June 21, 2025 • 17 mins
Ever wondered how to navigate your faith amidst the chaos and confusion of life? Join us as we unpack the powerful story of the Old Testament prophet Habakkuk, a man who dared to question God's tolerance of evil and His use of the wicked Babylonians as instruments of punishment. Through Habakkuk's honest dialogue with God, we explore the profound lessons on trust and faith, even when circumstances are bewildering. You'll discover how to bring your deepest concerns to God and find solace in His sovereign plans and divine patience.
References
Bible Overview (2012) Henderson Rose Publishing
The Bible Exposition Commentary Old Testament The Prophets Isaiah- Malachi by Warren Wiersbe
Systematic Theology 2nd edition by Wayne Grudem
Christian Theology by Millard J. Erickson
Do you want to learn how to study the Bible? Check out the YouTube channel Faithfullyliven youtube.com/@faithfullyliven
Do you want to read about how to live faithfully? Check out the blog http://lyfe102.org
Get a free Road Map to get started learning how to study the Bible https://mailchi.mp/88f9c9405da0/bible-study-road-map
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:04):
Welcome to Faithfully Living, the Podcast, where we
learn how to live for Christ inour daily lives.
I'm Dwan, your host, and Iwould like to invite you on a
journey with me to explore andlearn how to be a faithful
follower of Christ.
Hey everyone, welcome toFaithfully Living, the Podcast,
(00:26):
where we strive to encourage youto live for Christ faithfully
by offering guidance on how tostudy the Bible, how to
understand the Bible better andhow to remain faithful to
historic Christianity in acontemporary society.
Let's jump right into ourepisode.
So, looking at the culture andthe world today, you know you
(00:49):
can get a person depressed.
You know there are a lot ofbehaviors and actions that are
wrong, that people are sayingthat they're right now.
You know, sometimes you wonderwhy God allows wickedness and
evil to continue.
And Habakkuk had the samequestion.
So Habakkuk was an OldTestament prophet in Judah after
(01:14):
the nation of Israel wasdivided into two.
So it was divided into Israel,which is the northern kingdom,
and then, which is the northernkingdom, and then Judah, which
is the southern kingdom.
So the people of Judah werewicked, you know, they had
turned from obeying God andHabakkuk wanted to know why God
(01:35):
was allowing this to continue.
So here's kind of like anoutline of the book of Habakkuk.
So first is Habakkuk's firstcomplaint, and Habakkuk has
three chapters in it.
So his first complaint why doesevil go unpunished?
And that's in chapter one, twothrough four.
(01:56):
And then God answers his firstcomplaint and he says I will
raise the Babylonians to punishthe wicked.
That's in chapter 1, verses 5through 11.
And then Habakkuk's secondcomplaint is how can a loving
God allow the wicked Babyloniansto punish a less wicked people?
And that's still in the firstchapter, 12 through chapter 2,
(02:22):
verse 1.
And then God answers the secondcomplaint.
He says I will eventuallypunish all the wicked, including
the Babylonians, and that'schapter 2, 2 through 20.
And then Habakkuk's prayer ofpraise, and that's in chapter 3,
1 through 19.
(02:43):
The law has become paralyzedand there is no justice in the
courts.
The wicked far outnumber therighteous, so that justice has
(03:04):
been perverted.
Habakkuk 1.4.
So you know, living by faith itcan be difficult because we
don't always understand the waysof God.
Or we don't understand the waysof God, and Habakkuk was
pouring out his heart to God.
He was broken over the sinsthat he saw that was happening
(03:26):
in the land of Judah and hewanted to know why God was
continuing to allow Judah tokeep on sinning.
And Habakkuk questions God inhis honest and emotional prayer
of lament, complaint, and wonderLike why was God tolerating
evil?
And why would God use wickedpeople to punish what he said
(03:51):
that was less evil people?
And each time God hears andanswers Habakkuk, judah would be
punished for the wickedness.
