Date
The defining function of the biblical prophets was to serve as mediators between God and human beings. While the Bible most often records divine messages delivered by prophets to people, Habakkuk exemplifies the prophetic role of presenting human concerns to God.
Like Job, Habakkuk struggles with the earthly success of the godless and the ill-fortune of the God-fearing. He holds nothing back in complaining against the seemingly unjust ways of the Lord. In the end, however, he surrenders his call for God to explain himself, acknowledges God's sovereignty, and affirms his unqualified faith in God (3:16-19).
Date
Habakkuk's oracle anticipates the invasion of Judah by the Babylonians, who crushed the Assyrian competition by conquering its capital, Nineveh, in 612 s.c.; defeated an alliance headed by the Egyptian army (deployed to Carchemish) and thus inherited Judah as a dependent state in 605; besieged Jerusalem for Judean resistance in 598; and finally put an end to the rebellious southern kingdom by destroying Jerusalem in 587/86. Most scholars date Habakkuk's oracle to the dozen years preceding the first Babylonian siege of Jerusalem, during which time Jeremiah also prophesied.
1 Habakkuk's Problems with God
The revelations to Habakkuk are a combination of oracles and visions (v. 1). His opening question complains against the apparent blind eye God turns to the triumph of the wicked over the righteous. God responds not with a disclaimer but by declaring his personal responsibility (vv. 5-11). God himself has orchestrated the growing political and military dominance of the Chaldeans (= Babylonians), whom no one can stop. Though God vows to hold guilty for their wrongs these self-idolizing, Mesopotamian powermongers, Habakkuk finds little comfort in the promise.
In fact, this response does not fit Habakkuk's understanding of God's purity and justice. "How can a righteous God use the worst people to punish those who, by comparison, are not so bad? How can God let the Chaldeans drag everyone into their net and then revel in their own self-sufficiency? Will God never stop them from grabbing everything they want at the expense of others?" challenges the incredulous prophet.
2 The Prophet Awaits a Reproving Response
Expecting but not fearing divine reproof for his bold questioning of God's ways, Habakkuk assumes a sentry-like lookout and awaits an answer (cf. Ezek. 3:17). The reply comes in a vision, which God instructs the prophet to record on "tablets," much as the Babylonians wrote on clay, ivory, and wood. The additional instruction that Habakkuk "wait" for fulfillment of the vision generates hope for the satisfaction of his righteous sensibilities. The rest of the chapter explains the ways in which God will fulfill his vow to hold the proud Chaldeans accountable for their guilt, manifested in an appetite for imperialistic expansion as insatiable as Sheol's (the Underworld's) for the dead. The international crimes committed by the Chaldeans will come back on them in the form of punishment: looting, slaughter, humiliation (vv. 15-16), and the devastation of natural resources. Vain worship of lifeless, handmade images will profit them nothing. The speechlessness of their idols contrasts with the creation-wide silence commanded by God's mere presence in "his holy temple."
"Write it plain on tablets" (Habakkuk 2); an inscription from Tel Dan mentioning the "House of David." (Israel Antiquities Authority)
3 Faith Defies Fear
Because of the independent heading and conclusion of chapter 3, some scholars believe that it originally circulated as an independent unit. The psalm, which reflects in style and language the oldest poetry in the Bible, is labelled "Shigionoth" (v. 1), related to an Akkadian word meaning "song of lament." "Selah," another obscure, psalmic notation, punctuates this piece (vv. 3, 9,13). The psalm concludes with a dedication to "the choirmaster" (presumably of the Jerusalem temple) and a note prescribing accompaniment on stringed instruments. Some take these elements as evidence that Habakkuk came from the tribe of Levi and served as a temple musician, or at least that this prayer functioned as part of the temple liturgy.
The tension between Habakkuk's desire for divine justice in the world and divine mercy toward the judged emerges in the opening line (v. 2). In describing God's arrival for action, verses 3-7 use language reminiscent of his presence at Sinai and his activity during the events leading to and following the exodus. Other Old Testament books associate Mount Sinai with the land of Edom, for which the regional name "Tetuan" frequently serves as a poetic equivalent, and Mount Paran (Deut. 33:2; Judg. 5:4-5). On the natural phenomena attending God's appearance (vv. 4, 6), compare the theophany on Mount Sinai in Exod. 19:16-20. "Pestilence" and "plague" N. 5) recall the divine punishments sent on the Egyptians prior to the exodus. Verse 7 mentions two nomadic tribes from south of Canaan, one of whose defeat by the wandering Hebrews the book of Numbers records (Numbers 25, 31).
Verses 8-15 portray God as the chariotriding, spear-wielding divine warrior who defeats the nations of the world to "save" his people from oppression. Water imagery calls to mind the creation; the flood; the crossing of the Red Sea and the drowning of the Egyptian army during the exodus; and the crossing of the Jordan River on the Hebrews' entry into Canaan as demonstrations of God's control over the unpredictable, uncontrollable "sea'- ancient Near Eastern symbol of chaos.
Just thinking about the invasion of Chaldeans (1:5-11) causes Habakkuk to tremble (v. 16). But the devastation envisioned by the prophet fails to weaken his faith or dampen his praise. Trusting in the demonstrated strength of his God, Habakkuk faces the future with unwavering confidence.