Summary

Habakkuk's identity is not disclosed; therefore we do not know anything about the tribe to which he belonged, his family background, his education, or his home life. Nevertheless he was a prophet raised up by God to be his spokesman (Jeremiah 1:4–10).

Prophets received direct revelation from God. The message that God gave to them is called prophecy. It was necessary for God to communicate to his prophets in this way because they did not have in their possession all the contents of his Word that are recorded from Genesis to Revelation. In his second letter Peter explained that a prophet was not the originator of prophecy. Rather they spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit (2 Peter 1:20–21). This description given by Peter can be likened to the experience of fishermen on the Sea of Galilee. For their boat to make progress and sail across the lake they required the wind to blow into the sails of the vessel to drive it along. The Holy Spirit took control of God’s prophets, illuminated their minds, and guided them in their thinking to write down the words as he instructed them.

Habakkuk described his prophecy as an oracle. The word oracle referred to a burden (Nahum 1:1). It was not a load that he carried on his shoulders. Rather it referred to him being overwhelmed by what he saw happening around him. By referring to seeing the oracle he indicated that he did not make it up or devise it in his head. His words were not spoken out of a dream but rather from a real experience of evil that he witnessed in his neighbourhood. It also indicated that he was present during the evil. Therefore he was a first-hand observer of the terror of violence, injustice, and wickedness that unfolded before him.