Habakkuk 3: Habakkuk's Song

What does the word Shigionoth mean? It is a Hebrew term for a musical or poetic form that expresses deep feelings, trouble, praise, and great faith in God. So, Habakkuk’s prayer is a psalm or song. Habakkuk is not simply making things up by imagining what God would say in response to his complaints about God's apparent indifference to national sin and evil governance. In Chapter 1:1, “The oracle that Habakkuk the prophet saw” is evidence of a prophetic experience with God. We can also point to this fact in Habakkuk 2:2, which begins with, “Then the Lord answered me and said, ‘Write the vision…” Just because Habakkuk has written in poetic form and concluded with a psalm doesn’t mean that he imagined the whole thing in trying to capture Judah’s attention to repent—Judah remained unconvinced and rebellious to the bitter end.

Poetic conversation does not make it fictional. The use of poetry in prophetic scripture was a common way to clarify and emphasize the message’s moral importance, making it memorable for everyone. In Habakkuk, we see a dialogue with God—God does speak to us—if we listen for Him and believe that He wants to communicate with us personally, one-on-one. [Notes] It’s important to understand this when reading the Old Testament: don’t dismiss the value of this writing style as just poetry, along with the other prose. Much of the New Testament is written in prose, while the Old Testament heavily features poetic and prophetic styles.

Habakkuk’s prayer in Chapter 3 is a deep and heartfelt prayer of praise that shows how well Habakkukunderstands God’s active involvement with sinful humanity. Habakkuk has taken the time to get to know God, and God has taken the time to reveal Himself to Habakkuk. This mutual relationship is accessible to us on an even deeper level if we are willing to notice God. Jesus Christ, the Son of God, calls us to seek Him; to know Him and understand His ways in dealing with the world around us and with us personally—we are His people now, and there are no barriers preventing anyone who iswilling to repent, be forgiven, and follow Him.    Jesus says plainly, “ Come to Me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.…”  Matthew 11:28    “Cast all your anxiety on Him because He cares for you”.        1 Peter 5:7   He is not just going to take away your anxieties—you must ask Him to!

• 3:1-2  Creation.  The Flood. Egypt. The 40 yrs. In the wilderness, in all God has remembered His mercy.

•  3:3     God appeared in his glory. All the powers of nature are shaken, and the course of nature changed,  but all is for the salvation of God's own people.

• 3:4-7   When God was leading the Israelites out of Egypt into Canaan, he made the pestilence go before him to prepare room for his people.  The pestilence, which wasted the inhabitants of Canaan, swept them out—the Exodus Story.

• 3:8-12  Through the Red Sea and the Jordan River, and Pharaoh with horses and chariots drowned in the sea.  Joshua crossed the Jordan into the Promised Land.  Their arrows and your arrows!

• 3:13-16  Here Habakkuk says he will rest in times of trouble, which is a strong act of faith. We can say the same if we know Him and have sought Him, and say,  “I have hidden Your word in my heart that I might not sin against You."  Ps 119:11

• 3:17-19 When faced with personal anger over issues of justice, it can lead to doubts about God’s justice. Questions like, “Does God care?” “Is God strong enough?” “How can He let this happen?” and “Where is God?” often arise. Habakkuk said, “Yet I will quietly wait for the day of trouble to come upon those who invade us”.  God's ways are good and just, and His unfailing love for us is everlasting.  Because of this, we too can sing, as Habakkuk did, singing, "I will take joy in the God of my salvation!”