And God Answers

Habakkuk 1:1-11

[Habakkuk asks God ... ]

¹The oracle that Habakkuk the prophet saw. ²O Lord, how long shall I cry for help, and you will not hear? Or cry to you “Violence!” and you will not save? ³Why do you make me see iniquity, and why do you idly look at wrong? Destruction and violence are before me; strife and contention arise. ⁴So the law is paralyzed, and justice never goes forth. For the wicked surround the righteous; so justice goes forth perverted.

[God responds … ]

⁵“Look among the nations, and see; wonder and be astounded. For I am doing a work in your days that you would not believe if told. ⁶For behold, I am raising up the Chaldeans, that bitter and hasty nation, who march through the breadth of the earth, to seize dwellings not their own. ⁷They are dreaded and fearsome; their justice and dignity go forth from themselves. ⁸Their horses are swifter than leopards, more fierce than the evening wolves; their horsemen press proudly on. Their horsemen come from afar; they fly like an eagle swift to devour. ⁹They all come for violence, all their faces forward. They gather captives like sand. ¹⁰At kings they scoff, and at rulers they laugh. They laugh at every fortress, for they pile up earth and take it. ¹¹Then they sweep by like the wind and go on, guilty men, whose own might is their god!”

For this week before Advent begins, it seems like a great opportunity to dive into one of the shorter books of the Bible, Habakkuk. In the next four days, we’ll examine this open conversation between Habakkuk and God. The progression of the conversation is interesting and timely. And hey, by the end of the week, you’ll have read another whole book of the Bible!

Habakkuk is rather an enigma in the Scriptures as he is not mentioned at all outside of this book and he doesn’t bother to tell us anything about himself on these brief pages. We don’t know anything about his background; not where he lived, what he did for work, or even the origins of his name. Some believe “Habakkuk” was Hebrew for “to embrace or console”, but that is not certain. Others think it may have even been an Assyrian word for some kind of plant. We just don’t know. There is, though, a legend that has become associated with Habakkuk. He is mentioned in the apocryphal book called Bel and the Dragon.

This book, like other books of the Apocrypha, was written in the time between the Old and New Testaments. According to the legend, Habakkuk was in Judea, taking food to some workers out in the fields. An angel appeared and told him to go to Babylon and give the food to Daniel instead. Daniel had already spent six days in the lion’s den and was hungry. Habakkuk replied that he’d never been to Babylon and knew nothing about any lion’s den. So the angel lifted him by the hair and took him there. After Habakkuk assisted Daniel in the lion’s den, the angel returned Habakkuk once again to Judea. Interesting as this little apocryphal story may be, it doesn’t really shed any light for us on Habakkuk as a person.

Westendorf, J. J. ©2000. Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah (p. 83). Milwaukee, WI: Northwestern Pub. House.

When it comes to dating when this book was written, we are given one clue in 1:5-6. Here God tells Habakkuk that He is raising up the Babylonians (called the Chaldeans in the ESV translation) to sweep through Israel and assault God’s people. While the Babylonians were most certainly present during the time of Habakkuk, they were not yet the mighty power that they would become. No one was looking at them to become a warrior nation that could take them over, but that is exactly what happens. So we are looking at 626-605bc. When all of the history of the area is considered, Habakkuk probably wrote this brief book between 609-605bc. That would make him a younger contemporary of Nahum, Zephaniah, and Jeremiah. Some believe that Habakkuk may have served Jeremiah for several years.

The first two chapters of this book take the form of a conversation between God and Habakkuk. Habakkuk complains and God answers. The final chapter is Habakkuk's worshipful reaction to these words from God. During this interaction with God, Habakkuk asks God “why”. Why do evil men prevail; if God cares, why do His people suffer; why do the wicked go unpunished? These are fundamental questions and ones that we still ask today, and God’s responses are precious and true.

It would appear Habakkuk writes these words after the death of King Josiah. Josiah was one of the few godly men to rule Judah. He was actually faithful to the Lord and His ways. But when his son, Jehoiakim, takes the throne, all of his faithful leadership is undone. The corrupt practices of prior kings return and the nation is once again plunged into idolatry. God is not pleased. Habakkuk takes up a lament about the situation and he honestly tells God what is happening among His people. Habakkuk’s heart is broken.

God’s reply is not pleasant, for He indeed sees what is happening in Judah and His plans are frightening. He is going to raise up the Babylonians and allow them to be His arm of punishment. We know the rest of the story for that is indeed what happens (as we read in the book of Daniel.) Habakkuk does what we all do at times; he looks heavenward and asks God “why are You allowing this?” How many trillion times do you suppose God has heard that very word, “why?” It’s our natural response when things are not going to plan – our plan. As I ponder that questions “why” I am taken to the cross of Jesus, and one of the things we do not hear Him saying from the cross is “why”. He knew exactly why he was hanging there. It was because of the sin of God’s people. There was purpose in the suffering. In fact, I believe there is always purpose in our suffering. God may not cause that suffering, but He certainly knows how to use it to our benefit. He does that with the Children of Israel and He does it with us too. God always has a reason for what He does, but He rarely shares that reason with us, and we must be content with that circumstance.