Another Bible Commentary: Habakkuk

Instead of speaking to the people for God, Habakkuk talked to God for the people. This conversation happened sometime before 612 BC. Babylon was already swallowing other nearby states. The suitability of Babylon as God’s instrument to judge Judah is the focus.

1:2 Abraham (Genesis 18:23) and Moses (Exodus 32:11) questioned God (which was above Job’s pay grade); we have another attempt at a “prophet like Moses” (Deuteronomy 18:14-22). Jesus is the ultimate fulfillment of that promise.

1:8 “eagle” like Deuteronomy 28:49.

1:13 “wicked” meaning Babylon and “righteous” meaning Judah.

2:4 “the righteous person will live by his faith” See John 3:16 and Romans 10:9. Don’t fall for “faith” as “faithfulness” meaning consistent works; Abraham believed a promise from God in Genesis 15:6 and righteousness was credited to him. That’s neither a “walk” nor a “work”. Abraham had works that demonstrated his faith, but they were fruit and not the root of his righteousness. See Romans 1:17, Galatians 3:11, and Hebrews 10:38-39.

2:5 Thus begins an oracle against Babylon (and the whole post-Genesis 11 corrupt world system). It sounds much like what Nahum said was coming for Assyria.

2:8 like Obadiah 15.

2:13 like 2 Peter 3:10.

2:14 like Isaiah 11:9. Here “knowledge” is like knowing a spouse; the earth will be filled with devotion to the LORD.

2:15 Here’s the old Genesis 9:21 roofie trick again.

2:16 See Jeremiah 25, Jeremiah 51:7, and Revelation 16:19. It was their turn for Isaiah 51:21-23. The Host assigns the portions (Esther 1:8).

2:20 like Psalm 46:10. This is frequently sung in churches. Then again, Christians are the Temple now, and He is in us (1 Corinthians 3:16-17), so the rest of the world is welcome to hush up in my presence, especially when I have a headache. I’m (maybe) kidding.

3:1 Despite knowing Habakkuk 1:6, he also knows Habakkuk 2:4, so he sings despite the impending doom for the people and things he loves.

On a lighter note, regarding “On shigionoth”: Truthfully, I don’t know what that is. Most commentaries just say something about it being unknown, a musical term, a musical instrument, “with strong emotion”, etc. This seems to be a good place for a story related by Jerry Clower about a new chandelier for the church:

One time they called a deacons' meeting at the East Fork Church. Uncle Versie Ledbetter got word they were fixing to spend some money, and he went. The deacons discussed buying a chandelier for the church. Uncle Versie Ledbetter said to the moderator, "Sir, I would like to speak. I want all of you to know that if we gonna buy a chandelier, there ain't nobody in our church got enough education that, when we order it from Sears and Roebuck, they could even spell it. Then if we ordered the chandelier, when it got here, there's nobody here in our church that knows how to play it. And what I'm concerned about is we don't need to spend this money on no chandelier as bad as we need lights in the church.”

3:3 “Teman” is a geographic reference to Edom, south of Israel; “Mount Paran” is in the neighborhood of Mount Sinai.

3:16-19 After all of that big talk, the point is the willingness to stay in faith despite discouraging external circumstances. Do the right thing when the wrong things are happening. Stand on the solid rock of Christ’s finished work (as surefooted as a “deer…on the heights”). Even if you stumble or wind up high on shigionoth, He will save you (2 Timothy 2:13, Hebrews 7:25).

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