Like other Old Testament prophets, what we know about Habakkuk is very limited; in fact, we know almost nothing. We do know that his name means, ‘to embrace’ or ‘to hold on’ and he was probably a Levite who was a member of the Levitical choir, Habakkuk 3:19.
His ministry probably spanned the reigns of Josiah, 640-609 B.C., Jehoahaz, 609 B.C., and Jehoiakim, 609-598 B.C., with the prophecy set in Jehoiakim’s reign around 605 B.C.
There is a saying that says, ‘a good man is hard to keep down,’ but a better saying would be, ‘hopeful people are hard to keep down.’ Habakkuk was one of those people; he was a faithful man who loved God and his people.
He questioned God and complained to God, not out of anger, but out of deep compassion for his people and what was going on around him. He teaches us that it’s not wrong to question God; in fact, God wants us to ask questions. His work coincided with Jeremiah and Zephaniah.
The book was probably written around 605 B.C. The reason for this date is that around 610 B.C., it was the time of the Babylonians or Chaldeans. We know that in 614 B.C. Nabopolassar married his son Nebuchadnezzar to Ametius, the Median Princess, and so joined the Medians.
In 612 B.C. Nineveh was destroyed, and in 605 B.C., the Babylonian Kingdom under Nebuchadnezzar grew to its fullest extent and power. It was at his death that the Babylonian Kingdom fell. And so, Habakkuk was probably written when Babylon was at her prime.
God is going to use the Chaldeans to bring about judgment on Judah. The Chaldeans refer to the Babylonian empire, which overthrew the Assyrian empire in 612 B.C. and defeated Pharaoh Necho of Egypt at Carchemish in 605 BC.
Pharaoh Necho also defeated and killed King Josiah of Judah at the battle of Megiddo, 2 Kings 23:29 / 2 Chronicles 35:20. After these victories, Judah was at the mercy of the Chaldeans.
Josiah had repented of the idol worship of Judah, but the reformation of Josiah had proved ineffective to stop the evil and disobedience of the nation of Judah. Now God must punish them, and so, He’s stirring up and going to the Chaldeans to punish His people, just like He used the Assyrians to punish the Northern Kingdom, 722/21 B.C.
God had allowed the Assyrians to conquer the Northern Kingdom of Israel, this was during Habakkuk’s ministry, and now He’s brought the threat of the Babylonians to the Southern Kingdom.
The theme of the book is simply this: ‘the supremacy of God’s judgement on the wicked’. The book itself is unique in that it takes the form of a dialogue between Habakkuk and God. It concerns the Southern kingdom of Judah. We can’t say if it was specifically spoken to the people, but it was certainly recorded for the people.
The KJV uses the word ‘burden’ instead of the word ‘prophecy’, and notice that this burden was given to Habakkuk himself, not to God’s people, Habakkuk 1:1. He was given the burden as a way of offering complaints to God concerning all the suffering His people were going through because of their own unbelief.
In the context of this suffering, what we need to remember is that God’s people are suffering simply because they rejected God, rejected His laws, and oppressed the poor among themselves. God had told them and warned them that if they turned away from Him, then He would turn them over to the nations.
Bruce, in his commentary, says the following.
‘One of the functions of temple prophets was to give responses to worshipers who came seeking divine guidance: when the problem was stated, the prophet inquired of God and obtained an answer.’
Habakkuk’s first question to God is simply this: Why are the wicked people not punished? Hosea 4:2 / Micah 6:12-13 / Revelation 6:10-11. He’s been praying a long time, and he thinks God doesn’t hear him, Habakkuk 1:2.
He’s been crying out, ‘violence,’ but God didn’t save, Habakkuk 1:2. To him, it looks as though God is inactive. He seems to be looking at things from a human perspective and seems to expect a human reaction from God.
Habakkuk needed to understand that God was working on His timetable, not man’s, and God’s ways are different from man’s ways, Isaiah 55:8-9. God was going to allow this to go on until He purified His people through captivity so that the promises which were made to Abraham could be fulfilled, Genesis 12:1-3.
Habakkuk speaks up on behalf of the few righteous people who haven’t given up on God or turned away from Him. He’s speaking mainly to his own people, he recognises that they’re surrounded by injustice, oppression, wickedness and bribery, Habakkuk 1:4.
Habakkuk now outlines the sins of the nation.
1. Destruction, there’s no respect for property, Habakkuk 1:3.
2. Violence against other people, Habakkuk 1:3.
3. Strife, arguing and conflict, Habakkuk 1:3.
Constable, in his commentary, says the following.
‘The word violence occurs six times in Habakkuk, Habakkuk 1:2-3 / Habakkuk 1:9 / Habakkuk 2:8 / Habakkuk 2:17, (twice), an unusually large number of times for such a short book. The Hebrew word means more than just physical brutality. It refers to flagrant violation of moral law by which someone injures his fellowman, e.g., Genesis 6:11.’
