HABAKKUK, PROPHET OF FAITH
HABAKKUK, PROPHET OF FAITH
August 29, 2016, October 6, 2026, the Year of Our Lord
Pastor Carolyn Sissom
The Book of Habakkuk is the Old Testament book of faith. It was written by Habakkuk, the prophet of faith to the house of Judah about 600 years before the birth of Jesus Christ.
His name means to embrace. This is “a time to embrace”. The message of Habakkuk is vital to God’s people in a time when faith is being tested and mankind is challenging God, His Holy Spirit, and His Word. Like the prophet Habakkuk, it is a time to take hold of God with all our hearts. We must embrace God and one another with God’s love and faith and provision.
Our wisdom and strength are not enough to meet the demands of the day. In Habakkuk we see a man deadly earnest, wrestling with the mighty problem of theodicy---the divine justice---in a topsy-turvy world. (Theodicy – defense of God’s goodness.)
Habakkuk’s prophecy is one of the most influential in the Holy Writ and served as the basis for the Protestant Reformation. Through Luther’s commentary on Galatians 3:11, John Wesley was converted “The just shall live by faith” which is a quote from Habakkuk 2:4.
Hab. 2:4: Behold, his soul which is lifted up is not upright in him; but the just shall live by faith.
Rom 1:17: For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith as it is written, the just shall live by faith.
Gal. 3: 11: But that no man is justified by the law in the sight of God, it is evident; for, the just shall live by faith.
Heb. 10:38: Now the just shall live by faith; but if any man draws back, My soul shall have no pleasure in him.
The reformer Martin Luther said, “Habakkuk signifies an embrace, or one who embraces another. He embraces his people and takes them to his arms; he comforts them and holds them up, as one who embraces a weeping child, to quiet it with the assurance that, if God wills, it shall soon be better.”
The secret of faith is the love of God. It is his release of love toward us that through his love we embrace God, and release faith until we are convinced, nothing is impossible with God.
There is a vacuum in every soul. Each of us was created with an innate desire to love and to be loved. When we fail to worship God, we will ardently run after other things to fill this void. Only God’s love can fill the void.
Psa. 107:9: He satisfies the longing soul and fills the hungry soul with goodness.
The Book of Habakkuk reveals the prophet’s struggle to “embrace” the ways of God. Habakkuk first asks, “how long” and “why” God will allow violence to go unchecked in His nation and among His people.? The answer is given that God is raising up the Babylonians to deal with this problem. This brings even greater perplexity for the prophet cannot understand the righteousness of punishing the sinful nation of Judah by means of a more sinful nation.
After praying and receiving fresh vision, Habakkuk finally “embraces” the justice of God’s ways by unreservedly “embracing” God Himself. From this revelation flows his prophetic psalm of faith and confidence in God.
Hab. 3:17-19: Although the fig tree shall not blossom, neither shall fruit be in the vines; the labor of the olive shall fail, and the fields shall yield no meat; the flock shall be cut off from the fold, and there shall be no herd in the stalls. Yet I will rejoice in the LORD. I will joy in the god of my salvation. The LORD GOD is my strength and He will make my feet like hinds’ feet, and He will make me to walk upon my high places.
We as a church body are in a faith journey for our brothers and sisters who are fighting for life from illness and infirmities. There should be no negative confessions. We want people praying for us when we are in a battle who believe that God is the God of the impossible regardless of the circumstances of the battle.
These verses describes the very life blood of the nation. The “fig tree,” is a symbol of security and hope and represents the nation of Judah as a whole. The word for “fruit” in Habakkuk 3:17 means “produce; crop or wealth”. This portrays the natural and spiritual wealth. The “olive” tree is a symbol of vigor, strength, and prosperity. Oil, of course, is a symbol of the Holy Spirit.
But the prophet’s “burden” had taken him to the watch tower to receive the “vision” of the Lord. Habakkuk is transformed by God’s own faith. His “prayer” breaks forth in song.
“Yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation.”
