Habakkuk Chapter 1
Introduction to the Book of Habakkuk
The Book of Habakkuk is a short prophetic book in the Old Testament, yet it contains some of the most profound discussions in Scripture about faith, justice, and God’s sovereignty over evil. Unlike most prophets who speak to the people on behalf of God, Habakkuk speaks to God on behalf of the people. It is a dialogue—raw, honest, and deeply theological.
Author and Historical Setting
Author: The prophet Habakkuk. His name likely means “to embrace” or “to cling,” a fitting theme as he chooses to cling to God despite confusion and fear.
Time Period: Likely written between 620–605 B.C., during the final decades of Judah before the Babylonian invasion.
Historical Context:
Judah is spiritually corrupt—full of violence, injustice, idolatry, and rebellion against God.
Assyria, the former world power, is weakening.
Babylon (Chaldeans) is rising and soon will become God’s instrument of judgment on Judah.
Habakkuk sees national wickedness and cries out to God: “Why do You allow evil to go unpunished?”
Unique Structure of the Book
Unlike other prophetic books which are mostly sermons to the people, Habakkuk is structured as a conversation between the prophet and God:
Habakkuk’s First Complaint: Why does God tolerate injustice in Judah?
God’s First Answer: He will judge Judah using the Babylonians.
Habakkuk’s Second Complaint: How can a holy God use a nation more wicked than Judah to carry out judgment?
God’s Second Answer: The righteous must live by faith, and Babylon will in time be judged.
Habakkuk’s Prayer (Chapter 3): A psalm of trust—he moves from fear to faith, from confusion to confidence.
Key Themes
Faith in the Midst of Chaos
The central verse of the book—Habakkuk 2:4, “The just shall live by his faith”—becomes a cornerstone of New Testament theology (quoted in Romans 1:17, Galatians 3:11, Hebrews 10:38).God’s Justice and Sovereignty
God is not indifferent to evil. He may delay judgment, but He never ignores it. He governs history—even using pagan nations to carry out His purposes.Honest Dialogue with God
Habakkuk shows that believers can bring their deepest questions and struggles before God without losing faith.From Doubt to Worship
The book ends not with God explaining everything, but with the prophet trusting God anyway:
“Though the fig tree shall not blossom… yet I will rejoice in the LORD.” (Habakkuk 3:17-18)
Why Habakkuk Matters Today
It answers the age-old question: “Why does God allow evil and suffering?”
It teaches that faith is not the absence of questions—but trust in God despite not having all the answers.
It encourages believers living in corrupt nations or troubled times to trust God’s timing and justice.
Summary Statement
Habakkuk begins with a burden but ends with a song. It is a journey—from worry to worship, from doubt to devotion—reminding us that when we cannot trace God’s hand, we can trust His heart.
The Prophet’s Problem
A. The first problem: “How long, O LORD?”
1. (Habakkuk 1:1) Habakkuk and his burden.
“The burden which Habakkuk the prophet did see.”
a. The prophet Habakkuk:
Scripture gives little personal information about Habakkuk. What we do know comes from this book. He prophesied before the Babylonian invasion of Judah. Since he speaks of God raising up the Chaldeans (Babylonians), he likely ministered sometime between the fall of Nineveh in 612 B.C. and the first Babylonian attack against Jerusalem in 605–597 B.C. Many place his ministry around 607 B.C., during the reign of King Jehoiakim.
i. This would mean Habakkuk lived during the reign of good King Josiah (640–609 B.C.), when the nation experienced revival through the rediscovery of the Law, followed by the spiritual decline of Josiah’s successors. Habakkuk personally knew what it was like to see a nation go from spiritual awakening back into idolatry and violence. As one commentator observed, Habakkuk’s struggle was born from seeing revival fade into corruption.
ii. His timeline fits within a 25-year window: after the Babylonians rose to power and destroyed the Assyrians in 612 B.C., but before they destroyed Jerusalem in 587 B.C. This helps us understand his prophecy as one given during instability—where the Assyrian threat was gone, but the Babylonian threat was rising.
b. “The burden which Habakkuk the prophet did see”:
The word “burden” speaks of a weight—something heavy laid upon him by God. This burden was heavy because of its message: coming judgment on Judah. It was also heavy because of its personal struggle. Habakkuk wrestles with God over the problem of unchecked evil and unanswered prayer.
i. His name, Habakkuk, comes from the Hebrew word meaning “to embrace” or “to cling.” This name fits the message of the book, because Habakkuk ultimately clings to God in faith even when he does not fully understand God’s ways.
ii. The title “the prophet” appears only rarely in prophetic book headings. Its presence suggests Habakkuk may have been recognized as an official prophet—possibly one who ministered in the temple courts, unlike prophets such as Amos who were called directly from daily work. This could indicate that Habakkuk was familiar with temple worship, music, and prophetic service before God.
