Habakkuk

1Chapter
1The pronouncement that the prophet Habakkuk saw.

Habakkuk’s First Prayer

2How long, Lord, must I call for help and you do not listen or cry out to you about violence and you do not save? 3Why do you force me to look at injustice? Why do you tolerate wrongdoing? Oppression and violence are right in front of me. Strife is ongoing, and conflict escalates. 4This is why the law is ineffective and justice never emerges. For the wicked restrict the righteous; therefore, justice comes out perverted.

God’s First Answer

5Look at the nations and observe — be utterly astounded! For I am doing something in your days that you will not believe when you hear about it. 6Look! I am raising up the Chaldeans, that bitter, impetuous nation that marches across the earth’s open spaces to seize territories not its own. 7They are fierce and terrifying; their views of justice and sovereignty stem from themselves. 8Their horses are swifter than leopards and more fierce than wolves of the night. Their horsemen charge ahead; their horsemen come from distant lands. They fly like eagles, swooping to devour. 9All of them come to do violence; their faces are set in determination. They gather prisoners like sand. 10They mock kings, and rulers are a joke to them. They laugh at every fortress and build siege ramps to capture it. 11Then they sweep by like the wind and pass through. They are guilty; their strength is their god.

Habakkuk’s Second Prayer

12Are you not from eternity, Lord my God? My Holy One, you will not die. Lord, you appointed them to execute judgment; my Rock, you destined them to punish us. 13Your eyes are too pure to look on evil, and you cannot tolerate wrongdoing. So why do you tolerate those who are treacherous? Why are you silent while one who is wicked swallows up one who is more righteous than himself? 14You have made mankind like the fish of the sea, like marine creatures that have no ruler. 15The Chaldeans pull them all up with a hook, catch them in their dragnet, and gather them in their fishing net; that is why they are glad and rejoice. 16That is why they sacrifice to their dragnet and burn incense to their fishing net, for by these things their portion is rich and their food plentiful. 17Will they therefore empty their net and continually slaughter nations without mercy?
2Chapter

Habakkuk Waits for God’s Response

1I will stand at my guard post and station myself on the lookout tower. I will watch to see what he will say to me and what I should reply about my complaint.

God’s Second Answer

2The Lord answered me: Write down this vision; clearly inscribe it on tablets so one may easily read it. 3For the vision is yet for the appointed time; it testifies about the end and will not lie. Though it delays, wait for it, since it will certainly come and not be late. 4Look, his ego is inflated; he is without integrity. But the righteous one will live by his faith. 5Moreover, wine betrays; an arrogant man is never at rest. He enlarges his appetite like Sheol, and like Death he is never satisfied. He gathers all the nations to himself; he collects all the peoples for himself.

The Five Woe Oracles

6Won’t all of these take up a taunt against him, with mockery and riddles about him? They will say, “Woe to him who amasses what is not his— how much longer? — and loads himself with goods taken in pledge.” 7Won’t your creditors suddenly arise, and those who disturb you wake up? Then you will become spoil for them. 8Since you have plundered many nations, all the peoples who remain will plunder you — because of human bloodshed and violence against lands, cities, and all who live in them.
9Woe to him who dishonestly makes wealth for his house to place his nest on high, to escape the grasp of disaster! 10You have planned shame for your house by wiping out many peoples and sinning against your own self. 11For the stones will cry out from the wall, and the rafters will answer them from the woodwork.
12Woe to him who builds a city with bloodshed and founds a town with injustice! 13Is it not from the Lord of Armies that the peoples labor only to fuel the fire and countries exhaust themselves for nothing? 14For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the Lord’s glory, as the water covers the sea.
15Woe to him who gives his neighbors drink, pouring out your wrath and even making them drunk, in order to look at their nakedness! 16You will be filled with disgrace instead of glory. You also—drink, and expose your uncircumcision! The cup in the Lord’s right hand will come around to you, and utter disgrace will cover your glory. 17For your violence against Lebanon will overwhelm you; the destruction of animals will terrify you because of your human bloodshed and violence against lands, cities, and all who live in them.
18What use is a carved idol after its craftsman carves it? It is only a cast image, a teacher of lies. For the one who crafts its shape trusts in it and makes worthless idols that cannot speak. 19Woe to him who says to wood: Wake up! or to mute stone: Come alive! Can it teach? Look! It may be plated with gold and silver, yet there is no breath in it at all.
20But the Lord is in his holy temple; let the whole earth be silent in his presence.
3Chapter

