You could get the impression from some that a holy and pious life before God does not include questioning Him. You might get the impression from some that a faithful and fruitful life in God will accept everything that happens without any recourse.
Habakkuk is here, thankfully, to reassure us that those impressions are not a complete reflection of the relationship on offer with God.
How long, O Lord, must I call for help?
But you do not listen!
“Violence is everywhere!” I cry,
but you do not come to save.
Must I forever see these evil deeds?
Why must I watch all this misery? (Habakkuk 1:2-3 NLT)
The questions Habakkuk puts to God are not expressed with a lack of respect for God or a fear for Him. On the contrary, as he will show, these questions are coming exactly because of the God that He believes. He has been made aware of the character of God and has an understanding that sees that the best place to make these complaints is to the one true God.
The thing about this book is how it’s a great way to see how the relationship dynamic between God and man can work out. One in which there is freedom to question as long as there is room to accept the answers that are given. Not just accept them on the surface but engage with those responses. God does not want unthinking devotion and ignorant acceptance.
O Lord my God, my Holy One, you who are eternal—
surely you do not plan to wipe us out?
O Lord, our Rock, you have sent these Babylonians to correct us,
to punish us for our many sins.
But you are pure and cannot stand the sight of evil.
Will you wink at their treachery?
Should you be silent while the wicked
swallow up people more righteous than they? (Habakkuk 1:12-13 NLT)
The conversation between Habakkuk is amusing in the sense that at first he questions God for appearing to do nothing, then He questions God for doing something. All of these are based on what he expects from the God that He knows. That’s why every response from God is a chance to know God more – if we have the ears to hear.
Those responses take place, however in the context of an opportunity to establish the character of God not to fit in with our expectations, but for our expectations to be expanded further. He remains righteous and will do what is right. His actions are established to such a degree that although He allows the questions to come, He also requires us to pay careful attention to the response.
The way in which the response given to Habakkuk is emphatic is the place in which we can have assurance and consolation. Especially outlining His plans not just for His people, but for those who will take the people captive, the heart of it all is to truly have an understanding of the one, true and living God.
“What good is an idol carved by man,
or a cast image that deceives you?
How foolish to trust in your own creation—
a god that can’t even talk!
What sorrow awaits you who say to wooden idols,
‘Wake up and save us!’
To speechless stone images you say,
‘Rise up and teach us!’
Can an idol tell you what to do?
They may be overlaid with gold and silver,
but they are lifeless inside.
But the Lord is in his holy Temple.
Let all the earth be silent before him.” (Habakkuk 2:18-20)
There is nothing wrong with questioning God in itself. It’s for us to be prepared to gain an understanding of who we’re questioning in His response.
(Photo by Artem Maltsev on Unsplash)
For His Name’s Sake
Shalom
C. L. J. Dryden
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