Habakkuk 1:13-Habakkuk Questions God as to How He Could Use the Wicked, Evil Babylonians to Discipline Judah

Habakkuk 1:13 You are too just to tolerate evil; you are unable to condone wrongdoing. So why do you put up with such treacherous people? Why do you say nothing when the wicked devour those more righteous than they are? (NET)

Habakkuk 1:13 You possess eyes, which are too pure to tolerate evil behavior. Consequently, you are totally unable to condone wicked behavior. Why are you putting up with treacherous people? You are not taking action while the wicked swallow up a person more righteous than they. (My translation)

Habakkuk 1:13 begins with a declarative statement which asserts that the Lord possesses eyes which are too pure to tolerate evil.

The reference to the eyes of the Lord being too pure is an anthropopathism which is used to explain to our human frame reference something about the Lord’s character and specifically, it is describing in arthropathic terms the Lord’s holy character and standards.

God’s holiness is expressing the purity of His character or moral perfection and excellence and means that God can have nothing to do with sin or sinners.

He is totally separate from sin and sinners unless a way can be found to constitute them holy and that way has been provided based upon the merits of the impeccable Person and Finished Work of the Lord Jesus Christ on the Cross.

The presence of evil, sin and injustice is totally absent in the character of God, thus God does not tolerate evil or sin because it is contrary to His character, i.e. His inherent moral qualities, ethical standards and principles.

God’s holiness refers to the absolute perfection of His character, expressing His purity of His character or moral perfection and excellence and intolerance and opposition and rejection of sin and evil, thus God is totally separate from sin and sinners.

The reference to “evil behavior” refers to the evil behavior of the Babylonians since Habakkuk 1:12-17 contains his response to the Lord statements in Habakkuk 1:6-11, which make clear that He will use the Babylonians to discipline the apostate citizenry in the southern kingdom of Judah in 605 B.C.

This “evil behavior” is described by the Lord in great detail in Habakkuk 1:6-11.

Now, the second statement in Habakkuk 1:13 asserts that the Lord is totally unable to condone wicked behavior and is a result clause because it presents the result of the previous statement which we noted asserts that the Lord possesses eyes, which are too pure to tolerate evil behavior.

Therefore, a comparison of the two assertions indicates that the Lord is totally unable to condone wicked behavior as a result of being too pure to tolerate evil behavior.

The reference to “wicked behavior” refers to the wicked behavior of the Babylonians because Habakkuk 1:12-17 contains his response to the Lord statements in Habakkuk 1:6-11, which make clear that He will use the Babylonians to discipline the apostate citizenry in the southern kingdom of Judah in 605 B.C.

This “wicked behavior” of the Babylonians is described in great detail in Habakkuk 1:6-11.

This result clause is then followed by a question which asks the Lord as to why He was putting up with treacherous people, which refers to the Babylonians.

This is indicated by the fact that Habakkuk 1:12-17 contains the prophet’s response to the Lord statements in Habakkuk 1:6-11, which make clear that He will use the Babylonians to discipline the apostate citizenry in the southern kingdom of Judah in 605 B.C.

Lastly, Habakkuk 1:13 ends with a declarative statement, which asserts that the Lord was not taking action while the wicked swallow up a person more righteous than they.

The reference to “the wicked” refers to the Babylonians because Habakkuk 1:12-17 contains his response to the Lord statements in Habakkuk 1:6-11, which make clear that He will use the Babylonians to discipline the apostate citizenry in the southern kingdom of Judah in 605 B.C.

When the prophet asserts that the Babylonians “swallow up” a person more righteous than they, he is referring to the Babylonians as killing people who are more righteous than they are, and which killing is conceived of as swallowing or consuming them.

When Habakkuk speaks of the Lord not taking action, he means that the Lord was not taking action against evil, wicked, treacherous people by judging them in response to the request to do so.

This would indicate that Habakkuk and the faithful remnant of Judah were praying to the Lord to judge the Babylonians for their wicked, evil and treacherous behavior which they undoubtedly heard about.

“The righteous” does not refer to the citizens of the various Gentile nations on earth in 605 B.C. but rather, to the citizens of Judah who trusted in the God of Israel and were declared justified by the Father as a result of receiving the imputation of divine righteousness which was the direct result of exercising faith in the Lord (cf. Gen. 15:6; Rom. 3:19-30; 4:1-6).

