Review: Havakuk Saved from Obscurity
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 03 24, 2013
I have one advantage over some of the readers of this book, which is also a disadvantage of sorts. I can read the original Hebrew Biblical text of the prophet Havakuk (this may not be the common way to write the name in English, but it is how it is pronounced in Hebrew). Being able to read the original text makes for a longer read - I keep going back and forth between translation and original. It also makes it easier to critic some of the interpretations cited in this book.I do not agree with some of it, but I will say this - the writer created a very strong and detailed structure of references and interpretations to support his idea that Havakuk's prophecy can be read as a call for a Debtors Jubilee and an overthrow of oppressing capitalism in our days. If you tend to believe in prophecies (which I don't), and believes that the words of the bible can be interpreted as "tomorrow's newspaper"(which again, I don't), than you will love this book; because if you accept these two basic assumptions, the rest of this book is a logical progression of ideas and references that does lead one to the author's conclusion. So even if I don't believe in it, I can appreciate the art.But as far as I am concerned, the book's real value is not in the question of whether a Debtors Jubilee was foretold by Havakuk, but rather in the presentation of this idea as a rational, sound idea based upon modern economics. The entire second half of the book is devoted to doing this, and the author took no less pains to bring references and supportive evidence in this section than he did in the rest of the book. I believe that this part stands on it's own and is worthy of reading even if, like me, you don't accept the first as truth.So to sum it up - this book is for you if you are into bible and prophecy, or into modern days economics, and you will really get a kick out of it if you happen to be into both.