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THE MINOR PROPHETS

 

The Prophet Habakkuk

GOD’S JUDGMENT AGAINST “ALL” UNRIGHTEOUSNESS

Lesson #9

Victor M. Eskew

 

INTRODUCTION

 

A.   Habakkuk is the eighth Minor Prophet. 

 

B.   His book is a short, three-chapter book consisting of only 56 verses.

 

C.   There are several things that make this book unique.

1.    In the book, there is a conversation that takes place between the prophet and God.  Habakkuk is the one who initiated the conversation.

2.    The book is “written in strong lyrical character.”  Thus, “the book resembles the Psalms more than any other prophetical writing” (Know Your Bible, Dunn, 370).

3.    One phrase in Habakkuk is quoted three times in the New Testament:  “…the just shall live by faith” (Hab. 2:4).

a.    Romans 1:17; Galatians 3:11; Hebrews 10:38

b.    “Thus, in this brief prophetic book, we find the seeds of the glorious gospel of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” (Nelson’s Illustrated Bible Dictionary, Youngblood, 529).

c.    “This quotation from Habakkuk 2:4, refers to an obedient faith, as Paul states clearly in Romans 1:5 and 16:26.

4.    Chapter 3 of Habakkuk is one of the most important chapters in the Bible revealing to man the nature of God.

 

D.   Again, there are several verses that are in this book that we will not get to study in depth that we want to note.

1.    “Therefore the law is slacked…” (Hab. 1:4).

2.    “For, lo, I raise up the Chaldeans, that bitter and hasty nation…” (Hab. 1:6).

3.    “Thou art of purer eyes than to behold evil, and cannot look upon iniquity…” (Hab. 1:13).

4.    “…write the vision, and make it plain upon the tables, that he may run that readeth it” (Hab. 2:2).

5.    “…but the just shall live by faith” (Hab. 2:4).

6.    “For the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord, as the waters that cover the sea” (Hab. 2:14).

7.    “But the Lord is in his holy temple:  let all the earth keep silence before him” (Hab. 2:20).

8.    “Yet 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…” (Hab. 3:18-19a).

 

E.    A simple outline of the book has been suggested:

 

i.             FAITH TESTED (Hab. 1)

ii.            FAITH TAUGHT (Hab. 2)

iii.          FAITH TRIUMPHANT (Hab. 3)

 

F.    Let’s now enter into a brief survey of this wonderful book.

 

 

I.             THE AUTHOR OF THE BOOK

 

A.   The author of the book is a man named Habakkuk (Hab. 1:1).

 

The burden which Habakkuk the prophet did see.

 

B.   He is named again in Habakkuk 3:1.

 

A prayer of Habakkuk the prophet upon Shigionoth.

 

C.   His name is found only in these two verses in the Bible.

1.    His name is not Hebrew.  Most believe the word means “embrace,” or “one who embraces or clings.”

2.    “At the close of the book this name becomes appropriate because Habakkuk chooses to cling firmly to God regardless of what happens to his nation (3:16-19)” (Talk thru the Old Testament, Wilkinson & Boa, 273).

 

D.   We know several things about Habakkuk just by reading his prophecy.

1.    He was a prophet. 

a.    This is said twice (Hab. 1:1; 3:1).

b.    Since he is specifically called a prophet, some believe that he may have been a professional prophet, that is, trained the schools of the prophets.

2.    He appears to have been close to the priesthood.  In the postscript (Hab. 3:19b), he wants the prophecy to be delivered “to the chief singer on my stringed instruments.”  The Levites had chief singers among them.

3.    Qualities of faithfulness:

a.    He was close to God.

1)    He was close enough to be willing to question God about various things.

2)    LESSON:  The closer relationship we have to a person the more likely we are to feel comfortable voicing our concerns.

b.    He was concerned about the state of his nation.

c.    He was conversant with God in prayer (Hab. 1:2; 3:1).

 

O Lord, how long shall I cry, and thou wilt not hear!

 

d.    He considered the Lord’s answers to his questions carefully.

e.    He committed himself to the will of God.

f.     He celebrated God in praise.

 

E.   The prophecy is referred to as a “burden” which the prophet saw.

1.    First, he “saw” this prophecy.  Again, it was a message being revealed by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit (2 Pet. 2:20-21).

2.    Second, it was a “burden.”  Again, this indicates the burden of the judgment God was going to bring against evil and wickedness.

 

II.           THE DATE OF THE BOOK

 

A.   In the book, Habakkuk reveals that God will bring the Chaldeans upon the Jews (Hab. 1:6).  This means the book was written prior to the first invasion of Judah in 606 B.C.

 

For, lo, I raise up the Chaldeans, that bitter and hasty nation, which shall march through the breadth of the land, to possess the dwellingplaces that are not theirs.

 

B.   The Chaldeans, however, are presented as a powerful force in the world.  In 612 B.C., they had overthrown the capital city of the Assyrians, Nineveh.

 

C.   This means that he most likely wrote this book during the reign of king Jehoiakim of Judah.  Wilkinson and Boa tell us:  “The most likely date for the book is the early part of Jehoiakim’s reign (609-597 B.C.).  Jehoiakim was a godless king who led the nation down the path of destruction (cf. 2 Kings 23:34-24:5; Jer. 22:17)” (273).

