The prophets were truly human. The confidence with which they proclaimed the word of God when they received it was often the end product of wrestling to understand just what God was doing and planning. Habakkuk had two problems with this that we can identify: Why does God seem to do nothing about the wickedness in the world (Habakkuk 1:2)? And why, when he acts, does he use such unworthy agents—in this case the Babylonians (Habakkuk 1:5-6, 13)? The answer the Lord gave him and his response to it will do for us too: hold to what the Lord has spoken (Habakkuk 2:2), wait for his word to be fulfilled (Habakkuk 2:3), and trust him come what may (Habakkuk 2:4; 3:7-19).  

—Alec Motyer  

Source: Content taken from 6 Ways the Old Testament Speaks Today © 2018 by Alec Motyer. All rights reserved. Used by permission of Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. This book is now licensed under InterVarsity Press.

In our day, when the topic of God’s wrath is taboo everywhere from dinner parties to pastors’ pulpits, our study [of Habakkuk] faces wrath head on. We’ll see how God punishes evil and unrepentant sin and that he must punish sin because he is a just God. So his justice is another theme. At the same time, his mercy is also here to see, because, for his own people, his judgments are meant to restore, not destroy. Additionally, we are going to learn a lot about waiting for God and what he accomplishes in our lives as we look with patience and hope for understanding and answers to prayer. Finally—and perhaps most importantly—we’re going to see that God is faithful to deliver his people, even from messes of their own making, and to save them from death and destruction. 

—Lydia Brownback 

Source: Content taken from Habakkuk: Learning to Live by Faith © 2022 by Lydia Brownback. All rights reserved. Used by permission of Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

Habakkuk, in all his difficulties, went to God in prayer and waited patiently for his answer (see Habakkuk 2:1). He stood on the watchtower and listened to God. G. Campbell Morgan said that when Habakkuk looked at his circumstances, he was confused (see Habakkuk 1:3); but when he waited for God and listened to him, he sang (see Habakkuk 3:18-19).

—Henrietta Mears

Source: This content is from What the Bible Is All About, written by Henrietta Mears. Copyright © 1953, 2011 by Gospel Light. Copyright assigned to Tyndale House Publishers, 2015. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, a division of Tyndale House Ministries, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved. 

God’s ways are mysterious, and the realization of Habakkuk’s prophecy will mean suffering for the people of God, yet “the righteous shall live by his faith” (Habakkuk 2:4 ESV). God’s people must look not to themselves but to another—to Jesus Christ. Their confidence does not rest in their own strength, nor in their ability to comprehend everything. It rests instead in the Lord, who is at work on behalf of his covenant people even before they cry out to him. 

—Camden Bucey  

Source: Content taken from Lamentations, Habakkuk, and Zephaniah: A 12-Week Study © 2018 by Camden Bucey. All rights reserved. Used by permission of Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. 

What if God does things we think are contrary to his character? And so, the prophet dialogues with God. This is natural, and even is encouraged by the Lord, who desires his people to come to him in prayer. The Christian life is a struggle, and it is not easy to walk by faith… This passage demonstrates the effectiveness of prayer and the responsiveness of God. Although God is immutable (see “Theological Soundings” on Lamentations 3), he relates to his people. He is the same yesterday, today, and forever (see Habakkuk 13:8), but he has determined to relate to his people. And so, our prayers to the Lord do not fall upon deaf or unresponsive ears, because he responds according to his will (Habakkuk 1:5–11). Prayer is the framework by which we express our burdens to God. 

—Camden Bucey  

Source: Content taken from Lamentations, Habakkuk, and Zephaniah: A 12-Week Study © 2018 by Camden Bucey. All rights reserved. Used by permission of Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. 

Often when we look around at our circumstances we want to cry out, “Lord, what are you doing? What is going on?” There is something telling in this kind of stark and honest dialogue with God. It may seem obvious, but lament, rather than revealing a distance from God, reveals that an actual relationship is intact. When we feel close enough to God to talk to him honestly about our circumstances, intimacy is revealed. Moreover, it is often through intimate, honest lament that clarity is received. 

—Paxson Jeancake 

Source: Paxson Jeancake, quoted from his article, “Sometimes a Light Surprises: The Treasured Gift of a Troubled Soul.” This article originally appeared here at The Gospel Coalition.

It is no small wonder why the prophets, in introducing what they have to say refer to it not always as an oracle, as it is here at the beginning of Habakkuk, but as a burden. Indeed, a “burden” is the alternative word for oracle, and I think it is better to read it as a “burden,” because what is actually happening is that God comes in some supernatural way and invades, if you like, the heart and mind of the prophet—a normal individual living a normal life in normal surroundings reading his newspaper, going about his business. And God, if you like, impresses upon this character God’s burden, his burden for a broken world, his burden for his wayward people, and he comes, as it were, and he lays that burden on the shoulders of the prophet. And he gives the prophet to see with eyes that make him unique among his contemporaries. And when he views the events and circumstances of life, he sees them almost as it were, in another dimension which weighs upon him. And so it is that under the direction of God for him to write in this way. To speak in this way, is not simply the proclamation of a seer or the introduction of an oracle, but is in every realistic sense the offloading of a burden.   

—Alistair Begg 

Source: Alistair Begg, “Look and Be Amazed,” (sermon, May 12 2008), https://www.truthforlife.org/resources/sermon/look-and-be-amazed/. Copyright Truth For Life. Used with Permission. www.truthforlife.org.