Habakkuk 1

How long?

Habakkuk 1

Habakkuk 1:2

O LORD, how long shall I cry for help, and you will not hear? Or cry to you "Violence!" and you will not save? (use)

Habakkuk is a unique book. Unlike other prophets who declared God's message to people this prophet dialogued with God about people. Most Old Testament prophets proclaimed divine judgment. Habakkuk pleaded for divine judgment. In contrast with the typical indictment, this little book records an intriguing interchange between a perplexed prophet and his Maker.

Blue, J.R., 1985. "Habakkuk." In The Bible Knowledge Commentary: Old Testament. 1505
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Job 19:7

Behold, I cry out, ‘Violence!’ but I am not answered; I call for help, but there is no justice. (use)

A useless phrase uttered in times of sorrow or tragedies. Requires the bare minimum of effort because they are too lazy to get involved and actually do something physical to help with the situation at hand but want to come across as if they actually care.

Dikodomy., 2016. Urban Dictionary: Thoughts and prayergs.
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Romans 9:20

But who are you, O man, to answer back to God? Will what is molded say to its molder, "Why have you made me like this?" (use)

Job 19:25

For I know that my Redeemer lives, and at the last he will stand upon the earth. (use)

To know that nothing happens in God's world apart for God's will may frighten the godless, but it stabilises the saints.

Packer, J.I., 2000. In God’s Presence, 877 edition. ed. Shaw Books, Wheaton, Ill.
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Habakkuk 3:18

yet I will rejoice in the LORD; I will take joy in the God of my salvation. (use)

On the one hand, Habakkuk announced the Babylonians' rise to prominence as if it would be a surprise (1:5-6). … On the other hand, the prophecy seems to assume the Babylonians had already built a reputation as an imperialistic power (see 1:6-11, 15-17; 2:5-17). … Perhaps the best way to resolve the problem is to understand the book as a collection of messages from different periods in the prophet's career.

Chisholm, R.B. Jr., 2002. Handbook on the Prophets. pg.443
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In summary, while it seems impossible to nail down the precise dates of Habakkuk's ministry, it seems that he ministered several years before Nebuchadnezzar destroyed Jerusalem in 586 B.C

Constable, T., 2022. Expository Notes.
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Jeremiah and Habakkuk were contemporaries: Jeremiah taught that wickedness in God's own people is doomed; Habakkuk, that wickedness in the Chaldeans, also, is doomed. Tyranny always carries within it the seeds of its own destruction.

Robinson, G.L., 1974. The Twelve Minor Prophets. pg.127
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Habakkuk 1:3

Why do you make me see iniquity, and why do you idly look at wrong? Destruction and violence are before me; strife and contention arise. (use)

He had cried and there seemed to be no answer. Heaven was silent. And with him the righteous among the Jews had cried for help and for a change of conditions, under which they were suffering affliction.

Gaebelein, A., 1922. Arno Gaebelein Annotated Bible.
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Prayer is not a way of telling God the things he already knows.

Fraser, G., 2017. Prayer is not wishful nonsense.
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Habakkuk 1:4

So the law is paralyzed, and justice never goes forth. For the wicked surround the righteous; so justice goes forth perverted. (use)

What are godly people to do when the moral and spiritual fabric of their nation is being ripped apart and the political and social structures are disintegrating? This is the disturbing problem addressed by the prophet Habakkuk.

Hanna, K.G., 2014. From Moses to Malachi: Exploring the Old Testament. pg.50
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Micah 6:8

He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the LORD require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God? (use)

Though the patience of God wait long upon sinners, yet it will expire at last; it is beneath the majesty of the great God always to wait upon man in vain.

Henry, M., 1896. Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary on the Whole Bible. UK. 1 Peter
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John 18:38

Pilate said to him, “What is truth?” After he had said this, he went back outside to the Jews and told them, “I find no guilt in him. (use)

This doctrine of god's judgement should not be an embarrassment to the church. It is not simply a negative doctrine. It is profoundly positive.

Wells, D.F., 2008. The Courage to be Protestant.
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Exodus 2:23

During those many days the king of Egypt died, and the people of Israel groaned because of their slavery and cried out for help. Their cry for rescue from slavery came up to God. (use)

Now I know us plain folks don't see all the story.

