First Corea first principles look at the Bible
Book 35 of 66 · Prophets · The Twelve

Habakkuk

A prophet argues with God. Why does God let violence and injustice go on? God’s answer makes it worse: he is sending Babylon. Habakkuk argues again, waits, and ends with a song of trust even if every crop fails.

The big idea

In short: trust God even when nothing adds up. “The just shall live by his faith” (2:4). Even if the fig tree doesn’t bloom and the fields fail, “Yet I will rejoice in the LORD” (3:17–18).

Habakkuk also names five kinds of unjust gain, including “Woe to him that increaseth that which is not his!” (2:6).

The rule underneath: Law 1 · God first

Love God with everything. You are not the owner.

Keep it: Your life has one center, and everything else finds its place.
Break it: Money, power, or people become your god, and they let you down.

Shows up in: Deuteronomy, Jeremiah, Psalms, Mark, 1 Corinthians

Other rules in this book: Enough, and give, Work honestly, Power serves

Live it: Playbook 01 · How to be a person

17Although the fig tree shall not blossom, neither shall fruit be in the vines; the labour of the olive shall fail, and the fields shall yield no meat; the flock shall be cut off from the fold, and there shall be no herd in the stalls: 18Yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will joy in the God of my salvation.Habakkuk 3:17-18 · KJV

At a glance

What it is
A dialogue with God (1–2) and a prayer-song (3). 3 chapters.
Who wrote it
Habakkuk the prophet (1:1). Nothing else is known about him.
When
Probably about 610–600 BC, as Babylon (“the Chaldeans”) rose to power (1:6).
Why it matters
Paul quotes 2:4 twice (Romans 1:17; Galatians 3:11), and Hebrews 10:38 quotes it too. Martin Luther’s reading of that line helped start the Protestant Reformation. A commentary on Habakkuk was found among the Dead Sea Scrolls.
In which Bibles
All of them.
Read it in
About 10 minutes.

What it says

1:1–4 · The first complaint. “O LORD, how long shall I cry, and thou wilt not hear!” (1:2). Violence is everywhere, and “the law is slacked, and judgment doth never go forth” (1:4).

1:5–11 · God’s answer. God is raising up the Babylonians, “that bitter and hasty nation” (1:6), to judge Judah.

1:12–2:1 · The second complaint. How can a holy God use people worse than those he judges? (1:13). Habakkuk climbs a watchtower to wait for an answer (2:1).

2:2–20 · The vision and five woes. God says, “Write the vision, and make it plain” (2:2). The proud will fail, “but the just shall live by his faith” (2:4). Then five woes: on those who pile up what isn’t theirs (2:6), who build their house with unjust gain (2:9), who build a town “with blood” (2:12), who get neighbors drunk to shame them (2:15), and who worship idols (2:19). “The LORD is in his holy temple: let all the earth keep silence before him” (2:20).

3 · The song. Habakkuk remembers God’s great acts. Then: even if the fig tree does not bloom, the vines have no fruit, and the flocks are gone, “Yet I will rejoice in the LORD” (3:17–18).

Behold, his soul which is lifted up is not upright in him: but the just shall live by his faith.Habakkuk 2:4 · KJV
Go deeper
  • Original words. Emunah, “faith” (2:4), means faithfulness: steady trust that keeps going. The old Greek translation reads by my faithfulness, meaning God’s. Shigionoth (3:1) is a musical term whose meaning is unknown.
  • Structure. Complaint, answer, complaint, answer (1:1–2:20), then a psalm (3). The book moves from “how long?” to “yet I will rejoice.”
  • How the laws interlock. Law 1 is the answer to injustice: live by faithful trust (2:4). Laws 7 and 8 are behind the woes: wealth built from what isn’t yours (2:6, 9). Law 11 is judged in empires built “with blood” (2:12).

Hard parts

God uses a worse nation

What it says God sends Babylon, a violent empire, to judge Judah (1:6). Habakkuk asks how that can be just (1:13).

The rule underneath God first. God rules history even through people he will later judge (2:8).

What people added Readers see God using nations without approving them, as in Isaiah 10. Others see the book honestly leaving the problem open. The prophet argues, and the text keeps his argument.

“The just shall live by his faith” (2:4)

What it says In Habakkuk, the line promises that the faithful person will survive the coming disaster.

The rule underneath God first.

What people added Paul uses it to argue that people are made right with God through faith (Romans 1:17). Catholic and Protestant readers, and scholars, still debate how Paul’s use relates to Habakkuk’s meaning. Churches have split; this page does not settle it.

Translation notes that change meaning

  • 2:4 “his faith.” The Hebrew means faithfulness, steady loyalty, as well as trust.
  • 2:2 “that he may run that readeth it.” It may mean “so a messenger can run with it,” or “so it can be read easily.”

Where it leads

One thing to do

This week

Your own “although… yet”

Write your own version of 3:17–18. List three things that are going wrong or might go wrong (“Although…”). Then write one line of what you will still hold on to (“Yet I will…”). Read it each morning this week. Keep it in your journal.

How to read it. Read it in one sitting, as a conversation. Then read chapter 3 aloud.