Habakkuk
Book Outhne
Key theme: The just shall live by faith
Key verse:
I. The Prophet Wondering and Worrying ()
A. God is indifferent ()
B. God’s reply: I am working ()
C. God is inconsistent ()
II. The Prophet Watching and Waiting ()
A. Write God’s vision ()
B. Trust God’s Word (, )
1. “But the just shall live by his faith” ()
C. Declare God’s judgment ()
1. What sorrow awaits the selfish ()
2. What sorrow awaits the covetous ()
3. What sorrow awaits the exploiters ()
4. “The earth will be filled with an awareness of the glory of the LORD” ()
5. What sorrow awaits the drunkards ()
6. What sorrow awaits the idolaters ()
7. “The LORD is in His holy temple” ()
III. The Prophet Worshiping and Witnessing ()
A. He prays to God (, )
B. He ponders God’s ways ()
C. He praises God ()
Book Overview
Habakkuk was a contemporary of Nahum, Zephaniah, and Jeremiah, during the reigns of Josiah (640–609 B.C.) and Jehoiakim (609–598 B.C.). Assyria was off the scene; Babylon was in power. Nebuchadnezzar had defeated Egypt in 605 B.C. and was about to attack Judah. Jeremiah had announced that Babylon would invade Judah, destroy Jerusalem and the temple, and send the nation into exile. This happened in 606–586 B.C.
Habakkuk’s little book indicates that he knew the Scriptures well, was a competent theologian, and had great faith in God. Because of the psalm in chapter , some scholars think he may have been a priest who led worship in the temple. If so, then like Jeremiah and Ezekiel, he was a priest called to be a prophet—a more difficult ministry.
Habakkuk means “to embrace” or “to wrestle,” and in his book, he does both. He wrestles with God concerning the problem of how a holy God could use a wicked nation like Babylon to chasten the people of Judah, and then by faith, he embraces God and clings to His promises. Habakkuk also wrestles with the spiritual decline of the nation and why God wasn’t doing something about it. Habakkuk wanted to see the people revived (), but God wasn’t answering his prayers—at least not the way he expected!
The prophet’s statement, “the just shall live by his faith” () is quoted three times in the New Testament (; ; ). The emphasis in Romans is on the righteous, in Galatians on how the righteous should live, and in Hebrews on faith. It takes three books to explain and apply this one verse! And since faith in Christ is the central means of transformation in each life, Habakkuk has something priceless to say to each one of us.
“Be Transformed”
One of the modern Christian myths that ought to be silenced says that when we trust Jesus Christ, we get rid of all our problems. We don’t.
Certainly our basic spiritual problem—our relationship with God—has been solved, but with that solution comes a whole new set of problems that we didn’t face when we were unbelievers, like “Why do good people suffer and evil people prosper?” or “Why isn’t God answering my prayer?” or “When I’m doing my best for the Lord, why do I experience the worst from others?”
Christians who claim to be without problems are either not telling the truth or not growing and experiencing real life. Perhaps they’re just not thinking at all. They’re living in a religious dream world that has blocked out reality and stifled honest feelings. Like Job’s uncomfortable comforters, they mistake shallow optimism for the peace of God and the good life for the blessing of God. You never hear them ask what both David and Jesus asked, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” (; ).
Habakkuk wasn’t that kind of a believer. As he surveyed the land of Judah and then watched the international scene, he found himself struggling with some serious problems. But he did the right thing: he took his problems to the Lord. His approach is definitely worth imitating!
The Prophet’s Question
And You will not hear?
Even cry out to You, “Violence!”
And You will not save.
3Why do You show me iniquity,
And cause me to see trouble?
For plundering and violence are before me;
There is strife, and contention arises.
And justice never goes forth.
For the wicked surround the righteous;
Therefore perverse judgment proceeds.
The LORD’s Reply
Be utterly astounded!
For I will work a work in your days
Which you would not believe, though it were told you.
A bitter and hasty nation
Which marches through the breadth of the earth,
To possess dwelling places that are not theirs.
7They are terrible and dreadful;
Their judgment and their dignity proceed from themselves.
8Their horses also are swifter than leopards,
And more fierce than evening wolves.
Their chargers charge ahead;
Their cavalry comes from afar;
They fly as the eagle that hastens to eat.
9“They all come for violence;
Their faces are set like the east wind.
They gather captives like sand.
10They scoff at kings,
And princes are scorned by them.
They deride every stronghold,
For they heap up earthen mounds and seize it.
