In order to understand the message of Habakkuk, we need to understand the time period in which the message was delivered. A key event in the history of Israel in the Old Testament was the dividing of the kingdom after King Solomon died. Solomon (David’s son) turned from the Lord near the end of his life, and as judgment, God caused the nation of Israel to be divided into two kingdoms: the northern kingdom (which continued to be called Israel) and the southern kingdom (which was called Judah – after the tribe that made up the vast majority of that kingdom). This divided kingdom period lasted about 375 years. As the history of these two kingdoms advanced, both kingdoms proved themselves to be very wicked. The northern kingdom was led by nothing but wicked kings, and because of their wickedness, God used the Assyrians to destroy them after about 240 years (in 722 B.C.). The southern kingdom survived a little bit longer because they were blessed with a handful of good and godly kings. But eventually, they were overcome with wickedness as well. It was near the end of the southern kingdom (around 620-610 B.C.) that Habakkuk came on the scene. At the time of Habakkuk, the southern kingdom – as we will – has become very wicked. And the message of Habakkuk is that God is going to punish this wickedness. The book of Habakkuk is exclusively a discussion between God and Habakkuk in which God is explaining to Habakkuk what he will do and why while Habakkuk is wrestling with issues such as the holiness of God and how God’s people should react to this punishment.
Understanding the history, we will begin this morning by laying out the essentials of Habakkuk’s message – as they are contained in chapter 1. Over the next two weeks we will get more specific regarding central themes of the book as those themes are fleshed out in chapters 2 and 3. So, this morning, we will begin by walking through the first section of this book – the flow is not difficult to follow. We are actually just listening to a conversation.
After introducing this message as “the oracle that Habakkuk the prophet saw” (1:1), Habakkuk launches into a lament to the Lord as he writes, “O Lord, how long shall I cry for help, and you will not hear? Or cry to you ‘Violence!’ and you will not save?” (1:2). So we see that Habakkuk has been crying out to the Lord for help for some time. He is surrounded by violence and has been crying out to the Lord to be saved.
This begs the question: what kind of trouble is Habakkuk lamenting? What sort of help does he need? The answer comes in the next two verses: “Why do you make me see iniquity, and why do you idly look at wrong? Destruction and violence are before me; strife and contention arise. So the law is paralyzed, and justice never goes forth. For the wicked surround the righteous; so justice goes forth perverted” (1:3-4). Here we see that the problem of Habakkuk is not some external enemy or nation but rather the rampant sin and wickedness that he sees around him. Habakkuk is crying out to the Lord to deal with this iniquity. We also see that this sin and wickedness is taking place in the midst of the people of God. When Habakkuk speaks of the law being paralyzed, he is most likely speaking of the law of the Lord. He says that it is ignored and that justice never goes forth. In fact, when “justice” does go forth, it goes forth perverted.
So at the very beginning of Habakkuk’s message, we see that he is lamenting the rampant wickedness of God’s people. He is lamenting the fact that God is not worshiped and that God’s law is not obeyed. More specifically, he is crying out for the Lord to do something about it. He wants to see the Lord punish this wickedness and deliver those among God’s people who are still righteous and desire to honor the Lord.
Beginning in verse 5, the dialogue abruptly shifts – suddenly the discourse is occurring in the first person (evidenced by the repeated use of the word “I”). The reason for this is that God has begun to speak – a reality that is not explicitly made clear in the text itself. So, beginning with verse 5, we see that God is giving a response to the lament of Habakkuk in verses 2-4.
God begins his response by saying, “Look among the nations, and see; wonder and be astounded. For I am doing a work in your days that you would not believe if told. For behold, I am raising up the Chaldeans, that bitter and hasty nation, who march through the breadth of the earth, to seize dwellings not their own” (1:5-6). Here we see that God is making clear to Habakkuk that he is not unaware of the wickedness of his people. In fact, he tells Habakkuk, he is actually in the process of raising up the Chaldeans (also known as the Babylonians) for the very purpose of dealing with the sin of his people. The Lord tells Habakkuk to pay attention to what is happening with the Chaldeans because it is the work of the Lord. At this point in history (625-610 B.C.), Assyria – the dominant world power – was in the process of being overcome by the Chaldeans – the new, rising world power. God is making clear to Habakkuk that this rise to power of the Chaldeans is not just some random event in history. Rather, it is the hand of the Lord raising up the Chaldeans so that he might use them as in instrument to punish and judge his people, Judah.
