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World Christian Fellowship 60, High Worple, Rayners Lane, Harrow
Middlesex, HA2 9SZ, United Kingdom Tel: +44 208 429 9292
www.wcflondon.com [email protected]
Book of Habakkuk
Name meaning: Habakkuk’s name means to “embrace” or
“wrestle.” As is usually the case, his name has something to do
with the message of the book. By the end of the prophecy, this
name becomes more appropriate as the prophet clings to God
regardless of his confusion about God’s plans for his people.
Year Written: The book of Habakkuk may have written just after
the death of King Josiah between 609 and 586 BC.
The mention of the Chaldeans (1:6) suggests a late seventh
century B.C. date, shortly before Nebuchadnezzar commenced
his military march through Nineveh (612 B.C.), Haran (609 B.C.),
and Carchemish (605 B.C.), on his way to Jerusalem (605 B.C.).
Habakkuk’s bitter lament (1:2–4) may reflect a time period
shortly after the death of Josiah (609 B.C.), days in which the
godly king’s reforms (2 Kings 23) were quickly overturned by his
successor, Jehoiakim (Jeremiah 22:13–19).
Historical background:
Habakkuk prophesied during the final days of the Assyrian
Empire and the beginning of Babylonia’s world rulership under
Nabopolassar and his son Nebuchadnezzar.
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When Nabopolassar ascended to power in 626 B.C., he
immediately began to expand his influence to the North and
West. Under the leadership of Nebuchadnezzar, the Babylonian
army overthrew Nineveh in 612 B.C. The Assyrian kings and
royals were forced to flee for their life and they were to take
refuge first in Haran and then Carchemish. Nebuchadnezzar
pursued them and overrunning them in Haran in 609 B.C. and
Carchemish in 606 B.C.
The fleeing Assyrian king looked for assistance from the Egyptian
king Necho, who was trying to come through Judah, was opposed
by King Josiah (2 Chronicles 35:20-24). During this battle Josiah
not only lost but also lost his life leaving his sons to takeover.
Even though Josiah instituted the spiritual reform during the
time of Hilkiah found the Law of God (2 Kings 22-23) the
reformation did not last longer. After his death the nation once
again turn to the idol worship and reverted back to their wicked
ways. (Jeremiah 22:13-19)
These circumstances made Habakkuk to question God’s silence
and apparent lack of disciplinary action (1:2–4) to purge His
covenant people.
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Purpose:
Even when the northern kingdom had been destroyed in 722 BC,
God’s people remained in Judah. However the new empire under
Nebuchadnezzar, the Babylonians, much worse than the
previous regime of Assyria on the rise to greater power. When
the faithful people like Habakkuk are seeking the help of God to
deliver them they were for a surprise because God says I am
raising up the Babylonians.
So Habakkuk was wondering what God doing to His chosen
people.
Hadn’t He given the land to His people?
Would He now take it away?
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Habakkuk’s prayer of faith for the remainder of God’s people in
the face of such destruction still stands today as a remarkable
witness of true faith and undying hope.
This book is not a prophesy against the people of Judah or to the
nation but it’s a conversation between God and Habakkuk.
Habakkuk asks God two questions and God answers them both.
Then God ask Habakkuk to write down the vision and then he
ends up prayer of praising to God in the midst of trouble.
Brief Summary
Though sometimes it looks as if God seems to be inactive, but He
is always involved. 1:12 showed that God is using the
Babylonians to achieve His purposes and they were under God’s
control.
God is holy. In 1:13 Habakkuk said that God could not approve
evil.
God hears and answers prayers.
When we pray, we usually have in our minds the way we want
God to answer. When He answers differently, we think He hasn’t
answered at all. God sometimes gives unexpected answers to
our prayers.
God is Just and God is good. He will judge the wicked and he is
concerned for the righteous.
The righteous live by faith and faithfulness. This means we really
believe that God is good and God is just. And we live accordingly.
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The opening verses reveal a historical situation similar to the
days of Amos and Micah. Justice had essentially disappeared
from the Land, violence and wickedness was pervasive, existing
unchecked.