This is indicated by the fact that Habakkuk 1:12-17 is a response to the Lord’s declaration that He would use the Babylonians to discipline the apostate citizenry in the southern kingdom of Judah.

Interestingly, in the first two statements in Habakkuk 1:13, the prophet Habakkuk is expressing his faith in the Lord by affirming the Lord’s holy character and standards and His intolerance of wicked, evil behavior but the question and the final statement in this verse expresses the prophet’s confusion.

Namely, he cannot reconcile God’s holy character and standards with the Lord asserting in Habakkuk 1:6-11 that He will used the wicked, evil, treacherous Babylonians to discipline the apostate citizenry in his nation.

So therefore, as was the case in Habakkuk 1:2-4, Habakkuk 1:12-17 deals with the subject of “theodicy,” which is the attempt to understand the nature and actions of God in the face of evil and suffering.

In Habakkuk 1:2-4, the prophet Habakkuk complained to God about His failure to judge the unrepentant disobedient citizens of Judah and now, in Habakkuk 1:12-17, he complains about God’s choice of the Babylonians to judge his countrymen.

Now, by using a wicked, evil and treacherous people like the Babylonians to discipline the apostate citizenry of the southern kingdom of Judah, God was not violating His holy standards.

In other words, He was not compromising Himself because the Babylonians were responsible for their evil, wicked and treacherous behavior and not Him since they of their own volition committed evil, wicked and treacherous acts.

In fact, apostate citizenry of the southern kingdom of Judah were evil, wicked and treacherous as pointed out by Habakkuk in Habakkuk 1:2-4.

They were more wicked and evil than the Babylonians because they received greater revelation from God than the Babylonians and were in a covenant relationship with God and not the Babylonians.

Therefore, the apostate citizenry of Judah was under a greater condemnation than the Babylonians because the former received greater revelation and privileges and responsibilities than the latter.

Thus, the citizens of Judah were not more righteous experientially (though positionally they were) than the Babylonians but rather worse because of the revelation, privileges and responsibilities bestowed on them by God and it is also unlikely that other unregenerate pagan nations were any better than Babylon.

Habakkuk is more than likely asserting in Habakkuk 1:13 that the citizens of Judah were more righteous than the Babylonians since Habakkuk 1:12-17 is Habakkuk’s response to God’s declaration in Habakkuk 1:6-11 that He will use the Babylonians to discipline apostate Judah.

We also need to keep in mind that when Habakkuk asserts that the citizens of Judah were “more” righteous than the Babylonians, he is thinking in relative terms and not in absolute terms as God does.

Romans 1-3 asserts that both Jew and Gentile have fallen short of the glory and there is no one righteous in the human race and so therefore, in God’s view and judgement, both the Jews and the Babylonians were guilty before Him.

Habakkuk made the mistake the Jews in Jesus’ day made, namely they compared their righteousness with others less moral than they were and concluded that they were better than the Gentiles, however, God is perfect.

Thus, Habakkuk and the Jews in Jesus’ day needed to compare themselves to God’s perfect, holy character and standards.

God was not tolerating the wicked, evil and treacherous behavior of the Babylonians or the citizens of Judah for that matter since God dealt with this behavior through cross of His Son Jesus Christ.

At the cross, the Father dealt with the sins of the entire human race and evil which originated with Satan by sending His Son into the world to become a human being in order to experience His wrath on the cross as a substitute for all of sinful humanity.

The Son’s substitutionary spiritual and physical deaths on the cross as well as His resurrection and session at the right hand of the Father propitiated the Father’s holiness, reconciled all of sinful humanity to God who is holy, and redeemed all of sinful humanity from the slave marker of sin.

The crucifixion, death, burial, resurrection and session of Jesus Christ destroyed the works of the devil who is the author of evil and also delivered the human race from the consequences of their sins, namely spiritual and physical death as well as delivered them from enslavement to the sin nature, Satan and his cosmic system.

The reason why God was delaying judging the Babylonians is that He wanted to use the Babylonians to discipline His covenant people who were in apostasy and He was delaying judging His covenant people because He wanted them to repent.

He was also withholding judging Babylon because He wanted them to repent as well because God desires all people to repent by believing in His Son as Savior (cf. John 3:16-18; 1 Tim. 2:4; 2 Pet. 3:9).