And listen to the way the Lord describes the Chaldeans. They are a bitter and hasty nation who march through the earth and seize other people’s dwellings. He goes on to say, “They are dreaded and fearsome; their justice and dignity go forth from themselves. Their horses are swifter than leopards, more fierce than the evening wolves; their horsemen press proudly on. Their horsemen come from afar; they fly like an eagle swift to devour” (1:7-8). With these words, God is describing the incredible power and strength of the Chaldeans. He is making clear to Habakkuk (and, in turn, to the people of Judah) that there is no hope of escape. These people that God is using to judge them are a terribly strong and powerful people who will not be overcome. God is making clear to Habakkuk that he is going to use this incredible strength and tenacity to punish his people.
But God goes on in describing the Chaldeans as he says, “They all come for violence, all their faces forward. They gather captives like sand. At kings they scoff, and at rulers they laugh. They laugh at every fortress, for they pile up earth and take it. Then they sweep by like the wind and go on, guilty men, whose own might is their god!” (1:9-10). Once again, God is making clear just how powerful these people are by demonstrating their lack of respect for enemies and even enemy kings. The Chaldeans do not fear the power of others because their power is greater.
But there is final piece to this description of the Chaldeans that we need to understand if we are to understand the message of Habakkuk. God finishes this response by saying, “Then they sweep by like the wind and go on, guilty men, whose own might is their god!” (1:11). Here we see that the Chaldeans are not only strong and powerful but also wicked. God describes them as “guilty men,” and he points out that their might is their god. The Chaldeans are not people who submit to God or even acknowledge his existence. They follow their own wicked desires and refuse to submit themselves to the authority and demands of God.
As we look at this description of the Chaldeans, we must remember that God is speaking this to his people so that they will understand the horrible judgment that is about to happen to them. God is not just going to put them in time-out. Rather, God is sending an incredibly strong and wicked nation to destroy them, and that nation will have no mercy on them. This is the judgment that God is bringing.
As we read the beginning of verse 12, we see that the narrative shifts again. Suddenly, we realize that Habbakuk is again speaking – addressing the Lord. In the beginning of Habakkuk’s response, we see the prophet reminding himself (and, in turn, the people of Judah) of the holy character of God. He writes, “Are you not from everlasting, O Lord my God, my Holy One? We shall not die. O Lord, you have ordained them as a judgment, and you, O Rock, have established them for reproof” (1:12). Here we see Habakkuk acknowledging the holy character of God. More specifically, he is acknowledging the fact that God is just in judging this sin. As we saw earlier, the people of Judah were walking in rampant wickedness, and Habakkuk recognizes that God’s judgment of that sin is only just.
However, the means of the coming judgment bothers Habakkuk. He is confused about how (and why) the Lord could (and would) use such a wicked nation as Babylon (an alternate name for the Chaldeans) to punish the sin of his people. Habakkuk says to the Lord, “You who are of purer eyes than to see evil and cannot look at wrong, why do you idly look at traitors and are silent when the wicked swallows up the man more righteous than he? You make mankind like the fish of the sea, like crawling things that have no ruler. He brings all of them up with a hook; he drags them out with his net; he gathers them in his dragnet; so he rejoices and is glad. Therefore he sacrifices to his net and makes offerings to his dragnet; for by them he lives in luxury, and his food is rich. Is he then to keep on emptying his net and mercilessly killing nations forever?” (1:13-17). Here we see that Habakkuk’s problem is not that judgment is coming – in fact, we have already seen him plead for judgment to come in 1:2-4. Habakkuk’s problem is the way that the judgment is coming. Habakkuk does not understand how the Lord can use a nation more wicked than Judah to punish the wickedness of Judah. It seems, in the words of one commentator, that the cure is worse than the disease. How can God be honored by even worse wickedness? How can God be honored by using a sinful people to eliminate his own covenant people?
It is these questions that are at the heart of the book of Habakkuk. At its very core, this book is about the very character of God. It is easy to recognize that we live in a sinful world, but such a reality begs the question: how can God use sinful people and events to punish and judge other sinful people and events? Does that not mean God is condoning the sin of the judging people? Habakkuk recognizes that the Chaldeans are not going to honor God when they are victorious. Instead, they are going to exult in their own power and greatness. How can this honor God? Moreover, Habakkuk recognizes that the reason Judah is going to be destroyed by the Chaldeans is not primarily because the Chaldeans are strong but because God is giving Judah over to them. How can it honor God for the evil to triumph over the wicked at the moving of God’s mighty hand? These are the questions that Habakkuk is raising in this response. And having raised these questions, Habakkuk closes by saying, “I will take my stand at my watchpost and station myself on the tower, and look out to see what he will say to me, and what I will answer concerning my complaint” (2:1). Having voiced his lament to the Lord, Habakkuk prepares and braces for the Lord’s response.
