The title of this book comes from the name of the prophet whose prophecies make up the three short chapters within the book. We are told that Habakkuk was a prophet, and that the words recorded in this book were a “burden” for the prophet, “The burden which the prophet Habakkuk saw” (1:1). The word “burden” is used by many of the later prophets to describe the difficult message the LORD had called them to bring to the people (cf. Isaiah 13:1; 14:28; 15:1; 17:1; 19:1; 21:1; 21:11; 22:1; 23:1; Nahum 1:1; Zechariah 9:1;12:1; Malachi 1:1).
Other than this we know very little about the prophet Habakkuk since he is not mentioned anywhere else in Scripture. Because of the Psalm of praise at the end of the book, it has led some to believe that Habakkuk was a Levite who was in charge of musical forms of worship in the temple. This may be possible as the word “Selah,” which occurs so often in the Psalms also occurs three times in the last chapter of Habakkuk (it is the only place that this liturgical word is used outside the book of Psalms). While this is interesting, it is not convincing especially when we remember that King David wrote many of the Psalms which used that same term, even though he was not a Levite.
While there are many traditions about the prophet Habakkuk, which have been handed down through the years we should remember that the mystery of the person of Habakkuk should allow us to focus on his message, and not on who he was.
The Book of Habakkuk is different from many of the other prophets in the way it is written. While many prophets presented their message, “Thus says the LORD...”, Habakkuk’s message is in the form of a discourse with God. The beginning of the first chapter makes up Habakkuk’s first question and God’s answer; the end of the first chapter makes up Habakkuk’s second question and the second chapter God’s reply. And the third chapter is a psalm of praise to God for His power to rule the world in justice, and praising the LORD for His salvation.
Habakkuk may be one of the least studied books in the entire Bible but is well worth studying
because Habakkuk asks those fundamental questions which people of all generations have been
asking -- First Habakkuk asks the LORD,
Habakkuk understood what the LORD was going to do and why. He confessed, “O LORD, You have appointed them for judgment; O Rock, You have marked them for correction” (1:12). But that raised another question for Habakkuk. Although his people were wicked and had rejected the LORD, he didn’t understand why the LORD would use the heathen to punish those who had the truth: “Why do You look on those who deal treacherously, And hold Your tongue when the wicked devours A person more righteous than he?” (1:13). In reply the LORD tells Habakkuk that the proud may look like they are succeeding, but there is a problem: “Behold the proud, His soul is not upright in him; But the just shall live by his faith” (2:4). Then the LORD announces five woe’s - On the greedy (2:6-8), on the covetous (2:9-11), on the violent (2:12-14), on the cruel (2:15-17), and on the idolatrous (2:18-20) - a reminder that the wicked will not prosper forever.
As we progress through this book we see a progression of Habakkuk’s life of faith. He begins by questioning God and the seeming injustice in the world, and among his fellow Jews. But through God’s answer Habakkuk’s faith in the LORD is strengthened to the point that He is able to say, “Though the fig tree may not blossom, Nor fruit be on the vines; Though the labor of the olive may fail, And the fields yield no food; Though the flock may be cut off from the fold, And there be no herd in the stalls — Yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will joy in the God of my salvation” (3:17-18). Habakkuk placed His trust in the LORD, knowing that He was in control, and that even this destruction at the hands of the Babylonians would be done for the salvation of His people. “You went forth for the salvation of Your people, For salvation with Your Anointed. You struck the head from the house of the wicked, By laying bare from foundation to neck” (2:13).
Like the prophet Joel, Habakkuk is a difficult book to date because of the lack of direct historical links. We are given a clue as to when the prophet proclaimed these words in God’s reply to Habakkuk’s first question in 1:5-6: “Look among the nations and watch — Be utterly astounded! For I will work a work in your days Which you would not believe, though it were told you. For indeed I am raising up the Chaldeans, A bitter and hasty nation Which marches through the breadth of the earth, To possess dwelling places that are not theirs.” Here the LORD tells the prophet what will take place in the future - the Babylonians will rise up and conquer the people of Judah! The LORD Himself says that at the time these words were spoken, no one would believe that it could really happen.
After Nineveh was destroyed in 612 B.C. the power of Assyria fizzled out. Following that time the Egyptians began to flex their military muscle over the people in Judah, defeating and killing King Josiah, deposing King Jehoahaz after three months and setting up another of Josiah’s sons to reign in His place. But all of that changed during the reign of Jehoiakim. It was during His reign that Nebuchadnezzar defeated the Egyptians, and also subdued the kingdom of Judah. In 2 Kings 24:7 we read, “And the king of Egypt did not come out of his land anymore, for the king of Babylon had taken all that belonged to the king of Egypt from the Brook of Egypt to the River Euphrates.” For this reason Habakkuk would have prophesied the words of this book sometime before the middle of the reign of Jehoiakim.
I. A Dialogue between Habakkuk and the LORD (1:1-2:20).
II. Habakkuk’s Psalm of faith in the LORD’s justice (3:1-19).
Note: This study was prepared for the Bible Class at Zion Lutheran Church,
Lawrenceville, GA by Pastor Nathanael Mayhew