Why Do You Tolerate Wrongdoing?
The tiny book of Habakkuk is unlike any other; it is the perfect text for our theme this year in that the entire book is a conversation between God and His Prophet. While we will only deal with one of several questions Habakkuk asks of God in this article, I would urge you to read Amy Schlosser’s In The Trenches article to get more of an overview of this wonderful book.
Habakkuk is given the message pertaining to the tragic overtaking and assimilation of the nation of Judah by their enemy to the northeast, the Babylonians known also as the Chaldeans, due to the unrighteous hearts within. Chapter 1 begins by immediately identifying the burden that belongs to this prophet. Yet, it does not just belong to him – it is a burden that all generations must bear. How does God’s justice make sense to us? How long will God allow evil to work judgment and iniquity? How long will we continue in righteousness while wickedness surrounds?
Habakkuk realized that sin was thriving among the people of God within Judah. However, his question did not require action upon the remnant of righteous people, but that fair judgment should come among the people of the nation – rescuing and preserving the faithful.
Habakkuk 1:1-4:
The burden which the prophet Habakkuk saw.
O Lord, how long shall I cry,
And You will not hear?
Even cry out to You, “Violence!”
And You will not save.
Why do You show me iniquity,
And cause me to see trouble?
For plundering and violence are before me;
There is strife, and contention arises.
Therefore the law is powerless,
And justice never goes forth.
For the wicked surround the righteous;
Therefore perverse judgment proceeds.
It is a problem, isn’t it? It is a question all the righteous of every generation must struggle with. In fact, it leads some to abandon God or question whether there is a God – for who could ignore the injustices inflicted, the unrighteous who win, the strife, the wars, and plagues? Habakkuk addresses this sentiment; for he is weary, he is uncertain, he is sad, he is perplexed, and he is burdened with the situation on earth. He addresses God; how is it that God does not see and does not answer? How long-suffering will God be? How long do we have to wait? How many prayers must we lift? How many conflicts and injustices do we have to perceive?
Life is tiresome for all; not all of mankind understands, acknowledges, or reckons why. But God’s people understand that they must endure the journey with evil pressing in on every side. The righteous must walk in light that provides insight and elevated wisdom to the unrighteousness surrounding them. Later in this conversation, God assures Habakkuk that “the righteous shall live by faith,” even those in that day who were among the unrighteous as evil and ruthless men reap havoc on them in the coming years. By faith, they could be victorious, it would be the only way, for God would not remove the burden but increase it.
The Lord provides Habakkuk a mind-blowing response in verses 5-11. He tells Habakkuk that he is preparing to reap destruction and judgment on His people who have dismissed Him – by using the Babylonians, a wicked, fierce, ungodly, and merciless nation to mistreat, shame, and overpower them:
“Look among the nations and watch—
Be utterly astounded!
For I will work a work in your days
Which you would not believe, though it were told you.
For indeed I am raising up the Chaldeans,
A bitter and hasty nation
Which marches through the breadth of the earth,
To possess dwelling places that are not theirs.
They are terrible and dreadful;
Their judgment and their dignity proceed from themselves.
Their horses also are swifter than leopards,
And more fierce than evening wolves.
Their chargers charge ahead;
Their cavalry comes from afar;
They fly as the eagle that hastens to eat.
“They all come for violence;
Their faces are set like the east wind.
They gather captives like sand.
They scoff at kings,
And princes are scorned by them.
They deride every stronghold,
For they heap up earthen mounds and seize it.
Then his mind changes, and he transgresses;
He commits offense,
Ascribing this power to his god.”
Nowhere in the scriptures is it clearer that God intervenes in the activities of earthly people and nations. God tells Habakkuk that He is already working a plan - while Habakkuk is spending his days worried about whether God is seeing all this. This is a plan that will leave Habakkuk astonished, bewildered, and disappointed. For the God of creation will use the Chaldeans fierce and evil army to strip His own people of their land, freedoms, and pride. In answer to Habakkuk’s question, “O Lord, how long will I cry, and you will not hear me?” God replies with an answer beyond his imagination. In fact, the conversation continues as Habakkuk strives to clarify how this can be just.
How is it justice for the righteous? How is it that God will allow the punishment to come in such a way? Surely the Chaldeans were worse than the children of Judah, and certainly worse than the righteous! This is not what Habakkuk meant as he cried before the Lord to deal with the world he lived in.
How do we cry for our Lord to deal with the unrighteous? Do we for one minute think that our God does not “work a work in our days”? It is sad for me to hear my brothers and sisters so passionately talk of the nations of this world – having much less passion for the kingdom that is eternal. Do we not know that God is “working a work” at all times? While men fret and fume, God is constantly working His plan.
Do we not remember that in Revelation 2, Christ reassures the churches in Asia that all trials and injustices will be dealt with righteously for those who live by faith, encouraging them to stay the course and believe in the promises of God? We are assured that Christ rules the nations of the world with an iron rod and that he has the power to dash them to pieces like the potter’s vessels.
“But hold fast what you have till I come. And he who overcomes, and keeps My works until the end, to him I will give power over the nations— ‘He shall rule them with a rod of iron; they shall be dashed to pieces like the potter’s vessels’— as I also have received from My Father; and I will give him the morning star. (Rev 2:25-28)
How do we dare think that any nation is ruled by men aside from the power given them by Christ, the morning star? We know better, we are blessed to know, as we live by faith, that our God and His Son are working the plan. A plan not just through nations, but through people, groups, light in darkness. A plan that brings people out of this world of evil and into the kingdom of light. God is in control, He sees the righteous and the unrighteous. He sees the light and the darkness. He knows the pleas of His people. Our short days are cataloged in the mind of God, and if we see punishment of evil through nations, groups, or individuals, we are safe just as the remnant, living by faith.
It is beyond our imagination, just as it was for Habakkuk, what God may be working. He is constantly watching, and His Son is constantly ruling, and the “work” marches on.
The righteous soldiers of this kingdom are armed with the spiritual armor and weapons to live by faith while the unrighteous aim and fire at us. We must look beyond the injustices that may come to us and others, knowing the Commander has the battle plan and is “working a work.”