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It’s been a bit since we began our study in this minor prophet, so let me briefly refresh your memory. You will remember that Habakkuk was complaining to God, and understandably so, that he was being forced to watch the Jewish people act totally wicked and corrupt. It was as if God didn’t care. In fact, Habakkuk was basically questioning where the righteous and just God actually was in all of this and why it was being allowed. Then God responds in a way that nobody really expected by basically telling Habakkuk to get ready for shock and awe. God had raised up the wicked Babylonian empire to punish Judah. However, even though they were the tool which God would use, they weren’t going to get away with it.

It’s been a bit since we began our study in this minor prophet, so let me briefly refresh you. You will remember that Habakkuk was complaining to God, and understandably so, that the Jewish people were totally wicked and corrupt and acted as if God didn’t care. In fact, Habakkuk was basically questioning where the righteous and just God actually was in all of this and why it was being allowed. Then God responds in a way that nobody really expected by basically telling Habakkuk to get ready for shock and awe. God had raised up the wicked Babylonian empire to punish Judah. However, even though they were the tool which God would use, they weren’t going to get away with it.

That brings us to today’s passage. As you can probably guess, Habakkuk was not terribly impressed by God’s response. In fact, one might conjecture that he was somewhat fearful about what he had just heard, even though he know that God wouldn’t allow His people to be totally destroyed.

As we also noticed last time we were visiting the book of Habakkuk, he was quite bold and forthright in his conversation with God. Yet, we also observe that he does so with a great deal of reverence and no signs of arrogance. That ought to be an encouragement in our own personal interaction with God in prayer.

So, what do I hope that we are able to glean from today’s passage?

When we cannot understand God, we know that we can always trust God.

Character of God - 1:12-13a

New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update Chapter 1

Are You not from aeverlasting,

O LORD, my God, my Holy One?

We will not die.

You, O LORD, have bappointed them to judge;

And You, O cRock, have established them to correct.

13 Your eyes are too apure to 1approve evil,

And You can not look on wickedness with favor.

Habakkuk 1:12–13a NASB95

Are You not from everlasting, O Lord, my God, my Holy One? We will not die. You, O Lord, have appointed them to judge; And You, O Rock, have established them to correct. Your eyes are too pure to approve evil, And You can not look on wickedness with favor. Why do You look with favor On those who deal treacherously? Why are You silent when the wicked swallow up Those more righteous than they?

Habakkuk 1:12–13a NASB95

Hab

What a blessing to know that Habakkuk, in spite of his confusion and questions, still had complete confidence in Who God is. He very clearly lets his readers know that he is totally confident in God’s justice and holiness. Instead of our looking at this as further complaining in these two verses, I believe we can look at this as a confession of faith. In spite of the seeming contradiction, Habakkuk knows Whom he believes and what God’s character truly is.

As we dig into this, I want to stop and look at the word Lord. This is the covenantal name of God, Yahweh, which to any Jew describes the absolute sovereignty of God, along with the fact that He is unchangeable and is self-existent (not one who was created). This word also shows that what God says, He does. He is the same; not two different things. This Name, Yahweh, is further described as Habakkuk asks the question Are you not from everlasting . . . The Lord is indeed eternal and unlike anyone else. It would seem obvious that the Great I Am would continue in His covenant relationship with Israel and would not totally forsake them. This is what Habakkuk believed wholeheartedly because He so knew God’s character.

We might wonder why Habakkuk seems so focused here on God’s character. I believe it goes right along with his confusion. After all, if the people of Israel are God’s chosen people, why in the world would He use to Babylonians to wipe them out or destroy them?

After all, in contrast to the false Babylonian gods, everything about the Lord is Holy. In everything He does, it is holy. How the universe continues on with all the laws of nature as He created them is holy. When He extends mercy and grace, it is based on His holiness. When He enacts judgment, it is founded on His holiness. In fact, the Bible states that He requires holiness because He, Himself, is holy. And because of that, we know that wickedness must be punished because God is holy. Thus, Habakkuk seemingly acknowledges in the middle part of verse 12: We will not die. Simply put, Habakkuk knows that in God’s holiness and in all of His character, He will not allow His chosen people to be utterly destroyed. Indeed, the nation must be punished; however, not for destruction, but in order to turn their hearts back to God.

We then see Habakkuk understanding the stability and strength of God as the Rock, so that in all of the upcoming horrors, there will be major correction through this punishment, yet they will not be eliminated. In fact, this picture of God’s character is in relation to, not just Habakkuk, but being in the plural, refers to the whole of God’s chosen people.

