Minor Prophets 08 - Habakkuk: The Questioning Prophet

Habakkuk: The Questioning Prophet – Cory Collins

(Sources include The Wiersbe Bible Commentary and the ESV Study Bible.)

Name: “to embrace” or “to wrestle.” He wrestles with God over his actions and choices, but then he embraces God and clings to his promises.

Date and setting: probably written about 640–615 BC, just before the fall of Assyria and the rise of Babylon (Chaldea). God used Assyria to punish Israel (722); he would eventually use Babylon to punish Assyria and Judah (in 586). The “theme question” of Habakkuk is, “How can God use a wicked nation such as Babylon for his divine purpose?” God judges all nations, said Habakkuk, and even Babylon would eventually be judged (Babylon fell to Persia in 539). God’s ways are at times mysterious, but “the righteous shall live by his faith” (2:4) while awaiting salvation.

Outline:

Ch. 1            The Prophet Worrying

1:2-11                   Is God Indifferent?

Habakkuk’s Question: “Why Does Judah’s Evil Go Unpunished?”

God’s Answer: “Babylon will Punish Judah.”

1:12-17       Is God Inconsistent?

Habakkuk’s Question: “How Can a Just God Use a Nation More Wicked than Judah to Punish Judah?”

Ch. 2            The Prophet Watching and Waiting

God’s Answer: “Babylon will be Punished in Time, and Faith Rewarded.”

Woe to the selfish. (2:6-8)  Woe to the covetous. (2:9-11)  Woe to the exploiters. (2:12-14)

          God’s glory will fill the earth. (2:14)

Woe to the drunkards. (2:15-17)  Woe to the idolaters. (2:18-20)

          God is still on his throne. (2:14)

Ch. 3            The Prophet Worshiping

He prays to God. (3:1-2)  He ponders God’s ways. (3:3-15)  He praises God. (3:16-19)

Key verses from Habakkuk:

Hab 2:4b “… but the righteous shall live by his faith.”

Note the NT uses of this verse. Rom 1:17; Gal 3:11; Heb 10:38

Hab 2:14 For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord as the waters cover the sea.

Hab 2:20 But the Lord is in his holy temple; let all the earth keep silence before him.”

Hab 3:17 Though the fig tree should not blossom, nor fruit be on the vines, the produce of the olive fail and the fields yield no food, the flock be cut off from the fold and there be no herd in the stalls, 18 yet I will rejoice in the Lord; I will take joy in the God of my salvation.