Habakkuk
Hab 1:11 Habakkuk
[ par. 1 2 ]
Hab 1:11 [1] Meaning embracing, or clinging to. The meaning of the prophet’s name indicates that in order for sinners to receive God’s eternal salvation (2:4), which is actually God Himself (Isa. 12:2; Luke 2:30), God became a man on the earth that He might embrace sinners and sinners might cling to Him (cf. Luke 19:1-10). See note 41 in ch. 2 and note 41 in Hosea 11.
Hab 1:11 [2] The central thought of Habakkuk is that the righteous God will judge both the evil Israel and the violent Chaldeans, and only the righteous one will live by his faith (2:4b), so that all the earth may know the glory of Jehovah (2:14) and be silent before Jehovah, who is in His holy temple (2:20), and so that His seeker may sing to Him in prayer, in lauding, and in trusting in Him (ch. 3).
Hab 1:2a not Psa. 22:1-2; Lam. 3:8
Hab 1:5a amazed Isa. 29:14; Acts 13:41
Hab 1:6a Chaldeans 2 Kings 24:2; 2 Chron. 36:17
Hab 1:61 theirs
Lit., his; the masculine singular is used through the end of the chapter.
Hab 1:8a afar Deut. 28:49-50; Jer. 5:15
Hab 1:12a everlasting Psa. 90:2; 93:2
Hab 1:121 them
Referring to the Chaldeans.
Hab 1:12b judgment 2 Kings 19:25; Psa. 17:13; Isa. 10:5-7
Hab 1:131 more
According to Habakkuk, the people of Israel were more righteous than the Babylonians, yet they were suffering the violence of the Babylonians. Habakkuk’s word here indicates that he was angry with God.
Hab 1:15a hook Jer. 16:16; Amos 4:2
Hab 1:16a sacrifices cf. Deut. 8:17; Isa. 10:13; 37:24-25
Hab 2:21 vision
Concerning God’s judgment on the Chaldeans.
Hab 2:22 That
Or, That he who reads it may run.
Hab 2:3a appointed Dan. 10:14; 11:27, 35
Hab 2:3b come Heb. 10:37; 2 Pet. 3:9
Hab 2:41 But
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Hab 2:41 [1] This word, quoted three times in the New Testament by the apostle Paul (Rom. 1:17; Gal. 3:11; Heb. 10:38), unveils God’s eternal salvation given to sinners. According to the background of this book, both Israel (God’s elect) and the Chaldeans (the nations) were under God’s judgment. Under God’s judgment all sinners, whether Jews or Gentiles, are destined to die (Rom. 6:23). The unique way for sinners to escape God’s judgment and obtain God’s eternal salvation is to believe in God’s embodiment, Christ, that they may become righteous and be justified in order to have life and live (John 3:16-18). God’s eternal salvation is to save our entire being—spirit, soul, and body—for eternity (1 Thes. 5:23). The way for us to receive such a salvation is to believe in Christ so that we may be justified by God and thus be qualified to have the eternal, divine life, and live by that life (Rom. 3:24; 5:1-2, 10, 17; Eph. 2:8). This is the New Testament gospel in an Old Testament prophetic book.
Hab 2:41 [2] Christ is the factor that links the books of Micah, Jonah, and Habakkuk. According to Micah 5:2, Christ as the eternal One, whose origin is in eternity, has gone forth by being born as a man in Bethlehem (see note 21 in Micah 5). Then, the type in Jonah 1:17 reveals the continuation of Christ’s going forth in His death and resurrection (see note 171 in Jonah 1). In the book of Jonah, Jehovah’s salvation was brought to Nineveh, an evil city of the Gentiles, through the preaching of the prophet. Today, God’s salvation, which was prepared, completed, and consummated by Christ’s going forth, has come to us through the preaching of the gospel. The way to receive and apply this salvation is by faith, as mentioned in this verse.
Hab 2:4a the Rom. 1:17; Gal. 3:11; Heb. 10:38
Hab 2:42 live
Here, to live means to have life and live. See note 173 in Rom. 1.
Hab 2:51 Sheol
See note 231 in Matt. 11.
Hab 2:81 plunder
This plundering of Babylon by the nations, as God’s recompense on Babylon, took place a little more than eighty-five years after Habakkuk’s prophecy (see Dan. 5).
Hab 2:11a stone cf. Luke 19:40
Hab 2:12a Woe Jer. 22:13; Ezek. 24:9; Micah 3:10
Hab 2:13a fire Jer. 51:58
Hab 2:141 filled
While the peoples were toiling for vanity (v. 13), something particular, something mysterious was happening on earth: the earth would be filled with the knowledge of the glory of Jehovah as water covers the sea.
Hab 2:151 his
Lit., your.
Hab 2:16a cup Psa. 75:8; Jer. 25:26-29; 51:57
Hab 2:18a idol Isa. 44:9-10; 46:6-7; Acts 17:29; 1 Cor. 12:2
Hab 2:20b silent Zeph. 1:7; Zech. 2:13; Rev. 8:1; cf. Psa. 46:10; Zech. 1:11
Hab 3:11 shigionoth
The meaning of the term is obscure, but the term apparently denotes a musical form or tempo (cf. Psa. 7, title).
Hab 3:21a revive Psa. 80:18; 85:6
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Hab 3:21 [1] In his prayer for revival, Habakkuk represents all God’s elect throughout the generations. Among God’s elect there has always been an aspiration to be revived. Moreover, since the fall of man there has been in all creation an aspiration for revival (Rom. 8:19-23). Adam’s fall brought corruption, slavery, and death into the whole creation (Rom. 5:12); everything is decaying and is under the slavery of corruption. All the things that are under this slavery aspire to be revived.
Hab 3:21 [2] The universal need for revival, for restoration, can be met only by Christ and in Christ. Only Christ, who was resurrected on the third day (1 Cor. 15:4), is the renewing power. For the whole universe and for all mankind, Christ is the reality of the third day (John 11:25). The reality of the third day is the person of the resurrected Christ with the reality of revival. Christ, therefore, is the element of the revival for which all creation aspires. The corruption and desolation can be swallowed up only by Christ’s resurrection. The way to experience revival is to contact Christ by repenting and confessing our sins, failures, and darkness, thereby entering into Him as the resurrection. Cf. Hosea 6:2 and note.
Hab 3:3a Holy Deut. 33:2; Judg. 5:4; Psa. 68:7
Hab 3:31 Selah
See note 21 in Psa. 3.
Hab 3:61 measures
Or (as the Septuagint translates), shakes.
Hab 3:71 Cushan
I.e., Ethiopia.
Hab 3:8a ride Hab. 3:15; Deut. 33:26-27; Psa. 68:4; Rev. 6:2
Hab 3:10a writhe Exo. 19:16, 18; Judg. 5:4-5; Psa. 68:8; 77:18
Hab 3:11a still Josh. 10:12-13
Hab 3:12a thresh Jer. 51:33; Amos 1:3; Micah 4:13
Hab 3:13a salvation Psa. 68:19-22
Hab 3:161 he
Referring to the Chaldeans.
Hab 3:18a exult Isa. 41:16; 61:10; Luke 1:47
Hab 3:19b hinds’ 2 Sam. 22:34; Psa. 18:33; cf. Gen. 49:21
Hab 3:19c high Deut. 32:13; 33:29
Hab 3:191 my
Perhaps indicating that Habakkuk was also qualified to participate in the musical temple worship. He might have been a priest or a Levite.