Habakkuk’s Third Prayer

1A prayer of the prophet Habakkuk. According to Shigionoth. 2Lord, I have heard the report about you; Lord, I stand in awe of your deeds. Revive your work in these years; make it known in these years. In your wrath remember mercy!
3God comes from Teman, the Holy One from Mount Paran. Selah His splendor covers the heavens, and the earth is full of his praise. 4His brilliance is like light; rays are flashing from his hand. This is where his power is hidden. 5Plague goes before him, and pestilence follows in his steps. 6He stands and shakes the earth; he looks and startles the nations. The age-old mountains break apart; the ancient hills sink down. His pathways are ancient. 7I see the tents of Cushan in distress; the tent curtains of the land of Midian tremble. 8Are you angry at the rivers, Lord? Is your wrath against the rivers? Or is your fury against the sea when you ride on your horses, your victorious chariot? 9You took the sheath from your bow; the arrows are ready to be used with an oath. Selah You split the earth with rivers. 10The mountains see you and shudder; a downpour of water sweeps by. The deep roars with its voice and lifts its waves high. 11Sun and moon stand still in their lofty residence, at the flash of your flying arrows, at the brightness of your shining spear. 12You march across the earth with indignation; you trample down the nations in wrath. 13You come out to save your people, to save your anointed. You crush the leader of the house of the wicked and strip him from foot to neck.Selah 14You pierce his head with his own spears; his warriors storm out to scatter us, gloating as if ready to secretly devour the weak. 15You tread the sea with your horses, stirring up the vast water.

Habakkuk’s Confidence in God Expressed

16I heard, and I trembled within; my lips quivered at the sound. Rottenness entered my bones; I trembled where I stood. Now I must quietly wait for the day of distress to come against the people invading us. 17Though the fig tree does not bud and there is no fruit on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though the flocks disappear from the pen and there are no herds in the stalls, 18yet I will celebrate in the Lord; I will rejoice in the God of my salvation! 19The Lord my Lord is my strength; he makes my feet like those of a deer and enables me to walk on mountain heights! For the choir director: on stringed instruments.
Study
Chapter 3
CSB

Should Christians Care About the Environment?

The short answer: absolutely yes! However, many Christians who love nature and are aware of their responsibility to protect it feel like they must add, “But I’m not a tree hugger!” But Christians should not apologize for their desire to be responsible stewards of God’s creation. God gave Adam the responsibility of exercising authority over nature, to work it and preserve it. The word rule used in Genesis 1:26-28 implies responsibility and preservation. In the Old Testament, Israel had God-given laws that ensured the land would be given periods of rest and that animals would be treated with respect (Lv 25:1-7; Dt 22:4,6-7). It is never God’s will for us to neglect or destroy the environment.

Another point sometimes missed by Christians is that nature is a revelation of God. The heavens declare God’s glory (Ps 19:1) and God’s “splendor covers the heavens, and the earth is full of his praise” (Hab 3:3). What person has not at some point been awestruck at the beauty of a natural landscape, a sunset, or a star-filled sky? God is an artist and he has expressed himself through natural wonders. Taking the time to look at God’s artistic achievements can inspire us to worship him and appreciate him on a deeper level.

Of course, there are some extremes out there, like nature worship or the idea that humans are no more important than plants or animals. Only humans are made in the image of God. Although God made all animals and they all reflect something good about their Creator, animals were not made in his image. Neither were plants. Some people would fight harder to protect the egg of an endangered bird than they would the life of an unborn child. They might argue that some animals are endangered and that humans are not, but in reality both should be protected. Humans should not destroy endangered animals or their natural habitats. These are creatures that God put on earth for a reason. To force a species into extinction can mess up the balance in nature in unpredictable, harmful ways. All of nature is interdependent. We need a healthy planet.

Think of nature as a canvas upon which God has painted the human race. Without the canvas the paint has nothing on which to adhere. God placed us on earth for a reason. He gave us physical bodies that eat, drink, and breathe natural elements. If we destroy our planet, in a sense, we will be committing suicide.

Perhaps the most profound reason we should be good stewards of the planet is found in the mandate to love our neighbors as ourselves (Mk 12:31). Our neighbors include all people, even future generations. If we deplete or destroy our natural resources, what does that leave for our future neighbors? If I bury toxic waste in my yard and then sell my house, what happens to the family who moves in and plants a garden in the contaminated soil? If I pour poisonous chemicals into a stream, how does that affect the fish and the people who eat them? Let us love God, ourselves, and our neighbors by taking care of nature.

ESV

Habakkuk’s Prayer. Habakkuk asks for a new demonstration of God’s wrath and mercy, such as God demonstrated so powerfully in the past, and closes with a confession of faith and trust in God. This prayer uses terms similar to the Psalms of Trust (compare vv. 1, 3, 9, 13, 19 with Psalms 17; 90).

ESV

The word for prayer here usually refers specifically to a prayer of supplication (v. 2) but can also refer to prayer in general, including prayers sung corporately (e.g., Ps. 54:2; 55:1). Shigionoth occurs only twice in the OT (once in the singular and once in the plural) and may refer to an instrument or a type of psalm. The other usage of the word (Ps. 7:1) favors a type of psalm, and it may be related to Akkadian shigu, “a lament.”

