HABAKKUK.studentnotes
HABAKKUK
DATE:
(1) The nation of had already acquired a name for fierceness (1:6), suggesting a date after 612 BC, when the Chaldeans destroyed Nineveh.
(2) The Chaldeans had not yet attacked , but their attack was near (1:5), suggesting a date before 605 BC, when the Chaldeans (Babylonians) first attacked Judah.
(3) There was great injustice and violence in (Hab. 1:3-4), probably referring to the violent injustice during the reign of Jehoiakim, the oppressive son of Josiah, who ruled from 609-598 BC. Thus, Habakkuk’s message probably dates between the years 609-605 BC, perhaps 607-606.
THEME: Lessons of faith (“From fear to faith”[1])
Habakkuk records his personal struggles with the circumstances that he saw around him. His book records his conversation with God that results in the prayer of praise and faith that brings the book to its conclusion.
Habakkuk is also the only book other than Psalms to contain musical notations (see Hab. 1:1, 3, 9, 13, 19).
I. The struggle of faith (Habakkuk’s with God): 1:2-2:20
A. A prayer of (1:1-4): Unchecked injustice and iniquity in Judah
Habakkuk’s opening prayer expresses the heart of so many of those who follow God. In Jeremiah’s words, “Wherefore doth the way of the wicked prosper? wherefore are all they happy that deal very treacherously?” (Jer. 12:1).
The violence (vv. 2-3) and injustice (v. 4) he mentions were rampant during the reign of King Jehoiakim (see Jer. 22:13-19), during whose reign Habakkuk probably ministered.
B. God’s answer (1:5-11):
God’s answer to Habakkuk was that He would deal with the sinfulness of His people. Habakkuk probably wanted revival or reformation (like he had perhaps experienced under King Josiah). Instead, God’s answer was judgment—judgment at the hands of the brutal Babylonians, who would ravage Judah on at least three occasions. God’s answers to our prayers are not always the answers we want, but they are answers.
C. A prayer of (1:12-2:1):
Habakkuk’s frustration at the unchecked injustice in Judah now turns to confusion and bewilderment. How could a God who is too pure to behold iniquity (1:13) use a nation as wicked as the Babylonians? The Babylonians are more wicked than the nations they devour (1:13)! The Babylonians rejoice over their destruction of other nations (v. 15). They are idolatrous—exalting themselves and their own resources as the source of their power and might (v. 16). This was a real source of bewilderment for Habakkuk. Habakkuk ends his prayer with a determination to watch and wait for the answer of the Lord (2:1). Habakkuk’s response to confusing circumstances is a good example for us. Perplexing circumstances should not drive us from the Lord. Rather, like Habakkuk, we should bring them to the Lord in prayer and then wait for God’s answer, waiting even for possible correction or rebuke from the Lord (2:1).
D. God’s answer (2:2-20)
God’s answer to Habakkuk’s prayer of confusion and bewilderment is twofold:
1.
God’s first answer to Habakkuk’s prayer of confusion and bewilderment is for the “just.” The word translated “just” here in 2:4 is the same Hebrew word (tsaddiq) translated “righteous” in 1:4 and 1:13. The answer for the righteous, whether oppressed by their own countrymen (1:4) or by a foreign, pagan nation (1:13), is always the same: they live by their faith.[2] Ultimately, the victorious ones are not the proud who exalt themselves on earth (2:4). They will suffer condemnation (as 2:5-20 will set forth). The righteous are the ones who will live. They live by faith, a faith that sees beyond visible circumstances.
2. The just God will destroy the unjust (2:5-20)—Five woes upon the
God’s second answer is an announcement of the condemnation of the Chaldeans. Habakkuk must not doubt that the Judge of the whole earth will do right! Yes, He will use the Babylonians to chastise His wicked people, but God will not overlook the wickedness of the Chaldeans.
God then pronounces a five-fold woe against the Chaldeans (all of which Habakkuk is to take down in writing—2:2). This five-fold woe is in the form of a “taunt-song” (“taunting proverb,” KJV).[3]
a. The first woe (vv. 6b-8): Woe against those who increase what is not theirs
b. The second woe (vv. 9-11): Woe against those who get gain unjustly
c. The third woe (vv. 12-14): Woe against those who practice violence and bloodshed
d. The fourth woe (vv. 15-17): Woe against those who shamefully humiliate others
e. The fifth woe (vv. 18-20): Woe against those who put their trust in idols
II. The prayer of praise and faith (Habakkuk’s in God)
with God result in in God!
A. A petition (3:1-2)
Although fearful of God’s answer, Habakkuk accepts it. However, he petitions God to preserve alive (“revive”) His work, to make known His deeds even in the midst of the years of destruction. In the midst of wrath, Habakkuk petitions God to remember mercy.
B. A review of God’s past deliverances (3:3-15)
In very poetic and vivid language, Habakkuk describes God’s past deliverances of the nation of Israel, especially God’s miraculous works in bringing the nation from Egypt into the Promised Land.
C. An affirmation of confident faith (3:16-19)
The book closes with Habakkuk’s affirmation of confident faith in God, despite the worst possible circumstances (v. 17). Despite devastating calamity, Habakkuk will rejoice in God.
We move from to through .
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[1] The phrase From Fear to Faith is the title of a book by David Martin Lloyd Jones.
[2] This phrase the just shall live by his faith is only three words in the original. Each of the three NT passages that quote this phrase (Rom. 1:17; Gal. 3:11; Heb. 10:38) emphasizes one of these three words. In Romans, Paul emphasizes the just. In Galatians, he emphasizes by his faith. The author of Hebrews emphasizes shall live.
[3] These five woes are all three verses in length. The first four all end (see 2:8, 11, 14, 17) with the Hebrew conjunction ki. The last one ends with the waw conjunction (here translated “but”; see v. 20).