January 11, 2026: O LORD, How Long? - Habakkuk 1:1-11

Thank you. Well, good morning.

It's a pleasure once again to be with you this morning.

I'm thankful for the opportunity to be with you for the next

three weeks as we study the Book of Habakkuk together.

My prayer is that this will be an encouragement to us and very

timely as Habakkuk struggles are similar to the time in which we

live. And so I pray that this series

will be an encouragement to you. These are the times that try

men's souls. Let that sink in for a moment.

These are the times that try men's souls.

These words were penned by Thomas Paine on December 23rd,

1776 concerning the American Revolution.

Paine recognized that what was unfolding was incredibly

difficult and would put people's convictions and faith to the

test. Do you resonate with those words

today? There are so many sufferings and

pain and injustices that we look and see in our world today can

be overwhelming. Do you feel it?

So what do we do with our anger, with our fear, with our despair?

Well, the prophet Habakkuk is in a very similar position, and

over the next few weeks we will see his faith put to the test by

the hardest of times. We will learn from his example

what to do when we are frustrated with God and feel

that he is not there, not acting, not listening.

We will see what Habakkuk does when God does the opposite of

what Habakkuk thinks God should do.

We will witness Habakkuk's resolve to put his faith in the

Lord even when he has no idea what God is doing.

So my prayer for all of us. So whatever season we are in

that we would have faith in who God is, whether you are in the

suffering now or preparing for the next suffering the next time

of trouble. I pray that we would allow our

Potter to shape us as his clay into the image of his Son Jesus.

So this morning we will be looking at this first section of

Habakkuk, verses one through 11 of chapter 1.

But before we dive in, let's take the opportunity to review

some background information. First, let's look at the author.

We know very little about the prophet Habakkuk chapter one,

verse one, the Oracle that Habakkuk the prophet saw.

He's the prophet. There you go, his name.

We're not even sure what it means.

It may be from the Hebrew word habak, which means to embrace,

but we're not entirely sure. One other thing that we come to

find out about Habakkuk is that he is a poet.

As you read this book, we'll look at it this morning

together. You will see the poetic nature

of it, and in fact, the book ends with a Psalm of praise that

Habakkuk offers to God, and so he is a poet.

Other than that, we don't really know much about Habakkuk.

Second, let's talk about the date of the book.

Again, we can't be super precise.

I'm just full of information this morning.

That's what you came for, right? The contact, the content of the

book does help to provide some information about the date.

So in this section we will find this morning that God is raising

up the Babylonians to judge the nation of Judah, which means

that Habakkuk serves near the tail end of the Kingdom of

Judah. If you're familiar with biblical

history, Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, comes in and

destroys Jerusalem in 586 BC. Think of Daniel being carried

off. And so Habakkuk ministers before

the exile, but seemingly not much before the exile.

And so a good range is to think that he ministers and lives in

the late 6 hundreds BC, although again, we cannot be definitive

on that. Thirdly, let's just take a

minute to examine the outline of the book.

We're going to study this book in three sections.

The section today opens with a complaint that Habakkuk brings

to the Lord. O Lord, how long He surveys the

nation of Judah and is overwhelmed at the evil

atrocities that are being committed.

And so he cries out to God to intervene.

The first section ends with the Lord's answer to Habakkuk

concerning this first complaint. That's what we'll be covering

today. Next week we'll look at the

second section. Habakkuk does not like God's

response at all. You ever done that?

So he lodges a second complaint. God, what are you doing?

And God responds to that second complaint.

That's next week. That's the second section.

And then, as I mentioned a moment ago, the third section

ends with a Psalm of trust and praise that Habakkuk writes,

declaring, I will trust you even when I disagree with what you're

doing. And so that's our outline for

these next three weeks together in this book.

Let's turn our attention now to Habakkuk's first complaint.

Let's reread it again together, Chapter 1, verses 2 through 40.

Lord, how long shall I cry for help?

And you will not hear or cry to you violence, and you will not

save. Why do you make me see iniquity?

And why do you idly look at wrong?

Destruction and violence are before me.

Strife and contention arise, So the law is paralyzed.

And justice never goes forth. For the wicked surround the

righteous, So justice goes forth perverted.

This is a heavy complaint. This is one that Habakkuk has

offered numerous times to the Lord.

How long must he continue to cry out before God intervenes?

He sees the wickedness that is prevailing.

Do you resonate with that? Do you look around the world and

feel like the bad guys are winning, feel that evil is

triumphing? That's heavy.

Let's dig in a little bit into these verses, into this

complaint. First, notice how Habakkuk opens

it. He addresses it to the Lord.

Capital L, Capital O, Capital R, Capital D This is Yahweh,

Jehovah. This is the Lord Almighty, the

Creator and Sustainer of the universe, the covenant keeping

God of Israel, the one who is all powerful.

