Habakkuk 1:1-4; 2:1-4
A sermon for the Seventeenth Sunday after Pentecost
The great British poet John Milton begins Paradise Lost with the question: How do we explain the ways of God to man? How do we explain the terrible things, the tragedies, accidents, devastating floods, and illnesses? How can we justify the ways of God to man? That is the problem for anyone who seriously looks at life.
Habakkuk takes up this question. Habakkuk 1:4: “The law is slacked and justice never goes forth. For the wicked surround the righteous, so justice goes forth perverted.” This problem is presented again and again in Scripture. Jeremiah 12:1-2: “Why do the wicked prosper? Why do all who are treacherous thrive?” Psalm 73:2-3: “I was envious of the arrogant, when I saw the prosperity of the wicked. For they have no pangs; their bodies are sound and sleek. They are not in trouble as other men are.” In Isaiah 6:11 the prophet asks: “How long, O Lord?”
