HABAKKUK---HERALD OF HEAVEN’S HELP

INTRODUCTION: Who was Habakkuk?

1.    A prophet of Judah

2.    A contemporary of Jeremiah

3.    A Levitical chorister in the temple service (3:19)

4.    “A man of a deeply tender and spiritual character. He manifested a great love for his people, fulfilling the position of watchman over them.”                                      --Scofield

5.    A man of great influence. He is called the “Grandfather of the Reformation”. The doctrine of justification by faith was learned by Paul from Habakkuk, and Martin Luther learned it from Paul. He is quoted three times in the N.T. (Romans 1:17; Gal. 3:11; Heb. 10:38)

PROPHET WITH A PROBLEM

1.    He was faced with a seemingly unsolvable problem.

2.    It seemed to him that God was doing nothing to straighten out the conditions in the world. He could not understand why God was not judging the nation of Judah for its sin. (1:1-4)

3.    God answers this problem by telling Habakkuk that He will judge Judah and that He will use the Chaldeans (Babylon) to do it. (1:5-11)

4.    This only causes the prophet to have a greater problem, for this would mean that God was using an even more sinful nation to punish His own people, and God is too righteous to do this. (1:12-2:1)

5.    Habakkuk, like so many of us, wanted to understand everything, but God showed him this could never be. Instead he must trust--trust God in the dark--for God is not going to give all the answers in this life. (2:4)

6.    Faith is the ability to believe God and the fulfillment of His purposes, even in the darkest hour.

ANSWERS TO PROBLEM QUESTIONS

1.    Man is to live by faith; to trust God to do what is right.

2.    God will not overlook the sins of Babylon, but she too will be punished by God. (2:2-20)

3.    The problem of the apparent triumph of evil over the right will finally be resolved when God’s purposes for the earth and His people are realized during the millennial reign of Christ. (2:14) Then the answers to our questions will be found.

MESSAGES OF THE BOOK

1.    When our hearts begin to fail us for fear at the conditions that prevail around us, we are to remember that God is still on the throne.

2.    The principle that should direct us is not “seeing is believing” but “believing is seeing”.

3.    The all-wise and loving purposes of God cannot be thwarted.

CHARACTER OF THE BOOK

1.    Unlike the other prophetic books, it is not addressed either to Habakkuk’s own countrymen or to a foreign power. It is directed to God alone.

2.    It is not so much concerned with delivering a message as with solving a problem.

3.    The focus of both the problem and the prophecy is Babylon.

A NOTE ON HABAKKUK 2:4 This verse is quoted three times in the N.T. by the Apostle Paul.

1.    In Romans, where the focus of the book is on salvation, the emphasis is on “THE JUST shall live by faith”. (Rom. 1:17)

2.    In Galatians, where the problem of demanding strict adherence to the law is argued against, the emphasis is on “The just SHALL LIVE by faith”. (Gal. 3:11)

3.    In Hebrews, where faith in the excellency of Christ is asserted, the emphasis is on “The just shall live BY FAITH.” (Heb. 10:38)

OUTLINE OF THE BOOK

  I.    THE PROPHET IS TROUBLED (1)

A.   By the crimes of Judah (1:1-4)

B.   By the coming of judgment (1:5-17)

1.    The invincibility of the Chaldeans (1:5-11)

2.    The iniquity of the Chaldeans (1:12-17)

 II.    THE PROPHET IS TAUGHT (2)

God is righteous. This applies:

A.   Individually (2:1-4)

B.   Internationally (2:5-20)

III.   THE PROPHET IS TRIUMPHANT (3)

A.   Faith surrenders (3:1)

B.   Faith sees (3:2-16)

C.   Faith soars (3:17-19)

                                                                                                      --Exploring the Scriptures;

                                                                                                          John Phillips