Day 352

Habakkuk 1:1–3:19; Revelation 9:1-21; Psalm 137:1-9; Proverbs 30:10

THE BOOK OF Habakkuk is the eighth of the Minor Prophets, and we read it in its entirety today. Almost nothing is known about Habakkuk’s life —perhaps less than any other biblical writer. A Jewish tradition speaks of him as the son of the woman from Shunem who was resurrected through Elisha in the book of 2 Kings (4:16). Another tradition, found in the apocryphal book Bel and the Dragon, depicts Habakkuk ministering to Daniel while he was in the lions’ den. Of course, these are traditions, and scholars find them —particularly the latter —to be the stuff of legend.

Many verses in Habakkuk are well-known. One in particular —“But the righteous will live by their faithfulness to God” (Habakkuk 2:4) —is often repeated in the writings of the apostle Paul and in the book of Hebrews as a core doctrine of the Christian faith.

Because of the book’s poetic or lyrical form —especially in the closing psalm or hymn —some have surmised that Habakkuk may have been a temple musician.

The book of Habakkuk is unique in that it contains a pointed conversation between the prophet and God that moves from doubt to worship. Habakkuk begins by simply saying out loud what he was seeing in the world:

I am surrounded by people who love to argue and fight. The law has become paralyzed, and there is no justice in the courts. The wicked far outnumber the righteous, so that justice has become perverted.

Habakkuk wanted to understand why God continued to allow every evil imaginable, almost as if He were not paying attention at all.

God responded that He would use the evil Babylonians to punish His own people, which left Habakkuk perplexed and confused:

O LORD, our Rock, you have sent these Babylonians to correct us, to punish us for our many sins. But you are pure and cannot stand the sight of evil. Will you wink at their treachery? Should you be silent while the wicked swallow up people more righteous than they?

In response, God told Habakkuk that although the Babylonians would punish His people, they themselves would not go unpunished. Instead, they would be completely destroyed in the end. This revealed that God was not indifferent or unaware at all, but that His sovereign plan was true and just, which ultimately led Habakkuk into a hymn of worship, with words of faith and trust not based on circumstance:

Even though the fig trees have no blossoms, and there are no grapes on the vines; even though the olive crop fails, and the fields lie empty and barren; even though the flocks die in the fields, and the cattle barns are empty, yet I will rejoice in the LORD! I will be joyful in the God of my salvation! The Sovereign LORD is my strength! He makes me as surefooted as a deer, able to tread upon the heights.

MEDITATION:

For as the waters fill the sea, the earth will be filled with an awareness of the glory of the LORD.