Day 35 – Monday -- The Book of Habakkuk

Day 35 – Monday

The Book of Habakkuk

How long? How long?? Why? Why? Why? Thus begins Habakkuk’s prophecy, not spoken to the people as prophets normally do, but spoken to God. Habakkuk has the same questions we have. And we can be thankful that he questions God on our behalf. He wants to know why there isn’t justice. He questions God’s goodness.

God answers, telling the prophet that God is going to bring justice to Judah by bringing in the Babylonians to punish them.

But that’s not fair, complains Habakkuk, because the Babylonians are even worse sinners than Judah. God answers: Yes, but after they are finished with Judah I will punish them also.

The last chapter is a prayer of praise by Habakkuk.

This little book contains theodicy and theophany. Theodicy is an attempt to reconcile the goodness of God with the evils of the world. The dialogue between Habakkuk and God deals with this conundrum (though theodicies never really find a solution to the problem). The theophany (an appearance of God) takes place in chapter three. It is an imagined appearance of God on earth. Similar visions are found in Psalm 18.7-19 and Psalm 97.1-5.

At the end of Habakkuk’s prayer of praise in chapter three there is an amazing affirmation of faith:

Though the fig tree does not blossom,
    and no fruit is on the vines;
though the produce of the olive fails,
    and the fields yield no food;
though the flock is cut off from the fold,
    and there is no herd in the stalls,
yet I will rejoice in the Lord;
    I will exult in the God of my salvation.
God, the Lord, is my strength;
    he makes my feet like the feet of a deer,
    and makes me tread upon the heights.
To the leader: with stringed instruments. (3.17-19)

The great “yet” connotes a strong faith. It sounds like Job: “Though God slay me, I will trust in God.” And notice the instruction about music at the end. This is obviously meant to be sung with accompaniment.

One more thing. This little book has one verse that has been revolutionary. It changed the course of history. Look at 2.4:

Look at the proud!
    Their spirit is not right in them,
    but the righteous live by their faith.

That last phrase—the righteous live by their faith—was picked up by St. Paul in his letter to the Romans (1.17). Centuries later, Paul’s verse was picked up by a priest named Martin Luther, and the Church was revolutionized.

By faith, not by works.

However, the Hebrew word translated “faith” in some translations can be translated as “faithfulness,” which would make Luther’s case harder to support from this one verse. Usually these days an English translation will put the alternative in a footnote. Even the ESV has a footnote for “faithfulness.” (The English Standard Version is a favorite translation of very conservative Protestant institutions.


Finish this: When I try to make sense of injustice and evil in the world, I …..