"God's glory will fill the earth"—2:14 nation into exile. This happened in 606–586.
G e n e s i s E x o d u s L e v i t i c u s N u m b e r s D e u t e r o n o m y J o s h u a J u d g e s R u t h
1 S a m u e l 2 S a m u e l 1 K i n g s 2 K i n g s 1 C h r o n i c l e s 2 C h r o n i c l e s E z r a N e h e m i a h
E s t h e r J o b P s a l m s P r o v e r b s E c c l e s i a s t e s S o n g o f
J e r e m i a h L a m e n t a t i o n s E z e k i e l D a n i e l H o s e a J o e l A m o s O b a d i a h
J o n a h M i c a h N a h u m Habakkuk Z e p h a n i a h H a g g a i Z e c h a r i a h M a l a c h i
OUTLINE Key theme: The just shall live by faith. Key verse: Habakkuk 2:4
CONTENTS
Habakkuk 1 1470 The Prophet Worrying
Habakkuk 2 1472 The Prophet Watching and Waiting
I. THE PROPHET WONDERING AND WORRYING
(1)
Habakkuk 3 1476 The Prophet Worshipping
A. God is indifferent—1:2–4
God's reply: I am working—1:5–11 B. God is inconsistent—1:12–17
Habakkuk in His Time Habakkuk was a contemporary of Nahum, Zephaniah, and Jeremiah, during the reigns of Josiah (640–609 BC) and Jehoiakim (609–598). Assyria was off the scene; Babylon ("the Chaldeans") was in power. Nebuchadnezzar had defeated Egypt in 605 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.
II. THE PROPHET WATCHING AND WAITING (2)
A. Write God's vision—2:1–3 B. Trust God's world—2:4–5
"The just shall live by faith"1—2:4 C. Declare God's judgment—2:6–20
1. Woe to the selfish—2:6–8 2. Woe to the covetous—2:9–11 3. Woe to the exploiters—2:12–14 "God's glory will fill the earth"—2:14 4. Woe to the drunkards—2:15–17 5. Woe to the idolaters—2:18–20 "God is still on His throne"—2:20
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 3, 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.
III. THE PROPHET WORSHIPPING AND WIT-
NESSING (3)
A. He prays to God—3:1–2 B. He ponders God's ways—3:3–15 C. He praises God—3:16–19
His name 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 (3:2), but God wasn't answering his prayers.
1 The statements in quotation marks are the assurances God gave to Habakkuk in the midst of the "woes." They remind us that, no matter how difficult life may become, God's promises can be trusted (v. 4), His glory will one day prevail (v. 14), and He is on His holy throne in complete control of people and events (v. 20). When Habakkuk realized this, he broke out into singing (chap. 3).