Prophets and priests have a two-fold relationship with God. On one hand, they represent God and His message to other humans. On the other hand, there are times when they bring the cause of humans before God for His attention.
Habakkuk represented the needs and injustices of his nation to God, asking for His justice to be performed in the earth.
God’s response to Habakkuk was likely unexpected. Rather than promising to deliver the people from evil, He indicated that a greater evil — the nation of Babylon — would be used to carry out His justice upon the nation.
Look at the nations and see!
Be astonished! Be astounded!
For a work is being done in your days
that you would not believe if you were told.
For I am rousing the Chaldeans,
that fierce and impetuous nation,
who march through the breadth of the earth
to seize dwellings not their own. Habakkuk 1.5-6
Babylon, the capital of the Chaldeans, was commonly known as the homeland of the Babylonians. God revealed to the prophet that He intended to employ this merciless nation as a means to address and rectify the injustices committed by His own people.
Habakkuk probably thought that God’s solution for their situation was excessively harsh. The Babylonians, known for being a law unto themselves, were feared and dreaded throughout the Fertile Crescent.
Dread and fearsome are they;
their justice and dignity proceed from themselves.
Their horses are swifter than leopards,
more menacing than wolves at dusk;
their horses charge.
Their horsemen come from far away;
they fly like an eagle swift to devour. Habakkuk 1.7-8
In verse 7, there is a phrase where God informs Habakkuk that the Babylonians’ sense of justice and dignity originates from within themselves. This implies that they act independently of any external legal systems, disregarding the laws of other nations and even those of God.
God may use lawless nations to punish His own people as a way of disciplining them. However, we are never in the right when we choose lawlessness over faithful obedience to God’s commands.
There are at least three critical issues with lawless behavior, especially from a Biblical and moral perspective.
(1) Lawless behavior directly contradicts God’s principles laid down in the Ten Commandments and the Sermon on the Mount.
It leads to chaos and disorder, disrupting the peace and stability necessary for a community to thrive. God’s laws are not just arbitrary rules but guidelines established by Him for the well-being of society.
(2) Lawlessness often goes hand-in-hand with a decline in moral values.
Lawless actions, such as theft, violence, or deceit, involve acts that run contrary to God’s plan for humans.
This behavior is quite distant from the values of love, compassion, and integrity that are central to Christian ethics.
(3) Lawlessness is not just a legal issue; it’s a spiritual one. It shows a strained or distant relationship with God.
Jesus said, “If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love” (John 15.10).
Henry Blackaby is correct in questioning whether we can genuinely profess our love for God while simultaneously disregarding His commandments.
Babylonian Arrogance
God described the nation He would use to punish Israel as extremely arrogant. This nation not only showed disrespect towards kings but also idolized their own power, essentially making their might a god.
At kings they scoff,
and of rulers they make sport.
They laugh at every fortress
and heap up earth to take it.
Then they sweep by like the wind;
they transgress and become guilty;
their own might is their god! Habakkuk 1.10-11
Isaiah, among the prophets, offers the most thorough depiction of the foolishness of human arrogance. From chapters 7 to 39, he highlights the contrast between self-sufficiency and reliance on God.
Isaiah consistently asserts that humans will falter on their own, but with God, they can achieve success. This wisdom is crucial for us to bear in mind, both in our personal lives and as a nation.
YouTube Video
Rudy Ross and I discuss this passage on YouTube today. It is on the Bob Spradling channel.
Real Voices 