Have you ever had a time in your life where you were angry with God? You say things like, how could you let this happen, or why does so and so get away with this and I have to blank. Habakkuk is struggling with God. In poems of lament. He is in the wicked Southern Kingdom of Israel and he is wrestling with God about the people. Unlike other OT prophets, Habakkuk does not date his prophecy by referring to current kings. However, the fact that he was confused about why God would use the Babylonians to carry out his judgment against Judah suggests that Babylon was already a world power and its invasion of Judah was a definite threat. Babylon’s rise to world power meant trouble for the rebellious nation of Judah, whose unfaithfulness had opened them up to the coming destruction (see 2Ki 24–25).  Book was written in 606 BC and in 586 B.C., Nebuchadnezzar angrily attacked Jerusalem, burned the temple and totally destroyed the city. Most of the survivors were taken captive and exiled (forced to go) to Babylon. Habakkuk probably lived through most or all of this devastating time of God’s judgment on Judah. Habakkuk had been praying that God would do something to stop the social corruption and spiritual rebellion that he saw among his own people. Yet God seemed to be doing nothing but tolerating violence, injustice and the mistreatment of godly people. What Are Things We Should Lament For? Habakkuk 1:1-2  1. Neglect Of God’s Word “Violence” (ḥāmās) denotes flagrant violation of moral law by which man injures primarily his fellowman. Its underlying meaning is an ethical wrong, of which physical brutality is only one possible expression. Habakkuk complains that the people of Judah … have abandoned the righteous order intended by God for their society, even though they renewed their covenant with the Lord and underwent a sweeping religious reform only twelve years earlier in the time of King Josiah. The opening “tension of unanswered prayer” sets the tone for the entire book. “Habakkuk here faces the dilemma that has confronted faithful people of every age—the dilemma of seemingly unanswered prayer for the healing of society. We live in a world that constantly makes truth a moving target, but we are floored that evil reigns in our world.  The only way our world will be saved is by returning to the truth found in God’s word! Habak kuk 1:3  2. Injustice and Violence Habakkuk’s additional question continued the thought of the passage. How could God allow the prophet to see such trouble? The question implies that God’s inactivity had allowed wicked people to dominate Judah. Such wickedness had come upon the whole land, including the prophet himself. The second part of the question refers to God’s inactivity. The prophet was incredulous: how could God look at such trouble and do nothing? The NIV has caught the force of the question: “Why do you tolerate wrong?” Jerusalem and Judah, under the leadership of Jehoiakim, could be described as cities of destruction and violence where contention and strife abound. We ask the same questions: why has God allowed this to happen in our world? How can he allow such evil to reign in America and do nothing about it? Injustice and violence are nothing new in our world. We hear more about it than ever; maybe we must put our phones down and hit our knees. Habakkuk 1:4  3. Rampant Corruption When law is paralyzed and justice perverted, the righteous become the pawns of the wicked. One of the helpful lessons to be learned from Habakkuk is that God does know what is happening. He is not oblivious to wickedness in high places. In his time and in his way, the Lord judges those who oppress the weak. The disintegration of society into such factions is bound up with its rejection of the forces that bring it unity—“law” and “justice. Its effectiveness was therefore “paralyzed” most extensively by the corruption of the religious and civil leadership of the nation. We have to push towards not being caught up in the corruption. Often, we fight fire with fire, but God calls us to have a different response. When the world is burning down, we must push towards Holiness! What are our transformational moments? Do you have the truth of God’s word in you? Do you cry out to God to heal our land? Do you strive for holiness?