When God Seems Unfair

In Habakkuk 1:12-17, the prophet seemed to be torn by who he knew God was and God’s decision to use the ungodly Babylonians to judge Judah. God appeared to be unfair, yet he knew God was too good to be unfair. What an internal struggle the prophet was experiencing.

He referred to God’s integrity in verses 12-13 and emphasized that God is “everlasting.” He had a relationship with God and was confident God’s chosen people would not perish, even though the coming judgment and destruction by Babylon left him in somewhat of a quandary. He confessed in verse 12 that God was the one sending this judgment in order to correct or discipline Judah. In verse 13 the prophet underscored the purity and holiness of God, who does not approve of evil or even “look” on wickedness. He was perplexed that God would allow a nation not as righteous as Judah to destroy Judah. He had trouble reconciling the wickedness of Babylon as God’s tool for judgment and the holiness of God. Was God really silent, as Habakkuk says in verse 13? Did the prophet believe in the sun even when it was not shining, and could he believe in God even when He seemed to be silent? Can we?

When we are faced with similar thoughts and issues today, how do we deal with such apparent incongruities? D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones wrote that we must first stop to think and then restate basic principles — “don’t just start with the immediate problem, go back further.”

Habakkuk wanted God to send revival to a spiritually bankrupt Judah. God was a faithful and loving God, but He also demanded right living from His people. God was still faithful, but Judah had failed. Habakkuk wanted God to do something that pleased him, but after many grace-filled opportunities for Judah to repent, God then acted with justice and wisdom to discipline the nation. The prophet was having difficulty accepting that. He needed a knowledge and wisdom beyond the power of his limited human reasoning. So do we. The prophet’s personal challenge was reconciling the reality in his own heart.

In verses 14-15, he pointed out to God that Judah was no match for Babylon. They were like the fish and creatures of the sea — helpless before a brutal and relentless enemy. The Babylonians, according to O. Palmer Robertson, adopted the Assyrian practice of piercing the bottom lip of captured enemies with a hook and then stringing them together in single-file. The picture was clearly one of defeat and agony — precisely what awaited Judah.

Because of the personal testimony of Habakkuk in Chapter 3, we can assume something like a panic attack was overwhelming him. What can we do in similar circumstances? Lloyd-Jones said that when we think through basic principles, we tend to lose our sense of panic: “The fact of the matter is that all problems are capable of a solution only if they are put into the right context.”

Here is the troubling point for the prophet: What he wanted was not what God was doing. It resembled what Phillips Brooks, the pastor and composer of “O Little Town of Bethlehem,” once did. One of his church members was in his study as the pastor kept pacing back and forth. The member finally said, “Pastor, what is wrong with you?” Brooks replied, “I will tell you what’s wrong with me. I am in a hurry and God is not.”

In verses 16-17, Habakkuk described the pride and decadence of the Babylonians and concluded with the question: “Will they therefore empty their net and continually slay the nations without sparing?” Habakkuk, in his despair, waited for God to answer his question, and He did in Chapter 2.

Lloyd-Jones’ four steps for dealing with difficult situations in life were: Stop to think; restate basic principles; apply the principles to the problems; and, if still in doubt, commit the problem to God in faith. This is a pattern that can be seen in Habakkuk’s personal experience as he moved from fear to faith and concluded the prophecy, rejoicing in God.

If a prophet like Habakkuk struggled with what he thought was right, yet it differed from what God was doing, we can expect similar experiences. In the end, we can and should trust our all-wise God, even when we can’t fully accept something or completely understand it. Hopefully, like Habakkuk, we can also learn to trust in God’s wisdom and rejoice in whatever circumstances we face.

This entry was posted in .