The
book of Habakkuk was written by the prophet Habakkuk sometime around 600 B.C.
Very little is known about him, because this is the only book in which he is mentioned. In 1:1 and 3:1 he refers to himself as Habakkuk the prophet, so that's
about all we know about him.
During the time when this was written, Josiah, a Godly king of Judah, had just died and his son Jehoiakim had taken his place. Jehoiakim, we're told, "did evil in the sight of the Lord" and we're told of some of the wicked things he did in 2 kings 23, 2 Chronicles 36, and parts of Jeremiah (chapters 22 and 36). These passages tell us that he, increased his wealth by injustice and extortion, he enslaved his own people, and we're even told of one instance when Jeremiah, by the command of the Lord, wrote a scroll and presented it to him, and as it was being read Jehoiakim cut it in two and tossed it into the fire. He destroyed the written word of God.
So needless to say, things had gotten pretty bad in Judah by this point. And this is where the book of Habakkuk begins.
1:1-4 - "The oracle which Habakkuk the prophet saw. How long, O Lord, will I call for help, and Thou wilt not hear? I cry out to Thee, "Violence!" Yet Thou dost not save. Why dost Thou make me see iniquity, and cause me to look on wickedness? Yes, destruction and violence are before me; Strife exists and contention arises. Therefore the law is ignored and justice is never upheld for the wicked surround the righteous; Therefore justice comes out perverted."
We looked at some of the stuff that was going on, and Habakkuk was essentially asking God "what's the deal? Don't you see what's going on? Don't your care? How can a righteous God allow evil to continue?" As far as I could find, Habakkuk was the only prophet to come right out and question God. There were some who had doubts, such as Jeremiah, who told God that he couldn't speak for Him because he was just a youth, but I don't think any of the other prophets questioned God to His face. But this makes Habakkuk easy to relate to. Everyone, at one point or another, has questions about what God is doing in their lives, even if we don't voice our questions. And I don't think that's a bad thing. God didn't send fire from heaven to consume Habakkuk for asking questions. But even when God doesn't give us a clear, direct answer, we can know that God is working everything together according to His plan. And that's something I think we'll see as we go through this book. Two of Gods attributes that are emphasized the most in this book are His sovereignty, that is, that God is on the throne and He has a plan, and He's working all things together according to that plan, and the second is His righteousness.
Look at how Habakkuk talks about what's going on around Him. Violence, iniquity, wickedness, destruction, strife, contention, the law is ignored and justice is never upheld, the wicked surround the righteous. Sounds a lot like America today doesn't it? I don't hear a lot of news but recently, in the little that I've heard, they've talked about murders, violence, and those in authority ignoring or changing the law. And when we get caught up in that stuff it's easy to wonder "God, why is this happening?" but we can have faith that whatever happens, God is sovereign and righteous. We, being Gods people, need to live by faith. As He says later in chapter 2 verse 4, "The just shall live by faith."
God answers Habakkuk in verses 5-11. vs. 5 - "Look among the nations! Observe! Be astonished! Wonder! Because I am doing something in your days-- You would not believe if you were told."
This is also true of our days. God is at work in our world, and I believe we're living in the last days. God knows everything that's going to happen, and He's been gracious enough to give us a glimpse of His plan. There are several prophecies in the Bible, and we can "look among the nations" and see that God is fulfilling those prophecies according to His sovereign plan. God is at work in our days.
He continues in verses 6-11 to reveal His plan to Habakkuk. Vs. 6-11 - "For behold, I am raising up the Chaldeans, That fierce and impetuous people Who march throughout the earth To seize dwelling places which are not theirs. They are dreaded and feared; their justice and authority originate with themselves. Their horses are swifter than leopards and keener than wolves in the evening. Their horsemen come galloping, their horsemen come from afar; they fly like an eagle swooping down to devour. All of them come for violence. Their horde of faces moves forward. They collect captives like sand. They mock at kings and rulers are a laughing matter to them they laugh at every fortress and heap up rubble to capture it. Then they will sweep through like the wind and pass on, but they will be held guilty, they whose strength is their god."
The Chaldeans talked about here is the Babylonian empire. At this point in history Babylon was swiftly becoming the most powerful nation on earth. And as bad as Judah was at the time, Babylon was worse. But notice, God said "I am raising up the Chaldeans." This was Gods answer to the wickedness of Judah, and the answer to Habakkuk’s cry. They would be conquered by a nation that was far more wicked than themselves. But this was all according to God's sovereign plan.
