Habakkuk 1

Name: Habakkuk
Author: BiblePics
ISBN: Your ISBN Number

Idols Almighty Materialism Judgment Prophecy Righteousness Awe Sacrifice God Prayer Blameless

Habakkuk complains to the Lord about the wickedness and injustice in the land, and the Lord answers by promising to send the Babylonians to punish His people.

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Bible version

Habakkuk's Complaint and the Lord's Answer

1 The burden which Habakkuk the prophet did see.

2 O LORD, how long shall I cry, and thou wilt not hear! even cry out unto thee of violence, and thou wilt not save!

3 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.

4 Therefore the law is slacked, and judgment doth never go forth: for the wicked doth compass about the righteous; therefore wrong judgment proceedeth.

5 Behold ye among the heathen, and regard, and wonder marvellously: for I will work a work in your days, which ye will not believe, though it be told you.

6 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 theirs.

7 They are terrible and dreadful: their judgment and their dignity shall proceed of themselves.

8 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.

9 They shall come all for violence: their faces shall sup up as the east wind, and they shall gather the captivity as the sand.

10 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.

11 Then shall his mind change, and he shall pass over, and offend, imputing this his power unto his god.

12 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.

13 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?

14 And makest men as the fishes of the sea, as the creeping things, that have no ruler over them?

15 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.

16 Therefore they sacrifice unto their net, and burn incense unto their drag; because by them their portion is fat, and their meat plenteous.

17 Shall they therefore empty their net, and not spare continually to slay the nations?

Commentary

Habakkuk 1 is a powerful chapter that speaks to the struggles of faith and the need for patience in the face of suffering. The prophet Habakkuk begins by asking God why He allows injustice and wickedness to go unpunished. He is perplexed by the fact that the wicked seem to prosper while the righteous suffer. God responds by telling Habakkuk that He is sending the Babylonians to punish the wicked and restore justice. Habakkuk is still troubled by this answer and questions why God would use a wicked nation to punish the wicked. God responds by reminding Habakkuk that He is sovereign and can use any nation to accomplish His purposes. The chapter ends with Habakkuk accepting God's answer and trusting in His sovereignty. He acknowledges that God is in control and that He will bring justice in His own time. This is a powerful reminder to us that God is in control and that we must trust in Him even when we don't understand His plans. We must have faith that He will bring justice and that He will use whatever means necessary to accomplish His purposes.