Sunday School Lesson on Habakkuk
by Josh hunt www.joshhunt.com

Introduction

Before we get into the body of Habakkuk, let's set the historical context straight in our mind. I have written fifteen Old Testament time periods or people on the board. Let's number them one through fifteen.⁽¹⁾

• Creation
• Abraham
• Isaac
• Jacob
• Joseph
• Moses
• Joshua
• Period of Judges
• Saul
• David
• Solomon
• Divided Kingdom
• Habakkuk
• Nehemiah
• Malachi

Habakkuk 1:1 - 13

OPEN

• If you could talk to God face to face and ask him one question, what would you ask him?⁽²⁾

DIG

1. In this section Habakkuk asks two questions and receives two answers from God. I want half of you to listen for the questions, while the other half listens for God's answers.
2. Summarize the first question in your own words?⁽³⁾
3. How does God answer?
4. Who are the Babylonians? How would Habakkuk have felt as God told him he would use the Babylonians to punish Judah?⁽⁴⁾
5. Which verse talks about Habakkuk's attitude along these lines?⁽⁵⁾
6. Why does God allow evil people on a magnitude of 10 to punish people with an evil factor of 5? Where is the justice in this? For that matter, overall would you say that God runs a pretty just world?⁽⁶⁾
7. People say all the time, "that's not fair." Is this world fair?⁽⁷⁾

APPLY

• In what ways can demanding that this world be fair get us into trouble? Give me an example.

Habakkuk 2:2 - 4

1. Why do you think God wanted Habakkuk to write things down?
2. Do you think God ever wants us to write things down?⁽⁸⁾
3. What experience have you had with keeping some kind of spiritual journal where you write down key spiritual events?
4. How does verse 3 answer Habakkuk's earlier question?⁽⁹⁾
5. Verse 4 says the righteous will live by faith. What does this mean? Did you live by faith this week?⁽¹⁰⁾
   

Habakkuk 3:17 - 19 Enjoying God

1. Read this passage silently, then I want you to get with the person next to you and create a modern paraphrase of this passage. It might start something like, "Though my checking account is overdrawn. . ."
2. Can anyone think of a time when you found what it takes to be obedient to this command-- to rejoice in God even though everything in your life was falling a part?
3. What does it mean to be "joyful in God"?
4. Did you enjoy God this week? When was the last time you said to God, "I just enjoy my relationship with you, God."?
5. What would you say to a believer who said, "I don't enjoy God. I obey God. I serve God. I follow God's ways. But, I don't enjoy God. I enjoy chocolate and football and movies."⁽¹¹⁾
6. Describe the process of coming to be a person who enjoys God.

APPLY

1. What is the next step for you? What would have to change for you to become a person who enjoys God?
2. Let's close in prayer. As we pray, I want to invite you to join me in repenting of anything less than rejoicing in God. I want to ask you to repent of obedience without heart. That is the stuff of the Pharisees. It doesn't satisfy us and it doesn't please God. I want to invite you to repent of duty without joy. I want to invite you to repent of being bored with God. Let's pray together.

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1. I will give you fifteen in order here; scramble them and put them on the board. Talk your way through the story of the Old Testament as you do. Many believers know the stories of the Old Testament, but they do not know the story of the Old Testament.

2. Habakkuk was the prophet who dared to ask God the hard questions.

3. Why don't you punish the wicked?

4. "We may be bad, but we are not that bad." How can you use someone worse than us to punish us? It is as if we have a church that is guilty of some sin-- hypocrisy or gossip or something. We pray, "God, why don't you punish them?" God answers: I am. I am going to have the Mafia win control of the building through an unjust law suit.

5. 1:13

6. He doesn't settle justice in this life.

7. It is absolutely not fair. We cause ourselves much grief by expecting this world to be fair. We were created for heaven, where all will be fair. We sense this world not being right.

8. Billy Hanks used to say our problem is not dedication, it is retention. God speaks to us in glorious ways and we forget. We forget! When God speaks to us in any way, it is a good idea to write it down.

9. There is an appointed time when justice will be settled.

10. We throw around so many religious sounding phrases we forget to ask if we really know what they mean. I can hardly wait to hear the answers to this one.

11. I would say this person has missed it. Christianity is all about enjoying God. Our problem is not that we go too hard after pleasure, it is that we settle for too little. God would give us a magnificent feast at his banqueting table and we have been content to rummage through the trash cans of this world's meager offerings. We must repent of settling for too little. We must allow our souls to be fully satisfied with the spiritual meat that only He provides.