The prophet turns from reflecting on God’s mighty power to inflict vengeance on the nations that had terrorised His people to his own personal response to God’s disclosures.

First…dread for what was about to happen.

Habakkuk 3:16 NLT
[16] “I trembled inside when I heard this; my lips quivered with fear. My legs gave way beneath me, and I shook in terror…”

In the face of what God had done to other nations, was Habakkuk’s dread for Babylon or for Israel? It seems that he felt for the horror that was to come upon God’s enemies. At the same time, he was comforted to know that Babylon would not get away with their cruelty towards God’s people.

“…I will wait quietly for the coming day when disaster will strike the people who invade us.”

Despite the terrible things that would happen to the invaders…and the prophet expresses his dread for what God would do to them…he was confident of God’s vengeance that would rescue His people from the suffering the Babylonian army would inflict on them.

He knew what the horrors of invasion, brutal treatment, displacement and exile, and the day-to-day pain of slavery in a foreign land would mean. As a native of Judah, the prophet was surely no stranger to the horrors of war. The vicious and cruel Assyrians had already made inroads into his people’s lives. The northern kingdom of Israel had vanished and been replaced by foreigners conquered by Assyria. Now the threat of Babylonian invasion was even worse to contemplate.

However, in the midst of all that was to come, Habakkuk has a new song to sing.

Habakkuk 3:17-18 NLT
[17] “Even though the fig trees have no blossoms, and there are no grapes on the vines; even though the olive crop fails, and the fields lie empty and barren; even though the flocks die in the fields, and the cattle barns are empty, [18] yet I will rejoice in the Lord! I will be joyful in the God of my salvation!”

Comforted by God’s absolute authority over the nations, the assurance of His perfect righteousness and justice in His ways, and His use of nations to fulfil His purposes for His people, the prophet could face the future with faith in God. Regardless of his circumstances, despite the total collapse of Judah’s resources, Habakkuk’s song expresses his delight in his almighty and infallible God.

What if there was nothing left of Judah after the invasion! God was still there, and God was still his God. Habakkuk concludes his wild dance and song of celebration with a quote from his ancestor David…

Psalms 18:33 NLT
[33] “He makes me as surefooted as a deer, enabling me to stand on mountain heights.”

…who knew how to navigate the stresses and distresses of being a fugitive from Saul’s murderous hatred with God’s grace and help.

There were still mountains ahead for Habakkuk to climb, the steep heights of uncharted terrain that the Babylonian invasion would bring, but the prophet was confident that God would give him all the equipment he needed, “the feet of a deer”, to make it safely to the top. From those heights of sometimes difficult and painful experience, Habakkuk would have a panoramic view of God’s dealings with His people. He would see God’s mighty hand at work, guiding and disciplining Israel towards His goal…a people prepared to receive His Messiah.

Although this prophecy is expressed in poetic language as a song to be accompanied by stringed instruments, Habakkuk wrote it to make a strong and surprising point. Beginning with despair and lamentation over the conditions in his nation, he progresses through disclosure and understanding to a new stance of celebration and joy. God’s got the whole situation in hand and He will work it out for the good of His people and the glory of His name. From this perspective, Habakkuk could express his faith in God with a powerful, celebratory song… a song worth singing in the midst of our similar circumstances that caused the prophet so much distress but brought him to new confidence in the God of his ancestors.

Habakkuk ends his story with a declaration of faith that puts him in the category of those who, righteous by faith and faithful to the Lord, will live in and through the midst of war and destruction.