Habakkuk: a Hidden Gem in the Old Testament
Happy Friday, friends!
Buried among the minor prophets of the Old Testament is a three-chapter book called Habakkuk, and it just happens to be my favorite book of the Bible! Today I want to share with you my passion for Habakkuk.
First of all, how did I come to love this book so much? About three or four years ago, I came across verses 17 to 19 of chapter 3. I can’t remember how, but I immediately fell in love with them. They became some of my all-time favorites. So when I attended Bible School and a teacher told us to choose a life verse, I knew exactly which ones I wanted.
A life verse is your go-to Scripture. It’s for when you face anxiety, fear, or stress. It’s a verse or a passage that you keep close by for the times when you find yourself drowning in the storms of life. It’s the lifesaver that brings you back to Jesus. This teacher encouraged us to find one for ourselves, and I chose these verses:
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.
-Habakkuk 3:17-19 (NASB1995)
My passion began with a couple of verses, but it grew into a hunger to learn more about the book as a whole. Sadly, we didn’t have the time, at His Hill, to study every minor prophet, and we only did a general overview of Habakkuk. After Bible school, I still had a hunger to learn more about this obscure minor prophet, so I decided to study it on my own. I bought a copy of Even If: a study of Habakkuk from The Daily Grace Co. It’s a beautifully-made, three-week study that walks you through Habakkuk verse by verse.
As an aside, I highly recommend this company’s Bible studies. They are thorough, aesthetic, and well-made. Their Habakkuk study took my love for three verses and turned it into a love for the entire book. Most of what I’m going to share with you today I learned from this study.
The first time I read through Habakkuk, I had no idea what was going on. Most of it went right over my head. This is why context is essential. The book of Habakkuk is considered canonical by both Christians and Jews. Paul quotes it in the New Testament, in Romans 1:17 and Galatians 3:11. Habakkuk the book was named after a person—a prophet in the southern kingdom of Judah about a century after Israel's fall and just a few years before the Babylonian invasion of Judah.
Apart from the author of Hebrews, whose identity we don’t know, Habakkuk is the Bible writer whom we know the least about. He doesn’t indicate the year he wrote it, and he doesn’t identify himself by family lineage or by place of residence. But it’s believed that Habakkuk may have been a Levite and a singer in the temple. The book is a record of dialogue between the prophet and God—a very unique layout for a book of the prophets. We get a glimpse into the prayer life of Habakkuk as he asks God questions that are not unlike the ones we ask today.
Before I go further into Habakkuk, I would highly recommend that you go read it for yourself. It’s only three chapters, so you can read the whole book in ten minutes.
Have you read it? Excellent!
You may find yourself in a similar place to where I was. There’s a lot of talking, and at times I found it hard to know who was saying what. Outlines, like this one, are helpful. I’ve marked my Bible where the speaker changes. Here’s a simple guide:
Chapter 1
Habakkuk cries out to God (v.1-4)
God Answers (v.5-11)
Habakkuk asks more questions (v.12-17)
Chapter 2
Habakkuk speaking (v.1)
God Answers (v.2-20)
Chapter 3
Habakkuk prays and praises (v.1-19)
Now, with the background and outline of the book covered, I still haven’t told you why I adore this book. Let’s start at the beginning!
The book starts with Habakkuk crying out to God in verses 1-4 of chapter 1. These verses are filled with emotion—anguish, distress, fear, and confusion. He felt as if God wasn’t hearing him and was allowing wickedness in Judah. As a prophet, Habakkuk knew God’s laws and promises. He knew that his people were wicked and deserved punishment, just as the northern kingdom had. As he looked around, the situation seemed hopeless. He was surrounded by violence, destruction, and injustice.
Habakkuk was asking God why He would allow Judah to continue sinning and therefore be overtaken by the Babylonians. His heart was breaking because of all the sin around him and because the Lord felt far away. So he cried out to God. It felt to him as if his prayers were going unheard and unanswered, but he cried out anyway. He knew the Scripture, and therefore he knew who God was. God was faithful. Habakkuk knew that He would answer, even though he didn’t know how or when.
