Chapter 1

1:2 - God does not help those in need.

* Habakkuk was simply upset because God hadn't done what he thought God should have done.

1:4, 13 - Contrary to some other verses, injustice prevails as the wicked overtake the righteous.

* In verse 4, Habakkuk is voicing his displeasure.  He is exaggerating when he says, "justice never goes forth."

1:6 - God is getting the Chaldeans (Babylonians) to do his dirty work and devastate Israel.

* God can use evil people to render His judgment against the unrepentant ones that He loves.

Chapter 2

2:4 - Has there ever been a just person?

* Yes. There have been some just people.  The apparent confusion lies only in Ecclesiastes 7:20.  However, the writer is stating that there are no perfect people.  In his new "circle of friends," there surely weren't any godly people (and definitely nobody perfect).

2:8 - God will strike down the Chaldeans (Babylonians) for attacking Israel. But, in verse 1:6, God raised them up to do just that!

* God didn't want every Israelite to die.  He simply wanted to render a judgment against them.  God had big plans for the Israelites.  The Messiah was to come through them.  God's plan was for their purity; not their annihilation.

2:16 - Listen to the pure word of God: "Drink thou also and let thy foreskin be uncovered."

* A better translation of this verse is: "You are filled with shame instead of glory!  You also drink and are exposed as uncircumcised.  The cup of the Lord's right hand will be turned against you, and utter shame will be on your glory."

Chapter 3

3:3 - This verse says God comes from Taman, but other verses say God dwells elsewhere.

* This was a prayer and likely a song from Habakkuk.  This was his experience with God.  This verse doesn't mean that God is not all-present.

3:3-5 - Habakkuk sees God, contrary to several Bible verses claiming that no one has seen God.

* Genesis 12:7 reads, "And the LORD appeared unto Abram, and said, Unto thy seed will I give this land: and there builded he an altar unto the LORD, who appeared unto him."  There are few details about this "appearance."  It was likely Jesus Christ appearing to Him, though.

* Genesis 18:1 reads, "And the Lord appeared unto him in the plains of Mamre."  God is seen in the person of Jesus Christ.  God the Father was in Heaven.  However, Jesus spoke to Abraham in the form of an angel.  This is consistent with several other passages that contain a pre-Christ appearance of Jesus Christ.  In the Old Testament, He is often called "the angel of the Lord."  See Genesis 16:7.

* Genesis 26:2 reads, "And the LORD appeared unto him, and said, Go not down into Egypt; dwell in the land which I shall tell thee of."  This passage simply says that God appeared to Isaac.  It doesn't specify how or say that He had a body that Isaac saw.

* In Genesis 32:30, Jacob wrestles with Jesus.  This is a theophany - a pre-Christ appearance of Jesus Christ.

* In Exodus 24:9-11, the word "saw" is used figuratively.  God was only seen through a cloud and this is verified by the rest of the chapter (see verse 16).  The word "saw" in verse 11 is explicitly used like this: "to mentally perceive, to have a vision."  They did not literally see God.

* Exodus 33:11 reads, "And the Lord spake to Moses face to face, as a man speaketh to his friend."  This passage simply describes the relationship Moses had with God.  It has been shown that God revealed Himself to Moses by articulate sounds in his own language.

* Exodus 33:23 reads, "And I will take away my hand, and thou shalt see my backparts."  God let Moses see the back of His glory (see verse 22).

* Part of Numbers 14:14 reads, "For they have heard that thou Lord art among this people, that thou Lord art seen face to face."  This very verse says how God met the people.  However, you have to read the whole verse.  "and they will tell it to the inhabitants of this land. They have heard that You, Lord, are among these people; that You, Lord, are seen face to face and Your cloud stands above them, and You go before them in a pillar of cloud by day and in a pillar of fire by night."

* Deuteronomy 5:4 reads, "The Lord talked with you face to face in the mount out of the midst of the fire."  This passage also indicates how God spoke.  He spoke from the "midst of the fire."

* Deuteronomy 34:10 was already covered.

* Judges 13:22 reads, "And Manoah said unto his wife, We shall surely die, because we have seen God."  According to the previous verses, Manoah saw the "angel of the Lord."

* 1 Kings 22:19 reads, "I saw the Lord sitting on his throne, and all the host of heaven standing by him on his right hand and on his left."  This is simply a parable - an earthly story with a heavenly meaning and content.  Some think he had a vision of God.  Either way, his human body never saw God's spirit-being while he was on the Earth.

* Job 42:5 reads, "I have heard of thee by the hearing of the ear: but now mine eye seeth thee."  Job is referring to his enlightenment, not his actual sight.  The previous chapters record God telling him about His awesome glory.  Job finally gets it.

* Psalm 63:2 reads, "To see thy power and they glory, so as I have seen thee in the sanctuary."  David clearly states that He has seen God's power and glory in the sanctuary.

* Isaiah 6:1 and 5 record Isaiah's encounter with God.  He was purified and taken to Heaven, in a vision, so this wasn't an account of him seeing God's spirit-body on the Earth.

* Ezekiel 20:35 reads, "And I will bring you into the wilderness of the people, and there will I plead with you face to face."  This passage simply indicates the type of relationship that God wanted to have with the Israelites.

* Amos 7:7 reads, "The LORD stood upon a wall made by a plumbline, with a plumbline in his hand."  This passage is a metaphor about God's judgment.  It is better understood by reading verse 8, too.

* Amos 9:1 reads, "I saw the Lord standing upon the altar: and he said, smite the lintel of the door, that the posts may shake."  This is part of a prophecy from the preceding chapter.  This isn't a literal statement.

3:4 - God has "horns coming out of his hand." But Jn.4:24 says that "God is a spirit" and Lk.4:24 says that "a spirit has not flesh and bones." If so, then how could God have a hand -- with or without horns.

* This Hebrew word for "horns" is better translated "light."  This is a metaphor describing God's power and majesty.

3:5 - "Before him [God] went the pestilence, and burning coals at his feet."

* This verse describes the judgments of God (from Habakkuk's song).

3:11 - "The sun and moon stood still in their habitation." This verse apparently refers to Joshua 10:12-13, where God makes the sun stand still. Of course, this could only be possible if the sun moves around the earth.

* Yes, the sun and moon stood still.  God made the Sun and Moon, so He could surely control them and the rest of His creation.

* Have you ever said, "Let's go and watch the sunrise!"  Well, the sun doesn't rise.  What were you talking about?  The Sun stays in its place and the Earth rotates.  I'm sure you're understanding how the phrase the "Sun and Moon stood still" should be taken, now.

3:13-14 - Habakkuk sings the praises of God's slaughter of his enemies.

* Yes he does.  Habakkuk is happy that God judged the pagans and helped the Israelites.