Vision of Victory Pt. I | Habakkuk 3:8-15

May 4th, 2025

If we look at our journey through Habakkuk, we see the book beginning with a prophet wrestling with what he perceived to be the injustice of God coupled with the silence of God, leading him to respond with a lament.  With the release of this lament, comes the prophet’s shock at God’s response, at the method of God’s justice: the Chaldeans.  Unable to comprehend this, Habakkuk is led to a second lament.  In seeing God’s justice, understanding His wrath, curious about the way God works, Habakkuk responds in a right way (v12).  He has confidence in what God is doing, his faith not shaken, but remains in awe at God’s methods.

In chapter two, God called Habakkuk, to see not only what was happening, but also to give him a clearer picture of what was coming, what was on the horizon, leading to the climax of the Chiasm:  “the righteous shall live by his faith” (2:4).  Then comes the deliverance by God of the coming judgments against the Chaldeans, woes that roll out and swell like storm clouds over the pride of Babylon.

As we move into chapter three, we have the shiggaion, a wildly, spirit-filled, poetic lamenting prayer, where God’s justice and wrath begin to be unveiled, a hymn to be sung together by the congregation.  In Habakkuk 3:3-7, we see a vision of the swelling imagery of God’s majesty, the procession of God marching forward.  God comes in His radiant splendor, with the nations shaking and the whole earth trembling, His glory outshining the sun.  With this imagery echoes Sinai, Exodus and Creation, all of which speaks to who God is and to His character.  It is a holy unveiling of God’s nearness in judgment that He wants us to feel, not just seeing it as an unveiling of His might.  God has strength in His steps, light in His hand.

This is where we are as we arrive at Habakkuk 3:8, the introduction to the second half of this shiggaion, this song, an interpretative lens through which we look at the remainder of the chapter.  It is a scene-setter to help us see what is coming.  Habakkuk’s question is no longer what does he see, but why does he see it, answered in the first part of the verse followed by a response of how it is going to come about.  As this verse sets the interpretative tone, it helps us understand the wrath of God and His character behind it.  We are able to see that God’s wrath intentionally rides in and that it is not arbitrary.  We see God symphonically moving towards redemption (v19).  Also comes a sneak peak into the crescendo of salvation, the climax arriving in 3:13-16, and the resolve landing in 3:17-19.

With verse eight, we begin with a series of atypical questions, more akin to astonished interrogations.  Habakkuk begins to see God’s wrath is wondrous, not reckless, causing him to look in awe at who God is.  This verse is the hinge between what God reveals in His glory (vv3-7) and what God does (vv9-15).  Here, what we find is that the holiness of God begins to awaken the soul to the greatest need of God’s people and the purpose of God's judgment begins to be seen.  This verse is like an underground river, full of marvel, swelling and beginning to erupt, coming to the surface in holy wonder, which then allows us to correctly interpret the verses that follow. 

As we begin to understand the reality of God’s word, the reality of who He is, His character, may we truly begin to see our weakness to understand, comprehend, to climb to the summits.  By God’s word and His Spirit, may we see clearly God’s wrath in a way that moves us to clarity of the gospel.  May it provoke us with stronger desires to know Him and to love Him, to see the beauty and majesty of who He is.

I. Wondrous Wrath (v.8)

A. The Prophet’s Interrogations (v.8a)

Habakkuk is now standing on the precipice of something “other worldly”, spiritually, musically, poetically in his heart envisioning the wrath of God, using three terms…fury, anger and wrath…each building in intensity, serving distinct purposes.  Take note that this vision of God’s wrath is not hideous, pushing us away, but that it culminates in wonder, drawing us closer to God.  It is not in our nature to associate wonder with God when we think about His wrath, but that is what Habakkuk gives us.

Let us remember that wonder is a spiritual stillness of the soul, summoned out of us when we are confronted with something truly amazing that we cannot comprehend in its entirety.  Wonder is the spiritual response of the soul when we are confronted with God’s purposes.  Wonder is summoned out of Habakkuk as he begins to see God’s coming, along with the beauty in the purpose behind His wrath.  With this wonder comes a series of rhetorical questions, meant to express Habakkuk’s complete astonishment and wonder, not accusation.  He is not challenging God with his questions, but he is trying to comprehend the height, breadth, depth and beauty of what he sees.