Joy is eternal. Joy is not based upon anything circumstantial. Joy is pure, uninhibited emotion pouring from the heart of God Himself. (Ro. 5:5). Happiness is a choice. Joy is eternal for the Kingdom of God is righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost.
Hab. 3:19: The Lord God is my strength, and He will make my feet like hinds’ feet, and He will make me to walk upon mine high places.
This way of life is in the heavenlies above the roaring of the lion and the den of the leopard, far above all principalities and powers. It is Job’s undiscovered path and Isaiah’s highway to Zion. It is the place of transcendent prayer raising men above their present circumstances. Both testaments describe this upward call and walk with the Lord.
Habakkuk’s sob became a song.
Within this book, for those who already know Jesus Christ as your personal Savior, you will be strengthened. Those who are yet to give Him your heart will discover new hope and life. It is good news. The answer you desperately seek for your family, business, finances, future, healing, local church, ministry, and emotional well-being is written in the book.
If we can see what Habakkuk saw almost three millennia ago, we will learn the secret of life. We, the Church, will have rest in the day of trouble.
Phil 3:12: Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me.
Jer. 29:13: You shall seek me, and find Me, when you shall search for Me with all your heart.
In Habakkuk’s day of trouble, the Chaldeans (Babylonians) were sweeping westward but had not yet reached the capital city of Jerusalem.
Hab. 1:6: I am raising up the Babylonians, that ruthless and impetuous people, who sweep across the whole earth to seize dwelling places not their own.
Their ruthless savagery of the Chaldean military is pictured by the prophet as a fisherman with rod and net. The Babylonians sat beside a pond which had been stocked abundantly with human prey. Pulling up fish after fish and eating to their hearts content. Then dumped the surplus on the bank to die.
The prophet’s complaint centers in the age-old problem of theodicy, whereby the sovereignty and justice of God’s claims upon history are challenged by the overriding presence of the world’s evil.
As Christians, we will at some time be faced with this question. “Why the righteous suffer and the wicked seem to prevail?” Let us settle it from the pulpit so that you will have the answer.
During the dangerous and turbulent times of King Jehoiakim, God raised up the literary prophet Habakkuk. He was commissioned by the Lord to prophesy during those fateful days with his contemporary, Jeremiah.
Habakkuk took up his pen to write during the last two or three decades of Judah’s history. It may have been to Habakkuk that God first revealed how near the end really was. Habakkuk knew the reign of King Jehoiakim of Judah was full of injustice and bloodshed.
Such were the times of Habakkuk. Political unrest was the order of the day. The economy, immorality and violence went unchecked from within and without. The leaders of the land were not leaders at all, only slaves/puppets to those who put them into power. The prophet cried out, God do you see all this? The answer lies in the key verse of Habakkuk’s prophecy.
Hab. 2:4: Behold, his soul which is lifted up is not upright in him; but the just shall live by faith.
Habakkuk is speaking of King Jehoiakim. This is faith of expectancy. The fullness of the “vision” was yet to come. Over six centuries would come and go before the seer’s words would begin to be fulfilled.
In Habakkuk’s day, the law was “slacked” literally “chilled”. It had been rendered ineffective, paralyzed. It had come to be looked upon as being without force or authority. Because of unrighteous judges, and evil rulers, true law and justice had been set at naught. Most forms of judgment were corrupted; hence life and property were insecure. The wicked were hemming in the righteous. Miscarriage of justice was the order of the day. Ensnaring the God-fearing by fraud, the ungodly perverted all that was right and honest. Because Jehovah did not punish their sins immediately, men thought they could continue to sin with impunity. But righteous judgment was at the door.
Ecc. 8:11: Because sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil.
Habakkuk’s message is unique. Unlike the other prophets, he does not address either his own countrymen or a foreign people. His speech is to God alone. He is concerned about solving a problem which vexed his own sensitivity: Jehovah’s government of the nations. Chapter 1 and 2 is a conversation between the man of God and God Himself. Chapter 3 is an exquisitely beautiful ode describing a majestic visible coming of God to the earth.