But this leads Habakkuk to another question. In verses 12-17 he says - "Art Thou not from everlasting, O Lord, my God, my Holy One? We will not die. Thou, O Lord, hast appointed them to judge; And Thou, O Rock, hast established them to correct. Thine eyes are too pure to approve evil, and Thou canst not look on wickedness with favor. Why dost Thou look with favor On those who deal treacherously? Why art Thou silent when the wicked swallow up Those more righteous than they? Why hast Thou made men like the fish of the sea, Like creeping things without a ruler over them? The Chaldeans bring all of them up with a hook, Drag them away with their net, and gather them together in their fishing net. Therefore they rejoice and are glad. Therefore they offer a sacrifice to their net and burn incense to their fishing net; because through these things their catch is large, and their food is plentiful. Will they therefore empty their net and continually slay nations without sparing?"
Habakkuk basically says "God, I know that you're a righteous God. And I know that You can't look with favor upon wickedness. And I know that we, Your people are wicked. But the Babylonians are more wicked than we are. How can You look with favor on them, and allow them to conquer us, when we're more righteous than they are? I mean, we're bad, but not as bad as they are."
I think God's response caught him off guard. Maybe Habakkuk was expecting God to send a plague through the land, to turn the people back to Him. Or maybe he was expecting God to send sakes throughout the land, as He had done in the past, to turn the people back to Him. But the fact that God was going to use a wicked nation to judge them, it just didn't make sense. He described the nations as fish, and the Babylonians as the fishermen. The nations were nothing compared to Babylon. It says that they offered sacrifices to their net. Basically they were their own gods. They worshiped their own strength, and gave themselves the credit for their greatness, rather than recognizing that God had given it to them. How could God use such a people?
Chapter two begins with Habakkuk saying - "I will stand on my guard post And station myself on the rampart; And I will keep watch to see what He will speak to me, And how I may reply when I am reproved."
I think this is key. After Habakkuk asks his questions he waits for, and looks for, Gods answer. "I will keep watch to see what He will speak to me." This is where a lot of people go wrong. They ask God questions, and then they grab the remote and click on the TV. They have questions, but their not willing to wait and look for Gods answer. This is a lesson we can learn from Habakkuk, when we ask God questions, we need to wait expectantly for and seek His answer.
Throughout the rest of chapter 2 God proceeds to answer Habakkuk, and ultimately shows him that, despite our circumstances, He is righteous.
2:2-3 - "Then the LORD answered me and said, "Record the vision and inscribe it on tablets, that the one who reads it may run. For the vision is yet for the appointed time; it hastens toward the goal and it will not fail. Though it tarries, wait for it; for it will certainly come, it will not delay.""
God told the prophet to inscribe on tablets what He was going to show him. In other words God was telling Habakkuk that what He was showing him was written in stone. It was fact and it would come about in Gods timing and according to His sovereign will.
2:4 - "Behold, as for the proud one, his soul is not right within him; But the just will live by his faith."
Throughout the rest of the chapter God lists five categories of evil doers, and the woe that will com upon them. But I think that what God said right here in verse four changed Habakkuk's life. As we're going to see, this book that begins with a sigh of distress ends with a song of praise. His encounter with God impacted his life, and changed his view. And I think it was this statement right here that changed him. "The just shall live by his faith." Understanding the meaning of, and believing, this verse is life changing.
This verse is quoted three times in the New Testament, and at least two of the times it's quoted by the apostle Paul. The third time it's quoted is in Hebrews, so Paul may have quoted it three times. But we're not told who wrote Hebrew.
During the time when this was written, Josiah, a Godly king of Judah, had just died and his son Jehoiakim had taken his place. Jehoiakim, we're told, "did evil in the sight of the Lord" and we're told of some of the wicked things he did in 2 kings 23, 2 Chronicles 36, and parts of Jeremiah (chapters 22 and 36). These passages tell us that he, increased his wealth by injustice and extortion, he enslaved his own people, and we're even told of one instance when Jeremiah, by the command of the Lord, wrote a scroll and presented it to him, and as it was being read Jehoiakim cut it in two and tossed it into the fire. He destroyed the written word of God.
So needless to say, things had gotten pretty bad in Judah by this point. And this is where the book of Habakkuk begins.
