A Study on the book of Habakkuk Chapter 2

HABAKKUK 2

Bible Study Notes Rev. Betsy Perkins

The Prophet Watching and Waiting 

• Recall a time when God gave you an answer in a time of waiting and watching, when you had stilled yourself to listen. 

The Lord Answers Again: Write God’s vision; Trust God’s Word  (2:1-5):   

• Habakkuk saw himself as a watchman on the walls of Jerusalem. What are the responsibilities of a watchman? 
• What does God direct Habakkuk to do? Why? Did Habakkuk do as God directed?
• Read how the author of Hebrews uses Habakkuk’s writing to encourage his readers in Hebrews 10:36-37. How is God’s reminder to Habakkuk in 2:3 similar to Peter’s reminder to Christians in 2 Peter 3:3-9? What are these New Testament believers waiting for? What problem are they experiencing as they wait?
• In 2:4-5 God compares “the enemy” and “the righteous person”. What is the primary characteristic of sinners and those who fight against God?
• What are the consequences of pride that God points out to Habakkuk? How do you see these consequences evident in our world today? Take a moment in silence to look out over your own life for evidence of pride. 
• By contrast, what is the primary characteristic of the righteous person? 
• What is the opposite of pride? How can you cultivate that in your life?
• Whose “faith” or “faithfulness” is God referring to in Habakkuk? Read how New Testament authors use Habakkuk 2:4b in Romans 1:16-17, Galatians 3:7-11 and Hebrews 10:38-39. 

Living by faith is the major theme of the book of Hebrews, for in that book the phrase ‘by faith’ is found over twenty times. To live by faith means to believe God’s World and obey it no matter how we feel, what we see, or what the consequences may be. This is illustrated in Hebrews 11, the famous ‘by faith’ chapter of the Bible. The men and women mentioned in that chapter were ordinary people, but they accomplished extraordinary things because they trusted God and did what He told them to do. It has been said that faith is not believing in spite of evidence; it’s obeying in spite of consequence, resting on God’s faithfulness.  ~ Warren Wiersbe

Declare God’s Judgment  (2:6a):   

• What is a taunt? Habakkuk 2:6-20 contains 5 “taunt songs”, sung by the victims to those who sin against them. Each song contains a “woe”, identifying a problem behavior or attitude along with the resulting consequences or judgment.

1. Woe to the selfish (2:6-8)

• What behavior is God calling out in this taunt song?
• What will the consequences be?
• How was this true for the Babylonians? How is it true today?

2. Woe to the covetous (2:9-11)

• What was the goal of the Babylonians as they built their empire or “house”? What tactics did they use to accomplish this?
• What are the consequences when shoddy materials or methods are used in the construction of a house?
• Was this attitude and behavior also a problem within Israel?
• How will their motives and methods come back to bite them?
• Where do you see evidence of this problem in the world today?

3. Woe to the violent and exploiters (2:12-14)

• How has violence been used in the past to build up a city or nation or people group?  Where do you see it happening today?
• What are the consequences for using harsh and exploitive practices?
• How has the United States suffered as a result of using slave labor to build the nation? What are the ongoing consequences?
• The “glory” of Babylon was eventually lost as it fell to its enemies. Read Revelation 18:9-10, of the coming fate of a future “Babylon”. Whose glory will eventually fill the whole earth? Read Revelation 19:1-3 aloud together, followed by Habakkuk 2:14.

4. Woe to the drunkards (2:15-17)  

• What is the connection between drunkenness and sexual sin? 
• How does shaming others boomerang back on the one doing the shaming? 
• Who are the “neighbors” that are the victims in this woe?

It’s worth noting that God mentions the way the Babylonians abused trees and animals, suggesting that the soldiers wastefully chopped down trees and killed cattle to use both the wood and the meat for their war effort. ~ Warren Wiersbe

• What are the boomerang consequences we see today for human destruction and exploitation of the earth?

5. Woe to the idolatrous (2:18-20)

• What is the foolishness in idolatry that God points to in 2:18? 

Idols are dead substitutes for the living God (Psalm 115:4-8). Whatever people delight in other than God, whatever they are devoted to and sacrifice for, whatever they couldn’t bear to be without, is an idol and therefore under the condemnation of God. Most people in civilized countries don’t worship man-made images of things in nature, but if the above definition is correction, modern society has its idols just as the Babylonians did. ~ Warren Wiersbe

• Name some things in our society that fit Warren Wierbe’s definition of an idol. Spend a few minutes in silence looking out across your life for the things you look to for pleasure, the things you are devoted to or would sacrifice for, the things or people you can’t bear to be without, or the things or people you look to for guidance. Confess to the Lord whatever competes with God for your loyalty and admiration.
• Rather than an idol taking the seat of honor in the place of worship, who does God tell Habakkuk is truly seated there? How should the world respond to this news?

The first assurance focused on God’s grace (2:4 “but the righteous person will live by his faithfulness”) and the second assurance on God’s glory (2:14 “For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord as the waters cover the sea”). This third assurance focuses on God’s government (4:20 “The Lord is in His temple; let all the earth be silent before Him”); God is on the throne and has everything under control. Therefore, we needn’t complain against God or question what He’s doing. Like faithful servants, we simply need to stand and listen for His commands. “Be still, and know that I am God.” (Psalm 46:10) ~ Warren Wiersbe

Resources: NIV Zondervan Study Bible, 2015

J. Gordon McConville, Exploring the Old Testament: A Guide to the Prophets, Volume 4, 2002

Warren W. Wiersbe, BE Amazed: Restoring an Attitude of Wonder and Worship, 2010

Tim Mackie, The Bible Project, How to Read Habakkuk (RightNowMedia)