A dialogue between habakkuk and yahwehgods justice revealed. Habakkuk is the only prophet to devote his entire work to the question of the justice of gods government of the world. Habakkuk s challenge is set up as a dialogue between the prophet and god, in which habakkuk s opening complaint about injustices in judean society 1. The book of habakkuk is the eighth book of the 12 minor prophets of the bible. Israel, the northern country consisting of ten tribes, and judah, the remaining two tribes in the south. Habakkuk poses a series of questions to god about the injustice that he observes and gods seeming failure to respond, and god provides an unexpected answer, im sending a people who will perpetrate the injustice and destruction. The elaborate chiastic structure of the book admits no deleting of a chapter, much less of verses cf. Of the three chapters in the book, the first two are a dialog between yahweh and the prophet. In chapter 2 habakkuk receives a second answer from god to show him that jehovah knows the pride of this evil nation of babylon and that he will punish it but that the just will live by his faith. The sovereignty of god in habakkuk american journal of biblical.
The chapter itself has a frame consisting of divine address 3. Habakkuk with book summary versebyverse bible commentary. Is taking us to a place in the scripture that most of us dont naturally go. The book ends with a revelation of the coming of the awesome god 3. Upon which god is introduced threatening very awful and sudden judgments to be indicted by the ministry of the chaldeans, 510. The book of habakkuk is most similar to which of the following old testament books. In verses 911, god emphasizes the lawlessness of these horrible armies. He cries out in a night of despair as he sees violence, and god is doing nothing about it and, apparently, saying nothing. Visit our library of inductive bible studies for more in depth inductive studies on this and other books of the bible you can use in your small group. Key personalities are habakkuk and the babylonians.
Then comes the bold and courageous prophecy of the destruction of judah by the chaldeans habakkuk 1. Theodicy in habakkuk ebook by grace ko 9781780783314. The book of habakkuk is traditionally divided into five sections. Gods answer to the first question is recorded in habakkuk 1. Book of habakkuk bible study chapter 1 god is moving and judgment is coming book of habakkuk bible study chapter 2 the five woes against society book of habakkuk bible study chapter 3 the coming deliverer related studies book of joel bible study chapter 1 locusts, destruction, near and far. Interestingly the book that bears his name begins with an extended description of the coming of the chaldeans. This sensible, clearly written book deserves the attention of all serious old testament scholars and students. For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the lord, as the waters cover the sea habakkuk 2. The book of habakkuk can be divided into three sections. Sunday school lesson march 8, 2020 a prayer for justice.
Habakkuk questions how yahweh can be a good god who is the protector of his people and holy and use such extremely wicked people to judge his more righteous people 1. Some have even tried to maintain that the kasdim of hab 1. This chapter begins with the salutation habakkuk 1. Below he discusses how habakkuk wrestles with the difficulty of continuing to trust in god whilst living in a situation of ongoing oppression and injustice, with ideas as to how you might preach and teach this lesser known book. Habakkuk 1 niv bible the prophecy that habakkuk the. Some scholars attribute the writing of the book of daniel to an author in the 2nd century bc due to very precise predictions in chapter 11 relating to which world empire. At all points throughout ko is to be praised for clarity and readability. Pouring his heart out, and our merciful lord listening intently to the complaints and answering, is what is most striking in this small book. But habakkuk had a problem with regard to the inherent justice of god who would use the wicked babylonians against a. As is true of the many other prophets, habakkuk is a short book. Many think that habakkuk ministered sometime during the reign of king johoiakim, perhaps around the year 607 b. Close reading of the book of habakkukdemarcation of large literary units. Chapter 2, close reading of the book of habakkuk, offers a linear reading of the book that focuses.
Habakkuk does not understand why and how the good, holy, just. Habakkuks heart is very heavy over the injustice among the people of god habakkuk 1. Habakkuk chapter 2 matthew henry complete commentary on. Development of a practical theodicy through a biblical. Glen taylor, wycliffe college, university of toronto, canada. Habakkuk 1 commentary commentary critical and explanatory. This chapter introduces the notion of theodicy as it identifies the lord as the party responsible for bringing evil upon judah. As i stated last week the book of habakkuk is the eighth book of the twelve books we call the minor prophets. The book of habakkuk is unique amongst the prophetic corpus for its dialogical.
