Habakkuk Interpretative Commentary
Subject: Religious studies
Topic: Book of Habakkuk
Style: Chicago/Turabian
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Interpretive Commentary
Introduction
The book of Habakkuk is unique among the prophetic writings because it is written in the Hebrew language. ‘Habakkuk,’ as the book is named after its author, is a collection of three short chapters in length. There are two main parts to the book of Habakkuk; chapters one to two and chapter three. The book of Habakkuk is unique in its content and is divided into two sections. Habakkuk engages in combat with two secrecies in the first section (chapters one and two). His first question to God is why He would allow wickedness in the land of Judah to continue unpunished. Second, he questions why God chooses Babylon to judge Judah’s sin when Babylon was far worse than Judah in terms of wickedness. The second section (chapter 3) of Habakkuk’s prophecy comes to a close with a beautiful hymn of devotion and praise to the supreme God, written by the prophet. The prophet Habakkuk continued to praise his God despite the difficult times that lay ahead. He was certain that God was good and just, despite the difficult circumstances.
The prophet Habakkuk is a mysterious figure, with little known about him aside from the meaning of his name. His given name literally translates as “the embracer of the embraced.” According to the name, God accepted Habakkuk as a messenger and as a son of the Most High. In the Bible, it is a proper name for a prophet who has been warmed by a long conversation with the sovereign God through the medium of vision. God graciously accepted all of his questions, and in doing so, God graciously accepted him. When the Prophet Habakkuk lived, the world was filled with perverse wickedness and grave injustice. God is referred to as the Father and the God of Israel in this passage. He gave Habakkuk the prophecy so that he could share it with His people. When the philosophical, theological, historical, and literary contexts of the book of Habakkuk are taken into account, it makes it possible for people to hear God’s message, His testimony, and His ways, which are revealed to them. God’s message to the people of Judah is presented in the book of Habakuk as both judgment and hope, which the people of Judah are encouraged to accept in faith.
Prophet Habakkuk lived around the same time as Jeremiah, according to some scholars. Some scholars believe that Habakkuk lived during the same time period as Zephaniah, Ezekiel, Jeremiah, and Daniel. All of these connections may lead us to believe that the book of Habakkuk was written shortly after or before the Carchemish battle (around 605 before Christ). In other words, the prophet Habakkuk lived during the final years of Judah’s reign (southern kingdom of Israel).
The book of Habakkuk uniquely stands among the prophetic writings. The book is named after its author, Habakkuk, and comprises three short chapters. The book of Habakkuk is unique in its content and entails two main parts; chapters one to two and Chapter three. In the first part (chapters one and two), Habakkuk fights two secrecies. First, he asks God why He could allow wickedness to go unpunished in the land of Judah. Second, he wonders why God uses Babylon to judge sin in Judah while Babylon was more wicked than Judah. In the second section (chapter 3), Habakkuk’s prophecy ends with a wonderful hymn of devotion and praise to the supreme God. In spite of the challenging days ahead, Habakkuk continued to praise his God with a complete assurance that He was good and just.
Apart from the meaning of his name, much is not known concerning the prophet Habakkuk. His name means the embracer of the embraced. The name indicates that God embraced Habakkuk as a messenger and a son. It is a proper name for a prophet who is warmed by his long conversation with the sovereign God in a vision. God embraced all his questions, and in so doing, God truly embraced him. Prophet Habakkuk lived in a time of perverse wickedness and serious injustice. God is seen as the Father and God of Israel. He gave Habakkuk the prophecy to give to His people. When considerations are given to the philosophical, theological, historical, and literary context of the book of Habakkuk, it enables people to hear the message of God, His testimony and discloses His ways to the people. In the book of Habakkuk, the author gives the message of God as a judgment and hope that the people of Judah may embrace in faith.
Prophet Habakkuk can be dated around the same time as Jeremiah. Some people say that Habakkuk is contemporary to Zephaniah, Ezekiel, Jeremiah, and Daniel. All these associations may allow us to date the book of Habakkuk slightly after or before the Carchemish’s battle (around 605 before Christ). Meaning, the prophet Habakkuk lived in the final years of Judah (southern kingdom of Israel). With respect to a letter a Jewish legend referred to in the Zohar, Habakkuk is considered the son of a woman named in 2nd Kings Chapter 4. Elisha told the woman that at this season, in due time, you shall embrace a son. Luther, a German translator, called Habakkuk in his early translations der Herzer, the one who caresses. He summed up his speech as follows, Habakkuk caressed his nation, taking it into his arms as a mother caresses a weeping child or any other person, pacifying and quieting it with an assurance that condition in the land of Judah will change if God wills. He witnesses idolatry and injustice in the land. The book of Habakkuk can be distinguished from other prophetic books in that he addresses God and does not accuse Israel.
Habakkuk’s Lament: How Long Must the Unjust Triumph?
