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Book: Habakkuk

The Timeless Power of Hope

How do we maintain hope in the face of a seemingly unending time of strife, violence, and conflict? Seek out beauty, depend upon hope…and dance, even in the face of unending war. Hope does not ignore the struggle, nor does it free us from the scars resulting from our struggles. The people of Israel will always carry the scars of their trauma with them; yet, scars also signify survival.

The Politics of Doing Justice—Isaiah 1:10-18; Habakkuk 1:1-4; 2:1-4; Luke 19:1-10 (Peter Leithart)

In the declamation of Isaiah 1, the prophet associates Judah and its rulers with Sodom, for their inhospitality, injustice, and the presumption that they can hide this from God. Zacchaeus, a man characterized by such Sodom-like injustice, is delivered from this as justice is welcomed into his house in the person of Jesus.

The Politics of Perseverance—Habakkuk 1:1-4; 2:1-4; Luke 17:5-10 (Amy Allen)

Habakkuk 2:4—’The righteous person will live by his faith’—is a familiar text. The recognition that the faith in question may be God’s own faithfulness, rather than our own stumbling faith, may inspire a stronger confidence in us as we face a world of injustice.

The Politics of the Divine Warrior—Habakkuk 1:1-4; 2:2-4; 3:17-19 (Amy Merrill Willis)

Habakkuk’s prophecy raises the unsettling question of how to deal with the image of the Divine Warrior in a sensitive manner. Handled carefully, rather than compounding violence with more violence, Habakkuk’s prophecy can function as a powerful appeal for justice.