Wrestling with God's Plan: Habakkuk 1:12- 2:1

Habakkuk 1:12 - 2:1 (ESV)

Are you not from everlasting, O Lord, my God, my Holy One?
We shall not die, O Lord, for you have ordained them as judgment, and you, O Rock, have established them for reproof. 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? You make mankind like the fish of the sea, like crawling things that have no ruler. 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. Therefore he sacrifices to his net and makes offerings to his dragnet, for by them he lives in luxury, and his food is rich. Is he then to keep on emptying his net and mercilessly killing nations forever? 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.

How Should We Read This Text?

So here we are in Habakkuk, and this passage is incredibly raw and honest. Habakkuk has just heard God's shocking answer to his first complaint. Remember, Habakkuk asked God, "Why aren't you doing anything about all this injustice in Judah?" And God basically said, "Actually, I am doing something. I'm sending the Babylonians to judge Judah." That was an unexpected answer.

Now, in this passage, we see Habakkuk's genuine reaction to what God has just said. And I love how this starts—not just with his objection, but with what he knows for sure about God. He says, "Are you not from everlasting, O Lord, my God, my Holy One?" He's reminding himself and telling God about God's eternal nature, about God's covenant relationship with Judah, about God's holiness. And so, even in Habakkuk's confusion, what he does is anchor himself in what he knows to be true about God.

There's something quite powerful in that phrase, "my Holy One." Habakkuk is essentially saying, "God, I know that you are holy, which is why I am struggling to understand this plan of yours." He keeps his foundational understanding of God and doesn't let go of it, even though he's confused.

Now, let's look at what Habakkuk then does. He straight-up questions God's plan. He asks, how is it possible that a holy God, who is of purer eyes than to see evil, how is it that this God could use a wicked people like Babylon to judge Judah? From Habakkuk's perspective, the Babylonians were so much worse than the people of Judah. So how could God use them to fix the Judah problem?

Then Habakkuk uses this fishing metaphor to make his point. He pictures the Babylonians as these fishermen who like to catch people like fish, drag them into their nets, and then, well, worship their own nets. The Babylonians, Habakkuk is saying, worship their nets. They attribute their strength to their military might rather than recognizing God's power and sovereignty over them. And so this picture of them worshipping their nets is them saying, "Look at how awesome our army is."

And then Habakkuk has this question in verse 17: "Is he then to go on emptying his net and mercilessly killing nations forever?" He's really asking God, "Is there a limit to how far you will let the Babylonians go? Will they just keep on conquering and destroying without end?"

And this is where it turns rather beautiful. Instead of walking away and giving up on God, Habakkuk says, "Okay, I've asked you my question, and now I'm going to take my stand at my watchpost and station myself on the tower, and I will see how God answers me." This is the picture of a patient but attentively waiting person. Habakkuk is saying, "I don't understand, but I'm going to position myself so that I can listen for your answer."

The image of this watchman is significant because the watchman's job was to stay alert, to watch carefully for approaching danger and for important messengers. And so, Habakkuk has committed himself to staying engaged with God, to listening attentively, rather than just getting lost because things got confusing.

How Should This Passage Read Us?

What does this mean for us? Well, I think this passage speaks pretty powerfully to how we handle those moments when God's ways don't make sense. And like we said yesterday, we've all been there, right? We're praying for healing and it's not coming. We've lost the job we loved, and the relationship we relied on fell apart. Maybe, like Habakkuk, we're watching the injustice of the world and wondering why God doesn't just fix it all already.

And in those moments, God's silence and His, well, I guess seemingly backward ways of working things out can feel a bit like God has betrayed us. But what Habakkuk is teaching us here is that wrestling honestly with God is an act of faith. It's not an act of disobedience. It's not an act of doubt.

Look at what Habakkuk models for us here. He doesn't pretend to understand. He doesn't just spiritualize away his confusion, giving all kinds of platitudes. No, he takes his real and raw questions to God and says, "I don't get it."

But—and this is crucial—he does so while remaining anchored in what he knows to be true of who God is. Before he presents his case, he reminds himself: God is eternal, God is holy, God is my Rock. I think it's so freeing to us that we can question God. We can question His methods without questioning His character. We can say to God, "I don't understand what you're doing," without saying, "God, you're doing the wrong thing." We can say to God, "I don't understand what you're doing," and still say, "But I know who You are, and I can trust in who You are, even if I don't know how this is going to work out."

And then we see this beautiful picture of Habakkuk positioning himself as a watchman, committing to wait attentively for God to answer. We live in a culture that is filled with instant gratification. We've kind of lost the art of waiting patiently for God. And when we don't get immediate answers to our prayers, or when God's plan doesn't make sense straight away, then we can tend to disengage from God, to walk away from the faith, to distract ourselves, or to try and force our own solutions.

But Habakkuk here shows us a different way. He essentially says, "I'm going to put myself, plant myself right here until I hear from you, God, and I'm going to watch and see what you're going to do." In essence, he's creating a spiritual space to listen and wait for God.

Prayer

God, thank you that you are big enough to handle our honest questions. Thank you that you invite us into a real relationship with you, where we don’t have to pretend that everything makes sense when it doesn’t. Help us to live like Habakkuk in this space, where we can bring our struggles to you and then position ourselves to watch and wait and see what you will do. We pray that you will help us do this well. In Jesus’ name, Amen.