Habakkuk
Purpose
Habakkuk is the prophet of honest protest, and his book is built as a raw dialogue with God over the problem of injustice. He looks at the corruption, violence, and warped justice in his own society and demands to know why the LORD tolerates the wicked swallowing up those more righteous than themselves — and the answer he receives is more staggering than his complaint: God is raising up the fearsome Babylonians, "that bitter and hasty nation," as his instrument of judgement. Horrified, Habakkuk presses further — if Babylon is even more wicked, will the LORD let them pillage forever? — and the LORD answers with a vision of an appointed end and a principle for all ages: "the righteous shall live by his faith" (2:4). The book closes with a psalm of trembling awe in which the prophet resolves to rejoice in the LORD his strength even if every earthly blessing fails. Habakkuk teaches God's people to wrestle with him in faith rather than away from him, and to trust his justice even when his ways are inscrutable.
Author
Habakkuk the prophet
Time Period
c. 620-600 BC, near the rise of Babylon, often linked to Josiah's late reign or the years after
Key Themes
- Theodicy
- Faith
- Judgement by Babylon
- The just shall live by faith
- Trust in trouble
Outline
The first dialogue (ch. 1:1–11): "O LORD, how long shall I cry for help and you will not hear?" — and the answer: the Babylonians are coming. The second dialogue (ch. 1:12–2:20): "Why do you idly look… at the treacherous and remain silent?" — the LORD's vision to be written down; five woes against greed, exploitation, idolatry, and bloodshed; and "the LORD is in his holy temple; let all the earth keep silence." The prophet's psalm (ch. 3): a theophany in thunder and plague; the LORD comes to save his anointed; "though the fig tree should not blossom… yet I will rejoice in the LORD."