哈巴谷書並不全是先知的講道，而是一個先知深受困擾的故事。哈巴谷環顧他的猶大同胞，觀察每一個人的殘暴與不義，他所看到的促使他帶著重重疑問向上帝呼求：「主啊，為什惡人在祢的國度裹興盛昌大，而義人卻受盡欺凌？為什麼你不糾正這個社會的謬誤？」上帝的回答竟比猶大國內敗壞的情況更令人震驚：「哈巴谷，我正在做呢！我要用比猶大更腐敗的國家－－迦勒底－－潔淨我的百姓，要他們離開惡行。」叫這回答令哈巴谷瞠目結舌、百般不信的再問：「上帝啊，祢的聖潔怎會如此行呢？」上帝很有耐心的回答先知的問題後，哈巴谷的回應是禱告與讚美!

        不要怕把難題帶給上帝，卻要有心理準備接受祂回答問題時的震撼，以及接受祂也許完全不回答的可能。
        從人類的觀點看，上帝屬天的方式似乎總令屬地的我們無法理解，如果哈巴谷堅持替天行道的話，審判恐怕早已如大雷雨一般的湧入猶大了－－而且是立刻!但上帝的時間則不然，在巴比倫攻陷耶路撤冷前，悖逆不義的情況還要繼續一段時日(甚至更糟)，上帝並未要求哈巴谷了解藏在祂時間之後的「為什麼」:祂只要祂的僕人平靜的信靠祂仍在掌管一切，然後憑著信心前行。
        選一種你正面對且是類似哈巴谷的情況，列出所有你想問上帝「為什麼」的問題，現在在本頁空白處寫下哈巴谷書二章四節後半段及三章十九節等經文，這正是你信靠這位擁有－切答案的上帝的另－種表達方武。

        值得引用的哈巴谷名言
        哈巴谷書二章四節後半段極其重要，以致新約裹引用它多達三次(羅1：17；加3：11；來10：38)。你是否也同意這是個值得重覆的思想？

哈巴谷書以哀哭為開始，卻以凱歌為結束。

English

        The hook of Habakkuk is not so much the sermons of a prophet as it is the saga of a prophet plagued with a problem. Looking around his native Judah, Habakkuk observes violence and injustice on every hand. What he sees causes him to cry out to God with his perplexing questions: ''Why are the wicked prospering in Your nation. Lord? Why are the righteous beaten down? Why don't You do something to right the wrongs of society?" God's reply is even more shocking than the blighted conditions in Judah. "I am doing something, Habakkuk. I am about to use a nation even more corrupt than Judah—the Chaldeans—to cleanse My people of their wicked ways." In stunned disbelief, Habakkuk responds, "How in the name of holiness can You do that, God?" And when God patiently answers the prophet's question, Habakkuk responds in prayer and praise with faith that has resounded through the centuries.

        Don't be afraid to bring your hard questions to God. But be prepared for a shock when He answers them ... and the possibility that He may not answer them at all.
        From a human point of view, God's heavenly ways don't always seem to make earthly sense. If Habakkuk had had his way, judgment would have rolled through Judah like a thunderstorm—now! Hut in God's timing the unjust conditions would continue (and worsen) before Babylon finally conquered Jerusalem, God was not asking Habakkuk to understand all the "whys" behind His timing; He simply wanted His servant to trust restfully in His control and walk by faith.
        Select a Habakkuk-like situation you are facing and list all the "why" questions you would like to ask God. Now at the bottom of the page write the words of 2-.4b and 3:19 as fresh expressions of your confidence in the God who has all the answers!

        A Quotable Quote from Habakkuk —
        The last half of 2:4 is so significant that it is quoted three times in the New Testament (Romans l:17i Galatians 3:11; Hebrews 10:38), Don't you agree it's a thought worth repeating?

Habakkuk begins with a sob, and ends with a song.