THE MINOR PROPHETS Habakkuk: Waiting on God · Dr. Chris Montgomery · June 15, 2025
Habakkuk 1:2-4
(Habakkuk 1:1-5) The oracle that Habakkuk the prophet saw. 2 O LORD, how long shall I cry for help, and you will not hear? Or cry to you “Violence!” and you will not save? 3 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. 4 So the law is paralyzed, and justice never goes forth. For the wicked surround the righteous; so justice goes forth perverted. 5 “Look among the nations, and see; wonder and be astounded. For I am doing a work in your days that you would not believe if told.” (Habakkuk 2:1-4) I will take my stand at my watchpost and station myself on the tower, and look out to see what he will say to me, and what I will answer concerning my complaint. 2 And the LORD answered me: “Write the vision; make it plain on tablets, so he may run who reads it. 3 For still the vision awaits its appointed time; it hastens to the end—it will not lie. If it seems slow, wait for it; it will surely come; it will not delay. 4 Behold, his soul is puffed up; it is not upright within him, but the righteous shall live by his faith.” (Habakkuk 1:2-4) O 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. 1. We struggle with God’s timing, because God tells long stories. 2. We struggle with God’s goodness, because God tells slow-building stories. 3. We struggle with God’s power, because God tells stories with epiphanies. 4..We struggle with God’s answers to our questions because God tells stories that we can see and yet not always comprehend. (Habakkuk 1:5) Look among the nations, and see; wonder and be astounded. For I am doing a work in your days that you would not believe if told. 5. To see God’s activity in our world, we must learn to look at the world in a different way. (Habakkuk 2:1) I will take my stand at my watch post and station myself on the tower, and look out to see what he will say to me, and what I will answer concerning my complaint.