BIG IDEA:
THE PROPHET WRESTLES WITH THE APPARENT DELAY OF THE LORD IN ALLOWING EVIL TO GO UNPUNISHED – HOW LONG?
INTRODUCTION:
Cyril Barber: How can a message over twenty-six hundred years old impact our contemporary world?
(1) The prophetic message continues to speak to us because it is the message of God. Because it comes from God, it continues to communicate the ways of God to modern people.
(2) The prophets forged their message in historical circumstances. The message of God came to real people in the everyday experiences of life as well as in times of crisis.
(3) Though society has changed, human nature has not changed. People still need to know that God is at work in the historical situation. People continue to face the problem of sin and the necessity for repentance.
Eric Redmond: Even though the prophet cries out for rescue, the God of salvation refuses to save. Relief from the violence does not seem to be forthcoming. We can sense the deep frustration and perplexity in these words of lament. How long must the spiritual and social disintegration of society continue before the Lord does something to stop it? This plea is reminiscent of King David in Psalm 13:1 when he pleads, “Lord, how long will You forget me? Forever? How long will You hide Your face from me?” David’s agony is real, and so is Habakkuk’s agony.
The prophet has continually sought the Lord for relief from the burden of human misery piled up every day in the streets of the cities of Judah and in the halls of justice in the land. He has witnessed a society that had been falling apart in terms of its moral fabric. From the political leaders to the common people, everyone seems to have plunged themselves into moral madness. Everyone seems to have forsaken the Lord and His covenant with His people. Everyone seems to be striving for personal pleasure and self-promotion. At every level of Judahite society, sin is rampant. There is doctrinal and covenantal unfaithfulness.
The leaders of the nation have forsaken the law of the Lord and instituted their own false righteousness. They have backslidden into idol worship—a pattern that had repeated itself throughout Israelite history. After the demise of King Josiah, both priesthood and political leadership had again become corrupt. The spiritual reforms instituted by King Josiah had been short-lived after his death in 609 BC (2 Kgs 23:29-30). The failure to observe and obey the covenant of the Lord would be the primary reason for the eventual downfall of Judah.
The moral and spiritual bankruptcy of the nation’s leadership also sent the people into the downward spiral toward spiritual and moral disintegration. There was a culture of immorality, greed, deception, hatred, injustice, hypocrisy, oppression, and much more. Habakkuk further expresses his agony when he says, “Why do you make me see iniquity and cause (me) to look at trouble?” (author’s translation). The words translated “iniquity” and “trouble” are in parallel and indicate the general depravity of the society in the eyes of the prophet. This pair of words is found in Isaiah 59:4 where the prophet exposes the chronic injustice in Judah a century before the time of Habakkuk: “No one makes claims justly; no one pleads honestly. They trust in empty and worthless words; they conceive trouble and give birth to iniquity.” Habakkuk is vexed at having to look at trouble and iniquity every day when God does not appear to be doing anything about it.
(:1) SUPERSCRIPTION:
A. The Message – Description of the Content
“The oracle”
Steven Duby: Without assuming that etymology alone determines the sense of a word, it is not difficult to identify a link between the sense of ‘burden’ and the sense of ‘oracle’ and to avoid driving an unnecessary wedge between the two (see the wordplay in Jer. 23.33). It seems reasonable to say that YHWH places something upon a prophet such as Habakkuk that is a ‘burden’ to be borne, but in this case it is not a material object but rather an authoritative message, an oracle or prophecy that must be spoken with urgency to the people of God.
B. The Messenger — Identification of the Prophet
“which Habakkuk the prophet”
C. The Medium of Revelation
“saw”
Mark Copeland: Concerning his MESSAGE: the book easily falls into three sections
1) A “burden” – Hab 1:1-2:1
2) A “vision” – Hab 2:2-20
3) A “prayer” – Hab 3:1-19
I. (:2-4) QUESTION #1: COMPLAINT OF THE PROPHET — DELAY OF THE LORD IN RESTORING JUSTICE TO THE LAND –
THE LAMENT OF A DISTURBED SOUL
A. (:2) Delay in Deliverance Disturbs the Soul
- When Will the Lord Hear?
