Habakkuk

Chapter 3 is Habakkuk's prayer-psalm. The psalmist reverently remembers reports of God's great acts in the past and prays for Him to bring redemption again: "In our time ... in wrath remember mercy" (v. 2).

Habakkuk 3:3-15 is a poetic portrayal of God's salvation of His people from Egypt (see Exod. 15). Here metaphors of God's actions drawn from many passages of Scripture are mixed together.

Habakkuk 3:16 recounts the psalmist's believing acceptance that God was active in his own moment in time as well as in the past. He would "wait patiently" for God's retribution against the tyrants. He recognized that his was a day for waiting, not for action.

The closing verses announce his joy in the Lord despite the deprivations he had to endure. God was his strength.

Theological and Ethical Significance. The Book of Habakkuk represents the kind of faith that became the norm for Judaism and later for Christianity. Israel no longer had the means to try to shape their own destiny. Under the empires they were the passive recipients of whatever good or evil the powerful chose to give them. But in faith they could believe that God would provide what was necessary for His people to serve Him. Believing and waiting became essential elements in their way of life. It should still be so.

Armerding, C. E. "Habakkuk." Expositor's Bible Commentary. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1985.

Baker, D. W. Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah: An Introduction and Commentary. Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries. Downers Grove: InterVarsity, 1988.

Gaebelein, F. E. Four Minor Prophets: Obadiah, Jonah, Habakkuk, and Haggai. Chicago: Moody, 1977.

Patterson, R. D. Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah. Chicago: Moody, 1991.

Robertson, O. P. The Books of Nahum, Habakkuk, and Zephaniah. The New International Commentary on the Old Testament. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1990.