So he poured out his heart. He prayed. He pleaded. And he waited.
We all face times like this. If we haven’t already, we can be sure that we will! Times when we are distressed and confused about how God is working. When we feel like God is far away and doesn’t see us. Like He doesn’t hear us and like the world is out of control. We will all wrestle with the evil in our world in spite of God being good. This is what Habakkuk is about: how we will respond when we face evil and the unknown. What we will do when we feel lost and unheard. It’s okay to ask questions and cry out in distress.
We are often tempted to change our theology so that it aligns with what we see going on in the world. But Habakkuk didn’t waver from what he knew was true of God! He chose to stand firm in the truth of God’s Word and in the goodness of His character. He’s such a good example of how I should act in times of distress. This is part of why I love him!
Habakkuk felt as if God wasn’t listening. But in the next part, verses 5-11, God answers him. It wasn’t quite what he had expected or hoped for, though. Isn’t that so relatable? God’s answers often aren’t what we want. But we must remember that God owes us nothing! He’s God, the Creator, and the Sustainer of the universe. He answers us—in His own way and time—even though He doesn’t have to!
Judah served God with their lips but served idols with their hands. They were so proud that they thought they were immune to judgment. God described to Habakkuk the Babylonians, who were also idolatrous and proud. He described how He would use them to judge Judah’s disobedience. We may not understand how God is working, but He is working. He is working faithfully in ways we don’t know and can’t understand. He is good, and He will work for the good of His people and for the glory of His name. As this passage focuses on judgment, I can’t help but be reminded of a beautiful truth: Because of Jesus, we’ve been released from judgment!
The next section of dialogue spans Habakkuk 1:12-2:1. Here, the prophet speaks again with more questions for God. But before he asks, he praises. Habakkuk is worshipping God in verse 12 of chapter 1, but he’s also reminding himself of what he knows to be true of God. It can sometimes be hard to reconcile our circumstances with what we know of God’s character. Worshipping God and revisiting the truth can be so helpful for recentering ourselves on the Lord. His character—not our circumstances—is the foundation of our faith. We don’t know what God is doing and when circumstances don’t seem to line up with His character. We mustn’t give in to the temptation of interpreting God’s word through the lens of our circumstances. No—we must interpret our circumstances through the lens of God’s word. We must remind ourselves of God’s character and trust in Him instead of our circumstances.
Habakkuk knew God’s character, but he still struggled. In his confusion, he asked more questions. He felt as if God had sat idly by as the violent Babylonians treated His promised people like fish in their nets (v.14-15). After hearing God’s answer, Habakkuk most likely wondered how God was going to bring the Messiah if He destroyed Judah. So he took his spot on his watchtower to wait and see what happened. Would God be faithful to His people? Would He keep His promises? Would justice be served? Or would evil win?
We now find ourselves in chapter 2, verses 2-20. Once again, God is speaking to Habakkuk. The first thing that God says is a command for Habakkuk to record the vision that was about to follow. God was about to say something very important—a timeless promise that we’re to take and deliver to all the nations. It’s a promise of faithfulness, a promise that God is working, and a promise that His Word will come to pass.
God’s plan is for all eternity. However, we can only see so far. Therefore, we’re often confused by what we see. In the book of Habakkuk, rather than tell the prophet His grand plan, God answered his pleas with a reminder of His character. Why? Because His character is all we need to know.
The last part of Habakkuk 2:4 is well known. “But the righteous will live by his faith.” It may be the only verse from Habakkuk that you’re already familiar with. Here, God contrasts the life of the wicked against the life of the righteous, and He encourages the faithful remnant.
