Dawn over the rose-red sandstone heights of Edom seen from the wilderness: first light catching the ridges, a dry ravine in shadow below, a calm pale sky above.

’s prayer

Habakkuk 3

Babylon is coming and the harvest may fail. Can you still rejoice?

19 verses≈ 3 minBSB

Images are artistic interpretations.

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Where we are

1:1–4How long, O LORD?Violence in Judah, about 605 BC
1:5–11The Chaldeans are comingGod’s first answer
1:12–17Why are You silent?How can a holy God use Babylon?
2Write the visionThe righteous will live by faith; five woes
3Habakkuk’s prayerIn wrath, remember mercy; yet I will rejoiceChapter 3

Habakkuk’s Prayer

This is a prayer of Habakkuk the prophet, according to Shigionoth:

Tap to go deeper: meaning, history and related Scripture

Habakkuk

O LORD, I have heard the report of You;

I stand in awe, O LORD, of Your deeds.

Revive them in these years;

make them known in these years.

Habakkuk

In Your wrath, remember mercy!

Habakkuk 3:2

Habakkuk

Habakkuk

God came from Teman,

and the Holy One from Mount Paran.

Habakkuk

Selah

His glory covered the heavens,

and His praise filled the earth.

Habakkuk

His radiance was like the sunlight;

rays flashed from His hand,

where His power is hidden.

Habakkuk

Plague went before Him,

and fever followed in His steps.

Habakkuk

A bare ancient mountainside in the southern wilderness with a fresh rockslide scar down its face, boulders and dust still sliding into the valley.

He stood and measured the earth;

He looked and startled the nations;

the ancient mountains crumbled;

the perpetual hills collapsed.

His ways are everlasting.

Question

Quick question

Habakkuk looks back before he looks ahead. Read verse 3 again before you answer.

Where does Habakkuk say God came from?

Habakkuk

Habakkuk

I saw the tents of Cushan in distress;

the curtains of Midian were trembling.

Habakkuk

Were You angry at the rivers, O LORD?

Was Your wrath against the streams?

Did You rage against the sea

when You rode on Your horses,

on Your chariots of salvation?

Habakkuk

You brandished Your bow;

You called for many arrows.

Selah

You split the earth with rivers.

Habakkuk

A flash flood roars down a narrow desert gorge between steep red rock walls, brown water and white spray thrown high against the stone.

The mountains saw You and quaked;

torrents of water swept by.

The deep roared with its voice

and lifted its hands on high.

0:09

Narrated by Bob Souer · BSB audio, public domain

Habakkuk

A dark storm over the southern wilderness: the pale moon hangs in a gap in the cloud, the sun a white blaze behind thin cloud, and lightning forks down onto a far ridge.

Sun and moon stood still

in their places

at the flash of Your flying arrows,

at the brightness of Your shining spear.

Habakkuk

You marched across the earth with fury;

You threshed the nations in wrath.

Habakkuk

With his own spear You pierced his head,

when his warriors stormed out to scatter us,

gloating as though ready

to secretly devour the weak.

Habakkuk

A storm-churned sea under low cloud, waves heaped and breaking white in every direction to the horizon, spray blowing.

You trampled the sea with Your horses,

churning the great waters.

Habakkuk

Dusk from a Judean town wall: the flat walkway in the foreground, the road below running north into the hills, empty, and one small watch fire on a far ridge.

I heard and trembled within;

my lips quivered at the sound.

Decay entered my bones;

I trembled where I stood.

Yet I must wait patiently for the day of distress

to come upon the people who invade us.

Habakkuk Rejoices

Habakkuk

Though the fig tree does not bud

and no fruit is on the vines,

though the olive crop fails

and the fields produce no food,

though the sheep are cut off from the fold

and no cattle are in the stalls,

yet I will exult in the LORD;

I will rejoice in the God of my salvation!

Habakkuk

Sunrise in the Judean hills: a slender deer stands sure-footed on a narrow limestone ledge high above a deep gorge, the valley still in shadow far below.

GOD the Lord is my strength;

He makes my feet like those of a deer;

He makes me walk upon the heights!

For the choirmaster. With stringed instruments.

Pray

God of my salvation, even if the fig tree does not bud and the fold is empty, You are my strength. Give me feet for the high places and a song to sing in them. Amen.

You’ve experienced

Habakkuk 3

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A verse to carry with you

Though the fig tree does not bud and no fruit is on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though the sheep are cut off from the fold and no cattle are in the stalls, yet I will exult in the LORD; I will rejoice in the God of my salvation!

Habakkuk 3:17–18

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