Daily Devotions
Habakkuk
"You are of purer eyes than to behold evil"
Text: Habakkuk 1:13
QUESTIONS THAT NEEDED ANSWERS
Habakkuk struggled greatly with questions that needed to have answers. These were brought to the Lord candidly but not rudely. He wanted to grow in his understanding of the Lord and of His profound plan to send the Chaldeans to conquer Judah.
“You are of purer eyes than to behold evil,
And cannot look on wickedness.
Why do You look on those who deal treacherously,
And hold Your tongue when the wicked devours
A person more righteous than he?”
Habakkuk 1:13
1. “You are of purer eyes than to behold evil, and cannot look on wickedness”
a) Habakkuk knew what God was like.
i) He was holy.
ii) He was also pure.
b) His problem:
i) How could God behold evil?
ii) How could God look on wickedness?
c) In his present level of understanding
i) Habakkuk could not reconcile these things.
ii) He could not fathom how God had looked on obvious wickedness and do nothing against it!
2. “Why do You look on those who deal treacherously”
a) Habakkuk’s opinion was that God should have meted out judgement against the Chaldeans.
b) They were not only wicked, they were also treacherous people.
c) How could God look on them and remain passive?
3. “And hold Your tongue when the wicked devours a person more righteous than he”
a) The Chaldeans were indeed wicked.
b) They would devour (destroy) their enemies without a twinge of conscience.
c) Habakkuk was surprised that God had not thundered from heaven and destroyed the Chaldeans!
d) How could God have kept silent all this while?
HABAKKUK’S THEOLOGY
He was correct in his observations about the holiness and the purity of God. However, he was incorrect to presume that God must respond in the way he had reasoned. His knowledge and understanding of God were not deep enough to fathom the mystery of God’s profound will! Being a prophet of God did not mean that he had a complete or perfect knowledge of the Lord God and His divine will and plan!