Word Live: Making A Complaint
‘How long, Lord…?’ Habakkuk begins on a note of bitter frustration (v2). He feels let down by God. As you come to prayer, are there complaints you need to voice before your Father in heaven?
Bible passage
Habakkuk 1:1–11
1 The prophecy that Habakkuk the prophet received.
Habakkuk’s complaint
2 How long, Lord, must I call for help,
but you do not listen?
Or cry out to you, ‘Violence!’
but you do not save?
3 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.
4 Therefore the law is paralysed,
and justice never prevails.
The wicked hem in the righteous,
so that justice is perverted.
The Lord’s answer
5 ‘Look at the nations and watch –
and be utterly amazed.
For I am going to do something in your days
that you would not believe,
even if you were told.
6 I am raising up the Babylonians,
that ruthless and impetuous people,
who sweep across the whole earth
to seize dwellings not their own.
7 They are a feared and dreaded people;
they are a law to themselves
and promote their own honour.
8 Their horses are swifter than leopards,
fiercer than wolves at dusk.
Their cavalry gallops headlong;
their horsemen come from afar.
They fly like an eagle swooping to devour;
9 they all come intent on violence.
Their hordes advance like a desert wind
and gather prisoners like sand.
10 They mock kings
and scoff at rulers.
They laugh at all fortified cities;
by building earthen ramps they capture them.
11 Then they sweep past like the wind and go on –
guilty people, whose own strength is their god.’
Holy Bible, New International Version® Anglicized, NIV® Copyright © 1979, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Explore
It is likely that Habakkuk is prophesying at a time of escalating international tension. The Babylonian empire is challenging the mighty powers of Assyria and Egypt and the small nation of Judah is a small fish in a sea of predatory forces. But this isn’t Habakkuk’s complaint, at least not to start with. His focus is on his homeland and the toxic results of failed leadership (v 4).
The reigns of Manasseh and Amon have presided over spiritual and moral decline. Public violence, injustice, corruption and the collapse of the legal system can be seen everywhere, and he voices this angry lament. His anger is against God, whom he accuses of tolerating wrongdoing and doing nothing to remedy the unfolding catastrophe (v 3). It’s strong stuff! It feels unspiritual to be angry with God and yet the psalms include many hymns of lament: sung poems that express disappointment with God (eg Psalm 79). At times of local and national crisis, Habakkuk shows us that even frustration has its place in the great songbook of worship.
Author
Gethin Russell-Jones
Respond
We are living in times of unprecedented religious persecution, particularly of Christians. The charity Open Doors* estimate there are up to 250 million believers affected by this, so let’s remember them now before God, asking that he will act on behalf of his people.
Deeper Bible study
‘For God alone my soul waits in silence … he alone is my rock and my salvation.’1
I love Habakkuk! He is so honest, so real – and so relevant for our world today, full of fear, terror, uncertainty, pain. Habakkuk prophesied when the threat of Babylonian invasion was being increasingly felt – probably during the reign of the Judean king Jehoiakim (609–598 BC).2 Nebuchadnezzar came to power in Babylon in 605 BC and by the end of that century his empire dominated the world. Even though Habakkuk realised that his nation deserved God’s judgement because of its injustice and idolatry (vs 2–4), there were questions that tormented him. The first comes in verse 2: why did God seem so silent when things were so awful? It’s a question that many of us ask.
When God does reply to Habakkuk (vs 5–11) there is no comfort. Things will get a lot worse. God tells Habakkuk that he is bringing upon them the Chaldean (Babylonian) army, who will destroy without mercy.3 There are many similar horrific happenings in the world today, though we only hear about a few of them. We ask questions too: what is God doing? We pray for the peace of the world, but that prayer never seems to be answered.
The silence of God has long been a test of faith for Christians. When my loved one is so ill, or my Christian colleague dies in a road accident, or when I’m clinically depressed, why does God feel so far away? When he does finally answer, why do things get worse? Obviously, this is not the only experience of Christians, but it is a problem for many. Habakkuk had more questions for God, as we shall read, but he hung on in faith – and that’s what we need to do too. God’s final answer lies in the cross and resurrection, and the promise of Jesus’ return to put all things right.
Read Revelation 20:11 – 21:8 to encourage your faith.
1Ps 62:1,2, ESV 22 Kings 23:36 – 24:6; 2 Chr 36:5–8 3 See 2 Chr 36:17–21
Author
Vivien Whitfield
