INTRODUCTION
1.
Segway
General descriptions of the Old
Testament prophets and their ministry (and compared with the priests and the
sages) …
Identify parallels between
ancient Israel
and modern times...
2.
Overview
Old Testament: Five
English sections
Law, History, Wisdom Lit., Major
Prophets, Minor Prophets
Minor Prophets:
To Nations: Obadiah,
Jonah, Nahum
To Israel: Hosea & Amos
To Judah before the Exile:
To Judah after the Exile: Zechariah
& Haggai, then Malachi
In Nehemiah 8.8 the teachers
read distinctly from the
book, in the Law of God,
And they gave the sense,
And helped them to
understand the reading.
Things we are
looking for:
first, to appreciate the
historical context and
understand the words and idioms, and
understand the words and idioms, and
then, grasp the significance for
us today.
3.
Outline & Big Idea
A. The Book
Our study will look at five
sections in this short book
1.1-11 “The Prophet’s Plea”
Habakkuk’s
first prayer and God’s response
1.12-2.4 “The Prophet’s Puzzle”
Habakkuk’s
second prayer and God’s response
2.5-20 “The Prophet’s Pronouncement”
The
five “woes” pronounced against the wicked
3.1-16 “The Prophet’s Prayer”
Habakkuk’s
prayer in response to God’s answers
3.16-19 “The Prophet’s Praise”
The
chorus or closing hymn of Habakkuk
B. Big idea
H: Why don’t you do
something?
G: I am going to use the
Chaldeans to punish Judah.
2 Peter 3:9-10
9 The Lord is not slack
concerning His promise, as some count slackness...
4.
Read text and Pray
1 The burden which the
prophet Habakkuk saw.
The Prophet’s Plea
2 O Lord, how long shall I
cry,
And You will not hear?
Even cry out to You, “Violence!”
And You will not save.
3 Why do You show me
iniquity,
And cause me to see trouble?
For plundering and violence are before me;
There is strife, and contention arises.
4 Therefore the law is
powerless,
And justice never goes forth.
For the wicked surround the righteous;
Therefore perverse judgment proceeds.
The Lord’s Reply
5 “Look among the
nations and watch—
Be utterly astounded!
For I will work a work in your days
Which you would not believe, though it were
told you.
6 For indeed I am raising
up the Chaldeans,
A bitter and hasty nation
Which marches through the breadth of the
earth,
To possess dwelling places that are not
theirs.
7 They are terrible and
dreadful;
Their judgment and their dignity proceed from
themselves.
8 Their horses also are
swifter than leopards,
And more fierce than evening wolves.
Their chargers charge ahead;
Their cavalry comes from afar;
They fly as the eagle that hastens to eat.
9 “They all come for
violence;
Their faces are set like the east wind.
They gather captives like sand.
10 They scoff at kings,
And princes are scorned by them.
They deride every stronghold,
For they heap up earthen mounds and seize it.
11 Then his mind changes,
and he transgresses;
He commits offense,
Ascribing this power to his god.”
I. Setting and Backgound
A. The Title
1 The burden a which the prophet
Habakkuk saw.
burden a aXXm mas-saw' — Lit. the idea of carrying a burden
Fig.
an utterance or oracle
Ylt, kjv,
nkjv—burden;
nasb, esv, niv—oracle; nlt—message
The
prophet calls his writing a massa’,
or burden (see Nahum 1.1) because it announces heavy judgments upon the
covenant nation and the imperial power. ———C.F. Keil
“Technical
term in prophetic literature introducing a message from the Lord as in Zech
9.1;12.1; Mal 1.1 The burden of the word of the Lord to Israel by Malachi. “Since it derives from a verb meaning ‘to
carry,’ its original nuance was that of a burdensome message, that is, one with
ominous content.” —-NET Bible notes
Geography
and History of Habakkuk’s Time
620 BC—Babylon (Chaldeans) becomes
independent
612 BC—Babylonians and Medes
destroy Nineveh
609 BC—Babylonians defeat the
Assyrians at Haran
605 BC—Babylonians defeat Necho
II of Egypt at Carchemish
605 BC—Jerusalem defeated and exile begins (Daniel)
597 BC—Jerusalem defeated (Ezekiel probably taken Ez
1.2)
588-86 BC—Jerusalem burned & temple
B. The Timing
1. Some have suggested
during end of the reign of Manasseh, but that is so much earlier that it make
the statement I am doing something in your days (1.5) problematic. The
40-50 years between the end of Mannasseh’s reign and Babylon
taking Jerusalem
is probably too long.
2. Habakkuk was probably
written after 625 BC since the Chaldeans were already marching through the
breadth of the earth 1.6
3. Habakkuk was probably
written before the period of 612 BC and 609 BC since Assyrian was in decline
and threat of Babylon might not have been an utterly astounding. 1.2
4. The reign of Josiah
after the Temple
was refurbished fits with the closing phrase of the book “To the Chief
Musician. With my stringed instruments.” which would indicate that the Temple was functioning.
