In this post, I want to make my case for how to hear Habakkuk in harmony with the chorus of Old Testament hope focused on the Messiah. Specifically, Habakkuk speaks in harmony with (1) the major poems of the Pentateuch, particularly Deuteronomy 32, and (2) the promises to David, as cultivated especially in the books of Samuel and Psalms.

The Pentateuch is composed in such a way that it speak far beyond the historical events it describes. Moses’s words in Genesis through Deuteronomy address God’s people far into the future, deep in the midst of exile. Habakkuk contributes a voice in harmony, calling God’s people trust that God is active and faithful. He will bring his promised king and kingdom.

The promises in the Pentateuch are picked up in the Prophets and channeled into and through David (1 Sam 2; 2 Sam 7; 22; Ps 18, et al.). Habakkuk adds his voice to this growing chorus of biblical hope: Trust Yahweh even when there’s no fruit on the vine. Trust him when your life fails because the promises hold even when disaster strikes and life fails.

Let me explain how Habakkuk’s words intertwine with the Pentateuch, Prophets, and the Writings.

Overview of Habakkuk’s Message

Habakkuk has a clear structure. In chapter 1–2, Habakkuk twice sets his case before Yahweh: He thinks Yahweh is ignoring his people’s suffering; Yahweh is allowing injustice to reign (chapter 1). Yahweh responds once in chapter 1, and then chapter 2 communicates his second response, including five woes against Babylon and people like them. The final chapter is a prayer, a psalm, of dependence and trust in Yahweh.

Throughout chapter 1, Habakkuk argues that the Torah is paralyzed, justice has come to an end, and Yahweh is doing nothing (Hab 1:4, 13). The Lord responds by saying that he is aware, and he is in fact at work. God’s instruction has not become in effective. Babylon’s self-reliance will end like everyone who is self-reliant. Creation will cry out for justice, and those who do violence will reap what they sow (Hab 2:8–12). In the mean time, the righteous will live by their faithfulness (Hab 2:4), trusting that Yahweh is in fact in his holy temple, able to use evil doers to accomplish his good purposes (Hab 2:20).

Backdrop of Deuteronomy

Deuteronomy and the major poems of the Pentateuch are the key backdrop for hearing Yahweh’s response in chapters 1–2. The poems that structure the Pentateuch speak about Yahweh’s plan for his people “in the latter days” (באחרית הימים, Gen 49:1; Num 24:14; Deut 31:29). Deuteronomy 4:25–31 makes clear that “the latter days” refers to a time far into the exile, when a remnant of God’s people return to him with repentance and trust. This means that the vision of the Pentateuch encompasses and points the way forward for Habakkuk’s situation, too. Yahweh’s words to Moses and his words to Habakkuk contribute to the same vision for the future. The Torah might seem paralyzed, but it looks ahead to the exile Habakkuk laments and it speaks directly to Habakkuk’s argument.

The Relevance of Deuteronomy 32:4

For at least three reasons, Deuteronomy 32:4 is directly related to Habakkuk’s arguments.

The Rock, his work is blameless

For all his ways are justice,

A God of faithfulness. There’s no crookedness.

Righteous and upright is he. (Deuteronomy 32:4)

Rock

Habakkuk calls out to Yahweh as the Rock (צוּר, Hab 1:12), and Deuteronomy 32 repeatedly refers to Yahweh as the Rock (Deut 32:4, 15, 18, 30, 31).

His Work is Blameless

Second, Habakkuk blames Yahweh for being inactive, but Yahweh responds by saying he is active. Deuteronomy 32:4 makes clear, using the same vocabulary, that Yahweh isn’t just active; his work is blameless (Deut 32:4). Injustice isn’t the last word; there is in fact justice. This is good news. No one in Habakkuk’s situation wants to hear that they are right in their blame. Habakkuk wants to hear why he’s wrong. That’s what he sits down and waits for in 2:1. He waits for Yahweh’s response and help.

Here’s an example of Habakkuk’s critique from his first argument (Hab 1:1–4):

How long, Yahweh!

I have called out, and you have not listened.

I’ve cried, “Violence!”

And you have not saved. (Habakkuk 1:2)

Here’s an example from his second argument (Hab 1:12–2:1):

Why do you watch the treacherous?

You are silent while the wicked person eats up a person more righteous than he. (Habakkuk 1:13).

Yahweh’s response to Habakkuk is that he is in fact doing a work (פֹעַל פֹּּעֵל), and this work is more wonderful than Habakkuk is capable of grasping and believing at the moment (Hab 1:5 — but stay tuned until the final words of the book!) The language connects directly to Deuteronomy 32:4, which says that Yahweh’s work is blameless — “The Rock, his work is blameless” (הַצּוּר תָּמִים פָּעָלוֹ).

His Ways are Justice

Third, because Yahweh is active, Habakkuk can trust that his ways are marked by justice. It may seem like justice has come to an end (וְלֹא־יֵצֵא לָנֶצַח מִשְׁפָּט, Hab 1:4) and is distorted (מִשְׁפָּט מְעֻקָּל, Hab 1:4), but Deuteronomy 32:4–5 says,

The Rock, his work is blameless

For all his ways are justice (כִּי כָל־דְּרָכָיו מִשְׁפָּט),

A God of faithfulness. There’s not crookedness.