2. (Habakkuk 1:2–4) Habakkuk asks God why He seems to delay judgment.
“O LORD, how long shall I cry, and Thou wilt not hear! even cry out unto Thee of violence, and Thou wilt not save! Why dost Thou show me iniquity, and cause me to behold grievance? for spoiling and violence are before me: and there are that raise up strife and contention. Therefore the law is slacked, and judgment doth never go forth: for the wicked doth compass about the righteous; therefore wrong judgment proceedeth.”
a. Even cry out unto Thee of violence, and Thou wilt not save:
Habakkuk is not indifferent; he is desperate. He looks across Judah and sees violence, corruption, oppression, and moral decay. He has repeatedly cried out to God, but it seems as though Heaven remains silent. To the prophet, the delay of God’s justice is unbearable. He cannot reconcile the character of a holy God with the chaos unfolding in society.
b. “Why dost Thou show me iniquity, and cause me to behold grievance?”
Habakkuk asks a question every believer has asked at some point: Why does God allow His people to witness sin and suffering? Why must His servants watch wickedness flourish?
i. Why God allows us to see iniquity in ourselves:
To humble us and remind us of our need for His mercy.
To keep us dependent and submissive to Him during trials.
To increase our gratitude for salvation and His grace.
ii. Why God allows us to see iniquity in others:
To remind us of what we ourselves could become apart from God’s grace.
To teach us to hate sin and avoid it rather than tolerate or imitate it.
To cause us to marvel when God rescues sinners and transforms lives.
To stir us to compassion and urgency in evangelism and intercession. As Spurgeon said, the Church often lacks earnestness in seeking the salvation of the lost, because we do not feel the weight of their sin and coming judgment.
c. “Iniquity… grievance… spoiling and violence… strife and contention… the law is slacked… judgment doth never go forth… wrong judgment proceedeth”:
Habakkuk describes a society in moral collapse. Violence fills the streets, sin is celebrated, and contention replaces peace. The law of God is ignored, civil justice is perverted, and the wicked outnumber and surround the righteous. Courts are corrupted, truth is silenced, and righteousness is mocked.
i. Habakkuk is not wrestling with unbelief in God’s existence, but with confusion about God’s actions. He believes in God’s holiness and justice, but he struggles to understand why God waits to intervene. How can a righteous God tolerate such evil among His people?
ii. One commentator said, “This prophecy deals with the problems created by faith.” Only someone who truly believes in God feels this kind of tension when life seems to contradict God’s truth. Habakkuk remembers the revival under Josiah and now grieves to see the nation return to rebellion.
B. God’s answer to the first problem.
1. (Habakkuk 1:5–6) God’s astounding work: bringing the Babylonians to judge Judah.
“Behold ye among the heathen, and regard, and wonder marvellously: for I will work a work in your days, which ye will not believe, though it be told you. For, lo, I raise up the Chaldeans, that bitter and hasty nation, which shall march through the breadth of the land, to possess the dwellingplaces that are not theirs.”
a. “Behold ye among the heathen, and regard, and wonder marvellously”:
God answers Habakkuk’s cry—not by explaining why He delays, but by revealing that He is already at work in a way far greater and more terrifying than the prophet imagined. He tells Habakkuk to lift his eyes beyond Judah and look at the nations. God is not idle. He is orchestrating events on an international scale. His message is: Watch closely, you will be shocked at My answer.
b. “I will work a work in your days, which ye will not believe”:
This is not a promise of blessing—it is a warning of judgment. God is going to do something so astonishing that even if Habakkuk heard it plainly spoken, it would seem unbelievable. God’s answer to Judah’s sin is not immediate revival or mercy, but righteous judgment.
