Habakkuk, not your everyday name, is it?   A minor prophet in the Old Testament, his book contains only three chapters.  In my bible that’s just three pages, he’s easy to miss.

So, who is Habakkuk the Prophet?   Scholars don’t know much about him, except that he wrote about 600 BC.  His writing tells us that the people of Judah were in dire straits.  The Babylonian invasion was imminent.  Jehoiakim was king, a reign that led his people into evil.   Habakkuk’s prophecy was directed to Judah when their world seemed on the edge of disaster.

Here’s the surprise, Habakkuk’s writing provides us one of the most remarkable sections in all of Scripture.  It’s an extended dialogue between Habakkuk and God.  The prophet initiated this conversation based on his distress about God’s “inaction” in the world.

“Oh Lord, how long must I call for help before you listen, before you save us from violence?   Why do you make me see such trouble . . . “ Habakkuk 1:2

The Lord said, “Keep watching the nations around you, and you will be astonished at what you see.  I am going to do something that you will not believe when you hear about it.”  Habakkuk 1:5

As the dialog continues, Habakkuk’s request goes on – how long must we wait?

If Habakkuk was here with us today, he might initiate the same conversation.   Don’t we share in that anxiety?  We look at a world with evil, distress, war, suffering and hatred.   God where are you?  We can’t do this Lord; we need your help.  Are you listening?  Do you see what’s going on?  

Just as Habakkuk was reminded, we too would hear that while God may seem silent and uninvolved, he always has a plan to deal with evil . . . eventually, in his time. We too would be reminded to wait on the Lord, expecting that in his unconditional love, he will work out all things for our good.   Thank you Habakkuk, it’s still a needed reminder 2600 years later!

Judy