Beginning in verse 2 of chapter 2, we read the Lord’s response to Habakkuk. This response begins in verse 2 and actually continues through the end of chapter 2. Today, we will simply look at the general response given by the Lord, as laid out in 2:2-4. Next week, we will look more closely at the details of the Lord’s response in the rest of chapter 2.
In 2:2-4, the Lord answers Habakkuk very emphatically. Verse 2 says, “And the Lord answered me: ‘Write the vision; make it plain on tablets, so he may run who reads it’” (2:2). At this point, it seems that the Lord is going to give Habakkuk his answer in the form of a vision of some kind. The Lord is telling Habakkuk to be prepared for this vision so that he might write it down for the benefit of others who will be able to read it.
But just as it seems that the vision is the answer, the Lord declares that the time for the vision has not yet come. He says, “For still the vision awaits its appointed time; it hastens to the end – it will not lie. If it seems slow, wait for it; it will surely come; it will not delay” (2:3). So, after telling Habakkuk to write down this vision, he tells Habakkuk that he must wait for the vision to come. In essence, the Lord’s answer to Habakkuk is quite simple: wait – because an answer is sure to come and it will not come a second later than the Lord intends for it to come.
But that also is not the entire answer. The Lord continues by saying, “Behold, his soul is puffed up; it is not upright within him, but the righteous shall live by his faith” (2:4). Here, then, is the root of the Lord’s answer. The Lord does make clear to Habakkuk that there is an answer, but instead of giving him that answer right now, he makes clear that Habakkuk’s role is to wait in faith. That is, Habakkuk’s responsibility is not just to sit and wait for something to happen. Rather, Habakkuk’s role is to actively trust as he waits that the Lord’s plan is being carried out, and that it is being carried out in the way that the Lord intends it to be carried out. In essence, the Lord is declaring that Habakkuk (and, in turn, the people of Judah) are going to live or die is ultimately based on the attitude of their hearts and not on the external realities of invasions and empires and such. God is making clear that the issue is the heart. The one who is proud has a heart that is not right with God, and – as we will see next week – judgment awaits him. But the one who has a heart of faith – trusting that what God does is good and right and best – will live.
In short, the answer to Habakkuk’s complaint that the Chaldeans are more wicked than Judah is that God’s plan has not reached its climax. God makes clear that the story is not finished. And the responsibility of Habakkuk (and the people of Judah) is to wait and endure with faith. If they do that – they will live.
This is astounding because the Lord does not say that he will keep the righteous from being punished along with the wicked. He does not say that the righteous will be spared from the cruelties of the Chaldeans. He simply declares that they will ultimately live because of their faith.
1) For nonbelievers, do not let your own lack of understanding in the gospel destroy you (Hab. 1:5; Acts 13:41)
Having understood the point of the text, what in the world does this first section of Habakkuk have to do with us? Why does it even matter what God told Habakkuk over 2500 years ago? We are not in danger of being invaded by a horde of Chaldeans who ride horses and chariots, so what does this have to do with us? The short answer is that while our situation may not include the specific realities of Habakkuk’s situation, our situation is not entirely different from Habakkuk’s situation. In fact, our situation – and in our place in the history of God’s plan for the world – means there are remarkable similarities between our time and Habakkuk’s time.
First, we must take into account that God told the people of Judah what he was doing as it was happening so that they might be warned and escape the coming judgment. He tells Habakkuk in 1:5, “Look among the nations, and see; wonder and be astounded. for I am doing a work in your days that you would not believe if told.” He goes on to say that he is raising up the Chaldeans to judge his people. In verse 5, God is warning his people. He is telling them that they need to pay attention to what is happening or else the judgment will overwhelm them.
