Chapters
Introduction
“Why do you allow injustice?” Habakkuk asked God. “Why do you allow evil?” God did not answer Habakkuk’s questions directly. Instead, as God did with Job, God showed Habakkuk his divine power and character. The prophet may not have understood God’s ways, but he could still trust God.
Habakkuk’s questions are still important for people who honor God. The book of Habakkuk does not give easy answers to the problem of evil in the world. Instead, it gives strong reasons to trust the sovereign, holy, and just God. Sovereign means that God rules over all things. In the end, God will bring justice to his world.
Setting
Habakkuk lived when the kingdom of Judah had been under Assyria’s power for many years. The Assyrian Empire had taken control of most of the ancient Near East. This area reached from Mesopotamia to Thebes, the capital city of Egypt.
By Habakkuk's time, in the late 600s BC, Assyria was becoming weak. This weakness would finally lead to its fall. After Assyria’s military campaigns in the mid-640s BC, King Ashurbanipal turned much of his attention to literature and art. He paid less attention to ruling his empire. This made Assyria weaker in other lands and led to uprisings within the empire.
After Ashurbanipal died, Assyria faced a new threat. In Babylon, King Nabopolassar ruled from 626 to 605 BC. He declared that Babylon was free from Assyria’s control. He also began the Neo-Babylonian Empire, which lasted almost 100 years, from 626 to 539 BC.
Nabopolassar conquered Assyria’s most important cities one by one. Nineveh, Assyria’s capital city, fell in 612 BC. The rest of the Assyrian army was later defeated at Haran in 609 BC and at Carchemish in 605 BC.
When Nabopolassar’s son Nebuchadnezzar II became king, his empire controlled large parts of the ancient Near East. He ruled from 605 to 562 BC.
Nebuchadnezzar attacked the kingdom of Judah several times. He attacked Jerusalem three times and took many of its people away as prisoners. The last attack, in 586 BC, brought the kingdom of Judah to an end.
Except for the last years of the good king Josiah, who ruled from 640 to 609 BC, Judah was marked by violence and injustice. This began during the evil rule of Manasseh, from 697 to 642 BC, and continued until Jerusalem fell in 586 BC.
In many ways, Manasseh was the opposite of his faithful father, Hezekiah (see 2 Kings 21:1–9; 2 Chronicles 33:2–9). Manasseh supported pagan worship practices, which were religious practices that did not honor the God of Israel. The people who lived in Canaan before Israel had practiced these things. Manasseh’s rebellion against God brought judgment on Judah.
Later, Manasseh repented, which means he turned away from his sin and returned to God. He tried to undo the evil things he had done (2 Chronicles 33:15–19), but the change did not last. His son Amon brought back the pagan practices (2 Kings 21:21–22).
Later prophets, such as Zephaniah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel, warned the people. King Josiah also tried to reform Judah’s worship and turn the people back to God (2 Chronicles 34:1–35:19). But these efforts did not bring lasting change.
Judah’s later kings were all condemned for their evil actions (2 Kings 23:32, 37; 24:19; Jeremiah 22; 27:1–22; 36:30–31). Even during Josiah’s reforms, many people in Judah remained deeply committed to apostasy (turning away from God).
The kingdom of Judah was in great danger from both outside and inside. Habakkuk lived and served as a prophet during this final, sad period of Judah’s history as an independent kingdom (see Habakkuk 1:2–4).
Summary
Habakkuk’s prophecy is a conversation between God and the prophet. In the opening verses, Habakkuk thinks about the violence in Judah’s society. He does not understand why God seems to ignore Judah’s sin. Habakkuk feels that God is not listening, even though he has cried out to God many times (1:2–4).
God first answers that he is about to deal with Judah’s violence. He will bring the Babylonians, an even more violent people, to judge Judah (1:5–11).
This answer confuses Habakkuk even more (1:12–2:1). JJudah was truly wicked. But why would God use a people who were even more wicked to punish his own people?
God’s answer focuses on his justice. He would punish both Judah and the Babylonians (2:2–5). Both groups failed to live by God’s standards for faith and right conduct. Both deserved God’s judgment.