11Then his mind changes, and he transgresses;
He commits offense,
Ascribing this power to his god.”
The Prophet’s Second Question
O LORD my God, my Holy One?
We shall not die.
O LORD, You have appointed them for judgment;
O Rock, You have marked them for correction.
And cannot look on wickedness.
Why do You look on those who deal treacherously,
And hold Your tongue when the wicked devours
A person more righteous than he?
14Why do You make men like fish of the sea,
Like creeping things that have no ruler over them?
15They take up all of them with a hook,
They catch them in their net,
And gather them in their dragnet.
Therefore they rejoice and are glad.
16Therefore they sacrifice to their net,
And burn incense to their dragnet;
Because by them their share is sumptuous
And their food plentiful.
And continue to slay nations without pity?
And set myself on the rampart,
And watch to see what He will say to me,
And what I will answer when I am corrected.
The Just Live by Faith
2Then the LORD answered me and said:
“Write the vision
And make it plain on tablets,
That he may run who reads it.
But at the end it will speak, and it will not lie.
Though it tarries, wait for it;
Because it will surely come,
It will not tarry.
His soul is not upright in him;
But the just shall live by his faith.
Woe to the Wicked
5“Indeed, because he transgresses by wine,
He is a proud man,
And he does not stay at home.
Because he enlarges his desire as hell,
And he is like death, and cannot be satisfied,
He gathers to himself all nations
And heaps up for himself all peoples.
And a taunting riddle against him, and say,
‘Woe to him who increases
What is not his—how long?
And to him who loads himself with many pledges’?
7Will not your creditors rise up suddenly?
Will they not awaken who oppress you?
And you will become their booty.
8Because you have plundered many nations,
All the remnant of the people shall plunder you,
Because of men’s blood
And the violence of the land and the city,
And of all who dwell in it.
That he may set his nest on high,
That he may be delivered from the power of disaster!
10You give shameful counsel to your house,
Cutting off many peoples,
And sin against your soul.
11For the stone will cry out from the wall,
And the beam from the timbers will answer it.
Who establishes a city by iniquity!
13Behold, is it not of the LORD of hosts
That the peoples labor to feed the fire,
And nations weary themselves in vain?
14For the earth will be filled
With the knowledge of the glory of the LORD,
As the waters cover the sea.
Pressing him to your bottle,
Even to make him drunk,
That you may look on his nakedness!
16You are filled with shame instead of glory.
You also—drink!
And be exposed as uncircumcised!
The cup of the LORD’s right hand will be turned against you,
And utter shame will be on your glory.
17For the violence done to Lebanon will cover you,
And the plunder of beasts which made them afraid,
Because of men’s blood
And the violence of the land and the city,
And of all who dwell in it.
The molded image, a teacher of lies,
That the maker of its mold should trust in it,
To make mute idols?
19Woe to him who says to wood, ‘Awake!’
To silent stone, ‘Arise! It shall teach!’
Behold, it is overlaid with gold and silver,
Yet in it there is no breath at all.
20“But the LORD is in His holy temple.
Let all the earth keep silence before Him.”
The Prophet’s Prayer
O LORD, revive Your work in the midst of the years!
In the midst of the years make it known;
In wrath remember mercy.
The Holy One from Mount Paran. Selah
His glory covered the heavens,
And the earth was full of His praise.
4His brightness was like the light;
He had rays flashing from His hand,
And there His power was hidden.
5Before Him went pestilence,
And fever followed at His feet.
He looked and startled the nations.
And the everlasting mountains were scattered,
The perpetual hills bowed.
His ways are everlasting.
7I saw the tents of Cushan in affliction;
The curtains of the land of Midian trembled.
Was Your anger against the rivers,
Was Your wrath against the sea,
That You rode on Your horses,
Your chariots of salvation?
9Your bow was made quite ready;
Oaths were sworn over Your arrows. Selah
You divided the earth with rivers.
10The mountains saw You and trembled;
The overflowing of the water passed by.
The deep uttered its voice,
And lifted its hands on high.
11The sun and moon stood still in their habitation;
At the light of Your arrows they went,
At the shining of Your glittering spear.
12You marched through the land in indignation;
You trampled the nations in anger.
13You went forth for the salvation of Your people,
For salvation with Your Anointed.
You struck the head from the house of the wicked,
By laying bare from foundation to neck. Selah
14You thrust through with his own arrows
The head of his villages.