Brady, P., 1985. The Island.
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Habakkuk 1:5

Look among the nations, and see; wonder and be astounded. For I am doing a work in your days that you would not believe if told. (use)

Genesis 50:20

As for you, you meant evil against me{Joseph}, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today. (use)

Exodus 3:21

And I will give this people favor in the sight of the Egyptians; and when you go, you shall not go empty, (use)

For, to confess that God exists, and at the same time to deny that He has foreknowledge of future things, is the most manifest folly

Augustine of Hippo, 426AD. City of God.
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Joshua 2:10

For we{Rahab} have heard how the LORD dried up the water of the Red Sea before you when you came out of Egypt, and what you did to the two kings of the Amorites who were beyond the Jordan, to Sihon and Og, whom you devoted to destruction. (use)

Isaiah 28:21

For the LORD will rise up as on Mount Perazim; as in the Valley of Gibeon he will be roused; to do his deed—strange is his deed! and to work his work—alien is his work! (use)

Isaiah 29:14

therefore, behold, I will again do wonderful things with this people, with wonder upon wonder; and the wisdom of their wise men shall perish, and the discernment of their discerning men shall be hidden. (use)

Psalm 22:28

For kingship belongs to the LORD, and he rules over the nations. (use)

No needs arise unforeseen by Christ, and He requires no prompting to help. Difficulties which seem insoluble to us, when we too late wake to perceive them, have long ago been taken into account and solved by Him.

Maclaren, A., 1904. Expositions of Holy Scripture.
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Daniel 2:21

He changes times and seasons; he removes kings and sets up kings; he gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to those who have understanding; (use)

Although it looks like everything is out of control, behind the scenes there is a God who has not surrendered authority.

Tozer, A.W., 2013. God's Power for Your Life: How the Holy Spirit Transforms You Through God's Word.
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Psalm 66:5

Come and see what God has done: he is awesome in his deeds toward the children of man. (use)

Habakkuk 1:6

For behold, I am raising up the Chaldeans, that bitter and hasty nation, who march through the breadth of the earth, to seize dwellings not their own. (use)

Jeremiah 5:15

Behold, I am bringing against you a nation from afar, O house of Israel, declares the LORD. It is an enduring nation; it is an ancient nation, a nation whose language you do not know, nor can you understand what they say. (use)

2 Kings 24:2

And the LORD sent against him{Jehoiakim} bands of the Chaldeans and bands of the Syrians and bands of the Moabites and bands of the Ammonites, and sent them against Judah to destroy it, according to the word of the LORD that he spoke by his servants the prophets. (use)

Daniel 1:2

And the Lord gave Jehoiakim king of Judah into his hand, with some of the vessels of the house of God. And he brought them to the land of Shinar, to the house of his god, and placed the vessels in the treasury of his god. (use)

The prophecy of Obadiah sealed the fate of Edom. The prophecy of Nahum tolled the knell over Assyria. The prophecy of Habakkuk dug the grave of Babylon.

Baxter, J.S., 2010. Baxter's Explore the Book.
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Acts 13:41

Look, you scoffers, be astounded and perish; for I am doing a work in your days, a work that you will not believe, even if one tells it to you. (use)

God, I say, so changes empires, and times, and seasons, that we should learn to look up to him.

Calvin, J., 1571. Commentary on the Prophet Daniel.
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Habakkuk 1:12

Are you not from everlasting, O LORD my God, my Holy One? We shall not die. O LORD, you have ordained them as a judgment, and you, O Rock, have established them for reproof. (use)

Habakkuk 1:11

Then they sweep by like the wind and go on, guilty men, whose own might is their god! (use)

Habakkuk 1:17

Is he then to keep on emptying his net and mercilessly killing nations forever? (use)

Oh grant me wisdom from above, To pray for peace and cling to love, And teach me humbly to receive The sun and rain of Your sovereignty. Each strand of sorrow has a place Within this tapestry of grace; So through the trials I choose to say: “Your perfect will in your perfect way.

Getty, K., 2010. The Perfect Wisdom of Our God.
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2 Kings 25:9

And he{Nebuzaradan servant of Nebuchadnezzar} burned the house of the LORD and the king’s house and all the houses of Jerusalem; every great house he burned down. (use)

Habakkuk 1:13

You who are of purer eyes than to see evil and cannot look at wrong, why do you idly look at traitors and remain silent when the wicked swallows up the man more righteous than he? (use)

Isaiah 6:3

And one called to another and said: “Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory!” (use)

Revelation 4:8

And the four living creatures, each of them with six wings, are full of eyes all around and within, and day and night they never cease to say, “Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God Almighty, who was and is and is to come!” (use)

People need to know who God is—not their conjecture of God, not the concept that they’ve created for themselves, but who God is.

Begg, A., 2021. Behold Your God! - Part One.
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Malachi 3:6

For I the LORD do not change; therefore you, O children of Jacob, are not consumed. (use)

Such was the plea of Habakkuk, after the announcement of the coming chastisement of the Jews by the Chaldeans. He knows that the affliction could not continue forever, for God is a covenant-keeping God, and of purer eyes than to behold evil, a holy and a righteous God.

Gaebelein, A., 1922. Arno Gaebelein Annotated Bible.
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Psalm 73:28

But for me it is good to be near God; I have made the Lord GOD my refuge, that I may tell of all your works. (use)

Habakkuk 1:17

Is he then to keep on emptying his net and mercilessly killing nations forever? (use)

Topics and Themes

Key Verse

Habakkuk 1:5

Look among the nations, and see; wonder and be astounded. For I am doing a work in your days that you would not believe if told. (use)