majesty, strength and power to save even when kingdoms fall, bringing judgment on defiant nations and deliverance to those who seek His mercy. It belongs to the terrible scenes just before the end, pointing to the battle and destruction of the wicked at Christ's second appearing and to the fearful time of the fourth plague when the sun scorches men and the harvest perishes. He goes forth to save His people amid the time of trouble, so the only safety is to hide in Him and prepare to meet Him, while in wisdom He may let some who could not stand the conflict rest in the grave through that trouble.
Context and Poetic Form
Habakkuk 3:15 stands in the closing prayer of the prophecy in its last chapter. That closing prayer is a lyric poem, majestic and beautiful, wonderfully eloquent, expressing God's glory and the prophet's trust in His power.
Habakkuk lived in the time of Jeremiah, about 625 or 626. He reproved the oppressive and wealthy in Israel and exposed evil among God's people, especially the strong oppressing the weak. He warned them of the coming of the Chaldeans.
His times serve as a type of the present time. Because human nature and oppression are always the same, they form a striking picture of the last days. The passage through the sea recalls God's mighty intervention on behalf of His people from Sinai through their entry into Canaan as evidence of His favor and deliverance for Israel.
God's March to Save
The verse pictures God advancing triumphantly with His horses through the sea amid the heap of great waters, as part of His march to save His people, to bring them out, and to defeat and punish their enemies and the nations. That march is through the land in indignation, threshing the heathen in anger, going forth for the salvation of His people even with His anointed, wounding the head out of the house of the wicked and striking through with His staves the head of the leaders of the enemy who came out as a whirlwind to scatter the poor. It displays His majesty and strength and power as One able to save His people even when kingdoms fall, bringing judgment on defiant nations and deliverance to those who seek His mercy. Hearing the vision made the prophet tremble, with rottenness entering his belly and his lips quivering and his bones shaking, so that he desired to rest in the day of trouble.
The horses make way for His chariots of salvation to reach souls and accomplish their work. For the horses are living angels, the first real aeroplanes that ever swept earth's skies, sent from heaven on errands of mercy to save the lost. They rescue from evil angels and unseen dangers, keep the heirs of salvation from falling into sin and the traps of the enemy, break the cruel power of sin, and transform the fallen back into God's image. As part of that same working God overturns mountains and nations, turns the course of rivers, and causes the sun and moon to stand still. These angelic chariots are soul savers, not destroyers, and they still work today, revealing His intense interest in soul saving and His love for exercising mighty power to deliver the helpless and lost.
End-Time Prophecy and Refuge
The verse belongs to the description of the scenes just before the end, the day of God's wrath without mercy. Those scenes are so terrible that human language and imagination cannot fully portray them. It stands among the prophecies pointing to the battle and destruction of the wicked at Christ's second appearing, at the same time as the voice of God.
The wider passage of Habakkuk 3:8-19 shows the condition of the earth at the fearful time of the fourth plague, when power is given to the sun to scorch men with fire and men are scorched with great heat. At that time the land mourns because the harvest of the field is perished, all the trees of the field are withered, and joy is withered away from the sons of men. The verse portrays God going forth to save His people amid the time of trouble, using the image of His horses passing through the sea and its mighty waters. The only safety then is to hide in God and prepare to meet Him.
Hearing this vision of God marching through the land in indignation, threshing the heathen in anger, going forth for the salvation of His people with His anointed, wounding the head of the house of the wicked and striking through the leaders of the enemy who came to scatter the poor, made the prophet tremble in belly and lips and bones, desiring to rest in the day of trouble. God who sees the end from the beginning knows who can and who cannot stand the coming conflict. In wisdom He may therefore suffer those in danger of falling to be humbled and brought down by sickness and fitted for the kingdom, letting them rest in the grave during the time of trouble. For this gratitude and love are due, without weakening faith that the prayer of faith will still raise the sick.
