No one likes discipline. The word might even make you cringe a little bit (at least it did for me). The word—discipline—in verbal form means “to punish or penalize for the sake of discipline.”[1] As a noun the word means “training that corrects, molds, or perfects the mental faculties or moral character.”[2]
Habakkuk has asked, “How long O Lord, will I call for help, and You will not hear?” (Hab 1:2). God’s answer to that question is that he is going to discipline his people. Habakkuk 1:5 serves as an introduction to God’s oracle of judgement[3] against the evil of the nation of Judah, its kings, its people, and its priests. God tells Habakkuk, “Look among the nations! Observe! Be astonished! Wonder! Because I am doing something in your days— You would not believe if you were told”[4] (Hab 1:5). God breaks the silence Habakkuk endured revealing that God has been doing something. When the text says “Look” and “Observe” and “Be Astonished!” and “Wonder!” those are all plural imperatives[5] in the Hebrew text that emphasize two things. First, there is an urgency of what is commanded that they look and take note. Second, as plurals these words are addressed to the nation of Judah, not only to the prophet Habakkuk.
Habakkuk is learning God has not been idle while Habakkuk asked his question. Habakkuk is learning God’s silence does not equal indifference. Bible teacher Taylor Turkington explains, “God was not passive. He had not been distracted by other things and missed the chaos happening in Judah. No, God answered this man of faith by telling him to look at what he was going to do; God was doing something they wouldn’t believe.”[6] God was already working on specific plans. But God’s answers were not what Habakkuk wanted. Habakkuk had thought God would turn the people in Judah from wickedness to righteousness. He thought God would turn the people to the temple and away from pagan gods. He thought God would turn the king to God and away from idolatry.
What we learn from God’s response to Habakkuk’s questions is that God is sovereign in how He deals with all people. God surprises the people of Judah and in the process reminds them about God’s sovereignty. The late Warren Wiersbe explained, “God gave Habakkuk a revelation, not an explanation, for what we always need in times of doubt is a new view of God. The Lord doesn’t owe us any explanations, but He does graciously reveal Himself and His work to those who seek Him.”[7] This new view is that God is sovereign.
Theologian John Fienberg defines sovereignty this way, “God’s power of absolute self-determination … God’s choices are determined only by his own nature and purposes…. God’s sovereign will is also free, for nobody forces him to do anything, and whatever he does is in accord with his own purposes and wishes.”[8]
We know God is sovereign for several reasons. We know God is sovereign from Scripture. Psalm 103:19 tells us, “The LORD has established His throne in the heavens, and His sovereignty rules over all.” And 1 Chronicles 29:11 reveals, “Yours, O LORD, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the victory and the majesty, indeed everything that is in the heavens and the earth; Yours is the dominion, O LORD, and You exalt Yourself as head over all.” We also know God is sovereign from His names in Scripture, “God Most High” (Gen 14:18–20), “God Almighty” (Gen 17:1), “Master & Lord, Jesus Christ” (Jude 4). And we know God is sovereign from world history, “you O king, are the king of kings, to whom the God of heaven has given the kingdom, the power, the strength and the glory; and wherever the sons of men dwell, or the beasts of the field, or the birds of the sky, He has given them into your hand and has caused you to rule over them all” (Dan 2:37–38).
Scripture makes it clear that God is sovereign in how He deals with all people. Kenneth Barker comments on Habakkuk 1:5:
The Lord’s answer indicates his sovereignty. He is not bound by the listener’s whims or by their standards of “fairness.” He responds according to his sovereign will. He is the Lord of history who works in history to accomplish his purpose. Habakkuk’s questions reflect the questions of many people. Especially when we deal with personal affronts, difficulties, and disappointment, we desire to know where God is and what he is doing. Habakkuk reminds us that God is at work even if it appears He is not. He is the Lord of the universe who works to accomplish his purposes in his world and in our lives. [9]
He knows what is going on. He understands the world in which we live. And he is working things out according to the plan he has.
[1] Merriam-Webster, Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary, 11th ed. (Springfield, MA: Merriam-Webster, Inc., 2003), 356.
[2] Ibid.
[3] The word, “oracle” (מַשָּׂא) in Habakkuk 1:1 literally means “burden” and is “a pronouncement or message from God to people.” (Leland Ryken, Symbols and Reality [Wooster, OH: Weaver Book Company, 2016], 31). In the Old Testament there are three types of oracles:Judgement, blessing, and salvation (Ryken, Symbols and Reality, 32-43.).
[4] Scripture taken from the New American Standard Bible, Copyright The Lockman Foundation 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995. Used by permission.
[5] An imperative in Hebrew is “urgent or demanding immediate, specific action on the part of the addressee” (Bruce Waltke and M O’Connor, An Introduction to Biblical Hebrew Syntax [Winona Lake, IN: Eisenbrauns, 1990], 571).
[6] Taylor Turkington, Trembling Faith: How a Distressed Prophet Helps Us Trust God in a Chaotic World (Brentwood, TN: B&H, 2023), 39.
[7] Warren Wiersbe, Be Amazed (Colorado Springs, CO: David C. Cook, 2012, 2nd edition), 136-137.
[8] John Feinberg, No One Like Him (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2006), 294.
[9] Kenneth L. Barker, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, vol. 20. The New American Commentary (Nashville: Broadman & Holman, 1999), 302.