Habakkuk 3:11 - Exposition

The sun and moon stood still in their habitation; or, stand still, or withdraw into their habitation. They hide themselves in the tabernacles whence they are said to emerge when they shine ( Psalms 19:4 , etc.). Overpowered with the splendour of God's presence, the heavenly luminaries hide their light in this day of the Lord (comp. Isaiah 13:10 ; Joel 2:2 , Joel 2:10 , Joel 2:31 ; Joel 3:15 ; Amos 5:20 ; Matthew 24:29 ). The miracle of Joshua ( Joshua 10:12 , etc.) may have suggested some of the language here, but the idea is quite different. At the light of thine arrows they went; i.e. the sun and moon fled away discomfited at the glory of God's weapons, his arrows gleaming with light. The idea may be that, in the absence of the sun and moon, the terrific scene was illuminated only by flashes of lightning. "Lightnings" are sometimes celled God's "arrows," as in Psalms 18:14 ; Psalms 77:17 , etc.; but the image here is rather of the arms of a warrior. Many supply the relative in the sentence, and render, "arrows which shoot along." This seems to be unnecessary, and is not supported by the versions. There is no special reference to the hailstorm at Beth-horon, which discomfited the Cananites, but enabled the Israelites to pass on to victory (Joshua, loc. cit .). It is the terror of the judgment that is adumbrated, when the Lord shall come in flames of fire ( 2 Thessalonians 1:8 ), and the heavens shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat ( 2 Peter 3:12 ).