Habakkuk: Though Fig Trees Fail

Great consolation for life's woes can be found in Habakkuk. The prophet wrestles with the problem of faith when everything around him appears to show that God no longer cares. Writing before the fall of Assyria (c. 640-615 B.C.), Habakkuk wrestles with God in two dialogues to come to terms with God's seeming disregard for saving his people. The first dialogue deals with the problem of the perceived delay in God's salvation. The second dialogue deals with the problem of God using wicked nations for his divine purposes. The turning point of the book is God's reminder that "the righteous shall live by his faith" (2:4). God will save his people in his time and in his way, and the time will come when "the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD as the waters cover the sea" (2:14). The prophet concludes that "though the fig tree should not blossom" he will "take joy in the God of my salvation" (3:17, 18). The NT carries forward the theme of faith, citing Habakkuk 2:4 on three occasions (Rom. 1:17; Gal. 3:11; Heb. 10:38). Though still embattled by physical and spiritual enemies, God is in control, and his people have only to walk in faith and find strength in the joy of the Lord.