Habakkuk - Complete notes

Complete notes on Habakkuk are now available on Dundee Believer.

Habakkuk 3:16-19 - The Lord is my strength

3:16-19

This prayer is set firmly in real circumstance, Babylon is invading the land. Habakkuk is reminded of all the things he has spoken about in the earlier verses of this chapter, and of God’s answers to his two complaints. The word had a severe effect on him. Maybe it is God’s earlier pronouncement that Babylon would be used to inflict punishment upon Judah that is most troubling him. But now he knows that a day of calamity would come upon Babylon as well one day. The punishment was not for ever.

Fig trees, the vine, olive crops and wheat fields were essential to the economy and food of the nation. So although the outward signs are dire, with no obvious prospect of help, Habakkuk would rejoice in the Lord and be joyful in Him. Note that he is not saying these things do not matter, nor is he resigned to good never happening. Rather he now knows that God will act, God has not forgotten, in due time, at the right time, the Lord would act.

Habakkuk’s strength is not in the circumstances, but in the Lord, the Sovereign Lord. The Lord does not just enable Habakkuk to endure, but “makes his feet like the feet of a deer”, and enables him to tread on the heights. We should aim to become a people not governed by circumstances, but a people whose strength is in the Lord. This manifestly does not mean that the circumstances do not matter. But it does mean that we live by the Spirit, not by the flesh. Then, instead of being governed by the circumstances, we reign in the midst of the circumstances.

Habakkuk 3:8-15 - God's wrath

3:8-15

It is difficult for us to appreciate these next few verses. There may be allusions to pagan myths held by other nations such as the Canaanites, or the allusions may be to the rescue of the Israelites at the Red Sea. God does have power over all creation, and this has been demonstrated at various times in the Bible. There was Moses and the Red Sea, and Joshua and the Jordan. Then Jesus stilled the storm. However, it was not the sea or the mountains that God’s wrath was aimed at, though the pagan nations tended to deify nature, with gods of rivers and mountains. In verse 12 it says “in wrath you strode through the earth and in anger you threshed the nations”. Man without God makes images of nature, or deifies nature in some respect. Now we might think well they did that then, but we are much more sophisticated now and don’t do such things. Yes we do. The whole scientism approach to life that says matter is all there is is a deification of nature. But the real “battle”, the real issue, is between God and man. God acted, and God will act, to save His people. People may think economic or political forces work against them, and God may use such forces, but the real issue is God judging nations. God is active in defending His people.

Habakkuk 3:1-7 - I have heard of your fame

3:1

This final chapter has the appearance of a psalm. Indeed, 3:1 and 3:19 include musical terms normally associated with psalms. “Shigionoth” is such a term, “selah” also occurs in v 3, 9 and 13. This psalm, or prayer of praise, comes after Habakkuk’s complaints to God, and God’s response. If we just bottle up our frustrations or lack of comprehension we will never fully praise God. If instead, we are open with God, but knowing that it is us who need to change, not Him, then we will reach far deeper levels of praise and faith than if we just pretend to trust God.

3:2

Remember the situation Habakkuk was in. He was a prophet, so he knew of the things that God had done in the past. Yet in his day he looked at the nation of Israel and saw little apart from disobedience and lack of faith. He looked at the nations and saw nothing better. He now stands before God in faith and calls on God to make His presence felt in this day. He also calls on God to have mercy as well as wrath.

3:3-7

Teman and Mount Paran were both in Edomite territory, and is reminiscent of God helping Israel in the Exodus and subsequent conquest. Habakkuk is looking back to the times spoken of in v2 when he says “I have heard of your fame”. Habakkuk is expecting God to act once again on Israel’s behalf. God came in great power and glory and rescued Israel.

Plague and pestilence were used in the signs against Pharaoh, but they were also used against Israel herself when she sinned against God. As the people of God we need to follow the ways of God, otherwise we put ourselves in great danger. The Lord came with power and the earth trembled.

