International Sunday School Lesson February 25, 2024, Lesson 13
Background
A.R. Faussett gave the timeframe for the book of Habakkuk by stating, “The time seems to have been about 610 b.c. For the Chaldeans attacked Jerusalem in the ninth month of the fifth year of Jehoiakim, 605 b.c. (2Ki 24:1; 2Ch 36:6; Jer 46:2; Jer 36:9). And Habakkuk (Hab 1:5, Hab 1:6, etc.) speaks of the Chaldeans as about to invade Judah, but not as having actually done so.”1
J. Vernon McGhee divides the book into three sections as follows, “I. Perplexity of the Prophet, Chapter 1, … II. Perception of the Prophet, Chapter 2 … III. Pleasure of the Prophet, Chapter 3.”2
The prophet wonders why God let the sin of Israel go unpunished and then wonders why the ungodly Babylonians were to be used punish the Jews when they were more righteous than the Babylonians.
Stand at My Watchpost
Habakkuk 2:1 ESV I will take my stand at my watchpost and station myself on the tower, and look out to see what he will say to me, and what I will answer concerning my complaint.
The prophets often referred to standing on the watchtower and warning the folks. Habakkuk continues that imagery.
Ezekiel 33:2-6 (ESV) “Son of man, speak to your people and say to them, If I bring the sword upon a land, and the people of the land take a man from among them, and make him their watchman, 3 and if he sees the sword coming upon the land and blows the trumpet and warns the people, 4 then if anyone who hears the sound of the trumpet does not take warning, and the sword comes and takes him away, his blood shall be upon his own head. 5 He heard the sound of the trumpet and did not take warning; his blood shall be upon himself. But if he had taken warning, he would have saved his life. 6 But if the watchman sees the sword coming and does not blow the trumpet, so that the people are not warned, and the sword comes and takes any one of them, that person is taken away in his iniquity, but his blood I will require at the watchman’s hand.
Make it Plain
Habakkuk 2:2 ESV And the LORD answered me: “Write the vision; make it plain on tablets, so he may run who reads it.
The prophets were told to make their message plain. We should pray often for wisdom in the way we present to Gospel to the world.
Deuteronomy 27:8 ESV And you shall write on the stones all the words of this law very plainly.”
Wait for It
Habakkuk 2:3 ESV For still the vision awaits its appointed time; it hastens to the end—it will not lie. If it seems slow, wait for it; it will surely come; it will not delay.
James 5:7-8 ESV Be patient, therefore, brothers, until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, being patient about it, until it receives the early and the late rains. (8) You also, be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand.
Living by Faith
Habakkuk 2:4 ESV “Behold, his soul is puffed up; it is not upright within him, but the righteous shall live by his faith.
Romans 1:17 ESV For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, “The righteous shall live by faith.”
Galatians 2:16 ESV yet we know that a person is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ, so we also have believed in Christ Jesus, in order to be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law, because by works of the law no one will be justified.
Hebrews 10:38-39 ESV but my righteous one shall live by faith, and if he shrinks back, my soul has no pleasure in him.” (39) But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who have faith and preserve their souls.
The Arrogant Never Rests
Habakkuk 2:5 ESV “Moreover, wine is a traitor, an arrogant man who is never at rest. His greed is as wide as Sheol; like death he has never enough. He gathers for himself all nations and collects as his own all peoples.”
Isaiah 2:11-12 ESV The haughty looks of man shall be brought low, and the lofty pride of men shall be humbled, and the LORD alone will be exalted in that day. (12) For the LORD of hosts has a day against all that is proud and lofty, against all that is lifted up—and it shall be brought low;
Concluding Thoughts
We are saved by faith and not by works. Keep looking for the return of the Lord Jesus. God is always in control.
- A. R. Jamieson, Jamieson, Fausset and Brown Commentary. A Commentary, Critical and Explanatory, on the Old and New Testaments, cited in “Habbakuk” e-Sword 13.0.0. ↩︎
- J. Vernon McGee, Thru The Bible with J. Vernon McGee. (Thomas Nelson Publishers
Nashville 1981), cited in “Habbakuk.” e-Sword 13.0.0. ↩︎
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