It used to be, as far as I can remember, that Christians only spoke of people in the Bible being “raised up by God”. But for the past 8 to 10 years, it’s not uncommon to read a news headline about somebody being raised up by God for this time – or raised up by God for such and such a purpose. I wonder, do those who use say that know what it really means for God to “raise you up”? Actually, I’ll go so far as to say — they don’t have a clue. If they did, they wouldn’t say it.
Being raised up isn’t about literally being lifted up. It’s not levitation.
On the other hand, it’s also not about someone being “lifted up” by God to do good things (unless by good, we mean in an eternal timeframe).
There’s a meaning being “raised up” that can only be discerned by understanding the Hebrew use of מֵקִים֙ in this context.
I’ll even say, I do believe God is raising up some people now, as He has throughout history.
We just don’t realize who or why.
Sadly, that’s true even though we read about some of them in the Bible.
One example of being raised up by God.
I just published “Is God A Friend Or Foe – A Lesson from Pharaoh“. Pharaoh was raised up by God – for a purpose and at the right time. That should give you a hint about what it means.
That article is for someone who really wants to delve into the plagues, and see how, through all that, God tries to show His own chosen people, Pharaoh, and the Egyptians under Pharaoh that He cares about them. It’s rather lengthy, but goes into it in details if you want to study the plagues from that point of view.
But today, let’s look at someone else God raised up. Nebachudnezzar.
Nebuchadnezzar was God’s answer to someone’s prayer.
God said that Nebuchadnezzar was His servant.
That’s someone God raised up. Oops.
Nebuchadnezzar was God’s answer to someone’s prayer
Maybe you remember the passage. More likely, you’ve never read it. It’s one of my favorite books in the Old Testament. But it’s from one of the “minor” prophets. Not that the prophecy was minor – just that it wasn’t very long. But it was incredibly important.
God – where are you!?
Prologue – Revelation 🔍
(Habakkuk)
Hab 1:1 The oracle that Habakkuk the prophet received.
Habakkuk’s Complaint
Hab 1:2 How long, O LORD, must I call for help,
but you do not listen?
Or cry out to you, “Violence!”
but you do not save?
Hab 1:3 Why do you make me look at injustice?
Why do you tolerate wrong?
Destruction and violence are before me;
there is strife, and conflict abounds.
Hab 1:4 Therefore the law is paralyzed,
and justice never prevails.
The wicked hem in the righteous,
so that justice is perverted.
If you didn’t know where those lines came from, you’d think it was this very day. I remember a time when it was safe to walk around outside at night. Even as a kid, it was safe. Now, it’s so bad that in many areas, parents could be called in for potential child neglect for allowing that to happen. Or the child could be kidnapped and whisked off to who knows where for things we don’t even want to think about.
I also remember walking around in Hollywood (CA) a few decades back at night. It was OK. During the day, it was full of tourists. I was just there last week. The smell of weed is constant. The theatres let out early so people can get out before too late at night.
Even looking at Google maps views of small towns back east – it’s obviously not like it used to be.
So yeah, from what I see, Habakkuk’s complaint could come from pretty much anywhere in this country, and from so many places around the world. But obviously, it’s not new. Although, it is worse than it was not that long ago.
And so, the question – “God, where are you!?” is still very relevant.
And yet, …
God replies – “Right here, and this is what I’m going to do”
The LORD’S Answer (to Habakkuk’s first complaint) – Habakkuk
Hab 1:5 “Look at the nations and watch—
and be utterly amazed.
For I am going to do something in your days
that you would not believe,
even if you were told.
Hab 1:6 I am raising up the Babylonians,
that ruthless and impetuous people,
who sweep across the whole earth
to seize dwelling places not their own.
Hab 1:7 They are a feared and dreaded people;
they are a law to themselves
and promote their own honor.
…
Now, if you didn’t already know – the Babylonians were enemies of the Israelites. Having them attack would’ve been like their worst nightmare come to life.
I included enough of the passage to make that point. But there’s quite a bit more to go with it.
