Habakkuk’s message is a definitive response to the problem of sin that so troubled the prophet. The life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ reveal both the certainty of God’s final victory over evil and the possibility of salvation through His Messiah. In light of these truths, we can celebrate God’s patience in withholding judgment and do our utmost to bring the gospel to the ends of the earth until His return (2 Peter 3:9).
Habakkuk’s deep desire for God-honoring justice and his strong negative reaction to its absence make his book all too relevant to contemporary readers. Inundated as we are with disturbing news and images from around the world, the sheer scale of the problem will appear overwhelming if we do not view it in light of the gospel. Furthermore, Habakkuk’s awareness of his own moral shortcomings and those of his compatriots show that the problem of sin is deeply rooted in human nature, and so includes all of us. But despite the gravity of the situation in Judah and beyond its borders, God’s answers to the prophet’s exasperated prayers bring him from a state of doubt and despair to one of firm faith and joy, even before anything has changed in Judah or abroad.
Three elements of this short book stand out for both their contribution to the prophet’s spiritual reorientation and their potential to guide our attitudes, actions, and expectations in a world that seems as unhinged and self-destructive as the ancient Near East in the late seventh century BC.
1. God is not indifferent to injustice in Judah.
This truth amounts to a direct rebuttal of what seems to be Habakkuk’s assumption at the beginning of the book. He does not go so far as to accuse God of injustice, but unless God does something, that conclusion appears to be inevitable (Hab. 1:2–4). God’s response to the prophet is patient and instructive. His commitment to bring judgment against sinful Judah (Habakkuk’s initial concern) shows that His covenantal commitment to His people does not guarantee their immunity to sin’s consequences. God is not indifferent to injustice.
But when God reveals to the prophet that He will use the Babylonians to punish Judah, Habakkuk is again mystified. Presuming that Judah is “more righteous” than Babylon (Hab. 1:13), he implies that if God were to allow this, this too would be to countenance evil (Hab. 1:13).