Again, verse 13 shows that Habakkuk understands God’s character in relation to sin; it is unacceptable and intolerable. God obviously sees it, but He does not ignore it. Evil, wickedness, corruption, all that is not holy cannot remain in God’s presence. God will certainly not turn a blind eye to the situation. He will not ignore or tolerate evil and wickedness. It may look like it to us, but He is altogether holy and pure to allow that to happen. The NIV actually says You cannot tolerate wrong.

As Achtemeier reminds us, “International relations are understood to be always under the sovereignty of God. World history does not take place by chance, according to the Scriptures, nor are human beings ever the sole effectors of it. Human actions result in particular events, to be sure, but human actions are always also accompanied by God’s effective actions as he works out his purpose.”

Methods of God - 1:13b-17

New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update Chapter 1

Why do You blook with favor

On those who deal ctreacherously?

Why are You dsilent when the wicked eswallow up

Those more righteous than they?

14 Why have You made men like the fish of the sea,

Like creeping things without a ruler over them?

15 The Chaldeans abring all of them up with a hook,

bDrag them away with their net,

And gather them together in their fishing net.

Therefore they rejoice and are glad.

16 Therefore they offer a sacrifice to their net

and 1burn incense to their fishing net;

Because through athese things their 2catch is 3large,

And their food is 4plentiful.

17 Will they therefore empty their anet

And continually bslay nations without sparing?

Habakkuk 1:13b–17 NASB95

Your eyes are too pure to approve evil, And You can not look on wickedness with favor. Why do You look with favor On those who deal treacherously? Why are You silent when the wicked swallow up Those more righteous than they? Why have You made men like the fish of the sea, Like creeping things without a ruler over them? The Chaldeans bring all of them up with a hook, Drag them away with their net, And gather them together in their fishing net. Therefore they rejoice and are glad. Therefore they offer a sacrifice to their net and burn incense to their fishing net; Because through these things their catch is large, And their food is plentiful. Will they therefore empty their net And continually slay nations without sparing?

We know that Habakkuk knew what God’s nature was like, yet his personal experiences in life raised giant questions. In fact, with God’s nature as pure and upright as it is, seemed to cause incredible contradictions in Habakkuk’s mind. After all, why would God choose to use a wicked, evil nation such as Babylon to punish Judah? These are genuine questions that are not meant to show a weakness of faith or any sort of disbelief in God. Rather, he simply could not wrap his mind around such apparent contradictions.

Habakkuk obviously knows God’s character, so it’s understandable why he is so troubled. To all who observe, it appears that God is passively standing by while wrong is occurring. It looks as though God is giving the green light for wicked people to inflict horrible things upon God’s people. There is definitely a dichotomy in Habakkuk’s mind. After all, what God has stated He will do seems to fly in the face of what Habakkuk knows about God’s character.

Why then do you tolerate the treacherous? This is how the NIV words it making it a bit more understandable to our minds. The NASB actually uses more of the exact words, but it is a bit less to our liking in our minds. After all, who likes the idea that God looks with favor on those who deal treacherously? All of this seems to contradict Who God really is.

The word treacherous contains within it the idea of ones who are disloyal, unreliable, liars, and betrayers. Obviously, we can assume Habakkuk was referring to the Babylonians. With that in mind, Habakkuk is probably wondering why God just appears to let matters take their course; almost as if God cannot be bothered. After all, the chosen people of God were not doing right by God, as seen in chapter 1, but they were not nearly as wicked as the Babylonians.

Verse 14 is a curious verse. If you think about the order of creation and how God designed the world to operate, we recall that humanity was supposed to rule over the fish of the sea. Now it seems that Habakkuk feels as though the children of Israel are not much better off in their helplessness against the Babylonians. It’s as if they are intended to be devoured and ruled over by another. It also seems as if God has left them. They are not much different than a large school of small fish; no ruler and at the mercy of those more powerful than they.

In verses 15 and following, Habakkuk paints a picture of the Babylonians with their trophies of nations and how they act. We can visualize a picture of fishing with a baited hook, especially after the last verses. Yet there is more to this, as I discovered in my study. We know that the Babylonians were a cruel people. This is seen even more graphically by how they treated their prisoners.

Historians, as well as the scene from , tell us that the Babylonians would take a large hook and run it through the lower lip or jaw of their prisoners and string them one behind another in a long line, dragging them from place to place. God’s chosen people may have thought they were safe and under God’s protection, but they would be dragged out and paraded along for all to see.