All those who were wicked wouldbe punished.
Right?
We have to remember that God ispowerful and he's in control.
So when we as believersgenerally believe in the
(04:14):
sovereignty of God, weunderstand that we will never
fully understand the way Godworks and the way he plans out
things.
As Christians we will notunderstand the plans of God, but
(04:35):
he is working things out forhis glory and for his pleasure.
We see in Habakkuk how he comesto God out of desperation.
He sees his country is engulfedin evil and injustice, evil
leaders that are taking bribes,and it seems like God isn't
(04:56):
doing anything.
And Habakkuk does what you knowevery believer should do he
goes to God with his questions.
Habakkuk means to embrace or towrestle with.
So Habakkuk provides us with anexample of how to go to God and
wrestle with our feelings andemotions and have an honest
conversation.
(05:17):
Habakkuk wanted to know how aholy God seemed not to respond
to the evil that was happeningin his world but then allow a
seemingly more evil and evenmore evil nation, the Babylon.
Babylonians come to punishJudah for their sins.
But Habakkuk, you know he alsochooses to embrace and trust in
(05:41):
the promises of God.
I would encourage you to go andread the book of Habakkuk.
It's just three chapters.
When you read Habakkuk, you seehow he draws from the character
(06:03):
of God in his circumstances.
You know, as a believer, weshould do the same and if you
want to learn more about thecharacter of God, I did a number
of episodes on the variousattributes of God, so go check
those out.
That is more toward the firstfew episodes of the podcast.
So in the book of Habakkuk wecan draw on how God is patient
(06:27):
with Judah, so patient thatHabakkuk thought that God was
overlooking evil.
You know, without realizing it,the patience of God is
displayed in our world today,you know, when we also.
We could also also call thepatience of God his
long-suffering.
Aw Pink says we define thedivine patience as a power of
(06:52):
control which God exercises overhimself, causing him to bear
with the wicked and forbear solong in punishing them.
And then, in Nahum 1.3 from theESV says the Lord is slow to
anger and great in power, andthe Lord will by no means clear
the guilty.
Great in power and the Lordwill by no means clear the
(07:15):
guilty.
So, over and over again, when weread scripture, god, you know,
always gives a warning about sinand then waits and then
punishment is given.
You know, of course, you know,we see this is not always true
that God is not often alwayslong-suffering, ie um ananias
and sophia.
When they, when they lie, godinstantly punishes them.
(07:36):
But we see over and over again,especially in the new testament
, how god is long-suffering, andwe see this in habaka.
You know god is patient withthe wicked, despite their sins.
So we have to think aboutourselves.
You know, when we're tempted tolose patience with someone, we
(07:59):
just need to think about howpatient God is with us all the
time.
So once God's patience is up, wesee God's wrath against evil.
You know God's wrath issomething that we don't like to
(08:19):
think about when it comes to thenature of God.
Yet scripture talks about thewrath of God right that a good
and loving, merciful and justand a righteous god should, can
or should exhibit wrath.
But you know I guess that'swhere you know we make a mistake
(08:40):
, because god is perfect, he'sholy, he's just and isn't his
nature to detest sin.
So hence we have his wrath.
The wrath of god is his eternalabhorrence of a righteousness.
It is the holiness of godstrolls into activity against
sin.
It is the moving cause of whatjust sentence that he passes
(09:06):
upon evildoers.
God is angry against sinbecause it is a rebellion
against his authority, a wrongdone in his invulnerable
sovereignty, aw Pink.
So God's wrath is a result ofpeople not repenting from evil
after God has been patient andgiven them many chances to stop
(09:29):
and obey his word and eventuallythere are no more chances with
god.
And remember, you know, god isnot petty like us, he is holy
and pure, pure.
So he gives us opportunity toyou know, stop, repent and obey
him.
And if we don't take thatopportunity we have to face the
(09:50):
consequences In his wrath.
(10:17):
God is just, justice.
