The book of Habakkuk is often called a “theodicy.” A theodicy is an “attempt to defend God’s omnipotence and goodness in the face of the problem of evil in the world.”[1] The book of Habakkuk tells the story of a man, Habakkuk, asking God about the evil he sees occurring in his country and in the neighboring nations. It also reveals the struggles that Habakkuk has with what he sees and what he believes God should be doing.
Many of us probably have the same questions that Habakkuk asked. Questions such as, “God do you know what’s going on? God when will you intervene? God why don’t you do something? God if you are good why do you allow evil, pain, and suffering?”
In the book of Habakkuk we don’t get all of those answers at once. Just as each of the four gospels give us a portrait of Jesus from a different side and with a different emphasis, the book of Habakkuk answers our questions in a series of steps building upon each other. Each step gets us closer to understanding who God is and why he chooses to do what he does in the way he does it.
The first chapter of Habakkuk reveals Habakkuk’s problems. Habakkuk 1:1 serves as an introduction, and then we read about Habakkuk’s first question in Habakkuk 1:2–4 which we could summarize this way: “How long will evil continue and when will you stop it?”In these three verses Habakkuk questions the inconsistency of God’s actions and God’s character.[2]
Next in Habakkuk 1:5–11 we read God’s first answer to Habakkuk which could be summarized in this way: “I’m going to stop the evil, I know what’s going on, and you’ll be surprised how.” God tells Habakkuk that he will use the ungodly people of Babylon to purify his people (Judah) who are acting ungodly.
But God’s first answer raised a new problem for Habakkuk and that’s what we’ll examine together in upcoming weeks. Habakkuk’s second question of God in 1:12—2:1 questions the apparent inconsistency of God’s character. Habakkuk asks why God would use the more serious sinners (Babylonians) to punish the less serious sinners (Judah).
I agree with Taylor Turkington who writes, “Habakkuk’s outburst doesn’t feel like a model prayer in the Bible. His appeal erupts with questions and dissent. I’m glad that we’re never called to stuff our emotions; we can bring the confusion, grief, and protest to God, even if it gets fiery. It’s wonderfully clear that God can take it.”[3]
And to be honest, Habakkuk has good reason to be puzzled. In 722 BC the Assyrian army arrived in Israel in the north and wiped out the ten tribes. As a result Israel was eliminated from the ancient Near Eastern landscape. Habakkuk naturally wondered in 607 BC if that might be the same fate of the two tribes in the south known as Judah.
Habakkuk is perplexed that the eternal holy God would send a nation more wicked than Judah to punish Judah. In the coming weeks we’ll look at Habakkuk’s declaration about God (1:12–13), description of the Babylonians (1:14–17), and determination to wait (2:1).
[1] Page Brooks and D. A. Neal, “Theodicy,” ed. John D. Barry et al., The Lexham Bible Dictionary (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2016).
[2] Christopher L. Scott, “Wondering and Waiting: Habakkuk 1:1-4” in Word & Deed, vol XXVI Number 2 May 2024, 93-101.
[3] Taylor Turkington, Trembling Faith: How a Distressed Prophet Helps Us Trust God in a Chaotic World (Brentwood, TN: B&H, 2023), 51.