Habakkuk

Notes from Bible study with Pastor Terry Gray


Book of Habakuk
Aka, an intense Q&A between God and Habakkuk


Prophet Habakuk


- His name means embracer; could also mean wrestler: In this book, we see how Habakkuk wrestles with God.


- He lived around 600 BC.


- He was a prophet He was a musician, a poet.


- Scholars believe he was a Levite, a priest in charge of music who was led out of that profession by God to become a prophet.


- In his day, there was political unrest and much fear. The Assyrians were the super power, bullying nations around it. The Northern Kingdom had already been captured by the Assyrians. At the same time, another super power was coming into play: Babylon under King Nebuchadnezzar. Babylon was another cruel, cruel nation.


Essentially, Habakkuk saw a lot of corruption around his nation. Satan was running around wild. He thus sought God and asked why doesn't God just squash all of them right now? Why allow all the good people suffer and the bad people succeed? Why does God not do anything about these kind of injustice?


Habakkuk 1:2-4
Habakkuk is greatly burdened by the inequity, violence, etc. seen in his nation. He asks, where are you God?


Habakkuk 1:5-5
God reassures Habakkuk that He knows what's going on and that He IS working.


As Christians, we should always remember that in all things, God is working for the good of all those who love God according to His purpose (Romans 8:28). We may not think God is working in our live, but that's because we cannot see the breadth of God's vision and plan. Be patient and trust the Lord. The day of eternal glory IS coming.


Habakkuk 1:6-11
God then tells Habakkuk what He's going to do: The Babylonians are going to be raised up to judge the Southern Kingdom.


Habakkuk 1:12-17
The Babylonians are worse than the corrupted Israelites in Judah! Habakkuk thus didn't like God's response at all! Why would God raise the wicked (Babylon) to judge the good people (Judah)?


Clearly, Habakkuk thinks his nation is corrupted but not as wicked as the Babylonians. This illustrates how "good" is all relative in the eyes of man!


Habakkuk 2:4-5
God agrees that Babylon is a horrible nation. But, He's still going to raise it up. If His people were going to survive, they need to live by faith.


Habakkuk 2:4
"The righteous will live by his faith."


Context: God told Habakkuk that Babylon would come and take over the Southern Kingdom. This indeed happened in 586 BC, where Jerusalem and the temple were destroyed. God also told Habakkuk that Babylon would not wipe out the Israelites completely. There would be a remnant that survives. And ultimately, Babylon would also be judged for its wickedness.


Habakkuk 2:4 therefore refers to the remnant, the justified, of Israelites that would be saved from the Babylonian captivity.


This phrase is quoted 3 times in the New Testament: Romans 1, Galatians 3, and Hebrews 10.


Paul used this phrase to explain the concept of salvation according to the Christian faith. Salvation therefore has 3 components:


1. Righteousness
Righteousness is achieved through living PERFECTLY according to God's standard. This is impossible to do on our own. Thus, we need God's guidance and support.


2. Faith (Galatians 3:2)
Faith is our complete dependence in God, our complete trust in God. We may not be able to know exactly what's going on, but we have unwavering faith in God that He loves us and does what's best for us.


3. Life
Eternal life is achieved completely through Jesus Christ, not by our works but by Jesus alone.



Habakkuk 2:6-20
God reassures Habakkuk that God is not done with Babylon. God will eventually bring judgment to Babylon.


Habakkuk 3:1
Habakkuk shows a different mindset. Compared to Habakkuk 1, he starts Habakkuk 3 with a prayer (as opposed to burden). Habakkuk receives not just a new attitude but a fresh new vision of God's power, glory, and sovereignty.


Habakkuk 3:17-19
Habakkuk would remain joyful even if he looses everything. What a major change compared to how Habakkuk started this whole conversation!




Inspirations
We all hit hard times here and there. And as Habakkuk illustrates here for us, having doubts and questions are only human. What we do with doubts and questions is what differentiates us between the righteous and the unrighteous.


Compare Habakkuk and Jonah. Both prophets had fears and doubts, but how did they handle them?


Habakkuk took his questions straight to God, and we see how God guided Habakkuk through his concerns. The process was an upward experience: Habakkuk started out weighed down a heavy burden in the valley, then progressed to a tower, and ultimately ended up rejoicing on a mountain top. Habakkuk started out with his burdens but was lifted up by God and ended with him worshiping God. 



Jonah, on the other hand, ran away from God with his fears. He didn't think the Ninevites deserved salvation, and instead of going straight to God with his concerns, Jonah ran the opposite way. Jonah's struggle with God's plan spiraled down to the pit of a fish before he finally prayed to God for help.


The Book of Habakkuk teaches us how to wrestle with God in an appropriate manner. It is human to have hard questions. Having hard questions is not a sin! How we ask, that's the key.


We should ask the hard questions in life the way Habakkuk did:


1. He took his questions directly to God, respectfully and honestly.


2. He runs toward God, not away


3. He actively sought God's face in isolation (Habakkuk 2:1), away from the noise and distraction. He sought God with expectation. And why shouldn't we? We are told that "Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you" (Matthew 7:7). This is God's promise to us, and He is faithful. So, if God tells us ask and it will be given to us, then LET US ASK HIM. Let us seek him with expectation!