Deuteronomy 32, 3-4 NLT says Iwill proclaim the name of the
Lord.
How glorious is our God.
He is the rock.
His deeds are perfect.
Everything he does is just andfair.
He is a faithful God who doesno wrong, how just and upright
he is.
So because God is righteous andhe's not going to allow evil to
continue forever, so he's goingto punish wrongdoing.
(10:39):
Wayne Grudem says God'srighteousness means that God
always acts in accordance withwhat is right and is himself the
final for all that is right andgood.
He's perfect, so he's in aposition to judge those he
(11:02):
created and he can judgeaccording to what people deserve
.
God judges good and he's goingto judge evil, and he's going to
reward good and punish evil.
You know, if God allowed evilto continue to go unchecked
forever, then he wouldn't begood, because his moral standard
is perfection and only he isand always will be perfect.
(11:27):
So because God is righteous,his justice is right and good.
Miller erickson defines god'sjustice as that he administers
his law fairly, not showingfavoritism or partiality.
Erickson also says god'sjustice is his official
(11:48):
righteousness, his requirementthat other moral agents adhere
to the standard as well.
God is, other words, like ajudge who, as a private
individual, adheres to the lawof society and, in his official
capacity, administers that samelaw, applying it to others.
(12:09):
Sin has, it has clearconsequences.
In Genesis 2, 17, we read God'swarning to Adam and Eve.
He says 2.17.
We read God's warning to Adamand Eve.
He says you must not eat fromthe tree of the knowledge of
good and evil, for when you eatof it you will surely die.
And then we have the first partof Romans, 6.23.
It tells us the wages of sin isdeath.
(12:31):
Because sin is wrong against aholy and righteous God, it
deserves to be punished.
Romans 12, 19 says Beloved,never avenge yourselves, but
leave it to the wrath of God.
For it is written vengeance ismine, I will repay, says the
Lord.
Aw Tozer tells us about justice.
(12:52):
He said justice is notsomething that God has, justice
is something that God is, andGod will always act justly, not
by compulsion from outside, butbecause that's the way he is
himself.
Justice must always prevailbecause God is the sovereign God
who will always prevail.
(13:13):
So when God, like we say, looksat people, we're all in the
same category as our moral state.
We're all sinners and we'regoing to be a judge according to
our sins.
But those of us who have beenatoned through the sacrifice of
Jesus Christ on the cross, weare made right before a holy God
(13:36):
.
And those who haven't repentedand believed in Christ as our
Savior, are going to be judgedaccording to our sin.
Evil is going to be punishedrightly by God.
This is justice by a just God.
1 John 1.9 says If you confessour sins, he is faithful and
just to forgive us our sins andto cleanse us from all
(13:59):
unrighteousness.
When we learn about thecharacter of God, we know that
he can be trusted to protect andthat we can lean on him in our
(14:24):
everyday situations.
So we need to strive to befaithful to him.
But the righteous will live Inthe end.
Habakkuk takes comfort that Godwill act in the right time and
he will redeem those who arefaithful.
The God of my salvation, thesovereign Lord, is my strength.
(15:01):
You know, sometimes we just needto pour our hearts to God, our
frustrations, our complaints,our fears and our worries.
You know our heart can be heavybecause we don't understand.
(15:24):
You know we feel like Habakkukdid.
So even though we feel likeHabakkuk, let's also mimic him.
Let's ask God our questions, goto his word, because God has
given his word to speak to us.
You know, when we wonder whyit's important that we read
(15:44):
about the attributes of God andhis promises and by
understanding the character God.
It's going to help our faith.
We learn that God will neverfail the faithful.
His plan for them is good.
I like this, this quote fromWarren Risby.
He says God doesn't alwayschange the circumstances, but he
can change us to meet thecircumstances.
(16:06):
That's what it means to live byfaith.
Living life does not come easyfor no one.
(16:28):
But know that we have someoneto help us navigate, someone who
is is in total control andconfronting, even though many
times, you know, for me myself,I know that I don't always
understand the whys in life.
