The prophet Habakkuk begins with the burden that he saw. The word burden is used in several different ways in the Old Testament. It is used as a weight, a heavy load, or as a responsibility to be carried. Here the word is used in the context of an oracle or prophecy which is unfolding in judgment against the nation of Judah who had continually ignored the calls to repentance and who refused to change their sinful ways. Habakkuk saw the deterioration of the kingdom.

In the opening verses of this book, we hear the heart of Habakkuk as he pours it out in the presence of the Lord (Hab. 1:1–4). He is surrounded by violence, injustice, wrongdoing, destruction, wickedness, strife, conflict, and perverted justice. Habakkuk cries out to God, “O Lord, how long shall I cry, and You will not hear? Even cry out to You, ‘Violence!’ and You will not save” (v. 2). The word cry is used twice in this verse. The first cry means to call out for help, but the second cry means to scream with a loud voice. His heart was intensely concerned for what was going on in the nation. The nation’s leaders would not obey the law, and therefore the warnings of Scripture went unheeded. Doesn’t this sound familiar? In many ways, the heart of man is the same today!

Habakkuk’s name means “to embrace,” and we see him coming to grips with some serious problems and laying hold of God by faith when everything in his life seems to be falling apart. The Lord tells him to be prepared to be astonished because He was going to do a work that Habakkuk would not believe (v. 5). Like Habakkuk, we must be patient and remember that God’s thoughts are not our thoughts, nor are our ways His ways (Isa. 55:8–9). As J. N. Darby has said, “God’s ways are behind the scenes but He moves all the scenes which He is behind.”