1:1-4 - "The oracle which Habakkuk the prophet saw. How long, O Lord, will I call for help, and Thou wilt not hear? I cry out to Thee, "Violence!" Yet Thou dost not save. Why dost Thou make me see iniquity, and cause me to look on wickedness? Yes, destruction and violence are before me; Strife exists and contention arises. Therefore the law is ignored and justice is never upheld for the wicked surround the righteous; Therefore justice comes out perverted."
We looked at some of the stuff that was going on, and Habakkuk was essentially asking God "what's the deal? Don't you see what's going on? Don't your care? How can a righteous God allow evil to continue?" As far as I could find, Habakkuk was the only prophet to come right out and question God. There were some who had doubts, such as Jeremiah, who told God that he couldn't speak for Him because he was just a youth, but I don't think any of the other prophets questioned God to His face. But this makes Habakkuk easy to relate to. Everyone, at one point or another, has questions about what God is doing in their lives, even if we don't voice our questions. And I don't think that's a bad thing. God didn't send fire from heaven to consume Habakkuk for asking questions. But even when God doesn't give us a clear, direct answer, we can know that God is working everything together according to His plan. And that's something I think we'll see as we go through this book. Two of Gods attributes that are emphasized the most in this book are His sovereignty, that is, that God is on the throne and He has a plan, and He's working all things together according to that plan, and the second is His righteousness.
Look at how Habakkuk talks about what's going on around Him. Violence, iniquity, wickedness, destruction, strife, contention, the law is ignored and justice is never upheld, the wicked surround the righteous. Sounds a lot like America today doesn't it? I don't hear a lot of news but recently, in the little that I've heard, they've talked about murders, violence, and those in authority ignoring or changing the law. And when we get caught up in that stuff it's easy to wonder "God, why is this happening?" but we can have faith that whatever happens, God is sovereign and righteous. We, being Gods people, need to live by faith. As He says later in chapter 2 verse 4, "The just shall live by faith."
God answers Habakkuk in verses 5-11. vs. 5 - "Look among the nations! Observe! Be astonished! Wonder! Because I am doing something in your days-- You would not believe if you were told."
This is also true of our days. God is at work in our world, and I believe we're living in the last days. God knows everything that's going to happen, and He's been gracious enough to give us a glimpse of His plan. There are several prophecies in the Bible, and we can "look among the nations" and see that God is fulfilling those prophecies according to His sovereign plan. God is at work in our days.
He continues in verses 6-11 to reveal His plan to Habakkuk. Vs. 6-11 - "For behold, I am raising up the Chaldeans, That fierce and impetuous people Who march throughout the earth To seize dwelling places which are not theirs. They are dreaded and feared; their justice and authority originate with themselves. Their horses are swifter than leopards and keener than wolves in the evening. Their horsemen come galloping, their horsemen come from afar; they fly like an eagle swooping down to devour. All of them come for violence. Their horde of faces moves forward. They collect captives like sand. They mock at kings and rulers are a laughing matter to them they laugh at every fortress and heap up rubble to capture it. Then they will sweep through like the wind and pass on, but they will be held guilty, they whose strength is their god."
The Chaldeans talked about here is the Babylonian empire. At this point in history Babylon was swiftly becoming the most powerful nation on earth. And as bad as Judah was at the time, Babylon was worse. But notice, God said "I am raising up the Chaldeans." This was Gods answer to the wickedness of Judah, and the answer to Habakkuk’s cry. They would be conquered by a nation that was far more wicked than themselves. But this was all according to God's sovereign plan.
But this leads Habakkuk to another question. In verses 12-17 he says - "Art Thou not from everlasting, O Lord, my God, my Holy One? We will not die. Thou, O Lord, hast appointed them to judge; And Thou, O Rock, hast established them to correct. Thine eyes are too pure to approve evil, and Thou canst not look on wickedness with favor. Why dost Thou look with favor On those who deal treacherously? Why art Thou silent when the wicked swallow up Those more righteous than they? Why hast Thou made men like the fish of the sea, Like creeping things without a ruler over them? The Chaldeans bring all of them up with a hook, Drag them away with their net, and gather them together in their fishing net. Therefore they rejoice and are glad. Therefore they offer a sacrifice to their net and burn incense to their fishing net; because through these things their catch is large, and their food is plentiful. Will they therefore empty their net and continually slay nations without sparing?"
Habakkuk basically says "God, I know that you're a righteous God. And I know that You can't look with favor upon wickedness. And I know that we, Your people are wicked. But the Babylonians are more wicked than we are. How can You look with favor on them, and allow them to conquer us, when we're more righteous than they are? I mean, we're bad, but not as bad as they are."
