A Study in Habakkuk - Week 1

Habakkuk means love’s embrace. Martin Luther gave a striking definition of his name, which cannot be improved upon:  “Habakkuk signifies an embracer, or one who embraces another, takes him into his arms. He embraces his people and takes them to his arms, i.e., he comforts them and holds them up, as one embraces a weeping child, to quiet it with the assurance that, if God wills, it shall soon be better.” 

Habakkuk has been called “the prophet of faith.”  The great statement of Habakkuk 2:4, “The just shall live by faith,” has been quoted three times in the New Testament: Romans 1:17; Galatians 3:11; Hebrews 10:38.

Habakkuk is a man with problems.

Chapter 1

Verse 1 — Habakkuk's “Burden” is the judgment of God upon His people and also upon the Babylonians. He issues an oracle, a prophetic statement.

Verse 2 — Habakkuk feels that God is refusing to answer his prayer. He cries out in a night of despair as he sees violence, and God is doing nothing about it and, apparently, saying nothing. This is the elegy of Habakkuk. (Note the final verse of the book [Habakkuk 3:19]. It is the song of praise with a note of joy.)

Verse 3 — Habakkuk wants to know: Why does God permit His people to continue and increase in iniquity, injustice, strife, contention, and violence and do nothing about it?  Sometimes we might have this same question, especially when it seems like God is not paying attention to us. This is a capital WHY?

Verse  4 — God’s law is ignored and spurned. There is no justice. The wicked are in control, and the righteous are in trouble. This sounds an awful lot like the world today.

Verse 5 — The truth is God IS doing something. He is working toward the permanent solution this problem: Messiah - Jesus Christ. Habakkuk had a hard time believing it, for it would be contrary to what he was expecting.

Verse  6 — God is preparing the Chaldeans (Babylonians) to come and take Judah captive.

Verse  7 — They make their own laws.

Verse  8 — They use the cavalry in the campaigns.

Verses  9, 10 — They are conquerors.

Verse  11 — They give their idols credit for their victories. At the battle of Carchemish in 605 B.C., the Chaldeans won over Egypt and became the first great world power.

Verse  12 — This verse introduces the second problem of the prophet (greater than first). Habakkuk is sure God will judge the Chaldeans.

Verse  13 — This is the problem: Although Israel is wicked, the Chaldeans are more wicked. Since God is holy, He should judge the Chaldeans first. Surely He could not permit the Chaldeans to chastise His people. Logically, the opposite should be true.

Verses  14-17 — Habakkuk asks whether the Chaldeans will escape God's wrath since they are so wicked. Will Israel be the ones who are judged?

Chapter 2

Verse 1 - The practice of the prophet. He takes the secret problem to the secret place. He does not publish his doubts. He is certain that God has the answer to his problem.

Verses 2 & 3 - It turns out that Habakkuk is unexpectedly patient. He will wait for the answer, for he has faith that it will be forthcoming.

Verse 4 - This is one of the most important verses in Scripture . There is a sharp contrast here between the two groups of humanity. One group, the “lifted up” soul or the “puffed up” soul, is flowing like a river down to the sea of destruction. The other group, saved by faith, is flowing toward the city of God and full knowledge — “Then shall I know” (1 Corinthians 13:12). Between the moment of salvation and the “then,” the one saved by faith will walk by faith. He may not have the answer now, but he will have it then.

Verse 5 - This begins a parable to the prophet.

Verses 6-13 — The “puffed up” soul must be judged for these glaring sins: Drunkenness, pride. Arrogance, ambition, rebelliousness (verses 6-8) Covetousness (verse 9) Murder, iniquity, persecution (verses 10-13)

Verse 14 — This is the far-off goal toward which God is moving. This will be fulfilled when Christ returns to the earth (see Isaiah 11:9).

Verses 15-19 — These are the sins that God judges here and now: drunkenness and immorality; violence (Verse 17); wood come to life - idol worship - false religion (Verses 18 & 19).


Verse 20 — God is not yet in His holy temple. The earth is not silent today (see Psalm 2:1, 2). But Habakkuk prophesies that He will be. That prophecy is borne out in Christ. Now the Lord's Holy Temple is the heart of man (1 Corinthians 3:16, 1 Corinthians 6:19 and 2 Corinthians 6:16).