Because of these sins, the law has lost its authority, and its application and people don’t want to live up to the law anymore; there’s no longer any justice, Habakkuk 1:4. The righteous are kept down, being oppressed and wicked people don’t want any do-gooders around to change anything.
God’s answer to Habakkuk’s question is simply this, ‘I’m working on it, you may not see it, but trust Me, I’m working,’ Revelation 6:10-11.
Garland, in his commentary, says the following.
‘The words of Habakkuk 1:5 are building up to a conclusion which the people would not believe if told. The work to be performed is so incredible that they would not think it possible, even if they were told. Such an extraordinary event must be seen to be believed.’
Kerr, in his commentary, says the following.
‘The apostle Paul quoted Habakkuk 1:5, applying the principle of God’s dealings in Habakkuk’s day to the situation in the church in his own day, Acts 13:41. God’s work of calling the Gentiles into his church would be just as astonishing as his work of using the Babylonians to punish Judah.’
God is the One who is raising up the Babylonians, Habakkuk 1:6. It was Nabopolassar’s son, Nebuchadnezzar, who succeeded his father as king of Babylon, and it was during this time that Habakkuk made his complaints to God concerning the suffering of God’s people, Ezekiel 28:7 / Ezekiel 30:11 / Ezekiel 31:12 / Ezekiel 32:12.
Deane, in his commentary, says the following concerning Habakkuk 1:6.
‘This signifies the soldiers or inhabitants of Babylon, which won its independence and commenced its wonderfully rapid career of conquest after the fall of Nineveh between 626 and 606 B.C. At the time when Habakkuk wrote, the Chaldeans had not appeared in Judaea.’
God is directly involved in the Babylonians’ growing in strength to dominate the world, Habakkuk 1:6, although Nebuchadnezzar thought he did it all by himself, Daniel 4:30. The world and everything in it are under God’s control.
God made the Babylonians ruthless and impetuous; they were colonists and uncontrollable, Habakkuk 1:6. Judgement would come from Babylon, Habakkuk 1:6.
And just like many people today, ‘self’ was their god and millions of people worship themselves daily. Christians, too, can at times be so inwardly looking that they are absolutely selfish; they think of no one but themselves, Philippians 2:4. They had a well-trained army that was bent on evil, and they were valiant warriors with no respect for other nations, Habakkuk 1:6.
Armerding, in his commentary, says the following.
‘If God’s people refuse to fear him, they will ultimately be compelled to fear those less worthy of fear, Deuteronomy 28:47-48 / Isaiah 28:58-68 / Jeremiah 5:15-22.’
They were a guilty people who had great confidence in their own ability, Habakkuk 1:7. The Babylonians were so full of pride that they became a law unto themselves, Habakkuk 1:7, invading nation after nation as their gods directed them, Habakkuk 1:8.
They were like ‘leopards’, Habakkuk 1:8, waiting patiently to conquer the nations, they were like fierce ‘wolves’, Habakkuk 1:8 / Jeremiah 5:6, as they ravaged anyone they conquered and they were like, the ‘eagle’, Habakkuk 1:8, eager to sweep down to capture their prey, Isaiah 5:26-30 / Jeremiah 4:13 / Jeremiah 5:17 / Lamentations 4:19.
They were like the ‘desert wind’, Habakkuk 1:9, they would come and take God’s people into captivity and leave the land a dry derelict place.
Constable, in his commentary, says the following.
‘They were as effective at collecting captives from other countries as the sirocco winds from the East were at driving dust before them, Jeremiah 18:17 / Ezekiel 17:10 / Ezekiel 19:12 / Jonah 4:8. This enemy was advancing like a whirlwind and gathering captives as innumerable as the sand.’
Notice they mock kings and scoff at rulers, Habakkuk 1:10 / 2 Kings 25:7.
Coffman, in his commentary, says the following.
‘Jehoiachin and Jehoiakim, both kings of Israel, suffered the greatest indignities at the hands of Nebuchadnezzar, 2 Chronicles 36:6 / 2 Kings 24:14-15 / Jeremiah 22:19.’
They would build ramps against the cities they conquered, and no one could stop them, Habakkuk 1:10 / 2 Kings 19:32 / Ezekiel 4:2 / Ezekiel 21:22 / Ezekiel 26:8-9. If they could capture and conquer the Assyrian capital city of Nineveh, Habakkuk 1:10, then no nation was too big for them.
They trusted in their own strength, Habakkuk 1:11, but what they didn’t know was that God was using them, God was going to use them to bring about judgment on Judah.
They gave their own gods all the credit when in reality it was all God’s doing, Habakkuk 1:11. God was working in and through them to bring about His purpose.
When we look at Habakkuk’s first complaint to God, and when we read God’s answer to His complaint, it’s easy to see that he doesn’t understand why God would work through the evil Babylonians in order to oppress His own people.
