Problem 2: The Wicked Devours the Righteous!
(Habakkuk 1:12-2:20)
There are two sayings that resonate more and more the older you get. The first is “Life happens whether you want it to or not.” The second is “Life comes at you fast.” You find yourself in unexpected situations that are out of your control and changes in life can happen in an instant. Habakkuk understands both sayings and is struggling with life around him. He wonders, “Where is God in all this?” Let us know and understand from this book that God is in complete control (even if it doesn’t feel like it) and therefore we should live by faith!
Habakkuk’s Complaint: Not Fair!
Habakkuk has a few complaints. Habakkuk’s first complaint was that God was not doing anything about the wickedness around him. After God told him that He was raising up the Babylonians as His rod of punishment against the Kingdom of Judah, Habakkuk raised his second complaint. He argued that God is too righteous to use a “more” wicked nation (Babylon) to punish a “less” wicked nation (Judah). Surely, he reasoned, God is too holy to do such a thing. He believes this isn’t fair!
Habakkuk complained that this wasn’t possible! God is too righteous to use wicked people, right? How can the righteous Lord use the wicked Babylonians as a rod in His hand for punishment? Isn’t His hand too holy to hold such a wicked instrument? Habakkuk said to God, “Are you not from everlasting, O Lord my God, My Holy One? We shall not die. O Lord, You have appointed them for judgment; O Rock, You have marked them for correction” (1:12). He said, “You are of purer eyes than to behold evil, and cannot look on wickedness” (1:13a). Habakkuk struggled to understand God’s holiness in action. He believes this isn’t fair!
Habakkuk also questioned whether or not God knows how evil these people are? He says to the Lord, “Why do You look on those who deal treacherously, and hold Your tongue when the wicked devours a person more righteous than he?” (1:13b). Habakkuk believed that if judgment was to come, it should first come upon the “most wicked” and then to those who are “less wicked”. You are too righteous to punish us before you punish them! He then reminds God how wicked the Babylonians are, “Why do You make men like fish of the sea, like creeping things that have no ruler over them? They take up all of them with a hook, they catch them in their net, and gather them in their dragnet. Therefore they rejoice and are glad. Therefore they sacrifice to their net, and burn incense to their dragnet because by them their share is sumptuous and their food plentiful. Shall they therefore empty their net, and continue to slay nations without pity?” (1:14-17). You can’t use the wicked nation of the Babylonians as the rod of judgment in your hand to punish us! Why are you not punishing them first? He believes this isn’t fair!
Habakkuk’s Confession: My Fault!
Habakkuk had his complaints against the Lord’s plan and felt the freedom to voice those concerns to the Lord. He also knew that the Lord’s will was right and whatever the Lord determined to do was best. Habakkuk trusts the Lord and will live by faith. He said, “I will stand my watch and set myself on the rampart, and watch to see what He will say to me, and what I will answer when I am corrected” (2:1). To Habakkuk’s credit, he began to understand that he had misunderstood God and His dealings with the wicked. Habakkuk anticipates God’s correction.
God’s Charge: By Faith!
The Lord responds to Habakkuk by giving him a vision. He said, “Make it plain on tablets, that he may run who reads it. For the vision is yet for an appointed time; but at the end it will speak, and it will not lie. Though it tarries, wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not tarry” (2:2-3). In this vision, the Lord reveals to Habakkuk that all the wicked, at the appropriate time, will be punished. Only those who live by faith will escape His complete justice. Life may seem unfair, but trust God. Live by faith.
A Blessing to the Faithful (2:2-4). There is blessing for the righteous. The Lord said, “Behold the proud, His soul is not upright in him; but the just shall live by his faith” (2:4). God’s judgment might seem to be delayed but is assured; therefore, live by faith. The blessing to the faithful is that they will be justified. The Apostle Paul quoted Habakkuk 2:4 in his epistle to the Romans. He wrote, “I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, ‘The just shall live by faith’” (Rom 1:17). Living by faith means you trust God even when you don’t understand.
Five Woes to the Wicked (2:5-20). There is sorrow and distress for the wicked. The Lord gives “a proverb against [Babylon], and a taunting riddle” (2:6). In this proverb, the Lord pronounces five woes upon the wicked Babylonians:
- Woe to the Thief (2:6) for you will be Plundered (2:7).
- Woe to the Covetous (2:9) for you will be Destroyed (2:11).
- Woe to the Murderer (2:12) for you will be Judged (2:13).
- Woe to the Abuser (2:15) for you will be Shamed (2:16).
- Woe to the Idolator (2:19) for you will be Fruitless (2:18)
A Promise from the Lord (2:14). In the midst of the proverb of woes, the Lord makes a promise. He said, “The earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea” (2:14). The Babylonians sought to fill the earth with conquest and bloodshed, but failed. They failed because they were not gods, but were instruments in God’s hand to do what He appointed them to do. It is the Lord who will fill the earth with His glory. The illustration is that just as thoroughly as the waters cover the sea, the entire earth will be thoroughly filled with the glory of the Lord! The Lord is telling Habakkuk to be of good courage! While it is true that for a little while the Babylonians will control Judah, there is coming a day in which the Lord will sit as King over not just Judah and Israel, but the entire world.The Lord closes His response by saying, “the Lord is in His holy temple. Let all the earth keep silence before Him” (2:20). Let us all keep silent before the Lord. For the wicked, be silent as you hear the Lord’s woes upon you. You will not escape His judgment. Repent of your sin and acknowledge Christ as Lord. For the righteous, be silent as you hear the Lord’s blessing upon you. He will save you by grace through faith. Trust in Him, obey His commands, and live by faith. The Lord’s promises may seem to tarry, but He who promised is faithful. It will surely come.
First Baptist Scott City, MO 
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