The Book of Habakkuk

Hebrew Study

Explanation

Having flung his hard questions at God, Habakkuk does the right thing: he takes his post like a watchman and waits. "I will stand upon my watch... and will watch to see what he will say unto me." He expects an answer, and even expects to be "reproved", corrected. And God answers. He tells Habakkuk to "write the vision, and make it plain upon tables," clear enough that a runner could read it at a glance, and to trust it: "though it tarry, wait for it; because it will surely come."

Then comes the heart of the answer, a contrast between two kinds of people. First, the proud: "his soul which is lifted up is not upright in him." The arrogant, self-trusting person, like the Babylonian oppressor, is inwardly crooked and will not stand. Over against him: "but the just shall live by his faith." The righteous person does not live by his own strength or by grasping like the proud, but by steadfast trust in God. In a world where the wicked seem to thrive and God's promises seem delayed, this is how the righteous survive and truly live: by faith.

Gospel Focus

"The just shall live by his faith" is the seed from which the whole doctrine of justification by faith grows. Paul quotes it to prove that "the righteousness of God" is "revealed from faith to faith" (Romans 1:17), that "no man is justified by the law in the sight of God... for, The just shall live by faith" (Galatians 3:11). We are not made right with God by our works, our religion, or our strength, but by trusting Him, and specifically by trusting in Jesus Christ, who died and rose for us. The proud soul that stands on itself is "not upright" and will fall; the one who lives by faith stands forever, "therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ" (Romans 5:1).

And notice that this faith is a faith that waits. God's vision was "for an appointed time," and Habakkuk had to trust it "though it tarry." Much of the life of faith is lived in the meantime, believing God's promise while its fulfilment seems delayed. Hebrews applies the very words to us who wait for Christ: "he that shall come will come, and will not tarry. Now the just shall live by faith." When God's answers seem slow, when evil seems to win, when the promise tarries, the righteous do not "draw back" (Hebrews 10:38), they live by faith, resting on a God who is never late and never lies. Take your post on the watchtower, write the vision on your heart, and live by faith in Him.

Hebrew Study

Explanation

God describes the proud conqueror (Babylon): drunken, restless, insatiable, "who enlargeth his desire as hell... and cannot be satisfied," swallowing "all nations." But the tables will turn. The nations he plundered will "take up a parable" and "a taunting proverb" against him, a series of woes. The first: "Woe to him that increaseth that which is not his!", the plunderer piling up stolen wealth ("thick clay") will himself be plundered, "all the remnant of the people shall spoil thee." The second: "Woe to him that coveteth an evil covetousness," building his "nest on high" to be safe, has only "sinned against his soul," and even the "stone" and "beam" of his blood-built house "cry out" against him. The third: "Woe to him that buildeth a town with blood," for all such labor is doomed, "the people shall labour in the very fire... for very vanity."

And then, into the catalogue of doom, breaks the great promise: "For the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea." This is the reason the plunderer's labor is "vanity", it runs against the tide of God's certain purpose. The proud build empires of blood that will burn; God is building a world that will know His glory. History is not going the plunderer's way; it is going God's way, toward an earth flooded with the knowledge of the LORD.

Gospel Focus

The woes expose the emptiness of greed and violence. The conqueror "cannot be satisfied," and everything he grasps, wealth, safety, power, turns to "thick clay" and burning "vanity." This is the verdict on every life built on getting rather than on God: it can never be filled, and it cannot last. "What shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?" (Mark 8:36). The one who "sinned against his soul" to build his nest high learns too late that no fortune buys the soul's safety. Only God satisfies the longing soul; everything else is a bottomless appetite.

But lift your eyes to the promise that towers over the woes: "the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea." Whatever the proud and violent do, this is where history is heading, a world flooded with the knowledge of God. That purpose is advancing right now through the gospel of Jesus Christ, carrying the knowledge of God's glory to every nation, and it will be complete when every knee bows to Jesus as Lord. When empires of blood seem to rule the world, remember the tide that is coming in: not the plunderer's vanity, but the knowledge of the glory of the LORD, as sure and as vast as the waters that cover the sea.

Hebrew Study

Explanation

The last woes strike two more sins. First, the man who "giveth his neighbour drink" to degrade and shame him, exploiting others for his pleasure; his own turn is coming, "the cup of the LORD'S right hand shall be turned unto thee," and the shame he inflicted will cover him. Second, the idolater, and here God's scorn is withering. "What profiteth the graven image?" The idol is "a teacher of lies," a thing its own maker fashioned and then foolishly "trusteth" in. To cry "Awake" to wood and "Arise" to stone is absurd, for though it be plated "with gold and silver," "there is no breath at all in the midst of it." Dead idols cannot help.

Then the chapter ends with one of the most majestic verses in the prophets: "But the LORD is in his holy temple: let all the earth keep silence before him." Over against every dumb idol and every proud oppressor stands the living, reigning God. He is not made of wood or stone; He is enthroned in His holy temple, alive and sovereign. And the response He calls for is not more noise but reverent silence, all the earth hushed before Him. The questions and complaints and clamor of chapter 1 come to rest here, in awe before the God who is in His holy temple.

Gospel Focus

"The cup of the LORD'S right hand shall be turned unto thee" points to the deepest truth of the cross. The wicked must drink the cup of God's wrath they have earned, but the gospel is that Jesus Christ drank that cup for all who trust Him. In the garden He faced it, "let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt," and on the cross He drained it, bearing the judgment we deserved. Because He drank the cup of wrath, we may drink "the cup of blessing" (1 Corinthians 10:16). The choice before every soul is which cup we will hold: the cup of judgment we have earned, or the cup of salvation held out in Christ, who drank our judgment dry.

And let the final verse sink deep: "the LORD is in his holy temple: let all the earth keep silence before him." We live surrounded by "dumb idols," modern ones, money, self, pleasure, power, that demand our worship and give "no breath" in return. Against them all stands the living God, enthroned and reigning, and the right response to Him is not our anxious noise but reverent silence, "Be still, and know that I am God." Habakkuk began the book shouting questions at heaven; by the end of chapter 2 he is learning to fall silent before the LORD in His temple. When you have brought God your hardest questions, come at last to this holy hush: He is real, He is enthroned, He reigns, and it is enough. Be still before Him, and live by faith.