That's significant. When you and I are faced with

trouble, where do we take that trouble?

Habakkuk takes it to the Lord. He recognizes that God is the

one who can do something about it.

That's where his heart takes him to the Lord.

Habakkuk then launches into his complaint and he does so in a

very poetic way. When you look at this, it reads

very similarly to other psalms of lament that we have in the

book of Psalms. Again, this is poetic and one of

the things that Habakkuk does is he uses 6 words, three pairs of

words to describe the situation. One of the first keywords that

he uses is the word violence. He actually uses this word

twice. He used it first in verse 20,

Cry to you, violence, and then he uses it again in verse 3,

Destruction and violence are before me.

This word violence is a keyword in the book of Habakkuk.

It's going to be used six times. In fact, only Psalms and

Proverbs use this word more than Habakkuk does.

And Habakkuk is a very short book.

This word violence carries with it the flagrant violation of

moral law by which man injuries another man.

This word violence does two things.

First, it disregards God's law, does not care about what the

Lord has said, and secondly, it enacts an abuse on another human

being. Now, when we think violence, we

think physical. That's part of this word.

But it can be so much more than that too.

And here we see that this word violence is paired with the word

destruction. Destruction.

This is not the only time these two words are paired together.

Let's turn briefly to Ezekiel 45.

Ezekiel 45, verse 9, it says this.

Ezekiel 45:9

Thus says the Lord God, enough, O Princess of Israel, put away

violence and oppression, destruction.

Same word, put away violence and destruction and execute justice

and righteousness. Cease your evictions of my

people, declares the Lord God. These two words are paired

together in other places like Jeremiah 20 verse 8 or Amos 3

Jeremiah 20:8 Amos 3:10

verse 10. Violence and destruction when

paired together demonstrate that it is those who are in authority

who are committing these atrocities.

When Habakkuk looks at the Kingdom of Judah, it is the

priest, the spiritual leaders as well as the political leaders

that are the most guilty, that they are the ones who are

committing violence and destruction.

Do you see what Ezekiel said, O Princess of Israel?

Those who are in authority are the ones who are primarily

guilty, violence and destruction.

The second pair of words that Habakkuk uses to describe the

situation in Judah are iniquity and wrong.

Verse 3. Why do you make me see iniquity

and why do you idly look at wrong?

These two words are paired together about 10 times in the

Old Testament, and again we see this in Job 15 and Psalm 7.

These words typically denote perverted justice and social

oppression that again these descriptions are very specific

about the nature of what's happening here in Judah.

The third word pair we see is strife and contention.

Again, in verse 3, strife and contention arise.

These words evoke the anger and dissension that is born of

uncompromising wills. These occur when two parties are

unwilling to compromise on their beliefs and so they are always

at odds with each other. They're unwilling to promote

peace, foster working together. They refuse and stay at odds

with one another. Strife and contention.

Again, these two words are also paired together.

They're paired together, in fact, three times in the book of

Proverbs. Let's read those together.

Proverbs 15, verse 18. A hot tempered man stirs up

Proverbs 15:18

strife, but he who is slow to anger quiets contention, Strife

and contention. Proverbs 1714 says this, The

beginning of strife is like letting out water, so quit

before the quarrel, or the contention breaks out.

And again in Proverbs 26, verses 20 and 21, for lack of wood the

Proverbs 26:20

fire goes out, and where there is no whisperer, quarreling

contention ceases. As charcoal to hot embers and

wood to fire, so is a quarrelsome man, contentious

man, for kindling strife. And so we see over and over

again in this section that Habakkuk is using very familiar

language that is found in the Old Testament to describe the

nature of the problems in Judah. And it is that it is those in

power who are abusing that power, rejecting God's law and

hurting other people. And so what's the result?

Look at verse four. So the law is paralyzed and

justice never goes forth, for the wicked surround the

righteous. So justice goes forth perverted.

The very people who God raised up to defend law and justice are

the very ones who are committing these atrocities, who are not

adhering to what God has established.

The law here is most certainly the law that God gave to the

nation of Israel at Mount Sinai through Moses.

It is the priesthood and the political rulers who are

supposed to follow, to honor, to enforce these laws.

But instead the wicked surround the righteous, and justice goes

forth. Perverted.

It's heavy. What is it that Habakkuk wants

God to do? Let's look back at verse 2.

Verse 2 contains the answer. He says, O Lord, how long shall

I cry for help? And you will not hear or cry to

you violence, and you will not save.

He wants God to hear and to save the word to hear.

We're familiar with some of us, Shema, from Deuteronomy 6.

The idea of here is not just listening, like when your kids

say, Oh yeah, I heard you and that only happens to me now.

