Itty Bitty Bible Study – Habakkuk Introduction

My thoughts for the Itty Bitty Bible Study group on Facebook. (join if you’d like to get these in fb!)

Habakkuk 1

Wikipedea on Habakkuk

International Bible Society introduction to Habakkuk

The introduction in summary is that this is a dialogue between the prophet Habakkuk and Yahweh, Jehovah, YHWH, or The God of creation. For simplification, I’m going to just say “God”.

My first thoughts are that this is an amazing book from the Old Testament.
The basic concept of the OT is that God was not approachable.

The Bible does not bear that thought out.

  • Adam and Eve Talked with God.
  • Job talked with God.
  • Abraham talked with God.
  • Moses talked with God.
  • Samuel talked with God.
  • David talked with God.
  • Daniel talked with God.
  • the whole concept of the prophets, both major and minor was that the all spoke with God!

And I’m not including those that HEARD from God!

The interesting thing here is that even though there was a separation because of sin, if the person had performed the proper sacrifices and had a heart towards knowing Father God, they were in communication.

Hebrews 11 talks about many in the Old Testament who, by faith, believed in God the Father, and in His promises.

Psalm 102:25-28 King James Version (KJV)
25 Of old hast thou laid the foundation of the earth: and the heavens are the work of thy hands.
26 They shall perish, but thou shalt endure: yea, all of them shall wax old like a garment; as a vesture shalt thou change them, and they shall be changed:
27 But thou art the same, and thy years shall have no end.
28 The children of thy servants shall continue, and their seed shall be established before thee.

Hebrews 13:8 Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)
8 Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.

To me, the beauty is that the same God that created the beautiful garden for ‘man’ to enjoy,

    • is the same God that continues to love us enough to discipline us,
    • is the same God who will guide us in the way in which we should go,
    • is the same God that planned for our salvation, and gave himself for us.

This God loved us so much from before the time we were born, that HE planned our salvation so that we could enter into HIS presence with thanksgiving!
And, this God is big enough for us to ask Him the hard questions…which is what Habakkuk does.

The other theme that I see is that of why do the wicked prosper?
Why does God allow pain and suffering? We’ll get into that!

If you do a search for timeline of the prophets, there are many options out there!

Nahum is mostly considered Habakkuk’s contemporary.
IBBS Nahum 1:2b and IBBS Nahum 1:2-15 discusses why some bad things happen.

Obadiah is earlier, or later, depending on what timeline, but still gives us insight.
IBBS Obadiah 1:1-9 and IBBS Obadiah 1:10-21 discuss the seriousness of a nation’s sin.

Habakkuk 1 Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)
1 The oracle that Habakkuk the prophet saw.

Habakkuk’s First Prayer
2 How long, Lord, must I call for help
and You do not listen
or cry out to You about violence
and You do not save?
3 Why do You force me to look at injustice?
Why do You tolerate[a] wrongdoing?
Oppression and violence are right in front of me.
Strife is ongoing, and conflict escalates.
4 This is why the law is ineffective
and justice never emerges.
For the wicked restrict the righteous;
therefore, justice comes out perverted.

Total transparency…here’s my How Long Jesus cry!

Habakkuk is wondering about the current affairs of his world.

Here’s another timeline from RevDr Brian. His site comes with the warning…THE WORDS OF A VERY MINOR PROPHET May contain coarse language and some nudity… so, if you go looking around other than this image, be forewarned. I haven’t checke out the site…though I greatly appreciate this image!

The other thing that these timelines show is that our bible is not set up chronologically!

Did anyone else not know that the Prophet books are out of order?
I didn’t realize it until I started doing these more in depth studies rather than just reading the books. As I’ve been looking into the current events of the writers, it’s been very interesting that things are not in order! This is very disturbing to my OCD mind!

For the record – Bible verses Chronology – taken from the Bible table of contents and the two images I’ve provided, Bible Contents is the first one.

  1. Hosea ……Amos……Obadiah
  2. Joel ……….Joel……….Joel
  3. Amos…….Hosea……..Jonah
  4. Obadiah….Jonah……Amos
  5. Jonah…….Micah…….Hosea
  6. Micah……Nahum……..Micah
  7. Nahum….Zephaniah….Nahum
  8. Habak…..Habakkuk….Zephaniah
  9. Zeph…….Obadiah…….Habakkuk
  10. Haggai
  11. Zechariah
  12. Malachi.

