Literary Structure and the Theological Focus of Habakkuk

The question of the fairness of God and the presence of evil and its ravages especially on those who are perceived to be good is confounding. One of the Bible books that tackles this subject is the book of Habakkuk. The prophetic book presents a gripping dialogue between Habakkuk and God on the question of God’s justice. The prophet approaches God with a rare audacity in the Old Testament. God’s response on the other hand leaves the prophet spellbound, resigning to more trust in God. The prophetic poetic nature of the work invites an application of a literary analysis in order to arrive at the prophet’s intent. The Hebrew literature rich in its expressions, features and structure affords an opportunity of study into this gripping work of the prophet. The alternate structural arrangement of the book reveals an answer to the question of God’s justice, which is existentially faith in God and eschatologically a visitation by God. The prophetic work of Habakkuk is a refreshing and reassuring piece in the world of injustice in which common question is; is it fair? I dedicate this book to all who have felt the brunt of evil and have lingering questions about the justice of God.