Why dost thou shew me iniquity, and cause me to behold grievance? for spoiling and violence are before me: and there are that raise up strife and contention.
Habakkuk's complaint intensifies: 'Why dost thou shew me iniquity, and cause me to behold grievance? for spoiling and violence are before me: and there are that raise up strife and contention' (lammah tar'eni aven ve'amal tabbit veshod vechamas lenegdi vayehi riv ummadon yissa). The prophet sees injustice (aven, iniquity), trouble (amal, toil/grievance), destruction (shod, spoiling), violence (chamas), strife (riv), and contention (madon) permeating Judean society. God doesn't merely allow Habakkuk to see this corruption—the verbs 'shew me' (tar'eni) and 'cause me to behold' (tabbit) suggest God actively directs the prophet's attention to it, making him acutely aware of moral breakdown. This creates the problem: why would God make His prophet intimately aware of evil yet not immediately intervene? The question resonates with all sensitive believers who, once awakened to injustice and suffering, cannot ignore it yet wonder why God seems slow to act.
Historical Context
Habakkuk describes conditions in Judah under corrupt kings Jehoiakim and perhaps Jehoiachin. Jeremiah, prophesying contemporaneously, confirms this picture: widespread idolatry, oppression of the poor, corrupt judges, false prophets, and leadership profiting from injustice (Jeremiah 22:13-17, 26:20-23). The legal system had broken down, the righteous were oppressed, and wickedness flourished openly. Habakkuk's complaint wasn't exaggeration but accurate diagnosis of terminal societal corruption. This moral collapse would soon result in Babylonian conquest and exile—divine judgment executed through human agency. The prophet's lament models how godly people should respond to systemic injustice: not cynical resignation but anguished prayer seeking divine intervention.
Questions for Reflection
Why might God make believers acutely aware of injustice and suffering without immediately intervening?
How should Christians balance prophetic denunciation of social evil with patience for God's timing?
What does this passage teach about bringing honest, even difficult questions to God in prayer?
Analysis & Commentary
Habakkuk's complaint intensifies: 'Why dost thou shew me iniquity, and cause me to behold grievance? for spoiling and violence are before me: and there are that raise up strife and contention' (lammah tar'eni aven ve'amal tabbit veshod vechamas lenegdi vayehi riv ummadon yissa). The prophet sees injustice (aven, iniquity), trouble (amal, toil/grievance), destruction (shod, spoiling), violence (chamas), strife (riv), and contention (madon) permeating Judean society. God doesn't merely allow Habakkuk to see this corruption—the verbs 'shew me' (tar'eni) and 'cause me to behold' (tabbit) suggest God actively directs the prophet's attention to it, making him acutely aware of moral breakdown. This creates the problem: why would God make His prophet intimately aware of evil yet not immediately intervene? The question resonates with all sensitive believers who, once awakened to injustice and suffering, cannot ignore it yet wonder why God seems slow to act.