3.19
5. That would also tend to
indicate that Habakkuk was involved in the temple worship and therefore a
Levite.
687-642 BC - Manasseh
642-640 BC - Amon
640-609 BC - Josiah
609 BC - Jehoahaz
609-598 BC - Jehoiakim
597 BC - Jehoiachin
597-586 BC - Zedekiah
II. The Prophet’s plea (v. 2-4)
2 O Lord, how long shall I
cry,
And You will not hear?
Even cry out to You, “Violence!”
And You will not save.
3 Why do You show me
iniquity, a
And cause me to see trouble? b
For plundering c and violence are before
me;
There is strife, and contention arises.
4 Therefore the law is
powerless, d
And justice never goes forth.
For the wicked surround the righteous;
Therefore perverse e judgment f proceeds.
It is
interesting to see the Hebrew parallelism in verse two.
“Not hearing is the equivalent to
not helping.” —-C.F. Keil
iniquity a !wa aw-ven' — trouble of iniquity,
wickedness,
ylt, kjv,
nasb, njkv, esv—iniquity; niv injustice; ylt—evil deeds
trouble
b lm[ haw-mawl' — toil, trouble, labour
ylt—perversity; kjv—grievance; nasb—wickedness;
njkv—trouble; esv, niv—wrong; nlt—misery
plundering c dX shode — 1. havoc, violence, destruction, devastation, ruin 2.
violence, havoc (as social sin)
ylt, kjv—spoiling; nasb, esv, nlt—destruction;
niv—violence
law is powerless, d gwp poog — (Qal)
to be feeble carries the idea of being
numb or paralyzed
ylt—cease; kjv—slacked; nasb—ignored; nkjv—powerless; esv, niv, nlt—paralyzed;
perverse judgement e lq[ aw-kal'
— (Pual) to
be bent out of shape, be distorted, be crooked
ylt, kjv—wrong; nasb,
njkv, esv, niv, nlt—perverted; nkjv—perverse
judgment f tpXm mish-pawt' —
judgment, justice, ordinance (idea of a court room)
Habakkuk has three questions in
his plea to God.
A. Why does God seem indifferent? Why doesn’t
He help? (1:3)
B. Why does God allow Evil to continue? (1.4)
The culture of corruption and
escalating conflicts
The complete unrestraint and lack
of any fear of the Lord or evident consequences.
The “road rage” and the bickering
and factions (partisonship ).
Why do You show me
iniquity
It is normal for the righteous to
be troubled by the wickedness and injustices that they see.
2 Peter 2.7-8
... righteous Lot, who was oppressed by the filthy conduct of the
wicked 8 (for that righteous man, dwelling among them, tormented his righteous
soul from day to day by seeing and hearing their lawless deeds)--
C. Why does twisted justice prevail? (1.5)
Applications:
His prayer
was earnest.
His prayer
was famed around the character of God.
His prayer did not malign God’s character or goodness, rather it was the
basis of His questions.
His prayer
was honest.
His prayer
was practical and relevant.
II. The Lord’s reply (v.
5-11)
A. The astounding response would come soon.
(1.5)
5 “Look among the
nations and watch—
Be utterly astounded! a
For I will work a work in your days
Which you would not believe, though it were
told you.
————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————
utterly astounded! a hhmt taw-mah' (Hithpael)
to astonish yourself, be astounded, be astonished at one another
B. The unrestrained cruelty of the Chaldeans
(1.6-7)
6 For indeed I am raising
up the Chaldeans,
A bitter b and hasty c nation
Which marches through the breadth of the
earth,
To possess dwelling places that are not
theirs.
7 They are terrible and
dreadful;
Their judgment and their dignity proceed
from themselves.
————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————
bitter b nation rm mar –ah’ — “bitter or rough, and , when used
to denote a disposition, fierce” ——CF
Kiel
ylt, kjv,
nkjv, esv—bitter;
nasb—fierce; niv—ruthless; ylt—cruel
hasty c nation rhm maw-har' —
(Niphal) to be hurried, be anxious; “heedless or rash, here violent, and
moving along the breadths of the earth” ——CF Kiel
ylt, kjv,
nkjv, esv—hasty;
nasb, niv—impetuous; nlt—violent
Dreadful—”If God’s people refuse
to fear Him, they will ultimately be compelled to rear those less worthy of
fear (cf.
Deut 28:47-48; 58-68; Jer. 5:15-22).” —Armerding in Expositor’s
From
themselves—They
don’t care what others think.
C. The superior
military might of the Chaldeans (1.10)
8 Their horses also are
swifter than leopards,
And more fierce d than evening wolves.
Their chargers charge ahead; e
Their cavalry comes from afar;
They fly as the eagle that hastens g to eat.
9 “They all come for
violence;
Their faces are set like the east wind.
h
They gather captives like sand.
10 They scoff at kings,
And princes are scorned by them.
They deride every stronghold,
For they heap up earthen mounds and seize it.
