The book of Habakkuk was written shortly before the Babylonians sized Jerusalem then taking the Israelites into exile for 70 years. Habakkuk who wrote the book, witnessing the evil way Israel had backslidden, is understandable so frustrated, why Habakkuk is asking God to intervene and turn the hearts of the nation. Habakkuk saw the evil that was in the nations, and was so perplexed. He cried to the Lord to turn the hearts of the nations. But God is longsuffering; He does not want anyone to perish. God responds to Habakkuk and shows him what marvellous things He is going to do.
Habakkuk outlines his complaint and frustration over the vile nature of Gods people Israel, We read in Habakkuk 1:1 to 5 - 1.The oracle that Habakkuk the prophet received. 2:How long, O LORD, must I call for help, but you do not listen? Or cry out to you, "Violence!" but you do not save?
3:Why do you make me look at injustice? Why do you tolerate wrong? Destruction and violence are before me; there is strife, and conflict abounds.
4:Therefore the law is paralysed, and justice never prevails. The wicked hem in the righteous, so that justice is perverted.
The Lord now gives His first response to Habakkuk’s frustration in Habakkuk 1:5 we read - 5:"Look at the nations and watch - and be utterly amazed. For I am going to do something in your days that you would not believe, even if you were told.
6:I am raising up the Babylonians, that ruthless and impetuous people, who sweep across the whole earth to seize dwelling-places not their own.
7:They are a feared and dreaded people; they are a law to themselves and promote their own honour.
God continues to describe the fearsome nation of the Babylonian army. In Habakkuk 1: 8 to 11 we read - 8.Their horses are swifter than leopards, fiercer than wolves at dusk. Their cavalry gallops headlong; their horsemen come from afar. They fly like an eagle swooping to devour;
9 they all come intent on violence. Their hordes advance like a desert wind and gather prisoners like sand.
10 They mock kings and scoff at rulers. They laugh at all fortified cities; by building earthen ramps they capture them.
11 Then they sweep past like the wind and go on—guilty people, whose own strength is their god.”
Habakkuk continues to reason with God, he cannot understand God’s apparent tolerance to what is happening in the nations. In Habakkuk 1: 12 to 17 we read - 12 Lord, are you not from everlasting?
My God, my Holy One, you will never die. You, Lord, have appointed them to execute judgment; you, my Rock, have ordained them to punish.
13 Your eyes are too pure to look on evil; you cannot tolerate wrongdoing. Why then do you tolerate the treacherous? Why are you silent while the wicked swallow up those more righteous than themselves?
14 You have made people like the fish in the sea, like the sea creatures that have no ruler.
15 The wicked foe pulls all of them up with hooks, he catches them in his net, he gathers them up in his dragnet; and so he rejoices and is glad.
16 Therefore he sacrifices to his net and burns incense to his dragnet, for by his net he lives in luxury and enjoys the choicest food.
17 Is he to keep on emptying his net, destroying nations without mercy?
Habakkuk now pauses for a moment responding to what God said in Habakkuk 1:5 which says - 5:"Look at the nations and watch. In the beginning of Habakkuk 2: 1 and 2, Habakkuk says – 1. I will stand at my watch and station myself on the ramparts; I will look to see what he will say to me, and what answer I am to give to this complaint.
God now askes Habakkuk to write down as a witness what shortly is going to happen. In doing so a herald will be able to warn the nation what is going to happen. In Habakkuk 2:2 to 3 we read -2 Then the Lord replied: “Write down the revelation and make it plain on tablets so that a herald may run with it.
3 For the revelation awaits an appointed time; it speaks of the end and will not prove false. Though it linger, wait for it; it will certainly come and will not delay.
Gos continues to tell Habukkuk what the enemy is like but gives a grave warning as to their demiss. We read in Habakkuk 2:4 to 20 - 4 “See, the enemy is puffed up; his desires are not upright—but the righteous person will live by his faithfulness— indeed, wine betrays him; he is arrogant and never at rest. Because he is as greedy as the grave and like death is never satisfied, he gathers to himself all the nations and takes captive all the peoples.
6 “Will not all of them taunt him with ridicule and scorn, saying, “‘Woe to him who piles up stolen goods and makes himself wealthy by extortion!
How long must this go on?’
7 Will not your creditors suddenly arise? Will they not wake up and make you tremble? Then you will become their prey.
8 Because you have plundered many nations, the peoples who are left will plunder you.
For you have shed human blood; you have destroyed lands and cities and everyone in them.
9 “Woe to him who builds his house by unjust gain, setting his nest on high to escape the clutches of ruin!
10 You have plotted the ruin of many peoples, shaming your own house and forfeiting your life.
11 The stones of the wall will cry out, and the beams of the woodwork will echo it.
12 “Woe to him who builds a city with bloodshed and establishes a town by injustice!
