Habakkuk

From innocent childhood queries to complex university discussions, life is filled with questions. Asking how and why and when, we probe beneath the surface to find satisfying answers. But not all questions have answers wrapped and neatly tied. These unanswered interrogations create more questions and nagging, spirit-destroying doubt. Some choose to live with their doubts, ignoring them and moving on with life. Others become cynical and hardened. But there are those who reject those options and continue to ask, looking for answers.

Habakkuk was a man who sought for answers. Troubled by what he observed, he asked difficult questions. These questions were not merely intellectual exercises or bitter complaints. Habakkuk saw a dying world, and it broke his heart. Why is there evil in the world? Why do the wicked seem to be winning? He boldly and confidently took his complaints directly to God. And God answered…. With an avalanche of proof and prediction.

The prophet’s questions and God’s answers are recorded in this book. As we turn the pages, we are immediately confronted with his urgent cries, “how long, O Lo9rd, must I call for help, but you do not listen? Or cry out to you, ‘Violence!’ but you do not save?” (1:2). In fact, most of the first chapter is devoted to his questions. As chapter two begins, Habakkuk declares that he will wait to hear God’s answers to his complaints. Then God begins to speak, telling the prophet to write his answers plainly so that all will see and understand. It may seem, God says, as though the wicked triumph, but eventually they will be judged, and righteousness will prevail. Judgment may not come quickly, but it will come. God’s answers fill chapter two. Then Habakkuk concludes his book with a prayer of triumph. With questions answered and a new understanding of God’s power and love, Habakkuk rejoices in who God is and in what he will do. “Yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will be joyful in God my Savior. The Sovereign Lord is my strength; he makes my feet like the feet of a deer, he enables me to go on the heights” (3:18, 19)

Listen to the profound questions that Habakkuk boldly brings to God, and realize that you can also bring your complaints and enquiries to him. Listen to God’s answers and rejoice that he is at work in the world and in your life.

VITAL STATISTICS:

Purpose: To show God is still in control despite the apparent triumph of evil.

Author: Habakkuk

To Whom Written: Judah (the southern kingdom), and God’s people everywhere

Date Written: Between 612 an 588 B.C.

Setting: Babylon was becoming the dominant world power and Judah would soon feel Babylon’s destructive force.

Key Verse: “Lord, I have heard of your fame; I stand in awe of your deeds, O Lord. Renew them in our day, in our time make them known; in wrath remember mercy” (3:2)

Key People: Habakkuk, the Babylonians

Key Place: Judah

MEGA THEMES:

Theme	Explanation	Importance
Struggle and doubt	Habakkuk asked God why the wicked in Judah were not punished for their sin. He couldn’t understand why a just God would allow such evil to exist. God promised to use the Babylonians to punish Judah. When Habakkuk cried out for answers in his time of struggle, God answered him with words of hope.	God wants u to come to him with our struggles and doubts. But his answers may not be what we expect. God sustains us by revealing himself to us. Trusting him leads to quiet hope, not bitter resignation.
God’s sovereignty	Habakkuk asked God why he would use the wicked Babylonians to punish his people. God said that he would also punish the Babylonians after they had fulfilled his purpose.	God is still in control of this world in spite of the apparent triumph of evil. God doesn’t overlook sin. One day he will rule the whole earth with perfect justice.
Hope	God is the Creator; he is all-powerful. He has a plan, and he will carry it out. He will punish sin. He is our strength and our place of safety. We can have confidence that he will love us and guard our relationship with him forever.	Hope means going beyond our unpleasant daily experiences to the joy of knowing God. We live by trusting in him, not in the benefits, happiness, or success we may experience in this life. Our hope comes from God.