Habakkuk’s First Complaint (Psalm 13:1-6)
“This is the burden that Habakkuk the prophet received in a vision: How long, O LORD, must I call for help but You do not hear, or cry out to You, “Violence!” but You do not save? Why do You make me see iniquity? Why do You tolerate wrongdoing? Destruction and violence are before me. Strife is ongoing, and conflict abounds. Therefore the law is paralyzed, and justice never goes forth. For the wicked hem in the righteous, so that justice is perverted.”
The LORD’s Answer
“Look at the nations and observe—be utterly astounded! For I am doing a work in your days that you would never believe even if someone told you. For behold, I am raising up the Chaldeans(Babylonians) — that ruthless and impetuous nation which marches through the breadth of the earth to seize dwellings not their own. They are dreaded and feared; from themselves they derive justice and sovereignty. Their horses are swifter than leopards, fiercer than wolves of the night. Their horsemen charge ahead, and their cavalry comes from afar. They fly like a vulture, swooping down to devour. All of them come bent on violence; their hordes advance like the east wind; they gather prisoners like sand. They scoff at kings and make rulers an object of scorn. They laugh at every fortress and build up siege ramps to seize it. Then they sweep by like the wind and pass on through. They are guilty; their own strength is their god.
Habakkuk’s Second Complaint (Psalm 11:1-7)
Are You not from everlasting, O LORD, my God, my Holy One? We will not die. O LORD, You have appointed them to execute judgment; O Rock, You have established them for correction. Your eyes are too pure to look upon evil, and You cannot tolerate wrongdoing. So why do You tolerate the faithless?
Why are You silent while the wicked swallow up those more righteous than themselves? You have made men like the fish of the sea, like creeping things that have no ruler. The foe pulls all of them up with a hook; he catches them in his dragnet, and gathers them in his fishing net; so he rejoices gladly. Therefore he sacrifices to his dragnet and burns incense to his fishing net, for by these things his portion is sumptuous and his food is rich. Will he, therefore, empty his net and continue to slay nations without mercy?”
Talk about presumption! Habakkuk is a righteous man living in an unrighteous society. The country of Israel has already been swallowed up by the Assyrians and now the Babylonians are threatening to annihilate Judah. Things are deteriorating in Judah, and Habakkuk must acknowledge that fact. “Why do You make me see iniquity? Why do You tolerate wrongdoing? Destruction and violence are before me. Strife is ongoing, and conflict abounds. Therefore the law is paralyzed, and justice never goes forth. For the wicked hem in the righteous, so that justice is perverted.”
But while Habakkuk sees the problems in his own society, he is aghast at the behavior of the approaching conquerors. And God is not giving Habakkuk any comfort. ““Look at the nations and observe—be utterly astounded! For I am doing a work in your days that you would never believe even if someone told you. For behold, I am raising up the Chaldeans(Babylonians) — that ruthless and impetuous nation which marches through the breadth of the earth to seize dwellings not their own. They are dreaded and feared; from themselves they derive justice and sovereignty. Their horses are swifter than leopards, fiercer than wolves of the night. Their horsemen charge ahead, and their cavalry comes from afar. They fly like a vulture, swooping down to devour. All of them come bent on violence; their hordes advance like the east wind; they gather prisoners like sand. They scoff at kings and make rulers an object of scorn. They laugh at every fortress and build up siege ramps to seize it. Then they sweep by like the wind and pass on through. They are guilty; their own strength is their god.”
God tells Habakkuk that He is using the Babylonians, even though He knows exactly how ruthlessly they behave. Habakkuk then responds by agreeing that God has appointed the Babylonians to execute judgment, BUT why is God allowing the Babylonians to murder the righteous along with the guilty?
“Why are You silent while the wicked swallow up those more righteous than themselves? You have made men like the fish of the sea, like creeping things that have no ruler. The foe pulls all of them up with a hook; he catches them in his dragnet, and gathers them in his fishing net; so he rejoices gladly. Therefore he sacrifices to his dragnet and burns incense to his fishing net, for by these things his portion is sumptuous and his food is rich. Will he, therefore, empty his net and continue to slay nations without mercy?”
Habakkuk is incensed because God is using a horde of vicious idolaters to execute judgement. How long is God going to allow this horrific situation to continue?
APPLICATION: At times, many of us have found ourselves trapped in situations from which we long to be delivered. The deterioration of mainline Protestant denominations has led to many churches withdrawing and forming new groups that hopefully will operate on scriptural grounds. The rise of the North American Lutheran Church, the Reformed Presbyterian Church and the Global Methodist Church are examples. But there are also many people whose congregations have refused to leave their original denominations. Now individuals are facing the agonizing choice of leaving groups with whom they have fellowshipped for years to join new groups who are operating on spiritually sound principles.
Habakkuk is demanding answers from God because he can’t understand why God is allowing the Babylonian juggernaut to maul the nations in its path. Surely, God must have some answers. One principle that gets relatively little attention these days is the sovereignty of God. God is the Ruler of the universe, the Creator and Sustainer. God is almighty, all powerful, all knowing, and all understanding. As human beings, we never know the end from the beginning; we only see things in little bits.
The Nazis attempted to annihilate the entire Jewish race and did everything they could to destroy Jewish culture in the countries they controlled. Six million Jews died, as did untold numbers of Jewish sympathizers. Yet, God use these appalling events to encourage those who remained to return to Israel and to build it up as a new nation. Could God have accomplished this feat in some other fashion? Certainly! But Hitler and the other Nazis exercised their free will to do these terrible deeds. In Habakkuk’s time, God used the Babylonians. Could God have struck all the wicked down with a plague? Of course. But would that have served God’s purposes as well? We cannot tell because none of us knows the human heart as God does.
As we continue through Habakkuk and look at our own struggles, let’s remember that God is still in the business of discernment. God is the only One who knows the end from the beginning, and God is the One who can make all things right, even when marauding armies are wreaking havoc.
PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and for caring for us. Lord, help us to trust where we do not understand. Thank You that You are not threatened or dismayed when we question You. Increase our faith so that we will trust You completely. In the matchless Name of King Jesus. Amen.
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