"A Pronouncement That Habakkuk the Prophet Received," poetry

Revised Edition: LukivPress (Sardis, BC), 2022. Introduction The Babylonians would destroy Jerusalem? Unbelievable! That's how many Jews viewed Habakkuk's (c. 628 BCE) prophecies. Did Jerusalem not have Jehovah's temple? Did the Davidic lineage of kings not continue to rule from that famous city? Did the "rising" Chaldeans (Babylonians) not still have to contend with powerful Pharaoh Necho? And yet, speaking for Jehovah, Habakkuk said, "For here I am raising up the Chaldeans, the ruthless and impetuous nation. They sweep through vast stretches of the earth to seize homes not theirs. They are frightening and fearsome. They establish their own justice and authority. Their horses are swifter than leopards, and they are fiercer than wolves in the night. Their warhorses gallop forward; their horses come from far away. They swoop down like the eagle rushing to feed." (Habakkuk 1:6-8) Although Jehovah would protect the lives of faithful servants, woes awaited those who wallowed in apostasy. History and Biblical chronology tell us that those woes fell upon the unfaithful in 607 BCE, when Babylon viciously felled that once glorious city of David. An excerpt 2. Filled with themselves,

The seas rejoice,

Like fountains overflowing With clean water,

Like lips that speak

Out of a pure heart, Like a child who states truth

When others lie-

O the knowledge of Jehovah Fills the earth,

As green grass spreads out

Its hands to fill the meadow, See, cedars fill the forests

Of Lebanon; how they

Rejoice about their glorious Size, about the God who

Crafted the little frog

That leaps, The crab that scurries

Across wet sand,

The swallow that chirps About kindness,

The lion that roars,

The child who kisses his Mother's cheek,

The mountain that covers itself

With new snow- See,

The knowledge of Jehovah

Fills the land with song. The author Dan Lukiv, published in 19 countries, is a poet, novelist, columnist, short story and article writer, and independent education researcher (hermeneutic phenomenology). As a creative writer, he apprenticed with Canada's Professor Robert Harlow (recipient of the George Woodcock Achievement award for an outstanding literary career), the USA's Paul Bagdon (Spur Award finalist for Best Original Paperback), and England's D. M. Thomas (recipient of the Cheltenham Prize for Literature, Orwell Prize [biography], Los Angeles Fiction Prize, and Cholmondeley award for poetry). He attended The University of British Columbia (creative writing department), the acclaimed Humber School for Writers (poetry writing program), and Writer's Digest University (novel writing program).