Why Evil Is Allowed - HABAKKUK START

If you've ever struggled with why God allows evil and suffering, the Prophet Habakkuk knows exactly how you feel. His book is written in the aftermath of great trouble upon Israel. 

Habakkuk 1:2-3 (ESV) O LORD, how long shall I cry for help, and you will not hear? Or cry to you “Violence!” and you will not save? 3 Why do you make me see iniquity, and why do you idly look at wrong? Destruction and violence are before me; strife and contention arise.

The questions Habakkuk posed came after the fall of Israel to the North and before the fall of Judah to the south. He looked upon a nation in the south that was rapidly deteriorating spiritually. The reforms of the last righteous King Josiah were no longer in effect, and the nation seemed worse than ever. Habakkuk wonders how long it will continue.

In response to the prophet, God offers a SHOCKING bit of information about what the future holds.

Habakkuk 1:5–6 (ESV) “Look among the nations, and see; wonder and be astounded. For I am doing a work in your days that you would not believe if told. 6 For behold, I am raising up the Chaldeans, that bitter and hasty nation, who march through the breadth of the earth, to seize dwellings not their own.

Habakkuk is told without doubt, this nation will ravage the land, sweeping through light a wind and bringing the wrath of God.

Habakkuk 1:9–11 (ESV) They all come for violence, all their faces forward. They gather captives like sand. 10 At kings they scoff, and at rulers they laugh. They laugh at every fortress, for they pile up earth and take it. 11 Then they sweep by like the wind and go on, guilty men, whose own might is their god!”

If you think the prophet takes all of this lightly or happily, think again! He questions how God would use such a vile nation to execute His judgment. These questions from Habakkuk are a lesson for us. When you wonder what God is doing, go to Him directly!

Habakkuk 1:12–13 (ESV) Are you not from everlasting, O LORD my God, my Holy One? We shall not die. O LORD, you have ordained them as a judgment, and you, O Rock, have established them for reproof. 13 You who are of purer eyes than to see evil and cannot look at wrong, why do you idly look at traitors and remain silent when the wicked swallows up the man more righteous than he?

For as much as Israel had sinned and deserved Divine retribution, surely the utterly evil and contemptible empire of Babylon was worse! In poetic language, the prophet wonders how on earth this could accomplish the Lord's good purposes for Israel. 

Habakkuk 1:14–17 (ESV) You make mankind like the fish of the sea, like crawling things that have no ruler. 15 He brings all of them up with a hook; he drags them out with his net; he gathers them in his dragnet; so he rejoices and is glad. 16 Therefore he sacrifices to his net and makes offerings to his dragnet; for by them he lives in luxury, and his food is rich. 17 Is he then to keep on emptying his net and mercilessly killing nations forever?

The heart of this complaint is how utterly corrupt and pagan Babylon is. They rejoiced in destroying lands. They worshipped their industry. They lived in luxury without a thought toward God. Why would God use them? 

But do not miss the opening of chapter 2. For the prophet models not only how we should take our complaint to God, but also what we should do after we have:

Habakkuk 2:1 (ESV) I will take my stand at my watchpost and station myself on the tower, and look out to see what he will say to me, and what I will answer concerning my complaint.

It is not enough to simply complain; you must pay attention to what response you will receive. Moreover, Habakkuk understands what the Lord says may still be troubling. He's expecting a back-and-forth, and he's ready. 

I think we can close out this brief look at chapter one with a simple thought. Why does God allow evil and suffering? How can He use people who seem so wicked? The answer begins when we ask and commit to hearing Him out. It won't be easy or quick, but it will be enough in the end.