I think God's response caught him off guard. Maybe Habakkuk was expecting God to send a plague through the land, to turn the people back to Him. Or maybe he was expecting God to send sakes throughout the land, as He had done in the past, to turn the people back to Him. But the fact that God was going to use a wicked nation to judge them, it just didn't make sense. He described the nations as fish, and the Babylonians as the fishermen. The nations were nothing compared to Babylon. It says that they offered sacrifices to their net. Basically they were their own gods. They worshiped their own strength, and gave themselves the credit for their greatness, rather than recognizing that God had given it to them. How could God use such a people?
Chapter two begins with Habakkuk saying - "I will stand on my guard post And station myself on the rampart; And I will keep watch to see what He will speak to me, And how I may reply when I am reproved."
I think this is key. After Habakkuk asks his questions he waits for, and looks for, Gods answer. "I will keep watch to see what He will speak to me." This is where a lot of people go wrong. They ask God questions, and then they grab the remote and click on the TV. They have questions, but their not willing to wait and look for Gods answer. This is a lesson we can learn from Habakkuk, when we ask God questions, we need to wait expectantly for and seek His answer.
Throughout the rest of chapter 2 God proceeds to answer Habakkuk, and ultimately shows him that, despite our circumstances, He is righteous.
2:2-3 - "Then the LORD answered me and said, "Record the vision and inscribe it on tablets, that the one who reads it may run. For the vision is yet for the appointed time; it hastens toward the goal and it will not fail. Though it tarries, wait for it; for it will certainly come, it will not delay.""
God told the prophet to inscribe on tablets what He was going to show him. In other words God was telling Habakkuk that what He was showing him was written in stone. It was fact and it would come about in Gods timing and according to His sovereign will.
2:4 - "Behold, as for the proud one, his soul is not right within him; But the just will live by his faith."
Throughout the rest of the chapter God lists five categories of evil doers, and the woe that will com upon them. But I think that what God said right here in verse four changed Habakkuk's life. As we're going to see, this book that begins with a sigh of distress ends with a song of praise. His encounter with God impacted his life, and changed his view. And I think it was this statement right here that changed him. "The just shall live by his faith." Understanding the meaning of, and believing, this verse is life changing.
This verse is quoted three times in the New Testament, and at least two of the times it's quoted by the apostle Paul. The third time it's quoted is in Hebrews, so Paul may have quoted it three times. But we're not told who wrote Hebrew.
The first time it is quoted is in Romans 1 which says in verses 16-17 - "For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, "The righteous man shall live by faith.""
We can see throughout the book of Romans that Paul puts an emphasis on "the just". If the just will live by faith, then who are the just? It says in Romans 3:10 that "There is none righteous"(righteous and just are two words that mean exactly the same thing. They're used interchangeably) so if there are none righteous then does that mean that no one will live? Well, Paul in chapter 3 goes on to explain that Christ was righteous, and because of His perfect life, and sacrifice of Himself, by faith in Him we can receive His righteousness and through faith we can have eternal life. Justification is a legal term. It means, just as if I never sinned. It's not like a judge saying "well, you're guilty, but I'm going to forgive you anyway." It's like a judge examining the evidence and saying, "I find you innocent. The charges that were brought against you are false. You are not guilty." Through Christ, we're not only forgiven of our sins, but we're justified. We receive Christs righteousness, and God sees us just as though we've never sinned.
Romans 3:28 - "For we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from works of the Law."
5:1 - "Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ."
5:9-10 - "Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from the wrath of God through Him. For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life."
So in Romans we see that by faith in Jesus Christ we can be justified, and have eternal life. The just shall live, eternally, by faith in Jesus Christ.
The second time this verse is quoted is in Galatians 3:11. Paul wrote to the church in Galatia because there were Jews living among them, telling the gentile Christians that along with believing in Jesus they also had to be circumcised. He begins in verses 6-7 of chapter one by saying - "I am amazed that you are so quickly deserting Him who called you by the grace of Christ, for a different gospel; which is really not another; only there are some who are disturbing you and want to distort the gospel of Christ."
So Paul wrote to tell them that we don't need to live by the works of the law, but by faith.
2:16 - "nevertheless knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the Law but through faith in Christ Jesus, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, so that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the Law; since by the works of the Law no flesh will be justified."