In any case, it was a response from God that Habakkuk wasn’t prepared for.
No God – please, not that!
Habakkuk was shocked, to put it mildly. He couldn’t believe God would do something like that. That He even could do something like that. This was Habakkuk’s second complaint.
He thought God was going to destroy everything and everyone. That wasn’t the plan. Not entirely.
God did respond to Habakkuk. Not that He’d change His mind. This thing with the Babylonians was going to happen. That was God’s response to Habakkuk’s second complaint.
Habakkuk’s Prayer
And so, here’s Habakkuk’s response. In some regards, it’s similar to what Job said after God questioned him.
Habakkuk’s Prayer – Habakkuk
Hab 3:1 A prayer of Habakkuk the prophet. On shigionoth.
Hab 3:2 LORD, I have heard of your fame;
I stand in awe of your deeds, O LORD.
Renew them in our day,
in our time make them known;
in wrath remember mercy.
…
What can we learn from Habakkuk?
That was a very short look at Habakkuk. If you’d like to read more about – and hopefully this did get you to want to learn. I have an entire series on God where are you – which examines Habakkuk’s prophecy in more detail.
It’s enough to give you an idea. But next, let’s look at another prophecy. Still about Nebuchadnezzar. This time though, from Jeremiah.
God said that Nebuchadnezzar was His servant
Check this out. Of course, we (should) know how this ends. But imagine if you heard it for the first time, before knowing the ending. Think about how your reaction to God’s words to Jeremiah would change depending on whether or not you knew the ending that was coming for this event.
After what we just read, is Nebuchadnezzar really God’s servant?
Judah to Serve Nebuchadnezzar – Jeremiah
Jer 27:1 Early in the reign of Zedekiah son of Josiah king of Judah, this word came to Jeremiah from the LORD: 2 This is what the LORD said to me: “Make a yoke out of straps and crossbars and put it on your neck. 3 Then send word to the kings of Edom, Moab, Ammon, Tyre and Sidon through the envoys who have come to Jerusalem to Zedekiah king of Judah. 4 Give them a message for their masters and say, ‘This is what the LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, says: “Tell this to your masters: 5 With my great power and outstretched arm I made the earth and its people and the animals that are on it, and I give it to anyone I please. 6 Now I will hand all your countries over to my servant Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon; I will make even the wild animals subject to him. 7 All nations will serve him and his son and his grandson until the time for his land comes; then many nations and great kings will subjugate him.
Well, it’s not the way we normally think of it, but yes – Nebuchadnezzar is going to be God’s servant. Not by choice – but because he doesn’t have a choice. For those that think this is cruel, we need to take the long view of this. Consider that God knew Nebuchadnezzar’s character, how he would react and how it would come out. If you know how it came out, then you won’t say God was cruel. If you don’t know how it came out – please, withhold your judgment.
Jer 27:8 “ ‘ “If, however, any nation or kingdom will not serve Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon or bow its neck under his yoke, I will punish that nation with the sword, famine and plague, declares the LORD, until I destroy it by his hand. 9 So do not listen to your prophets, your diviners, your interpreters of dreams, your mediums or your sorcerers who tell you, ‘You will not serve the king of Babylon.’ 10 They prophesy lies to you that will only serve to remove you far from your lands; I will banish you and you will perish. 11 But if any nation will bow its neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon and serve him, I will let that nation remain in its own land to till it and to live there, declares the LORD.” ’ ”
Jer 27:12 I gave the same message to Zedekiah king of Judah. I said, “Bow your neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon; serve him and his people, and you will live. 13 Why will you and your people die by the sword, famine and plague with which the LORD has threatened any nation that will not serve the king of Babylon? 14 Do not listen to the words of the prophets who say to you, ‘You will not serve the king of Babylon,’ for they are prophesying lies to you. 15 ‘I have not sent them,’ declares the LORD. ‘They are prophesying lies in my name. Therefore, I will banish you and you will perish, both you and the prophets who prophesy to you.’ ”
Jer 27:16 Then I said to the priests and all these people, “This is what the LORD says: Do not listen to the prophets who say, ‘Very soon now the articles from the LORD’S house will be brought back from Babylon.’ They are prophesying lies to you. 17 Do not listen to them. Serve the king of Babylon, and you will live. Why should this city become a ruin? 18 If they are prophets and have the word of the LORD, let them plead with the LORD Almighty that the furnishings remaining in the house of the LORD and in the palace of the king of Judah and in Jerusalem not be taken to Babylon. 19 For this is what the LORD Almighty says about the pillars, the Sea, the movable stands and the other furnishings that are left in this city, 20 which Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon did not take away when he carried Jehoiachin son of Jehoiakim king of Judah into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon, along with all the nobles of Judah and Jerusalem— 21 yes, this is what the LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, says about the things that are left in the house of the LORD and in the palace of the king of Judah and in Jerusalem:
The interesting thing here, for today, is all these warnings about false prophets. Prophets who tell the people the exact opposite of what Jeremiah is telling them.
