How long, Lord, must I call for help, but you do not listen? Or cry out to you, “Violence!” but you do not save? Why do you make me look at injustice? Why do you tolerate wrongdoing? Destruction and violence are before me; there is strife, and conflict abounds. Therefore the law is paralyzed, and justice never prevails. The wicked hem in the righteous, so that justice is perverted. (Habakkuk 1:2-4)
This is one of those audacious prayers that I would describe as toeing the line. The same words can come from different attitudes. One attitude is that of a child pleading with his father. Another is that of a master questioning his slave. Habakkuk looked around at what was going on in the world, and in his own country, and what he saw concerned him.
As we look at our world, it’s easy to agree with Habakkuk. Things are a mess. Ideas about exactly what the mess is differ, but we agree it’s a mess. Jonah had a similar complaint, only he stepped over the line. He didn’t want to go preach to the Ninevites, because if he did, and if they repented, God wouldn’t destroy them. They’d done so much evil. They deserved to be destroyed. Habakkuk wasn’t talking about the Ninevites. He may have been talking about the Babylonians, or he may have been talking about his own people. Corruption abounded in both places.
That’s part of the problem. We know things are a mess, and we want God to fix things, but those repairs don’t include us. That’s the hard part. It’s easy to want justice when it is in our favor or when we agree. It’s harder when we’re the ones at fault. If we are to judge those whom we know to be at fault, we need to be prepared to be judged ourselves.
I believe Habakkuk was prepared. I think this passage shows that we should be distraught about injustice, destruction, and violence. Habakkuk’s answer is to turn to God for help.
As we look at our world, it’s easy to agree with Habakkuk. Things are a mess. Ideas about exactly what the mess is differ, but we agree it’s a mess. Jonah had a similar complaint, only he stepped over the line. He didn’t want to go preach to the Ninevites, because if he did, and if they repented, God wouldn’t destroy them. They’d done so much evil. They deserved to be destroyed. Habakkuk wasn’t talking about the Ninevites. He may have been talking about the Babylonians, or he may have been talking about his own people. Corruption abounded in both places.
That’s part of the problem. We know things are a mess, and we want God to fix things, but those repairs don’t include us. That’s the hard part. It’s easy to want justice when it is in our favor or when we agree. It’s harder when we’re the ones at fault. If we are to judge those whom we know to be at fault, we need to be prepared to be judged ourselves.
I believe Habakkuk was prepared. I think this passage shows that we should be distraught about injustice, destruction, and violence. Habakkuk’s answer is to turn to God for help.
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