The book of Habakkuk is a short and precise dialogue between God and the prophet regarding Israel’s judgment. In the initial verses of the first chapter, Habakkuk questions why God is not punishing the sins of Judah. There were many in idolatry, injustice, and the oppression of the poor in the time of prophet Habakkuk. The prophet goes before the Lord and asks him that the unjust must triumph for how long before he releases His judgment. God then responded to Habakkuk, telling him that He would use the Babylonians to execute judgment on the people of Judah. The prophet was surprised about the solution of the Lord. He then asks God how He is using a country more wicked and unjust the Judah to bring judgment. God responded by telling him that Babylon would also be destroyed after completing its mission. The nation will be mocked by the people it oppressed and inflicted suffering upon. After the fall of Babylon, the whole world will be filled with knowledge and understanding of God’s glory and power. The final chapter of a Habakkuk is a hymn with musical signs. The hymn praises and celebrates some of the Lord’s greatest actions in the history of Judah and awaits its wrath against Babylon.
The main tension in the book of Habakkuk focuses on the fulfillment of the plan of the Lord for the people of Judah and the implementation of His judgment on the whole world. The questions of prophet Habakkuk are based on the stance of trust and faith, and no doubt. The prophet fully believes and trusts in the Lord. He understands that whatever God says will always come to pass. Habakkuk fully believes in the ultimate Justice of the Lord; therefore, he openly asks for justification. As the prophet and the Lord craft how Justice will be executed in Judah, Habakkuk tries to address the questions of violence, sin, and suffering.
In the first chapter of the book, Habakkuk complains to the Lord concerning the violence carried out through the abuse of Justice’s sword among God’s people. He also complains about the hardship experienced by many innocent people in the land of Judah. God, through the prophet, foretells the consequence and punishment of that abuse of power and authority by the sword of war and the despair which the Chaldeans’ army should make upon the people of Judah. Habakkuk then is grieved and complains that the army of Chaldeans has so far prevailed so that he barely understands which should be lamented (the punishment of the sin or the sin itself) for in all many innocent and good people of God will greatly suffer. It is great that judgment day is coming before us and the future of the state. The day of judgment will be eternally well with the righteous alone and harsh and hostile to the wicked and unjust. As a result, the wickedness and all the things that seem disordered shall be set to right on that day. After that day, there will be no complaint at all.
The book does not explain more about Habakkuk apart from being a prophet, a man divinely commissioned and inspired. Besides, we are told that the book itself was a burden that the prophet saw. Habakkuk was sure of the truth of his vision as if he saw it with his physical eyes the punishment and God’s promise being accomplished. In the verses of the first chapter of the book, Habakkuk sadly laments and complains of the iniquities and the injustice he was experiencing. He laments as a person sensibly touched with sorrow for the pitiful decay of righteousness and religion. As a result, he makes a sad complaint to the Lord, which includes; the violence in the world as the old world was. Habakkuk complains that no individual could call what he owns his own. However, in disobedience of most sacred regulations and rules of equity and property, he had the power and authority on the inside to call it his own. Therefore, Habakkuk was lamenting to the Lord to bring judgment in the land of Judah to culminate the existing iniquities and injustice.
Besides, prophet Habakkuk cries about grievance, iniquity, violence, and spoil. Everything was conducted with a high hand among relations and in families, among friends in the neighborhood, in courts of law, and commerce. Thus, no man-made compunction of doing wrong to the friend, neighbor, or even family. The people in the land-only cared about themselves. Everything they were doing was just to make a good hand for themselves. Even though there is no wrong done to the prophet himself, but it pains him to see innocent people being wronged. As a result, he could only associate his grievance and tears with those oppressed. Doing wrong to innocent and harmless individuals is iniquity in itself; thus, it is a great grievance to all that are concerned for Jerusalem of God, who cry and sigh for the culmination of such injustice. Therefore, Habakkuk complains that the wicked doth compass about the righteous.
An honest man with an honest cause has numerous enemies troubling them from every direction; several wicked people in union against the well-being of the honest and righteous man trying to bring him down. They set different arts of harm and trouble upon an honest and righteous person that they perfectly bring him down. The kingdom of Judah was divided into factions and parties that were constantly devouring and biting each other. This was a lamentation to any individual who was longing for peace in the land of Judah. Additionally, there is that elevation of contention and strife that stimulate divisions, incensing people against each other, widen breaches, and spread disharmony among brothers by carrying out the work of brethren’s accuser. They are industriously raising up and awaking contentions and strife that was ended and is being forgotten. They ate, blowing the stimuli that were concealed under the ashes. Habakkuk complains that if blessed are those who make peace, then the peace breakers that create divided parties and make trouble that further spreads and disseminates should be cursed. It is heartbreaking to see wicked men enjoying those flames consuming all the things in the country, and reviving the fire. Also, he laments that the flood of strife and violence strongly runs as to endeavor defiance to the regulations and restraints of administration and the laws of justices. The prophet is asking why God is taking time to appear against them. If the Lord does not appear against the wicked individuals in society, no one else will make the law silent and slack. As a result, peace and judgment do not prevail as they should be. No acquaintance is taken for those crimes, and no justice is done upon the criminals. The wrong judgment will continue, and the criminal acts will persist in society. The wicked are justified as the righteous are condemned when appeals are made in courts of Justice. Thus, Habakkuk is calling upon the Lord to bring down His judgment on the wicked people of Judah. He trusts in God that He will not abandon His people undergoing oppression.