Which is why it's so importantthat we have communion and
(16:48):
community Communion with God andcommunity with other believers.
God's word is going to provideus comfort in God's character
and community.
It's going to give us comfort,to remind us of who God is.
So I pray this episode washelpful.
Remember that God is alwaysgood.
(17:08):
He's always faithful.
Thank you for listening to thepodcast.
Do me a favor by following thepodcast and leaving a review to
(17:29):
help spread the word.
I look forward to hearing fromyou.
Welcome to Faithfully Living, the Podcast, where we
learn how to live for Christ inour daily lives.
I'm Dwan, your host, and Iwould like to invite you on a
journey with me to explore andlearn how to be a faithful
follower of Christ.
Hey everyone, welcome toFaithfully Living, the Podcast,
(00:26):
where we strive to encourage youto live for Christ faithfully
by offering guidance on how tostudy the Bible, how to
understand the Bible better andhow to remain faithful to
historic Christianity in acontemporary society.
Let's jump right into ourepisode.
So, looking at the culture andthe world today, you know you
(00:49):
can get a person depressed.
You know there are a lot ofbehaviors and actions that are
wrong, that people are sayingthat they're right now.
You know, sometimes you wonderwhy God allows wickedness and
evil to continue.
And Habakkuk had the samequestion.
So Habakkuk was an OldTestament prophet in Judah after
(01:14):
the nation of Israel wasdivided into two.
So it was divided into Israel,which is the northern kingdom,
and then, which is the northernkingdom, and then Judah, which
is the southern kingdom.
So the people of Judah werewicked, you know, they had
turned from obeying God andHabakkuk wanted to know why God
(01:35):
was allowing this to continue.
So here's kind of like anoutline of the book of Habakkuk.
So first is Habakkuk's firstcomplaint, and Habakkuk has
three chapters in it.
So his first complaint why doesevil go unpunished?
And that's in chapter one, twothrough four.
(01:56):
And then God answers his firstcomplaint and he says I will
raise the Babylonians to punishthe wicked.
That's in chapter 1, verses 5through 11.
And then Habakkuk's secondcomplaint is how can a loving
God allow the wicked Babyloniansto punish a less wicked people?
And that's still in the firstchapter, 12 through chapter 2,
(02:22):
verse 1.
And then God answers the secondcomplaint.
He says I will eventuallypunish all the wicked, including
the Babylonians, and that'schapter 2, 2 through 20.
And then Habakkuk's prayer ofpraise, and that's in chapter 3,
1 through 19.
(02:43):
The law has become paralyzedand there is no justice in the
courts.
The wicked far outnumber therighteous, so that justice has
(03:04):
been perverted.
Habakkuk 1.4.
So you know, living by faith itcan be difficult because we
don't always understand the waysof God.
Or we don't understand the waysof God, and Habakkuk was
pouring out his heart to God.
He was broken over the sinsthat he saw that was happening
(03:26):
in the land of Judah and hewanted to know why God was
continuing to allow Judah tokeep on sinning.
And Habakkuk questions God inhis honest and emotional prayer
of lament, complaint, and wonderLike why was God tolerating
evil?
And why would God use wickedpeople to punish what he said
(03:51):
that was less evil people?
And each time God hears andanswers Habakkuk, judah would be
punished for the wickedness.
All those who were wicked wouldbe punished.
Right?
We have to remember that God ispowerful and he's in control.
So when we as believersgenerally believe in the
(04:14):
sovereignty of God, weunderstand that we will never
fully understand the way Godworks and the way he plans out
things.
As Christians we will notunderstand the plans of God, but
(04:35):
he is working things out forhis glory and for his pleasure.
We see in Habakkuk how he comesto God out of desperation.
He sees his country is engulfedin evil and injustice, evil
leaders that are taking bribes,and it seems like God isn't
(04:56):
doing anything.
