Hab 1:2-3 | KingComments | STEP | This opening verse of the dialogue between Habakkuk and the LORD sets the tone for what follows in this chapter. We feel in this chapter the tension a righteous person experiences when his prayer is not answered satisfactorily or in a way that raises even more questions. The prophecy is meant for the people. Yet Habakkuk does not address the people, but the LORD. By writing down in a book what he speaks to God, the people become involved in his prayer. He calls for help (cf. ) and salvation that does not come. This call is not selfish, but is related to the honor of God. How long will God endure the dishonor inflicted upon His Name? Habakkuk expresses the feelings of the God-fearing remnant of the people. He does not speak about the sins of the people with his countrymen, but with God. His cry for help does not appear to have just begun. For a long time he has been in a situation where he calls for help. That appears from the words “how long”. He asks “how long” he has to go on calling for help before an answer comes from God. The exclamation “how long?” is an exclamation typical of a complaint. It is done in a crisis situation from which the speaker wants to be delivered and for which he asks for help ( ; ; ). Habakkuk asks God why He is not hearing. The word “hear” means that an answer is expected to what has been asked. God hears him calling, but the answer is not given. This can lead to a crisis of faith. If no answer is given to a question for help, it can raise the question of the righteousness of the questioner or of the One to Whom the question is asked (cf. ; ). Is one of them perhaps unjust? Habakkuk struggles with this. Habakkuk exclaims to God that violence is being committed. He wants God to deliver him from it. He uses this word “violence” – Hebrew hamas – several times in his book ( ). It is a key word in his prophecy. Violence is an evil act that causes injury and damage to a person or his property. Violence is common among God’s people. Habakkuk observes that exploitation takes place on a large scale in a cruel manner, purely for one’s own sake. He wants God to deliver from that, to take away the pressure of it. Violence is one of the main manifestations of sin. Sin can be summarized in two concepts: lust and violence. Sin has come into the world through lust: Eve coveted to be God. The second sin, as a consequence of the first, is that of violence: Cain killed his brother. When the bond with God is broken, there is no respect for what belongs to the other. Lust leads to violence. Both of these main streams of sin have caused the flood ( ). In the time in which we live we see the pair of lust and violence become stronger and stronger in all kinds of manifestations. The lust for certain things is followed by forcibly appropriating the coveted. This is strikingly illustrated by a young person being interviewed after a robbery of a jeweler (March 2014). He shows a certain understanding for the fact that a robbery is committed ‘in order to be able to buy something nice’. Only through repentance of sins and conversion to God, can lust and violence then be stripped of their power.

‏ Habakkuk 1:2-3

How Long, O LORD?

This opening verse of the dialogue between Habakkuk and the LORD sets the tone for what follows in this chapter. We feel in this chapter the tension a righteous person experiences when his prayer is not answered satisfactorily or in a way that raises even more questions.

The prophecy is meant for the people. Yet Habakkuk does not address the people, but the LORD. By writing down in a book what he speaks to God, the people become involved in his prayer. He calls for help (cf. Jona 2:2) and salvation that does not come. This call is not selfish, but is related to the honor of God. How long will God endure the dishonor inflicted upon His Name? Habakkuk expresses the feelings of the God-fearing remnant of the people. He does not speak about the sins of the people with his countrymen, but with God.

His cry for help does not appear to have just begun. For a long time he has been in a situation where he calls for help. That appears from the words “how long”. He asks “how long” he has to go on calling for help before an answer comes from God. The exclamation “how long?” is an exclamation typical of a complaint. It is done in a crisis situation from which the speaker wants to be delivered and for which he asks for help (Psa 13:1-2 ; Psa 6:3 ; Psa 89:46; Jer 12:4; Zec 1:12).

Habakkuk asks God why He is not hearing. The word “hear” means that an answer is expected to what has been asked. God hears him calling, but the answer is not given. This can lead to a crisis of faith. If no answer is given to a question for help, it can raise the question of the righteousness of the questioner or of the One to Whom the question is asked (cf. Job 19:7 ; Job 30:20; Psa 18:41). Is one of them perhaps unjust? Habakkuk struggles with this.

Habakkuk exclaims to God that violence is being committed. He wants God to deliver him from it. He uses this word “violence” – Hebrew hamas – several times in his book (Hab 1:2 ; 3 ; 9 ; Hab 2:8 ; 17). It is a key word in his prophecy. Violence is an evil act that causes injury and damage to a person or his property.

Violence is common among God’s people. Habakkuk observes that exploitation takes place on a large scale in a cruel manner, purely for one’s own sake. He wants God to deliver from that, to take away the pressure of it. Violence is one of the main manifestations of sin. Sin can be summarized in two concepts: lust and violence. Sin has come into the world through lust: Eve coveted to be God. The second sin, as a consequence of the first, is that of violence: Cain killed his brother. When the bond with God is broken, there is no respect for what belongs to the other. Lust leads to violence. Both of these main streams of sin have caused the flood (Gen 6:11).

In the time in which we live we see the pair of lust and violence become stronger and stronger in all kinds of manifestations. The lust for certain things is followed by forcibly appropriating the coveted. This is strikingly illustrated by a young person being interviewed after a robbery of a jeweler (March 2014). He shows a certain understanding for the fact that a robbery is committed ‘in order to be able to buy something nice’. Only through repentance of sins and conversion to God, can lust and violence then be stripped of their power.

Why?

Like the question “how long?” in the previous verse, the question “why?” in this verse is a question typical of the faithful remnant. The prophet as the type of the faithful remnant wonders why he, who can do nothing about it, should see all this injustice without anyone doing anything about it, not even God. Surely God sees everything, even all the injustice and the trouble it causes, doesn’t He?

The prophet is in the midst of a people who do not take God into account. He observes a multitude of evil things that are expressions of violence. He speaks of “iniquity”, “wickedness”, “destruction and violence”, “ strife and contention”. The prophet uses three pairs of words: “iniquity” and “wickedness”, “destruction and violence”, “strife and contention”. Each word pair consists of words that are connected to each other according to their meaning. They describe the same situation, but with a different accent.

That it is not about evil in general in the world, but about the evil of God’s people, is shown by the fact that in Hab 1:5-6 God raises up the Chaldeans to chastise His people for it. “Destruction and violence” is being committed. Everyone wants to enrich himself at the expense of others. Because of this there is strife that leads to contention. There is no unity and no peace. Habakkuk feels powerless, but he knows that God is not. Why, then, does He do nothing about it?

In the church we unfortunately also see strife and contention. These arise when there is ‘iniquity’ among believers that causes ‘wickedness’. Often this is the result of domineering leaders who do not allow themselves to be corrected. They are shepherds who pasture themselves. Diotrephes is an example of this (3Jn 1:9-10). Such leaders abuse their position and act destructively and violently against anyone who does not submit to them. Such behavior does not work togetherness, but strife and contention. As a result, the church finally falls apart.

The silence of God in human affairs has always been difficult to understand. But it does not mean that there is no answer and that Divine wisdom is incapable of solving these difficulties. God sees everything and everything remains under the control of His mighty hand. This also applies to all the iniquities we see in Christianity. God does not want us to consider it small, nor does He want us to succumb to it, but to present it to Him and ask Him what He wants us to do.