So yesterday I lead a bible study with a group a young adult women and I thought I would share my bible study here as well.
I am quite an amateur bible study writer, so please read this as sort of my thought processes in writing this study. Clearly, its not perfect and I did get a lot of help from Heather, in particular the application part of the study. Also, some context is that we have been looking at the book og Jonah before this book, which is the reason why the book in brought up in the application section.
The bolded questions are the ones I asked in the study, the rest is what I said or the answers I was looking for.
Habbakuk 1- Bible Study
Aim: To illustrate human reaction to God's plans (Habbakuk's and ours) and how at times we think things are unfair but we fail to see the bigger picture and trust in God's sovereign plan.
Has there ever been times that you felt weren't fair? Are there any examples you can think of?
Why did you feel like it wasn't fair?- Things perhaps didn't go your way?
- Felt like you deserved better?
Well, today we are going to read about how Habbakuk feels like he is a similar situation and how God begins to respond.
But first before we start diving into the passage, we need to work out its context. So we are going to do a little bit of detective work and try and work out its context by reading just the passage alone.
Read passage Habbakuk 1:1-11What sort of clues do we get from the passage about when this book takes place?V3-4: “Destruction and violence are before me; there is strife and conflict abounds. Therefore the law is paralysed and justice never prevails.”
V6: “I am raising up the Babylonians …. who will sweep across the whole earth.”
V6 says how God is raising up the Babylonians, meaning it has not happened yet, this would lead us to predict that this book takes place before Judah is taken into exile by Babylon.
V2-4 Habbakuk describes violence and destruction and injustice of the people, which would lead us to believe that this is during the time of one of the latter Kings who lead the nation astray.
*evidence suggests this book might have taken place just before the exile of Judah by Babylon
Now that we know that this is just before Judah is taken into exile by Babylon, we can understand the passage a bit better.
Read again Habbakuk 1:1-4
What is Habbakuk's first complaint?- There is so much violence and injustice all around him.
- Why does God tolerate injustice?
- Why does God not listen to his cries?
From whom is all this violence and injustice coming from? What sort of clues indicate this?
(Is it from Babylon?) (Also read Habbakuk 1:5-11)- We have established that this book is pre-exile, unlikely that the violence and destruction is referring to the Babylonians.
- In verse 5-11, the Babylonians are spoken about as a separate group of people which would mean that the group that was spoken about previously was not the Babylonians.
V6 “I am raising up the Babylonians, that ruthless and impetuous people”
Habbakuk is referring to the Jews, thus he is complaining about the injustice of the Jews.
Read Habbakuk 1:5-11
How does God respond to Habbakuk?
- God will raise up the Babylonians as judgement upon Judah
How does God describe the Babylonians? (What sort of impression do you have of the Babylonians after this description?)- ruthless, imperteous people (v6)
- feared and dreaded people (v7)
- they are law to themselves and promote their own honour (v7)
- they all come bent on violence (v9)
- they fly like vulture swooping to devour (8)
- they deride kings and scoff at rulers (v10)
- guilty men, whose own strength is their god (v11)
How do you think Habbakuk will react to this? Or how do you think you would react to this if you were Habbakuk? (especially after how God describes the Babylonians)
Read Habbakuk 1:12-17
How does Habbakuk actually react to God's response?v 13: “Your eyes are too pure to look on evil, you cannot tolerate wrong. Why then do you tolerate the treacherous? Why are you silent while the wicked swallow up those more righteous than we themselves?”
- He feels injustice as he feels that the Babylonians were more sinful than the Jews, yet God will send the Babylonians to judge the Jews.
This is probably what he would say in this modern day: "What? No! Not the Babylonians, they are way worse than we are. That's unfair. God, I thought you were just."
Remembering from the book of Jonah, how does Habbakuk's reaction compare with Jonah's?- God acts unexpectedly, Jonah and Habbakuk both had lingering presumptions on how God should act.
- They both want God to act the way they want.
-For example, Jonah did not want the Ninevites to be saved (Jonah 4:2), which led to him running away from God (Jonah 1:3) and later on complaining to God that God saved the Ninevites (Jonah 4:2).
- Habbakuk though wants his people to be judged because of their violence, however does not want judgement to come through the Babylonians.
Is there times you reacted to situations like Habbakuk or Jonah?Let’s look at other times where God’s solution is much different to what was expected.
Read Mark 8:27-33- Peter had a presumption about how the Christ should act and how he should be.
- However, if Peter had gotten his way Jesus’ would not have died on the cross for our sins.
- God had a much grander plan than Peter had imagined.
Read James 4:13-17
What does James have to say about such an attitude?“13 Now listen, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.” 14 Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. 15 Instead, you ought to say, “If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that.” 16 As it is, you boast in your arrogant schemes. All such boasting is evil. 17 If anyone, then, knows the good they ought to do and doesn’t do it, it is sin for them.”
- We do not know what will happen tomorrow.
- Our lives are pretty insignificant in the grand scheme of things.
- Boasting about our future (in this life) is arrogance and evil.
- Instead, we should do things that are in God's will.
Read Habbakuk 2:1
Habbakuk is a bit confused about God's choice of judgement. Who does Habbakuk go to for answers? How is this reaction different from Jonah?1 “I will stand at my watch
and station myself on the ramparts;
I will look to see what he will say to me,
and what answer I am to give to this complaint”
- Even though, Habbakuk is quite confused about God's plan, he doesn't sit there and be angry at God like Jonah does (Jonah 4:4, 4:9-10), Habbakuk still looks to God to give him an answer.
Let’s finish by reading the Lord’s Prayer: Matthew 6:9-13
What does it tell us about how we should live and what attitude we should have?9 “This, then, is how you should pray:
“‘Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
10 your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
11 Give us today our daily bread.
12 And forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors.
13 And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from the evil one.’
- Praise God
- Pray that God's will be done on earth just like God's will is done in heaven
- Reliance on God to give us what we need
- Constant request for forgiveness of sins
- And help us not to be tempted to go astray.
Let’s finishing by praying the Lord’s prayer.
