This is week three of a four week series titled “Habakkuk: A Prophet for 2025.” View the rest of the series as it’s published by clicking on the Habakkuk 2025 Prophet tag.
“Look at the proud!
Their spirit is not right in them,
but the righteous live by their faith”.
– Habakkuk 2:4
We left Habakkuk planting his feet on the ramparts, waiting. My Bible study group could not decide who Habakkuk reminds us of the most here: a child throwing a temper tantrum and refusing to move or a teacher who, instead of raising his voice over the chaos, crosses his arms and says, “I’m waiting.” Perhaps, Habakkuk is a bit of both. If we are honest, we are often a bit of both. We are the child, pouting because we didn’t get our way and we are overwhelmed by so much that feels out of our control. And, we are the teacher, resigned to the fact that this is our fate and begrudgingly waiting for the chaos to calm down.
The Book of Habakkuk shows us that God responds to our feelings and posturings. God is even more attuned to the going ons of the world than we can imagine. And still, God hasn’t left us, but is actively at work in the world, calling out wrongs.
Background
Habakkuk begins without an introduction. It is as if Habakkuk is known to the reader, that this isn’t his first prophecy. It is quite likely that Habakkuk is a career prophet. This “isn’t his first rodeo,” as they say.
So, what makes a prophet a prophet? In general, prophets do one of four things. They proclaim revelation, plead for the enforcing of the covenant, foretell of immediate judgment and/or future problems, or intercede on behalf of the people, begging God for mercy. Yet, Habakkuk, this self-proclaimed “prophet,” doesn’t neatly fit into any one of these categories. He starts out instead with a complaint to God, and when God’s answer doesn’t satisfy him, he waits.
We don’t know how long Habakkuk waited before God spoke again, and when God speaks, God says, “You’ve got to wait even more, but in the meantime, pay attention and call out.” This waiting and calling out mark Habakkuk’s unique prophethood, and serve as a model for churches today.
Waiting is a spiritual practice (c.f. Rom. 8:18-25 and 2 Pet. 3:8-9). We wait on the Lord to move, wait for the return of Christ (whatever that will look like). Yet, our waiting shouldn’t be just sitting around or going about business as usual. We, who have heard the Good News, are to use this waiting as a time of calling out– of prophecy– for the sake of addressing the national evils that keep God’s people in chains.
Habakkuk 2:2-20– Calling Out
Although Habakkuk is fairly unknown to most congregations, I imagine most of us have heard “the righteous live by faith.” While we often associate this verse with Paul (c.f. Rom. 1:17, Gal. 3:11, and Heb. 10:38), Habakkuk said it first. This verse became a slogan of the Reformation movement, who rejected the idea that good works are needed for salvation and instead focused solely on belief.
However, we got it wrong. The Hebrew word “אֱמוּנָה” (emunah, translated faith) is less about confessing allegiance to an established set of doctrine and more about our daily actions. As such, I translate the verse as “the righteous live by their faithfulness.” And what is faithfulness? In Habakkuk, God goes on to name what unfaithfulness looks like, so we can deduce that faithfulness is both the opposite of those actions as well as the calling out of them.
While Jesus will use the language of “woe” to refer to individuals (c.f. Lk. 6:24-26), Habakkuk is focused on the collective. Traditionally the second chapter of Habakkuk is known as the “Five Woes,” but I have renamed them the “Five National Evils” to remind us that God is speaking about nations.
In God’s response to Habakkuk’s complaint about the abundance of suffering, God further shows God’s understanding of the ways of the world, and God names five national evils that produce suffering:
- Gaining wealth by plundering others (vs. 6-8)
- Gaining security by shutting others out (vs. 9-11)
- Gaining renown by colonizing and/or enslaving others (vs. 12-13)
- Gaining power by degrading others and destroying nature (v. 15-17)1
- Gaining self-confidence by playing god (i.e. making idols) (v. 18-19).
These are heavy and true accusations that cut to the heart of the national evils that both Habakkuk and we are seeing. It is enough to make us want to forsake any national allegiance and shack up as hermits. If organized politics (and dare I say, organized religion) are so bad, then we want no part of it.
And yet, sprinkled throughout Habakkuk 2 are words of hope– words that encourage us not to throw in the towel just yet. They invite us to stick around and see what God is doing, and how God is going to do it in and through us. Habakkuk 2:4, 14, and 20 stand out to me as Good News that we need to hear today. Held together, they say: The righteous live in faithfulness and have hope for a future because, even though there is chaos and woe all around, we are assured that God hasn’t left us. God is aware and judging, and calling us to do the same.
Application to 2025
I anticipate some strong reactions to hearing my claim that we are called to judge. Doesn’t the Bible tell us again and again not to judge? But, I am talking about a different kind of judgment. This isn’t about criticizing your neighbor for not being as holy as you. This judging is about calling out the communal wrongs of the world that we too are actively participating in.
Along with confessing our participation, we are also called to do something about it– to name the wrongs (or in Habakkuk’s language, the woes) and work to bring about good (otherwise known as blessings). This is what it means for the righteous to live by faithfulness. This is one way we put our faith in action.
When reading Habakkuk’s five national evils, my Bible study couldn’t help but see similarities to how countries, including and especially our country (the US), are acting today. As churches from all over the world and from all different denominations and traditions, we need to reclaim our boldness and shrewdness in judging national evils. We need to dust off our moral compasses and begin naming what we see. There are so many examples that I could list, but I have a feeling that you already know them too. The real question is: What are we going to do about it? How are we going to pick up the mantle of Habakkuk and be 2025 prophets?
Reflection Questions
- Write down three woes or national judgments.
- Where do we fit into these? How do we, as individuals and as a community, perpetuate social evil? How do we work against social evil?
- Write down three blessings.
- Where do we fit into these? How do we increase social good? How do we work against social good?
Prayer Practice
Holy Lord,
Woe to those,
woe to those who abuse this planet.
Woe to those who abuse others.
Woe to those who keep the oppressed oppressed.
Woe to those who benefit from the oppression of others.
Woe to those who conquer, plunder, and colonize.
Woe to those who simply stand by.
Woe to them.
Woe to us.
Woe, woe, woe.
Merciful God,
Help us,
help us claim our voice.
Help us live out our faith.
Help us name wrongs.
Help us demand justice.
Help us hold our nations accountable.
Help us hold ourselves accountable.
Help us, help us, help us.
Mighty God,
Send blessings,
send blessings to this planet,
Send blessings to the abused.
Send blessings to the oppressed.
Send blessings to the confused.
Send blessings to the conquered, plundered, and colonized.
Send blessings to those who refuse to stand by.
Send blessings to them.
Send blessings to us.
Send blessings, blessings, blessings.
Amen.
Joining with Habakkuk out, we cry, “How long?” How long will the oppressors win? How long will apathy reign? How long will your people twist your words? Draw close to us, Lord. Hear our cries. Weep with us. We trust that you are always near, and we especially need to feel your presence with us today. Amen.
Footnote:
1. We often do not think about the impact war has on the environment– habitat destruction, pollution, resource depletion, etc. In your study, you may consider researching how lead musket balls, shipwrecks, and chemical warfare (ex. Agent Orange) have had and continue to have detrimental impacts on vegetation, water, and animals.