I point this out, because the exact same thing happens today. For now, I leave it to you to reflect on this. I’m still going research as of this writing, but I will have articles over on whichgodcansave.org on this.
After a time, some learned the lesson. Some didn’t.
Eventually, the people can return
22 ‘They will be taken to Babylon and there they will remain until the day I come for them,’ declares the LORD. ‘Then I will bring them back and restore them to this place.’ ”
God raised you up for this purpose. What does that mean?
So far, I’ve intentionally not provided enough detail to see exactly what’s meant by God raising someone up.
This small portion of my research is very telling. I was getting answers to a few questions from the Faithlife/LOGOS AI engine from my eLibrary.
❓ In what verse does God say he raised up Nebuchadnezzar:
🤖✨ God explicitly states in Habakkuk 1:6 that he is “raising up the Babylonians,” which directly answers your question about the divine appointment of Nebuchadnezzar’s rise to power.
Beyond this explicit statement, the search results show God repeatedly affirming Nebuchadnezzar’s role as his instrument. In Jeremiah 25:9, the Lord declares he will summon Nebuchadnezzar as “my servant” to execute judgment. Daniel 2:37–38 records how Daniel tells Nebuchadnezzar that God “has given you dominion and power and might and glory” and “has made you ruler over them all.” Similarly, Jeremiah 27:6 presents God saying he will place all nations into Nebuchadnezzar’s hands.
The theological point across these passages is consistent: God sovereignly elevated Nebuchadnezzar to accomplish his purposes of judgment against Judah and the surrounding nations.
Reading Nebuchadnezzar is to be God’s instrument and that God will place all nations into his hands should be a clue. Reality really hits with: “God sovereignly elevated Nebuchadnezzar to accomplish his purposes of judgment against Judah and the surrounding nations.”
❓ Was Habakkuk’s prophecy largely ignored? I assume yes.
🤖✨ Your assumption is actually the opposite of what the search results indicate. Habakkuk’s book, though classified among the Minor Prophets, wielded considerable influence throughout its reception history—comparable to that of the Major Prophets.1
The evidence for this impact spans centuries. The Qumran pesher commentary demonstrates that the community there drew on Habakkuk to navigate their own difficult circumstances.1 Jewish tradition associated the book with Manasseh’s oppressive reign, suggesting it addressed a period when God’s people faced profound spiritual struggles.1 The prophecy clearly resonated with those experiencing moral and theological crisis.
Early Christian interpreters also engaged seriously with Habakkuk. Theodore of Mopsuestia read the book as a critique of those who oppressed the vulnerable, arguing that Habakkuk anticipated God’s use of Babylon as an instrument of judgment—though the Babylonians themselves would face punishment for their own misconduct.1 Martin Luther and John Calvin both regarded Habakkuk as a pre-exilic prophet whose message remained theologically significant.1
The book’s enduring appeal lies in what it offers believers facing uncertainty. Habakkuk’s prayer counsels complete trust in God1, and this message of reassurance appears to have sustained communities through various crises. Rather than being marginalized, Habakkuk’s prophecy functioned as a resource for faith during times of confusion and oppression—which explains its continued prominence across Jewish and Christian traditions.
