Habakkuk addressed Judah during a time when the kingdom was rife with corruption, and the rising power of Babylon would soon issue destruction on the city. Habakkuk offers an honest assessment as he wonders out loud where God is. Habakkuk’s hard questions and God’s harder responses cause us to think deeply about the sovereignty of our God:
Why do the wicked prosper?
Habakkuk is frustrated with injustice. At the heart of his cry is a desire that many of us have, for Jesus to come and make things right.
Why do the righteous suffer?
The New Testament writers assume that suffering comes with a life of faith. Peter, Paul, and James all encourage Christians to expect suffering, to learn in suffering, and to consider it joy. If our lives are going to look anything like Jesus’, then we can expect to suffer.
What is God’s relationship to evil?
As we consider God’s relationship with evil, we must never come to a point where we think all men are not responsible for the evil they commit, or that God takes pleasure in evil. How God’s sovereignty works with sin toward His glory is nearly impossible to understand. Romans 8.28 says, “And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose”, and so goes the mystery as we try to understand evil as one of those things God purposes.
How now shall we live?
Walking in faith is the very antithesis of walking by sight. No matter how difficult the circumstances, we believe. Those who live by faith actively trust in God’s promises, affirm God’s goodness, and live in submission to God’s sovereignty. This echoes the words of Job who, after losing everything, declared, “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return. The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD.” (Job 1:21)
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