Commentary Notes - Habakkuk

A. THE BOOK OF HABAKKUK

1. Though the Assyrian power had been broken, Habakkuk warns that punishment was now waiting at the hands of the Chaldeans

2. When Nineveh had fallen, Babylon secured its independence after which Nebuchadnezzar punished the revolt of Jehoiakim which culminated in the degradation of the Jews

3. The key words of the book are "how long," 1:2; "why," 1:3; and "wherefore," 1:13

B. THE PROPHET HABAKKUK

1. The name Habakkuk appropriately means "to cling"

2. He probably prophesied in the latter days of Josiah upon the eve of the Babylonian captivity

3. He is the prophet of faith

C. THE MESSAGE OF THE BOOK

1. God's consistency with himself in spite of permitted evil

2. Justification by faith

3. God's way of changing our burdens into a song

(With due acknowledgment to Pulpit Commentary)

THE PROBLEM, 1:1-17

A. THE PERPLEXED PROPHET, 1:1-17

1. Give the reasons of Habakkuk's perplexity from:

(1) 1:2 - God's seeming failure to respond to prolonged and earnest prayer

(2) 1:3-4 - God's seeming tolerance of evil by his failure to punish the wicked

(3) 1:13 - God's seeming indifference to the suffering of the righteous by the wicked

2. What really troubles Habakkuk in 1:1-2:17: His inability to reconcile what God permits with what he knows God to be

3. Give God's reply in 1:5-11: That he is raising up the Chaldeans as an instrument of judgment

4. Comment on 1:5: The judgment prepared by God will cause wonder because it will be as terrible as it is unexpected

5. In the light of Acts 13:37-41, what is also predicted in 1:5? The redemptive work of Christ so that, while Israel is dispersed, God "will work a work" which Israel "will not believe"

6. Point out the essence of 1:11: The Chaldeans will exceed all limits in arrogancy and attribute their success to their own might ("even he whose might is his God," R.S.V.)

7. What does Habakkuk do in 1:12-17? He besieges the Lord not to let his people perish in judgment

THE SOLUTION, 2:1-20

A. GOD'S REPLY, 2:1-20

1. Habakkuk does what in 2:1? He sets himself apart and awaits the answer to his expostulation

2. What is God's reply in:

(1) 2:2? The announcement of the Chaldean invasion was to be written on tablets so that each reader might run and publish what he read

(2) 2:3? Its time of fulfillment is fixed by God and eventhough it will not materialize at once, it will not fail to arrive in due time

(3) 2:4? God is cognizant of the fact that the Chaldean instrument is proud and evil

3. What is to be observed from 2:4b in the light of 2:1? That while Habakkuk waits for an answer, God waits for faith

4. In principle, what is God's reply in 2:4b? That what Habakkuk needs is not the answer to his question, but the solution to his problem through faith in the faithfulness and integrity of God

5. List the reasons for the five woes announced against the Chaldeans in:

(1) 2:6-8 - For their rapacity

(2) 2:9-11 - For their avarice and violence

(3) 2:12-14 - For founding their power by blood

(4) 2:15-17 - For the degradations committed against their conquered nations

(5) 2:18-19 - For their idolatry

6. To what does God call attention in 2:20? To the fact of his deity and the need of man's reverential awe

THE TRIUMPH, 3:1-19

A. HABAKKUK'S PRAYER, 3:1-16

1. What does the prophet do in:

(1) 3:2? He prays that in executing judgment God would remember mercy

(2) 3:3-15? He recalls God's mighty acts in the past as a source of confidence for the present

(3) 3:16? He dreads the coming Chaldean invasion

B. ABAKKUK'S SONG, 3:17-19

1. In place of doubting questions and disturbing perplexities, Habakkuk now possesses what in:

(1) 3:17? The rest of faith

(2) 3:18? The joy of faith

(3) 3:19a? The strength of faith

(4) 3:19b? The walk of faith

(5) 3:19c? The song of faith

2. Comment on 3:19c in the light of 1:1: The formerly burdened prophet is now a singing prophet through a faith which is no longer dependent on what God DOES, but anchored in what God IS, so that it resulted in the triumph of faith over his questions and perplexities