1 Jin H. Han, “Nahum, Habakkuk, and Zephaniah,” in Six Minor Prophets through the Centuries: Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi, ed. John Sawyer et al., Blackwell Bible Commentaries (West Sussex, UK: Wiley Blackwell, 2011), 29:37.
This illustrates an occasional problem with AI. My question was intended to be whether the Israelites ignored Habakkuk’s prophecy. Maybe because this particular AI engine is about doing scholarly/theological research, it assumed I meant ignored by biblical scholars.
Oh well. Let’s try again.
❓ I didn’t mean not paid attention to that way. I was thinking more about the reality that it did happen – and that those who could have done something apparently didn’t.
🤖✨ Ah, that’s a crucial distinction—and the search results actually illuminate this tension directly. Habakkuk and the people of Judah could not understand what God was doing1, which speaks precisely to your point. God had clearly communicated through the prophet what would happen, yet the people seemed unable or unwilling to act on that knowledge.
Neighboring nations sent ambassadors to coordinate resistance against Nebuchadnezzar, encouraged by their diviners and false prophets who assured them they would not serve the Babylonian king. Yet prophecy stood against prophecy—Jeremiah alone warned that resistance would bring destruction and that submission was their only safety, while all others declared they would break free from Babylon’s rule2. The tragic irony is that had Jehoiakim or Zedekiah, their nobles, and their people possessed the foresight to heed the warnings, Judah would never have gone into captivity2.
What emerges from these accounts is a picture of willful resistance rather than mere ignorance. If Judah failed to recognize that God had raised up the Chaldeans to discipline them and send them into exile, then the people of Judah would lose their lives fighting against God1. The prophecy was delivered; the choice to ignore it—or to trust false prophets instead—belonged to Judah’s leadership and people. Only God knew the conditions that would lead to the prophecy’s fulfillment: Egypt’s new ambition, Josiah’s death, and Judah’s relapse into trusting Egypt rather than God2. The tragedy wasn’t that the warning went unheard, but that it went unheeded.
1 Todd R. Chipman, Scripture Storyline: An Invitation to Biblical Theology (Dallas, TX: Fontes, 2020), 337.
2 E. B. Pusey, Notes on the Old Testament: The Minor Prophets: Micah to Malachi (New York: Funk and Wagnalls, 1885), 175–176.
Notice especially these two things:
- The tragic irony is that had Jehoiakim or Zedekiah, their nobles, and their people possessed the foresight to heed the warnings, Judah would never have gone into captivity.
- If Judah failed to recognize that God had raised up the Chaldeans to discipline them and send them into exile, then the people of Judah would lose their lives fighting against God.
The question today then becomes – are we doing the same thing with people who are claimed to be raised up by God?
What did the Hebrew word we read as “raised up” mean?
As I said near the top, we have a serious problem when we don’t go back and understand the meaning of Hebrew and Greek words – and when we don’t apply context to them. To that end, let’s do that right now. For this, I turned to a different set of questions. That’s because, while we read about the concept of being raised up for both Pharaoh and Nebuchadnezzar, the Hebrew words are actually different, and we need to understand that. And so, the questions are designed to bring out why that’s important. The final question also gets into something I’ve written about before: dialectical thinking. All of these things together make it hard for Westerners today to really get a grip on what happened.
Two Hebrew words – one English word in translations
❓ What’s the difference between the Hebrew words, both translated as raised up: ESL 6965 in Hab 1:6 and ESL 5975 in Ex 9:16
🤖✨ The two Hebrew words differ fundamentally in their semantic range and the actions they describe.