“How long, O Lord, will I call for help, And you will not hear?”
John MacArthur: The phrase, reflecting the prophet’s impatience, is frequently used by the psalmist to express similar thoughts of perplexity (cf. Pss 13:1,2; 62:3; Jer 14:9; Mt 27:46).
- When Will the Lord Deliver?
“I cry out to you, ‘Violence!’ Yet you do not save.”
Cyril Barber: His cry “violence!” was an adverbial accusative. It placed justifiable emphasis upon the intensity of the prophet’s petition. He had observed the appalling conditions of God’s people and could no longer tolerate the cry of the oppressed. Therefore, he poured out his heart to the Lord, beseeching Him in the most fervent of terms to intervene on behalf of His people.
Habakkuk’s prayer revealed his true humanity. He was frustrated and bewildered. Daily he saw the plight of the poor. He had petitioned the Lord to help them, and now, in frustration, he reproved God for not intervening and vindicating the righteous (l:2d).
B. (:3) Culture of Corruption Disturbs the Soul
- Pervasive Corruption
“Why do you make me see iniquity,
And cause me to look on wickedness?”
- Escalating Conflict
“Yes, destruction and violence are before me;
Strife exists and contention arises.”
Steven Duby: In view of God’s righteousness, Habakkuk, like the psalmists, asks God how long he will allow evil to persist and afflict the godly. The prophet is apparently permitted to ask without fear of being struck down by God. . . Recent commentators typically do not take issue with the tone of Habakkuk’s questions and assume or affirm the uprightness of his interaction with God. . .
Habakkuk moves quickly from complaining in 1.2 that God is inactive to complaining in 1.3 that God is actively making him look at disaster and trouble all around him. The hiphil verb signifies a causative kind of action: ‘Why do you cause me to look at disaster and trouble?’ The LXX brings out the force of the verb by asking why God shows (ἔδειξας; cf. the Vulgate ostendisti) trouble and grief. This may illustrate a common human tendency that comes out in the midst of suffering – a tendency to alternate between thinking that God does not care and thinking that God is involved but is also somehow at fault.
The prophet immediately switches back to lamenting God’s apparent idleness and wonders why God just ‘watches’. The verb translated ‘you watch’ can sometimes suggest attentiveness (e.g., Num. 12.8; 21.9; 1 Sam. 17.42; Ps 142.5 MT) or a positive regard and readiness to act and help (e.g., Ps 13.4 MT; Isa. 66.2; Lam. 5.1). But instead of expressing positive regard or readiness to act in this text, the ‘watching’ supposed to take place here is being distinguished from true action. From Habakkuk’s perspective, this is an idle watching on God’s part that implies too great a tolerance for sin and seems to hold no promise of deliverance. ‘There is an “iniquity and … perverseness,” which ought never to have been seen in Israel.’ Accordingly, ‘why, then, the prophet asks, dost thou show them to me, and look on them thyself’?
C. (:4) Perversion of Justice Disturbs the Soul
- Disregard for Covenant Standards
“Therefore the law is ignored And justice is never upheld.”
- The Righteous End Up the Victims
“For the wicked surround the righteous;
Therefore justice comes out perverted.”
Steven Duby: The prophet also laments the apparent absence of just judgment. It ‘never goes forth’, or, more woodenly, judgment does not go forth ‘to forever’. Like the English noun ‘justice’, the Hebrew can be used to signify the rendering of a verdict or the rectitude and conformity to a rule according to which such a verdict should be rendered. It seems, given Habakkuk’s lament that does not ‘go forth’, that his emphasis is on the former here (the rendering of correct legal verdicts in Judah’s society), though there is no need to separate the two senses of the word. The point is that those whose God-given responsibility is to ensure that there will be proper legal consequences do nothing. They deny justice to the afflicted and increase their suffering.
