Habakkuk
“Embrace, or one who clings”
Summary
Habakkuk was a prophet of Judah who wrestled with the problem of God's justice in permitting the wicked Chaldeans to punish His people, receiving the famous answer that 'the just shall live by his faith.'
☩The Prophet
Nothing is known with certainty of Habakkuk's personal history. His name means 'embrace' or 'one who clings.' Luther interpreted it as 'a man of heart, hearty toward another, taking him into his arms—this Habakkuk does in his prophecy; he comforts and lifts up his people.' The psalm in chapter 3 with its musical directions suggests he may have been a Levite connected with the temple worship. He probably prophesied in the reign of Josiah, around 630-620 B.C., before the Chaldean invasion.
☩The Problem of Evil
Habakkuk begins by complaining of the moral disorganization around him—violence, iniquity, grievance, spoiling, strife, and contention among his own people. He cries to God asking why He tolerates such evil. God answers that He is raising up the Chaldeans to execute judgment. But this answer creates a deeper problem: Habakkuk cannot understand how a God of purer eyes than to behold evil can use these barbarous Chaldeans to punish people more righteous than they.
☩The Divine Answer
Habakkuk sets himself as a watchman to wait for God's answer. The Lord instructs him to write the vision plainly so that 'he may run that readeth it'—to spread the good news of the foe's eventual doom. Though the vision tarries, it will surely come. The key principle is revealed: 'the lifted up soul is not upright, but the just shall live by his faith.' The proud Chaldean will perish, but the righteous will survive through steadfast faith. Five woes against the oppressor follow.
☩The Prayer-Song
Chapter 3 is a magnificent prayer recounting God's past deliverances as ground for confidence in future salvation. The prophet reviews God's mighty acts at Sinai, Paran, and the Red Sea. His spirit wavers between fear and hope, but faith triumphs at the end. The closing verses express one of Scripture's greatest statements of unconditional trust: though fig tree, vine, olive, field, flock, and herd all fail, 'yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will joy in the God of my salvation.'
☩New Testament Significance
Paul quotes Habakkuk 2:4 three times in his letters, each with different emphasis. In Romans 1:17, the emphasis is on 'just'—God's righteousness being prominent. In Galatians 3:11, the emphasis is on 'faith'—the instrument of justification. In Hebrews 10:38, the emphasis is on 'live'—the continued life flowing from justification. This single verse became a cornerstone of Reformation theology and the evangelical understanding of salvation by grace through faith.
References
- 1.John McClintock and James Strong, "Habakkuk," in Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature, vol. IV (Harper & Brothers, 1867–1887).
- 2.James Orr (ed.), "Habakkuk," in International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, vol. II (Howard-Severance Company, 1915).
- 3.Andrew Robert Fausset, "Habakkuk," in The Englishman's Critical and Expository Bible Cyclopædia (Hodder & Stoughton, 1878).
- 4.George Morrish, "Habakkuk," in Morrish's Concise Bible Dictionary (George Morrish, 1898).