“I saw ...” Habakkuk is now expecting God to act again. At the start of this book he had been complaining that God was doing nothing, now his faith has been restored and he fully expects God to act. God works by producing faith within a man or woman, for faith is evidence of what is to come. As the KJV says “faith is the substance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen” (Heb 11:1). Faith that comes from God, and is founded on His word (as opposed to the vain imaginations of men) is what will come first before the outworking of God’s plan. It is how He will often work in our lives. We so often want to see the reality first, but God’s way is to produce faith in us, then the manifestation of that faith will take effect.

Habakkuk 2:15-20 - And still more woe

2:15-17

The next woe is for Babylon intoxicating her neighbours and then taking advantage of them. This is done in a very literal way in society. There are many industries which exploit people’s vices, making them dependent upon some vice or other, then fleecing the. Drugs are perhaps the most obvious, but pornography, gambling and drink all do the same some degree. We need to be aware of the spirit that is behind these things. The devil seeks to entice people and then humiliate and destroy them. Babylon would herself become drunk and be put to shame, she would receive justice for her evil ways. The same principle will apply to all society today. Her evil ways would rebound on to herself. We need to be fully aware that judgement is real.

2:18-20

The Bible is sometimes mocked as being superstitious, but the Bible is brutally honest about the utter uselessness of idols. The chapter closes with a mocking of those who trust in idols, for they are utter fools. They are trusting in their own creation, how can their own creation help them? The idol is lifeless, so how can it give any guidance? So instead of facing up to the truth the cover it in gold and silver, as if that will magically bring the thing to life. But of course, we are so much more sophisticated now. Or perhaps we aren’t? What is the dominant worldview in the West? It is that life came from nothing. But science keeps proving that atheistic notions are wrong. The fact that the universe had a beginning had an awful hard job getting accepted, it was resisted because if it had a beginning, then maybe there was a creator who began it! The fine-tuning arguments show how finely tuned so many aspects of the universe are, so scientists come up with multiverse theories. We cannot see or detect, or interact, with any of these other universes, but we must do something to avoid there being a God! In the media you will hear that evolution is a “fact”. It isn’t, there are many holes in the theory and it cannot explain all it purports to explain. But people are desperate for there not to be a God, for if there is a God there is One to whom we are answerable.

The truth is that there is a God and there are times when the wisest thing is to be silent before Him, waiting to hear what He has to say.

Habakkuk 2:9-14 - Yet more woe

2:9-11

This woe could be directed at Babylon, but also applied to some in Judah, for gaining wealth by unjust means was something that took place in Judah. Using unjust means can seem attractive, it can seem to offer some sort of security, but ultimately it will lead to ruin. In the course of pursuing unjust gain will mean that one day we have to answer to God, to answer to Him for the lives we have ruined in our pursuit. The ultimate cost of pursuing unjust means is our loss of respect and ultimately loss of our lives forever. There is a God who sees all, and to whom all will one day have to give an account. A society that loses sight of this is one that will ultimately collapse. As we become increasingly secular we become a society that is accountable to no one, with the ensuing consequences. The stones and timber in Babylon were often plundered from other nations, and quite possibly built with slave labour. They would cry out in testimony against Babylon.

2:12-14

Babylon used brute force to build her empire, having no concern for justice. For a time force with no regard for justice may seem to work, whether on an individual level, or at a national level. But a time of reckoning will certainly come. Earlier in the book we have seen Habakkuk complaining about the seeming lack of justice, and God’s apparent inaction. We now learn that the Babylon has just been mounting up her own punishment. All her efforts will ultimately be in vain.

The eventual outcome is that “the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord”. In the West today governments and the elite are abandoning God’s ways as quickly as they can. For a time they may seem to be triumphant, but ultimately their efforts are all in vain. For the final outcome is that God’s glory will fill the whole earth.

