LORD, WHY ARE YOU SILENT?

Passage: Habakkuk 1:1-11

Key verse: 2

NIV

1 The prophecy(A) that Habakkuk the prophet received.

Habakkuk’s Complaint

2 How long,(B) Lord, must I call for help,
    but you do not listen?(C)
Or cry out to you, “Violence!”
    but you do not save?(D)
3 Why do you make me look at injustice?
    Why do you tolerate(E) wrongdoing?(F)
Destruction and violence(G) are before me;
    there is strife,(H) and conflict abounds.
4 Therefore the law(I) is paralyzed,
    and justice never prevails.
The wicked hem in the righteous,
    so that justice(J) is perverted.(K)

The Lord’s Answer

5 “Look at the nations and watch—
    and be utterly amazed.(L)
For I am going to do something in your days
    that you would not believe,
    even if you were told.(M)
6 I am raising up the Babylonians,[a](N)
    that ruthless and impetuous people,
who sweep across the whole earth(O)
    to seize dwellings not their own.(P)
7 They are a feared and dreaded people;(Q)
    they are a law to themselves
    and promote their own honor.
8 Their horses are swifter(R) than leopards,
    fiercer than wolves(S) 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[b] advance like a desert wind
    and gather prisoners(T) like sand.
10 They mock kings
    and scoff at rulers.(U)
They laugh at all fortified cities;
    by building earthen ramps(V) they capture them.
11 Then they sweep past like the wind(W) and go on—
    guilty people, whose own strength is their god.”(X)

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Footnotes
  1. Habakkuk 1:6 Or Chaldeans
  2. Habakkuk 1:9 The meaning of the Hebrew for this word is uncertain.
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Source: BibleGateway

ESV

1 (A)The oracle that Habakkuk the prophet saw.

Habakkuk's Complaint

2 O Lord, (B)how long shall I cry for help,
    and you will not hear?
Or cry to you (C)“Violence!”
    and you will not save?
3 (D)Why do you make me see iniquity,
    and why do you idly look at wrong?
Destruction (E)and violence are before me;
    strife and contention arise.
4 (F)So the law is paralyzed,
    and justice never goes forth.
(G)For the wicked surround the righteous;
    so justice goes forth perverted.

The Lord's Answer

5 (H)“Look among the nations, and see;
    wonder and be astounded.
(I)For I am doing a work in your days
    that you would not believe if told.
6 For behold, (J)I am raising up the Chaldeans,
    that bitter and hasty nation,
(K)who march through the breadth of the earth,
    (L)to seize dwellings not their own.
7 They are dreaded and fearsome;
    (M)their justice and dignity go forth from themselves.
8 (N)Their horses are swifter than leopards,
    more fierce than (O)the evening wolves;
    their horsemen press proudly on.
Their horsemen come from afar;
    (P)they fly like an eagle swift to devour.
9 They all come (Q)for violence,
    all their faces forward.
    They gather captives (R)like sand.
10 At kings they scoff,
    and at rulers they laugh.
(S)They laugh at every fortress,
    for (T)they pile up earth and take it.
11 Then they sweep by like the wind and go on,
    (U)guilty men, (V)whose own might is their god!”

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The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
Source: BibleGateway

HABAKKUK

Habakkuk lived in Judah just before its demise at the hands of the Babylonians. He was a philosopher- prophet who struggled with the great questions of life. But his struggle was not academic--he cared about his people. He wrestled with God in prayer. He first com- plained to God for allowing sin to go rampant and unchecked in Israel (Judah). God answered and told him the shocking news that God would use the ruth- less and evil Babylonians as his rod of punishment. This raised an even bigger question. As bad as Israel was, they were better than the Babylonians. How could God allow the evil Babylonians to conquer people more righteous than themselves? Through his struggle in prayer, he met God. He found God's answers and accepted God's sovereignty. He concludes his book with a confession of his faith in God.

He probably lived to see the beginning of the fulfillment of his prophecy, for the Babylonians attacked Jerusalem in 597 BC. In the time of great distress, he and his people needed to meet God afresh and confess their faith in him.

1:1-4--1st complaint 2:2-2

-God's answer

1:5-11--God's answer 3:1-19--Habakkuk's

1:12-2:1--2nd complaint confession of faith

1. Why do you tolerate wrong? (1-4)

When Habakkuk saw the violence and injustice that was rampant in Judah, he cried out to God. It seemed that the law was paralyzed and justice never prevailed. How could a holy and righteous God tolerate such lawlessness and such perversion of justice?

2. God's answer (5-11)

God's answer is shocking. Indeed, he would not tolerate the violence and corruption that had engulfed Judah. He would punish his people so that they might repent and be saved. The shocking thing was that he would use as his instrument of judgment the Babylon- ians, a people far more evil than the Jews. They were ruthless and impetuous. They were feared and dreaded by all people. They were a law to themselves, and they promoted their own honor. They were guilty men whose own strength was their god. God was going to use these people to destroy Jerusalem.

Prayer: Lord, we also live in violent and corrupt times. Raise up godly men who care and who struggle with you. Turn our nation back to you.

One Word: God punishes in order to save