Staying with the fishing motif, we see the large net. This was another method for fishing, even seen in such classic movies like Finding Nemo. It was a large net designed to capture a large amount of fish. reminds us that this illustration is symbolic of God’s judgment on His people.

An interesting bit of trivia should be noted here. All of the major deities of the Babylonians, their most popular false gods, are pictured holding or dragging a net with their enemies wriggling about inside. They are worshipping their false gods and their tools of destruction and war. The Babylonians were rich and well taken care of at the expense of those they conquered. It has been said that what a man trusts in is what becomes a god to him.

Finally in the last verse of chapter one, Habakkuk begs the question as to how long God could allow this to happen before intervening. The way the question is worded implies that Habakkuk knows that God will not allow this to continue forever. God will eventually make all things right. The question also wonders as to how long this cycle will continue. After the Babylonians tire of those whom they’ve captured, will they just throw them out and look for a new, fresh conquest? After all, it has been seen from other nations that Babylon has no qualms about the total destruction of a people group, as long as they themselves benefited.

The frustration Habakkuk felt can easily be felt by many of us. Often we wonder at how long evil can get away with what is done at the expense of the innocent.

Waiting on God - 2:1

Habakkuk 2:1 NASB95

I will stand on my guard post And station myself on the rampart; And I will keep watch to see what He will speak to me, And how I may reply when I am reproved.

We close out today’s passage by simply observing the prophet, Habakkuk, patiently awaiting God’s response. One can truly appreciate such a bold and strong faith that is willing to be taught of God. After all, only God can respond to Habakkuk’s concerns with anything of value. So he will wait on God.

The idea here is that Habakkuk goes to a high place to observe. He goes someplace where he won’t be disturbed and he waits for God to respond to Him. My assumption is that while waiting, he was not at all being mindless. Most likely, he was reflecting on God’s Word and His many promises. In fact, he was quite determined to do nothing else until he received clarity from God.

One commentator shares this insight on this verse: The ‘ramparts’ or ‘fortress’ (possibly ‘watch-tower’) are places of elevation (for looking into the distance) and seclusion (they are usually fenced in). They are situated on top of a defensive wall. Here they display the prophet’s attitude of heart and mind or the spiritual preparation of his soul for hearing the Word of God within. They do not signify a literal physical place or posture. Habakkuk deliberately shuts out worldly thoughts and fleshly imaginations and shuts himself in with only his prayers and meditations.

As with all answers given by God, there is the personal application that comes first. Then it goes out to the people as a whole from there. What a great reminder for us today. In order to hear from God, we need to place ourself in a situation that removes us from the normal way of life. We can’t allow the noises of this world to feed into our mind and soul. We need to place ourselves where we don’t confuse our own voice and thoughts with those of the Lord. It is then where we can have clarity. And notice that when Habakkuk did this, he fully expected God to respond. I like what one author said: It is a wise man who takes his questions about God to God for answers.

Summary

If we only look at the short term, we will always miss out on God’s overriding purpose. It is essential that we see the long term picture and trust God to work in His way and His time, all the while living in obedience in the here and now.

It is understandable for any of us to have difficulty trusting God, when we are confronted with what seems to be conflicting situations. When what we thought we knew about God and what we observe round about us raises questions, we struggle. However, I appreciate how we observe Habakkuk taking time to rehearse before God and himself what God is truly like. Reflecting upon what we know for certain about God’s character and attributes should put our minds to rest when we are tempted to doubt God’s character.

We are also reminded over and again that God’s ways are definitely not our ways. He sovereignly orchestrates all things to work in such a way that He is glorified and we are continually to be transformed into the likeness of His Son, Jesus Christ. Obviously, this is only true for those who already belong to Jesus.

In addition, we may think that others are far worse than we may be; yet, the Bible tells us in Hebrews that God disciplines those whom He loves. We are not told that it will be pleasant. Yet, God loves us too much to allow us to wander off in a worldly direction or to wander away from Him. He wants us to draw near to Him.

Finally, I am encouraged that when I have questions or confusion about what God is doing or doesn’t seem to be doing, I can go to Him directly. I don’t need to talk about God. I need to talk to God. Sometimes that means I have to get away by myself (literally or figuratively) and simply wait for Him. He will reveal to me what I need to know when I need to know it.

Got questions? As I stated earlier: When we cannot understand God, we know that we can always trust God.

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