Furthermore, the power of legislature does not care to supply the law deficiencies for the removal of those increasingly threatening dangers. Also, the executive power does not care to respond to the good and proper intentions of the laws and regulations that are made. As such, violence is drying up the streams of Justice in the land of Judah. All the mentioned iniquities and injustice were public and open and avowed impudently, and it was barefaced. Habakkuk is complaining that the iniquities in Judah are exposed to him; he is witnessing it in any direction he turns his eyes. He stresses that he could not look off the iniquities (he states that violence and spoiling are right before him). The thriving wickedness and bad behavior in a country is a significant eye-sore to righteous people. Frequently, Solomon complains of the exasperation he experiences in the world, and the prophet would, thus, turn recluse that he may not see the vexation. Then, God promises us a world where love and holiness reign forever, and no violence or spoiling shall be experienced. Habakkuk complained to God, but he could not find a redress of those grievances. He asks why God shows him the iniquity.
In chapter 2, the Lord answers Habakkuk by reminding him that He (God) reigns and rules over all things. God tells him that His purpose will always pass in his appointed time. God then continues by listing a series of calamities against Babylonians. God reveals that Babylon will experience a great and horrible judgment. It may be perceived that the devil is winning and overcoming God’s people, but one day, in His time, the glory of the Lord will cover the world. For He says that the world is filled with the understanding of the Lord’s glory the same way water covers the sea. For the people who watch wickedness and evil prevailing in the world and wonder when the Lord will change situations like Habakkuk, chapter two of the book of Habakkuk is a perfect reminder. The Lord is assuring all the people in the world that in him there is peace. Thus, people may experience tribulation in the world, but they should never lose hope as the Lord has power and authority over the world.
The same way prophet Habakkuk experienced the iniquities and oppression of God’s people; there are some times and seasons when the lives of the righteous may be filled with suffering and trouble until they start wondering where the Lord is. Just like a thick and low-lying fog that crawls across the ground, these seasons may seem difficult and dark to pass through. At that time, God may seem absent in our lives. He may seem to have distanced himself from our grievances. Sometimes, we may be calling for him and wonder whether he is listening to our prayers. We cray and plead for God’s help, but nothing changes in our situation. While we understand in our minds that God is always available, it always feels otherwise, particularly when we are undergoing trials and challenges or when all we experience around us is brokenness and sin; it may seem as the Lord is doing nothing. Our minds and hearts may resonate with that of Habakkuk. He asked God why He was hiding His face. Why does He forget oppression and affliction of His people.
In Chapter Three, the prophet responds to God with a prayer. He centers his prayer on the characters of God, describing His mercy, power, holiness, and glory. He remembers what God did in the past to rescue the people of Judah and His faithfulness towards them. Like other laments in the Bible, Habakkuk was straightforward about his feelings towards the judgment to befall Judah. He affirms that his body trembles when he hears of the judgment. Even though he somehow questions God about his judgment, he quietly waits for the day of the punishment to come upon individuals who invade the people of Judah. The prophet was filled with anxiety and dread in a way that his body trembled.
The book of Habakkuk reminds people faith in God does not lie in what he offers and provides. Faith should not be based on whether God moved in one’s life the way he expected him or whether he rescued an individual from hard times. Therefore, a person’s joy and happiness should not be dependent on what a person has. Instead, the Lord is our savior and the provider of strength; joy and happiness are found in the Lord. Whatever the situation, anxiety, or fears, darkness prowls on the horizon, whatever happens in the world, God should be the savior and joy. Habakkuk fully placed his hope and trust in the Lord, who has been faithful to His people. He trusted in God’s promises for the future.
Moreover, prophet Habakkuk gives the people a perfect opportunity to deal with the answerable questions of life. The Christians must also pursue to understand the suffering and the seeming triumph of wickedness in the face of Justice. With the book of Habakkuk, individuals can place their hope in God’s appointed time and His promises. Therefore, we should wait on time when the Lord will finally and completely establish his Justice.
Conclusion
Habakkuk, to summarize, was a prophet who lived during the time of prophet Jeremiah. De, on the other hand, does not prophesy to the people of Judah in the same way that other prophets do in the Bible. As opposed to that, the book is a brief conversation between God and Habakkuk himself. The prophet’s laments and questions are depicted in the book, as well as God’s response to them. It is one-of-a-kind in terms of content, and it is divided into two main sections: lament and God’s judgment. In his lament, the prophet cries out to the Lord, pleading with Him to intervene, to lend Helpance, and to bring about justice. The prophet inquires of God as to why He would allow wickedness to continue unpunished in the land of Judah. In addition, he questions why God chooses Babylon to judge sin in Judah, given that Babylon was far more wicked than Judah. Habakkuk responds to God in the same way as other laments: with complete trust and hope. The prophecy of Habakkuk comes to a close with a beautiful hymn of devotion and praise to the almighty God. The prophet Habakkuk continued to praise his God despite the difficult times that lay ahead. He was certain that God was good and just, despite the difficult circumstances.
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