They came out like a whirlwind to scatter me;
Their rejoicing was like feasting on the poor in secret.
Through the heap of great waters.
My lips quivered at the voice;
Rottenness entered my bones;
And I trembled in myself,
That I might rest in the day of trouble.
When he comes up to the people,
He will invade them with his troops.
A Hymn of Faith
17Though the fig tree may not blossom,
Nor fruit be on the vines;
Though the labor of the olive may fail,
And the fields yield no food;
Though the flock may be cut off from the fold,
And there be no herd in the stalls—
I will joy in the God of my salvation.
He will make my feet like deer’s feet,
And He will make me walk on my high hills.
To the Chief Musician. With my stringed instruments.
Annotations for Habakkuk
Habakkuk’s vocabulary in this chapter indicates that times were difficult and dangerous, for he used words like “violence,” “iniquity,” “trouble,” “plundering,” “strife,” “contention,” and “perverse judgment.” Habakkuk prayed that God would do something about the violence, misery, and injustice in the land, but God didn’t seem to hear.
At first Habakkuk said that he was calling for help. But then he used the word “cry,” a Hebrew word meaning “to scream, to cry with a loud voice, to cry with a disturbed heart.” As he prayed about the wickedness in the land, Habakkuk became more and more burdened and wondered why God seemed so indifferent.
The nation’s problems had been caused by leaders who wouldn’t obey the law. The rich were exploiting the poor and then escaping punishment by bribing the officials. The law was being ignored or twisted, and no one seemed to care.
God answered His servant and assured him that He was at work among the nations even though Habakkuk couldn’t see it. God gave Habakkuk a revelation, not an explanation; what we always need in times of doubt is a new view of God. The Lord doesn’t owe us any explanations, but He does graciously reveal Himself and His work to those who seek Him.
, What God was doing was so amazing, incredible, and unheard of that even His prophet would be shocked: God was planning to punish the Jews by using the godless Babylonians! They were a “bitter and hasty nation” (v. ), “terrible and dreadful” whose “judgment and their dignity proceed from themselves” (v. ). Their only purpose was to promote themselves and conquer and enslave other peoples.
, The prophet focused on the character of God, as Jonah had done when he disagreed with what God was doing (). Keep in mind that doubt and unbelief are different. Like Habakkuk, the doubter questions God and may even debate with God, but the doubter doesn’t abandon God. In contrast, unbelief is rebellion against God, a refusal to accept what he says and does. Unbelief is an act of the will, while doubt is born out of a troubled mind and a broken heart.
Habakkuk learned that God was not indifferent to the sins of the people of Judah. The Lord was planning to chasten Judah by allowing the Babylonians to invade the land and take them into exile. This wasn’t the answer Habakkuk had been expecting. He was hoping that God would send a revival to His people (see ), judge the evil leaders, and establish righteousness in the land. Then the nation would escape punishment and the people and cities would be spared.
This wasn’t simply a national problem to Habakkuk, or a theological problem; it was a personal problem as he cried out, “O LORD my God, my Holy One.” National and international events were affecting his personal walk with God, and this concerned him greatly. But wresthng with these challenges is the only way for our faith muscles to grow. To avoid tough questions, or to settle for half-truths and superficial pat answers is to remain immature, but to face questions honestly and talk them through with the Lord is to grow in the grace and knowledge of Christ ().
Habakkuk needed to remember two facts: (1) God had used other tools to chasten His people—war, natural calamities, the preaching of the prophets—and the people wouldn’t listen; and (2) the greater the light, the greater the responsibility. Yes, the Babylonians were wicked sinners, but they were idolaters who didn’t know the true and living God. This didn’t excuse their sins (.), but it did explain their conduct. The Jews claimed to know the Lord, and yet they were sinning against the very law they claimed to believe! Sin in the life of a believer is far worse than sin in the life of an unbeliever. When God’s people deliberately disobey Him, they sin against a flood of light and an ocean of love.
Habakkuk finished his defense and waited for God to speak. Like a servant, he stood waiting and watching (), wondering how God would respond to his “complaint.” God’s answer is recorded in chapter . But before we listen to God’s encouraging reply, we must pause to examine our own hearts. Are we fully yielded to God and willing for Him to have His way with us and with those whom we love? Nothing is wrong with wresthng with the problems of life and seeking a better understanding of God’s will, but we must beware lest we start debating with God and trying to change His mind.
