(Part 1)

JBTM Paul D. Wegner
106
To Habakkuk, this should be an easy judgment call. Of course the Israelites are more
righteous. But God’s perspective is different. Isaiah 64:6 says that the righteousness of Israel
is like “filthy rags.” The Israelites had received great revelation from Yahweh. They had
made a covenant with him and claimed they would obey his laws. God had sent prophets
to warn them repeatedly because of their wandering away from him. They are supposed
to know better and yet they continue to sin blatantly against their God. The Babylonians,
on the other hand, have no idea about this God and thus they serve power and what they
consider to be the gods of power. So who has the greater guilt? I would argue that the
Israelites are more culpable in that they have greater knowledge about God and what he
expects.
Sometimes God has to get our attention—in Habakkuk’s case the Israelites had taken
advantage of God’s patience and now they were going to feel the punishment in a way
calculated to shock them, hopefully enough to motivate them to change their behavior and
turn to God. Sometimes God has to do something so amazing for us to realize that he is
capable of doing far beyond what we might ask or think. What do you say to a God who can
control the strongest power in the world? In the next verse (Hab 2:1), we see that Habakkuk
is starting to get it. He realizes he had stepped over the line when he questioned God, “Why
are You silent while the wicked swallow up those more righteous that they?” and “Are you
going to let the Babylonians slaughter nations without mercy?” Habakkuk anticipates a
rebuke from God for his boldness (v. 2:1): “I will stand at my guard post and station myself
on the lookout tower. I will watch to see what he will say to me and what I should reply when
I am reproved” (my translation).
God’s Response (2:2–20)
You know what I expected in Hab 2:2? God would give Habakkuk a slap, or at least a