קוּם (qûm, ESL 6965) means “to rise” or “to make to stand.”1 In Habakkuk 1:6, where God says “I raise up the Chaldeans,” this verb emphasizes bringing into being or causing to emerge—depicting the Chaldeans as a force that God activates or summons into action. The word can mean “raise up” in the sense of “bring on the scene,” such as when God raises up judges, kings, or prophets.2
עמד (amad, ESL 5975) in Exodus 9:16 means “cause to stand firm, maintain (opposed to overthrow).”3 When God says He has “raised up” Pharaoh, the word conveys sustaining or preserving rather than initially creating. God “raised Pharaoh up completely,” “maintained” him (as opposed to overthrow him) and “caused him to stand firm” to show God’s power in Egypt.3
The distinction is subtle but significant: קוּם emphasizes summoning or establishing something new on the scene, while עמד emphasizes maintaining or upholding something already in existence. In context, Habakkuk describes God’s active recruitment of the Chaldeans as His instrument of judgment, whereas Exodus describes God’s preservation of Pharaoh’s resistance to accomplish His purposes—allowing Pharaoh to persist in his opposition so that God’s power would be demonstrated through the plagues.
1 William Wilson, “Raise,” in Wilson’s Old Testament Word Studies (McLean, VA: MacDonald Publishing Co., n.d.), 339.
2 Francis Brown, Samuel Rolles Driver, and Charles Augustus Briggs, in Enhanced Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew and English Lexicon (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1977), 878–879.
3 Lee Thai and Gerry Breshears, Boundaries of Freedom: The Quantum Proposal of Divine Sovereignty and Human Responsibility (Eugene, Oregon: Resource Publications, 2019). [See here, here.]
Just to be sure we’re clear on the difference:
- God allowed Pharaoh to come to power, and then events transpired as Pharaoh’s inclinations took them – until after the sixth plague.
- God caused the Babylonians/Chaldeans (same people by this time, although not originally) to become the power they were, with Nebuchadnezzar as king.
So, while the method of coming to power was different, they both ended up in positions where God used them. More on that is coming next.
Can something appear to be very good, but it really isn’t?
❓ Do both have the didactic meaning whereby they can be seen as good or something to that effect, but are actually meant for judgment?
🤖✨ Yes, both verbs convey a paradoxical dynamic where God’s action appears providential on the surface but serves ultimately as an instrument of judgment.
The verb קוּם (qûm) in Habakkuk 1:6 typically denotes God’s appointment of leaders—judges, priests, prophets, and kings—yet it simultaneously refers to God summoning someone to execute judgment against His own people.1 The Chaldeans are presented as agents God “stirred up and summoned,”1 appearing as instruments of divine will. Yet they are characterized as a “bitter, impetuous nation” that “marches across the earth’s open spaces / to seize territories not its own,”1 revealing their destructive nature. God was raising up this nation to serve as His agent of judgment2 against Judah’s sin.
Similarly, עמד (amad) in Exodus 9:16 operates within this framework. God “raised Pharaoh up completely,” “maintained” him (as opposed to overthrow him) and “caused him to stand firm” to show God’s power in Egypt.3 On one level, this suggests preservation and divine favor. Yet God exercised His sovereign prerogative to choose Pharaoh for a specific role in His redemptive plan, using him even when he appeared to be most emphatically opposing God, carrying out the divine purpose through his hardened heart.4
The didactic tension in both cases is crucial: God’s “raising up” appears to grant prominence or protection, but both the Chaldeans and Pharaoh become instruments through which God demonstrates His power and sovereignty—not through their success, but through their opposition and ultimate defeat. Pharaoh was “made to stand in that place” so that “by his opposition, from the perversity of his heart, in him God might show his own power,”5 illustrating how divine appointment and judicial punishment converge in a single action.
1 Susan Maxwell Booth, Habakkuk, ed. Brandon D. Smith and Andrew M. King, Christian Standard Commentary (Holman Reference, 2023), 133–134.
2 Charles R. Swindoll and Roy B. Zuck, Understanding Christian Theology (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 2003), 254.
3 Lee Thai and Gerry Breshears, Boundaries of Freedom: The Quantum Proposal of Divine Sovereignty and Human Responsibility (Eugene, Oregon: Resource Publications, 2019). [See here.]