Habakkuk 2:5-8 - Woe to him

2:5

Babylon would become extremely powerful, but also equally proud, thinking her success was down to her own abilities. This is an all too common trait among individuals and among nations, sadly sometimes even among churches. If we have success then we think it is down to us. God warned Israel repeatedly not to think her success was down to any righteousness of her own. We need to remember that we are creatures, created beings, utterly dependent upon God for the very breath in our lungs, let alone any success we might have. Babylon became drunk on wine. Successful nations often descend into debauchery. It happened to Rome, it is happening to the West. Babylon sought military conquest, the West seeks material wealth.

2:6

At the time Babylon was all powerful, but a time would come (about 538 BC) when all she had conquered would mock her. As the saying goes, “how the mighty are fallen” and “pride comes before a fall”. She exploited many nations, but eventually disaster would befall her. If we are given wealth and power, then we are given it to administer justice and mercy, not to feather our own nest, and definitely not to exploit others. We need to remember this as individuals, we also need to remember it as nations. There is nothing wrong with wealth, but there can be everything wrong with the way it is acquired and the way it is used.

2:7,8

NIV says “creditors” and ESV says “debtors”, somewhat confusing! However, the meaning is clear. One day the nations that she exploited would rise up and take from Babylon. God brings about justice for the oppressed. Babylon would become their prey. When a people forget that there is a God, that we are created and are ultimately accountable to our Maker they become fools.

Babylon had also shed much blood and brought about much destruction. We see this again and again in history, Nazi Germany and communist Russia are more recent examples. It could be said that the West has brought about much destruction in the Middle East with ill-conceived adventures.

Habakkuk 2:4 - The righteous will live by faith

2:4

“He is puffed up”, this refers to the pride of Babylon. So how is a righteous man to live in such times? He is to live by faith. We will not understand life just by looking at events, we need to trust in God. We need to trust in His character, in who He is. There is uncertainty about the exact translation of the latter half of verse 4. It could be “live by his faith” or “live by his faithfulness”. There is also uncertainty about whether it is the faith of the believer, or the faithfulness of God that it is talking about. “Live by his faith” seems to be the best translation.

“The righteous will live by faith” is quoted on several occasions in the New Testament. In Romans 1:17 Paul writes “ For in the gospel the righteousness of God is revealed - a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, as it is written “The righteous will live by faith”.

Now in Romans Paul gives his most eloquent and complete exposition of salvation by faith, but superficially that does not seem to be what Habakkuk is talking about. Habakkuk is concerned about the immediate political situation. Is Paul taking things out of context and just using a useful phrase because it fits his argument (a common trick used by some preachers!) Not at all. First, Habakkuk most definitely is concerned about sin, his first complaint is concerned about the sin in Judah. Secondly, we make a mistake when we divorce “life situation trust” and “theological salvation”. Ie trusting God in a particular situation, and having a theological understanding of how a holy God can possibly bless a hopelessly sinful people. The Bible never does this. If we look at the gospels in particular we see many people who came to Jesus in faith. They all received help, Jesus often commended their faith, and on several occasions He specifically said their sins were forgiven. Yet not one of them made a “prayer of salvation” or recited the “four spiritual laws”. “Life faith” and “theological faith” are not two alternative routes, they go together. The fundamental change in a person is their willingness to trust in God. The reality of this faith, this trust, will show itself in our trusting God in real life circumstances. The theology explains how God can possible bless us. But the theological understanding of salvation is also important. For the theological understanding is based on the infinite love of God for us, and on how that love has shown itself in action in sending His Son, and has achieved concrete results through the cross and resurrection. So the better we understand the “theology” of salvation the better we will know God, His heart and love for us, and this will make us better able to trust Him in life-circumstances.

Other quotes of this verse are Galatians 3:11 and Hebrews 10:38.

Habakkuk 2:1-3 - Write down the revelation

2:1

Verse 1 of Chapter 2. is so instructive. Habakkuk has observed the situation, he is acutely aware of what is going on, and now of God’s plans. He is horrified by them, but he still has faith in God. He cannot believe that what he perceives the situation to be is all there is. So he stands watch. When we see things going on in our society that are clearly against God’s will our response should be to watch and pray. And Habakkuk looks to God and expects to get an answer from God. We should never be fooled by events in thinking that God is not in control.

