THE BOOK OF HABAKKUK
Introduction:
“It seems most probable that Habakkuk prophesied in the latter years of Josiah (about 596 BC). Of the prophet himself nothing is known. To him the character of Jehovah was revealed in terms of the highest spirituality. He alone of the prophets was more concerned that the holiness of Jehovah should be vindicated than that Israel should escape chastisement. Written just upon the eve of the captivity, Habakkuk was God’s testimony to Himself as against both idolatry and pantheism.” —Scofield.
Key Verse: Habakkuk 1:3, “Why dost thou shew me iniquity, and cause me to behold grievance? for spoiling and violence are before me: and there are that raise up strife and contention.”
A Brief Summary of the Book:
The book opens with the prophet in perplexity over the mystery of unpunished evil in the world. The first two chapters are mainly composed of a dialogue between Habakkuk and Jehovah.
1) The prophet complains to God that he sees sinful violence on every hand, yet no punishment is visited upon the evildoers, Habakkuk 1:1-4.
2) He receives a reply revealing the divine plan of using the Chaldeans as a swift and terrible instrument of judgment upon the wicked nations, Habakkuk 1:5-11.
3) Still the moral problem is unanswered in the mind of the prophet. How can a holy God use these wicked heathen to waste and destroy people more righteous than they? Are the wrong and violence to continue forever? Habakkuk 1:12-17.
4) The prophet ascends his watch tower to look over the world. He receives the reply of Jehovah, and is told the Purpose of God is soon to be fulfilled, and is encouraged to wait for it, Habakkuk 2:1-3. Then follows the sentence that has been a watchword in the Christian Church, Habakkuk 2:4.
5) Content with the new light received, the prophet utters a series of five woes against:
a. The Dishonesty, Habakkuk 2:6.
b. The Covetousness, Habakkuk 2:9.
c. The Bloody Building Enterprises, Habakkuk 2:12. See John Gill’s Expositor.
d. The Debauchery, Habakkuk 2:15.
e. The Idolatry of the great world power, Habakkuk 2:18-20.
6) Finally he utters a sublime prayer (or psalm of praise), speaking of the majesty and glory of Jehovah and declaring his unwavering trust in the divine plans, Habakkuk 3:1-19.
Notable Passages:
1) The Morning Star of Victory, Habakkuk 2:4; Romans 1:17; Hebrews 10:38. “But the just shall live by his faith.”
2) The Triumph of Missions, Habakkuk 2:14, “For the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea.”
3) The Woe to the Drunkard Maker, Habakkuk 2:15.
NOTE: The thing meant is, that the Chaldean king, with his insatiable desires (a kind of intoxication), allured neighboring states into the same mad thirst for war to obtain booty, and then at last exposed them to loss and shame (compare Isaiah 51:17; Obadiah 1:16); an appropriate image of Babylon, which at last fell during a drunken revel (Daniel 5:1-31).
4) An All-conquering Faith, Habakkuk 3:17-18, “Although the fig tree shall not blossom, neither shall fruit be in the vines; the labour of the olive shall fail, and the fields shall yield no meat; the flock shall be cut off from the fold, and there shall be no herd in the stalls: 18 Yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will joy in the God of my salvation.”