This dialogue and its subsequent psalm of praise also provide perhaps the clearest attempt of providing a theodicy4 in all the prophet writings. Perhaps one of the most significant new testament quotations from the old testament comes from habakkuk 2. Chapter 1 instead of engaging in debate, god gives habakuk a vision of the future which includes five oracles that form a theodicy. If you choose to preach this by dividing the chapter into three sections, make sure you give your people a sense of the chapter. Habakkuk was a sensitive and passionate man, completely devoted to the lord.
Theodicy in habakkuk is a welcome addition to the interpretation of the prophetic message of habakkuk. This extraordinary work explains how the writer of the book of habakkuk resolves the issue of theodicy. During the time of the minor prophets, the nation of israel had divided into two separate countries, each with its own government. As book now stands it deals with question of theodicy. Habakkuk s uniqueness in prophetic traditionhabakkuk in the book of the twelve. Issues of theodicy and the sovereignty of god dominate habakkuks theology. Pdf theodicy, wisdom, and prophecy in the book of habakkuk. We dont know much about the prophet habakkuk from any other book in the bible. In the first i will give a short overview of the book of habakkuk. Abstract a theological reading of the book of habakkuk offers insight into the. Dead sea scrolls include a copy of 1 st two chapters of book. Since he prophesied the coming babylonian army and its destruction of judah, he prophesied some time before that invasion.
Though god does not actually speak in chapter 3, the theophanic vision related by the. Despite the greek genius for philosophical inquiry, the classic statement of the problem of evil appeared in the hebrew tradition. Key words habakkuk, suffering, evil, theodicy decontextualization and the book of habakkuk the book of habakkuk is at once concise and one of the most startling in the ot for a reader committed to faith in a benevolent god. Home bible studies habakkuk habakkuk 1 these small group studies of habakkuk contain outlines, crossreferences, bible study discussion questions, teaching points, and applications. Their complex seeks to reach out and touch us at some level of our spiritual development. The book of habakkuk, chapter 2 king james version. These questions led me to the book of habakkuk, which tells a story that is. Unlike the other prophets of god habakkuk did not speak to the people for god, but spoke to god concerning the people. He said, i will stand on my guard post and station myself on the rampart. The majority of the book consists of a dialogue between habakkuk and yahweh. This book is the oracle which habakkuk the prophet received 1. Habakkuk had the assurance that god would bring to completion his promise. In verse 1, the writer, habakkuk, gives advice to himself that is useful to us all. The book of hosea consists of fourteen chapters, which was the record for a minor prophet until zechariah tied it a couple centuries later.
Habakkuk 2 in this chapter we have an answer expected by the prophet habakkuk 2. Habakkuk 1 commentary james burton coffman commentaries on. Overall, this speech presents job very differently than. A theodicy is an attempt to establish that god is righteous despite allowing evil, pain, and suffering to exist in the world. The babylonians attribute their wonderful successes to their idols, 11. Many interpret the book of habakkuk as a theodicy, a defense of gods goodness and power given the existence of evil. In the bible as a whole, only job delivers a more pointed challenge to divine rule. Watch our overview video on the book of habakkuk, which breaks down the literary design of the book and its flow of thought. Habakkuk moves from burden to blessing, from wonderworry to worship, from restlessness to rest, from a focus on the problem with god to a focus on the person of god, and from a complaint to consolation. May 14, 2016 watch our overview video on the book of habakkuk, which breaks down the literary design of the book and its flow of thought. It is called minor only because it is shorter in length and comes behind the five major prophets in the old testament. Why begin this introduction to the book of habakkuk with these quotes about the representation of the disciples. Theodicy in the book of ezekiel and also in jeremiah 31. I suggest that the theophany can be read as a vision of god.