2:2

The “revelation” (NIV) is translated “vision” in ESV and others. The Hebrew word used refers specifically to a vision given to a prophet. God is going to give Habakkuk some understanding, ie revelation. But this revelation is not for Habakkuk alone, he is to write it down and make it plain “so that a herald may run with it” (NIV). Literally it says “so that he who reads it may run with it”. God gives understanding to people so that they can make the word of God clear to many.

It was to be written on tablets. The Babylonians normally wrote on tablets, the Israelites far less so, though there are obvious exceptions such as the Ten Commandments.

2:3

The revelation would certainly come to pass. It might seem to take a long time, but it most definitely would not prove false. “It waits an appointed time”. There is a definite order to history. Time is linear. Many civilisations thought of time as being cyclical, with events recurring, just going round in circles. The Bible reveals that there is a definite end in view. However, the route to the end, and the time it takes will often not fit with our preconceived ideas. This was the case with Habakkuk. The current events did not make sense to him, as the first chapter shows, and God giving Babylon so much power on purpose did not seem the best answer. Moreover, there would be a considerable delay before Babylon was destroyed. Yet God’s answer will come at exactly the right time.

Habakkuk 1:12-17 - Complaining again!

1:12

Habakkuk is none too pleased with God’s answer and so complains again to God, but notice that he does this on the basis of God’s character and attributes. These are not just the whinges of a faithless man, but the agonising of one who believes in God, there is a fundamental difference between the two.

So Habakkuk starts by outlining some of God’s attributes. Of course, God does not need to be reminded of who He is or what He is like, but this is part of the conversation between Habakkuk and God. In the end it is Habakkuk who will be changed, not God. First, God is from everlasting. He is eternal, without beginning, and without end. This eternal God has appointed the Babylonians to execute judgement upon Judah, to punish Judah.

1:13

Now Habakkuk could fully appreciate the need to punish Judah, indeed their sin was the source of his first complaint, but to do this with the Babylonians? God is pure, He cannot tolerate evil. Yet His answer to Habakkuk’s first complaint involved using a nation that was even worse than Judah! Surely God should do something to stop Babylon, not be encouraging them and positively using them to punish Judah. For bad as Judah was, they were nowhere near as bad as Babylon. As an aside, a common human reaction to being accused of sin is to point someone else who is worse than us. There is always someone else who is worse than us, but that is never an excuse for our own sin.

1:14,15

Habakkuk describes the situation as being like fish in the sea. Fish were created by God to be caught, they have no overriding purpose. It seems like people, including Judah were just the same. They had no idea what they were doing in life, apart from existing, and Babylon was sweeping up the people just as a fishing boat gathers up fish. Just as the fisherman is glad with his catch, so Babylon was glad with her conquests. The world seemed to be there for Babylon’s benefit.

Habakkuk is using dramatic language to describe the situation, and note that there is no doubt in his mind that God has ordained this. There is no attempt in his mind, as there often seems to be in ours, to excuse God of responsibility.

1:16,17

Just as the fisherman is happy, so Babylon is happy. Moreover, Babylon worships her strength. She makes an idol out of her military prowess and offers incense to her idols. And the conquest seems to go on and on. Will this carry on forever?

Habakkuk 1:7-11 - A feared and dreaded people

1:7-9

These verse expand on the power of the Babylonians. Everyone feared and dreaded them. “They were a law unto themselves”. They were so powerful that they paid no regard to anyone else nor anything else. They promoted their own honour.

Verse 8 describes the great military power that they had. The prophets used poetic language to describe their prophecies. God is not just communicating with the mind, but with the emotions and imagination as well. So while academic “theological” communication and interpretation of the Bible is important (and the sort I like best), it is not the only sort. Likewise, straightforward expository preaching is important as part of our message and communication, but it is not the sum total of our communication. It is perfectly valid to use other means as well.

