Last year I had an assignment on an Old Testament, minor prophet’s writing. I selected Habakkuk.
Habakkuk is a ‘cult prophet’ which I take to mean that he was associated with the practices of the ancient Jewish tribe of the Levites, who ministered at the temple. Habakkuk was also concerned about the internal corruption of the temple and laments to God about these concerns.
Something that stood out to me when reading Habakkuk last year was just how drastically God responds to Habakkuk. It felt like God took it up too many notches.
You see, Habakkuk is complaining about the people of God. He has a major issue with justice being perverted, as his opening complaint makes clear. He’s a man with personal issues and personal concerns and he takes them to God.
It all seems very localised.
Which is why God’s response of mass destruction at the international level seems so over the top. It goes from nought to one hundred.
Habakkuk was concerned about A, B and C. God says the whole alphabet is up for grabs. It seems too much. It seems too big.
But perhaps that’s only because I have a limited view of God and a limited view of the world.
I’m just here in my little corner. God’s got the whole world in view.
And God obviously takes sin more seriously than myself and Habakkuk.
Habakkuk wants Justice. God says, so does he, but we don’t actually understand what that looks like.
As I reflected on Habakkuk, I was left with a few takeaway points:
- I don’t know the full story, but God does
- God wants justice even more than I do
- God sees the beginning from the end
- God’s ways are right, even when they seem extreme
That doesn’t mean this all sits comfortably with me. It just means that I know it to be true.
And sometimes that’s all you can do.
Yours with a limited view,
Alison
