This will be our final lesson.  I’ve learned a lot from this study of Habakkuk.  I’ve learned that I need to settle my heart down when I look around at the evil in this world.  I’ve learned that God sometimes uses leaders and countries far more evil to punish those who are His.  I’ve learned that He is sovereign and in ultimate control and that He has a plan regardless of how chaotic things may seem.   Last week, we learned that even though God might have used the Chaldeans as an instrument of His vengeance against the nation of Judah, He will still punish those who did harm to His people.  Habakkuk has come full circle from where he was at the beginning of the book.  Let’s look at where he was and where he is at the beginning of Chapter 3.

Last week, we ended our study at Hab. 2:8. We’re going to rehash some of that this week. Go ahead and read Hab. 2:6-20. There are 5 woes in these verses. According to the Dictionary of Bible Themes, the word woe means, “grief, anguish, affliction, wretchedness, calamity, or trouble.” This dictionary categorizes woe as “judgement on others, self, or sadness over others.” (Manser, M., ed., Zondervan, 1999). In Scripture, woe is very often connected to sin. This word is rarely used in today’s vernacular.

It is entirely God’s decision as to whom He chooses to show mercy. There may be some that we do not feel deserve mercy and yet, God shows them mercy. There may be others that we believe should be shown mercy and God chooses not to show them mercy. When I begin to wonder about such things, I ask God to give me faith and trust that He knows the end from the beginning and that He knows exactly what He’s doing whether I agree or not.

Before we dive into this lesson, let’s do a little bit of review regarding what we learned in the last lesson.
1.Habakkuk prophesied to the Southern Kingdom of Judah.
2.He was likely alive during some of Josiah’s reign, but his writing took place after Josiah died.
3.It was a heavy burden for him to carry the knowledge of the sins that his people had committed against God and he wondered why God was not doing anything about it.

If I was a betting woman, I’d bet that most of you who are doing this study have never done a study of Habakkuk, nor have you ever heard a sermon from this book. After studying this amazing little book, you’re going to ask why you haven’t heard much of it or from it. When I was a little girl going to church and learning the books of the Bible, I used to call the book of Habakkuk the book of Tobacco! In my mind the sound of the syllables were very similar and this was how I remembered how to pronounce Habakkuk.

Winter 2022