1:10,11

But there was a fundamental weakness in the Babylonians, their strength was their god. They mocked all around them, whether it be rulers or fortifications. Nothing could stand in their way, but they assumed that this was because of some innate strength in themselves when it was only because God had ordained it. This led to two fatal mistakes. One was that they were indescribably cruel, having no regard for the weak. The second was that they trusted in themselves. Pride always leads to us devaluing others and not treating them properly. It is a fundamental tenet of God’s ways that we should be merciful and kind. Trusting in ourselves always leads ultimately to our downfall. One day we will die, no matter how rich, powerful or clever we may be.

As the end of verse 11 says “guilty people, whose own strength is their god”.

Habakkuk 1:5,6 - Not the answer he wanted

1:5

Paul quotes these words in Psidian Antioch in Acts 13:41. There he is speaking to the Jews, warning them of their need to repent and believe in Jesus. Here God is telling Habakkuk that He is going to do something amazing, and that something will turn out to be judgement upon Judah. In Antioch Paul warns his hearers that judgement will come upon them unless they put their faith in Jesus.

Habakkuk’s focus had been on Judah and Jerusalem, God orders him to look at the nations and watch. God was going to do something among the nations. A similar thing happened with Jesus. The nation of Israel failed to recognise Him, so the gospel went out to the nations and great things were done there, and are being done there. As Paul tells us in Romans 11:11-24 part of God’s purpose is to make Israel jealous by what He does among the nations.

1:6

The Hebrew refers to the Babylonians as the Chaldeans. The Babylonians gained independence from Assyria in 626 BC, and destroyed Assyria in 612-605 BC. The Babylonians were the regional superpower and were greatly feared.

“They sweep across the whole earth”. This phrase does give us an important clue to interpreting the Bible. The “whole earth” clearly does not mean literally the whole earth, it does mean they were completely dominant in the region. We do well to remember this when interpreting verses like those about the flood. There are those who take great offence to any suggestion that when the Bible says the whole earth was flooded it could just mean the region was flooded. There is nothing inconsistent with the notion that the flood was regional rather than global, and it is not an affront to Biblical authority to suggest that it was regional.

Habakkuk 1:1-4 - How to complain!

1:1

Habakkuk is referred to as a prophet. This is actually quite unusual among the Old Testament prophets! His name is probably Babylonian and refers to a garden plant. He was possibly employed in the temple as a professional prophet. This would be consistent with his complaining about the amount of unrighteousness in Judah. He “received” the prophecy. As Peter says, no prophecy came about by the prophet’s own interpretation of things, it was given by God (2 Pet 1:20).

1:2

“How long ...” This is a common complaint in the Bible! Judah was in a poor state spiritually. About a hundred years ago the northern kingdom of Israel had been conquered by the Assyrians as a judgement upon her sin. Judah had failed to learn from this and had sunk progressively into deeper and deeper apostasy. Habakkuk would have seen the grim reality of this. He was evidently a man or prayer and had called on the Lord for help, but no answer had been received. The sins of Judah were not just “religious”, ie the worship of false gods, but also included violence. When a society abandons God it is not just a “religious” matter, serious consequences also follow, usually including violence. In our increasingly secular society the abortion rate is an example of this.

1:3

Habakkuk had to serve in the nation, and so had to see the evil in the land. Why did he have to look on injustice? We may wonder why God makes us live in this land with its increasing sins. God does this for a reason, and part of that reason is for us to call upon the name of the Lord.

But it wasn’t just himself that Habakkuk was concerned about, why does God tolerate it? Why doesn’t He do something about it as He is a God of justice.

“Destruction and violence are before me, there is strife, and conflict abounds”. This is quite an apt description of western societies. There is increasing strife and conflict at all levels.

1:4

The law is paralyzed and justice never prevails. The law here is probably the civic aspects of the Law. In the west too justice often seems far away, the legal system rarely seems to serve justice, more just lining the pockets of the lawyers. So-called human rights seem more to be robbers and terrorists’ rights. Part of the reason for this was that the wealthy could pervert justice. Again in our society the rich can get access to the law, but the ordinary person often cannot afford it.

