Habakkuk
A Christian’s Bible may be well-worn in many sections, but for many, the pages towards the end of the Old Testament are almost “as good as new”! In those clean pages of our Bibles, we find 12 so-called Minor Prophets. Minor not because they are inferior or less important, but when you compare them to Isaiah, Jeremiah or Ezekiel, the Minor Prophets are all far smaller. So these are a group of books that are “minor” in terms of size, not significance.
And when you turn to Habakkuk, you will find that it is anything but a minor book. It is filled with tremendously deep and rich material. And it is so relevant and contemporary.
Though it was written over 2,500 years ago, this book speaks with astonishing clarity to the days in which we live. One commentator has written, “anyone who experiences terrible difficulties in life will benefit from studying this book”. (The NIV Application Commentary – Jonah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, James Bruckner, p198)
It’s not a long book: just 3 chapters, 56 verses. And it’s something of an unusual book, unique even, in the way that we never hear Habakkuk the prophet addressing the people of God. That is almost always what we find with the prophets. They were God’s mouthpiece to the people, but with Habakkuk, we find that he is the people’s mouthpiece to God. This book is a record of Habakkuk’s prayers to God, and God’s responses to him. In that regard, the book of Habakkuk is a little bit like a prayer diary. Have you ever kept a prayer diary? Have you ever written out your prayers? There’s a lot to be said for slowing down and taking the time to do so. Under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, Habakkuk has left us his prayer diary. A conversation that took place between himself and God. And as we overhear this heartfelt, and, at times, shocking exchange, we get a great picture of what it is to “live by faith in troubling times”.
The Minor Prophets generally ministered in the period from about 800BC to 400BC. Some of them in the Northern Kingdom, like Amos, Jonah and Hosea. But most of them were in the Southern Kingdom. Most scholars and Bible commentators conclude that Habakkuk ministered in the Southern Kingdom, in Judah, just a few years prior to Babylon’s invasion. Judging from the terrible conditions and moral decline he describes, it’s fairly safe to say that he served sometime around 605BC, under the reign of a godless king, Jehoiakim. In that regard, Habakkuk was probably a contemporary of Nahum, Jeremiah and Zephaniah. So it’s fair to say, he served during a troubled time, a time of great political change and international turmoil. And far from being the light of the world, the people of God were a mess. Things were pretty dire in Judah.
Though we may be a long way away from the days of Habakkuk geographically and chronologically, surely we are far closer than we think. Here is a book written for the people of God in a troubled time. It’s a book written by a struggling, doubting believer; a distressed believer who finds himself questioning God’s purposes, and yet, he keeps coming back to God. That itself is a tremendous lesson to us. Too often when we are struggling with doubts in life, we walk away from God; we turn our backs on God; we give up on God. But Habakkuk does just the opposite, he comes to God with all of his questions and doubts. You see, being a follower of Jesus doesn’t mean we will never have questions. It doesn’t mean we will always understand. And yet there’s nothing wrong or inappropriate to bring these kinds of questions and perplexities for God. After all, didn’t Jesus Himself ask a similar question? My God my God why? Why have you forsaken me? (Matthew 27:46)
One of the greatest lessons the book of Habakkuk teaches us is that we have can have an honest conversation with God. And on those occasions when you’re tempted to ask if He really cares – we need to learn to say, “This God of ours does care”. And since we are blessed with a perspective Habakkuk didn’t fully have, we must keep coming back to the cross; to the crucified Son of God. If we will keep our gaze there, focused on the gospel, focused on this great good news, focused on King Jesus, focused on the triumph of his resurrection and the glory of his ascension and the absolute certainty of his return, then all of our cares and all of our cancers, all of our disappointments and all of our failures, all of our heartaches and heartbreaks can be brought under the all-embracing security of God’s sovereign purpose.
There are times and that’s what we need to cling on to, that’s what we need to hold onto. Actually, that’s what the name Habakkuk means: “one who embraces God”. Not the embrace of a kiss, but the embrace of a wrestler, gripping and holding onto his opponent. You could even say, Habakkuk means “one who holds tightly onto God, who clings to the Lord, who lays hold of God.”
Surely we could all do with being a bit more Habakkuk. Being “embracers of God”. Being men, women and young people, who by faith, lay hold of the God of the covenant. Men and women and young people who live by faith in troubled times.
Want to read the book of Habakkuk?
Use the reading plan below to guide your readings or listen to the book read Here >>>
Day 1 – Habukkuk’s prayer for justice - Ch 1 v 1-4
Day 2 - The LORD’s answer - Ch 1 v 5-11
Day 3 - The Habakkuk's honest questions and doubt - Ch 1 v 12-2 v 1
Day 4 - The LORD’s answer - Ch 2 v 2-20
Day 5 - Habukkuk’s prayer of faith in troubled times - Ch 3 v 1-19