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A prophet here questions God: Why the misfortune that oppresses the people? Habakkuk lived around 600 B.C. After the disappearance of Assyria, another empire controlled the Near East and settled its people in Syria and Palestine. Nebuchadnezzar II, king of Babylon, had shortly before defeated Pharaoh Neco, at Carchemish, in 605 B.C., and nothing could then stop him. Harassed by armies of occupation and tormented by their neighbors, Judah found itself in a trap, and the Jewish people were almost destroyed.
In the chorus of prophets who, at the time when threats are growing in number, indict the people and predict punishment for them, one voice rises in protest: Habakkuk, otherwise unknown, cries out his outrage. A degenerate Israel has certainly merited punishment, but why should it see this inflicted by a nation that is prouder and more cruel than itself? How can the holy and just God permit pagans, who are even more corrupt than his own people, to abuse their superiority by crushing the oppressed, namely, Judah and its neighbors? Why should the strong have a privilege or right over the weak, the conqueror over the conquered? Habakkuk rises above his sense of outrage in a cry of faith: despite his anguish, he retains an unfailing trust; he is convinced that the wrath of God will break out and restore a just order. In anticipation, the prophet sings in wonder to the mighty Lord who will destroy all the forces ranged against him. The prophet, thereby, offers Christians a moving lesson: it is to God that we must look for life, even if we do not yet know the way to it.
The Hebrew text of the Book of Habakkuk is often poorly preserved. Readers will, therefore, not be surprised to find that translations differ somewhat; the general sense of the message, however, is clear.
The Book of Habakkuk may be divided as follows:
I: Habakkuk’s Discussion with God (1:2—2:4)
II: Warning to the Arrogant (2:5-20)
III: Habakkuk’s Prayer (3:1-19)