BOOK OF HABAKKUK – OVERVIEW

HABAKKUK: THE RIGHTEOUS LIVE BY FAITH “From Worry to Worship”
Problems of Habakkuk Hab 1:1-2:20				Praise of Habakkuk Hab 3:1-19
Opens in Gloom: Begins with an Interrogation Mark?				Closes in Glory: Ends with an Exclamation Mark!
Faith Troubled				Faith Triumphant
What is God Doing?				Who God Is
From “Doubts”				To “Shouts”
Perplexity of the Prophet Hab 1:1-17			Perspicuity of the Prophet Hab 2:1-20	Pleasure of the Prophet Hab 3:1-19
Habakkuk Complains Hab 1:1-17			God Replies Hab 2:1-20	Habakkuk Sings Hab 3:1-19
Watch and See			Stand and See	Kneel and See
Habakkuk Troubled			Habakkuk Taught	Habakkuk Triumphant
The Prophet Wondering & Worrying			The Prophet Watching & Waiting	The Prophet Worshiping & Witnessing
Hab 1:1-4 Habakkuk’s First Question	Hab 1:5-11 God’s First Answer	Hab 1:12-2:1 Habakkuk’s Second Question	Hab 2:2-2:20 God’s Second Answer	Hab 3 Habakkuk’s Prayer of Praise
Habakkuk Speaks: Why Does God not Punish Wicked Judah?	God Speaks: Judah Will Be Punished!	Habakkuk Speaks: Why Will God use Pagans to Punish Judah?	God Speaks: Yes Pagans Will Punish Judah!	Word of Praise Hab 3:1-15 Words of fear & faith Hab 3:16-19
Oracle Related to Judah ca 607BC

God’s prophet Habakkuk moves from “How long…why?” (Hab 1:2-3) to “I will exult…I will rejoice!” (Hab 3:18), from…

Burden to Blessing
Wonder/worry to Worship
Restlessness to Rest
Problem with God to Praise of the Person of God
Doubting to Shouting.
Troubled to Triumphant.
Complaint to Consolation.

What might the Spirit of God do in our lives as we read this short book and take the message to heart seeking to imitate Habakkuk’s pattern? (Hebrews 6:11-12-note) Beloved, the omnipotent, loving, compassionate God is ever able to turn our sighing into singing if we like Habakkuk take time to focus on God in His Word and in prayer. As Habakkuk (who had been asking “Why?” for a long time) experienced, divine silence does not signify divine indifference. As the prophet discovered, praising God in our trials can supernaturally transform burdens into blessings. But remember that what led Habakkuk to praise in his trial was his encounter with the Living God in Chapter 2. In other words, his praise in Chapter 3 was a reflection of his personal experience with God in Chapter 2. The point is that when we meet God (e.g., in our quiet time), as we focus on the truth about Him in His Word of Truth and trust that Truth like Habakkuk did (cp Hab 2:4-note), God’s Spirit supernaturally transforms us from glory to glory (2Cor 3:18-note). He renews our mind (Eph 4:23-note), giving us a “new perspective” on problems! The natural (supernatural) “spill over” should be a crescendo of praise as was the case with Habakkuk. His focus was no longer on the problems (which were still coming in the form of the fierce Babylonians) but on Jehovah. Click for an illustration of this principle in “Get Above the Circumstances” (mouseover for popup note). To reiterate, a personal encounter with God (His Word of Truth), produces (via His Spirit’s transforming effect) a changed perspective and personal praise, even though the circumstances may be unchanged!

BC  – TIMELINE OF HABAKKUK
722: Northern Kingdom of Israel (10 tribes) falls & is exiled to Assyria
627: Jeremiah begins his prophetic ministry
622: Rediscovery of Book of Law (Sermon) which was lost in House of God! Josiah’s reformation
612: Fall of Nineveh, capital of Assyria
609: Death of godly King Josiah
607: Habakkuk begins his prophetic ministry
605: Nebuchadnezzar defeats Necho at Carchemish = “turning point of world history”
605: First invasion of Judah by Nebuchadnezzar King of Babylon; Daniel taken captive
597: Second invasion of Judah by Babylon; Ezekiel and 10,000 taken captive
592: Ezekiel begins his prophetic ministry to Babylonian exiles
586: Fall of Jerusalem, Destruction of Temple (See God’s Plan for Jerusalem)
538: Exiles return from Babylon to Judah (relatively small number return)

Habakkuk – Means “embrace” or “wrestle.” He has been referred to as the “doubting Thomas” of the Old Testament, but in reality he is better called “the prophet of faith!” In this short book we see the prophet “wrestling“ with God in the first two chapters with questions about why God is not punishing wicked Judah and why He would use the more evil Babylonians to punish Judah. In Habakkuk 3 the prophet’s heart is transformed by God’s replies and instead of resisting, now he embraces his God, recording one of he most majestic prayers to and visions of God in all of the Bible (Hab 3:1-18)  E. B. Pusey in his excellent commentary adds that Habakkuk’s name signifying “strong embrace” “fits in with the subject of his prophecy, faith, cleaving fast to God amid the perplexities of things seen.” (2Cor 5:7-note, see also 2Cor 4:16-note, 2Cor 4:17-note, 2Cor 4:18-note)

A M Hodgkin notes that “Three times in this prayer he uses the exclamation Selah, found elsewhere only in the Psalms. It is a call to pause and be silent that the soul may “listen to the divine illuming,” as in Habakkuk 2:20, “The Lord is in His holy temple, let all the earth keep silence before Him,” and the words of Habakkuk 2:1, “I will watch to see what He will say unto me.” How much we need this silence of soul before the Lord in these days, that we may give Him time to speak to us, that we may “listen to the divine illuming.”

Habakkuk Resources Updated – Commentaries, Sermons, etc
Facebook Post – Habakkuk Chart Overview 
Song Related to Habakkuk 3:17-19 – I Will Sing, I Will Praise – Don Moen