“Moses gave Israel 613 commandments. David reduced them to eleven (see Psalm 15), Micah to three (Mi. 6:8), Isaiah to two (Is. 56:1), but Habakkuk to one: ‘the righteous shall live by faith.’ This is the heart of Scripture and truly the heart of the gospel.”
-Rabbi Simlai, recorded in the Talmud
In this passage, we see God’s care for justice as he delivers five woes in verses 9, 12, 15, and 19. These are against the coming Babylonians. They remind us that wealth is not secure. Though the wicked may seem to prosper, they won’t prosper forever. When we rebel against God, we forfeit His blessings. The five woes remind us that wickedness is not from the Lord. One day the whole world will know of God’s glory. He is still on His throne no matter what is going on around us.
For the earth will be filled
With the knowledge of the glory of the Lord,
As the waters cover the sea.
-Habakkuk 2:14
But the Lord is in His holy temple.
Let all the earth be silent before Him.
-Habakkuk 2:20
We’ve made it to the final chapter (in which lies my life verse)! All of chapter 3 is Habakkuk speaking, and his words are those of a prophet who has seen and heard God. They take the form of a beautiful Psalm, and they’re the answer that Habakkuk has found to his pleading. That answer boils down to this: the goodness of God.
God’s answer to Habakkuk has shifted the prophet’s perspective. In verse 2, Habakkuk requests three things of the Lord. He asks that God revive, reveal, and remember mercy. Habakkuk has been reminded of who God is. So he comes before the Lord both humbly and boldly. This shows us that when we know who the Father is and who we are in Him, we too can come to Him with our requests (Mathew 7:7, Luke 11:9, Mark 11:24). We too can ask Him to remember mercy—or whatever else we may need. My most common request is for God to give me His peace. He promises that He will (John 14:17), and so I can confidently ask for it!
In the following verses, Habakkuk paints a beautiful, majestic, and powerful picture of God’s character designed to fill us with awe and bring us to our knees in worship. We’ve already seen how distressed he is by what he faces. However, in spite of it all, the prophet is fixated on the Lord and His majesty. Habakkuk is driven to this place of worship. He can’t help it.
In verses 8-16, Habakkuk shifts tense as he remembers. He starts speaking of God in the second person instead of the third person because His presence is imminent. The imagery and language are similar, and they’re consistent with many other psalms and prayers such as Moses’ prayer in Exodus 15 and Deborah’s prayer in Judges 5. Remembering the past can really strengthen our faith in the face of an unknown future. By remembering and repeating God’s Word, Habakkuk is preaching to himself. Judgment is coming, but God is faithful to keep His promises. We can do this too. We can look back at how faithful and good God has been and preach the gospel to ourselves to grow our faith in the Father for all that is to come.
Now, finally, we’ve reached my favorite verses: 17-19. These verses are beautiful. They bring me so much comfort and peace. Habakkuk closes the book with these words:
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.
-Habakkuk 3:17-19 (NASB1995)
Habakkuk was facing so much! He knew that destruction was coming for his people and land. He started this book confused and troubled by it. In this concluding passage, the prophet starts by naming the worst-case scenario. But by the end, he realizes that even if his worst fears come true, he still has the Lord! Even when it feels like you’ve hit rock bottom and it can’t get any worse, the Lord is always there. No matter what, God is! The verbiage that Habakkuk uses is firm, concrete, and unwavering. He says “I will” and “The Lord God is.” He knows who God is, and so he can be confident.
I know who God is, and so I can have peace and confidence. I can keep my eyes on Him. Though I may not know what it is, He has a plan for the future. What I do know is this: He is faithful. That is enough for me. The world is a dark and chaotic place. But as children of God, we can choose faith over fear.
The book of Habakkuk is jam-packed with truth, reminders, and examples for us. I admire this prophet, and his little book will always hold a special place in my heart. I hope that now you understand why. Maybe it has found a special place in your heart too.
Thank you so much for reading all that I’ve had to say, and may you have a blessed day!
Darcy-Rea
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