13 Has not the Lord Almighty determined that the people’s labor is only fuel for the fire, that the nations exhaust themselves for nothing?
14 For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord as the waters cover the sea.
15 “Woe to him who gives drink to his neighbours, pouring it from the wineskin till they are drunk, so that he can gaze on their naked bodies!
16 You will be filled with shame instead of glory. Now it is your turn! Drink and let your nakedness be exposed! The cup from the Lord’s right hand is coming around to you, and disgrace will cover your glory.
17 The violence you have done to Lebanon will overwhelm you, and your destruction of animals will terrify you. For you have shed human blood; you have destroyed lands and cities and everyone in them.
18 “Of what value is an idol carved by a craftsman? Or an image that teaches lies? For the one who makes it trusts in his own creation; he makes idols that cannot speak.
19 Woe to him who says to wood, ‘Come to life!’ Or to lifeless stone, ‘Wake up!’ Can it give guidance? It is covered with gold and silver; there is no breath in it.”
20 The Lord is in his holy temple; let all the earth be silent before him.
In Habakkuk 3: 1 to 15 Habakkuk acknowledges and declares Gods power and Glory. 1.A prayer of Habakkuk the prophet. On shigionoth.
2 Lord, I have heard of your fame; I stand in awe of your deeds, Lord. Repeat them in our day, in our time make them known; in wrath remember mercy.
3 God came from Teman, the Holy One from Mount Paran.His glory covered the heavens and his praise filled the earth.
4 His splendour was like the sunrise; rays flashed from his hand, where his power was hidden.
5 Plague went before him; pestilence followed his steps.
6 He stood, and shook the earth; he looked, and made the nations tremble. The ancient mountains crumbled and the age-old hills collapsed—but he marches on forever.
7 I saw the tents of Cushan in distress, the dwellings of Midian in anguish.
8 Were you angry with the rivers, Lord? Was your wrath against the streams? Did you rage against the sea when you rode your horses and your chariots to victory?
9 You uncovered your bow, you called for many arrows. You split the earth with rivers;
10 the mountains saw you and writhed. Torrents of water swept by; the deep roared and lifted its waves on high.
11 Sun and moon stood still in the heavens at the glint of your flying arrows, at the lightning of your flashing spear.
12 In wrath you strode through the earth and in anger you threshed the nations.
13 You came out to deliver your people, to save your anointed one. You crushed the leader of the land of wickedness, you stripped him from head to foot.
14 With his own spear you pierced his head when his warriors stormed out to scatter us, gloating as though about to devour the wretched who were in hiding.
15 You trampled the sea with your horses, churning the great waters.
In the closing verses of this book Habakkuk acknowledges how he feels at the awesome power of God and the mighty things He is about to do, yet he knows an assurance and a knowing in his heart that he can put his trust in the Lord his God, who will always be there to support and sustain him at all times.
Habakkuk 3: 16 to 19 - 16 I heard and my heart pounded, my lips quivered at the sound; decay crept into my bones, and my legs trembled. Yet I will wait patiently for the day of calamity to come on the nation invading us.
17 Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls,
18 yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will be joyful in God my Saviour.
19 The Sovereign Lord is my strength; he makes my feet like the feet of a deer, he enables me to tread on the heights. For the director of music. On my stringed instruments.
What are the lessons we learn from reading the book of Habakkuk
I am sure all of us as Gods people get frustrated at what evil is happening in our world today. We like Habakkuk may also have the desire to express our frustration when we see Gods people suffering at the hands of evil men, yet these people appear to be escaping any type of retribution. We know Gods judgement will come upon this world in a time to come. We read in Romans 8:22-24 - 22 We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. 23 Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the first-fruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption to son-ship, the redemption of our bodies. 24 For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what they already have?
But as God continues to remind us in 2 Peter 3:8-10 - 8 But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day. 9 The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance. 10 But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything done in it will be laid bare.
We read in Ezekiel 3:17 - Son of man, I have made thee a watchman unto the house of Israel: therefore hear the word at my mouth, and give them warning from me. God continues to tell Ezekiel in Ezekiel 33:5-7 - 5 Since they heard the sound of the trumpet but did not heed the warning, their blood will be on their own head. If they had heeded the warning, they would have saved themselves. 6 But if the watchman sees the sword coming and does not blow the trumpet to warn the people and the sword comes and takes someone’s life, that person’s life will be taken because of their sin, but I will hold the watchman accountable for their blood.’ 7 “Son of man, I have made you a watchman for the people of Israel; so hear the word I speak and give them warning from me.
Habakkuk was made a watchman, We are Gods watchmen, we have a responsibility just as Ezekiel did to warn the nations, that responsibility is also in our hands both to warn what judgement God will bring upon the nations, but give them the opportunity they have of turning to Him to find refuge in Him.