4 Jack Cottrell, Romans, The College Press NIV Commentary (Joplin, MO: College Press Pub. Co., 1996). [See here.]
5 Robert Haldane, Exposition of the Epistle to the Romans; With Remarks on the Commentaries of Dr. MacKnight, Professor Moses Stuart, and Professor Tholuck (New York: Robert Carter & Brothers, 1858), 481.
This part is key for us today: both verbs convey a paradoxical dynamic where God’s action appears providential on the surface but serves ultimately as an instrument of judgment.
Too many Westerners just do not understand this.
At the beginning, I wrote:
But for the past 8 to 10 years, it’s not uncommon to read a news headline about somebody being raised up by God for this time – or raised up by God for such and such a purpose. I wonder, do those who use say that know what it really means for God to “raise you up”? Actually, I’ll go so far as to say — they don’t have a clue. If they did, they wouldn’t say it.
Why would we say someone’s raised up by God, when the raising up is meant to teach us a lesson – that we’re off the narrow path – and under the New Covenant it means we’re also headed for the wide gate?
The only reason I can think of is that people who say it just don’t understand what they’re saying.
Why don’t we understand “being raised up” today?
That brings me to my final research question to include here.
❓ While the Israelites should have understood that, and probably the Egyptians as well – is it a bigger problem for us today because they had dialectal thinking as a norm, whereas Western cultures generally do not?
🤖✨You’ve identified a genuinely important cultural divide. The search results directly address this distinction between Hebrew and Western thought patterns.
Hebrew thought operates through what scholars call “dialectical thinking”—the capacity to hold opposing concepts simultaneously. In Western logic, A + B yields a single conclusion (C); in Middle Eastern thought, A + B coexist as AB, allowing multiple truths to stand together.1 This cognitive flexibility explains why Western readers struggle with biblical paradoxes—we instinctively seek singular answers to questions, applying this to doctrines like divine sovereignty versus human free will or God’s election versus human responsibility.1
Your observation about Exodus 9:16 is particularly sharp. The paradox that God both “raised up” Pharaoh and hardened his heart to bring judgment would have been conceptually natural to an ancient Hebrew or Egyptian audience operating within dialectical frameworks. They could hold simultaneously that Pharaoh was God’s instrument and that he deserved judgment—without needing to resolve the tension into a single logical conclusion.
Hebrew thinking characteristically embraces what appears to Western sensibilities as “exaggerated, immoderate, discordant,” with apparent contradictions understood as integral to divine mystery rather than logical problems requiring resolution.1 This means both the Israelites and Egyptians would have found the dual meaning of “raising up” (summoning for judgment) less cognitively jarring than modern Western interpreters do.
The deeper problem for contemporary readers isn’t that ancient audiences lacked sophistication—it’s that we’ve inherited a different cognitive architecture. We’re trained to eliminate ambiguity; they were trained to embrace it as reflecting reality’s complexity.
1 Robby Gallaty, The Forgotten Jesus: Why Western Christians Should Follow an Eastern Rabbi (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2017), 27–28.
BTW: If you want a deeper look at the differences between what Jesus said, what people heard then – and what we hear today – this is a very good book.
What have we learned about: God raised you up for this purpose.
If you weren’t aware of the biblical meaning of what we read as “God raised up _____” – I hope you found this informative.
To put it in modern terms – it’s so not what we think it is.
To be raised up by God means being positioned — willingly or not — to accomplish His purposes, which may involve judgment, correction, or consequences rather than blessing. And in case you haven’t realized it, willingly isn’t good either. Pharaoh was a willing participant, right up until the moment when he passed the point of no return. And yet, even then, that was due to his own willingness to go too far.
It’s not a good thing for that person at all. For a Christian, which one of us wants to be raised up as an instrument of justice for God? Or as a means of teaching a lesson to God’s people?
Finally, if we don’t want to be used in that manner by God, what does it mean for us when someone is claimed to be raised up by God?
Before we follow someone is allegedly ‘raised up by God,’ maybe we should ask: raised up for what?
Discover more from God versus religion
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.