How Long Shall I Cry (Part 3)

Habakkuk’s response to the answer. Verses 12-17 “Art thou not from everlasting, O LORD my God, mine Holy One? We shall not die. O LORD, thou hast ordained them for judgment; and, O mighty God, thou hast established them for correction. Thou art of purer eyes than to behold evil, and canst not look on iniquity: wherefore lookest thou upon them that deal treacherously, and holdest thy tongue when the wicked devoureth the man that is more righteous than he? And makest men as the fishes of the sea, as the creeping things, that have no ruler over them? They take up all of them with the angle, they catch them in their net, and gather them in their drag: therefore they rejoice and are glad. Therefore they sacrifice unto their net, and burn incense unto their drag; because by them their portion is fat, and their meat plenteous. Shall they therefore empty their net, and not spare continually to slay the nations?”

If all we did was read verses 12-13a, it would look like Habakkuk accepted the answer and was content. But 13bf shows that although he accepts the answer, he doesn’t like the answer.

He begins in verse 12 by claiming that God is eternal. I think the idea of immutability (that God does not change) is included here. The fact that God does not change is important because it means God keeps His promises and He has made promises to Israel. Habakkuk knows that God will not totally destroy Israel because of his covenantal promises. That is why he says, “We will not die.”

So, he believes God and trusts God, but he still doesn’t fully understand the answer. In 13b Habakkuk knows God hates evil and is amazed that God would use a nation even more evil than Judah to punish Judah. After all, even though Judah has her problems, she is still better than the Babylonians. At least that was true from Habakkuk’s perspective.

When you read the Book of Amos you will find the whole point of the book was that Israel was worse than all the rest of the nations because she knew better. She had been given the law while the Gentiles had not. The same would apply to Judah here. They weren’t better in God’s eyes. And God’s answer indicates that things are going to get worse, not better.

When he says, they offer a sacrifice to their net. The "net" was the war machine or might of Babylon. The Babylonians thought it was their own strength which allowed them to be so successful. They gave no credit to God. Habakkuk wonders how God would allow them to continue like this. And he asks that question in verse 17.

When you are talking with someone who has just experienced a tragedy, don’t just tell them “God is good. He loves you and He will work things out for the best and quote Romans 8:28-29.”  Sometimes it’s necessary to cry with them, hurt with them, question with them. Help them work through the pain, not ignore it. Of course you don’t want to stay there indefinitely, but it is part of the process.

Too often, Christians think the questioning part of the process is wrong. People have feelings and questions. You either suppress them or express them.

There is a balance between self-pity, hopeless resignation and staying mad at God. As usual, the correct response is somewhere in the middle.