Are You Not From Everlasting? Habakkuk 1 Explained

Scriptures for Today

Habakkuk 1:12-17
Art thou not from everlasting, O LORD my God, mine Holy One? we shall not die. O LORD, thou hast ordained them for judgment; and, O mighty God, thou hast established them for correction.  13 Thou art of purer eyes than to behold evil, and canst not look on iniquity: wherefore lookest thou upon them that deal treacherously, and holdest thy tongue when the wicked devoureth the man that is more righteous than he?  14 And makest men as the fishes of the sea, as the creeping things, that have no ruler over them?  15 They take up all of them with the angle, they catch them in their net, and gather them in their drag: therefore they rejoice and are glad.  16 Therefore they sacrifice unto their net, and burn incense unto their drag; because by them their portion is fat, and their meat plenteous.  17 Shall they therefore empty their net, and not spare continually to slay the nations?

Introduction — The Book of Habakkuk

The book of Habakkuk is different from many other prophets. Most prophets speak directly to the people for God, but Habakkuk is having a conversation with God. He is asking questions, and God is answering him.

Habakkuk is living in a time when Judah is full of sin. There is violence, corruption, and wrongdoing everywhere. Habakkuk sees it, and he does not understand why God is allowing it to continue.

Habakkuk 1:2
O LORD, how long shall I cry, and thou wilt not hear! even cry out unto thee of violence, and thou wilt not save!

Habakkuk is asking, why is this going on, and why is nothing being done? God answers and says He is raising up the Chaldeans, which is Babylon, to judge Judah. That creates a bigger problem for Habakkuk. Now he is wondering why God would use a more wicked nation to judge His people. That is where we are in this passage.

God Is Eternal and Holy

Habakkuk 1:12
Art thou not from everlasting, O LORD my God, mine Holy One? we shall not die. O LORD, thou hast ordained them for judgment; and, O mighty God, thou hast established them for correction.

Habakkuk starts by acknowledging who God is. He says, “Art thou not from everlasting,” meaning God has always existed. God is not temporary, and God is not changing. He is eternal. He calls Him “my God” and “mine Holy One,” which shows a relationship and also shows that God is completely separate from sin. God is pure, and God is righteous. He isn’t like us.

Then he says, “we shall not die.” Habakkuk understands that God will not completely destroy His people. There will be judgment, but not total destruction. For example, we receive the judgment of God in this life as we live here. But God will never totally destroy us in hell. We are His people.

Then you see Habakkuk say something very important there. He says God has ordained them for judgment and established them for correction. That means Babylon is not acting on its own. God is using them as a tool to correct His people. Think about the same thing for Satan.

1 Corinthians 5:5
To deliver such an one unto Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus.

Satan is only allowed to continue because he is used as a tool for God to chasten and correct His people. You see something similar here in Habakkuk. God has set this nation up to correct His people.

Why Does God Allow This?

Habakkuk 1:13
Thou art of purer eyes than to behold evil, and canst not look on iniquity: wherefore lookest thou upon them that deal treacherously, and holdest thy tongue when the wicked devoureth the man that is more righteous than he?

Habakkuk now asks a serious question. He says God is too pure to behold evil and cannot look on iniquity. That means God is holy and does not accept sin. So the question is, why is God allowing this to happen? Why is He allowing people who deal treacherously to continue?

Then he says, “when the wicked devoureth the man that is more righteous than he.” In other words, Babylon is more wicked than Judah, so why are they being allowed to destroy them? Habakkuk is struggling to understand how a holy God allows a more wicked nation to judge a less wicked one.

People have similar questions in this world. Why would God allow you, one who believes in God and Jesus Christ, to go through horrible things while the wicked people live a good and a fun life? They have it easy. You have it hard. Why is that? God will answer all of this later in this book.

People Treated Like Nothing

Habakkuk 1:14
And makest men as the fishes of the sea, as the creeping things, that have no ruler over them?

Habakkuk describes how the people are being treated. He says they are like fish in the sea or creeping things. That means they are being treated like they have no protection and no leadership. Fish get caught and eaten. Creeping things get stepped on and treated badly.

For example, when my daughters see some small creeping thing, you would think the world is ending. And then they go on a mission to get that creeping thing killed while screaming the entire time. “Kill it, kill it, kill it. Get it out of here!!!”

Think about fish. Fish do not have a ruler. They are easily caught and controlled. They are out there on their own. That is how Babylon is treating the nations. God uses His creation to explain many things throughout the Bible. Fish are used here. This shows the helplessness of the people. They are being overrun, and there is no one stopping it.

Habakkuk wants to know why all of this is happening and why God is allowing these things.

The Enemy Takes Everything

Habakkuk 1:15
They take up all of them with the angle, they catch them in their net, and gather them in their drag: therefore they rejoice and are glad.

Now Habakkuk describes what Babylon is doing. He compares them to fishermen who catch fish with hooks, nets, and drags. They are taking people easily. They are capturing nations like it is nothing. And they are successful at it.

Then it says they rejoice and are glad. That means they are proud of it. They celebrate what they are doing. They are not ashamed. They enjoy it. Why would God send these people against His people?

They Worship Their Own Power

Habakkuk 1:16
Therefore they sacrifice unto their net, and burn incense unto their drag; because by them their portion is fat, and their meat plenteous.

This is one of the worst parts. They are not just using their power, they are worshipping it. They are giving credit to their own strength. They sacrifice to their net and burn incense to their drag. That means they are treating their success as if it is their god. They believe their power is what gives them success. They trust in their own ability.

This is pride at its highest level. It’s the same if you’ve been working on something and you have success with that. And then you think it’s all because of you. Everything about you is why it was successful. It was 100% you. That’s pride. And God warns about that throughout the Bible.

Will This Continue?

Habakkuk 1:17
Shall they therefore empty their net, and not spare continually to slay the nations?

Habakkuk ends with a question. Is this going to keep happening? Are they going to keep destroying nations and never stop? Will there be no end to it? This shows his struggle. He sees what is happening, and he does not understand how long it will continue.

Practical Applications

1. God can use even wicked people to accomplish His purposes. That does not make them right, but it shows God is in control.

• God is holy, even when we do not understand what He is doing. His ways are higher than ours.

• Pride leads people to trust in their own power instead of God. That always leads to destruction.

There are times when it looks like the wicked are winning, but that is never the final outcome. It may look that way at times, but the wicked will never win in the final outcome.

Conclusion

Habakkuk is asking questions to God. He sees sin. He sees violence. He sees wickedness growing. He is trying to understand why God is allowing this to happen.

But even in his questions, he acknowledges who God is. This is similar to Job in the book of Job. It’s okay to question why things are happening. But you always need to know that God knows what’s happening. And He’s going to take care of things.

God is everlasting. God is holy. God is in control. The situation may not make sense in the moment, but God is still working. That’s the message here in the book of Habakkuk. Even when you do not understand what God is doing, He is still in control.

Let’s pray.