Today's Reading:

Habakkuk 1
Habakkuk 2
Habakkuk 3

Bad things can and do happen to good people. In Habakkuk, the total loss of crops and flocks would have meant absolute ruin and starvation, yet joy is a deliberate choice rooted in God Himself, not circumstances. Habakkuk wanted to know how long it would take for God to act. The people were called to have faith. When we surrender to God, His grace becomes our strength. He turns trials into confidence. Even when we do not know the outcome, we can still rejoice in the God of our salvation. He empowers us to choose joy today, no matter what tomorrow holds. Just have faith; He is enough.

Bad things can and do happen to good people. Habakkuk faced total loss and still chose joy in God. How do you hold onto joy when life gets hard?

The book of Habakkuk takes place after Josiah’s reforms in Jerusalem. This was during the dark days of Judah before the Babylonian exile. Habakkuk does not speak directly to the Israelites themselves but instead had a conversation with God. He argued with God that His ways seemed unfair. God then responded to the complaint. Habakkuk’s question was how the people were to believe God was good when there was so much evil in the world.

Here is my cheesy tidbit for you: H.A.B.A.K.K.U.K
“How Are Believers Able to Keep Keeping on Under Knievel (Evil)?

God was using the Babylonians to punish the Israelites. Habakkuk wanted to know how long God would stay silent when there was so much violence and injustice. Society had gotten so bad that God’s laws (Torah), which were restored under Josiah, did not even keep the people aligned with Him. Even justice was corrupt. The law was powerless. The wicked surrounded the righteous, and the legal decisions were crooked. Life was in moral decline.

Similar to Isaiah 43:19, when God said, “I will do a new thing,” in Habakkuk God said He is raising up the Chaldeans, a “new work.” The Israelites would have recognized the wording and felt the weight of the word “new thing again.” This time God was bringing judgment because they ignored His warnings. Judgment purifies, and hardships and trials deepen faith. Both were for redemption purposes as God goes on to describe the Babylonians. The Chaldeans were a Semitic tribe that rose to power in southern Babylon and are often interchangeable with “Babylonians.” They were driven by cruelty and speed as they were arrogant conquerors who trusted in their own strength and idolatry.

Habakkuk complained of injustice, but God responded by saying He was already acting, just on a much larger scale. Habakkuk was okay with judgment coming but asked why God would allow Babylon, the most evil of all nations, to bring on the judgment? If God was going to allow the extreme unrighteous to judge the very unrighteous, He was making Judah like prey, like fish in the sea. Habakkuk moved from questioning God to questioning His methods. How can He use evil and wicked nations as a tool for judgment? God said to write the vision down, because it might not happen soon, but it will happen. The proud and arrogant may seem successful for a time because of conquering the surrounding nations, but their ways lead to judgment. Instead of an instant fix, God called His people to live by faith, because the proud will be judged in time. The apostle Paul quotes this verse three times in the New Testament: in Romans 1:17, where you are righteous by faith, not by works; Galatians 3:11, where justification is by faith, not by law-keeping; and Hebrews 10:38, where endurance in persecution comes by faith.

God gave five woes about greed, violence, arrogance, and idolatry. This was like the modern phrase “what goes around comes around.” The woes were to help the righteous understand that God does see the oppression from Babylon and that He will take care of the evil. The evil empires are only temporary.

1. Woe against greed and plunder.
2. Woes against coveting and empire building for personal security.
3. Woe against building an empire by violence.
4. Woe against stripping others of dignity and humiliation.
5. Woe against idolatry.

In chapter 3, Habakkuk’s prayer was like a hymn set to music. He started his prayer with what he had heard God had done before, and asked, can He do it again? God came and brought plagues of judgment and disease. He made nations tremble; even the enemies and nomads feared Him. All of this was to remind us of who was really in control. The chaotic forces are controlled and harnessed by God. Like at Gibeon, the longest day, when God allowed the sun to stand still for Joshua to continue to fight the battle (Joshua 10:12-13). Habakkuk said creation stops in awe to watch as the proud are threshed (separated) and judged. Everything was done for salvation. God would defeat the enemy.

God is the Master over water and uses it for the purpose of salvation, not destruction of His people. Habakkuk had a physical reaction to God’s awesome power and judgment. He trembled, quivered, and went weak. Yet, despite the fear, he chose to trust and wait. He knows there is trouble coming (in the Babylon invasion) but will wait for God’s timing and purpose.

Today's Discussion question:

Bad things can and do happen to good people. Habakkuk faced total loss and still chose joy in God. How do you hold onto joy when life gets hard?

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