Habakkuk: Solution to Perplexity
Lessons From Habakkuk
- It is okay to question God when things happen
- It is not for us to doubt that God did or is doing the right thing
- There are no guarantees that bad things will happen to good people
- We need to never forget that God is in total control
- We may be called upon to serve Him alone
- The righteous will live by faith
Purpose:
To show that God is still in control of the world despite the apparent triumph of evil. Author: Habakkuk Original Audience: The people of Judah (the southern kingdom) |
Date Written:
Between 612 and 588 B.C. Setting: Babylon was becoming the dominant world power and Judah would soon feel Babylon's destructive force. |
Key Verse:
"LORD, I have heard of your fame; I stand in awe of Your deeds, O LORD. Renew them in our day, in our time make them known; in wrath remember mercy." (3:2). |
Key People:
Habakkuk, the Babylonians Key Place: Judah Key Themes: Struggle and Doubt, God's Sovereignty, Hope |
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"When we see a day of trouble approach, it concerns us to prepare. A good hope through grace is founded in holy fear. The prophet looked back upon the experiences of the church in former ages, and observed what great things God had done for them, and so was not only recovered, but filled with holy joy. He resolved to delight and triumph in the LORD; for when all is gone, his God is not gone. Destroy the vines and fig-trees, and you make all the mirth of a carnal heart to cease. But those who, when full, enjoyed God in all, when emptied and poor, can enjoy all in God. They can sit down upon the heap of the ruins of their creature-comforts, and even then praise the LORD, as the God of their salvation, the salvation of the soul, and rejoice in Him as such, in their greatest distresses. Joy in the LORD is especially seasonable when we meet with losses and crosses in the world. Even when provisions are cut off, to make it appear that man lives not by bread alone, we may be supplied by the graces and comforts of God's Spirit. Then we shall be strong for spiritual warfare and work, and with enlargement of heart may run the way of His commandments, and outrun our troubles. And we shall be successful in spiritual undertakings. Thus the prophet, who began his prayer with fear and trembling, ends it with joy and triumph. And thus faith in Christ prepares for every event. The name of Jesus, when we can speak of Him as ours, is balm for every wound, a cordial for every care. It is as ointment poured forth, shedding fragrance through the whole soul. In the hope of a heavenly crown, let us sit loose to earthly possessions and comforts, and cheerfully bear up under crosses. Yet a little while, and He that shall come will come, and will not tarry; and where he He is, we shall be also." —Matthew Henry |
“Habakkuk signifies an embracer, or one who embraces another, takes him into his arms. He embraces his people, and takes them to his arms, i.e., he comforts them and holds them up, as one embraces a weeping child, to quiet it with the assurance that, if God wills, it shall soon be better.”
–Martin Luther’s definition of the name “Habakkuk” from Habakkuk, Zephaniah, and Haggai by Dr. Charles Feinberg