 

D.   He would have been a contemporary with Jeremiah.

 

III.         THE THEME OF THE BOOK

 

A.   Stated:  God’s Judgment against ALL Unrighteousness

 

B.   Background

1.    Habakkuk has a deep concern he needs to discuss with God.  It involved the wickedness of God’s people and God’s apparent slowness to act (Hab. 1:2-4).

 

O Lord, how long shall I cry, and thou not hear!  Even cry out unto thee of violence, and thou wilt not save!  Why dost thou shew me iniquity, and cause me to behold grievance?  For spoiling and violence are before me:  and there are that raise up strife and contention.  Therefore the law is slacked, and judgment doth never go forth:  for the wicked doth compass about the righteous; therefore wrong judgment proceedeth.

 

2.    God assures the prophet that He is going to punish His people by carrying them into captivity using the Chaldeans (Hab. 1:6).

 

For, Lo, I raise up the Chaldeans, that bitter and hasty nation, which shall march through the breadth of the land…

 

3.    This, however, led to an even deeper concern in the heart of Habakkuk.  How could he use a nation more wicked than Israel to punish His people (Hab. 1:13)?

 

Thou art of purer eyes than to behold evil, and canst not look on iniquity:  wherefore lookest thou upon them that deal treacherously, and holdest thy tongue when the wicked devoureth the man that is more righteous than he?

 

4.    In answer, God tells Habakkuk that even though the Babylonians are instruments of His wrath upon Judah, He will bring them to destruction for their evil ways as well (Hab. 2:2-3).

 

And the Lord answered me, and said, Write the vision, and make it plain upon tables, that he may run that readeth it.  For the vision is yet for an appointed time, but at the end it shall speak, and not lie:  though it tarry, wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not tarry.

 

5.    In chapter 2, the prophet records five (5) woes upon the nation of Babylong.

a.    “…Woe to him that increaseth that which is not his!...” (Hab. 2:5).

b.    “Woe to him that coveteth an evil covetousness to his house…” (Hab. 2:9).

c.    “Woe to him that buildeth a town by blood, and stablisheth a city by iniquity” (Hab. 2:12).

d.    “Woe to him that giveth his neighbor drink, that putteth thy bottle to him, and makest him drunken also…” (Hab. 2:15).

e.    “Woe unto him that saith to the wood, Awake; to the dumb stone, Arise, it shall teach…” (Hab. 2:19).

6.    Habakkuk responds by putting his complete trust in God (Hab. 3:18).

 

Yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation.

 

a.    “The beginning of the book and the ending of the book stand in stark contrast:  mystery to certainty, questioning to affirming, and complaint to confidence” (Wilkinson & Boa, 274).

b.    “Habakkuk moves from burden to blessing, from wondering to worship, from restless to rest, from a problem to God’s person, and from a complaint to consolation” (Ibid., 275).

c.    Regarding chapter 3, Wilkinson and Boa make this comment:  “God’s creative and redemptive work in the past gives the prophet confidence in the divine purposes, and hope at a time when he would otherwise despair” (p. 276).

 

C.   God will judge all unrighteousness.

1.    He was going punish His people for their iniquities using Babylon.

2.    After He used the Babylonians, he would punish them for their transgressions as well. 

3.    NOTE:  God will vindicate His character.

4.    Geisler notes that one of the purposes of the book is “to teach the holiness and justice of God and the necessity of faith for the righteous, to show that God is just and the just shall live by faith…” (A Popular Survey of the Old Testament, 260).

 

IV.         THE KEY VERSE OF THE BOOK

 

A.   Habakkuk 2:14

 

For the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord, as the waters that cover the sea.

 

B.   Man is not always able to see how God is going to work.  “The circumstances of life sometimes appear to contradict God’s revelation concerning His power and purposes” (Wilkinson & Boa, 274).

 

C.   However, after all God does comes to pass, the knowledge of His glory is seen throughout the entirety of the world.

 

CONCLUSION

 

A.   Christ is pictured in this book.  “Christ is pictured as the Holy one (1:12), the One who justified the righteous by faith (2:4), and the One who will some day fill the earth ‘with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord, as the waters that cover the sea’” (Geisler, 260).

 

B.   Four lessons to keep in mind:

1.    God is the ruler over all (See Isa. 14:26).

 

…and this is the hand that is stretched out upon all the nations.

 

2.    Idolatry is truly vanity (Hab. 2:18-19).

 

 

The dearest idol I have known

Whatever that idol be

Help me to tear it from thy throne

And worship only thee.

 

3.    Make God’s message plain (Hab. 2:2)

4.    The faithful must wait upon God (Hab. 2:20).

 

But the Lord is in his holy temple:  let all the earth keep silence before him.

 

C.   Again, we can study many of God’s qualities from this book (Hab. 1:12).

 

Art thou not from everlasting, O Lord my God, mine Holy One?  We shall not die.  O Lord, thou hast ordained them for judgment; and, O mighty God, thou hast established them for correction.

 

1.    God is eternal.

2.    God is holy.

3.    God is mighty.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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