Habakkuk

Faith in the face of perplexity: how a holy God can use the wicked to judge His people—“the just shall live by his faith.”

Habakkuk is unusual among the prophets: instead of speaking for God to the people, he speaks to God about the people. He opens with a complaint. Violence, strife, and injustice filled Judah, and God seemed to do nothing. God’s answer was more troubling still: He was raising up the Chaldeans, “that bitter and hasty nation,” to punish Judah.

That raised a harder question. How could God, who is “of purer eyes than to behold evil,” use a people more wicked than Judah? Habakkuk climbed his watchtower to wait for an answer. God told him to write the vision plainly, for it would surely come, and gave him the principle that governs the righteous in every age: “the just shall live by his faith” (2:4). Five woes follow against the proud Chaldean.

The book closes with a psalm. Habakkuk recalls God’s mighty acts in Israel’s history, trembles at the coming judgment, and then declares that even if the fig tree does not blossom and the fields yield no food, “yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will joy in the God of my salvation” (3:17–18). The book moves from “Why?” to worship.

Writer: Habakkuk
Written: About 606–604 BC, as Babylonian power rises around the battle of Carchemish.
Name: Embrace; one who embraces

Title and authorship

Chabaqquq probably means “embrace” or “embracer.” Luther described him as one who embraces his people to comfort them. Nothing is known of him beyond this book; he is called “the prophet” (1:1).

Habakkuk wrote the book (1:1; 3:1). The musical notes in chapter 3 (“upon Shigionoth,” “to the chief singer on my stringed instruments”) suggest he may have been connected with the temple singers.

Historical background

Judah in the reign of Jehoiakim, as the Chaldeans rose to power after the fall of Nineveh and the battle of Carchemish, about 606–604 BC in the traditional chronology.

The righteous remnant of Judah, facing the injustice of their own nation and the coming Babylonian invasion.

The rise of Babylon

Babylon declared independence from Assyria under Nabopolassar, destroyed Nineveh with the Medes in 612 BC, and defeated Egypt at Carchemish in 605 BC. Within a few years Jehoiakim became a Babylonian vassal and Judah was on the road to exile.

Jehoiakim’s Judah

After Josiah’s reform, his son Jehoiakim turned back to injustice and idolatry, built his palace with unpaid labor (Jeremiah 22:13–17), and burned Jeremiah’s scroll. Habakkuk’s complaint of violence and perverted judgment fits this reign.

The Qumran commentary

Among the Dead Sea Scrolls is a commentary (pesher) on Habakkuk 1–2, applying the prophet’s words to the community’s own times. The scroll shows how highly the book was regarded before Christ.

Key passages

Habakkuk 2:4

“The just shall live by his faith”—quoted three times in the New Testament.

Habakkuk 2:14

The earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea.

Habakkuk 3:17–19

Joy in the God of salvation when everything else fails.

Outline

1 · The prophet questions

Violence in Judah and the character of the coming Chaldeans trouble Habakkuk.

2 · The Lord answers

The prophet waits; the Lord announces the certainty of the vision and woes on the proud oppressor.

3 · The prophet worships

Prayer recalls divine power and ends with rejoicing in the Lord despite deprivation.

Original language

אֱמוּנָה (emunah, H530) — “faith”

Firmness, faithfulness, steady trust. The just man lives by leaning on God’s word. Paul uses the verse for justification (Romans 1:17; Galatians 3:11) and Hebrews for perseverance (10:38).

מִשְׁמֶרֶת (mishmereth, H4931) — “watch”

A guard post or watch. “I will stand upon my watch, and set me upon the tower” (2:1)—the posture of waiting for God’s answer.

כַּשְׂדִּים (Kasdim, H3778) — “Chaldeans”

The people of southern Babylonia whose dynasty ruled the Neo-Babylonian empire. The names Babylonians and Chaldeans are often interchangeable.

שִׁגְיֹנוֹת (shigyonoth, H7692) — “Shigionoth”

A musical term, perhaps meaning a wild or passionate song. Chapter 3 is a psalm intended for public singing, with Selah three times.

Doctrinal study

The just shall live by faith

Habakkuk 2:4 contrasts the proud, whose soul is not upright, with the just, who lives by faith. Romans uses it to show how a man is made righteous; Galatians to show that the Law is not of faith; Hebrews to show how the righteous endure until the Lord comes. One verse supplies the doctrine of three epistles.

God’s use of the wicked

God used the Chaldeans as His rod but did not excuse them. The five woes of chapter 2 announce their own judgment for greed, violence, cruelty, drunkenness, and idolatry. God may use an instrument without approving it.

The vision will surely come

“Though it tarry, wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not tarry” (2:3). Hebrews 10:37 applies this to the coming of Christ: “he that shall come will come, and will not tarry.”

Commentary notes

Question, answer, conclusion

The problem: why does evil prosper? (1). The answer: stand, watch, and wait—God’s word will be fulfilled (2). The conclusion: God’s glory will be revealed, and the believer can rejoice in Him (3). The book opens with a question and closes with an exclamation; opens in gloom and closes in glory.

The five woes

Woe to him that increaseth that which is not his (2:6); that coveteth an evil covetousness (2:9); that buildeth a town with blood (2:12); that giveth his neighbour drink (2:15); and that saith to the wood, Awake (2:19).

Hind’s feet

“He will make my feet like hinds’ feet, and he will make me to walk upon mine high places” (3:19). The deer climbs steep places sure-footedly; God gives His people stability on difficult ground.

Christ in the book

  • The coming One who will not tarry (2:3; Hebrews 10:37)
  • The Holy One who comes from Teman in glory (3:3)
  • The One who goes forth for the salvation of His anointed (3:13)

Applications

Historical

  • The burden, vision, and prayer of Habakkuk concerning Judah’s wickedness and the coming Chaldean invasion.
  • The Chaldeans rise as the instrument of judgment against Judah, but their use does not excuse their own wickedness.
  • The book records a prophetic dialogue more than a public sermon collection; the questions themselves advance the argument.

Doctrinal

  • The chastening of Israel in the time of Jacob’s trouble, the proud world power of the last days, the persecution of Israel in the Tribulation, and the Second Coming, when the earth will be filled with the knowledge of God’s glory.
  • God remains holy while permitting evil for a time and judging one nation through another.
  • Habakkuk’s statement about the just living by faith is taken up in Romans, Galatians, and Hebrews, giving it a central place in the Bible’s teaching about faith.

Devotional

  • God’s chastening and conforming work in the believer. When it seems God is not working, He is; He has a plan, and faith waits for it. It is fine to ask God “why,” as long as we heed His answer.
  • Habakkuk presents his difficulties to God and waits to receive correction and instruction, demonstrating dependence amid unresolved questions.
  • The final confession places joy in the Lord’s salvation even when ordinary sources of material support fail.

Answering the critics

Critics have largely left Habakkuk alone, though some have questioned whether the psalm of chapter 3 belongs to the original book.

Chapter 3 is titled “A prayer of Habakkuk the prophet,” and it completes the book’s movement from perplexity to praise. Its prophetic accuracy and its central place in New Testament doctrine commend the whole.