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Learning Faith from Habakkuk the Doomer

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As Megan Taylor walks through the argument of the book of Habakkuk, she shows the development of faith in Habakkuk the “doomer.” Here is a taste:

Habakkuk’s dilemma transcends his historical context as we find ourselves struggling against the same frustrations with the state of the world. Like Habakkuk, we too often look through a peephole when we should look into the window of God’s sovereign plan through history. Faith is not believing in a plan we deem best for ourselves, nor is it placing our hope in what we think God should do. Instead, it is the profound conviction that God, as the Master Architect of His grand design, directs all events towards the ultimate good of those who place their trust in Him.

Check it out!

Your Children can Benefit from Minor Prophets

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To this day, one of my favorite children’s Bibles is Mark’s Marvellous Book by Alan Mann. Mann does something truly remarkable in that he teaches children a book of the Bible instead of a self-curated selection of abstract narratives (as though they were Aesop’s fables or even snapshots from history). Mann’s book follows the contours of Mark’s gospel, such that his readers come away not only with a broad theological vision of Jesus, but with Mark’s particular message about Jesus.

Isn’t that something? We’ve got access to so many wonderful children’s Bibles that teach biblical history and theology. But what if there were also children’s Bibles that primarily taught the Bible (the books or literature of the Bible, along with each book’s primary message)? What if children’s Bibles could be a training ground or launchpad for children to grow in the knowledge of God—as he has revealed himself in Scripture—thereby motivating them to grow into reading those very Scriptures with eyes of faith and understanding?

Please let me know if you have seen other children’s Bibles that do this. Because I had never seen it done before or since Mr. Mann’s marvellous book. That is, until Christian Focus sent me review copies of John Brown and Brian Wright’s God’s Daring Dozen, Box 1 and Box 2.

Magnetic Beauty

I’ll return in just a moment to how well these books teach God’s word. But because first impressions are, well, first, let me say that these books are remarkably beautiful and attractive to read.

Box 1 contains:

  • Haggai’s Feast
  • Obadiah and the Edomites
  • Habakkuk’s Song
  • Zephaniah’s Hero

Box 2 has:

  • Joel & the Locusts
  • Jonah’s Journeys
  • Nahum & the Ninevites
  • Malachi’s Final Message

A planned third box will complete this Jewish “Book of the Twelve” with volumes on Hosea, Amos, Micah, and Zechariah.

The two boxes are bright, colorful, and quite sturdy. The dimensions of the books—akin to a full-sized Dr. Seuss book—were quite a bit larger than I was expecting. Pulling the boxed sets from the shipping package provoked squeals of delight and hasty claims of ownership from the mouths of numerous Krol children, to the point where I began wondering if I would get the books back in time to prepare for this review.

The artwork within the books follows suit: Clean design, bright colors, attractive fonts. I simply cannot praise the look and feel of these volumes highly enough. It is most important to have strong content. But if that content is unattractive, it’s not nearly as motivating to read.

Inspiring Precision

Brown and Wright succeed in their primary goal of teaching not only the story but especially the message of each prophet. Have you ever read parts of the Bible and joked with someone that “you’ll never see that in a children’s Bible”? Well, now you can’t. Because it’s all in here. And it works. For kids.

For example, in Nahum & the Ninevites, the flood of destruction sweeps the city away, followed by the flames of destruction. “Maidens moan and beat their breasts. Hearts are melting, knees are knocking, bodies are shaking, and faces are pale… Dead bodies everywhere… Nineveh enticed and enslaved many nations like a seductive sorceress. Therefore I will humiliate her publicly.”

At the book’s climax comes an image of a prophet passing out the scroll he has written, while the ruins of a city lie smoldering in the background. “Those who hurt other people and worship other gods and refuse to repent will most certainly face God’s terrible judgment, for He does not leave the guilty unpunished.”

Now before you freak out, you ought to know two things:

  1. This is precisely what the book of Nahum says (Nah 1:3, 8; 2:7, 10; 3:3-5). If you’re not comfortable with children reading it, then why have you given them Bibles?
  2. Every volume in this series moves the prophet’s message forward to the good news about Jesus Christ. So even Nahum & the Ninevites ends with assurance that God will defeat all our enemies, Jesus will rescue all who call on his name, and those who bring such good news have beautiful feet (Nah 1:15; Rom 10:15).