2:20-21 - "I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me. I do not nullify the grace of God, for if righteousness comes through the Law, then Christ died needlessly."
3:11 - "Now that no one is justified by the Law before God is evident; for, "The righteous man shall live by faith."
So here in Galatians we see that, not only do we have eternal life through faith in Jesus, but when we are justified Christ lives in us, and the life we life in the flesh we live by faith in Him. The just will live daily, not in bondage to the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ.
The third time this verse is quoted in the New Testament gives us a good example of living in the flesh by faith.
Hebrews 10:36-39 says - "For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God, you may receive what was promised. For yet in a very little while, He who is coming will come, and will not delay. But My righteous one shall live by faith; And if he shrinks back, My soul has no pleasure in him. But we are not of those who shrink back to destruction, but of those who have faith to the preserving of the soul."
Here in Hebrews it's talking about enduring in our faith to the end. And right after this, in chapter 11, there are several examples of people who lived by faith. "By faith Abel offered to God a better sacrifice than Cain" "By faith Enoch was taken up so that he would not see death" "By faith Noah prepared an ark" And so on throughout this chapter we're given example after example of men and women of the Old Testament who lived their lives here on earth, by faith.
The just shall live by faith.
There's a lot in those six words. And I believe it was this truth that changed Habakkuk's life. The entire third chapter of Habakkuk is a song of praise to God that Habakkuk wrote. I won't quote the whole chapter, but look what it says in verses 16 through the end. vs.16 - "I heard and my inward parts trembled, at the sound my lips quivered decay enters my bones, and in my place I tremble because I must wait quietly for the day of distress, for the people to arise who will invade us."
Notice, Habakkuk's circumstances didn't change. He was still living in the midst of a wicked people waiting for an even more wicked people to come and overthrow them. His circumstances didn't change, but his attitude did.
He goes on to say - "Though the fig tree should not blossom and there be no fruit on the vines, though the yield of the olive should fail and the fields produce no food, though the flock should be cut off from the fold and there be no cattle in the stalls, yet I will exult in the Lord, I will rejoice in the God of my salvation. The Lord God is my strength, and He has made my feet like hinds' feet, and makes me walk on my high places. For the choir director, on my stringed instruments."
He said, "though my circumstances may be terrible, I will exalt in the
Lord. I will rejoice in the God of my salvation." Habakkuk believed what
God said. He believed that the just shall live by faith. And he had faith. He
had faith in Gods word, that God is righteous, and that He is working all things
according to His sovereign plan. That faith is the only thing that explains his
attitude change. Apart from faith there is only doubt, but with faith comes
rejoicing. This is foolishness to the world, but the just shall live by faith.
By faith we can say "Though my circumstances may be bad, yet I will exult in Lord, I will rejoice in the God of my salvation." Though those in authority pass laws that are unjust, yet I will exult in Lord, I will rejoice in the God of my salvation. Though my car may break down, yet I will exult in Lord, I will rejoice in the God of my salvation. Though I lose my job, yet I will exult in Lord, I will rejoice in the God of my salvation. Though school gets really demanding and really stressful, yet I will exult in Lord, I will rejoice in the God of my salvation. Though my family is falling apart, yet I will exult in Lord, I will rejoice in the God of my salvation. Though I lose my health, yet I will exult in Lord, I will rejoice in the God of my salvation. Though gas prices go up, yet I will exult in Lord, I will rejoice in the God of my salvation. Whatever situation we're facing, big or small, we can say by faith "I will exult in Lord, I will rejoice in the God of my salvation." Only by faith.
By faith we can say "Though my circumstances may be bad, yet I will exult in Lord, I will rejoice in the God of my salvation." Though those in authority pass laws that are unjust, yet I will exult in Lord, I will rejoice in the God of my salvation. Though my car may break down, yet I will exult in Lord, I will rejoice in the God of my salvation. Though I lose my job, yet I will exult in Lord, I will rejoice in the God of my salvation. Though school gets really demanding and really stressful, yet I will exult in Lord, I will rejoice in the God of my salvation. Though my family is falling apart, yet I will exult in Lord, I will rejoice in the God of my salvation. Though I lose my health, yet I will exult in Lord, I will rejoice in the God of my salvation. Though gas prices go up, yet I will exult in Lord, I will rejoice in the God of my salvation. Whatever situation we're facing, big or small, we can say by faith "I will exult in Lord, I will rejoice in the God of my salvation." Only by faith.
Habakkuk 2:4 - "The
just shall live by faith."
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