This little book has tremendous importance in today’s world. Whenever men begin to think through the problem of evil and try to relate the problems of the world as it is today with a God of justice and power who holds all in His sovereign control, they will find themselves drawn to the prophet, Habakkuk. It is the cry of a man who looks at the evil of his day and cries to God, “What is going on? God, are you there? If you are there, do you care what is happening to us?” You will find that Habakkuk is unique among the prophets of Israel and Judah in that he does not address the people, as all the others do, but he addresses God. In a sense, we overhear a man in his anguish, questioning and arguing with God. We have no background knowledge of Habakkuk. The last part of 3:19 where he gives directions to the Temple singers would strongly suggest that he had authority in the worship singing at the Temple. Therefore, being in charge of the Temple singing indicates that Habakkuk was a member of the tribe of Levi. The time of the writing of his little book is not stated; but from reading the book, we gather that it was at a low point in Judah’s spiritual history and just before the rise of the Babylonians (the usual name for the Chaldeans). This places it in the days recorded in II Kings 23:28-37 and II Chronicles 36:1-5, makes Habakkuk a contemporary and probably a friend of Jeremiah who was in Jerusalem at that time. It is possible that he knew Daniel and his three friends and maybe Ezekiel, all of whom were among the righteous of Jerusalem in those troubled days. With this in mind, compare Jeremiah 22:13-19 with Habakkuk 1:3, 4. They both saw the evil of their day through the same eyes. Read also Jeremiah 12:1-4, 13:17, 15:10-18, 20:7-18. I know this little book will be a blessing to you. It is short enough for you to read many times over in a number of versions. As you do so, I know that the Spirit will minister true joy and peace to you in these troubled times.
OUTLINE OF HABAKKUK
I. INTRODUCTION, 1:1
II. HABAKKUK’S FIRST COMPLAINT TO GOD, 1:2-4
He describes the condition of the covenant people among whom he lives. They have fallen from their covenant status and wickedness abounds; it not only abounds, but it seems to triumph. Based on Deuteronomy 26-33, God should have acted in such a situation. There were blessings for the covenant keeper, but there were curses for the covenant breaker. Especially should there have been a response to the prayers of God’s faithful people who lived in the midst of the evil. Habakkuk’s problem is that God seems to be disinterested. Wickedness continues unabated. God’s purpose to bring the Messiah into the world through Judah seems to be threatened.
III. GOD’S FIRST RESPONSE TO THE PROPHET, 1:5-11
God’s answer was more shocking than the questions whirling around Habakkuk when he began his prayer. God prefaces His answer by warning that no one is going to believe what He has to say! He informs the stunned prophet that He is going to sponsor the evil Chaldeans (Babylonians) to bring judgment to His people.
IV. HABAKKUK’S SECOND COMPLAINT, 1:12-2:1
How can God do this? Surely this is the end of any covenant relationship between God and His people! But deeper than that, how can a God of absolute holiness and purity even look on such a people as the idolatrous Babylonians? “God, your people may be bad, but nowhere as bad as these idol worshippers! I came with a problem, and you have given me a worse one!” The fact that God will punish them in turn for their pride is of little comfort. Notice how Habakkuk handles this. He goes to his place of waiting on God to seek His answer. He did not fall apart and cry in self pity to his friends; he waits upon the only One who has the answers.
V. GOD’S SECOND RESPONSE, 2:2-20
PROLOGUE, 2:2-3 He is assured that the incredible vision will come to pass. THE HEART OF THE PROPHECY, 2:4-5 There are only two ways to live: either in unbelief that draws from God or faith that rests upon His character. It is this resting faith that constitutes a righteous man. How shall man live in the midst of such an evil time and with expectation of God’s judgment? What are the answers that will satisfy a believer’s curiosity and anguish? There are no answers, says God! The righteous man lives by faith, that is, by affirming God’s goodness, wisdom and love at a time when all that is going on around him contradicts it. When there are no answers that satisfy the human mind, the righteous man rests in the Answer himself. The New Testament chooses this verse and makes it the foundation of how we stand before God. In Habakkuk’s day, the righteous man was one who would stake his all, his life, on the character of God. That character has been fully revealed in the death and resurrection of Jesus; and if we would be righteous, it is not by turning to ourselves, but to who He is and what he has done in Christ. Read Romans 1:17; Galatians 3:11; Hebrews 10:37,38. THE WOES OF GOD’S JUDGMENT, 2:6-20 His pronouncement of judgment against aggression, self assertion, violence, inhumanity of man to man and idolatry.
VI. HABAKKUK’S PRAYER, 3:1-19
INTRODUCTION, 3:1 HIS PRAYER, 3:2 In the light of the threatening judgment, a cry that God will revive His work. A VIVID PICTURE OF GOD COMING IN JUDGMENT, 3:3-15 The imagery is taken from the Exodus and the early history of Israel under Joshua. THE RESPONSE OF FAITH, 3:16-19 What does the righteous man who lives by faith look and sound like when he faces the coming days of judgment? No questions or complaints, but the triumphant statement that though everything contradicts what he believes, he will yet rejoice in the Lord, his covenant God. It is this statement of faith that defines the joy of the believer. Happiness essentially comes from my reaction to the good things that happen to me. Joy, which is born of the spirit, comes not from things around me, but from resting in God, whatever may be happening.