In the midst of these dark days, the prophet cried out for divine
intervention (1:2–4). God’s response, that He was sending the
Chaldeans to judge Judah (1:5–11), creates an even greater
theological dilemma for Habakkuk.
Why didn’t God purge His people and restore their
righteousness?
How could God use the Chaldeans to judge a people more
righteous than they (1:12–2:1)?
God’s answer that He would judge the Chaldeans also (2:2–20),
did not fully satisfy the prophet’s theological predicament.
Ultimately, Habakkuk realized that God was not to be worshiped
merely because of the temporal blessings He bestowed, but for
His own sake (3:17–19).
Brief Outline of the book:
The Prophet’s Confusions (1:2–2:20)
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His first complaint (1:2–4)
He lists six different problems.
1. Sin,
2. Wickedness,
3. Destruction,
4. Violence,
5. No justice in the courts, and
6. The wicked outnumbered the righteous.
Does this sound like our society?
Habakkuk raises a good question which normally I encounter
when I ask for a question and answer sessions in my overseas
preaching.
Why does evil go unpunished?
Why do the wicked prosper?
Why doesn’t God do something?
God’s first response (1:5–11)
God is doing something. He is rising up a foreign nation, the
Babylonians, to come and destroy Judah. He tells Habakkuk, “You
would not believe if you were told.” Why? Because they are
really wicked. They were worse than the Jews.
God doesn’t always give us the answers we want or expect. We
usually have it in our mind how we want God to answer our
prayers. When He does it differently, how do you respond?
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His second complaint (1:12–2:1)
Although he accepts the answer, he doesn’t like the answer. God
does not change is important because it means God keeps His
promises and He has made promises to Israel. Habakkuk knows
that God will not totally destroy Israel because of his covenantal
promises. That is why he says, “We will not die.” God’s answer
indicates that things are going to get worse, not better.
There is a balance between self-pity, hopeless resignation and
staying mad at God. As usual, the correct response is somewhere
in the middle. Habakkuk has received one answer, and he had
more questions.
God’s second response (2:2–20)
God says, don’t worry about the Babylonians, they will get theirs
too.
Staying in faith and faithfulness is not true and perhaps use the
illustration of someone who “knows” that smoking is bad for
them, but doesn’t stop. If you could really know their heart, you
would find that they don’t think anything will happen to them. It
is the same syndrome in which people think accidents only
happen to other people.
➢ Woe to the Proud 2:4-5
➢ Woe to the Greedy 2:6-8
➢ Woe to the Dishonest 2:9-11
➢ Woe to the Violent 2:12-14
➢ Woe to the Sensual 2:15-17
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➢ Woe to the Idolater 2:18-20
The Prophet’s Prayer (3:1–19)
Petition for God’s mercy (3:1, 2)
Praise of God’s power (3:3–15)
Promise of God’s sufficiency (3:16–19)
This chapter is been prophesied as a song! You will see at the end
the music note.
Also you will find the word ‘selah’ three times here in verses 3,9
and 13 apart from the Psalms. We have detailed messages about
selah, it simply means ponder and meditate.
He pleads for mercy in the midst of the judgment (1-2).
He is afraid of what is coming. He knows it will be awful.
Undoubtedly he will suffer too.
He praises God's majesty and power (3-15).
He promises to wait on the Lord (16-19).
What is coming is frightening, but he commits himself to wait and
trust in God.
Key Verses:
Habakkuk 1:2, “How long, Oh Lord, must I call for help, but you
do not listen? Or cry out to you, ‘Violence!’ but you do not save.”
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Habakkuk 1:5, “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 I told you.”
Habakkuk 1:12, “Oh, Lord are you not from everlasting? My God,
My Holy One, we will not die.”
Habakkuk 2:2-4, “Then the Lord replied: Write down the
revelation and make it plain on tablets so that a herald may run
with it. For the revelation waits an appointed time; it speaks of
the end and will not prove false. Though it linger, wait for it; it
will certainly come and not delay. See, he is puffed up; his desires
are not upright - but the righteous will live by his faith.”
