The name habakkuk is an unusual one of uncertain meaning. He dwells on the perfect dealings of god and the development of faith in gods own people. Habakkuk portrays christ as the god of my salvation. So he begins, the burden which habakkuk the prophet did see habakkuk 1. The name habakkuk means wrestle, wrestlinghence the mental and moral struggle presented in habakkuks prophecy. Habakkuk s entire attitude was changed by gods answer. More specifically, habakkuk was written 15 to 20 years before 606 bc, which would be in the range of 621626 bc. The book comes alive when we realise how habakkuks world ties together with.
The book of habakkuk is the eighth volume of the minor prophets, but little is known about the author outside of the book that bears his name. The precise interpretation of the book of habakkuk presents unusual difficulties. But as i read and digested habakkuk, i was struck afresh by what a useful. Habakkuk was troubled by the moral and spiritual decline of the world. There are indications from the book itself that he was of a. Habakkuks book contains only three short chapters, but they present a striking contrast. Habakkuk is unique in that the prophet is not speaking to gods people but rather to god himself.
How can we learn to trust god like the prophet habakkuk habakkuk. One of the books of the minor prophets that make up the old testament. Book by book summary of the book of habakkuk youtube. This, in essence, is exactly what happened to a man named habakkuk who was frustrated that the bad guys were winning while the good guys were weeping. He was instrumental in plunging the nation into idolatry and moral decay. Habakkuk saw judahs rapid moral and spiritual decline, and this deeply troubled him. The lack of specific historical references cause it to. His list is repetitious, but it emphasizes just how bad things were. The book of habakkuk was likely written between 610 and 605 b. Habakkuk deals with deep issues of human existence and darkness in the world. The book of habakkuk differs from other books of prophecy in one special aspect. And then habakkuk closes the book with, though this, though this, and. Habakkuks questions the book begins with habakkuks first question. Though the fig tree should not blossom, nor fruit be on the vines, the produce of the olive fail.
The prophet, as far as we can tell, was a humble, godly man, with a high moral character. But he didnt like the direction things were going in his local city or the country for that matter. Little is known about habakkuk except that he was a contemporary of jeremiah and a man of vigorous faith rooted deeply in the religious. The honest to god book he penned recounts gods answers to his questions about why things were so bad and how long god would let the world circle the drain before getting. And yet god used this to turn their hearts back to him. This summary of the book of habakkuk provides information about the title, authors, date of writing, chronology, theme, theology, outline, a brief overview, and the chapters of the book of habakkuk. At least twenty years before the fact, habakkuk prophesied that the chaldeans babylonians would capture. The book of habakkuk was probably written during the reign of king jehoiakim and after the book of nahum. He is ourtraged at the violence and injustice in his society. Instead of demanding answers from god or trying to tell god how he should do things, habakkuk now recognizes gods sovereignty.
Each disciple represents some aspect of the quality of the spiritual life within us. The book is set, based upon its contents, after the rise of the neobabylonian empire when they became a threat to the kingdom of judah see 1. His main theme, like psalm 73 and other old testament passages, was the affliction of the godly and the prosperity of the ungodly. That is habakkuks message for gods people around the world today.
Habakkuk is appropriately placed in the scriptures after the book of naham. Tragedies happen, temptations get the best of us at times, cultures deteriorate morally, nations rise and fall, evil violence claims its victims, and in our limited understanding we try to make sense of it all. Approximately when was the book of habakkuk penned. The book of habakkuk offers us a picture of a prideful people being humbled, while the righteous live by faith in god 2. Instead of taking jehovahs message directly to the people, he takes the complaint of the people to jehovah, representing them in the complaint homer hailey. How can we learn to trust god like the prophet habakkuk habakkuk 3. Almost all information about habakkuk is drawn from the book of the bible bearing his name, with no biographical details provided other than his title, the. The prophet habakkuk decries the sins of judah but grapples with the fact that gods chosen people will suffer at the hands of enemies even more wicked than they. The man who rejoiced in spite of an invasion habakkuk. Habakkuk had a problem with gods way of doing things. Content index books of the bible habakkuk trust like habakkuk. Some feel it comes from the hebrew word habaq which means to embrace thus, his name would signify an ardent embrace.
They commentators of habakkuk may have not gotten to chapter three 8. Paul quotes habakkuk in his letters to the romans and galatians when he explains how faith and gods justice work together rom 1. I am part of a home small group bible study and our study this week is taken from the book of habakkuk click here to hear it pronounced. Right responses to trials chapter 3 of habakkuk habakkuk 3. Habakkuk a final warning to judah habakkuk is one of only four bible writers who referred to themselves as a prophet others were isaiah, jeremiah, and haggai. Habakkuk, who was active around 612 bc, was a prophet whose oracles and prayer are recorded in the book of habakkuk, the eighth of the collected twelve minor prophets in the hebrew bible. Habakkuk illustrates the way prophetic books have been put together in an apparently slapdash fashion.