Ryrie describes habakkuk as a theodicy, a defense of gods goodness and power in view of the existence of evil. Habakkuk questions how yahweh can be a good god who is the. Habakkuk chapter 2 matthew henry complete commentary. Reading the book as a literary whole, grace ko uses a holistic, synchronic approach to investigate how its writer presents his case, and how he reaches the final resolution of his problem. However, the book of habakkuk reminds us that no place is too dark and no wall too thick for gods grace to penetrate in a powerful and lifeaffirming way. In this book, habakkuk struggles to understand gods goodness in the. He makes my feet like the feet of a deer, he enables me to go on the heights. When these opportunities arise i always try to do two things. Overview of habakkuk in light of gods providence and the problem of evil. That is, habakkuk is struggling to understand how it is that gods justice is to be. The third chapter is a psalm, intended to be sung while being accompanied by. Book of habakkuk bible study chapter 2 woes against society. Chapter 5 provides a helpful summary of the contents of each chapter in the book, along with a concise overview of habakkuk s presentation and resolution of the issue of theodicy. Ko, theodicy in habakkuk journal of hebrew scriptures.
The book of habakkuk is narrative history and displays prophetic oracle. Habakkuk s prayer song in chapter 3 could also be divided into smaller preaching units, such as 3. The vision in habakkuk university of gloucestershire. Every prophet is unique in his own right, habakkuk being no exception. Habakkuk 1 bible study guide points and questions for.
Habakkuk 1 commentary james burton coffman commentaries. This discussion was expanded by a babylonian commentary 1. Jul 14, 2017 gods answer to the first question is recorded in habakkuk 1. The main point is stated at the beginning and at the endthe soul that sins shall dieand is explicated by a case history of a family traced through three generations. At the beginning of chapter 3, the book of job takes a drastic turn. Walker and lund, the literary structure of the book of habakkuk, jbl 53, 1934, pp. Some see the use of chaldeans as metaphoric, as moderns might use huns. Habakkuk questions god repeatedly concerning the suffering of the righteous, and although the book ends, tentatively. Reading the book as a literary whole, grace ko uses a holistic, synchronic approach to investigate how its writer presents his case, and. Chapter 3 is habakkuks prayer in response to all thats taken place. We are to be watchful in prayer, understanding that it is not only you who are. That after god has served his own purposes by the prevailing power of the chaldeans, has tried the faith and patience of his people. Why does god allow evil to prevail over goodness book probably developed in 4 stages.
The prophetic book of habakkuk in the hebrew bible is extremely brief when compared to. The first chapter of habakkuk deals with the prophets complaint, gods answer, and is the beginning of his unusual dialog with god. Choose from 265 different sets of habakkuk flashcards on quizlet. Habakkuk wrote his small, three chapter book right before gods people went into babylonian captivity. Habakkuks prophecy is dated to around 605 bc, the time of king jehoiakim and before nebuchadnezzar first invaded judah and. Although much of the content of habakkuk is not unique, the means that the prophet uses to communicate the content is unique. Sunday school lesson march 15, 2020 consequences for. He sought to understand the existence and continuation of evil in light of gods righteousness. It may be slow in coming as humans see things, but it will come. The book of habakkuk begins with habakkuk crying out to god for an answer to why gods chosen people are allowed to suffer in their captivity habakkuk 1.
Habakkuks complaint how long, lord, must i call for help, but you do not listen. Ko, grace, theodicy in habakkuk paternoster biblical monographs. Instead of writing in the unusual style of prophet speaking to the people, the book of habakkuk is written with god and habakkuk. What makes habakkuk a theodicy is not only that gods goodness is questioned, but also that his goodness is ultimately defended in the triumphant third chapter. Development of a practical theodicy through a biblical theology of habakkuk. Greek the sovereignty of god is one of the core messages of daniel. I am reading it in english, georgian and azerbaijani. Habakkuk overview and outline reasons for hope jesus. Habakkuk, theology of bakers evangelical dictionary of. Breaking his silence, job curses the day of his birth, coming perilously close to proving the accuser correct 1. When habakkuk laments over yahwehs silence over the unrighteous behavior of the wicked among him, he learns to his surprise that the lord is working by raising up the mighty, violent chaldeans to judge judah, that this is not a conflict with.