Habakkuk-Introduction Part 2 (Doctrinal Bible Church in Huntsville, Alabama)
Doctrinal Bible Church
Pastor-Teacher Bill Wenstrom
Sunday July 30, 2023
Habakkuk: Introduction Part 2
Lesson # 2
Let’s now take a look at the literary genre and style of the book of Habakkuk.
Zuck writes “Literary genre refers to the category or the kind of writing characterized by a particular form(s) and/or content. Distinguishing the various genres (kinds of literature) in Scripture helps us interpret the Bible more accurately. ‘We do this with all kinds of literature. We distinguish between lyric poetry and legal briefs, between newspaper accounts of current events and epic poems. We distinguish between the style of historical narratives and sermons.’ ”
The book of Habakkuk contains several different literary genres.
First, the book contains prophetic literature in that Habakkuk is a prophet who communicates God’s message to the citizens of Judah and Jerusalem.
Secondly, the book contains wisdom literature which addresses the deep questions of life, such as the question of theodicy, which is the attempt to understand the nature and actions of God in the face of evil and suffering.
Habakkuk is also a lamentation, which is a literary composition of grief and sorrow.
The book is also a complaint since the prophet complains to God about His failure to judge the unrepentant disobedient citizens of Judah.
He also complains about God’s choice of the Babylonians to judge his countrymen.
Lastly, Habakkuk is a psalm which closely resembles many of the Psalms.
We also must keep in mind that the book of Habakkuk is poetry.
Zuck writes “An awareness of the literary genre or kind of literature of a given Bible book helps more in synthesis than detailed analysis. It helps give a sense of the overall thrust of the Bible book, so that verses and paragraphs can be seen in light of the whole. This helps prevent the problem of taking verses out of context. It also gives insight into the nature and purpose of an entire book, as seen, for example, in the Book of Jonah. Structural patterns help us see why certain passages are included where they are. Also attention to literary genre keeps us from making more of the passage than we should or from making less of the passage than we should.
The book of Habakkuk consists of four parts:
(I) God Responds to Habakkuk’s complaint that He has not judged unrepentant, apostate individuals in the kingdom of Judah (1:2-11).
(A) Habakkuk complains to God about His failure to judge unrepentant, apostate individuals in the kingdom of Judah (1:2-4).
(B) God responds to this complaint by informing the prophet that He will send the Babylonians as His instruments to judge these unrepentant, apostate Judeans (1:5-11).
(II) God responds to Habakkuk’s complaint that He will use the Babylonians to judge his unrepentant, apostate countrymen (1:12-2:20).
(A) Habakkuk responds by questioning God’s choice of the Babylonians who he considers more wicked than these unrepentant, apostate Jews (1:12-17).
(B) Habakkuk waits for an answer from God (2:1) who responds by assuring Habakkuk that He will also judge the Babylonians for their unrepentant wicked behavior (2:2-20).
(III) The Lord gives the prophet a vision of Himself as the Divine Warrior (3:1-15).
(IV) Habakkuk confesses his confidence that the Lord will execute justice (3:16-19).
The purpose of the book of Habakkuk was two-fold.
First, the book was designed to provide assurance for the faithful remnant in the southern kingdom of Judah that their God was sovereign over the affairs of not only their nation but also other Gentile heathen nations including the Babylonian Empire.
Secondly, it was to reassure them that God would in His own time judge those in their nation who were unrepentantly disobedient to the Mosaic Law and that He would also judge unrepentant heathen nations.
This interpretation is indicated by the contents of the book.
In Habakkuk 1:2-4, Habakkuk complains to God about His failure to judge unrepentant, disobedient individuals in the kingdom of Judah.
Then, in Habakkuk 1:5-11, God responds to this complaint by informing the prophet that He will send the Babylonians as His instruments to judge these unrepentant Judeans.
Then, in Habakkuk 1:12-17, Habakkuk responds by questioning God’s choice of the Babylonians who he considers more wicked than these unrepentant Jews.
In Habakkuk 2:2-20, God responds to this complaint by assuring Habakkuk that He will also judge the Babylonians for their unrepentant wicked behavior.
The theology of Habakkuk is rich.
First, the book declares the God of Israel’s sovereignty over Israel and all the nations of the earth.
In Habakkuk 1:5-11, God asserts His sovereign will over the nation of Babylon and Judah by declaring that He would use the former to judge the latter, which was His covenant people and then, in Habakkuk 2:2-20, the Lord asserts that He will judge the Babylonians eventually.
In Habakkuk 3:1-15, we have the vision of the Divine Warrior which describes the Lord as sovereign over all creation and every creature.
As applied to God, the term “sovereignty” indicates His complete power over all of creation, so that He exercises His will absolutely, without any necessary conditioning by a finite will or wills (cf. Is. 40:15, 17; Dan. 2:19-23.
Habakkuk also describes the God of Israel as intervening in the affairs of mankind and in particular the remnant of Judah since God asserts that He will indeed judge the individuals in the kingdom of Judah who were unrepentantly disobedient to the Mosaic Law as well as the Babylonians themselves.
This is called the “immanency” of God, which means that God involves Himself in and concerns Himself with and intervenes in the lives of members of the human race, both saved and unsaved.
The book of Habakkuk also deals with the subject of idolatry, which is indicated by the Lord’s condemnation of this practice by the Babylonians in Habakkuk 2:18-20.
Idolatry is not only the giving to any creature or human creation the honor or devotion, which belongs to God alone, but also is putting anything ahead of your relationship with God and which would prevent you from doing His will (1 Cor. 10:14; Gal. 5:20; Col. 3:5; 1 Peter 4:3).
The book of Habakkuk also alludes to the God of Israel’s wrath or we can say His righteous indignation, which refers to His legitimate anger towards evil and sin since both are contrary to His holiness or perfect character and nature.
The fact that God informs Habakkuk that He will indeed judge the individuals in his nation who were unrepentantly disobedient to the Mosaic Law as well as the Babylonians is an expression of this righteous indignation and thus a manifestation of His holiness.
God’s holiness refers to the absolute perfection of His character, expressing His purity of His character or moral perfection and excellence and intolerance and opposition and rejection of sin and evil.
Thus God is totally separate from sin and sinners.
Therefore, God’s wrath, which is in reality, righteous indignation is an expression of His holiness, righteousness and love in opposition to sin and evil.
The only way to avoid God’s righteous indignation is to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ (cf. John 3:36).
Connected to God’s holiness and righteousness indignation is that God is the Supreme Judge of mankind since the book of Habakkuk asserts that the God of Israel will judge those in Judah who were living in unrepentant disobedience to the Mosaic Law as well as the unrepentant heathen Babylonian nation.
God has authority to judge since He is the creator.
The Scriptures teach of God’s status as judge (Psalm 75:7; cf. Psalm 50:6; 76:8-9; Ecclesiastes 11:9; Isaiah 33:22; 66:16; 2 Timothy 4:8; Hebrews 12:23; James 4:12).
God judges the nations (Joel 3:12; cf. Psalm 9:19-20; 110:6; Obadiah 15; Zephaniah 3:8) as well as rulers of nations (Isaiah 40:23; Jeremiah 25:17-27; Revelation 6:15-17).
Another important theological subject we find in the book of Habakkuk is faith since in Habakkuk 2:4, God instructs Habakkuk that in the midst of evil people, the righteous person must live by their faith in Him.