SUMMARY
The wicked live by dominating acquisition and self-assertion; the righteous live by faith in God and God’s commitment to deliverance from such domination.
ANALYSIS
Present experience appears to offer life only through domination and acquisition. That path appears to have no bounds; the only alternative seems to be suffering under domination. Habakkuk cannot understand God’s toleration of the status quo that centers on such oppression. Even worse, it appears that God is sanctioning some of the domination (in Habakkuk’s case, the Babylonians). God’s response is to assert that there is a future beyond the present reality of domination and oppression. There is an appointed time for the end of oppression and for the deliverance of the oppressed. What is one to do when that end seems to tarry? It is in the context of this question and condition that the assertion is made that “the righteousA righteous person is one who is ethical and faithful to God's covenant. Righteousness in the Old Testament is an attitude of God; in the New Testament it is a gift of God through grace. In the New Testament righteousness is a relationship with God... live by faith.” That conviction is underscored with depictions of the self-destruction of the oppressive dominators (2:5-19) and of God’s direct action (3:3-15). To live by faith is further described by rejoicing and exultation in God (3:18). The book of Habakkuk, through Habakkuk’s dialogue with God, promises life to the righteous sufferers without minimizing the suffering endured in the wait for God’s promises to be fulfilled.
