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God condemns Babylon for the evil it has done.

Habakkuk

Habakkuk is a Bible book that dares to ask hard questions about suffering and unfairness, then explores what it means to keep trusting when answers feel slow.

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Fascinating Fact:

A key statement in the book is that “the righteous will live by faith”, a line later quoted in the New Testament.

In Specialist The Bible, Habakkuk is unusual because it reads like a conversation, the prophet questions why evil seems to win, and why justice appears delayed. The book moves from complaint to confidence, showing faith as steady trust, even when circumstances do not change quickly. It ends with a powerful statement of hope that is not based on comfort, but on commitment.

Key Terms

Faith: Trusting God and holding to what is right, even when you cannot see how everything will turn out.
Lament: A heartfelt cry of sadness or frustration that brings real questions to God instead of hiding them.
Justice: Doing what is fair and right, including protecting people who are being treated wrongly.

Frequently Asked Questions (Click to see answers)

What is the book of Habakkuk about?

The book of Habakkuk is about a prophet questioning why injustice is allowed, and learning to keep trusting God while waiting for what is right to be done.

Why does Habakkuk ask God questions in the Bible?

Habakkuk asks questions because he sees violence and unfairness around him, and the book shows that honest prayer can include doubts, complaints, and a search for understanding.

What does faith mean in Habakkuk?

In Habakkuk, faith means steady trust and loyalty, choosing to live rightly and hold on to hope even when life looks uncertain or painful.

Try These Related Quizzes

All quotations from the Bible are taken from the Authorised King James Version.

1 .

In the first lines of his book Habakkuk asks God how long he must call out before God will do what?

Before God will destroy Judah's enemies

Before God will feed the people

Before God will overthrow the evil king

Before God will hear him

Habakkuk 1:1-2
"The burden which Habakkuk the prophet did see.
O Lord, how long shall I cry,
and thou wilt not hear!
even cry out unto thee of violence,
and thou wilt not save!"

We have very little knowledge about Habakkuk. We do not even know where he came from as his introduction states only his name

2 .

God tells Habakkuk to look for a sign of His work, where?

In foreign nations

In the desert

In the temple

In the sky

God tells the prophet that He will work his wonders through the Heathens, or non-Jews.

Habakkuk 1:5
"Behold ye among the heathen,
and regard, and wonder marvellously:
for I will work a work in your days,
which ye will not believe, though it be told you"

3 .

God tells Habakkuk that punishment is coming to Judah at the hands of which foreign country?

Philistia

Babylon

Assyria

Persia

God says that the mighty and dreadful Chaldeans will destroy the kingdom. The Chaldeans were the Kings of Babylon at the time.

Habakkuk 1:6-9
"For, lo, I raise up the Chaldeans, that bitter and hasty nation,
which shall march through the breadth of the land,
to possess the dwellingplaces that are not theirs.
They are terrible and dreadful:
their judgment and their dignity shall proceed of themselves.
Their horses also are swifter than the leopards,
and are more fierce than the evening wolves:
and their horsemen shall spread themselves,
and their horsemen shall come from far;
they shall fly as the eagle that hasteth to eat.
They shall come all for violence:
their faces shall sup up as the east wind,
and they shall gather the captivity as the sand"

4 .

Habakkuk does not like God's method of punishment. What reason does he give to God for his objection?

The Babylonians are too far away

The punishment is not severe enough

The Babylonians are more wicked than the Judeans

The punishment is too harsh

Habakkuk cannot see why the Judeans should be punished by a wicked nation. He would have preferred to receive punishment from the righteous.

Habakkuk 1:13
"Thou art of purer eyes than to behold evil,
and canst not look on iniquity,
wherefore lookest thou upon them that deal treacherously,
and holdest thy tongue when the wicked devoureth the man that is more righteous than he?"

5 .

After telling the prophet of the future, God also tells him that he should trust that these events will happen. He also says that the just should live by what?

By faith

By hope

By charity

By God

God wants Habakkuk, and us, to put our faith in Him. If God says that something will happen, then we can be certain that it will.

Habakkuk 2:4
"Behold, his soul which is lifted up is not upright in him:
but the just shall live by his faith."

This statement that "the just live by faith" is repeated three times in the New Testament by St. Paul in his letters to the Romans, the Galatians and the Hebrews. You can find the words in these verses:
Romans 1:17
Galatians 3:11
Hebrews 10:38

6 .

Despite Habakkuk's objections God tells him that Babylon is His choice as the punisher of Judah. How does God convince Habakkuk that He is right?

God tells him that the Jews will be a good influence in Babylon

God tells him that Babylon itself will one day be punished

God tells him that Babylon needs the loot from Judah to avoid poverty

God tells him that Babylon is God's new chosen people

God uses all nations, even those who don't obey Him, for His own ends. Even the wicked Babylonians are used for God's purposes, but they too will one day be punished.

Habakkuk 2:8
"Because thou hast spoiled many nations,
all the remnant of the people shall spoil thee;
because of men’s blood, and for the violence of the land,
of the city, and of all that dwell therein"

7 .

God condemns Babylon for the evil it has done. He says that it has sinned against what?

Against the Law

Against its own people

Against God

Against its own soul

God says that the Babylonians have brought shame on themselves.

Habakkuk 2:9-10
"Woe to him that coveteth an evil covetousness to his house,
that he may set his nest on high,
that he may be delivered from the power of evil!
Thou hast consulted shame to thy house by cutting off many people,
and hast sinned against thy soul"

8 .

God ends his answer to Habakkuk's questions with a statement about His supreme power. He says that all the world should be what, before God?

Kneeling

Prone

Singing

Silent

All people on earth should be respectful of God.

Habakkuk 2:20
"But the Lord is in his holy temple:
let all the earth keep silence before him"

9 .

The third chapter in the Book of Habakkuk is a prayer to God. The prophet begins his prayer by admitting that when he heard God's words he was what?

Angry

Disappointed

Scared

Bored

God's warnings frightened Habakkuk, and he pleads to Him for mercy.

Habakkuk 3:2
"O Lord, I have heard thy speech, and was afraid:
O Lord, revive thy work in the midst of the years,
in the midst of the years make known;
in wrath remember mercy"

10 .

Habakkuk's prayer ends with the joyous faith that, despite the punishment which is coming, God will be the prophet's strength and will make him walk where?

In high places

Over his enemies

In peace

Away from fear

Habakkuk 3:17-19
"Although the fig tree shall not blossom,
neither shall fruit be in the vines;
the labour 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 mine high places.
To the chief singer on my stringed instruments."

This last line makes us think that Habakkuk may have been a Levite who made music in the temple

Author: Graeme Haw