So we now get the picture. Habakkuk is surrounded by injustice. He has prayed to God on many occasions, but so far nothing has happened, at least as far as he can see. Sometimes God wants to bring us face to face with the reality of the situation. In Habakkuk’s case this would be partly because the answer would seem so terrible, as we will find out in the next section.

Habakkuk - Introduction

Over the last couple of years I have been going through various New Testament books in some depth, currently part way through Luke. Now we will have a slight diversion from this and will look at one of my favourite minor prophets, Habakkuk. My main source of information and help will be:

Nahum, Habakkuk and Zephaniah - Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries - David W Baker (1988)

So the astute among you can probably guess which other Old Testament books might be coming up in the future!

Let me give some general guidelines for interpreting Old Testament prophets:

• What did it mean in the historical, social and religious context?
• How does it relate to the first or second coming of Christ?
• What use is made of it in the New Testament?
• What is its relevance for us today?

We should also bear in mind that the common purpose of prophecy is to call people to God, often to call them back to God. God speaks to reveal things about Himself, and to reveal things about us. The latter usually means highlighting our sinfulness and/or ways in which we fall short of the glory of God. It also reveals God’s plan of salvation. We do well to remember this. I get Charisma News email each day and there is usually one or more posts about what some “prophet” or other has said. Now I am in a charismatic church and firmly believe in the relevance of the gift of prophecy for today, but my reaction to most of the headlines relating to some so-called prophecy or other is simply to groan. We sometimes have a very impoverished view of what prophecy is.

An oddity of the book of Habakkuk is that there is no information whatsoever about him, nothing on his ancestry, where he lived, nor his function. We do know that he prophesied around the time prior to the Babylonian invasion and destruction of Jerusalem. It is perhaps useful to have a quick summary of key historical dates and events:

625 BC	Neo-Babylonian empire gained power under Nabopolassar
612 BC	Destruction by Babylon of the Assyrian capital, Nineveh
605 BC	Defeat of Egypt at Carchemish, this was the height of Babylonian power. Nebuchadnezzar was now in power.
598 BC	Babylon marches against Jerusalem
587 BC	Destruction of Jerusalem.
539 BC	Fall of Babylon to the Indo-Aryan Medes and Persians under Cyrus.

So Habakkuk prophesied some time before 587 BC. During the reign of Jehoiakim (609-598 BC) is a likely date, making Habakkuk contemporary with Jeremiah.

The key feature of the book is perhaps that Habakkuk questions God and God replies. There are several key figures in the Bible who question God. Job is perhaps the prime example, but David in the Psalms, Moses and Jeremiah all questioned God. However, they did this was from a position of faith. Ie they believed that God was just and good but this just didn’t fit with the circumstances they were encountering. They knew there must be an answer, but they couldn’t see it, so they questioned God directly. This is questioning in faith, and God commends this sort of questioning.

In Habakkuk’s case the primary problem was the degree of unfaithfulness and injustice in the land of Judah. Then God’s answer, that He was going to send the even more ungodly Babylonians to execute judgement upon them sounded even worse. God’s ways of working rarely fit into our neat picture of how things should be. At the end of it Habakkuk’s faith was renewed and deepened. That is our God!

In fact, Habakkuk is unusual in that it is largely a conversation between him and God, and his response to this. There is little in the way of Habakkuk prophesying directly to the nation, unlike with most of the other prophets. Our relationship with God matters. We are to serve as sons of God.

Habakkuk 2:4 - Life faith and theological faith

"but the righteous will live by faith" comes from Habakkuk 2:4, one of my favourite minor prophets. It is also a verse quoted on several occasions in the New Testament: Romans 1:17, Galatians 3:11 and Hebrews 11:38. Yet superficially the New Testament seems to use it in a different way to the way it is used in the Old Testament. So is this the case or not?In Romans 1:17 Paul writes

“For in the gospel the righteousness of God is revealed - a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, as it is written “The righteous will live by faith”.