Each volume in God’s Daring Dozen begins and ends the way the book of the prophet begins and ends. Along the way, Brown and Wright follow the prophet’s own structure in order to highlight the message. The prophet’s own words are quoted (and not only paraphrased or summarized), and New Testament quotations of the prophet are brought in at appropriate times.

On account of these many great strengths, I found myself inspired, after reading each volume, to go back and read the biblical book itself. God’s Daring Dozen will grant children confidence that they can read these books in the Bible, too.

Present Weakness

Nothing on earth is perfect, so let me be honest about the flaws.

They could probably be even longer than they are. Each volume can be read aloud in about 10 minutes.

And… Box 3 hasn’t been published yet, but I wish it was.

That’s all I can think of.

Conclusion

With God’s Daring Dozen, we have eight (soon to be twelve) books of the Bible presented to children in a way they can understand. In a way that clearly communicates the original author’s main point. In a way that shows the relevance of God’s word to people today. In a way that highlights the grace and lordship of Jesus Christ in all Scripture. In a way that will inspire readers to eventually set these books aside and dig directly into God’s word.

I highly commend these books to you. You can find them at Christian Focus (Box 1, Box 2), Westminster Books (Box 1, Box 2), or Amazon (Box 1, Box 2).

Dear publishers: Please create more children’s Bibles like this!

Disclaimer: Though God sees everything, we humans cannot. Therefore I must disclose the fact that Amazon links will provide a small commission to this blog at no cost to yourself. Thank you for assisting our service to the only King and Lord of heaven’s armies.

Habakkuk: The One Thing that Must Change

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Though we can’t pinpoint the precise year or month of Habakkuk’s writing, we know he delivered his brief book of prophecy near the end of the southern kingdom of Judah, probably before (or some of it very shortly after) Nebuchadnezzar’s first assault in 605 BC. Habakkuk’s book is unique among the prophets in that it doesn’t present a series of speeches for the general public. Instead, it records Habakkuk’s own wrestling in dialogue with the God of Israel.

Photo by Francesco Tommasini on Unsplash

Literary Markers

The book has two explicit headings, marking two main sections:

  1. The oracle that Habakkuk the prophet saw (Hab 1:1)
  2. A prayer of Habakkuk the prophet, according to Shigionoth (Hab 3:1)

In the first main section, we can follow the subsections by observing the pronouns and direction of the dialogue:

  • Habakkuk’s first question – Hab 1:2-4
    • God’s answer – Hab 1:5-11
  • Habakkuk’s second question – Hab 1:12-2:1
    • God’s answer – Hab 2:2-20

In the second main section, we can distinguish stanzas based on the shifts between first person (I, me) and second/third person (you, God) pronouns:

  • Habakkuk’s faith-filled request – Hab 3:2
    • God’s mighty character – Hab 3:3-15
  • Habakkuk’s fear-enduring faith – Hab 3:16-19

Part 1 Walkthrough

Habakkuk’s first question (Hab 1:2-4) could be paraphrased as either “When will they change?”—referring to the people of God behaving wickedly—or “When will you change, God?”—so as to not allow your people to continue in evil. In either case, Habakkuk sees destruction and violence, where he expects to see God’s law and justice. The result is an unacceptable perversion.

Yahweh’s answer (Hab 1:5-11) is so utterly unbelievable, that he expects Habakkuk to be astounded by it (Hab 1:5). He will, in fact deal with his people’s violence. And he will do it by bringing an even more violent and godless nation against them. In other words, the answer is neither that God’s people will change nor that God himself will change. The answer is that Habakkuk’s situation will change, and much for the worse.

