Habakkuk intro
The person of the prophet
Little is known of the prophet Habakkuk. He is not mentioned elsewhere in the Bible, though the reference to his stringed instruments at the end of the book (Hab 3:19) suggests to some scholars that he may have been a musical prophet working in the temple (1 Chron 25:1). Alternatively, he could have had artistic abilities without a formal role in the temple (the last chapter of his book takes the form of a psalm written to be accompanied by music – v.19).
Historic background
Most of what we can piece together about his context may be gleaned from his book. The mention of God raising up the Chaldeans (i.e. Babylon, Hab 1:6) places the early prophecy in the book around the time of Assyria’s demise and the rise of the Babylonian empire, around the time of King Josiah’s reign in Judah. Assyria loomed large in Israel and Judah’s history for about 150 years (it took Israel into captivity, though Judah miraculously escaped that fate). Thus, it seemed inconceivable that this great empire would collapse and another take its place (Hab 1:5). Indeed, Josiah failed to realise the new threat and tragically died trying to block Egypt on its way north to help Assyria against Babylon (2 Kings 23:29; 2 Chron 35:20-25). A few years later, Babylon defeated Assyria and became the major power in the region in the same geographical area that was once Assyria (see map).
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Josiah was a godly king who destroyed the idols in the land and restored the temple and the true worship of God, but his reforms sadly died with him (2 Kings 22:1-23:30). His sons (and a grandson), who reigned in the last 20 odd years up to the Babylonian exile, all worshipped idols and allowed corruption and social injustice to rule in the land. This seems to be the background to Habakkuk’s complaint about wickedness and violence (Hab 1:2-4). The events of this period are described in 2 Kings 23:31-25:30.
Below are a few key dates.
- 612 BC – Nineveh (Assyria’s capital) falls to the Babylonians
- 609 BC – King Josiah tries stop Egypt from joining Assyria against Babylon
- 605 BC – Battle of Carchemish – Babylon defeats Assyria and Egypt
- 597 BC – first deportation of Judah into Babylonian exile
- 587 BC – Jerusalem and the temple destroyed, second deportation and exile
Based on this background, Habakkuk was a contemporary of the prophets Nahum (who prophesied Nineveh’s fall; Nah 3:7), Zephaniah (who prophesied in Josiah’s day; Zeph 1:1), and Jeremiah (whose ministry stretched from Josiah to the exile; Jer 1:2-3).
Structure and message
Habakkuk’s book is unusual in its format in that it is largely a dialogue between the prophet and God, with five woe sayings and a final prayer in the form of a psalm.
- Hab 1:1 – superscription (note on the prophet)
- Hab 1:2-4 – Habakkuk’s lament/question
- Hab 1:5-11 – God’s answer
- Hab 1:12-17 – Habakkuk’s lament/question
- Hab 2:1-5 – God’s answer
- Hab 2:6-20 – five woes
- Hab 3:1-19 – Habakkuk’s prayer
The personal note sounded in these prophecies, even Habakkuk’s anguish, makes this a much more relatable book than some of the other prophecies in the Bible. The prophet’s laments deal with issues of justice and God’s involvement in the world, questions that many can identify with. When we see injustice and suffering, other people’s or our own, we wonder, ‘Why, Lord?’ and ‘How long?’. What is God doing about the mess that our world is in? How can He allow what is happening? What should our attitude be as we face grief and pain? In the process of the prophet’s questioning, we learn about the importance of faith and faithfulness (Hab 2:4), famously quoted by the apostle Paul (Rom 1:17), and get a glimpse of God’s character. We also learn something of the defiant hope that can come – even in the midst of devastation – to those who seek God and trust in Him (Hab 3:17-19).
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