In our world today the most ask question is “where is God when people are dying of virus?” “Where is God when evil man prosper?” “How long must I call your name, how long should I pray but you do not listen?” etc…And the same question was asked by a prophet named Habakkuk to God again and again long time back.
The book of Habakkuk in the Bible has only three chapters but it speaks a volume about faith.
The key verse is Habakkuk 2:4 which says that “the righteous shall live by faith”, which has been repeated in the New Testament again and again.
Habakkuk lived in Judah in the later part of the 7th Century BC, thus was a contemporary of prophet Jeremiah. Most probably around 609-598 BC, when king Jehoiakim was on throne. To understand the situation and society of that time we need to study what type of king he was (2 Chronicles 36:4-8) which says that he was a king who did evil in the eyes of the Lord his God.
The book consists mainly of dialogue between Habakkuk and God. Habakkuk represent the godly Judahites who were perplexed by God’s ways. Habakkuk openly and devoutly questioned God and he accepted God’s answers though he couldn’t fully comprehend them.
The book of Habakkuk shows us that even though evil seems to prevail and our struggles seems in vain, still we can trust God.
Habakkuk demonstrate his own faith in God with the beautiful prayer that ends the book.
We can divide the book into three heads:
- Habakkuk first complaint and the Lord’s answer (1:1-11)
- His second complaint and the Lord’s answer (1:12-2:20)
- Habakkuk’s prayer of His complete surrender and trust in God. (3:1-19)
May be many of us will find the answer of our questions and our prayers in this book as we study. I encourage each one of you to read this book and see.
Watila Amit