Habakkuk 3

The Explanation

Habakkuk 3 is actually a song. A prayer that Habakkuk sets to music. In the chapters before, he had a hard conversation with God. He asked: why do you allow so much injustice? And God's answer was not easy. He said that a foreign army, the Chaldeans, would come and destroy the land. Habakkuk was shocked. And yet, after that conversation, he starts to sing.

His song begins like this: "Yahweh, I have heard of your fame. I stand in awe of your deeds, Yahweh. Renew your work in the middle of the years." Habakkuk knows what God did long ago. He thinks back to the exodus from Egypt, to the way through the wilderness, to the moment God gave His people the promised land. And he asks: God, do it again. Show who you are.

Then something powerful happens in the song. Habakkuk describes God as if He is on the way. "God came from Teman." Mountains tremble. The sun and moon stand still. Rivers split. It sounds almost like a thunderstorm, but bigger. Habakkuk is not describing the weather. He is painting in words how mighty God is when He comes to save His people and to judge evil.

At the end of the song, Habakkuk becomes quiet. He writes: "I heard, and my body trembled. My lips quivered at the voice." He is honestly scared. He knows hard times are coming. The enemy will come. There will be no fruit on the fig tree, no grapes on the vine, no olives, no grain in the field, no sheep in the stall, no cattle in the barn.

And then comes the sentence that many people have remembered for centuries: "Yet I will rejoice in Yahweh. I will be joyful in the God of my salvation!" Habakkuk sings, even though everything falls apart.

What Does This Mean?

Habakkuk does not sing because everything is fine. He sings because God is God. That is a big difference. He does not pretend the pain is not there. His body trembles, he says so honestly. But underneath that fear lies something stronger: he trusts that God is who He says He is.

The last verse says: "Yahweh, the Lord, is my strength. He makes my feet like deer's feet, and enables me to go in high places." A deer can walk sure-footed along steep cliffs where you and I would slip. That is what God does with Habakkuk. Not: God takes the mountain away. But: God gives him feet that can walk on the mountain.

The Common Thread

Habakkuk looks back at what God did in the past, and from that he draws courage for the future. That is exactly the pattern that runs through the whole Bible. God's people remember, and they hope.

Centuries after Habakkuk, Jesus came. He too walked through darkness. On the cross it looked as if everything was lost. No fruit, no harvest, only death. But three days later He rose. Now we can say even more strongly than Habakkuk: God saves. Paul quotes Habakkuk in the New Testament when he writes that "the righteous will live by faith." Trusting God, even when you do not see it yet, is the common thread from Habakkuk to Jesus to today.

For You

Maybe you know moments when things do not go well. Something at home, at school, or with a friend. You do not have to pretend to be strong. Habakkuk does not either. He says out loud that he is afraid.

But you can learn something from him. Think back to what God has done. In the Bible, and maybe in your own life. Have you ever experienced help, comfort, an answer? Write it down or say it out loud. That is not childish. That is what a believer does. Then in the difficult moments you have something to hold on to. And you can pray, like Habakkuk: God, do it again.

Talk About It

Habakkuk sings even though he is scared. Do you think singing and being scared can go together? Why or why not?

If you were to write a verse like Habakkuk, "Even though… yet I will trust God," what would you fill in?

Praying Together

Lord God, thank You that we may be honest with You, even when we are afraid. Thank You that You are stronger than everything that shakes. Give us deer's feet, so we can walk on high paths. And help us to remember who You are. Amen.