Habakkuk 2 seems to prophesy the fall of babylon to persia. And, of course, habakkuk is prophesying of babylons coming invasion and being used as a rod of god to punish gods people. God wants to use trials to strengthen you and your faith. The prophet complains of the mischief done by the chaldeans, ver. Habakkuk is the prophet of faith, as he has been labeled by many commentators. A biblical response to todays most controversial issues by john macarthur. We shall not live by our works but the work of christ on the cross, he has. Of the babylonians, god says, they are frightening and terrifying. Habakkuk responds with a song of worship hab 3 more pages related to habakkuk. Habakkuk expresses the attitude that many righteous people have. The first two chapters are mainly composed of a dialogue between habakkuk and jehovah. In the bible as a whole, only job delivers a more pointed challenge to divine rule. Habakkuk 3 has no specific historical setting but is a psalm of praise for yhwhs deliverance. Contrary to what might be expected in view of the significance of his message, habakkuk was an obscure man.
For hundreds of years they will be forced subjects of a foreign kingdom far from home. How can we learn to trust god like the prophet habakkuk. Habakkuk is the only prophet to devote his entire work to the question of the justice of gods government of the world. It appears from this that habakkuk had prayed many times to god to do something about the moral decay of judah. I thought i would post some lessons that i learned from this study, which is chapter 17 in the book right thinking in a world gone wrong. Pastor chad hovind and his daughter teach the book of habakkuk from start to finish with sierra hovind cartooning the book as chad speaks. Strongs concordance defines the word as a moral mistake, while youngs says erring. Early textual witnesses for the book of habakkuk include chapter three lxx, copies of the book of the twelve c. Despite the questions the prophet habakkuk had concerning the evil taking place during his time, he concludes his oracle with positive words of praise. He asks god about the violence, lack of justice, and lawlessness he sees habakkuk 1. The prophet complains of the violence practised by the jews, ver.
At the end of his book this name becomes appropriate because habakkuk chooses to cling firmly to embrace god regardless of what happens to his nation 3. The prophet declared the righteous will live by faith, which emphasizes the heart of the books message. I shall use the words of the text to illustrate mans moral mission to the world. The prophesy of habakkuk is an old book with a very contemporary message. Habakkuk is the first of two related prophecies of the twelve minor prophets written. This truth is echoed throughout the new testament romans 1. A study of the book of habakkuk cornerstone church.
The prayer of habakkuk habakkuk 3 knowing jesus christ. The burden of habakkuk genevan institute for reformed. The old testament book of the prophet habakkuk isnt one that often gets preached. Jeremiah same time period, also prophesied about the babylonian invasion daniel the prophet was a captive of babylon, the book also describes babylons fall nahum describes the downfall of nineveh, who captured israel zephaniah next book of the bible. Perhaps the significance is that habakkuk embraced god and his people. The word signifies an oracle or revelation in general. Now habakkuk had a very beautiful and close relationship with god. Shall we turn at this time to the book of habakkuk. The book begins with habakkuk complaining about the wickedness that pervades the land. Their complex seeks to reach out and touch us at some level of our spiritual development. Why begin this introduction to the book of habakkuk with these quotes about the representation of the disciples. Believers can, and must, trust in god no matter how tumultuous outward circumstances may become.
The book opens with the prophet in perplexity over the mystery of unpunished evil in the world. Book of habakkuk overview insight for living ministries. It reminds us that while god may seem silent and uninvolved in our world, he always has a plan to deal with evil and always works out justice. There may have been an alternate recension of habakkuk which did not include chapter 3. The book of habakkuk is a short prophetic book of the old testament that deals with the ageold problems of evil and human suffering. In the book of habakkuk we see that the israelites are going to face a serious trial of defeat and exile. In the first four verses he complains about the violence, iniquity, wickedness, destruction, strife, contention, lack of law, and perversion of justice in the land. It probably comes from the verb qbj meaning to fold ones hands or to embrace. An examination of modern applications christians can draw from the first eleven verses of the book of habakkuk.
Very little is known concerning the personal background of habakkuk. After everything that happened, how could habakkuk still trust god. Habakkuk isnt a wellknown or often read book of the bible, but it contains one of the most important lines in church history. Habakkuk as a ragtag of traditional elements held together by vision and prayer. In hebrew the book is titled qyqbj after the name of the prophet. It is attributed to the prophet habakkuk, and was probably composed in the late. The author departs from the usual method of the prophets.
628 204 115 842 1204 1613 1096 1332 797 606 1512 1103 1381 1282 332 74 1270 432 5 825 1001 89 836 785 994 1409 826 654 1123 871 1433 586 397 975 775 1120 1211 1088 1334 178 854 746 299 410