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Habakkuk 1:1-7, 2:1-4, 3:3b-6, 3:17-19
A devotion that I wrote for our church, for the first Sunday of Advent
I love the Old Testament prophets, but they can be tough reading. Any of the prophetic books demand a good commentary or study book to help you know what's going on.
Habakkuk is one of the “twelve minor prophets,” “minor” in the sense that they are short. In Jewish Bibles, they form one book, about the length of Isaiah, and thus form an overall prophetic witness to God’s work in the lives of his people. Like Nahum (right before it in the Bible), Habakkuk affirms the Lord’s control of world events, and the Lord’s use of the nations in the divine purposes; then the next book, Zephaniah, calls upon the people to follow God more closely. If you decide to sometime study “the Twelve,” you can learn how the books fit together.
Writing in the 6th century BC, Habakkuk speaks to the crisis of Judah and Jerusalem as they are about to be conquered by the Babylonians (also called the Chaldeans). Our lesson consists of these four short sections.
In the selection of verses from chapter 1, Habakkuk cries to God about the social situation of Judah: violence and destruction rule, justice doesn’t prevail, and the rule of law is impotent. The poor and needy are not provided for. This is a common theme among the Old Testament prophets. In the next verses (1:5-7), God responds with an announcement of judgment upon the people; God will be using the fierce Chaldeans as the divine instrument to punish the people for their injustice and corruption.
Verses 2:2-4 follows another complaint of Habakkuk to God. Aren’t the Chaldeans themselves more evil and corrupt than God’s people in Judah? God responds with the famous words, “The righteous live by their faith.” My commentaries note that the word “faith” has the meaning of trust and fidelity. Although the situation looks horrible to Habakkuk, God is still in control, and the righteous will trust in God for the long haul, through dark and interminable circumstances.
Verses 3:3b-6 sounds like some of the psalms (for instance, 104) that affirm God’s providence in the natural world, which in turn becomes a source of comfort to persons struggling through human difficulties. In fact, in the last selection (verses 3:17-19), the prophet takes a stand to trust in God when there is not even food to be had. Just as a deer is surefooted in rugged mountain terrain, the prophet is strong because of God (vs. 19).
Habakkuk has been a good text for persons suffering under violent regimes and unjust circumstances. We know from history that such violence and injustice may go on for many years. It is natural for persons of faith to cry out, “how long shall I cry for help, and you will not listen?” (Hab. 1:2). Difficult as it is to trust God for the long haul, Habakkuk gives us confidence that God’s justice will prevail in time.
As a scripture to begin our Advent season, Habakkuk also helps us look to God’s victory in Jesus. True, we still have to pray for and work for justice in an unjust world. True, we feel frustrated when we see justice delayed or denied. Yet there is a deliverance in Christ that has happened, centuries after this prophet. The Apostle Paul, in fact, uses that verse “the righteous shall live by faith” to affirm the new power of God that has been made known in Jesus (Romans 1:17).
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