One of the hardest questions to wrestle with in our faith journeys is the question of evil and suffering. Why does God allow the things he does? Why doesn’t he stop wars, famines, or hurricanes? Why does he allow abuse and broken relationships? Why doesn’t he stop evil corporations or governments?
These questions aren’t new to us. They are all over Scripture. It is the question that is the center of the book of Habakkuk.
As we make our way to the end of chapter 2, God answers Habakkuk with “5 woes” to the Babylonians. These “woes” show that while God used Babylon to punish Judah, he would hold them accountable for their evil actions. But as you read through the woes, we can also see the evil in our day and age. And if we are honest, we can see the evil in our own hearts as God names each one.
Woe #1: The Woe of Money and Greed (2:6 – 8).
Money and greed are an enormous part of evil. We see this all around us and throughout Scripture.
Paul told Timothy in the NT that “the love of money was the root of all evil.” Money isn’t evil in and of itself, but how we view and use money can be.
God is talking about the way the Babylonians handle money, and when money is used for evil and suffering.
Underneath this woe about money and greed is really pride. A lot of pain and suffering comes from pride. People cheat because they think they deserve something. We hurt people with our words out of pride. We feel hurt or not good enough, so we put people down so we feel better. We are greedy; people are so greedy that we hurt others. People are oppressed, used, abused, left, and cast aside when they don’t serve a purpose.
The question we need to ask ourselves is, Where does money and greed show up as evil in your life?
We can talk about politics and corporations and compare them to Babylon and the evil of Habakkuk’s day pretty easily. But what about us? Are we causing any evil with our money, greed, and pride?
Woe #2: The Woe of Dishonesty and Self-Serving Behavior (2:9 – 11).
Another way to see this woe is as unjust gain.
This might seem obvious, but when we gain by lying, by not telling the whole truth, we gain by being self-serving.
The superpowers of Habakkuk’s day did this, and so do they today, and so do we.
This is when we want to take care of our family, to provide, but in our desire, we end up hurting people, using people, and doing wrong. This can also be when we gain money dishonestly. Like this past Thursday and Friday, when you “worked” while watching March Madness!
Underneath our actions in this area is often an “I deserve this.”
This can also be when good motives turn bad.
This happens to all of us.
Maybe you’ve experienced hurt because of a parent who couldn’t stop working. They said it was because they wanted to give you things, but it was their pride.
Maybe it was a spouse who couldn’t set boundaries.
This is the thinking that if you make enough money, you can keep pain and hurt from your life. Or, if you can make enough money, you will be somebody, important enough, you can make someone jealous, or get a parent to notice you.
The question we need to ask ourselves is, Are we taking any shortcuts in life? Are we being honest in all areas and all relationships?
Woe #3: The Woe of Violence (2:12 – 14).
God denounces the splendor of the Babylonian empire because it was built on blood, corruption, and they did it all in an effort to gain their own glory.
God is calling out the people who build empires and legacies on the backs of others. That can be the wealthy over the poor, this can be about race or gender.
But it can also be closer to home.
How many of us have built our lives, our glory, our little empire on the tears of someone who asked us to slow down? To pay more attention? To care about something else more? How many of us have seen someone try to build their life on the hurt and tears of others?
We also have to be aware of how desensitized we have become to the violence of our world.
This doesn’t mean we turn away and pretend it isn’t happening.
But now, because we can play Grand Theft Auto and steal a car, play a first-person shooter game, and then watch bombs explode live on TikTok, we are desensitized to the cry of violence and oppression.
There are now whole social media accounts that are just videos of people dying or getting hurt.
And we have to ask, “Am I helping to keep violence alive, or am I working to end it?”
Woe #4: The Woe of Hurting Others (2:15 – 17).
This is exploitation. Degrading those around us.
This is the person who takes joy in others’ pain. The one who laughs at others’ tears. The one who is callous to the pain of those closest to them.
The Babylonians would get someone drunk, get them naked, and take advantage of them, degrading and disrespecting them.
This can also be when we watch someone be degraded, ridiculed, and made fun of, and do nothing. This can happen at work or school when someone is bullied, harassed, or made fun of, and we do nothing.
This can happen when we watch porn and see someone being degraded and humiliated.
And we tell ourselves that we do it not because we want them to be hurt but because we don’t want to join them.
For some, watching others in pain is enjoyable.
Here is a question: Do your actions or inactions exploit anyone in any way?
Woe #5: The Woe of Idolatry (2:18 – 20).
An idol is not a statue you bow down to. An idol is anything you look to, anything you place your trust in to do what only God can do.
It is looking to someone to approve of you instead of God.
It is looking to your kids, spouse, parent, or teacher for affirmation instead of to God.
It is trying to rest in your control instead of trusting in God’s control and power.
It is seeking to find pleasure and identity in sex and relationships instead of Jesus.
It is whatever you would lose that would make your life not worth living.
That thing, that person, that dream or hope is something you have placed above Jesus.
What idol does your life revolve around instead of Jesus?
To help you figure out what idols are lurking in your heart, click here to work through a series of questions.
God tells Habakkuk in verse 20: But the Lord is in his holy temple; let the whole earth be silent in his presence.
God says, I see all of these things. I hear the cry of the oppressed. I see the tears of the broken.
But I also see the evil that the Chaldeans do. He also sees the evil that we do.
Verse 20 is crucial to this book and to the question of where God is when life hurts and why God allows suffering and evil in the world.
After saying, “I see all that the Chaldeans do. I see their sin. I see how they exploit people, harm them, and abuse them. I see it all. Justice is coming. Because I sit on my throne in my temple.”
The word temple is the same Hebrew word that the Old Testament prophet Isaiah used to describe God as a judge and the day of judgment, when everyone will stand before God and give an account of their lives.
Tim Keller, in his book Walking with God Through Pain and Suffering, said,
The biblical doctrine of judgment day, far from being a gloomy idea, enables us to live with both hope and grace. That all wrongs will be redressed. If we are not sure that there will be a final judgment, then when we are wronged, we will feel an almost irresistible compulsion to take up the sword and smite the wrongdoers. But if we know that no one will get away with anything, and that all wrongs will ultimately be redressed, then we can live in peace. Judgment day tells us that we don’t know exactly what people deserve, nor have the right to mete out punishment when we are sinners ourselves.