In five taunt songs, God lists his charges against all who are corrupt and do injustice (2:6–20). . A taunt song is a song that speaks against proud or evil people. These charges clearly included the Babylonians. God may use people to carry out his purposes. But those same people are still responsible to live by God’s moral standards. If they do not, they will not escape punishment.
The final chapter begins with Habakkuk’s prayer. He asks God to show mercy to Judah, even while God corrects them (3:1–2). Habakkuk then records a psalm of praise. This psalm uses poetic language to remember how God saved his people during the exodus, when he brought Israel out of Egypt (3:3–15). Habakkuk ends with a clear statement of trust and a note of praise (3:16–19).
Author
Little is known about Habakkuk, except that he was a prophet from Judah.
One manuscript of Bel and the Dragon says that Habakkuk was a Levite. Bel and the Dragon is a story added to the end of Daniel in the Greek translation of the Old Testament. Levites were members of the tribe of Levi. If Habakkuk was a Levite, this might help explain the musical notes in chapter three (3:1, 3, 9, 13, 19). Some Levites served as music leaders in the temple (see 1 Chronicles 6:31–47; 25:1–31).
Habakkuk used rich figurative language and carefully shaped his writing. This shows that he was a skilled writer. He also hated the evil conduct and social disorder caused by sin. This shows his deep concern that God’s people live by God’s standards.
Date
The date of Habakkuk’s prophecy is uncertain. The events in the book fit best near the end of Judah’s history, before Judah was exiled to Babylon. For this reason, Habakkuk’s prophecy was probably written between about 645 BC and 605 BC. This was from near the end of Manasseh’s rule to Babylon’s first attack on Judah.
Habakkuk’s concern about social injustice also supports this date (Habakkuk 1:2–4). So does his focus on the Neo-Babylonian Empire (1:5–11; 2:6–20) .
Scholars suggest three main dates for Habakkuk’s prophecy:
Many scholars date the book to the time of King Jehoiakim, who ruled from 609 to 598 BC. Jehoiakim had an evil character and did evil things (2 Kings 24:1–3). Because of this, prophets spoke against him (Jeremiah 22:18–19; 26:3–6; 36:27–32). During his rule, Babylon also threatened to invade Judah (Jeremiah 25).
Others date the book to the early years of King Josiah, who ruled from 640 to 609 BC. Before the Book of the Law was found in 622 BC, Josiah had to deal with widespread apostasy in Judah (2 Chronicles 34:1–7).
Others support the traditional Jewish view. This view says that Habakkuk lived during Manasseh’s independent rule from 686 to 642 BC. Manasseh was very wicked (2 Kings 21:16–17). He brought back Canaanite worship and pagan practices, which were religious practices that did not honor the God of Israel (2 Kings 21:1–11; 2 Chronicles 33:1–9, 19–20). Because of this, God announced that Judah would be judged (2 Kings 21:12–15).
Meaning and Message
When violence and corruption are everywhere, and evil seems to rule, faithful people may wonder if God truly cares or is truly in control. Habakkuk’s dialogue helps us understand that God does not reject honest questions. He welcomes these questions when people bring them to him in prayer from an honest attitude.
Habakkuk’s prophecy teaches again that God rules over history. It also teaches that God’s actions are always just and right. Believers must be ready to accept God’s answers and take joy in his will. This is true even when God’s answer is very different from the way they think.
God sees and cares deeply about what happens on earth. People may not always see what God is doing. But God is still ruling over all things. In the end, he will bring everything to a right and just end (Habakkuk 2:2–3, 14).
The Babylonians trusted the power that had made them rich and strong. God’s charges against them remind readers to worship only God (compare 1 John 5:21).
God’s message to Habakkuk also emphasizes that the believer’s holy life of faith and faithfulness must reproduce God’s ethical standards (Habakkuk 1:12; 2:4). Those who trust God and serve God can rejoice in God (3:18; Philippians 4:4). They can remain faithful in every situation, even when life is hard (Habakkuk 2:20; 3:16–19; see also Romans 1:16–17; Galatians 3:11; Hebrews 10:35–39).