(Part 8 in a series of posts on Habakkuk.)

Habakkuk 1:6-11

We have looked at two ways we know that God cares from verses 5-6:

    1) God assures us that he hears our every prayer.
    2) God promises us that he will deliver us in his time.

Today we will look at a third way found in verses 6-11:

Habakkuk 1:6-11 – 6 I am raising up the Babylonians, that ruthless and impetuous people, who sweep across the whole earth to seize dwelling places not their own. 7 They are a feared and dreaded people; they are a law to themselves and promote their own honor. 8 Their horses are swifter than leopards, fiercer than wolves at dusk. Their cavalry gallops headlong; their horsemen come from afar. They fly like a vulture swooping to devour; 9 they all come bent on violence. Their hordes advance like a desert wind and gather prisoners like sand. 10 They deride kings and scoff at rulers. They laugh at all fortified cities; they build earthen ramps and capture them. 11 Then they sweep past like the wind and go on — guilty men, whose own strength is their god.

    3) God affirms that he will judge all evil in the world.

A third way we know that God cares is because he affirms that he will judge all evil in the world. This is the answer to Habakkuk’s “Why?” question: “Why, Lord do you tolerate wrong?” (Habakkuk 1:3) God’s answer to Habakkuk is basically this: “I do not tolerate wrong. In fact I will judge all the wrongs in this world.” The nation of Judah was full of violence and injustice. Judah had turned away from God and his law, and now God would judge Judah for her sins. God was raising up the Babylonians for this very purpose.

Verses 6-11 describe what the coming Babylonian invasion will be like. In verse 6 God calls the Babylonians “that ruthless and impetuous people.” The word “ruthless” means bitter. It speaks of the bitterness of the judgment to come. We have already seen that the word impetuous means “to be hasty or in a hurry.”

God says they will “sweep across the whole earth to seize dwelling places not their own.” The word “dwelling place” in the Hebrew is the same word for tabernacle, which was the place of God’s dwelling among the Israelites in the desert. Not only will the Babylonians take away the people of Judah’s homes, but they will also destroy the temple, God’s permanent dwelling place in Jerusalem which had replaced the tabernacle.

In verse 7 God says, “They are a feared and dreaded people; they are a law to themselves and promote their own honor.” The Babylonians have no respect for law or justice, and they have no concern for anyone else. You cannot negotiate with them. They are only concerned with their own honor. Thus they are a feared and dreaded people.

Verse 8 describes the Babylonians in terms of swift and fierce predators: leopards renowned for their speed, evening wolves hungry and ready for the hunt, a vulture swooping down to devour. The word for vulture here can also mean an eagle, which I think is probably the better translation here – the picture of a great eagle swooping down on its prey.

Verses 9-10 picture the Babylonians as an unstoppable force. “They all come bent on violence. Their hordes advance like a desert wind and gather prisoners like sand. They deride kings and scoff at rulers. They laugh at all fortified cities; they build earthen ramps and capture them.” Verse 11 says, “Then they sweep past like the wind and go on — guilty men, whose own strength is their god.”

Notice how the descriptions of the Babylonians correspond in many ways to the people of Judah. Judah was full of violence. The Babylonians are described as ruthless and “all bent on violence.” In Judah justice was distorted and the law was paralyzed. Now Judah will be overcome by a people who are a law to themselves.

Habakkuk asked God, “Why do you tolerate wrong?” God answered Habakkuk, “I don’t, and I won’t. Judah will be judged for her sin.” When we see injustice in the world, when we see the wicked triumphing over the righteous, we may sometimes think that God does not care. But God affirms that he will judge all evil in the world. Ecclesiastes 3:17 says that “God will bring to judgment both the righteous and the wicked, for there will be a time for every activity, a time for every deed.”

You might wonder why God waited so long to judge the people of Judah. We know from other books in the Old Testament that God did not judge the nation of Judah right away because he was giving them time to repent and turn from their sins. He sent prophets like Jeremiah and Habakkuk to warn them of the coming judgment in hopes that they would turn away from their sins. In fact, if Judah had responded even to this prophecy from Habakkuk with genuine and sincere repentance, God may very well have withdrawn his hand of judgment. God in his mercy was giving them time to repent. But when Judah did not repent of her sins, God’s judgment finally came. And when it came, it came swiftly, severely and completely.

Wrap-up for Habakkuk 1:1-11:

Habakkuk struggled with unanswered prayers, with trials and troubles in life, and with the problem of evil. This caused him to doubt, and he began to question: “Does God really care?” God answered Habakkuk’s question with an overwhelming “Yes!” He showed Habakkuk that he does hear our prayers, that he will deliver us from our troubles in his time, and that he will judge all evil in the world.

Perhaps you have been struggling with doubts just like Habakkuk. Perhaps you have been wondering, “What am I supposed to do with all my questions and doubts?” I believe Habakkuk presents a good example for us in this regard. Too often when we are struggling with doubts in life, we walk away from God. But Habakkuk did just the opposite. He came to God with all of his questions and doubts. And God answered him.

It may not have been the answer he was looking for. In fact God’s answer actually prompted a whole new set of questions for Habakkuk which we will address next week. But the important thing is that Habakkuk kept coming back to God. And I believe that is the key when you have questions. Bring your doubts and your questions to God. Because he listens. Because he notices. Because he cares.

(Looking ahead: Next time we will start looking at Habakkuk’s second question: “Is God fair?” found in Habakkuk 1:12-2:6.)

Here are the links to the whole Blogging with Habakkuk series: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25.