Habakkuk saw himself as a watchman on the walls of Jerusalem, waiting for a message from God that he could share with the people. In ancient days, the watchmen were responsible to warn the city of approaching danger. If they weren’t faithful, their hands would be stained with the blood of the people who died (; ). They had a serious responsibility.
The revelation God gave was for and about a future time. While the immediate application was to the end of the Babylonian captivity, the writer of the epistle to the Hebrews interpreted this message to refer also to the return of Jesus Christ. Led by the Holy Spirit, the writer changed “it” to “the Coming One” and applied the passage to our Lord. “For yet a little while, and He who is coming will come and will not tarry” ().
, The contrast here is between people of faith and people who arrogantly trust themselves and leave God out of their lives. The immediate application was to the Babylonians. They were filled with pride and self-sufficiency. This is the condition of most of the people today who belong to the world and live for the world. Besides puffing them up, pride twists them inwardly, for the soul of the unbeliever is “not upright,” which means his or her inner appetites are sinful. These people delight in the things that God abhors. Pride also makes people restless. That’s why they’re given over to wine, never at rest, never satisfied. They’re constantly seeking for some new experience to thrill them or some new achievement to make them important. Pride makes us greedy.
Now for the contrast: “The just shall live by his faith” (see ; ; ). This is the first of three wonderful assurances that God gives in this chapter to encourage His people. This one emphasizes God’s grace because grace and faith always go together. emphasizes God’s glory and assures us that, though this world is now filled with violence and corruption (, ), one day it will be filled with God’s glory. The third assurance is in and emphasizes God’s government. Empires may rise and fall, but God is on His holy throne—He is King of kings and Lord of lords.
Catalyst
Justification is the gracious act of God whereby He declares the believing sinner righteous and gives that believing sinner a perfect standing in Jesus Christ. The “righteous” person isn’t someone who has met all of God’s requirements by means of good works, “For I through the law died to the law that I might live to God” (; see ).
We are not only saved by faith (, ), we are also instructed to live by faith. “For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith” (). Faith is a lifestyle that is just the opposite of being proud and depending on our own resources.
Habakkuk knew that difficult times were coming to the people of Judah and that their only resource was to trust God’s Word and rest in His will. Living by faith is the major theme of the Book of Hebrews (), for in that book the phrase “by faith” is found over twenty times. To live by faith means to believe God’s Word and obey it no matter how we feel, what we see, or what the consequences may be.
Go to the
To the faithful Jews in the land, God would be a refuge and strength (; ), but to the godless Babylonians invading the land, He would be a judge and eventually punish their sins and give them what they deserved. In this “taunt” song, God pronounces “Woe to him” for five different types of sinners, all of which are prevalent in the world today.
Ambition can be good unless it motivates people to be greedy, selfish, and abusive. The Babylonians were consumed by selfish ambition, and they stopped at nothing to acquire wealth and expand their kingdom. They had hoards of stolen goods, plundered from helpless people.
The Babylonians took land that wasn’t theirs in order to build an empire that glorified them and assured them safety. Their goal was security, like the eagle’s nest on the high mountain crags. This was a false security, of course, because no individual or nation can build walls high enough to keep God out.
Babylon had been built by bloodshed, the blood of innocent victims—prisoners of war, slave labor that had been exploited to the fullest extent. Babylon was proud of what she had built, but God said it wouldn’t last and was only fuel for the fire. The city had been built with slave labor, but the soul of one of those slaves meant more to God than all the buildings put together.
This repulsive picture can be interpreted both personally and nationally. While the Bible doesn’t demand total abstinence from alcohol, it does warn against the evils of strong drink (; ). The glory of God will cover the earth (), but Babylon’s “glory” would be covered with shame. The picture is that of a repulsive drunk vomiting all over himself, and it isn’t a very pretty picture.
Sad to say, the people of Judah were also guilty of this sin, for during the declining years of the kingdom, they had worshiped the gods of the other nations. Not only is idolatry disobedience to God’s Word, but it is also foolish and useless. Of what value is a god made by a human being? Worshiping the God who made the human is much more reasonable (see ).
This chapter is a prayer psalm that may have been used in the temple worship in Jerusalem. (Other prayer psalms include ; ; ; ; and .) The prophet was now praying to the Lord and not arguing with the Lord, and his prayer would become praise and worship.
Seeing the vision of God and hearing the voice of God made a tremendous difference in Habakkuk’s life. As he grasped the significance of the three great assurances God gave him, he was transformed from being a worrier and a watcher to being a worshiper. The closing chapter of this book presents Habakkuk’s vision of God and the difference it made in his life.
