Is it
okay to say, “I hate click bait?” Just in case it is not, I will just say that
I hold a strong disdain for click bait. You may be asking, “What is click
bait?” If you have no idea what it is then you are the luckier out of the two
of us. The technical definition is “content, especially that of a sensational
or provocative nature, whose main purpose is to attract attention and draw
visitors to a particular web page.” To make things easier I have included a
checklist of what one would normally see.
·
Is it vague?
·
Is there some form of feel good
attachment to it?
·
Are the words: SHOCKING, BLOWN, AWAY,
AMAZING, or WOW in all caps?
·
Is the subject of the article hated by
a particular group?
·
Will you have trouble guessing what
happens next?
·
Is it a list with a certain number
BLOWING YOU AWAY?
·
Will your faith in humanity be
restored?
·
Is a baby or small animal involved in
some way?
·
Does every sentence end in an exclamation
point!
Any
number of these would point to click bait. A title might read something like
this: “You’ll be BLOWN AWAY by the SHOCKING thing that happens when an AMAZING
one armed baby monkey is handed a guitar! His third song left a group of orangutans
in tears and restored an alligator’s faith in humanity! Musicians hate him!”
These links contain articles that usually contain nothing good.
Now that
the definition is out of the way, we should focus on something that could be
confused for click bait but is far from it. There was a prophet who went to God
concerning a nation which was steeped in sin. He had gone a number of times but
felt that God was ignoring him. He cried out because the Law was being loosely
held, violence ran rampant in the streets, and those who in power were
extremely corrupt (Hab. 1:1-4). He is the prophet Habakkuk and what he is told
next was truly shocking. How do we know? “Behold ye among the heathen, and
regard, and wonder marvellously: for I
will work a work in your days, which
ye will not believe, though it be told you.”
(Hab. 1:5). God told the prophet, “You will not believe me after I have
told you (v. 5).” What shocking revelation was Habakkuk going to find out?
A New World Power is Coming to Sweep the World. “For, lo, I raise up the Chaldeans, that bitter and hasty nation, which shall march
through the breadth of the land, to possess the dwellingplaces that are not theirs.” (Hab. 1:6). God was going
to raise the Chaldeans up to be a great and fearsome nation. This proud group
of people would march forward to take land which was not theirs through force.
This action would be swift and with much fierceness (v. 8). The kings and
princes of other nations would be viewed as jokes to the Chaldean people, who
would lay siege to their cities and conquer all who stood in their way (v. 10).
A Great Nation Was Ready to Fall. Something was implied in the statement about the Chaldeans
being raised up. The nation of Assyria was ready to fall. This implication is
backed up by the prophetic statements given by Nahum. God claimed Nineveh, the
capital, and the country would be washed away (Nah. 1:7; 2:6). Many would be
murdered and those who are would be carried away into captivity (Nah. 3:10).
After the Chaldeans were done with the Assyrians, the surrounding area would
rejoice at the destruction of such a horrific nation (Nah. 3:19).
Judah Would Fall to the Chaldeans. Habakkuk realized that God meant something else by this
statement. Habakkuk initially asked God why He was not taking care of the
problem that was a sinful Judah. God told him, “I am going to use the Chaldeans
to do just that.” Habakkuk was quite literally shocked to hear such a
statement. Had Judah gone the way of the unrighteous? Yes, Habakkuk had
affirmed how the unjust were afflicting the righteous. But the question he
initially asked was, “God, You are too pure to behold such wicked people, why
the Chaldeans?” (v. 11-17). Habakkuk failed to realize one important point.
The Chaldeans Would One Day Fall. God refers to the future destruction of the Babylonians
people while speaking to the prophet. In Habakkuk 1:6-11, God refers to the
pride of the Chaldean people by referring to their scoffing at the princes and
kings, trusting in their own gods, and how their dignity proceeded themselves.
He affirms knowledge of their wickedness by telling Habakkuk that the Chaldeans
were not “upright” but how the just would live by faithful obedience (2:4).
Having understood what God intended to do, the prophet pronounces five inspired
woes against the unrighteous (2:5-20) and a full trust in God’s plan (3:18-19).
After the destruction of the Chaldean people, there would be a time when the
children of Israel would return to their homeland.
The Feel Good Part of the Story. This would not be complete without the heartwarming part.
After the destruction of the Chaldean people, there would be a time when the
children of Israel would return to their homeland. Habakkuk would go on to say,
“Thou wentest forth for the salvation of thy people, even for salvation with thine anointed; thou woundedst the
head out of the house of the wicked, by discovering the foundation unto the
neck. Selah.” (Hab. 3:13). It is quite obvious that the reference to salvation
would concern the salvation of God’s people but the inspired statement may be a
little broader that one might think. The ultimate form of salvation occurs to
those who are obedient to the gospel of Christ (Rev. 1:5). After all, He is the
Messiah, which means “the Annointed One.” Keep in mind that this is only
heartwarming for those who have been obedient to the truth (2 Thess. 1:6-8).
The
prophet Habakkuk went before God on behalf of a sinful nation. Not only did the
revelation he received shock him, but it also encouraged the prophet to trust
in the might of God. In it, man is also reminded of the wonderful hope that is
found in Christ Jesus.
