Minor Prophets · Old Testament
Habakkuk
c. 610–605 BC
- Section
- Minor Prophets · Old Testament
- Events span
- c. 610–605 BC
- Written
- c. 607 BC critical view: c. 605 BC
- Author
- Habakkuk critical view: Habakkuk (otherwise unknown)
Habakkuk dares to question God: why does he tolerate Judah's violence, and why would he use the even more wicked Babylonians to judge them? God answers, and the prophet learns to trust — ending with a psalm of faith: “the just shall live by his faith,” and “yet I will rejoice in the LORD.”
Chronological placement: Written c. 607 BC, just before Babylon (the Chaldeans) rose to threaten and then conquer Judah.
Key themes
- Wrestling with God
- The problem of evil
- The just shall live by faith
- God's sovereignty
- Rejoicing in trials
Key events
- Habakkuk asks why God tolerates violence and injustice in Judah
- God answers that he is raising up the fierce Babylonians to judge them
- The prophet asks how God can use a nation even more wicked than Judah
- God replies that "the just shall live by his faith," while the proud will fall
- Five woes are pronounced on the greedy, violent oppressor
- Habakkuk prays and resolves to rejoice in God even if every crop and flock fails
“Behold, his soul which is lifted up is not upright in him: but the just shall live by his faith.”