The burden which Habakkuk the prophet did see.
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O LORD, how long shall I cry, and thou wilt not hear! even cry out unto thee of violence, and thou wilt not save!
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Why dost thou shew me iniquity, and cause me to behold grievance? for spoiling and violence are before me: and there are that raise up strife and contention.
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Therefore the law is slacked, and judgment doth never go forth: for the wicked doth compass about the righteous; therefore wrong judgment proceedeth.
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Behold ye among the heathen, and regard, and wonder marvelously: for I will work a work in your days which ye will not believe, though it be told you.
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For, lo, I raise up the Chaldeans, that bitter and hasty nation, which shall march through the breadth of the land, to possess the dwellingplaces that are not their's.
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They are terrible and dreadful: their judgment and their dignity shall proceed of themselves.
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Their horses also are swifter than the leopards, and are more fierce than the evening wolves: and their horsemen shall spread themselves, and their horsemen shall come from far; they shall fly as the eagle that hasteth to eat.
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They shall come all for violence: their faces shall sup up as the east wind, and they shall gather the captivity as the sand.
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And they shall scoff at the kings, and the princes shall be a scorn unto them: they shall deride every strong hold; for they shall heap dust, and take it.
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Then shall his mind change, and he shall pass over, and offend, imputing this his power unto his god.
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Art thou not from everlasting, O LORD my God, mine Holy One? we shall not die. O LORD, thou hast ordained them for judgment; and, O mighty God, thou hast established them for correction.
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Thou art of purer eyes than to behold evil, and canst not look on iniquity: wherefore lookest thou upon them that deal treacherously, and holdest thy tongue when the wicked devoureth the man that is more righteous than he?
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And makest men as the fishes of the sea, as the creeping things, that have no ruler over them?
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They take up all of them with the angle, they catch them in their net, and gather them in their drag: therefore they rejoice and are glad.
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Therefore they sacrifice unto their net, and burn incense unto their drag; because by them their portion is fat, and their meat plenteous.
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Shall they therefore empty their net, and not spare continually to slay the nations?
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Habakkuk 1 Study & Commentary
Habakkuk 1 - The Prophet’s Complaint: Habakkuk asks God how long he must cry out against violence without an answer. God responds that He is raising up the Chaldeans (Babylonians)—a bitter and hasty nation—to execute judgment. Habakkuk is confused: how can a Holy God use a more wicked nation to punish Judah?
THEOLOGICAL CONTEXT
1. The Problem of Evil: Habakkuk wrestles with the "silence" of God in the face of lawlessness and injustice.2. Sovereignty in Judgment: God reveals that He is the one "raising up" the Chaldeans, showing that even pagan powers are tools in His hand.
3. God’s Purity (v. 13): "Thou art of purer eyes than to behold evil." This verse highlights the tension between God’s holiness and the reality of a fallen world.
PRACTICAL LESSONS
1. Honest Lament: God allows us to bring our "Whys" to Him. Faith doesn't mean suppressing our questions, but taking them to the right Person.2. God’s Unexpected Methods: Sometimes God’s answer to our prayer isn't what we expected or even what we wanted, but it is still His sovereign plan.
