Oppression in the Bible and Belief

The scripture analysis seeks to explore. This analysis has proven as the most ideal way of understanding the bible since it has an in-depth investigation of the verse. The resultant findings enable one to have a unique understanding of the verse. Importantly, it is hard for one to understand the verse after making a quick skim. There is a need for using other sources such as the bible commentaries and study bibles in order for one to get the full meaning of the verse.

The verse belongs to the seventh century BCE, and it is quite an ancient verse (Coogan, 2010). It addresses the Chaldeans or neo-Babylonians whose reign started in 612. This community used to oppress the Juhadites and the verse intends to warn the Chaldeans of an oncoming plight. The verse points out the kind of oppression that the Juhadites faced. The first form of oppression entails stealing where the Chaldeans used to steal and store the stolen goods. The second form of oppression was plunder. The Chaldeans used to take things from the Judahites forcefully. The third oppression was causing bloodshed and using injustice to get wealth. The Chaldeans killed and maimed the Judahites in order to get rich.

It is for the said oppressions that the Chaldeans were to suffer five types of woes. The first woe was getting scorned using riddles (Coogan, 2010). The nations that Chaldeans used to oppress were to rise up and ridicule the Chaldeans for perpetrating oppression. The next woe entailed the rising of the creditors who were to demand their debt back. However, the Chaldeans would not manage to repay the debts and they were to become servants of their creditors. The other woe that the Chaldeans would experience was plunder from other nations that would raid them. This event would be similar to what the Chaldeans used to do to other nations. The next woe that would befall the Chaldeans entailed facing an opposition from harmless people. These are the very people that the Chaldeans overlooked as weak. Lastly, the Chaldeans would suffer due to killing and maiming other people.

From the Oxford Bible Commentary, one gets to understand the meaning of the word “Alas” and the reason for its application on the passage. This commentary states that the word is used as a cry of grief and it usage seeks to attract the attention of the reader (Barton & Muddiman, 2007). Getting to know the meaning of this word is important since it helps one to have a different understanding of the text. If the meaning of the word is not clear, then it is easy for one to overlook it and deem it as a mere word. However, getting to understand the meaning of the word elicits a certain emotion on the part of a reader. It is for this reason that I agree with this version of commentary.

The New Collegeville Bible Commentary has a different version of expounding the text. This commentary cites the subject text as a divine response, and it sheds light on the five woes that would befall the oppressing community. Importantly, this commentary points out that the intended audience for the subject text is not known (Durken, 2015). This commentary contradicts other commentaries that cite the Chaldeans as the oppressing community. I agree with this commentary since the passage is silent on the community that was to face the five woes.

The other commentary comes from Haak, (1992). The author is of the view that the text denotes the expression of certainty in regard to reversal of fortune. This commentary also cites the woes that would befall superlative evil people that perpetrated a series of oppression to others. It is true that the oppressing community had gained from their evil acts and they were to face a reproach for what they had done. Importantly, this commentary notes that the five woes do not associate with the previous complaints, and they stand as complaints. However, I beg to differ since the verse stands as an answer to the cry of Habakkuk in the previous chapter of the book.

The last commentary comes from Robertson, (1990). This commentary depicts the subject verse as wise sayings that had an objective of humbling the Chaldeans. One of the lessons from this commentary entails the permanent hurt that the Chaldeans would suffer for their evil actions. It is true that the verse applies perpetuity since it does not state the end of the woes that would befall the Chaldeans. It means that the community would suffer an endless hurt. Additionally, the commentary is of the view that God makes a community suffer while the rest of the world watches in order to humble the community. It is true that other nations would watch a once prominent community suffer.

The verse has a series of applications in the contemporary situations. To begin with, the verse serves as a warning to anyone that would perpetrate the kind of oppressions that the verse notes. For every form of oppression, there is a respective punishment. It means that the reader would understand the kind of punishment that would befall them after committing the evil that the verse contains. The verse also shows the glory of God. It shows that ability of God to punish evil people that oppress others. If God was silent after the Habakkuk’s cry, then it can show that He is not in a position to bring justice to the oppressed and punish evil people. The verse also serves as a consolation to people that undergoes any form of oppression. The current world is full of oppressions that include discrimination and exploitation for personal gains. The verse consoles the oppressed and it states the punishment that would befall the oppressors. Lastly, the verse is persuasive to people to call God in times of oppression. Habakkuk cried to God and that is the time when God replied. If the prophet remained silent, then the oppression could have continued into an unforeseeable future since no one else was crying to God. It means that it is important for people to be crying to God in times of oppression.

Studying this passage has influenced my life in various ways. The first way entails a realization of evils that I should avoid due to their resultant punishment. This verse stands as an addition to the Ten Commandments that one should observe since it denotes what one should not do to other people. Refraining from committing these evils will help me to avoid the wrath of God that befalls people who commit the subject evils. The second way that the verse influences my life relates to bible comprehension. I will begin exploring the bible using other sources that offer a deeper meaning to the verses. This move will help me to get a deeper understanding of the word of God. Initially, I used to read the bible and get the literal understanding of the verse. However, studying the verse in the current manner has revealed that there is more information that remains concealed when one reads a verse from the bible. One can only get the information through using other sources that would help them to understand the bible better.

There is a need for one to use other sources when trying to get the meaning of a bible verse. The bible commentaries and the Annotated Bible are some of the sources that can help one to get a deeper understanding of the word of God. One cannot get a full meaning of a bible verse through reading the bible alone. It is possible for one to overlook some important parts of the bible, especially due to lack of their meaning. Using other sources offers a better meaning of the words that appear in a bible verse, and one can get a better meaning of the verse after rereading the verse having learnt the meaning of the words. Importantly, the scripture analysis adds characters to the bible verses that are silent on the characters. 

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