Now in Romans Paul gives his most eloquent and complete exposition of salvation by faith, but superficially that does not seem to be what Habakkuk is talking about. Habakkuk is concerned about the immediate political situation (the unrighteousness of Judah, and the impending Babylonian conquest). So is Paul taking things out of context and just using a useful phrase because it fits his argument (a common trick used by some preachers!) Not at all. First, Habakkuk most definitely is concerned about sin, his first complaint is concerned about the sin in Judah. Secondly, we make a mistake when we divorce “life situation trust” and “theological salvation”. Ie trusting God in a particular situation, and having a theological understanding of how a holy God can possibly bless a hopelessly sinful people. The Bible never does this. If we look at the gospels in particular we see many people who came to Jesus in faith. They all received help, Jesus often commended their faith, and on several occasions He specifically said their sins were forgiven. Yet not one of them made a “prayer of salvation” or recited the “four spiritual laws”. “Life faith” and “theological faith” are not two alternative routes, and are definitely not contradictory, they go together. The fundamental change in a person is their willingness to trust in God. The reality of this faith, this trust, will show itself in our trusting God in real life circumstances, just as it did for the people in the gospels. The theology explains how God can possible bless us. But the theological understanding of salvation is also of great practical importance. For the theological understanding is based on the infinite love of God for us, and on how that love has shown itself in action in sending His Son, and has achieved concrete results through the cross and resurrection. So the better we understand the “theology” of salvation the better we will know God, His heart and love for us, and this will make us better able to trust Him in life-circumstances. The two go together, and the New Testament use of Habakkuk 2:4 is entirely consistent with its use in the Old Testament.

Habakkuk 3 - Triumphing in the midst of difficulties

Now we get a prayer of Habakkuk and it is a prayer of faith. How did he get to this position of faith? By communicating with God, by being open and honest with God about his feelings, and his willingness to learn from God. There are two key mistakes we can make in the area of feelings and opinions. One is to ignore and reject our feelings, pretend we don't have them, or consider them of no importance. The other is to make them into a god, demanding that God, and everyone else, bow down to our feelings and opinions. Habakkuk shows us the godly way. 
Habakkuk starts by praising God and then calling on Him to do great deeds in his day. He acknowledges God's wrath, but also calls on Him to remember mercy. Then he recalls earlier actions of God in very vivid and poetic language. Verses 3-15 are largely alluding to what God did in bringing Israel out of Egypt.
Then we come to some verses that well-known in verses 16-19. Sometimes we seem to misapply these verses. We interpret them as if Habakkuk is saying, "life is rotten, but I will praise God anyway". This is not what he is saying. It is more the case that he is saying, "I cannot see the deliverance of God around me, but I know that it will come, therefore in the midst of this situation I will rejoice in the Lord". 
Note also in verse 19 his declaration that God is his strength and makes his feet like those of a deer. In the midst of this situation Habakkuk will still triumph, he will live a Spirit filled life in the midst of the difficulties. Let us adopt the same approach. Even if we are living in the midst of difficulties right now, may we live a Christ centred, Spirit filled life.

Habakkuk 2:2-20 - The righteous will live by faith

The Lord replies to Habakkuk's second complaint and tells him to write it down. What God is about to say would not happen immediately, but it would happen. And it is to be made plain, and it is to be declared. Though it would take some time to come about, the revelation would come to pass, it would happen, and it would happen at just the right time. One of the hardest things about being a Christian is getting used to God's timing! From our perspective He often does things too soon or too late, in reality it is always at just the right time.

"He" in verse 4 is the Babylonians, they were a proud and boastful people, and unrighteous with it. For a long time he would seem to succeed. So what are the righteous to do in the meantime? Live by faith, or faithfulness. Both are true. When the outworking of God's plans are not clear to us, we need to live by faith, knowing that in the end it is His will that will prevail. At the same time, even if the world around us is living unrighteously, we are to live righteously.

