Day #233

Sermon - Audio
Habakkuk - Audio
Habakkuk - Reading

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The Book of Habakkuk




Salvation History:

Written between 605 and 600 B.C. Habakkuk addresses the people of Judah who are facing difficult times because of the Babylonian conquest. Habakkuk is written to people within this situation in order to guide them to faith in God through the witness of the prophet’s personal struggle. Habakkuk is, likely, a contemporary of Jeremiah.

Reading the book of Habakkuk

Outline/Progression

• The book of Habakkuk is formatted as a dialogue between God and Habakkuk in which Habakkuk presents questions and God answers him. Part of the artistry of the book is its patterns. The prophet complains twice, listens to God twice, and prays once (ch. 3). There are two oracles from God (1:5–11; 2:2–20) and one vision of God (3:3–15). In the first two chapters, the prophet's faith is troubled; in chapter 3, it is triumphant. Two chapters tell us what God is doing, followed by a chapter that demonstrates who God is.

Themes:

Main Theme:

• God is my only comfort in life and in death in a world of seemingly unchecked evil.

Other Themes:

• God is just and merciful, even though his people may not always understand his ways
• Wickedness will eventually be punished, and the righteous will ultimately see God's justice
• God uses some wicked nations to punish other wicked nations, but ultimately God will judge all nations.
• The key phrase “but the righteous will live by his faith” summarizes the path of life God sets for his people and is quoted three times in the NT (Rom. 1:17; Gal. 3:11; Heb. 10:38), each time highlighting a different aspect of the phrase's meaning.

Notes:

• Chapter 1.1-11: Habakkuk sees the great evil in his own nation of Judah and wonders how God can look on it and not do something (vs. 1-5). The evil is “violence” which speaks of the abuse of the weak in society. God’s response is that he is sending Babylon to punish Judah (vs. 5-11).
• Chapter 1.12-2.1: Habakkuk is taken back. God is using a nation more evil than Judah to bring punishment (verse 13 “...the wicked swallows the up the man more righteous than he...”). He registers this concern to God and then declares he will go to his watchpost and wait for God’s answer.
• Chapter 2.2-20: God agrees with Habakkuk that Babylon is evil. In verse 5 he speaks of the king of Babylon being like a greedy grave that is never satisfied. ESV Study Bible: “2:6–20 The taunt against the Babylonians consists of five “woe oracles” that are divided into two parts (vv. 6–14 and vv. 15–20), both of which end with summary statements declaring the glory and greatness of God. These woe oracles (6, 9, 12, 15, 19) describe the reasons why Babylon deserves its coming punishment (cf. Isa. 5:8–23). Woe oracles are generally composed of two parts: declaration of the wrong, and pronouncement of impending judgment as a result.”
• Chapter 3: Habakkuk’s declaration of trust in God in response to a vision of the greatness of God (3.3-15). In verse 16 Habakkuk expresses that what God has revealed to him about the coming days and the destruction of both Judah and Babylon causes him to crumble. The last verse of the book, however, turn from crumbling to trusting in God to be his strength.

Memorable Texts: The book of Habakkuk has more than its share of memorable texts in three short chapters

• Habakkuk 1.2: O Lord, how long shall I cry for help, and you will not hear?
• Habakkuk 2.4: ...but the righteous will live by his faith.
• Habakkuk 2.20: ...The LORD is in his holy temple; let all the earth keep silent before him.
• Habakkuk 3:19: The Sovereign LORD is my strength; he makes my feet like the feet of a deer, he enables me to go on the heights.