These questions serve as windows to see into God’s character and holiness, with the first serving to draw out of our hearts the reality that God’s wrath awakens (ignites) our souls: “Did Yahweh’s fury burn against the rivers?”.  In this question, we see the mention of rivers, which represent places of power, not obstacles, in Israel’s history, places where God’s power was on display, places where He drew out wonder from them.  The Nile in Egypt was one such place where when it was struck blood came (Exodus 7:20), awakening wonder for God in both the hearts of the Egyptians and Israel, which was to come through God’s justice.  For the Egyptians, the coming plagues would not simply be acts of judgment, but revelations of God’s power, intended to invoke a spiritual response.  The response from Israel, seeing God’s power displayed against the Egyptians, was both fear of God and belief.  Israel began to see who God is, while Egypt experienced who God is.  Wonder was awakened in Israel’s heart.  This first question is intended to be the moment when our soul is startled, awakened from sleep.  We see in Exodus 32:10, the way God awakened Israel to the wonder of His justice.  Through judgment, God would ignite within Israel a sense of awe with regards to who He is.

We know God’s wrath is not directed to nature, but just as God once judged Pharaoh by the waters, He now prepares to judge Babylon the same way.  With the same power, with a new enemy, the end is the same goal: wonder at God.  This question awakens the soul to see the wonder of God’s wrath.

Then comes the second question: “Or was Your anger against the rivers?”.  Here, the word for anger communicates a “hot” anger, an anger with flaring nostrils, an emotion oriented towards a personal grievance, mixed with grief and sorrow.  This anger is akin to the anger found in Deuteronomy 6:15.  This anger reveals an embodied emotion of a personal God…He is relational.  God is personally offended.  Sin is a relational violation of God’s glory, character and law.  Jonathan Edwards stated, “Sin is an opposition to God’s very being and excellence…it is a setting up of one’s own will and desires against the will of an infinite majestic God”.  This is what David communicated when he wrote, “Against You, You only, I have sinned and done what is evil in Your sight…” (Psalm 51:4).  David recognized that sin is not just breaking a rule–it is a personal offense against God.  We see other aspects of this same anger in Isaiah 1:2-4 and in Hosea 11:8.  Unlike our grievances, which are mainly rooted in pride or idolatry, God’s grievance is rooted in His holiness (Romans 1:18).  God’s wrath is the necessary holy response to what contradicts His nature.

God’s anger is not just relational, but also covenantal, always tied to His covenantal love, which comes forward in two aspects: when His people are dishonored and when His people dishonor Him in a covenant relationship bound together in love.  We see the first aspect of God’s covenantal anger in Zechariah 1:14-15, where God is passionately committed to the honor and well-being of His people.  We see the second aspect in Ezekiel 6:9, where we find God has been hurt by the adulterous hearts of His people who made a promise to Him.  God is personally broken-hearted by His people.  The anger of God is not simply dismissed as mechanical, or judicial but, includes a relational aspect.  This anger is, “not a fitful passion, but…personal displeasure of God” (Berkhof).  What Habakkuk realizes is that this deep, passionate anger arises out of loyalty and love, causing the people to stand in wonder.  He knows that nature is not triggering God’s anger, but rather Habakkuk is explaining how God’s wrath awakens the soul to the reality that it is a personal anger.

With the third question , Habakkuk communicates that God’s anger is an overwhelming, overflowing, flood-like force: “Or was Your wrath against the sea?”. In moving from rivers to seas, we see that Habakkuk is speaking about the span of God’s force, which we also find in Job 21:30, where the wicked will be led forth at the day of fury, akin to a violent flood.  Also, we see a similar reference in Isaiah 30:27, where God’s wrath is compared to a massive storm surge, a tsunami.  This reference fits the one of Habakkuk 3, where the whole earth is trembling before Yahweh, whose wrath is apocalyptic, sweeping over land, sea and sky.  This is God’s unrestrained anger, yet it remains precise and calculated, going exactly where God wills it to go.  Does this not lend you to remember the Red Sea crossing in Exodus 14 (when cross-referenced with Psalm 78:49-53), the clearest Old Testament display of God’s overflowing, precise and calculated wrath that we see?  Here, wrath poured out on Egypt while His salvation poured over Israel.  Later, in Exodus 15:14, we find that this event resonated around the world provoking global wonder.

This particular wrath was overwhelming glory, not cruelty.  This is the purpose in God allowing His wrath to go forth, which moves us to wonder at Him.  With God’s wrath overwhelming the Egyptians, all of the nations of the world, along with Israel, saw something they could never “unsee”: a holy God whose wrath is just as overwhelming as His mercy.  For Israel, God wanted them to understand His covenantal, relational love. 

In Habakkuk’s song, we have the image of the wondrous wrath of God, with these three rhetorical questions, building in intensity, along with three descriptions of that wrath.  It awakens in fury, it is personal in nature and it is overwhelming in scope.  

