Daily text, Saturday, May 20. 2017

[Queen Esther]

Keep in expectation.—Hab. 2:3.

https://wol.jw.org/en/wol/dt/r1/lp-e/2017/5/20

The prophet Habakkuk was commissioned to foretell the destruction of Jerusalem. By the time he arrived on the scene, warnings of that city’s desolation had already been sounded for years. Conditions had reached the point where ‘the wicked surrounded the righteous and justice was perverted.’ So it is not surprising that Habakkuk asked: “How long, O Jehovah, must I cry for help?” Jehovah assured his faithful prophet that the foretold destruction would “not be late.” (Hab. 1:1-4) Suppose Habakkuk had become discouraged and thought: ‘I have been hearing about Jerusalem’s destruction for years. What if it is still a long way off? It does not seem realistic to keep prophesying as if the city might suddenly be destroyed. I will leave that to others.’ If Habakkuk had entertained such ideas, he would have lost his favored position before Jehovah—and possibly his life during the destruction of Jerusalem by the Babylonians! w15 8/15 2:12, 13