The prophet Habakkuk cried out to the Lord, his God. His nation, Judah, was full of corruption and injustice. How long would God tolerate it (Hab 1:2–4)? God replied that he would deal with Judah by sending the nation of Babylon to punish her (Hab 1:5). First, Habakkuk responded with a declaration of God’s trustworthy character (Hab 1:12), then he asked for further clarification on this hard-to-believe scheme. After logging his concerns Habakkuk waited expectantly for God to answer.

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Habakkuk’s Posture—Expectant Watching

I will stand my watch
And set myself on the rampart,
And watch to see what He will say to me,
And what I will answer when I am corrected. (Hab 2:1 NKJV)

Ancient cities positioned a watchman high on a tower or city wall to look out for any signs of danger and sound a warning if an attack was immanent. Scripture uses this idea metaphorically for one of the roles of the prophet (Isa 21:8; Ezek 3:17; Ezek 33:2–3). Author Jean Wilund says, “Habakkuk lifted his concerns and confusions (aka complaints) to the Lord, climbed the watchtower of his heart to seek God’s wisdom and correction, and waited expectedly for Him to answer.”¹

Not only did Habakkuk expect God to answer, he expected that God would correct something in his thinking, reasoning or attitude. Habakkuk knew he couldn’t understand God’s higher ways (Isa 55:8–9), so he invited God’s input and instruction.

For years I cried out to the Lord to provide a need I lacked. He did not immediately answer as I wanted but he did respond. As I waited, he corrected my understanding of himself, provided just enough for me to take the next steps, proved himself good, and showed me how much he loves me.

Wilund helps us examine our own expectations with her poignant questions:

• Do you wait on the Lord like a child who jumps up and down and claps because she knows her father will keep his promise?
• Do you repeat faithful prayers as of God might not hear you or has to be convinced to do good?
• Do you offer God advice, as if he needs our council and then slump off, dragging your fears and confusion behind you?
• Do you pray about your deepest concerns and stand up, eager to trust his answer, even if it’s the opposite of what you prayed?²

How can you exercise patient expectation and trust in God’s timely answer?

God’s Response: Wait for it

Then the LORD replied: 
“Write down the revelation and make it plain on tablets so that a herald may run with it.
For the revelation awaits an appointed time; it speaks of the end and will not prove false.
Though it linger, wait for it; it will certainly come and will not delay. (Hab 2:2–3 NIV)

Wilund explains, “In the days of the ancient kings, messengers ran to proclaim the word of their sovereign. Prophets were sometimes pictured as running to proclaim the word of the Lord.”³ Commentator David Guzik points out that Habakkuk had to first see the vision, then make it known as permanently as possible by writing it down. The message also had to be plain and practical.⁴

My counselor husband frequently reminds me to “wait for it.” By this he means the ability to patiently listen without interruption, allowing another to share what they wish to in their own time and way. By this, he models that important heart matters are worth waiting for. Surely God’s answer is also worth the wait. Yes, it lingers. Yes, it takes longer than we’d like. But God says, “It will certainly come and will not delay.”

How has God assured you his answer will come at the right time?

Babylon’s Character—Arrogant and greedy

The Lord again describes the Babylonians:

Look, his ego is inflated (puffed up NIV);
he is without integrity (his desires are not upright NIV).
Indeed, wine betrays him; he is arrogant (proud NKJV) and never at rest.
Because he is as greedy as the grave and like death is never satisfied,
he gathers to himself all the nations and takes captive all the peoples. (Hab 2:4a, 5 CSB)

In short, the Babylonians are proud—puffed up and arrogant. Puffed up in Hebrew (aphal) means “a swelling, self-exalting attitude that expresses itself in daring action not authorized by God. It reveals an interior posture of pride that moves outward into presumptuous behavior.”⁵

Arrogant (yahir) “denotes one who is swollen with self-importance—an insolent, swaggering spirit that refuses humble dependence on God and spurns the wellbeing of others. Scripture consistently labels such self-exaltation a moral distortion that invites divine opposition.”⁶

Furthermore, this invading nation is not upright (yāshar). They are not aligned with the standard set by the Lord.⁷ And this pride has led them to insatiable greed. Just as an alcoholic can never get enough wine, so the Babylonians can never get enough power and land (Isa 5:14).

Consequently, they also cannot rest (navah). “The prophet depicts a grasping invader whose soul cannot settle because insatiable covetousness has displaced the fear of God. … Babylon’s voracious advance illustrates how rebellion disorders the soul; it cannot cease, because it refuses the only dwelling place that satisfies.”⁸ God reiterated this in Isaiah, “There is no peace for the wicked” (Isa 57:20–21).

Pride is such a subtle enemy. David Guzik reminds us that the rich man can be proud of what he has. But the poor man can also be proud of his “honor” in having less. The talented man is be proud of what he can do and the man of few talents is proud of his hard work. The religious man can be proud of his religion and the unbeliever proud of his unbelief. The establishment man is proud of his place in society and the counter-cultural man is proud of his “outcast” status. The learned man is proud of his intelligence and learning and the simple man proud of his simplicity.⁹

Pride has been my toughest battle. For me, it manifested in religious self-righteousness. When I truly understood how much God hated my pride (Jam 4:6; 1 Pet 5:5; Prov 3:34: Prov 6:16–19), I embarked on a journey of discovery. Now my desire is to “boast that I understand and know God” (Jer 9:23–24).

How has pride manifested in your life?

The Righteous—Live by faith

In contrast, the Lord defines the opposite of the proud Babylonians:

But the righteous one will live by his faith. (Hab 2:4b CSB)

This truth is echoed throughout the new covenant:

For in the gospel the righteousness of God is revealed—a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: “The righteous will live by faith.” (Rom 1:17)
And, “But my righteous one will live by faith. And I take no pleasure in the one who shrinks back.” (Heb 10:38)
Clearly no one who relies on the law is justified before God, because “the righteous will live by faith.” (Gal 3:11)

God reminded Habakkuk that the wicked Babylonians lived by their own might and ego, whereas the righteous upright live by faith in God. In my study of Galatians, I learned “Paul is telling us it’s all faith, not our attempts to obey the law completely and perfectly. Salvation is a free gift from God. And by receiving God’s free gift, God regards us as perfectly righteous and flawless.”

PRAYER

Lord God, I trust that you will answer me and do your will in your way and in your time. I wait expectantly for you to answer and I willingly allow you to correct any wrong thinking I may have. I desire to live as the righteous person Jesus’s sacrifice has made me to be. I surrender my pride and wrongful desires.

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1. Jean Wilund, Embracing Joy, pg 123. ↩︎
2. Questions from Wilund ↩︎
3. Jean Wilund, pg 132. (See 2 King 4:26; Zech 2:4, Eph 6:15; Isa 52:7.) ↩︎
4. David Guzik, Enduring Word Commentary, https://enduringword.com/bible-commentary/habakkuk-2/ ↩︎
5. https://biblehub.com/hebrew/6075.htm ↩︎
6. https://biblehub.com/hebrew/3093.htm ↩︎
7. https://biblehub.com/hebrew/3474.htm ↩︎
8. https://biblehub.com/hebrew/5115.htm ↩︎
9. https://enduringword.com/bible-commentary/habakkuk-2/ ↩︎