B. The Warrior’s Advance (v.8b)

We have seen “why” God’s wrath is so wonderful.  Now, we will begin to see “how” God’s wrath evokes this wonder.  From the text we read, “That You rode on Your horses, On Your chariots of salvation?”.  Note everything hinges on the word “that” (kee).  The use of this word means that everything before it, these three rhetorical questions (v8a), are theological declarations.  In this instance, the word “that” is used to communicate “how” something is happening.  It is the pivot of Habakkuk’s logic and it serves to magnify the wonder behind God’s wrath, which is very pointed, and not sloppy, reactionary, uncontrolled, impulsive or damaging, like that of human wrath.  God’s anger is like the scalpel in the hand of a seasoned surgeon, making precise incisions.  While it is painful, His aims of purification, redemption and restoration are accomplished.  Divine wrath is always measured, just and in perfect harmony with His holiness and covenantal love.  “Yahweh is a jealous and avenging God…. Yahweh takes vengeance on His Adversaries…. Yahweh is slow to anger and great in power” (Nahum 1:2-3).  Slow to anger affirms patience.  Great in power affirms precision.  The use of “that” affirms that God’s wrath is very specific, very personal, evoking awe, the goal of which is always redemption.  This is what causes Habakkuk to wonder that God is going to come and save His people.

How does it happen?  God rides in on His horses, imagery used to communicate divine theophany…like a king advancing in conquest on his enemy, God is coming!  We see similar imagery in Psalm 18:10, where David gives thanks to God for his deliverance from Saul because God heard his cry.  God is seen by David as a divine warrior, coming in majestic power, advancing in response to injustice, to save him.  Take note that God does not send someone else, it is He who is coming…God rides in.  In this imagery, we see that the theological significance is that God’s appearance is not a vision of peace, but rather a show of how He will personally, forcefully and swiftly war against evil.

In God’s riding of horses, we see that the tables have turned.  Instead of Israel being chased down by Pharaoh’s horse-led chariots, it is now God riding against evil in hot pursuit on His horses!  With intensity, momentum and intentionality comes God’s wrath.  It will not just hover in the heavens, it will advance in wonderful ways and it will produce salvation for Israel.  God’s wrath always makes way for salvation!  Habakkuk clearly communicates this truth.

Take note that there are also shadows of future (and ultimate!) fulfillment, something greater.  As Habakkuk writes,  “on Your chariots of salvation?”, he shows us that God’s chariots roll with redemptive purpose, that salvation is coming.  In the Semitic language, “salvation” and “Jesus” share the same root word.  In Matthew 1:21, “You shall call His name, Jesus (yeh-SHOO-ah), for He will save (yeh-shoo-AH) His people from their sins.” we see that Jesus’ name is directly connected with His saving mission.  The name is the mission.  The wrath of God is wonderful because it brings Yeshua (yeh-SHOO-ah) to save us.  It is the divine expression of His love.  God’s fury, anger and wrath are burning against His great opponent, Satan, the master of all evil.  God is coming to save His people.  In this vision, Habakkuk is leading us to God’s ultimate salvation: God’s rescue of us through His ultimate warrior, Jesus, at the cross, the pinpoint place at which the wrath of God will be directed.  But, God’s wrath extends beyond that to include the second coming of the Lord, at which time evil will be cast into eternal damnation and His children will be welcomed into glory. 

With verse eight, the scene is set, and we have a vision of the coming wrath of God.  He will come riding in on His horses to save us.  Next week, In Habakkuk 3:9-13a, we will see a cosmic confrontation, culminating at the cross, with God riding in, saving us from Himself, where Christ receives the mighty blow of God’s wrath.  We will see the ultimate triumph of God.  What a glorious picture set before us in just one verse (3:8).  Let us not forget the images Habakkuk has for us.  With absolute certainty, God’s chariots are coming.  They are ready and Yeshua stands at the helm waiting for the Father to say, “Go get my children and bring them home!”  Make no mistake.  When that command is executed, an overwhelming rage of fury will be unleashed against evil.

God’s word, by His Spirit, inspires us because of His love.  We see that God’s love is expressed in His wrath, but He has provided a way of escape from that wrath, the free gift of salvation through Jesus Christ.  In that salvation, we repent and we trust Him. In that salvation, God’s chariots come and rescue us.  He reveals His coming wrath to His children, who wait to see it revealed to the rest of the world.  Wonder and worship of God will happen when every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord.  May we look forward with eagerness and anticipation to that day when Yeshua comes for His bride.  Let us thank God for the picture of salvation he provides in Habakkuk.

II. Cosmic Confrontation (v.9-13a)

III. True Triumph (v.13b-15)

Selah

• As you examine where your faith is right now, in whatever God has set before you, do you live with a wondrous confidence in His redemptive purpose for you?

• As you consider and wonder at the redemptive power found in God’s wrath against evil, do you better understand His redemptive power, His covenantal love for you, in the steps in which He is leading you

• Are you living with a vision of victory that God’s chariots, with Jesus at the helm, will come for you, His bride, at God’s appointed, precise time?  Or is today the day of your salvation?