Habakkuk 2:1 - Meaning and Application

Here, the prophet humbly takes his place before God: “I will stand at my watch” (Habakkuk 2:1). He pictures himself like a guard on a city wall, alert and eager for news. He wants to look up, look around, and even look within, to see what God will say to him. He is listening carefully for God’s words and watching for the steps of God’s care and rule in events.

The phrase can also mean, “I will watch to see what he will say in me.” In that sense, he is waiting for the Spirit of prophecy, that is, God’s Spirit giving him the answer he needs. God often speaks to us not only through his written word, but also through our consciences, quietly saying, “This is the way, walk in it.” We must pay attention to both ways God teaches.

The prophet standing on his tower shows wisdom and effort. He is using every help available to understand God’s mind. If we want to hear from God, we also need to withdraw from the noise of the world and rise above it in heart and mind. That means fixing our thoughts, studying Scripture, asking wise and experienced believers, and continuing in prayer.

His watchfulness also shows patience and steady resolve. A watchman waits for the right time, and the prophet will do the same. He wants an answer, not only for his own peace, but also so he can answer others who question him. When God’s ways puzzle us, or we are tempted to think chance rules the world, we must labor to clear our minds with godly truth.

If we are troubled by doubts about God’s providence, we should stand watch against that temptation. We should search for help, think over God’s past works, and go into God’s presence to understand the end of these matters (Psalm 77:6; Psalm 73:17). We must not give in to doubt, but work our way out of it. The right response is not surrender, but careful seeking.

After prayer, we should watch for God’s answer through his word, his Spirit, and his providence. David said, “I will direct my prayer to you,” and then, “I will look up” (Psalm 5:3). That is, he prayed and then waited to see the result. We should also listen for what the Lord will speak (Psalm 85:8).

When we read and hear God’s word, we should listen for what it says to our own case. God may send conviction, warning, counsel, or comfort. We should receive it and submit to it. We should also think about how we will answer when God’s word reproves us, so that we are ready to respond rightly.

When people argue against God and his providence, as the prophet seems to have faced, we should seek our answer from God himself. Then we will be ready to speak wisely to others, as people who can give a reason for the hope within us (1 Peter 3:15). We should ask God for the right words and trust him to give them when the time comes.

Then God graciously meets the prophet. He does not disappoint those who wait to hear him speak. He answers with peace and with comforting words (Zechariah 1:13). The prophet had been troubled by the success of the Chaldeans, the Babylonian empire that God had shown him. Now God gives him a further vision of their downfall and ruin.

Because this event was so important, God told the prophet to write the vision down (Habakkuk 2:2). John later received the same command when he saw the New Jerusalem, the holy city of God (Revelation 21:5). Writing helps fix the message in the prophet’s own mind, and it makes the message clear for people far away and for future generations. Spoken tradition can easily be altered, but what is written stays fixed and safe.

We should thank God for written visions, because he has written to us the great things of his prophets and of his law. The prophet was also to make the vision plain on tablets, meaning it should be easy to read. It was to be written clearly, in large letters, so even someone passing by could read it at a glance. Prophets likely sometimes posted important messages this way in the temple (Isaiah 8:1).

This shows that those who preach God’s word should aim at plain speech. They should try to make themselves understood by the simplest hearer. The truths of our lasting peace with God are written clearly for us. They are plain to anyone who truly understands them (Proverbs 8:9), and God himself has given them his full approval.

The people were also told to wait for the vision to be fulfilled (Habakkuk 2:3). The deliverance would come by the breaking of the Chaldeans’ power, but the time was fixed by God and not near. It would be delayed for a while, and that is another reason the vision had to be written, so it could be read again later and compared with what happened. God has a set time for every work he plans, and he will carry it out when that time arrives. We are not to rush ahead of him, but to wait for his time.

That waiting is not wasted. Even if the promised help seems slow, it will come at last, and it will more than repay the waiting. “At the end it shall speak, and not lie.”

We will not be disappointed by it, because it will come at the appointed time. We will not be disappointed in it either, because it will fully meet the hopes of all who believe. The promise may seem silent for a long time, but in the end it will speak. So even if it delays longer than we expected, we must keep waiting for it, sure that it will come, and willing to wait until it does.

The day God has set for delivering his people and destroying his enemies will surely come at last. It is never put off without another date being set. It will come at the fixed time, and also at the best time. It will not be late, because God is never slow, as some people count slowness (2 Peter 3:9). It may seem late to us, but it is never late in relation to God’s plan, which is always best.

This vision, whose fulfillment will be waited for so long, will test faith and patience and reveal what people are really like (Habakkuk 2:4). Some will look on it with proud contempt. Their hearts are so puffed up that they will not even pay attention to it. If God works for them right away, they will thank him, but they will not trust him. Their hearts are set on empty things, and because God does not act immediately, they will try to take care of themselves and refuse to depend on him. They think their own strength is enough, and God’s promise means little to them. A soul like that is not upright in him. It is not right with God, and it is not what it should be. People who distrust or despise God’s complete power will not walk in uprightness with him (Genesis 17:1).

But those who are truly good, whose hearts are right with God, will value the promise and place everything on it. In confidence that it is true, they will keep close to God and keep doing their duty, even in the hardest times. Then they will live with peace in communion with God, dependence on him, and expectation from him. The just shall live by faith. During the captivity, God’s people will support themselves and live in comfort by faith in these precious promises, even while their fulfillment is delayed. The just shall live by his faith, that is, by the faith he places in God’s word. This is quoted in the New Testament (Romans 1:17; Galatians 3:11; Hebrews 10:38) to support the great teaching that we are made right with God by faith alone, and to show how faith shapes the Christian life. Those who are made right by faith will live, meaning they will be happy now and forever. While they are on earth, they live by faith, and when they reach heaven, faith will give way to sight.