Habakkuk was one of the Levitical
choristers in the temple (Habakkuk 3:19).
Habakkuk knew well that Judah must fall before the great power of
Nebuchadnezzar. But one question arose in his mind and troubled him greatly –
Why should any nation as wicked as Babylon conquer a nation like Judah, which
was less evil? It seemed to him that it was just a matter of evil triumphing
over evil. God had to show him his ultimate plan. Judah needed punishment. God
was using Babylon to correct Judah, but Babylon’s turn would come. Babylon
would be utterly blotted out. As for God’s people, there was yet to be glorious
future and a kingdom where Jehovah himself would prevail.
In Habakkuk 1, we see Habakkuk knowing his own land, Judah, full of
lawlessness. The righteous were oppressed (Habakkuk
1:4,13). The people were living in open sin. They were worshipping idols (Habakkuk 2:18-19). They were oppressing
the poor. Habakkuk knew that the day was dark. He knew that this sin was
leading to an invasion of Jerusalem by a strong enemy.
Habakkuk asked his question to
God. He did not call a committee or form a society to solve the problem of the
day. He went straight to Jehovah and stated his problem. Then God answered, “Look at the nations and watch – and be
utterly amazed. For I am going to do something in your days that you would not
believe, even if you were told” – Habakkuk
1:5. God wanted Habakkuk to look beyond the present. God was already
working. God called the Chaldeans to the work of punishing Judah. They were a
cruel scourge that swept over the land to destroy it (Habakkuk 1:5-11). God’s answer horrified Habakkuk. He could not
understand how God would allow such awful means to bring about punishing his
people. It is mentioned in Habakkuk
1:12, 13.
Habakkuk is a prophet who sang in
the night (Habakkuk 3). Habakkuk
prayed sincerely and God appeared to him (Habakkuk
3:1-16). God always responds to the cry for help from his people. Habakkuk
realizes that God is in control of this universe and that he is working out his
own purpose in his own time. Habakkuk learns that he can trust implicitly in
God. He realizes that he can see only a small part of God’s plan at one time.
One must wait for God to reveal his entire program. One must know God’s way is
best. God does not promise that he will unravel every problem, but he does
assure us that we can put our trust absolutely in him.
One of the texts in Habakkuk has great
significance in history of the Reformation. A catholic priest called Martin
Luther opposed the hypocrisy of the religious forced faith of Catholics by the
words – “The just shall live by his
faith” which can be seen in Habakkuk
2:4. The same is mentioned in Romans
1:17, Galatians 3:11 and Hebrews 10:38. On this day when you
read this, remember Christianity is not about doing works to reach God, but it
is by faith and grace of God that a person can reach Almighty. May God help you
to know Christ, understand him and accept him as your personal saviour to know God’s
grace and live in salvation.
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