A. Overview and Summary.
- The book of Habakkuk is another one of the 12 minor prophets that close out the Old Testament, and is comprised of three chapters. The author is Habakkuk, the prophet, as identified in verse 1:1. We know nothing else about Habakkuk except what is given in the book itself. Speculation is that he was living in Jerusalem. We know nothing of his death, and there are several places that reportedly are the location of his tomb, including one in modern day Israel and one in Iraq. If the latter is correct, Habakkuk may have been one of those carried into captivity by the Babylonians. The date of writing is believed to be about 610 to 605 BC, just before the Babylonian conquest of Judah.
- The theme of the book, is one that we all ask: “Why is there evil in the world and why doesn’t God do something about it?” God answers Habakkuk, but not in the way that he was expecting. We can all learn from the lesson that God teaches Habakkuk. Key verses are summarized below.
B. Habakkuk cries out to the Lord over the evil that he sees in Judah: “O LORD, how long shall I cry for help, and you will not hear? Or cry to you ‘Violence!’ and you will not save? Why do you make me see iniquity, and why do you idly look at wrong? Destruction and violence are before me; strife and contention arise. So, the law is paralyzed, and justice never goes forth. For the wicked surround the righteous; so, justice goes forth perverted” (Vs. 1:2-4).
C. The Lord answers Habakkuk that he will use the Babylonian empire to execute justice upon Judah: “Look among the nations, and see; wonder and be astounded. For I am doing a work in your days that you would not believe if told. For behold, I am raising up the Chaldeans, that bitter and hasty nation, who march through the breadth of the earth, to seize dwellings not their own. They are dreaded and fearsome; their justice and dignity go forth from themselves” (Vs. 1:5-7).
D. Habakkuk once more cries out to the Lord. He acknowledges that the Lord will use Babylon to execute His judgement, but asks why is such a nation that is even more wicked than Judah be used. He also expresses his faith that the Lord will not destroy them, but that they will live to be a blessing to all the nations as promised in the Abrahamic covenant (Genesis 12:2-3): “Are you not from everlasting, O LORD my God, my Holy One? We shall not die. O LORD, you have ordained them as a judgment, and you, O Rock, have established them for reproof. You who are of purer eyes than to see evil and cannot look at wrong, why do you idly look at traitors and remain silent when the wicked swallows up the man more righteous than he?” (Vs. 1:12-13).
E. In chapter 2, Habakkuk declares that he will be a watchman looking to see how God will answer his complaint. The Lord answers and tells him that the judgement will come and not be delayed: “Write the vision; make it plain on tablets, so he may run who reads it. For still the vision awaits its appointed time; it hastens to the end—it will not lie. If it seems slow, wait for it; it will surely come; it will not delay” (Vs. 2:2-3).
F. God then declares a profound truth: “the righteous shall live by his faith” (Vs. 2:4b). The Apostle Paul quoted from Habakkuk twice; once in Romans 1:17 and again in Galatians 3:11. The writer of Hebrews also says this in 10:38. This goes back to Abraham “who believed the Lord, and He credited it to him as righteousness”: (Genesis 15:6). This gets to the core of the gospel: we are saved by grace, through faith in Christ alone (Ephesians 2:8-9).
G. Habakkuk then leaps forward in his vision to the reign under the Messiah: “For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD as the waters cover the sea” (Vs. 2:14).
H. The book of Habakkuk closes with an acknowledgement by the prophet that even though Judah will be destroyed, he will trust in God: “Though the fig tree should not blossom, nor fruit be on the vines, the produce of the olive fails and the fields yield no food, the flock be cut off from the fold and there be no herd in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the LORD; I will take joy in the God of my salvation” (Vs.3:17-18).
I. Discussion, Application and Passing it on. Habakkuk teaches us that it is acceptable to question God. But it also teaches us that He may or may not answer us in the way expect Him to. Habakkuk tells us that no matter what the outward circumstances are, we should trust in the God of our salvation. Do you have such a faith? Could you use the book of Habakkuk to encourage another believer who is facing trials?