It means you act upon what you've just heard.

That's embedded in this word, Shema.

And so Habakkuk says God hear me and do something about it.

And specifically, what he is asking the Lord to do is to

save, is to deliver from that which oppresses that which

restricts wants God to save, to deliver.

And so here we have the tone that is set by Habakkuk.

And Habakkuk feels as though God is not answering, even though

Habakkuk repeatedly calls for help.

Maybe you're in a similar position this morning.

It's overwhelming. What hope is there?

But we turn next to God's response, and what we'll

discover is that God's response is not at all what Habakkuk had

in mind. Let's read chapter 1, verses 5

through 11 together. It says, look among the nations

and see wonder and be astounded. This is the Lord speaking, for

I'm doing a work in your days that you would not believe if

told. For behold, I'm raising up the

Chaldeans, that bitter and hasty nation who marched through the

breath of the earth to seize dwellings not their own.

They are dreaded and fearsome. Their justice and dignity go

forth from themselves. Their horses are swifter than

leopards, more fierce than the evening wolves.

Their horsemen press proudly on, their horsemen come from afar,

They fly like an eagle swift to devour.

They all come for violence, all their faces forward They gather

captives like sand. At kings they scoff, and at

rulers they laugh. They laugh at every fortress,

For they pile up earth and take it.

Then they sweep by like the wind, and go on guilty man,

whose own might is their God. This is not at all what Habakkuk

had in mind. Not at all.

That's why the Lord says, For I am doing a work in your days

that you would not believe if told.

How can we fathom this? That God's solution to judging

His own people is to take a nation that is more wicked and

use them as His instrument of judgment?

How could this be? Why would God do this?

It's astounding. There are a few words that sort

of help outline this section. First, we have the word nations.

OK, so Habakkuk is told by God, hey, look at the nations.

From there is where my solution is going to come.

And then it drops down to the singular from nations to nation.

When he brings up the Chaldeans, that bitter and hasty nation, so

it is that particular nation that God is going to use to

judge his people. And then at the end, in verse

11, you see how God describes the nation of Babylon, the

Chaldeans. He describes them as guilty men.

So there's some foreshadowing here.

We don't want to get ahead of ourselves.

Come back next week. OK, But these are guilty men.

Foreshadowing that eventually these people too will face God's

judgment. Foreshadowing next week.

But we see God lay out this plan.

Notice how God's response echoes similar words that are found in

Habakkuk's complaint. Habakkuk complaints that God

must idly look at wrong, that God is looking but not really

understanding. And so what's the first thing

that God tells Habakkuk? He says, look, look, as I

execute my sovereign plan, look. Behold, God also uses pairs of

words to describe the nation of Babylon.

Now I've used Babylon twice. Just a side note, if you recall

in Genesis, Abraham is called from the land of Ur of the

Chaldeys, right? This is actually Abraham's

people, the Chaldeans. That's the people group, the

nation that they live in, the Kingdom that they lead is

Babylon. So they're used synonymously.

Nebo Palazzar was the first major king.

He's the father of Nebuchadnezzar, who, as I

mentioned before, eventually comes in and destroys Jerusalem.

So Chaldeans and Babylonians are in fact the same people, so I'll

use them interchangeably. But notice again that God uses

pairs of words to describe this nation.

In verse 6, He describes them as bitter and hasty.

Bitter and hasty. There's a brashness about these

people that gives no concern for the people they destroy.

They do not care. God also describes them as

dreaded and fearsome in verse 7. This is fascinating.

The leaders in Israel were meant to fear the Lord, right?

And in that fearing they would honor God, they would follow

him, and they would enforce His laws.

God is bringing in a people who are far less deserving of fear

compared to God. But the people are going to fear

the Babylonians. In some ways God is using them

in place of Himself, saying these are the people you are

going to fear because you are not properly fearing me.

They are dreaded and fearsome. We also see in verse 7 that the

Babylonians justice and dignity go forth from themselves.

They are their own gods. They care nothing for the

Creator. They worship the God of self.

Thank back to the Tower of Babel, let us make a name for

ourselves. They do not want to submit to

their creator, but instead worship themselves.

God also notes that they are swift and fearsome, and he uses

all these animals, these vicious creatures, to describe how they

move. Leopards and wolves and eagles

to describe how powerful they are, the might that they

possess. And Judah is not going to stand

a chance. I think it's fascinating.

Did you catch that? Verse 9?

They gather captives like sand. God tells Abraham that his

descendants will be like the sand innumerable.

We see that same picture, the same word sand, to describe the

countless people that Babylon is going to conquer.