Thou didst walk through the sea with thine horses pictures God advancing triumphantly through the heap of great waters to save His people and defeat and punish their enemies and the nations. His horses make way for His chariots of salvation, for they are living angels sent on errands of mercy to rescue the lost from evil, keep them from sin and the enemy's traps, and restore them to God's image. The scene displays His majesty, strength and power to save even when kingdoms fall, bringing judgment on defiant nations and deliverance to those who seek His mercy. It belongs to the terrible scenes just before the end, pointing to the battle and destruction of the wicked at Christ's second appearing and to the fearful time of the fourth plague when the sun scorches men and the harvest perishes. He goes forth to save His people amid the time of trouble, so the only safety is to hide in Him and prepare to meet Him, while in wisdom He may let some who could not stand the conflict rest in the grave through that trouble.
Context and Poetic Form
Habakkuk 3:15 stands in the closing prayer of the prophecy in its last chapter. That closing prayer is a lyric poem, majestic and beautiful, wonderfully eloquent, expressing God's glory and the prophet's trust in His power.
Habakkuk lived in the time of Jeremiah, about 625 or 626. He reproved the oppressive and wealthy in Israel and exposed evil among God's people, especially the strong oppressing the weak. He warned them of the coming of the Chaldeans.
His times serve as a type of the present time. Because human nature and oppression are always the same, they form a striking picture of the last days. The passage through the sea recalls God's mighty intervention on behalf of His people from Sinai through their entry into Canaan as evidence of His favor and deliverance for Israel.
God's March to Save
The verse pictures God advancing triumphantly with His horses through the sea amid the heap of great waters, as part of His march to save His people, to bring them out, and to defeat and punish their enemies and the nations. That march is through the land in indignation, threshing the heathen in anger, going forth for the salvation of His people even with His anointed, wounding the head out of the house of the wicked and striking through with His staves the head of the leaders of the enemy who came out as a whirlwind to scatter the poor. It displays His majesty and strength and power as One able to save His people even when kingdoms fall, bringing judgment on defiant nations and deliverance to those who seek His mercy. Hearing the vision made the prophet tremble, with rottenness entering his belly and his lips quivering and his bones shaking, so that he desired to rest in the day of trouble.
The horses make way for His chariots of salvation to reach souls and accomplish their work. For the horses are living angels, the first real aeroplanes that ever swept earth's skies, sent from heaven on errands of mercy to save the lost. They rescue from evil angels and unseen dangers, keep the heirs of salvation from falling into sin and the traps of the enemy, break the cruel power of sin, and transform the fallen back into God's image. As part of that same working God overturns mountains and nations, turns the course of rivers, and causes the sun and moon to stand still. These angelic chariots are soul savers, not destroyers, and they still work today, revealing His intense interest in soul saving and His love for exercising mighty power to deliver the helpless and lost.
End-Time Prophecy and Refuge
The verse belongs to the description of the scenes just before the end, the day of God's wrath without mercy. Those scenes are so terrible that human language and imagination cannot fully portray them. It stands among the prophecies pointing to the battle and destruction of the wicked at Christ's second appearing, at the same time as the voice of God.
The wider passage of Habakkuk 3:8-19 shows the condition of the earth at the fearful time of the fourth plague, when power is given to the sun to scorch men with fire and men are scorched with great heat. At that time the land mourns because the harvest of the field is perished, all the trees of the field are withered, and joy is withered away from the sons of men. The verse portrays God going forth to save His people amid the time of trouble, using the image of His horses passing through the sea and its mighty waters. The only safety then is to hide in God and prepare to meet Him.
Hearing this vision of God marching through the land in indignation, threshing the heathen in anger, going forth for the salvation of His people with His anointed, wounding the head of the house of the wicked and striking through the leaders of the enemy who came to scatter the poor, made the prophet tremble in belly and lips and bones, desiring to rest in the day of trouble. God who sees the end from the beginning knows who can and who cannot stand the coming conflict. In wisdom He may therefore suffer those in danger of falling to be humbled and brought down by sickness and fitted for the kingdom, letting them rest in the grave during the time of trouble. For this gratitude and love are due, without weakening faith that the prayer of faith will still raise the sick.