Habakkuk’s faith in God is revealed here because He knows that God’s people wouldn’t be wiped out of existence, like so many other nations before. He knows God’s people would continue, regardless of the suffering that they would endure at the hands of the Babylonians, 2 Samuel 7:16. He knows all of these things because he knows that it was God who raised up the Babylonians in order to discipline His people, Habakkuk 1:6.
Habakkuk’s second question is simply this: How can you punish unrighteous Judah with more unrighteous Babylon? It’s almost as though he’s saying to God, ‘You cannot get your holy hands dirty’, Habakkuk 1:12. He asked the LORD, Is He not from everlasting? Habakkuk 1:12, to which the answer is yes, He is, Isaiah 40:28 / Psalm 90:2.
Notice, He answers his own question, he says, My God, my Holy One, you will never die, Habakkuk 1:12. Note the word ‘you’ in the Masoretic text is the word ‘we’.
Garland, in his commentary, says the following.
‘The meaning of the Hebrew here (Masoretic text) is that ‘Since Jehovah ever has been and ever shall be, he will in some way spare Judah from total destruction.’
God is so holy, Habakkuk 1:12 / Psalms 5:4 / Psalms 34:16 / Psalms 34:21. He cannot look at anything which is unholy, and so Habakkuk is asking God, ‘How could you look to an unholy nation like Babylon to accomplish your work of disciplining your holy nation?’
Habakkuk understands that the LORD has appointed the Babylonians to execute judgment, and he understands that his Rock has ordained the Babylonians to punish, Habakkuk 1:12 / Jeremiah 51:20-21 / Isaiah 7:20.
He asks God, if His eyes are too pure to look on evil and He cannot tolerate wrongdoing, then why does He tolerate the treacherous? Why is He silent while the wicked swallow up those more righteous than themselves? Habakkuk 1:13 / Zephaniah 3:3.
Kerr, in his commentary, says the following.
‘It is one thing to face the problems that confront everyone who believes in a good and omnipotent God and ask why things are so, or how they can be so. It is something quite different to question the Divine goodness or justice, or the very existence of God, simply because one cannot answer these questions.’
Habakkuk saw the righteousness of God, Habakkuk 1:13, but it blinded him to the truth that God could indeed get involved with the Babylonians and raise those people to the power that He did. Habakkuk saw Judah just below Babylon on his scale of badness, and asks, how can you look upon those people, God? Look at what they do!
Judah as a nation had seriously become unrighteous, and it was because of their unrighteousness that God allowed the Babylonians to destroy Jerusalem and the temple. It’s a sad truth that even though some of Judah were righteous, they too would have to suffer the consequences along with the unrighteous.
He described people of the world whom God made as fish, Habakkuk 1:14, and the wicked foe Babylon as fishermen, who use hooks, then nets, then dragnets, Habakkuk 1:15, which shows progression.
Imagine the fisherman returning from a good day’s catch, he unloads the fish and piles them up, he rejoices and is glad, Habakkuk 1:15. This is God’s people caught, helpless and thrown into a pile.
Constable, in his commentary, says the following.
‘Big fish eat little fish, and bigger fish eat the big fish. The same thing was happening in Habakkuk’s world. Babylon was gobbling up the smaller nations, and Yahweh was not intervening to establish justice.’
Then comes the sacrifices and the burning of incense, and it’s clear they worship materialism, always wanting more, Habakkuk 1:16. The ‘net’, Habakkuk 1:16, is the Babylonian gods to whom they give credit, but as I mentioned earlier, they didn’t realise that it was God who was working in and through them to accomplish His purpose.
Habakkuk asks, Are the Babylonians to keep on emptying their net, destroying nations without mercy? Habakkuk 1:17. And so, Habakkuk’s second question is about to be answered, how long will you use these people? How long is God going to use such a violent nation to judge the sins of His people?
As Christians, we think we see God’s heart so clearly, but sometimes we’re blinded because we don’t see or don’t want to see the coming future judgement for some. But Hell exists, and people need to know that it’s real, Matthew 25:46 / 2 Thessalonians 1:9.
There are times when we may not see God at work but whenever we’re tempted to think God isn’t working, we need to remember that God isn’t indifferent, He isn’t inactive, Psalm 121:4.
We must remember that God doesn’t create evil, but He does use evil to accomplish His will, Romans 8:28. We see this in the Babylonians, and we see this in the New Testament with Judas, Pilate, and the Jewish leaders.
People do ask, why does God create so much suffering and pain in the world? And the answer is, He doesn’t. If people are honest enough with themselves, they will see that all the wars, oppression and suffering are usually done by the hands of men, but God allows it to happen, why? Who knows! Maybe He wants the created to know that He is the Creator and they need to turn to Him in obedience, Psalm 81:12 / Romans 1:24-25.