Habakkuk 2:20, “But the Lord is in His Holy temple; let all the
earth be silent before Him.”
Habakkuk 3:2, “Lord, I have heard of your fame; I stand in awe of
your deeds O Lord. Renew them in our day, in our time make them
known; in wrath remember mercy.”
Habakkuk 3:19, “The Sovereign Lord is my strength; He makes
my feet like the feet of a deer, He enables me to go on the
heights.”
Conclusion:
The questions raised by the prophet Habakkuk represent some
of the most fundamental questions in all of life. The answers
provide us the crucial foundation stones on which to build a
proper understanding of God’s character and His sovereign ways
in history.
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The core of his message lies in the call to trust God (2:4), “the just
shall live by his faith.”
The New Testament references credit unusual importance
theologically to Habakkuk. The book of Hebrews(10:38) quotes
the prophecy of Habakkuk(2:4) in relation to the believers are
required to be strong and faithful in the midst of trial and
afflictions.
The apostle Paul uses the same verse twice (Romans 1:17;
Galatians 3:11) to emphasize the doctrine of justification by faith.
Faith is not a one-time act, but a way of life. The true believer,
declared righteous by God, will habitually persevere in faith
throughout all his life (Colossians 1:22,23; Hebrews 3:12–14). He
will trust the sovereign God who only does what is right.
Do you know the relationship between divine judgment and
divine blessing?
Many think that the Divine Judgement and Divine blessings as
opposites and have no relationship. But I would like to mention
that many think that the judgment as something that has little to
do with me and much to do with my enemies. At the same time
they like to think of God’s blessings and salvation are theirs,
unrelated to judgment. But I would like to confirm that I have
come to the conclusion that divine judgment and divine blessings
are very closely inter-related.
God’s judgment is the means whereby He delivers us from our
enemies (2:4-15; 3:15, 19).
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Divine judgment purifies the righteous remnant (3:9).
God’s judgment is the means by which God brings about our
blessings. When God removes the wicked, it is so He may come
and dwell with us.
In addition, when God removes the wicked, He gives their
possessions to His faithful remnant (2:5-7, 9-10). The judgment
of the wicked is the means to our blessing.
The final blessings on Zion pronounced in 3:14-20 are largely
unfulfilled, leading us to conclude that these are messianic
prophecies that await the Second Coming of Christ. The Lord has
taken away our punishment only through Christ who came to die
for the sins of His people (Zephaniah 3:15; John 3:16). But Israel
has not yet recognized her true Saviour. This is yet to happen
(Romans 11:25-27).
The promise of peace and safety for Israel, a time when their King
is in their midst, will be fulfilled when Christ returns to judge the
world and redeem it for Himself. Just as He ascended to heaven
after His resurrection, so will He return and set up a New
Jerusalem on earth (Revelation 21). At that time, all God’s
promises to Israel will be fulfilled.
Application for today:
1. It is permissible to question what God is doing, although
with respect and reverence. Sometimes it is not evident
to us what is going on, especially if we are thrown into
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suffering for a period of time or if it seems our enemies
are prospering while we are just barely getting by.
2. The Book of Habakkuk affirms that God is a sovereign,
omnipotent God who has all things under control. We
just need to be still and know He is at work. He is who He
says He is and does keep His promises. He will punish the
wicked. Even when we cannot see it, He is still on the
throne of the universe.
3. We need to stay focused on this: “The Sovereign Lord is
my strength; He makes my feet like the feet of a deer, he
enables me to go on the heights” (Habakkuk 3:19).
Enabling us to go on the heights is taking us to the higher
places with Him where we are set apart from the world.
4. Sometimes the way we have to go to get us there is
through suffering and sorrow, but if we rest in Him and
trust Him, we come out where He wants us.
5. The message of Habakkuk is very comforting to us
because we live in a wicked society. We can look back at
what Habakkuk wrote, see that it came true, that God
really is in control, that God did protect the righteous
even though they went to Babylon (eg. Daniel, Shadrack,
Meshack and Abednego) and He eventually brought
them back to the land. Therefore, my faith in God can be
bolstered by the prophecy and historical events that
show God’s word is true.