Amazingly, this verse is quoted by Paul in Acts 13 as he says, “Let it be known to you therefore, brothers, that through this man forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you, and by him everyone who believes is freed from everything from which you could not be freed by the law of Moses. Beware, therefore, lest what is said in the Prophets should come about: ‘Look, you scoffers, be astounded and perish; for I am doing a work in your days, a work that you will not believe, even if one tells it to you’” (Acts 13:38-41). Paul is making the very same warning that God make to the people of Judah – except the warning has nothing to do with an invasion of Chaldeans. Rather, it has to do with the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. God’s point in Habakkuk 1:5 is that the idea of God’s using the Chaldeans to punish his people would seem so ludicrous to the people that they would refuse to believe it. He is telling them this in advance so that rather than thinking its ludicrous, they will repent. Likewise, Paul’s point in Acts 13 is that the idea of God’s sending his Son to die a horrible and brutal death on a cross and then be raised from the dead for the salvation of sinners seems ludicrous to our human minds. Why would such a thing need to happen? But Paul’s point to his hearers was that if they let the fact that it sounds ridiculous cause them to reject Christ, then they will be judged by the work of God. Likewise, for those who might not be believers, I would plead with you not to reject Christ because you think the whole idea is too ridiculous to make any sense. The fact that it makes no sense to us means nothing. The fact that you think it is ridiculous that Jesus will return one day to judge both the living and the dead does not mean that it will not happen. So I plead with you to repent. Do not let the seeming absurdity of the plan cause you to miss it – we are not the standard of absurdity. God is.
2) For believers, understand the centrality of faith and faith alone (Hab. 2:4; Rom. 1:16-17)
On another level, God’s exhortation to Habakkuk to have faith and live points to a higher reality as well. God exhorted Habakkuk (and the people of Judah) to trust in the Lord and his plan. As a result, they would live. Notice that God did not tell them to do anything – merely to have faith. It was through their faith alone that they would live. Just like with the last point to nonbelievers, Paul makes clear in his writings that the specific reality of Habakkuk’s time pointed forward to the ultimate reality of our time – salvation through faith in Jesus Christ.
In Romans 1:16-17, Paul writes, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, ‘The righteous shall live by faith.’” Here we see Paul making clear that faith was not just necessary in order for Habakkuk and the people of Judah to live. Faith is necessary for all human beings to live on an eternal, spiritual level. The one who has faith will live and the one who does not have faith will die. On a very real level, the story of Habakkuk points us directly forward to the person and work of Jesus Christ. Just as Habakkuk was told by the Lord that his means of life was through waiting patiently in faith, we as believers must always remember that our hope for life lies in our faith in Jesus Christ. Our hope is not that we understand everything or that we know how everything is going to work out. Our hope for life is that we have trusted in Jesus Christ and through our faith in him, we live.
3) For believers, we still await the coming one who will fully and finally deliver us from all pain and suffering (Hab. 2:3; Heb. 10:37-28)
For those of us who are believers, this text also connects to us on a very personal everyday level. Habakkuk was confused because the judgment of the Lord was going to sweep up the righteous as well as the wicked. Habakkuk wondered how that reality would bring glory to God. As part of his answer to Habakkuk, the Lord promised him a vision and told him to wait for it because it would surely come. In essence, God was telling Habakkuk to take heart because of the plan of God was still unfolding. God was making clear to Habakkuk that ultimate deliverance would come in God’s time.
Once again, this reality is picked up in the New Testament and applied to the lives of those who are believers. The author of Hebrews – writing to people who are being tempted to forsake Jesus Christ because of difficulties and persecutions – tells his readers, “For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God you may receive what is promised. For, ‘Yet a little while, and the coming one will come and will not delay; but my righteous one shall live by faith, and if he shrinks back, my soul has no pleasure in him.’ But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who have faith and preserve their souls” (Heb. 10:36-39). Here we see, from the author of Hebrews, that the “vision” of Habakkuk finds its ultimate fulfillment in the second coming of Jesus Christ for which we still wait. Habakkuk might have been tempted to give up hope in the midst of the destruction by the Chaldeans, but God give him this hope of a future vision to sustain him. Likewise, as Christians, we might be tempted to give up in the midst of suffering and persecution and difficulty in this life. Being a Christian does not free us from suffering. But we are not without hope. God has promised us that the coming one (Jesus) will come and will not delay (that is, he will not come a second later than God intends for him to come). He will come, and he will judge the world. But the one who has had faith in him – rather than being judged – will live. Like the author of Hebrews, I would exhort you to look forward to the second coming of the holy one. He came the first time and you have life because you have placed your faith in him. Do not let the suffering and difficulty of this life cause you to abandon that faith. Trust that the one who came once is coming again. Maintain your faith in him and you will not have to shrink back when he comes because you will be delivered by him when he comes to judge.
As we come to the table, we are remembering that the very realities to which Habakkuk pointed have come. God’s plan for rescuing his people has been revealed in the person of Jesus Christ. The one who has faith in him will be saved. And even in the midst of suffering and difficulty, we will still place our faith in him because we know he is returning. As we take communion, we look back to the object of our faith. But we also look forward to the return of the coming one – a return that will not come a second too late. We look forward in hope. Amen.