Where is the Gospel in Habakkuk?
Throughout his dialogue and talk with God, we se his
Worry is transformed into worship.
Fear turns to faith.
Terror becomes trust.
Hang-ups are resolved with hope.
Anguish melts into adoration.
(Holman)
The problem of evil that Habakkuk presents is a real, clear, and present danger, there is no use pretending it’s not, but, Habakkuk shows us the proper response, and we take what he did in the short term and apply it to ourselves.
God fixed the immediate problem of evil in the short term with the Babylonians coming against His people.
God fixed the problem of evil ultimately in the person and work of Jesus.
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In Habakkuk 3.12-13 we read
12 You marched through the earth in fury;
you threshed the nations in anger.
13 You went out for the salvation of your people,
for the salvation of your anointed.
You crushed the head of the house of the wicked,
laying him bare from thigh to neck.
Jesus triumphed over evil, sin, and death, Jesus triumphed over the world, the flesh, and the devil, and all that can be thrown against us (1 Corinthians 15.55-57).
Jesus triumphs over the problem and perpetrator of evil once and for all. Here in Habakkuk, God delivers His people from Babylon, and in His finished work on the cross God delivered His people from evil, bigger picture, and this was signed, sealed, and it will be delivered (Revelation 19.11-16, 20.7-10).
Think about what Habakkuk said about the past problem of bondage to sin and the oppression of evil…think about the Exodus from Egypt, think Pharaoh…
13 You went out for the salvation of your people,
for the salvation of your anointed.
You crushed the head of the house of the wicked,
laying him bare from thigh to neck.
Now, think of God delivering His people from Babylonian captivity, the TRUE meaning of Jeremiah 29.11, plans for hope and a future…think here Babylonian King…
13 You went out for the salvation of your people,
for the salvation of your anointed.
You crushed the head of the house of the wicked,
laying him bare from thigh to neck.
Now, think about this in relation to the second coming of Christ, the forever and ever putting to death of sin and evil, breaking its hold on us and everyone and everything else, think of our great enemy, the accuser, the deceiver…
13 You went out for the salvation of your people,
for the salvation of your anointed.
You crushed the head of the house of the wicked,
laying him bare from thigh to neck.
See, Habakkuk spoke of the past, the present, and the future, and at the centre of them all, is Jesus.
The problem of evil that Habakkuk presents is real, no doubt, but, he shows us the proper response, it’s ok to ask, it’s ok to wrestle with these things, it’s ok to go to God in prayer and ask, frankly, what’s going on, because God has already put in motion the plan to get you out of it, both now and ultimately.
It might seem like it’s slow to us sometimes, we want it fixing NOW; a week, a month, a year is so long for us,but He is all knowing, He is all powerful, He is all loving, and He will deliver His people with His anointed, and we are told, in Habakkuk 2.4 – live with faith in this plan, even when evil seems to be abounding.
What is the plan? Of course, we are talking about faith in the person, plan, and power, of Jesus.
James Travis 