ESV

I have heard. Habakkuk had heard (perhaps in the temple) of God’s great saving acts, which he recounts in vv. 3–15; see the Song of Moses (Ex. 15:1–21). in wrath remember mercy. A plea that when God judges, he will also be merciful—a classic statement of how God deals with his people.

ESV

Teman means “south”; with the reference to Mount Paran (Num. 13:3, 26; Deut. 33:2), it may suggest the time following Israel’s exodus from Egypt. When the biblical authors refer to God’s mighty acts in the exodus, they often use images to evoke the fear or awe of God (see Deut. 33:2; Judg. 5:4–5; Ps. 18:7–15; etc.). Selah is a term occurring often in the Psalms, of unknown meaning; it is probably some kind of musical direction.

ESV

Habakkuk likens God’s presence at Mount Sinai to that of a thunderstorm with darkness and flashes of lightning (see Ex. 19:18–20; Ps. 18:9–14). Pestilence and plague are often used as pictures of divine judgment (Ex. 7:14–12:30; Lev. 26:25; Deut. 28:21–22; Ps. 91:3, 6).

ESV

eternal mountains. Mountains were considered part of the foundation of the earth, and thus their quaking was a sign of divine judgment. Earthquakes are frequently associated with God’s power (Ex. 19:18; Ps. 18:7; Isa. 24:1–3; Jer. 4:24–26; 10:10; Mic. 1:3–4; Nah. 1:5).

ESV

Cushan … Midian. These Arab tribes living near Edom see God’s power and are stricken with fear (see Ex. 15:14–16; Josh. 2:9–10).

ESV

God used his power over the Nile (Ex. 7:14–24) and Jordan Rivers (Josh. 3:14–17), as well as the Red Sea (Ex. 14:2–15:5), to demonstrate his greatness in the exodus. The chariot of salvation is a picture of God bringing deliverance to this people.

ESV

many arrows. Probably an image of thunderbolts sent by God. split the earth. An image of thunderstorms and floods cutting through the desert landscape.

ESV

sun and moon stood still. A reference to Joshua’s victory at Gibeah (Josh. 10:12–13); the victory here will be equally sensational. God is pictured as a great warrior with his bow and spear.

ESV

threshed the nations. See Amos 1:3.

ESV

God fought for his people (your anointed) because they were his covenant people, a nation of priests (Ex. 19:6; Ps. 114:2). The head of the house of the wicked may refer to the pharaoh of Egypt or the leaders of Canaan; both felt God’s displeasure. laying him bare from thigh to neck. The Hebrew is obscure, but it suggests a thorough defeat.

ESV

Another reference to the destruction that God brought on the Egyptians, who had set out to defeat the Israelites.

CSB

At the end of his book, Habakkuk reiterated his determination to continue to trust God even when conditions of physical survival would become almost insurmountable. Nothing would deter him from his first obligation as a worshiper of the Lord, to “celebrate” and “rejoice” in him. The “salvation” (v. 18) Habakkuk mentioned, in other words, is not dependent on people or circumstances but on God, who supplies “strength” (v. 19). That was Paul’s point: Salvation is through faith and, therefore, dependent on God alone, not on what people strive to do by their own means nor upon the outward circumstances of life. One can hear the echo of Habakkuk in Paul’s admonition, “Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!” (Php 4:4).

ESV

I hear. Habakkuk realizes that he must wait patiently for the destruction of his people and that God will then unleash his power against the Babylonians. people who invade us. That is, the Babylonians.

ESV

Anticipating great destruction at the hands of the Babylonians, Habakkuk has radically changed—he began by informing God how to run his world, and ended by trusting that God knows best and will bring about justice. Though the fig tree should not blossom. Verse 17 contains a frequently quoted list of material disasters in which all crops and livestock are lost, and as a result it is unclear how there will be food to eat. Yet even amid suffering and loss, Habakkuk has learned that he can trust God, and with that trust comes great joy, not in circumstances but in God himself: yet I will rejoice in the LORD; I will take joy in the God of my salvation. Yahweh has become Habakkuk’s strength (see Ps. 18:32, 39).

CSB

The final line of Habakkuk is an instruction for musical performance, similar to what is found in the superscriptions of many of the psalms. This would indicate that his prophecy, or a portion of it, was intended for use in worship.

ESV

he makes my feet like the deer’s. Habakkuk can have sure-footed confidence in God and can live on the heights even amid extreme circumstances (see Mal. 4:2). choirmaster. Probably the director of the temple musicians (see Psalms 4; 5; 6; 8; 9; 11; etc.). stringed instruments. Harps, lyres, etc. (see Ps. 33:2; 92:3; 144:9). This kind of liturgical notation suggests that Habakkuk meant this to be a “prayer” (Hab. 3:1) that the faithful would sing together.