Habakkuk – A Prophet with a Problem
Major Points from the Minor Prophets
Pastor Brandon Ball
11/01/2023
4 …but the righteous shall live by his faith.—Habakkuk 2:4 (ESV)
Habakkuk has been called the doubting Thomas of the Old Testament.
-He seems to have been more concerned with solving a problem than with delivering a prophecy.
-But it is a problem we all struggle with – “why evil, suffering, injustice, sin, etc.”.In order to better understand this, we should be familiar with a turning point in the history of the ancient world which was the famous battle of Carchemish (605 B.C.). In this battle Nebuchadnezzar defeated Pharaoh Necho of Egypt and in doing so, swung the balance of power in the Middle East to Babylon.
The religious “reformation” of King Josiah (621 B.C.) was the turning point in the history of Judah.
This reform had great potential to reverse the decline of Judah, but the revival proved
superficial.In spite of Josiah’s sincere attempt to restore and revive the worship of Jehovah, the reformation was really king Josiah’s revival. For instance, when he was slain the revival collapsed and the nation faced the inevitable judgment of God.1
1 Phillips, John. 2009. Exploring the Minor Prophets: An Expository Commentary.The John Phillips Commentary Series. Kregel Publications; WORDsearch Corp.
Closing of Introduction
When Nineveh fell in 612 B.C. and the Medes and Babylonians divided the spoils, Babylon took Judah into its sphere of influence. Three years later (609 B.C.) Judah was invaded by Pharaoh Necho on his way to Carchemish, and King Josiah decided to oppose Egypt’s advance. Judah had been sorely pressed by Necho for several years, but no reasons are given for Josiah’s decision. He may have wanted to cement good relations with Babylon. More likely, he deemed the very present Egyptians to be a more serious threat to Judah than the distant Babylonians. Josiah’s efforts were in vain. He fell in battle and Jehoahaz succeeded him.
Before Carchemish, people must have thought that Jeremiah and his colleagues were preaching folly when they proclaimed the future successes of Babylon. Yet years before, Micah had warned about Babylon (Micah 3:12; 4:10) and so had Isaiah (Isaiah 39:6–7). For over twenty years Jeremiah hammered away relentlessly, warning of a coming Babylonian captivity (Jeremiah 6:1, 22–25; 10:22; 34:3). Habakkuk too knew that God was about to punish His people by allowing the Chaldeans to overrun Judah.
Amidst the troubled politics of the times, Habakkuk wrestled with a twofold problem:
- Why did God allow the wickedness in his homeland to continue? And, even more perplexing,
- how could God allow His own nation, unrighteous though it was, to be punished
by an even more unrighteous nation?
Chapter 1 – Questioning Trust in Turbulent Times
Habakkuk’s Complaint
2 O LORD, how long shall I cry for help,
and you will not hear?
Or cry to you “Violence!”
and you will not save?
3 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.
4 *So the law is paralyzed,*
and justice never goes forth.
*For the wicked surround the righteous;*
so justice goes forth perverted.Habakkuk 1:2–4 (ESV)This will not be the first time that a prophetic cry goes out that asks, “How Long?”
The mystery of the silence of God in the face of human suffering, despair, injustice, persecution, and woe added to this godly man’s burden. “O Lord, how long shall I cry, and thou wilt not hear!” Habakkuk prayed (1:2a).
Additionally, it is the souls of the martyrs in the Apocalypse also cry, “How long?” (Revelation 6:10).
Everywhere Habakkuk looked, he saw violence, civic injustice, and iniquity.
86 years prior to king Josiah’s attempt at a religious reformation, King Hezekiah
attempted a similar attempt. Unfortunately, Hezekiah’s revival had been followed by a
half-century of reaction and unbelievable wickedness during the dreadful days of King
Manasseh who followed (55 yr. reign).By the time Josiah came to the throne (roughly 86 years later), the law of God had
completely vanished. No one even had a copy of it. Then Josiah ordered the
cleansing and renovation of the temple, and Hilkiah found “a book of the law of the
Lord.”Hilkiah Finds the Book of the Law
8 And Hilkiah the high priest said to Shaphan the secretary, “I have found the Book of
the Law in the house of the LORD.” And Hilkiah gave the book to Shaphan, and he read
it. 9 And Shaphan the secretary came to the king, and reported to the king, “Your
servants have emptied out the money that was found in the house and have delivered it
into the hand of the workmen who have the oversight of the house of the LORD.” 10 Then
Shaphan the secretary told the king, “Hilkiah the priest has given me a book.” And
Shaphan read it before the king.
11 When the king heard the words of the Book of the Law, he tore his clothes. 12 And
the king commanded Hilkiah the priest, and Ahikam the son of Shaphan, and Achbor
the son of Micaiah, and Shaphan the secretary, and Asaiah the king’s servant, saying,
13 “Go, inquire of the LORD for me, and for the people, and for all Judah, concerning the
words of this book that has been found. For great is the wrath of the LORD that is kindled
against us, because our fathers have not obeyed the words of this book, to do
according to all that is written concerning us.”2 Kings 22:8-13 (ESV)Josiah, as we discussed earlier would refuse to allow the Egyptians pass on their way to fight with Babylon.