The focus of Habakkuk’s problem and prophecy is Babylon. Of the enemies that afflicted the covenant people long ago, three were outstanding---the Edomites, Assyrians and the Chaldeans, i.e., Babylonians. It was given to three of the Hebrew prophets specially to pronounce the doom of these world powers. Obadiah sealed the fate of Edom. Nahum brought judgment upon Assyria. Habakkuk dug the grave of Babylon.
In all this, the just are to live by faith. God’s ways are right. Our confidence must not be based on God’s favors, but on God Himself. Our rejoicing in the midst of adversity must rest upon a total acceptance of the ways of the Lord.
In this book, Jesus Christ is revealed as the “Holy One” (1:12). The One who justifies the righteous by faith (2:4) and the One who will fill the earth “with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea.” (2:14). Jesus Christ is revealed as the Judge of Babylon (Rev. 17-18) and the Rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.
Heb. 11:6: Without faith it is impossible to please Him; for he that comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him.
Like Job, Habakkuk neither used his questions to shield himself from moral responsibility nor shunned God’s claims upon his life. He thought so much of God that he hungered and thirst to see God’s righteousness vindicated.
What is it today that can cause the church to rise up, to transcend the circumstantial appearance realm? What can lift us up into the place of Faith? There is a faith that transcends all circumstances. It is a faith that in all things God is! Because He is enough in every circumstance of life.
John 14:27: Peace I leave with you, My peace I give unto you; not as the world gives, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.
Rom. 5:1: Therefore, being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.
Hab. 3:3-11: “God came from Teman, and the Holy One from mount Paran. Selah. His glory covered the heavens, and the earth was full of His praise. His brightness was as the light. He had horns coming out of His hand; and there was the hiding of His power. Before Him went the pestilence, and burning coals went forth at His feet. He stood and measured the earth. He beheld and drove asunder the nations; and the everlasting mountains were scattered, the perpetual hills did bow. His ways are everlasting…Was the Lord displeased against the rivers? Was Your anger against the rivers? Was Your wrath against the sea that You did ride upon Your horses and Your chariots of salvation…The mountains saw You, and they trembled. The overflowing of the water passed by the deep uttered its voice, and lifted up its hands on high…You did march through the land in indignation…”
These verses magnify Jesus’ progressive and complete victory over all enemies as the Word of God (3:4-6); the Will of God (3:7-9), and the Water of God (3:10-12) as well as His sovereignty over the conflict of the ages.
David, Judah’s greatest giant killer learned the secret of military strategy. He sat under a simple, single tent (the tabernacle of David and sang to God (2 Sam. 6). Once established in worship, David’s authority (throne) was confirmed by the covenant through Nathan the prophet (2 Sam. 7). While the sweet psalmist ministered to the Lord, Jehovah went out and defeated all his enemies (2 Sam. 8).
The picture is clear. Jesus defeated the devil from cradle to coronation.
Tim Sheets has a post in Give Him Fifteen, Oct. 5, 2026. “THE BATTLE CRY:” “The Holy Spirit is awakening the church to recognize what He is doing and rise to the moment with faith, boldness, and spiritual authority…Holy Spirit speaking: “I will now baptize the Ekklesia and committed remnant with great boldness. I will anoint them with a warrior’s mindset, a warrior’s mentality. I will anoint them with aggressive warrior dispositions. I’m preparing and anointing the King’s Ekklesia to battle for your nation, and for global world revival. I am preparing My ruling and reigning ones to engage systemic evil, with the assistance of angel armies, and prevail as defined by King Jesus…”
Habakkuk’s song of the triumphant procession of the LORD as He goes forth in might and power as the ‘HOLY ONE,” and his triumph over the conflict of ages.
Habakkuk’s song encompasses the whole human family, “God came from Teman, and the Holy One from mount Paran…”
The triumphant procession is continual through time and eternity.
“Before Him went the pestilence, and burning coals went forth at His feet.”