Kenneth Barker: “The result of the abandonment of God’s mishpat (justice) in Judean society is chaos”: the law is numbed, justice does not go out, the wicked surround the righteous, and justice is perverted. No wonder the prophet complained about such a sorry state of affairs. With the breakdown of the social order, the nation lacked the elemental necessities for existence. When law is paralyzed and justice perverted, the righteous become the pawns of the wicked.
Who were the wicked? Although some interpreters have looked to identify the wicked with Babylon, most modern biblical scholars see the wicked as inhabitants in Judah, probably during the reign of Jehoiakim (609-598 B.C.). There is nothing in this passage that points to a foreign nation. . .
Righteousness meant that a person met the demands of a relationship. Righteousness toward God meant meeting the demands of the relationship with God; righteousness toward a fellow human being meant meeting the demands of the relationship with another. Justice carried righteousness into the legal sphere. The prophets demanded righteousness in the gate, the place where justice was dispensed. In prophetic contexts such as the one under discussion, ethical and legal standards are the same. Justice and righteousness “were the quintessence of the divine will. They embodied the central authority from which the coherence of the social order stemmed.” Law was “paralyzed” most extensively by “corruption of the religious and civil leadership of the nation” and not by foreign powers.
II. (:5-11) LORD’S RESPONSE: CONSTERNATION OF THE PROPHET — DISCIPLINE OF THE LORD BY USING CRUEL CHALDEANS AS INSTRUMENT OF JUDGMENT –
THE ASTONISHMENT OF A SHOCKED PROPHET
Steven Duby: In this section God does not disagree with the prophet’s assessment of Judah’s state. Nor is God distant from the situation. He is active and bringing about his good and just (albeit mysterious) purposes. In analyzing Habakkuk 1.5-11, it will be helpful to consider
- God’s instruction to the prophet and the people of Judah in 5a and
- God’s description of his own activity and of the people (the Chaldeans) through whom he will work in 5b-11.
These elements of the text involve the use of striking language and some grammatical and theological questions that need addressing. After the exposition of 1.5-11, an excursus follows dealing with questions of divine justice and providence in the midst of evil.
A. (:5) Unexpected Discipline Strategy
- Amazing
“Look among the nations! Observe! Be Astonished! Wonder!”
John MacArthur: The series of commands is plural, indicating that the wider community of Judah and Jerusalem was to take note of this imminent invasion. Paul quotes this text in Ac 13:41.
- Unbelievable
“Because I am doing something in your days –
You would not believe if you were told.”
Cyril Barber: We should remember that God has not lost control. He is still in command of events. It is only a lack of perception that makes Him seem inactive. His activity extends from one generation to the next, and as Habakkuk was soon to find out, will culminate in the millennial kingdom.
Kenneth Barker: Habakkuk’s questions reflect the questions of many people. Especially when we deal with personal affronts, difficulties, and disappointments, we desire to know where God is and what he is doing. Habakkuk reminds us that God is at work. He is the Lord of the universe who works to accomplish his purpose in his world and in our lives.
B. (:6-10) Unrestrained Cruelty of the Chaldeans
- (:6-7) Summary Qualifications of the Chaldeans for This Mission
a. Divinely Appointed for Instrument of Discipline
“For behold, I am raising up the Chaldeans,”
Main qualification = chosen by God for the task
b. Proven Aggressiveness of Spirit
“That fierce and impetuous people”
Eric Redmond: They were evidently unconcerned about diplomacy. They were instead hostile toward other nations. The words bitter and impetuous describe the imperial policies and practices of the Neo-Babylonian Empire under the leadership of Nebuchadnezzar II who ruled from 605 to 562 BC. The Babylonian military had evidently become battle-hardened and experienced warriors during their years of protracted war with the Assyrians from 626 to 609 BC that finally resulted in the demise of the Neo-Assyrian Empire. They knew how to inflict intense harm on their enemies and had developed a reputation for doing so. The word bitter translates a Hebrew word that could also be understood to mean “fierce.” This reflects the imagery of the savagery of a wild animal that will attack anything (Andersen, Habakkuk, 149). The parallel word impetuous probably doesn’t mean they would act without first thinking or planning, but rather it most likely describes the speed and efficiency with which the Babylonian military was capable of deploying its troops (ibid.). This is a very unsettling prospect for Habakkuk and his homeland, Judah. The Babylonians take whatever they want because they have the power to do so. They seize lands they have no right to.
