Habakkuk

Habakkuk 2: God will keep His word

Begin in prayer

Before Habakkuk hears that God will keep His word and judge the proud, let us ask the Lord to teach our family. Ask Him for patience to listen to His Word and faith to trust Jesus.

For in it is revealed God’s righteousness from faith to faith. As it is written, “But the righteous shall live by faith.”

Romans 1:17

Father in heaven, please open our eyes as we read Your Word. Your promises will come true, and Your judgment is right. Show us Jesus and teach us to trust Him instead of ourselves. Make us more like Jesus. And please bless our family as we worship You together. In Jesus' name, Amen.

See where we're going

Habakkuk waits at his watch for an answer, and the LORD tells him to write the vision plainly. The LORD says the vision will come true at the appointed time, and “the righteous will live by his faith.” Woes follow against those who plunder, gain wealth by evil, build towns with bloodshed, or make neighbors drunk to shame them. The LORD promises that “the earth will be filled with the knowledge of Yahweh’s glory.” The chapter ends with idols that have no breath, and the LORD in His holy temple, before whom all the earth must be silent.

As you read Habakkuk 2, look for the answers:

Reflect together

Key truth

God keeps His word, so the righteous live by trusting Him while He judges the proud.

Habakkuk asked his hard questions in chapter 1, and now he stands at his watch to see how the LORD will answer (verse 1). The LORD tells him to write the vision plainly on tablets, so that anyone who runs by can read it (verse 2). The vision hurries toward its end and will not prove false, so the LORD says to wait for it (verse 3). The proud person is puffed up and not upright, while the righteous will live by his faith (verse 4). Romans 1 verse 17, Galatians 3 verse 11 and Hebrews 10 verse 38 all take up these same words. Woes follow against the proud plunderer who takes what is not his, builds with blood and shames his neighbors (verses 6 to 17). Even so, the LORD promises that the earth will be filled with the knowledge of His glory (verse 14). The woes end with idols that have no breath. The LORD is in His holy temple, and all the earth must be silent before Him (verses 18 to 20).

How does Habakkuk 2 show us that God keeps His word, so the righteous live by trusting Him while He judges the proud?

God tells Habakkuk to wait for His word to come true.

Habakkuk stands at his watch and waits to see what the LORD will say to his complaint (verse 1). The LORD tells him to write the vision plainly on tablets (verse 2). The vision will come true at the appointed time, and it will not delay (verse 3). Waiting is hard, so the LORD tells him again to wait for it.

God says His people live by faith.

The proud person is puffed up and not upright, while the righteous will live by his faith (verse 4). Paul uses these words in Romans 1 verse 17 to teach that sinners are made right with God by faith. Galatians 3 verse 11 and Hebrews 10 verse 38 use them too. Faith trusts Jesus, who obeyed in His people's place and died for their sin, and faith never earns God's favor.

God will judge those who steal and hurt others.

A plunderer who takes what is not his will be plundered in turn (verses 6 to 8). Wealth gained by evil cannot protect a house from God's judgment (verses 9 to 11). The LORD also condemns building a town with blood and making neighbors drunk to shame them (verses 12 to 17). Yet He promises that the earth will be filled with the knowledge of His glory (verse 14).

The living God rules, and idols cannot help.

An idol is something people make and worship as a god, but it cannot speak or breathe (verses 18 and 19). The chapter ends with the LORD in His holy temple, and all the earth must be silent before Him (verse 20). Please help your children be quiet before Him as they pray.

Memorise

Behold, his soul is puffed up. It is not upright in him, but the righteous will live by his faith.

Habakkuk 2:4

Looking to Jesus in my life

Ask yourself in your heart, where am I trusting myself instead of Jesus to make me right with God?

God tells Habakkuk, “Though it takes time, wait for it”. Then He says “the righteous will live by his faith”, and the New Testament shows that this faith rests on Jesus Christ. The proud will fall, and the living God will do all He has said.

Every one of us has pride and sin before the living God, and our good works cannot pay for it. On the cross Jesus carried His people’s sin and paid their debt by His death, once for all. God raised Him to life, which shows that the Father accepted that payment.

So come to Him, turn from your sin, and put your trust in Jesus. Rest on what He has done, because no good work can earn peace with God. Everyone who trusts Him will be forgiven. His word will stand when every proud boast has fallen.

Parent's note

Tell your children that faith depends on Jesus, who died and rose to make His people right with God. Call each child to turn from sin and trust Jesus, and pray that God would give them a new heart. Please do not tell them they are saved just because they grew up in a Christian home. Please explain the shaming of neighbors in verses 15 to 17 gently, without describing it in detail.

Pray together

Now please close your time together in prayer. Thank God that His word will come true, and bring the heart question to Him. Every child can pray, so invite each one to say a short prayer if they want to.

I am still confident of this: I will see the goodness of Yahweh in the land of the living.

Psalm 27:13

Lord God, thank You that Your word is sure and that evil will face Your judgment. Please change proud hearts in our family. Lead each child to turn from sin and depend on Jesus for forgiveness. As we wait for Your promises, help us to listen to Your Word and treat our neighbors with care. Amen.