Habakkuk Introduction and Chapter One

Introduction—We know virtually nothing about the prophet Habakkuk. There have been some legends that have been told about him, the most interesting of which is that one day he was “on his way to the field with a bowl of pottage, was taken by an angel, carried to Babylon and placed in the lions den, where Daniel ate the pottage, when Habakkuk was returned to his own place.” (International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, “Habakkuk”). There is a musical notation at the end of chapter 3 which has led some to conclude that he was a member of a Levitical choir. None of this is known for certain. We can pretty well date his book, however, as near the end of the 7th century B.C., soon before the Babylonian onslaught into Judah. This would make Habakkuk a contemporary of Zephaniah and Jeremiah.

Chapter One

Habakkuk’s dilemma (vs. 1-4)—Like all godly men, Habakkuk was concerned with the increasing degeneracy and debauchery among the people of his country. And, indeed, as Judah got closer to Babylonian captivity, corruption and iniquity were more rampant. Habakkuk had asked God about it (v. 2), but so far received no answer. He mentions the sins of plundering, violence, strife, and contention (v. 3), and there were no restraints—“the law is powerless, and justice never goes forth. For the wicked surround the righteous; therefore perverse judgment proceeds” (v. 4). A pretty clear statement of the wickedness in Judah at the time. When people ignore the law (“the law is powerless”), then sin, anarchy, and chaos are not far behind.

“God, when are you going to do something about this wickedness? How long are You going to put up with it?” That’s what Habakkuk wants to know. A lot of people in America would like to know the same thing about this country.

The Lord’s answer (vs. 5-11)—Jehovah tells the prophet that He is, indeed, about to “work a work in your days which you would not believe, though it were told you” (v. 5). He is going to use the Babylonians (“Chaldeans”) to punish Judah (v. 6). The rest of this section is a vivid description of the power of Babylon—“a bitter and hasty nation” (v. 6). They had conquered many other peoples (v. 6). “They are terrible and dreadful,” (v. 7), and then perhaps the most striking portrayal: “Their judgment and their dignity proceed from themselves” (v. 7). They make their own laws, judge others by their own standards, create their own gods; they pay no attention to the righteous dictates of God. They are fast, they are fierce (v. 8), they are violent, “they gather captives like sand” (v. 9), no world power scares them, they take anything they want (v. 10). And all their sins they attribute to their god (v. 11). The Babylonians were, indeed, an unusually perverse and wicked people, and were known throughout the ancient world for such.

Habakkuk’s 2nd dilemma (vs. 12-2:1)—Jehovah’s answer didn’t compute to Habakkuk at all. “Ok,” the prophet says, “you have appointed Judah for judgment, and marked them for correction, but will not obliterate them completely” (“we shall not die”—v. 12). The problem for Habakkuk was the agent God was going to use. In one of the great passages in the prophetic writings, he says, “You are of purer eyes than to behold evil, and cannot look on wickedness. Why do You look on those who deal treacherously, and hold Your tongue when the wicked devours a person more righteous than he?” (v. 13). “God, we’re bad, but we aren’t as bad as those people (the Babylonians). How can You use them, who are more wicked than we, to punish us?” A singular question indeed! In the rest of the chapter, Habakkuk uses an illustration of a fisherman and a net; in effect, Babylon is sweeping the seas and capturing all the fish. The last statement in verse 17 explains his allegory: “And continue to slay nations without pity?” The Babylonians were doing that. How can the Lord use such people as they? The ways of God were simply beyond the prophet’s ability to understand. So he asks.

Chapter 2, verse 1 really belongs at the end of chapter 1. It records the end of Habakkuk’s speech. He will “watch to see what He will say to me, and what I will answer when I am corrected.” He greatly anticipated the Lord’s response to his question. The answer he received wasn’t what he expected.