Hearing God’s Word generates faith in the heart of the child of God (), and without faith, we can’t pray effectively (). The Word of God and prayer must always go together (; see ) lest our praying become zeal without knowledge. Habakkuk prayed because he was overwhelmed by God’s splendor. “O LORD, revive Your work in the midst of the years.” He had seen a vision of the greatness of God (), and this vision had left him weak and helpless (v. ). All he could do was cry out to God.
Habakkuk prayed because he wanted God’s work to succeed. God had told him that he “will work a work in your days” in the world (), and here the prophet prayed that God would keep that work alive and cause it to prosper. What God was doing wasn’t the work Habakkuk would have chosen, but he accepted God’s plan and prayed for His will to be done. Habakkuk prayed because he wanted God to show mercy. The prophet agreed that the people of Judah deserved to be chastened, and that God’s chastening would work out for their good, but he asked that God’s heart of love would reveal itself in mercy. Habakkuk was like Moses when he had interceded for the nation at Mount Sinai () and at Kadesh ().
According to some scholars, Mount Paran is another name for the entire Sinai Peninsula, or for Mount Sinai itself (). In this song, Habakkuk seems to be retracing the march of Israel from Sinai to the Promised Land.
, Invading generals either push forward to gain ground or they fall back in retreat, but the Lord simply stood and faced the enemy unafraid. This was a preliminary step to action, as though the Lord were surveying the situation and estimating how much power it would take to execute His wrath on the nations.
Habakkuk used dynamic poetic imagery to describe Israel’s march through the wilderness as they had followed the Lord to the Promised Land and then claimed their inheritance. God was in complete control of the land and water and had used His creation to defeat the Canaanites. In this hymn, Habakkuk described his God, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. He is the God of glory who reveals His glory in creation and in history. He is the living God who makes the dead idols of the nations look ridiculous. He is the God of power who can command land and sea, heaven, and earth; therefore, He is the God of victory who leads His people in triumph.
We need good theology in our sermons and in our songs. The shallowness of some contemporary sermons, books, and songs may be the major contributing factor to the weakness of the church and the increase in religious entertainment in meetings where we ought to be praising God. Habakkuk was lifted to the mountaintop because he understood God’s greatness. We need a return to the kind of worship that focuses on the glory of God and seeks to honor Him alone.
This is one of the greatest confessions of faith found anywhere in Scripture. Habakkuk had faced the frightening fact that his nation would be invaded by a merciless enemy. The prophet knew that many of the people would go into exile and many would be killed. The land would be ruined, and Jerusalem and the temple would be destroyed. Yet he told God that he would trust Him no matter what were to happen.
, Habakkuk’s basic outlook was, “I will rejoice in the LORD.” If our legs were shaking and our hearts pounding, we’d find a safe place to sit down and relax, but Habakkuk felt as though he could run up the mountain like a deer! Because of his faith in the Lord, he was able to stand and be sure-footed. This is one reason why the Lord permits us to go through trials: they can draw us nearer to Him and lift us above the circumstances so that we walk on the heights with Him.
Habakkuk teaches us to face our doubts and questions honestly, take them humbly to the Lord, wait for His Word to teach us, and then worship Him no matter how we feel or what we see. God doesn’t always change the circumstances, but He can change us to meet the circumstances. That’s what it means to live by faith.
Habakkuk 1
1:1 Or oracle
1:2
1:2 , ;
1:2 []
1:4
1:5
1:6
1:6 ;
1:8
1:8
1:11
1:11 Literally spirit or wind
1:12 ;
1:12
1:12
1:16
Habakkuk 2
2:1 ,
2:2
2:3 , ;
2:3 ,
2:3 [, ]
2:3 []
2:4 [];
2:5
2:5 Or Sheol
2:6
2:6 Syriac and Vulgate read thick clay.
2:7 Literally those who bite you
2:8
2:9
2:13 Literally for what satisfies fire, that is, for what is of no lasting value
2:15
2:15 Literally Attaching or Joining
2:16 Dead Sea Scrolls and Septuagint read And reel!; Syriac and Vulgate read And fall fast asleep!
2:20
Habakkuk 3
3:1 Exact meaning unknown
3:6
3:9 Literally rods or tribes (compare verse )
3:10
3:11
3:15
3:16
3:18 ;
3:19
3:19 ;
3:19 Hebrew YHWH Adonai