Habakkuk

Habakkuk laments Judah’s violence and injustice; the LORD answers that He is raising the ruthless Chaldeans to punish it. The prophet protests again—how can a holy God use a wicked nation to swallow those more righteous? He stations himself to await further reply.

God tells Habakkuk to write the vision plainly: though it delays, it will surely come. ‘The righteous shall live by faith,’ while the arrogant soul will fail. Five ‘woes’ follow—against plundering, unjust gain, bloodshed, debauchery, and idolatry—promising Babylon’s downfall and declaring that the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the LORD’s glory.

A poetic prayer recounts God’s terrifying yet saving theophany from Teman and Mount Paran: mountains quake, torrents surge, sun and moon stand still as He marches to deliver His anointed people. Habakkuk trembles, yet resolves that even if figs fail, flocks vanish, and fields yield nothing, he will rejoice in the LORD his strength, who makes his feet like a deer’s on the heights.