O LORD, how long!

1:1-4 Habakkuk’s Complaint

1  The burden which Habakkuk the prophet did see.

This was a common way for prophets to introduce a prophecy. It tells us they have received a word from the Lord and that this word is heavy, serious, hard.

Jewish tradition tells us the Habakkuk prophesied between Nahum (who prophesied to Assyria) and Zephaniah (who prophesied in the days of Josiah). Habakkuk indicates that he prophesied when the Chaldeans (Babylonians) were coming to power.

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.

He opens with a bang:

how long shall I cry, and thou wilt not hear!

[how long shall I] cry and thou wilt not save!

This is a strong complaint. What is going on that he would protest so?

He states it in 5 couplets:

v3 iniquity and grievance
v3 spoiling and violence
v3 strife and contention
v4 the law is slacked and judgment never goes forth
v4 the wicked compass the righteous.

The covenant people in Judah (especially Jerusalem) had sunk to such low depths of spiritual life that wickedness rather than righteousness was the norm. And this wasn’t a new thing – this had been going on a while. Not only had this become the norm, they had ignored the warnings the prophets had proclaimed.

“O LORD how long!” Habakkuk had been praying for his people, interceding fervently for them. He had not only been praying faithfully, he had also been praying in faith. He fully expected God to hear his prayers and answer them. Now, in faith he refuses to give up.

This raises personal and theological questions!

Personal – I have to ask myself, Am I praying for my family with such fervency and faith? Am I praying for my church? my neighborhood? my state and country? Ouch!

Theological – Can we speak to God this way? I mean, is this acceptable? Is He pleased with this or is Habakkuk way out of line?

Yes! This is fully acceptable. He is asking in the same faith that he had been praying. This will become clear when we look at 1:5-11. When we speak in faith we can pray this way. Let me go further, God is pleased when we are so zealous in our prayers. This is wrestling with God.

I believe we have a powerful example of this type of wrestling with God in Genesis 18. It begins with the LORD having dinner with Abraham (!!), then in v 17-33 we see Abraham wrestling with God as he intercedes for Sodom. Notice, the LORD invited it!

17 And the LORD said, Shall I hide from Abraham that thing which I do?
20 And the LORD said, Because the cry of Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and because their sin is very grievous; 21 I will go down now, and see whether they have done altogether according to the cry of it, which is come unto me; and if not, I will know.
22 And the men turned their faces from thence, and went toward Sodom: but Abraham stood yet before the LORD.

23 And Abraham drew near, and said, Wilt thou also destroy the righteous with the wicked?
24 Peradventure there be fifty righteous within the city: wilt thou also destroy and not spare the place for the fifty righteous that are therein? 

25 That be far from thee to do after this manner, to slay the righteous with the wicked: and that the righteous should be as the wicked, that be far from thee: Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?

See how bold he is? He is interceding, praying in their stead for them.

In v26-32 Abraham wrestles with God: 50? 45? 40? 30? 20? Then, in v32 And he said, Oh let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak yet but this once: Peradventure ten shall be found there. And he said, I will not destroy it for ten's sake.

Even 10 righteous people would have saved the entire city! But we know the story, Sodom was destroyed - was all this prayer and wrestling a holy waste of time? NO! Because of Abraham Lot and his family were rescued.

O brother, O sister, stand before God; draw near; pray; intercede; don’t give up! God delights in this kind of wrestling! And souls are rescued from the fire!

Finally, coming back to the beginning, O LORD, how long! Twelve times in the Old Testament we find the phrase, “O LORD, how long?” This is the cry of people who are seriously living for the Lord, who are fervent in their prayers, who have prayed in faith, fully expecting God to answer, but have not yet seen the answer. It is okay to cry out, “O Lord, how long?” But we have to be careful to ask in faith. Mary and Zacharias were both visited by the angel and told they would have a child. This was not possible in the natural for either of them: Mary was a virgin, Zacharias and Elizabeth were old. They both responded, “How can this be?” But only Mary was asking in faith. How do I know this? Zacharias was rebuked, Mary received an explanation.

I believe the first four verses of Chapter 1 encourage us to pray for our family, our church, our country; to pray fervently, expecting God to hear and answer our prayers. They also teach us that such faithful praying may often include wrestling with God. In other words, we are encouraged to persevere in prayer, what used to be called “praying through.”

Tomorrow: 1:5-11 God Answers Habakkuk