Journal: Detroit Baptist Seminary Journal
Volume: DBSJ 26:1 (NA 2021)
Article: Habakkuk’s Call To Faith In God’s Eschatological Deliverance
Author: Ryan E. Meyer

DBSJ 26 (2021) p. 57

Habakkuk’s Call To Faith In God’s Eschatological Deliverance

Ryan E. Meyer1

Introduction

Many recognize that Habakkuk 2:4b is the center of Habakkuk’s theology.2 What is debated is the precise meaning of Habakkuk’s key statement and whether the NT authors use this passage in a manner consistent with its original context. The purpose of this article is to briefly outline the message of the book of Habakkuk with a special emphasis on the book’s central message to bolster the argument of others who contend that the NT uses Habakkuk consistent with its original meaning.3 This article’s thesis is that Habakkuk’s main point, found in Habakkuk 2:4b, is that those who persevere in trusting in God’s

DBSJ 26 (2021) p. 58

promised eschatological deliverance will be considered by him righteous and receive eternal life. The NT writers use Habakkuk 2:4b to make the same point.

This article will proceed in three steps to demonstrate this thesis. First, I will examine the historical and literary context of Habakkuk. To be economic, an overview of Habakkuk’s message will be woven into a literary analysis of Habakkuk with a grammatical and lexical analysis limited to key points. Second, because of the importance of Habakkuk 2:4, I will examine the verse and its immediate context more closely before moving to a brief consideration of its NT use. Third, I will end the project with some theological conclusions from Habakkuk, which demonstrate its continuity with the NT passages which cite it.

Historical And Literary Context Of Habakkuk

Authorship And Date

The book claims to be the “oracle” (הַמַּשָּׂא) received by Habakkuk (1:1) and his “prayer” (תְּפִלָּה; 3:1).4 Other than his name, we do not know anything else about Habakkuk. He appears in the apocryphal Bel and the Dragon, where he is identified as a Levite, and rabbinical literature identified him with the son of the Shunamite in 2 Kings 4, but there is no evidence to support either of these identifications. These types of legends likely became attached to Habakkuk during the intertestamental period precisely because no...