Habakkuk's Dialogue with God: In Search of Justice
Habakkuk 1:1-17
- What did it mean to the original reader or original audience?
#People = Habakkuk (the prophet), God
#Time =
#Place = Judah
#Obedient faith =
#Sin =
#Key Idea =
1The oracle that Habakkuk the prophet saw.
Habakkuk’s Complaint
2O Lord, how long shall I cry for help,
and you will not hear?
Or cry to you “Violence!”
and you will not save?
3Why do you make me see iniquity,
and why do you idly look at wrong?
Destruction and violence are before me;
strife and contention arise.
4So the law is paralyzed,
and justice never goes forth.
For the wicked surround the righteous;
so justice goes forth perverted.
The Lord’s Answer
5“Look among the nations, and see;
wonder and be astounded.
For I am doing a work in your days
that you would not believe if told.
6For behold, I am raising up the Chaldeans,
that bitter and hasty nation,
who march through the breadth of the earth,
to seize dwellings not their own.
7They are dreaded and fearsome;
their justice and dignity go forth from themselves.
8Their horses are swifter than leopards,
more fierce than the evening wolves;
their horsemen press proudly on.
Their horsemen come from afar;
they fly like an eagle swift to devour.
9They all come for violence,
all their faces forward.
They gather captives like sand.
10At kings they scoff,
and at rulers they laugh.
They laugh at every fortress,
for they pile up earth and take it.
11Then they sweep by like the wind and go on,
guilty men, whose own might is their god!”
Habakkuk’s Second Complaint
12Are you not from everlasting,
O Lord my God, my Holy One?
We shall not die.
O Lord, you have ordained them as a judgment,
and you, O Rock, have established them for reproof.
13You who are of purer eyes than to see evil
and cannot look at wrong,
why do you idly look at traitors
and remain silent when the wicked swallows up
the man more righteous than he?
14You make mankind like the fish of the sea,
like crawling things that have no ruler.
15Hea brings all of them up with a hook;
he drags them out with his net;
he gathers them in his dragnet;
so he rejoices and is glad.
16Therefore he sacrifices to his net
and makes offerings to his dragnet;
for by them he lives in luxury,b
and his food is rich.
17Is he then to keep on emptying his net
and mercilessly killing nations forever?
and you will not hear?
Or cry to you “Violence!”
and you will not save?
3Why do you make me see iniquity,
and why do you idly look at wrong?
Destruction and violence are before me;
strife and contention arise.
4So the law is paralyzed,
and justice never goes forth.
For the wicked surround the righteous;
so justice goes forth perverted.
wonder and be astounded.
For I am doing a work in your days
that you would not believe if told.
6For behold, I am raising up the Chaldeans,
that bitter and hasty nation,
who march through the breadth of the earth,
to seize dwellings not their own.
7They are dreaded and fearsome;
their justice and dignity go forth from themselves.
8Their horses are swifter than leopards,
more fierce than the evening wolves;
their horsemen press proudly on.
Their horsemen come from afar;
they fly like an eagle swift to devour.
9They all come for violence,
all their faces forward.
They gather captives like sand.
10At kings they scoff,
and at rulers they laugh.
They laugh at every fortress,
for they pile up earth and take it.
11Then they sweep by like the wind and go on,
guilty men, whose own might is their god!”
O Lord my God, my Holy One?
We shall not die.
O Lord, you have ordained them as a judgment,
and you, O Rock, have established them for reproof.
13You who are of purer eyes than to see evil
and cannot look at wrong,
why do you idly look at traitors
and remain silent when the wicked swallows up
the man more righteous than he?
14You make mankind like the fish of the sea,
like crawling things that have no ruler.
15Hea brings all of them up with a hook;
he drags them out with his net;
he gathers them in his dragnet;
so he rejoices and is glad.
16Therefore he sacrifices to his net
and makes offerings to his dragnet;
for by them he lives in luxury,b
and his food is rich.
17Is he then to keep on emptying his net
and mercilessly killing nations forever?
- - Habakkuk was likely a professional prophet who served at the temple or court [1].
- - He prophesied sometime before the Babylonian invasion of Judah, possibly around 607 BC [1].
- Habakkuk begins by expressing his frustration with God's apparent lack of action against injustice and violence in Judah [2]:
- "Why do You make me look at injustice? Why do You tolerate wrong?" (Habakkuk 1:3)
- He asks why God allows the wicked to prosper and the righteous to suffer [2].
- God responds to Habakkuk's complaints by explaining that judgment is indeed coming, but not in the form Habakkuk expected [1]:
- "I am raising up the Chaldeans" (Habakkuk 1:6)
- This shocks Habakkuk, as he realizes God plans to use the even more wicked Babylonians to judge Judah [1].
- Habakkuk is perplexed by this news and asks another question:
- "Why do You look on those who deal treacherously, and hold Your tongue when the wicked devour a person more righteous than he?" (Habakkuk 1:13)
- He struggles to understand why God would use such a morally reprehensible nation to carry out judgment [1].
- 1. The book of Habakkuk presents a dialogue between the prophet and God, addressing pressing questions about justice and judgment [2].
- 2. It shows that even when we don't understand God's ways, we should still trust in His sovereignty and goodness [1].
- 3. The book emphasizes the importance of living by faith in difficult circumstances, as Habakkuk does despite his confusion [2].
- God is ... What do we learn about God in this passage?
- We are ... What do we learn about people in this passage?
- I will ... What has the Holy Spirit revealed to us in this passage? How can I apply it to my life this week?
- What transformative move needs to be made?
- You can ... Who do you know who needs to hear this? Feel free to share with others by social media links at the bottom of this.
- What has the Holy Spirit revealed to you in this passage? How will you apply it to your life this week?
- Whom do you know who needs to hear this?
- What is God bringing to your attention in this discussion? What beliefs, thoughts, or actions need to be addressed or changed?
Other Resources:
Habakkuk: "Mysteries of God"
https://youtu.be/YNtzlNeAH64
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