Babylon was an utterly evil nation, but she would suffer judgement because of it. The final judgement is actually good news, because otherwise it would mean that evil would go unpunished.

The Babylonians had idols that they worshipped, they also carried them about. Now we might think this was just silly, but in the context of the time it would add to the terrifying effect of the nation. But Habakkuk mocks the Babylonian idol worship.

One day all the earth will be silent before the Lord.

Habakkuk 1:12-2:1 - Complaint No 2

So God's answer to Habakkuk's first complaint was that Babylon was going to destroy the place. Not surprisingly this didn't exactly set Habakkuk's mind at rest. So far all God has said is that the Babylonian's will be raised up. 

Habakkuk reminds God that He is a God of justice, asking why He tolerates sin. More than that, the righteous perish. The Bible is not afraid to face head on the issue of why there are many times when the wicked prosper and the righteous suffer. How long must the wicked prosper, worshipping false gods while they are at it?

However, these questions are not questions of doubt, but questions of faith. Many times people ask "questions" seeking to prove that God does not exist, or to somehow demean faith, seeking to catch God out. Jesus, of course, experienced this many times during His earthly ministry. But, Habakkuk is asking from a different spirit. He knows that God is just and is convinced that God must somehow have things worked out, yet he cannot see it, he cannot reconcile what he knows of God with what he sees going on around him. These are questions of faith and it is right for us to ask them, for then God can reveal more of the truth to us.

This is what was happening here, and Habakkuk waits for the answer.

Habakkuk 1:1-11 - Complaint No 1

Habakkuk was a prophet and he received this prophecy. There were many more prophets than those who have books in the Old Testament. Prophecy included more than the "canonical" prophecies.

The prophecy starts with Habakkuk making a complaint to God. The Bible actually has quite a list of complainers, Moses, David, Jeremiah and Job immediately come to mind. God can handle our complaints, and we do well to take them to Him. 

It seemed to Habakkuk that he called out to God to no effect. Moreover, these were not mere selfish prayers, but prayers about the unrighteous state of the nation. The law (or Law) seems to have no effect, justice is nowhere to be found. How can God allow such a situation to continue?

Then the Lord answers him. God's answer is for Habakkuk to observe the nations and to be utterly amazed. It is not the nations who are in charge or who determine events, but the Lord. We do well to remember that today. We see our societies abandoning the last vestiges of Christian heritage, but God will intervene. 

What God was going to do would be so amazing that Habakkuk would not believe it. God's ways are beyond our comprehension.

Why would Habakkuk not believe it? Because it would involve God raising up Babylon and conquering Israel. Assyria was on the wane at this point and Babylon in the ascendency.

However, while Babylon was God's instrument they were still responsible for their actions. Babylon trusted in her own strength and was ruthless.
So this was God's answer to Habakkuk. Not surprisingly he has a second complaint, which we will look at tomorrow.

Habbakuk - Introduction

Habakkuk was written between the Asyrian and Babylonian invasions, probably during the reign of Jehoiakim's reign (or possibly the end of Joisah's). Joisah had been a very good king, putting many things right in the nation. However, the "revival" was only skin deep, for as soon as Jehoiakim came to the throne the nation descended into apostasy again. The date of the prophecy is usually taken to be about 605 BC.

The prophecy is unique in that Habakkuk does not address the nation itself, rather it is more of a conversation between Habakkuk and the Lord. It consists of two complaints of Habakkuk against God, the Lord's response to these, and then Habakkuk seeing things in faith.

The book reveals something of how God works and how He reveals Himself to us. God uses the thoughts and emotions of our lives to lead us to seek Him, and through these He reveals Himself to us. Now this does not mean we live by our feelings, but knowing God is far more than just an intellectual matter.

In appreciating the prophecy we need to keep in mind the historical context, remembering the things that Habakkuk was seeing going on around him.

Habakkuk 2:4 is famously quoted by Paul in Romans 1:17 and Galatians 3:11.