I will take my stand at my watchpost
Habakkuk 2:1
and station myself on the tower,
and look out to see what he will say to me,
and what I will answer concerning my complaint.
After five months, we are finally done with chapter 1 and starting chapter 2! Habakkuk has delivered his complaint to the Lord, and now he awaits a response. He’s watching his metaphorical mailbox for a reply.
This verse contains several mentions of being on the lookout for God’s answer. My literal translation: “Upon my post (מִשְׁמֶ֫רֶת, mishmeret) let me stand, and let me station myself upon a fortification, and I will keep watch (root: צפה, tzafah) to see what he will speak to me and what I will bring back concerning my complaint.” I’ve highlighted two Hebrew words I want to examine more closely. Habakkuk is standing like a watchman at his guard post, waiting for the Lord’s response. Where else do these words show up? What does this look like in our lives?
Guarding a Guardpost
The first word, mishmeret, has the root shamar at its core, which means to watch, guard, or keep. This common word appears throughout the Bible, starting early in Genesis. We read that God placed Adam “in the garden of Eden to work it and keep (shamar) it” (Genesis 2:15). However, after Adam and Eve were driven from the garden, God placed cherubim “to guard (shamar) the way to the tree of life” (Genesis 3:24). In the following chapter, after Cain killed his brother Abel and God confronted him about it, Cain asked, “Am I my brother’s keeper (shomer, one guarding/keeping)?” (Genesis 4:9). From just these examples, we can see that it means to guard not simply for protection but also for caring for what’s under guard.
Mishmeret first appears when the Lord appeared to Isaac to charge him to live like his father Abraham. God will bless Isaac “because Abraham obeyed my voice and kept (shamar) my charge (mishmeret), my commandments, my statutes, and my laws” (Genesis 26:5). This is a strange verse. How did Abraham obey all God’s commands when he hadn’t delivered them (which would later come at Mount Sinai). Some rabbis concluded from this that Abraham kept the entire Torah (m. Kedoshim 4:12). While I don’t expect you to accept that interpretation, the broader principle is whatever God had given Abraham to follow, he typically did it. He took charge over his actions, guarding what he did.
Fast forward to the Exodus. The Lord instructed Moses concerning the Passover lamb. After selecting a lamb on the tenth day, “you shall keep it (literally, “it will be to you (plural) as a mishmeret“) until the fourteenth day of this month, when the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill their lambs at twilight” (Exodus 12:6). They were not simply to keep it in their homes. They were to watch over it and take responsibility for its wellbeing.
Mishmeret occurs 24 times in the book of Numbers (about a third of the total), talking about guarding the tabernacle. For instance, when describing how the tribes will camp, Levi camped around the tabernacle at the center of the community. “But the Levites shall camp around the tabernacle of the testimony, so that there may be no wrath on the congregation of the people of Israel. And the Levites shall keep guard over the tabernacle of the testimony” (Numbers 1:53). To “keep guard” is literally “shamar the mishmeret“, “guard the post”. They were to guard the tabernacle from the people to protect its sanctity and also guard the people from the Holy God, lest they approach him irreverently and die as a result.
Watching Watchmen
While guarding a post, one needs to watch what’s happening.
Jacob and his uncle Laban departed on less than friendly terms. Jacob promised to take care of his wives (Laban’s daughters). They set up a pile of stones as a witness between them. Jacob “named it Galeed (related to the Hebrew gal, meaning pile) and Mizpah, for he said, ‘The LORD watch (tzafah) between you and me, when we are out of one another’s sight'” (Genesis 31:48-49). Mizpah means watchtower, which comes from tzafah – the place of watching. They can’t see each other while they’re apart, but this pile reminds them that God is always watching (see also Proverbs 15:3).
The Lord made the prophet Ezekiel a watchman (tzofeh) over the house of Israel to warn them when he heard from the Lord (Ezekiel 3:17, 33:1-7; see also Jeremiah 6:17). A watchman typically stood on the city walls or in a tower, watching for who might approach the city (ex: 2 Samuel 18:24-27, 2 Kings 9:17-20). The prophet Micah watched for the Lord’s salvation (Micah 7:7).
The Lord tells Isaiah to set a watchman to announce what he sees (Isaiah 21:6), who cries out, “Upon a watchtower (mitzpeh) I stand, O Lord, continually by day, / and at my post (mishmeret) I am stationed whole nights” (Isaiah 21:8).
To Ponder…
How long did Habakkuk have to wait for the Lord’s answer? All we have to do is start reading the next verse, but that doesn’t mean it was as simple for him. Did he have to wait a day? A week? A month? Longer? He stationed himself like a guard at his post, watching for the Lord’s answer.
What are you watching for? Have you ever had to wait for the Lord to respond to you? How diligent have you been in watching for his response?
What charge has the Lord given you to guard?