And Habakkuk does what you knowevery believer should do he
goes to God with his questions.
Habakkuk means to embrace or towrestle with.
So Habakkuk provides us with anexample of how to go to God and
wrestle with our feelings andemotions and have an honest
conversation.
(05:17):
Habakkuk wanted to know how aholy God seemed not to respond
to the evil that was happeningin his world but then allow a
seemingly more evil and evenmore evil nation, the Babylon.
Babylonians come to punishJudah for their sins.
But Habakkuk, you know he alsochooses to embrace and trust in
(05:41):
the promises of God.
I would encourage you to go andread the book of Habakkuk.
It's just three chapters.
When you read Habakkuk, you seehow he draws from the character
(06:03):
of God in his circumstances.
You know, as a believer, weshould do the same and if you
want to learn more about thecharacter of God, I did a number
of episodes on the variousattributes of God, so go check
those out.
That is more toward the firstfew episodes of the podcast.
So in the book of Habakkuk wecan draw on how God is patient
(06:27):
with Judah, so patient thatHabakkuk thought that God was
overlooking evil.
You know, without realizing it,the patience of God is
displayed in our world today,you know, when we also.
We could also also call thepatience of God his
long-suffering.
Aw Pink says we define thedivine patience as a power of
(06:52):
control which God exercises overhimself, causing him to bear
with the wicked and forbear solong in punishing them.
And then, in Nahum 1.3 from theESV says the Lord is slow to
anger and great in power, andthe Lord will by no means clear
the guilty.
Great in power and the Lordwill by no means clear the
(07:15):
guilty.
So, over and over again, when weread scripture, god, you know,
always gives a warning about sinand then waits and then
punishment is given.
You know, of course, you know,we see this is not always true
that God is not often alwayslong-suffering, ie um ananias
and sophia.
When they, when they lie, godinstantly punishes them.
(07:36):
But we see over and over again,especially in the new testament
, how god is long-suffering, andwe see this in habaka.
You know god is patient withthe wicked, despite their sins.
So we have to think aboutourselves.
You know, when we're tempted tolose patience with someone, we
(07:59):
just need to think about howpatient God is with us all the
time.
So once God's patience is up, wesee God's wrath against evil.
You know God's wrath issomething that we don't like to
(08:19):
think about when it comes to thenature of God.
Yet scripture talks about thewrath of God right that a good
and loving, merciful and justand a righteous god should, can
or should exhibit wrath.
But you know I guess that'swhere you know we make a mistake
(08:40):
, because god is perfect, he'sholy, he's just and isn't his
nature to detest sin.
So hence we have his wrath.
The wrath of god is his eternalabhorrence of a righteousness.
It is the holiness of godstrolls into activity against
sin.
It is the moving cause of whatjust sentence that he passes
(09:06):
upon evildoers.
God is angry against sinbecause it is a rebellion
against his authority, a wrongdone in his invulnerable
sovereignty, aw Pink.
So God's wrath is a result ofpeople not repenting from evil
after God has been patient andgiven them many chances to stop
(09:29):
and obey his word and eventuallythere are no more chances with
god.
And remember, you know, god isnot petty like us, he is holy
and pure, pure.
So he gives us opportunity toyou know, stop, repent and obey
him.
And if we don't take thatopportunity we have to face the
(09:50):
consequences In his wrath.
(10:17):
God is just, justice.
Deuteronomy 32, 3-4 NLT says Iwill proclaim the name of the
Lord.
How glorious is our God.
He is the rock.
His deeds are perfect.
Everything he does is just andfair.
He is a faithful God who doesno wrong, how just and upright
he is.
So because God is righteous andhe's not going to allow evil to
continue forever, so he's goingto punish wrongdoing.
(10:39):
Wayne Grudem says God'srighteousness means that God
always acts in accordance withwhat is right and is himself the
final for all that is right andgood.
He's perfect, so he's in aposition to judge those he
(11:02):
created and he can judgeaccording to what people deserve
.