Righteous and upright is he. (Deuteronomy 32:4)

Habakkuk and Deuteronomy in Harmony

Deuteronomy calls God’s people to trust that in the midst of exile God will restore those who return to him and trust him (Deut 4:30). The poems that serve as the backbone to the Pentateuch proclaim God’s sovereignty and control over history. Yahweh is merciful and will not forget the covenant he made with Abraham (Deut 4:31). This is also the message of Habakkuk:

The righteous will live by his faithfulness (Habakkuk 2:4).

Deuteronomy calls God’s people to cling to his Torah in the midst of exile, when they are scattered among the nations (Deut 4:27). It points to Yahweh as “the shield of your help and the sword of your triumph” (Deut 33:29). Habakkuk adds a voice in harmony:

Though the fig tree produces no fruit,

There is no produce on the vine,

The olive tree fails,

The fields produce no food,

The flock is cut off from the fold,

And there is no herd in the stalls,

As for me, in Yahweh I will boast!

I will rejoice in the God of my salvation!

Yahweh my God is my strength!

He sets my feet firm like the deer,

And on my high places he makes a way for me. (Habakkuk 3:17–19)

Habakkuk and the Promises to David

Those are the iconic words with which the book of Habakkuk ends. The words are iconic for more than one reason. They are beautiful and memorable on their own, but they clearly echo David’s words of triumph in 2 Samuel 22, the psalm that is repeated and stands independently as Psalm 18.

Like the Deer

The key language hyperlink is “like the deer” (כָּאַיָּלוֹת). That exact Hebrew word (a phrase in English) is unique to Habakkuk 3, 2 Samuel 22, and Psalm 18. Canonically, 2 Samuel 22 and Psalm 18 form bookends around Habakkuk 3.

David in Samuel 22:34:

He made my feet as the deer (רַגְלָי כָּאַיָּלוֹת),

And on my high places (וְעַל בָּמוֹתַי) he made me stand. (2 Samuel 22:34)

Habakkuk 3:19:

He sets my feet firm like the deer (רַגְלָי כָּאַיָּלוֹת),

And on my high places (וְעַל בָּמוֹתַי) he makes a way for me. (Habakkuk 3:19)

David in Psalm 18:

He made my feet as the deer (רַגְלָי כָּאַיָּלוֹת),

And on my high places (וְעַל בָּמֹתַי) he made me stand. (2 Samuel 22:34)

The Coming King

The final words of Habakkuk show that the prophet’s hope is rooted in the promise God made to David, the promise that one of David’s sons would bring an eternal kingdom to earth (2 Samuel 7:14). That promise to David in 2 Samuel 7:14 echoes the hope cultivates earlier by the major poems of the Pentateuch, which speak about how in the last days the scepter will not depart from Judah (Gen 49:10) and from the shout of a king among God’s people (Num 23:21) will arise an exalted king and kingdom (Num 24:7).

Habakkuk speaks about God’s work to save his people and his anointed (Hab 3:13), just like the beginning and end of the book of Samuel (1 Sam 2:10; 2 Sam 22:51). David was “the anointed of the God of Jacob” (2 Sam 23:1), and the book of Habakkuk closes with a surprising, climactic echo of future hope focused on a coming son of David (Hab 3:19).

Mystery Revealed

What could Yahweh mean when he opens the book of Habakkuk saying, “I’m doing a work in your days that you would not believe if it were told to you” (Hab 1:5)? Sure, the next verse makes clear that it has to do with using Babylon as a tool of judgment (Hab 1:6), but there’s much more. The mystery of Habakkuk 1:5 is that God was actively working to fulfill the promises to David, to bring an eternal kingdom of new creation even as the kingdom crumbles and life fails.

In chapter 1, as Habakkuk voiced his complaint to Yahweh, the prophet would have had a hard time hearing this and believing it, but by the end of the book, in chapter 3, he’s on board. Habakkuk stands with David, the Lord’s anointed, and trusts that God will do for him and his generation what he did for David. When the waves of death, the torrents of destruction, and the cords of Sheol had David in their grips (2 Sam 22:5–6 // Ps 18:4–5), he cried to Yahweh and was exalted. Yahweh will do the same for Habakkuk. He’ll set Habakkuk’s feet on high places, even when life fails (Hab 3:17–19).

Conclusion

Habakkuk adds his voice in harmony to the growing chorus of biblical hope that began in the Pentateuch and is steadily developed through the prophetic books before Habakkuk and down into and through the Writings. The hope cultivated through Habakkuk 1–3 focuses on God’s faithfulness to bring life and restoration even when the landscape is scorched and there is no fruit on the vine. Ultimately, the hope is life after death. When our bodies fail like the fig tree, God’s people have to trust that Yahweh is actively working through “the shoot from the stump of Jesse” to bring new creation that will restore us and all creation at the deepest level (Isaiah 11).

☩ Come quickly, Lord Jesus. ☩