The Bible and the image that includes these agree with the last three.
Poor Obadiah…he’s in three different spaces!
For the most part, they agree on the timing of Habakkuk…and what’s going on at that time.

Do you ever wonder if there is any way to really know if the information that you are finding is true? I mean, the historical information, the timeline, the Arabic, Hebrew and Greek words?
I do.
Sometimes, I just feel very dumb, when it comes to bible study, when I listen to some preachers.
Sometimes, I just feel very stupid when it comes to those word studies, and all that interesting current events information that some folks provide.
Here’s how I deal with it.

2 Timothy 3:16-17 Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)
16 All Scripture is inspired by God
and is profitable for teaching,
for rebuking,
for correcting,
for training in righteousness,
17 so that the man of God may be complete,
equipped for every good work.

Here’s my favorite version(remember, for copyright purposes, I have to include the footnotes and such):

2 Timothy 3:16-17 Amplified Bible (AMP)
16 All Scripture is God-breathed [given by divine inspiration]
and is profitable for instruction,
for conviction [of sin],
for correction [of error and restoration to obedience],
for training in righteousness [learning to live in conformity to God’s will,
both publicly and privately—behaving honorably with personal integrity and moral courage];
17 so that the [a]man of God may be complete and proficient, outfitted and thoroughly equipped for every good work.

Footnotes:
2 Timothy 3:17 I.e. all believers whether man, woman, or child.
Amplified Bible (AMP)
Copyright © 2015 by The Lockman Foundation, La Habra, CA 90631. All rights reserved.

Notice this doesn’t say anything about the history, the timelines, the extra-biblical books or word studies?
If God was so concerned about us knowing that, he would have made sure that we had a timeline included in our bibles…and I don’t mean the ones that are after Revelation!
If God was so concerned about us knowing the word meanings, he would have made sure that the Bible was written in other languages…Oh wait! He did and He has!

If God is so capable of making sure that His word to us has been preserved against all odds of people and enemies trying to rid it…I think he’s capable of making sure that everyone can understand enough to be applicable.

Salvation and reconciliation with God is the main point for the Bible.
John 3:16 is pretty understandable in any version.
The 10 commandments are pretty clear in any language.
The sermon on the mount is pretty convicting in any version.
Ephesians 5:22-23 and 1 Corinthians 13 are great examples of life goals in any language.

What is my point?

I want to focus on what’s important.
Well, for housekeeping purposes, I mostly use Holman here because of their copyright permissions for when I publish these for ebook purposes. The others are very clear that only 20% of the writing can be their passage, or you start paying royalties. that could be why so many bible study books have a lot of opinion verses a lot of Bible. It’s the legality.
Why not KJV?
I love KJV, but as others around the world start to read, KJV is not public domain in the UK…the Queen owns it.
And, there are those that have difficulty with KJV, for reading.

I am just saying that there are so many things that we can argue about when it comes to Bible study.
Version.
Timeline.
What the latest speaker has said the bible says.

Here’s my point.
Read the bible.
Don’t take my word for it.
Ask The Holy spirit to guide your reading, and give you what YOU need from YOUR relationship with Jesus Christ.
I believe that God is big enough to speak to each of us, personally.
And I believe that God is big enough to hear us cry out, in pain, in frustration, in fear, in need of the Creator God to speak into our lives.

That is Habakkuk.
That is ME!
This is GOD!
He will speak to us!

Here are a few articles about hearing God’s voice:
The voice of God
Jesus is calling

Are you ready? Let’s dive in!

Hi!
My hope in the midst of despair and my joy in the face of depression is because of my relationship with Jesus Christ. If you do not have one, or are not sure you will join him in heaven, please check out these links.

Thanks for joining me in this journey,
In His hands and under His wings,
~Christi
Ps 63:7 Because you are my help, I sing in the shadow of your wings.

“The Lord does not give me rules, but He makes His standard very clear.
If my relationship to Him is that of love, I will do what He says without hesitation.
If I hesitate, it is because I love someone I have placed in competition with Him, namely, myself.” – from My Utmost for His highest

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