Justin Houtz

Habakkuk 1

DateVersionReading Plan
@December 4, 2023ESV (2016)ESV Prophets Plan 2023

Pericopes

  • Habakkuk’s Complaint
  • The Lord’s Answer
  • Habakkuk’s Second Complaint

Notes/Application

Habakkuk complained that his cries to God were being unheard. Habakkuk was forced to witness violence, seeing a paralyzed law and that justice went forth perverted. God then answers with a strong command to look among the nations, to see, wonder and be astounded. God was doing a work beyond Habakkuk’s comprehension and would punish the sins of Judah through the Chaldean (Babylonian) invasion. With the speed and brutality of the Babylonian military, Judah would receive violence as punishment for its own violence. Deeply troubled, Habakkuk acknowledges God’s holiness and reasons that He was using Babylon as an instrument of judgment on Judah. However, he questions God for permitting the Babylonians to devour Judah and asks if He will allow them to mercilessly kill nations forever.

Habakkuk’s confusion and mixture of emotions is highly relatable. In the same exchange, he both extols God’s holiness and questions Him for the destruction and violence he was experiencing. Fully aware of Habakkuk’s limitations, God responds and tells him that He is doing a work that he “would not believe if told” (Hab. 1:5). How true this is for us as we struggle to understand what God is doing or if He is working. Thinking that knowledge is the key, we appeal to Him for answers, demanding reasons for our circumstances. But Scripture consistently makes clear that this is not for us. Omniscience is not our domain, it is His. The key is not knowledge, but rather trust. It is the humble admission of our own finitude and the complete surrender to our Lord who knows all.

Scripture Journal Notes

Commentaries & Resources Used