God judges good and he's goingto judge evil, and he's going to
reward good and punish evil.
You know, if God allowed evilto continue to go unchecked
forever, then he wouldn't begood, because his moral standard
is perfection and only he isand always will be perfect.
(11:27):
So because God is righteous,his justice is right and good.
Miller erickson defines god'sjustice as that he administers
his law fairly, not showingfavoritism or partiality.
Erickson also says god'sjustice is his official
(11:48):
righteousness, his requirementthat other moral agents adhere
to the standard as well.
God is, other words, like ajudge who, as a private
individual, adheres to the lawof society and, in his official
capacity, administers that samelaw, applying it to others.
(12:09):
Sin has, it has clearconsequences.
In Genesis 2, 17, we read God'swarning to Adam and Eve.
He says 2.17.
We read God's warning to Adamand Eve.
He says you must not eat fromthe tree of the knowledge of
good and evil, for when you eatof it you will surely die.
And then we have the first partof Romans, 6.23.
It tells us the wages of sin isdeath.
(12:31):
Because sin is wrong against aholy and righteous God, it
deserves to be punished.
Romans 12, 19 says Beloved,never avenge yourselves, but
leave it to the wrath of God.
For it is written vengeance ismine, I will repay, says the
Lord.
Aw Tozer tells us about justice.
(12:52):
He said justice is notsomething that God has, justice
is something that God is, andGod will always act justly, not
by compulsion from outside, butbecause that's the way he is
himself.
Justice must always prevailbecause God is the sovereign God
who will always prevail.
(13:13):
So when God, like we say, looksat people, we're all in the
same category as our moral state.
We're all sinners and we'regoing to be a judge according to
our sins.
But those of us who have beenatoned through the sacrifice of
Jesus Christ on the cross, weare made right before a holy God
(13:36):
.
And those who haven't repentedand believed in Christ as our
Savior, are going to be judgedaccording to our sin.
Evil is going to be punishedrightly by God.
This is justice by a just God.
1 John 1.9 says If you confessour sins, he is faithful and
just to forgive us our sins andto cleanse us from all
(13:59):
unrighteousness.
When we learn about thecharacter of God, we know that
he can be trusted to protect andthat we can lean on him in our
(14:24):
everyday situations.
So we need to strive to befaithful to him.
But the righteous will live Inthe end.
Habakkuk takes comfort that Godwill act in the right time and
he will redeem those who arefaithful.
The God of my salvation, thesovereign Lord, is my strength.
(15:01):
You know, sometimes we just needto pour our hearts to God, our
frustrations, our complaints,our fears and our worries.
You know our heart can be heavybecause we don't understand.
(15:24):
You know we feel like Habakkukdid.
So even though we feel likeHabakkuk, let's also mimic him.
Let's ask God our questions, goto his word, because God has
given his word to speak to us.
You know, when we wonder whyit's important that we read
(15:44):
about the attributes of God andhis promises and by
understanding the character God.
It's going to help our faith.
We learn that God will neverfail the faithful.
His plan for them is good.
I like this, this quote fromWarren Risby.
He says God doesn't alwayschange the circumstances, but he
can change us to meet thecircumstances.
(16:06):
That's what it means to live byfaith.
Living life does not come easyfor no one.
(16:28):
But know that we have someoneto help us navigate, someone who
is is in total control andconfronting, even though many
times, you know, for me myself,I know that I don't always
understand the whys in life.
Which is why it's so importantthat we have communion and
(16:48):
community Communion with God andcommunity with other believers.
God's word is going to provideus comfort in God's character
and community.
It's going to give us comfort,to remind us of who God is.
So I pray this episode washelpful.
Remember that God is alwaysgood.
(17:08):
He's always faithful.
Thank you for listening to thepodcast.
Do me a favor by following thepodcast and leaving a review to
(17:29):
help spread the word.
I look forward to hearing fromyou.
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