The bible - Book of Habakkuk

1. The Bible - Book of Habakkuk – 9th
February 2017
“How long,Oh Lord, mustI call for help,but you do notlisten? Or cry out to you, ‘Violence!’butyou
do not save.” (Habakkuk1:2).
We can learnthat the Bookof Habakkuk waswrittenby the ProphetHabakkuk. We can learnfrom
Habakkuk 1:1, “The prophecy that Habakkukthe prophet received.” The Book of Habakkukwas likely
writtenbetween610 and 605 B.C. HabakkukwaswonderingwhyGodwasallowingHischosenpeopleto
go throughthe current sufferingatthe handsof theirenemies.GodanswersandHabakkuk’sfaithis
restored.
The Book of Habakkuk is the eighthbookof the 12 minorprophets of the Hebrew Bible. Of the three
chaptersinthe book,the firsttwoare a dialogbetween Yahwehandthe prophet.The central message,
that "the justshall live byhisfaith"aswe can learnfrom Habakkuk 2:4, “See, the enemy ispuffed
up; hisdesires are notupright—butthe righteousperson will liveby his faithfulness.” Thisplaysan
importantrole in Christianthought.Itisusedinthe Epistle tothe Romans 1:17, “For in the gospel the
righteousnessofGodis revealed—arighteousnessthat is by faithfromfirst to last,just as it is written:
“The righteouswill live by faith.” We can read the same message fromthe Epistle tothe Galatians
3:11, “Clearly noone who relies on the law isjustifiedbefore God,because “therighteous will liveby
faith.” A copy of these chaptersisincludedinthe HabakkukCommentary,foundamongthe DeadSea
Scrolls.Chapter3 may be an independentaddition,now recognizedasa liturgical piece.
The Book of HabakkukbeginswithHabakkukcryingoutto God for an answerto whyGod’schosen
people are allowedtosufferintheircaptivity: “Howlong, Lord,mustI call forhelp, but youdo not
listen?Or cry out to you,“Violence!” butyou donot save? 3 Whydo you make me lookat injustice?
Whydo you tolerate wrongdoing?Destructionandviolence are before me; there is strife,and conflict
abounds.”(Habakkuk1:1-3).We can alsoleadwhenthe Lord givesHisanswertoHabakkuk,essentially
stating,“You wouldn’tbelieve itif Itoldyou” (Habakkuk1: 5-11). Habakkukthenfollowsupbysaying,
“Ok, youare God,but still tell me more aboutwhythisishappening” (Habakkuk1:17-2:1). God then
answershimagainand giveshimmore information,thentellsthe earthtobe silentbefore Him
(Habakkuk2:2-20). Then HabakkukwritesaprayerexpressinghisstrongfaithinGod,eventhrough
these trials (Habakkuk3:1-19).
The Apostle Paul quotes Habakkuk 2:4 on twodifferentoccasions(Romans 1:17;Galatians 3:11) to
reiterate the doctrine of justificationbyfaith.The faiththatisthe giftof God and availedthroughChrist
isat once a faiththat saves as we can learnfrom Ephesians 2:8-9,“For it is by grace you have been saved,
through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— 9 not by works, so that no one can boast.”
This God given faith and one’s absolutebelieve and dependence on same can sustain thatperson throughout
life.
As Christianswe canlearnthatwe attaineternal life byfaith inJesusChrist andwe live the Christianlife
by the same faith.Unlike the “proud”inthe beginningof the verse,whosesoul isnotrightwithinhim
and whose desiresare notupright (Habakkuk2:4),but we whoare made righteousbyfaithinChristare
made completelyrighteous.AsChristianswe know that JesusChristexchangedHisperfect
righteousnessforoursinand has enabledustolive byfaithaswe can learnfrom 2 Corinthians5:21,
“Godmadehim who hadno sinto be sinfor us, sothat in him we mightbecome the righteousnessof
God.”

2. The practical application tothe readerof Habakkukisthat it ispermissible toquestionwhatGodis
doing,althoughwithrespectandreverence. We canlearnfrom Habakkuk 1:2, “Howlong,Oh Lord,
must I call for help, butyou do not listen?Or cry out to you,‘Violence!’but youdo not save.”
Sometimesitisnotevidenttouswhatisgoingon, especiallyif we are thrownintosufferingforaperiod
of time orif it seemsourenemiesare prosperingwhile we are justbarelygettingby.The Bookof
HabakkukaffirmsthatGod is a sovereign,omnipotentGodwhohasall thingsundercontrol.We just
needtobe still andknowHe is at work. We can readfrom Psalm46:10, “He says,“Be still,and know
that I am God;I will be exaltedamong the nations, I will be exalted inthe earth.”
As Christianswe muststeadfastlyknowthatGod iswho He says He isand keepsHispromises.He will
punishthe wicked.Evenwhenwe cannotsee it,He isstill onthe throne of the universe.We needto
stay focusedon whatisstatedin Habakkuk3:19: “The Sovereign Lord ismy strength; He makes my feet
like the feet ofa deer, he enablesme to go onthe heights.” Enablingustogo on the heights means
that God will takingustothe higherplaceswithHimwhere we are setapart fromthe world.Sometimes
the way we have to getthere isthroughsufferingandsorrow,butif we rest inHimand trust Him, we
come out where He wantsus…eventuallyawinner!
Key Verses:
Habakkuk1:5, “Lookat the nationsand watch andbe utterly amazed.For I am goingto do
somethinginyour days that youwould notbelieve, even if I told you.”
Habakkuk2:2-4,“Thenthe Lord replied: Writedown the revelationand make it plainon tabletsso
that a herald mayrun with it. For the revelationwaits an appointedtime;it speaksof the end and will
not prove false.Thoughit linger, waitfor it; it will certainly come andnot delay. See, he is puffedup;
hisdesires are not upright- butthe righteouswill live by hisfaith.”
Habakkuk2:20,“But the Lord is in His Holytemple; let all the earth be silentbefore Him.”
Habakkuk3:2, “Lord,I have heard of yourfame; I stand in awe ofyour deeds O Lord. Renew them
in our day,in our time make them known; inwrath remember mercy.”