(August 23, 2025) Dr Jim McClure shares parts 4 and 5 regarding the book of Habakkuk, concluding this series…

In part 1, I pointed out that Habakkuk was angry with God and deeply troubled as he couldn’t understand God’s actions and purposes… that he was a prophet with genuine questions.

The following are two more aspects—

4. Authoritative  Answer (2:2-20)
(i) Declaration (2:2-3) 
God’s answer was direct. 

‘Then the Lord replied: “Write down the revelation and make it plain on tablets so that a herald may run with it”’ (2:2 GNB).  Habakkuk was told to make a permanent record of that important message. God declared that He would indeed act and that the revelation Habakkuk received would take place at ‘an appointed time’, that is… at the precise time determined by God!  

The ways, means and exact time of the fulfillment of biblical prophecies concerning the future are not given to us as a puzzle to interpret in detail. God will see to it that what He has proclaimed, He will fulfill— and we are not required to try to predict exactly what will happen and the systematic order in which things will happen.  Yet throughout the centuries so many preachers have boldly asserted their personal theories about the meaning, order and timing of biblical prophecy and sadly their speculations capture and titillate the imagination of many Christians.

God said to Habakkuk, ‘The revelation awaits an appointed time; it speaks of the end and will not prove false. Though it linger, wait for it; it will certainly come and will not delay’ (2:3). While the Babylonians would eventually devastate Judah, taking thousands into captivity and totally destroying Jerusalem (this occurred in 586BC) God promised that Babylon would also come under His judgment. This happened in 539BC when Persia, under the leadership of Cyrus, defeated the forces of Babylon. Although this verse speaks about the end of the Babylonian empire, it also appears that the revelation may also refer to a future well beyond that.

Principally, these verses also remind us  that God is always in control.

(ii) Denunciations (2:4-5)  
God charged the Babylonians of being proud, smug, arrogant, restless, never satisfied and cruel. Then five ‘woeful’ allegations against them are made:

• Stealing—
  ‘Woe to him who piles up stolen goods and makes himself wealthy by extortion'(2:6-8). 
• Arrogance—
  ‘Woe to him who builds his realm by unjust gain’ (2:9-11).
• Violence— ‘Woe to him who builds a city with bloodshed and establishes a town by crime!’  (2:12-14). 

(Into the heaviness of these charges made in these verses by God against the Babylonians, ‘The earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea.’  A similar promise was given to Isaiah (11:9) around 100 years earlier regarding the ultimate restoration of the world when the Messiah shall reign: ‘They will neither harm nor destroy on all my holy mountain, for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea.’ See also Revelation 17 and 18).

• Depravity—
  ‘Woe to him who gives drink to his neighbours, pouring it from the wineskin till they are drunk, so that he can gaze on their naked bodies (2:15-17).
• Idolatry—
  ‘Woe to him who says to wood, “Come to life!” Or to lifeless stone, “Wake up!”'(2:17-19). 

In today’s world which is filled with violence and corruption and moral perversity, the messages  God addressed to the people in Habakkuk’s day are also so relevant and timely for us today.

5. Awesomeness of God (3:1-19)
The tone of chapter 3 reveals the spiritual journey of the prophet which—
(i) Began with the prophet delivering an angry accusation against God for apparently not doing anything about the injustice and violence that he was witnessing constantly: ‘How long, O Lord must I call for help, but you do not listen?’(1:2). 

(ii) Ended with his expressing his awe of God: ‘Lord, I have heard of your fame; I stand in awe of your deeds’ (3:2).

Habakkuk then—

• Acknowledged humbly God’s awesomeness— ‘I stand in awe of your deeds, O Lord’(v2).
• Asked for revival— ‘Renew them in our day, in our time make them known’ (v2).
• Petitioned for God’s mercy, ‘in wrath remember mercy’ (v2).
• Proclaimed God’s glory, ‘His glory covered the heavens and His praise filled the earth’ (v3).
• Affirmed God’s mighty power, ‘He stood, and shook the earth; He looked, and made the nations tremble. The ancient mountains crumbled and the age-old hills collapsed’ (3:6).

Despite all the horror which now confronted him, Habakkuk was able to declare that God is all-mighty and magnificent and that He has all things under control. That same awareness of God’s awesomeness and power should be grasped every Christian today. 

Habakkuk acknowledged not only God’s hot anger against all that is evil but also His undeserved compassion and mercy towards us!  Jesus affirmed that truth when He said, ‘God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him’  (John 3:16-17). 

From Frustration to Faith
In stark contrast to the rant of anger and accusation with which Habakkuk began his address to God, the book ends with his humble affirmation of God’s greatness and mercy. It reveals the prophet’s personal journey from frustration with God to faith in God, from petulance to praise and from worry to worship. 

He declared that ‘Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls,  yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will be joyful in God my Saviour. The Sovereign Lord is my strength; He makes my feet like the feet of a deer, He enables me to go on the heights’(3:17-19). 

In these dark and troubled days, we too can have faith in our God that He is still in charge!

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Dr Jim McClure, author of several books and Bible studies, offers them free in electronic version in EPUB, Kindle and PDF formats.Particularly recommended is— Looking for Answers in a Confusing World. Questions seeking enlightenment on biblical perspectives are welcomed. Link: jbmcclure@gmail.com. Link: Habakkuk-Prophet Angry With God-part-1/
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