Though It Tarry
In the manual: Come, Follow Me lesson 49, “He Delighteth in Mercy,” on Gospel Library
Start
Habakkuk begins his book with a complaint. “O Lord, how long shall I cry, and thou wilt not hear!” (Habakkuk 1:2).
Read Together
Habakkuk lived in Judah when violence and injustice were everywhere (Habakkuk 1:3–4). The Lord answered that Babylon would come and punish Judah, and that troubled Habakkuk even more (Habakkuk 1:5–6; 1:13).
1I will stand upon my watch, and set me upon the tower, and will watch to see what he will say unto me, and what I shall answer when I am reproved. 2And the Lord answered me, and said, Write the vision, and make it plain upon tables, that he may run that readeth it. 3For the vision is yet for an appointed time, but at the end it shall speak, and not lie: though it tarry, wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not tarry.
17Although the fig tree shall not blossom, neither shall fruit be in the vines; the labour of the olive shall fail, and the fields shall yield no meat; the flock shall be cut off from the fold, and there shall be no herd in the stalls: 18Yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation.
What It Teaches
Habakkuk brought his questions to the Lord and then waited for an answer. “I will stand upon my watch, and set me upon the tower, and will watch to see what he will say unto me” (Habakkuk 2:1). Joseph Smith cried out with the same kind of question in Liberty Jail, and the Lord answered him too (Doctrine and Covenants 121:1–8).
The Lord told him to write the vision plainly, “upon tables,” so that whoever read it could run with the message (Habakkuk 2:2). “Though it tarry, wait for it; because it will surely come” (verse 3). In the meantime, “the just shall live by his faith” (verse 4).
Elder Gerrit W. Gong taught what trusting God can do with our hardest trials. “When we trust God and His love for us, even our greatest heartbreaks can, in the end, work together for our good.”
Elder Gerrit W. Gong, “All Things for Our Good,” General conference, April 2024
Habakkuk’s book ends in praise. Even if the fig tree does not blossom and the fields yield no food, “yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation” (Habakkuk 3:17–18). Some of his questions were still open, and his trust in the Lord was settled.
Talk About It
Habakkuk asked the Lord hard questions and then waited for the answer. What question would you like to bring to the Lord, and how can we wait with faith?
Take to Church
Habakkuk asked how long, and the Lord said, “wait for it; because it will surely come.” Even with empty fields, Habakkuk chose to rejoice in the Lord.