Prophet Habakkuk.

Today we commemorate the Prophet Habakkuk, one of the so-called minor prophets of the Old Testament. Very little is known about his actual life. He apparently lived around 600 BC and probably resided in Jerusalem during a time when the Chaldeans (Babylonians) were amassing strength and sin was rampant among the people.

The name Habakkuk (Avvakum in Russian) is also rather unusual and of uncertain origin. Some feel it derives from the Hebrew word habaq which means “to embrace” – thus, his name would signify his choice to stay ardently embraced to God regardless of what was happening to his people (3:16-19). Other’s feel that the name denotes the “embracing of a struggle,” such as Habakkuk's inner wrestling over God's infinite patience verses His divine justice.

According to a popular Jewish tradition Habakkuk was the son of the Shunammite woman who was visited by Elisha, who told her, “At this season next year you shall embrace (habaq) a son” (II Kings 4:16). A second tradition identifies him with the watchman of Isaiah 21:6.

Although he is a man of God and a man of faith, the prophecy of Habakkuk differs from the other prophets in one unique aspect: instead of receiving God's message and taking it to the people, Habakkuk represents the people and takes their complaints to God. Thus in doing so, Habakkuk “wrestles with God” over some very difficult questions – the same type of questions that often cause doubt in us today: How can God permit so much suffering and death? How could God punish His own people? How can a righteous God allow evil people to prosper? Why do bad things happen to good people?

However, despite being perplexed, having doubts, and failing to understand why God does what He does, Habakkuk’s faith remains unshaken and undeterred, regardless of whether he agrees with God or not. Habakkuk, therefore, famously “takes his stand to watch and await the Lord's answer” (2:1).

The final conclusion of this prophecy is that we must allow God to be God, and allow Him to do things His way and in His own good time. Our job is simply to trust Him and to live by faith. “The righteous will live by his faith” (2:4) is the key verse to this entire book. Although things do not always turn out as we would like, we will continue to rejoice in the Lord anyway. Thus, this short prophecy provides an excellent lesson for us to contemplate during the Advent season.

Fr. John Memorich