He was killed while he was a comparatively young man and a counter-reformation followed, proving how little the revival had touched the conscience of the nation. The law always becomes paralyzed in a permissive society, as we can see by simply looking around our own land.
A permissive society redefines sin:
-Today a drunkard is an alcoholic.
-A thief is a kleptomaniac.
-A murderer is a victim of society.
-Adultery is merely having an affair.
-Sodomy (homosexuality) is an alternate lifestyle.
-What was referred to as, and still is among honest mental health practitioners a
mental illness, Gender dysphoria, is now being pushed into popularity as transgenderism.-Gender dysphoria is included in the American Psychiatric Association's Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, also called the DSM, it is diagnosed as a mental disorder
Today the law is emasculated.
The absolute standards of morality mandated by God’s law have given place to relative morality, which accommodates wickedness.
-The wholesale slaughter of unborn babies by abortion is condoned on the grounds of a woman’s right to choose.
-Pornography flourishes under the guise of freedom of the press.Such is the permissive society we see, and such was the permissive society Habakkuk saw. He came to the conclusion that “the wicked doth compass about the righteous; therefore, wrong judgment proceeded.” In other words, the wicked outnumbered and outvoted the righteous.
Chapter 2 – The Prophet is Taught Trust
Taught about trust while questioning the turmoil!
The Righteous Shall Live by His Faith
*2* And the LORD answered me:
“Write the vision;
make it plain on tablets,
so he may run who reads it.
3 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.
4 “Behold, his soul is puffed up; it is not upright within him,
but the righteous shall live by his faith.Habakkuk 2:2–4 (ESV)When the answer came, it was a threefold lesson on how to trust in turbulence.
The Holy Spirit spoke to His servant about the
of God, the of God, and the
of God. 1. Trust in the Truth of the Word of God – Write the vision and make it plain for all
to see (The Truth/Word of God).
2. Trust in God’s Timing not yours – The vision awaits God’s appointed time.-The principle involved in this verse applies to many divine prophecies. Their fulfillment often seems remarkably slow, giving scoffers ample time to exhibit their unbelief. But God’s clock is much bigger than ours. Prophecies regarding the first coming of Christ took many centuries to be fulfilled, but in the end all of them were proven to be accurate to the letter.
-Prophecy also often has an early, partial, illustrative fulfillment and a later, complete, detailed, literal fulfillment. Prophecies concerning the second coming of Christ have slumbered in the womb of time for thousands of years.3. Trust in God’s Faithfulness, not your faithfulness – The righteous live by faith. This statement is quoted
in the New Testament:
Romans 1:7; Galatians 3:11; Hebrews 10:38.
Chapter 2:5-20 – Judegment (God’s “Woes” against the Chaldeans).
- Their Crimes (2:6–8)
- Their Covetousness (2:9–11)
- Their Cruelty (2:12–14)
Habakkuk’s next words are clearly
: “The earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea” (2:14). The day is coming—after the destruction of Babylon and the subsequent defeat of the antichrist at Megiddo—when Christ will set up His kingdom and fill the world with the knowledge of God. Incidentally this is the fifth and last occurrence of this wondrous prophecy (Numbers 14:21; Psalm 72:19; Isaiah 6:3; 11:9; Habakkuk 2:14).2
2 Phillips, John. 2009. Exploring the Minor Prophets: An Expository Commentary.The John Phillips Commentary Series. Kregel Publications; WORDsearch Corp.
- Their Carousing (“partying”) (2:15–17)
- Their Cults (2:18–20)
Chapter 3 – The Prophet will be Triumphant in Trust!
Habakkuk’s Prayer
1 A prayer of Habakkuk the prophet, according to Shigionoth.
2 O LORD, I have heard the report of you,
and your work, O LORD, do I fear.
In the midst of the years revive it;
in the midst of the years make it known;
in wrath remember mercy.Habakkuk 3:1-2 (ESV)The third chapter of Habakkuk is a poem apparently written in a time of national crisis, as was chapter 1. The poem is a hymn, an anthem of praise. From the repetition of the word “Selah” (3:3, 9, 13)—so common in the Psalms—we gather that the hymn was designed to be sung in public worship. The land was threatened by invasion, but the song was triumphal.
- Faith Surrenders (3:1-2)
- Faith Sees (3:3-15)
- Faith Soars (3:16-19)
Habakkuk had seen the havoc that would be wrought by the enemy—vineyards, olive groves, and fig trees destroyed, and farms emptied of livestock. Yet he was able to say, “I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation. The Lord God is my strength, and he will make my feet like hinds’ feet, and he will make me to walk upon mine high places” (3:18–19). All his doubts had been removed. His problem had been swallowed up by praise. God was still on the throne!
Isaiah’s Vision of the Lord
1 In the year that King Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and the train of his robe filled the temple.Isaiah 6:1 (ESV)
King Uzziah becomes the people of God’s hope against the enemy. It was a false hope.
-For Isaiah, the king (little “k”) was dead, but The King (big “K”) was still on the
throne!