i. Often we expect God to fix moral decay gently, peacefully, and on our terms. Yet here, God reveals that His plan involves discipline—severe discipline—because His holiness demands justice.
ii. The prophet was ready for God to act, but he was not prepared for how God would act. Habakkuk expected God to correct His people, but he did not expect God to use a pagan, ruthless empire to do it.
c. “For, lo, I raise up the Chaldeans”:
The Babylonians (also known as the Chaldeans) were not acting independently. God Himself says He is the One raising them up as His instrument of judgment. Their rise to power, military strength, and conquests were under God’s sovereign control.
i. This does not excuse Babylon's sin or cruelty, but it shows that even wicked nations are tools in the hands of a sovereign God. They desire conquest out of their own pride and violence, yet God allows their ambition to fulfill His purposes.
ii. If God had not permitted it, no army could have overthrown Judah, the land God gave to His people. Their strength was not in walls, armies, or kings—but in obedience to God. Once they rejected Him, their protection was removed, and Babylon came swiftly.
iii. This would have been deeply shocking to Habakkuk. God was not ignoring sin—He was preparing judgment. But the judgment would come from a nation far worse than Judah itself.
2. (Habakkuk 1:7–11) The strength and speed of the Babylonian army.
“They are terrible and dreadful: their judgment and their dignity shall proceed of themselves. Their horses also are swifter than the leopards, and are more fierce than the evening wolves: and their horsemen shall spread themselves, and their horsemen shall come from far; they shall fly as the eagle that hasteth to eat. They shall come all for violence: their faces shall sup up as the east wind, and they shall gather the captivity as the sand. And they shall scoff at the kings, and the princes shall be a scorn unto them: they shall deride every strong hold; for they shall heap dust, and take it. Then shall his mind change, and he shall pass over, and offend, imputing this his power unto his god.”
a. “They are terrible and dreadful”:
God answers Habakkuk’s cry for justice by revealing that His judgment will come through a force so fierce that its arrival will terrify the nations. The Babylonians are described as “terrible and dreadful,” meaning they inspire fear, and devastation follows wherever they march. Their authority and decisions “proceed of themselves,” showing they recognize no higher law, no moral restraint, and no God above them. They are a law unto themselves.
b. The power and speed of the Chaldeans:
God describes their military in vivid imagery:
“Horses… swifter than the leopards” – Their cavalry moved with breathtaking speed, striking before enemies could prepare.
“More fierce than the evening wolves” – Wolves that have gone all day without food are most dangerous at evening. So is Babylon—hungry, relentless, and savage.
“They shall fly as the eagle that hasteth to eat” – Their attacks are swift and precise, like an eagle diving for its prey.
“They all come for violence” – Their purpose is destruction, motivated not by justice, but by conquest and pride.
“They gather the captivity as the sand” – They take captives in unimaginable numbers, treating human lives like grains of sand—countless and insignificant.
Their unstoppable force crushes kings and mocks rulers. Fortified cities that others consider secure mean nothing to them. They simply “heap dust” (build siege mounds), breach walls, and take the city.
c. “Then shall his mind change, and he shall pass over, and offend, imputing this his power unto his god”:
This is the most tragic part of God’s description. After conquering nations, Babylon becomes proud. Instead of recognizing that their victories were allowed by the Lord, they credit their strength to idols and false gods. They glorify themselves, worship their own power, and boast in their violence. This is their great sin.
i. God knows this arrogance beforehand. Though He uses Babylon as His instrument to judge Judah, He also sees their pride, idolatry, and cruelty. Their temporary success is not a sign of divine approval but of divine purpose.
ii. Later in the book, God will assure Habakkuk that the proud will not endure. Babylon too will face judgment: “The soul which is lifted up is not upright in him: but the just shall live by his faith” (Habakkuk 2:4).
C. The second problem: “Why do it this way, O LORD?”
1. (Habakkuk 1:12–17) Habakkuk wonders why God would use a nation more wicked than Judah to bring judgment on Judah.