This provokes Habakkuk’s second question (Hab 1:12-2:1), which is more of a protest. Habakkuk appeals to God’s eternity (“Are you not from everlasting?”), holiness (“my Holy One”), and covenant promises (“We shall not die”)—all in his opening verse (Hab 1:12). He trusts that God is in control by the word of his power (“you have ordained them…established them”). He appeals also to God’s righteous purity (Hab 1:13) and jealousy to be worshiped (Hab 1:16). So Habakkuk believes that God would not be true to his nature if he simply lets the Chaldeans have their way. Surely this cannot be a permanent state of affairs (Hab 1:17). Habakkuk stands in confidence to see how God will receive his protest (Hab 2:1).

Yahweh’s second answer covers quite a lot of ground. He assures Habakkuk that things will certainly change—but not until well into the future (Hab 2:2-3). He calls the righteous—in this case, Habakkuk—to trust his promise, even when everything looks and feels awful (Hab 2:4-5). Then he speaks of a time when all evildoers, everywhere, will be upended. He does this by pronouncing five curses on the wicked (Hab 2:6-8, 9-11, 12-14, 15-17, 18-20) and highlighting two stark conclusions:

  1. God’s judgment and knowledge of him will fall not only on the people of Judah but on all people everywhere – Hab 2:14
  2. All will see his holiness made evident through how he deals with the problem of sin – Hab 2:20

The larger point of God’s responses to Habakkuk is that neither God himself nor the people around Habakkuk are the ones who must change. The one thing that must change is Habakkuk himself. The book’s chief question is: Will Habakkuk respond to God’s word with a heart of trust, even if it means things will get terrifyingly disastrous in the process?

Part 2 Walkthrough

Habakkuk 3 provides the answer to the book’s main question: Yes! Yes, he will. And in so doing, he shows all who come after him what it looks like to have faith in God’s righteous and holy promises.

In the first stanza (Hab 3:2), Habakkuk confesses that there is something even more fearful than an attacking Babylonian horde; it is the work of God to rectify all that is wrong. Habakkuk’s hope is no longer that wrath will not befall the people of the land, but that in the midst of such wrath Yahweh will not forget to show mercy. Habakkuk clings to God’s promise to make everything right once again, though it may yet be long in the future.

The second stanza (Hab 3:3-15) could easily be further subdivided into a third-person stanza (Hab 3:3-7 – he/his) and a second-person stanza (Hab 3:8-15 – you/your). But for the sake of this book overview, they stand together as a lengthy reflection on the splendor and power of Yahweh to do what he says he will do. He is not only able, but also willing, to do whatever he must to both save his people and crush his enemies (Hab 3:13).

In the third stanza (Hab 3:16-19), Habakkuk confesses how terrifying it is to live between promise and reality, to live by faith (Hab 3:16). Yet he chooses to stand fast in faith, finding joy in God’s salvation and strength in God alone. No matter how much everything around him falls to pieces (Hab 3:17-19).

Conclusion

When the Apostle Paul was looking for a banner to wave, a motto to rally under, for introducing the glorious good news of Christ’s righteousness available through faith, he could find nothing more suitable than Habakkuk 2:4: “The righteous shall live by faith” (Rom 1:17). That’s not because he needed a tweetable phrase from a random Old Testament text. It’s because that phrase captures the entire thrust of Habakkuk’s book of prophecy.

This is what it means to live by faith: We cannot change our circumstances. We cannot change the people around us. And we cannot coerce change from God. But, especially when our knees knock and our lips quiver, the one thing that must change is us. We can bank everything on the God who is both willing and able to do all he has said he will do. So in faith we look back on the death and resurrection of his Son (Rom 1:16-17). And in faith we also look forward, through whatever suffering and trial we now face, to see faith’s founder and perfecter (Heb 10:36-39, 12:1-3).

Interpretive Outline

  1. The process of faith – Hab 1-2
    1. Please change everyone else – Hab 1:1-4
    2. It’s going to get worse before it gets better – Hab 1:5-11
    3. Please change your mind! – Hab 1:12-2:1
    4. Someday I’ll make everything right again, but you need to trust me – Hab 2:2-20
  2. The prayer of faith – Hab 3
    1. Your work is terrifying – Hab 3:1-2
    2. Your strength is sure – Hab 3:3-15
    3. Your people stand ready – Hab 3:16-19

This post is part of a series of interpretive overviews of the books of the Bible.