c. Unquenchable Appetite for Conquering New Territory
“Who march throughout the earth
To seize dwelling places which are not theirs.”
Steven Duby: The message here is that the Chaldeans are an inexorable people who come and take homes and livelihoods, leaving their former occupants destitute. Israel had once inherited from God what they did not build (Deut. 6.10-11), and now they themselves, having deserved the judgment of God, will become subject to a people who will take what is not theirs. To grasp something of the psychological effect of this prophecy, contemporary readers would have to imagine an armed force about to take away their homes, their stability, and all their earthly hopes and comforts.
d. Reputation Acknowledged – Strike fear in the hearts of their enemies
“They are dreaded and feared;”
Ruthless, barbaric
e. Completely Autonomous – Don’t care what other nations think
“Their justice and authority originate with themselves.”
- (:8) Superior Military Resources
a. Their Horses
“Their horses are swifter than leopards
And keener than wolves in the evening.”
J Ronald Blue: Both leopards and wolves are fierce, fast, and excellent hunters. At dusk, wolves are hungry and ready to pounce on prey. The Babylonians’ voracious speed in conquest was also likened to a vulture swooping to devour.
b. Their Horsemen
“Their horsemen come galloping,
Their horsemen come from afar;
They fly like an eagle swooping down to devour.”
Biblehub.com — The vulture is a scavenger bird known for its keen eyesight and ability to swiftly descend upon its prey. This imagery conveys the idea of the Babylonians as opportunistic and ruthless, ready to exploit any weakness and consume what remains. The vulture’s flight suggests both speed and inevitability, reinforcing the theme of impending judgment.
- (:9-10) Swaggering Confidence in Victory
a. Bent on Violence
“All of them come for violence.”
b. United in Aggression
“Their horde of faces moves forward.”
c. Merciless in Enslavement
“They collect captives like sand.”
d. Brazen in Arrogance
1) Mock at Any Royal Authority
“They mock at kings
And rulers are a laughing matter to them.”
2) Make Fun of Any Feeble Defense
“They laugh at every fortress
And heap up rubble to capture it.”
C. (:11) Ultimate Accountability – the Chaldeans Will Be Judged Themselves
- Their Dominance will only be Temporary
“Then they will sweep through like the wind and pass on.”
- Their Cruelty will be Condemned
“But they will be held guilty,”
Biblehub.com: Despite being used by God as a tool for judgment, they are not exempt from guilt. Their actions, driven by pride and violence, are inherently sinful. This reflects a broader biblical theme where God can use even unrighteous nations to fulfill His purposes, as seen in Isaiah 10:5-7 with Assyria. The concept of divine sovereignty over human actions is a recurring theme in scripture, highlighting God’s ultimate control over history while still holding individuals and nations accountable for their sins.
- Their Idolatry will be Exposed
“They whose strength is their god.”
John MacArthur: Though the Chaldeans were God’s instruments of judgment, their self-sufficiency and self-adulation planted the seeds for their own destruction (described in 2:2-20), as they stood guilty of idolatry and blasphemy before the sovereign Lord.
Kenneth Barker: Though ordained of God to carry out his purpose (1:6,12), the Babylonians worshiped only might and the strength of their hands. They bowed to no man and listened to no god. Thus the person coming under the sway of the army had little hope. This bitter and hasty army swept the earth like the wind and hurried on to plunder other nations. Such people acknowledge no accountability, seek no repentance, and offer no reparations, while violating the most fundamental order of created life.