“Art Thou not from everlasting, O LORD my God, mine Holy One? we shall not die. O LORD, Thou hast ordained them for judgment; and, O mighty God, Thou hast established them for correction. Thou art of purer eyes than to behold evil, and canst not look on iniquity: wherefore lookest Thou upon them that deal treacherously, and holdest Thy tongue when the wicked devoureth the man that is more righteous than he? And makest men as the fishes of the sea, as the creeping things, that have no ruler over them? They take up all of them with the angle, they catch them in their net, and gather them in their drag: therefore they rejoice and are glad. Therefore they sacrifice unto their net, and burn incense unto their drag; because by them their portion is fat, and their meat plenteous. Shall they therefore empty their net, and not spare continually to slay the nations?”
a. “Why do You look on those who deal treacherously?”
Habakkuk accepts that Judah deserves judgment. But now his second problem arises—why would God use a nation more wicked than Judah to judge Judah? If Judah is guilty, Babylon is far worse. This seems to contradict everything Habakkuk knows about God’s holiness and justice.
i. Habakkuk’s struggle could be compared to a believer crying out over the spiritual decline of the church today—only to hear God answer, “I will judge it through a hostile, godless nation.” The prophet would respond: “Lord, the church has problems—but is that not worse than the disease?”
ii. Many people respond to such spiritual crises by withdrawing, isolating from the church, or abandoning faith altogether. Habakkuk does not do this. Instead he follows a better path:
Stop and think, not react in panic.
Rest on foundational truths—who God is, what He has always been like.
Apply those truths to the problem, not the other way around.
Commit the entire matter to God in faith, even without full understanding.
b. “Thou art of purer eyes than to behold evil… and canst not look on iniquity”:
Habakkuk’s confusion is rooted in his theology, not in unbelief. Because he knows that God is holy, eternal, and pure, he struggles even more. How can a holy God work through a brutal, idolatrous nation like Babylon?
i. This is the tension of divine sovereignty and human wickedness. God uses Babylon as an instrument of judgment, yet He Himself is never the author of their evil. He directs history without approving of sin.
ii. Habakkuk is not doubting God’s existence—he is trying to understand God’s methods. His faith is being refined through honest questions.
c. “Shall they therefore empty their net, and not spare continually to slay the nations?”
Habakkuk uses a vivid picture: mankind is like fish in the sea—vulnerable, leaderless, easily caught. The Babylonians are like fishermen dragging nations into their nets. They kill without pity, boast in their success, and worship their own strength.
i. Habakkuk asks: Lord, will You let them keep doing this? Will they keep emptying their nets and going out again to destroy more nations? Will this cruelty go unchecked?
ii. Adam Clarke explains it well: the Babylonians are pictured as endlessly successful fishermen. Each victory makes them more arrogant. They even “sacrifice to their net,” meaning they worship their own power and military might, instead of acknowledging God.
2. (Habakkuk 2:1) Habakkuk resolutely waits for God’s reply.
“I will stand upon my watch, and set me upon the tower, and will watch to see what He will say unto me, and what I shall answer when I am reproved.”
a. “And will watch to see what He will say unto me”:
After laying his questions before the LORD, Habakkuk does not storm away in frustration. He takes his place like a watchman on the wall—waiting, watching, and expecting an answer. His posture is one of faith-filled patience. He believes God hears. He believes God will answer. But he also understands it may come in God’s timing, not his own.
i. Many people ask God questions without truly expecting Him to respond. Others demand an immediate answer, on their terms and timeline. Habakkuk does neither. He submits himself to wait, like a soldier at his post—alert, steadfast, and ready.
ii. As F. B. Meyer wisely observed: God’s answers often arrive after we’ve given up waiting. The ship of His provision arrives at the harbor, but no one is there to receive it. Habakkuk refuses to miss God’s reply. He plants himself on the watchtower of prayer and says, “I will not move until I hear from Him.”
b. “And what I shall answer when I am reproved”:
This reveals Habakkuk’s humility. He expects correction, not justification. He does not speak as one accusing God but as one seeking understanding. He knows God is right, even when His ways are mysterious.
i. Habakkuk’s heart attitude is essentially: “Lord, I don’t understand, but I know You are righteous. If anyone needs correction here, it is me—not You.”
ii. This is how a believer should wrestle with hard questions. Not in pride, as if we sit in judgment over God, but in faith, knowing He is holy, wise, and beyond error.
iii. God often speaks most clearly to those who come not to argue with Him but to be corrected by Him. Habakkuk models this beautifully—he brings honest questions, yet bows in humble submission.