These verses set forth a full display of the glorious might of the King of Glory, Jesus Christ. The word for “pestilence” in Habakkuk 3:5 carries the idea of destruction. Its root meant “to subdue.” God is rising within His people as he marches across this land. Empowered with the name of Jesus, the Church is a sleeping giant who has begun to rouse. All unrighteousness is going to come under the subjugation of God’s Kingdom.
Hab. 3:8: Was the Lord displeased against the rivers? Was Your anger against the rivers? Was your wrath against the sea that you did ride upon Your horses and Your chariots of salvation?
Habakkuk sings about the “chariots of salvation.” The psalmist describes the throne-chariot of the Lord going forth in great power. The metaphor of the “chariot” has one primary thought, “victory” (2 Ki. 6:17). Jesus is not going to win---He won! What can we do? Nothing. Doesn’t He need our Help? No. We must rest in the day of trouble. How? By letting the Lord teach us how to sing when there is no visible evidence of Him anywhere. We can then sing with Habakkuk as a testimony to real faith.
Whether there is disease in the body, trouble in your marriage, your ministry, your church, your business…everything has to be healed from the inside out. Each of us must get on the watchtower until we see the victory of the Lord for ourselves. Get in His chariot, and He will carry you through.
The Lord comes on the chariot of the clouds and the wind. He is the Driver: mighty, resolved in purpose.
Hab. 3:10: “The mountains saw You, and they trembled; the overflowing of the water passed by; the deep utters his voice and lifted up his hands on high.”
The “mountains” are the kingdoms that men have built, “tremble,” or “writhe in pain.”
Hab. 3:12: You did march through the land in indignation. You did thresh the heathen in anger.
The prophet sums up this section by telling us again what the Lord did when he came from Teman. As a man, Jesus defeated the devil. He threshed the “heathen in anger,” overcoming death, hell, and the grave. Then he ascended passing through the heavens on the way to His coronation. Jesus strode through the earth, defeating sin, sickness, poverty, and death. Then he mounted upward, passing through the heavens to ascend the throne.
The word for “anger” in Habakkuk 3:12 is the same as verse 8, speaking of the Lord’s “passion.” It describes His avenging wrath. Majestically, the Lord marches on a corrective expedition, to expose and discipline those opposing His Church.
The word for “indignation” in verse 12 has the thought of the Lord’s anger “boiling up.” The pot is boiling and the fire is hot. Jehovah is threshing and trampling. Church arise and ride with Jesus to the finish line.
Hab. 3:13: “…You wounded the head of the house of the wicked by stepping on the foundation of the neck.”
Hab. 3:15: “You walked through the sea with your horses through the heap of great waters.”
The procession has ended. The King now sits enthroned triumphant over all enemies.
There is no limitation to His power, and His mercy is past finding out. Habakkuk climbed the mountain of faith and trust.
The Lord shall ride through the heap of great waters, through the wildest and stormiest waves of persecution and bloodshed threatening to over-whelm and swallow His people. The Church triumphant is alive and well.
Tim Sheets: “Move forward into promised inheritance. It is time for giants and strongholds to fall. It is time for entrenched enemies to be removed. Be strong and courageous, for the LORD your God is with you. It is time! It is time! It is time!... We will prevail.” Holy Spirit has been preparing a different kind of Ekklesia for this hour, building faith, courage, discernment endurance, and spiritual authority…. I believe we are seeing a people rise who will stand with courage, engage with wisdom, and advance into the greater glory He has promised under the leadership of King Jesus. “
Carolyn Sissom, Pastor
Eastgate Ministries Church, 10115 West Hidden Lakes Lane, Richmond, TX www.eastgateministries.com
Scripture from K.J.V. and N.K.J.V. - I entered into the labors of Rest in the Day of Trouble by Kelly Varner, Destiny Image, Shippensburg, Pa.; Quote from Tim Sheets – Give Him Fifteen. Comments and conclusions are my own and not meant to reflect the views of those from whom I gleaned.