Habakkuk Chapter 3 is a prayer that reflects on the Psalter, addressing the issue of living in a world marked by violence and injustice. The prayer affirms Yahweh’s past actions, asking Him to revive and make known His work.
The text also discusses Habakkuk’s experience and challenges readers to apply its message to their own lives. Habakkuk believes that oppressors will face a reckoning and rejoice in Yahweh, finding joy in the God of his salvation. Now, the prophet prays again. How is Habakkuk’s prayer in Chapter 3 different from his approach in Chapter 1?
Years before Habakkuk’s time, God appeared to Moses before revealing the Ten Commandments on Mount Sinai. When we compare Moses’s description of that appearance in Exodus 19:16-20 with Habakkuk’s vision in verses 3-4, we see similarities. And we can find that Jeremiah and Habakkuk both prophesied about similar concerns during the same period.
Even when God’s wrath is stirred up, His promise to Abraham remains unchanged, as evidenced in Habakkuk’s prophecy. When the Lord shakes heaven and earth, the nearby Arab tribes – Cushan and Midian – can acknowledge that the God of Judah is the Lord of all.
Habakkuk asks two questions in verse 9: “Was your wrath against the rivers, O Lord?” and “Was your anger against the rivers, or your indignation against the sea, when you rode on your horses, on your chariot of salvation?” Habakkuk’s imagery might cause some to consider the Lord’s return. Eschatology, which is the Bible’s teaching about the end times, has three primary aspects:
1) Jesus has already won the victory over sin, death, and hell at the cross and empty tomb.
2) Jesus will return to earth personally, bodily, and gloriously to establish his righteous rule.
3) Christians should live in anticipation of Jesus’s imminent return.
After forty years in the wilderness, the Lord kept his promise. He brought Israel into the land of Canaan, but they had numerous enemies to contend with. Under Joshua’s leadership, Israel did battle, but it was no easy feat.
When we reflect on our own lives, there may be circumstances when restoration is impossible. Sometimes, we need to forget past hurts and mistakes to move forward. However, it’s always essential to remember how God has worked in our lives, such as answering prayers or speaking to us through Scripture. Think about what you must forget from your past and how remembering God’s work can encourage you to move forward. The past is something, but it’s not everything.
Habakkuk reflects on a time when the Lord “threshed the nations in anger.” Threshing is what farmers do to grain crops at harvest time. When grain is threshed, the instrument rakes slaps and pounds the grain to loosen the edible part from the inedible straw and chaff, separating one from the other. Jesus’s parable in Matthew 13:24–30 helps make sense of Habakkuk’s threshing image, and this image ultimately points to something more.
The first man to be anointed king in Israel was Saul. He failed as a king, so David was anointed after him, and he became Israel’s great king. The Lord was with David, protected him, and delivered him from all his troubles. Likely, Habakkuk is thinking of Israel’s kings when he recalls, “You went out for the salvation of your people, for the salvation of your anointed.” Jesus Christ, the Messiah, is the ultimate fulfillment of Habakkuk’s words here in verse 13. The word Messiah comes from the Hebrew word for “anointed,” and the title Christ comes from the Greek word of the same meaning.
How can we use Habakkuk’s teachings to shape how we share the good news of salvation with people who don’t believe? Today’s Christian culture might say, “If you welcome Christ into your life, you’ll experience a better marriage, finances, and health.” However, this can be dangerous in light of what we’re learning about the Lord from Habakkuk. Words are important.
Think about your worst-case scenario. Does Habakkuk’s response to the crisis seem realistic to you? Consider your past experiences and how God either delivered you from trouble or transformed you through it.
To give credit: Resources used and recommended are
Habakkuk: Learning to Live by Faith – Lydia Brownback
ESV Expository Commentary – Daniel through Malachi
Debbie Swindell 