And they laugh at other kingdoms who are helpless before their

might. No king or stronghold stands a

chance. Seems very hopeless and dark,

doesn't it? But again, verse 11, we have

this foreshadowing. The Lord knows that these are

guilty man whose own might is their God and their might

compared to the Lord's is completely insignificant.

And so we have this foreshadowing that their

judgment is also going to come. I was reading a commentary this

week and the commentator noted this about Babylon.

Listen to this. The Babylonian horde is

personified in the singular forms in the idea of nation, and

ruthless arrogance is rightly epitomized as a form of self

deification. They make themselves to be their

own God. Such people acknowledge no

accountability, seek no repentance, and offer no

reparations while violating the most fundamental order of

created life. For such, the verdict of guilty

can mean only the sentence of radical destruction.

So we have this foreshadowing here still.

But that's where we have to leave it today.

We have to leave it in the uncertainty and the unrest that

Habakkuk feels when God says here is my plan.

And Habakkuk is dumbfounded. How could this be what God wants

to do? Maybe you're thinking the same

thing. How can God judge his people

this way? Come back next week, we'll look

at Habakkuk second complaint. But as we close this morning, I

want to offer us three applications as we close.

There's so much trouble that we can see in the world, both near

and far. So much trouble, so much unrest,

division, strife, contention, violence.

What do we do? Our first application for this

morning is go to God. Go to God.

Psalm 121 says I will lift my eyes to the hills.

Where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, the

maker of heaven and earth. The psalmist goes on to say

later that he will never slumber nor sleep.

God is the God who sees. He is the God who acts even when

we don't understand. So when you and I are facing

overwhelming situations, when we're prone to despair and fear

and sorrow, go to God, cry out to him.

Just like Habakkuk, the other psalmist, many people have done

before us how long, O Lord, go to God?

The alternative is to go to something else, right?

There's so many other ways of escape that we can try to sort

of self regulate ourselves, get through difficult situations.

We can turn to so many other things that offer cheap,

temporary satisfaction, but can never truly answer the pain and

sorrow that we feel in our hearts.

Go to God. Leave it at His feet like

Habakkuk. Consistently, day after day

after day, even if you don't feel that God is doing what you

want Him to do, go to God, cry out to Him.

Peter tells us to cast all our cares on him because He cares

for us in this world. Jesus says we will face trouble,

but take heart because He has overcome the world.

There is hope in God, go to Him. Application #2 Lean on the

community of faith. We have been surrounded by a

cloud of witnesses. The thing about agony and and

terror and suffering and sorrow is that it tends to isolate us

from other people. And we make lots of excuses.

I do in my own life. Well, I don't want to burden

other people or I don't want to appear weak or I don't want to

trouble people with my problems. So I'm just going to silently

bear it on my own. Do not do that.

God has placed us within this beautiful church, this beautiful

family, to be able to bear one another's burdens, to be able to

care for each other. So please find those people who

are your confidante so you can go to and say, I need help, I

need prayer, I need encouragement.

I don't know what God is doing. I'm confused, I'm angry, I'm

restless, I'm fearful. Go to the community of faith,

lean on them to help lift you up in times of trouble.

And finally, embrace others going through difficulties,

whether they ask or not. Offer a word of encouragement.

OfferUp prayers on behalf of those in our body who you know

are going through difficult times, who are experiencing the

agony and sorrow and injustices of living in this world.

Lift them up. A prayer, a note, a meal.

Continue to do the things that are so important in this

community. We are like Christ, not to just

look at our own interests, but also at the interests of others,

to bear one another's burdens in love.

Make the effort. It's hard work, but do it to

reach out to those in need, to offer encouragement and

consolation. And so as we close this morning,

we have seen that we can trust our faithful sovereign Lord with

our fears, despairs, and angers. And He will answer us not

according to what we want or what we would do about it, but

He will answer us according to His perfect will, which

ultimately is for our good. Let's pray together.

God we are. So grateful for.

This timely book of Habakkuk. It is so easy.

In the world in which we live, to feel overwhelmed.

To feel fearful. To feel angry.

At the injustice and. Evil, it seems so often, father,

that evil is winning. God, I pray that you would.

Challenge each of us this morning to bring our sorrows,

our cares to you because you love us and though.

You might not answer. How we want you to all the time.

We can trust you because. You are in control.

God, I pray that this would be a community that.

Supports and lifts up. One another those who are

hurting and in anguish that we could.

Encourage and pray. For and build up our brothers

and sisters, we thank you for the body of Christ.

That we can live together. In.

Relationship with each other. And with you, God, we're so

grateful for the hope of the gospel.

It's so easy to become overwhelmed, and we thank.

You that we have. Forgiveness of our sins because

of what Jesus has done for us. May we rest in the hope of the

Gospel. Even when life seems hopeless,

we pray. These things in Christ.

'S precious name. Amen.