Habakkuk 1:2-3; 2:2-4
Chapter 1
2
The end of Injustice: Impatience and Proclamation
How long, O Lord, will I cry for help while you pay no attention to me? I denounce the oppression, and you do not save.3
Why do you make me witness injustice? Are you pleased to watch tyranny? All I see is outrage, violence, and quarrels.
Chapter 2
2
Then the Lord responded and said: “Write down the vision, inscribe it on tablets so it can be easily read,
3
since this is a vision for an appointed time; it will not fail but will be fulfilled in its proper time. If it is delayed, wait for it, because it will come a and will not be late. Look:
4
I don’t look with favor on the one who gives way; the upright, on the other hand, will live by his faithfulness.”
Commentaries
The end of Injustice: Impatience and Proclamation.
As expressed in Psalm 94:3, the prophet cries out to God in the face of the profound injustice and corruption that the righteous must endure, probably during the reign of Jehoiakim (609-598 B.C.). Habakkuk complains about God’s seeming passivity in the face of evil (cf. Job 19:7). In response, God announces judgment for Judah, allowing it to be purified through the invasion of a fierce and ruthless people: the Chaldeans, also known as the Babylonians.
Waiting and Oracle.
Like a sentry, the prophet waits alert and watchful for the Lord’s response to his second complaint. God does not delay and instructs him to write down his words clearly, a message that is essential for understanding his actions in human history and the attitude he expects from his faithful: “The ambitious will fail; the righteous, because of their faithfulness, will live” (4). The proud, who trust in their wealth and military or political power, are insatiable, like death, which will inevitably overtake them (5). In this context, the Hebrew word “emunah” signifies steadfastness and faithfulness in the face of violence and injustice. Although it may seem that the Lord is delaying, the righteous are called to “hope against all hope” (Rom 4:18). It is not so much faith in doctrine or teaching as it is complete trust in the Lord of history, who will fulfill his promises and execute his plan.