The Appointed Time
There is an expression in Habakkuk which has something important to say to us about the way God works:
“For still the vision awaits its appointed time; it hastens to the end – it will not lie. If it seems slow, wait for it; it will surely come; it will not delay.” (Habakkuk 2:3).
The phrase is important when read alongside Habakkuk 1:5 and 3:2.
“For I am doing a work in your days that you would not believe if told.” (Habakkuk 1:5).
“O LORD, I have heard the report of you, and your work, O LORD, do I fear. In the midst of the years revive it; in the midst of the years make it known; in wrath remember mercy.” (Habakkuk 3:2).
The Context
Habakkuk begins with a problem: Why does God appear to be doing nothing? He sees violence, injustice and lawlessness in Judah and cries: “O LORD, how long shall I cry for help, and you will not hear?” (1:2).
God’s answer is startling: “For I am doing a work in your days that you would not believe if told.” (1:5).
God is already at work, although Habakkuk cannot see it. More surprisingly, God’s method is something the prophet would never have anticipated: He is raising up the Chaldeans/Babylonians as an instrument of judgement (1:6).
That creates Habakkuk’s second problem. How can the holy God use a nation even more wicked than Judah? Habakkuk therefore determines to wait for God’s answer (2:1).
God tells him to write the vision plainly, and then comes 2:3: “… the vision awaits its appointed time.”
The Hebrew expression is lammôʿēd – for the appointed time. Môʿēd means an appointed or fixed time. The emphasis is stronger than simply saying, “It will happen sometime.” God has determined the time at which His purpose will reach its fulfilment.
Habakkuk must now live between God’s promise and God’s appointed time. That leads directly into one of the great statements of Scripture: “… but the righteous shall live by his faith.” (2:4).
Faith here includes continuing to trust God while His promised action appears delayed.
Its Significance for Revival
There is an interesting sequence through Habakkuk:
1:5 – God is already working: “I am doing a work in your days…”
2:3 – God’s work has its appointed time: “… the vision awaits its appointed time…”
2:4 – God’s people must live by faith while they wait: “… the righteous shall live by his faith.”
3:2 – God’s people may pray for His work to be manifested: “In the midst of the years revive it; in the midst of the years make it known…”
That is remarkably relevant to being revival ready, although we should be careful not to make Habakkuk 2:3 a direct promise that every revival has a predetermined date which Christians can discover. In its immediate context, the “appointed time” concerns the fulfilment of the particular vision God gave Habakkuk, including judgement upon Babylon. It reveals a much broader truth about God’s sovereignty over His work and its timing.
Habakkuk holds together three things which can easily become separated:
- God is sovereignly at work;
- God’s people must wait in faith; and
- God’s people are nevertheless called to pray for His work to be made known.
There is also a tension between 2:3 and 3:2: “The vision awaits its appointed time” and “In the midst of the years revive it.”
Habakkuk knows that God’s purposes have their appointed time, yet that knowledge does not make him passive. God’s sovereignty becomes the ground of his prayer rather than an excuse for prayerlessness. Notice what he asks for: “make it known.” He is not merely asking God to change circumstances. He wants the work and character of God to become manifest in his generation.
So:
- God is already working (1:5),
- God has His appointed time (2:3).
- We His people live by faith while we wait (2:4), and meanwhile.
- We cry, “… revive your work…make it known” (3:2).