————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————
fierce d ddx khaw-dad' — (Qal) to be sharp, be
keen
ylt—sharper; kjv, nkjv, esv, niv, nlt—fierce(r);
nasb—keener
Evening
wolves “are
wolves which go out in the evening in search of prey, after having fasted
through the day…” —CF Kiel
chargers e Xrp paw-rawsh' — horseman
ylt, kjv,
nasb, esv—horsemen; nkjv—chargers; niv—calvary; nlt—charioteers
charge ahead e Xwp poosh (Qal)
to frisk, act proudly (fig.)
ylt—increased; kjv—spread themselves; nasb—come galloping; nkjv—charge ahead; niv—gallops headlong; nlt—charge
hastens g Xwx koosh — (Qal)
to make haste
ylt, kjv,
nkjv—form
of hasten; nasb,
niv, nlt—swooping; niv—swift
Deut 28.49 The Lord will bring a nation against you
from afar, from the end of the earth, as swift as the eagle flies, a nation
whose language you will not understand,
faces are set like the
east wind. h —they pass on like a wind storm
Ylt—faces swallowing up the
east wind;
kjv—faces shall sup up the
east wind;
nasb—horde of faces moves
forward;
nkjv—faces are set like
the east wind;
esv—there faces forward;
niv, nlt—hordes advance like a
desert wind;
One of the Hebrew words in this
phrase is very obscure, therefore the divergence in translations.
D. The guilt of the Chaldeans (1.11)
11 Then his mind changes, i and he transgresses;
He commits offense, j
Ascribing this power to his god.” k
————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————
his mind changes, i @lx khaw-laf' — (Qal)
to pass on quickly
(Piel) to cause to pass, change
ylt—Then passed on hath
the spirit; kjv, nkjv—mind
changes; nasb, esv, niv, nlt—sweep
through like the wind;
commits offense, j
ylt—doth transgress; kjv—offend; nkjv—commits offence
nasb—held guilty; esv,
niv—guilty
men; nlt—deeply guity
Ascribing this power to
his god.” k
ylt, kjv (imputing), nkjv—ascribe this his power to his god; nasb, niv, nlt—whose strength is their
god; esv—whose might is their god;
Daniel 4.30
28 All this came upon King Nebuchadnezzar.
29 At the end of the twelve months he was walking about the royal palace of Babylon. 30 The king spoke, saying, "Is
not this great Babylon,
that I have built for a royal dwelling by my mighty power and for the honor of
my majesty?" 31 While the word was still in the king's mouth, a voice fell from heaven:
"King Nebuchadnezzar, to you it is spoken: the kingdom has departed from
you! 32
And they shall drive you from men, and your dwelling shall be with the beasts
of the field. They shall make you eat grass like oxen; and seven times shall
pass over you, until you know that the Most High rules in the kingdom of men, and gives
it to whomever He chooses."
Applications:
Faith in God’s promises Habakkuk 2:4b
B.
Patience for His timing. 2 Peter 3:
2 Peter 3
3 knowing this first:
that scoffers will come in the last days, walking according to their own lusts,
4 and saying, "Where is the promise of His coming? For since
the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of
creation." 5 For this they willfully forget: that
by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of water
and in the water, 6 by which the world that then existed perished,
being flooded with water. 7 But the heavens and the earth which are
now preserved by the same word, are reserved for fire until the day of judgment
and perdition of ungodly men.
8 But, beloved, do not forget this one thing,
that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one
day.
9 The Lord is not slack
concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward
us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance. 10 But
the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens
will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent
heat; both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up.
C.
Accept his salvation today. Acts 13:38-41
38 Therefore let it be
known to you, brethren, that through this Man is preached to you the
forgiveness of sins; 39 and by Him everyone who believes is justified
from all things from which you could not be justified by the law of Moses. 40 Beware
therefore, lest what has been spoken in the prophets come upon you: 41 "Behold,
you despisers, Marvel and perish! For I work a work in your days, A work
which you will by no means believe, Though one were to declare it to you.'
"
Paul uses this quote to remind his listeners that
God will eventually act in judgement and that they should not presume upon his
longsuffering.
Paul closed his message with a
note of warning taken from Habakkuk 1:5 (and see Isa. 29:14). In Habakkuk’s
day, the “unbelievable work” God was doing was the raising up of the Chaldeans
to chasten His people, a work so remarkable that nobody would believe it. After
all, why would God use an evil pagan nation to punish His own chosen people,
sinful though they might be? God was using Gentiles to punish Jews! But the
“wonderful work” in Paul’s day was that God was using the Jews to save the
Gentiles! ——Bible Exposition
Commentary
Now may the God of peace
who brought up our Lord
Jesus from the dead,
that great Shepherd of
the sheep,
through the blood of the
everlasting covenant,
make you complete in
every good work to do His will, working in you what is well pleasing in His
sight,
through Jesus Christ,
to whom be glory forever
and ever. Amen.
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