2:1 Habakkuk compared himself to a sentinel on a city wall watching the horizon for the approach of a horseman. He purposed to watch and wait expectantly for the Lord to reply to this second question, as He had the first, so he could report it to his brethren (cf. 3:16). He prepared himself for a discussion with the Lord about the situation as well as for the Lord's answer that he expected in a vision or dream (cf. Job 13:3; 23:4).
"Only by revelation can the genuine perplexities of God's dealings with human beings be comprehended."24
2:2 Yahweh did respond and told the prophet to make a permanent record of the vision that He would give him on tablets (of clay, stone, or metal; cf. Exod. 31:18; 32:15-16; Deut. 9:10; 27:8). Having received and recorded the vision, Habakkuk should then run to tell his fellow citizens what God's answer was.
2:3 The vision Habakkuk was about to receive concerned events to take place in the future. Though it was a prophecy that would not come to pass immediately, it would materialize eventually. Habakkuk was to wait for its fulfillment because it would indeed come at the Lord's appointed time.
The writer of the Book of Hebrews quoted this verse (Heb. 10:37). He used it to encourage his readers to persevere in their commitment to Jesus Christ since what God has predicted will eventually come to pass, namely, the Lord's return.
