How Long, O Lord?” – When Faith Faces Injustice Series

How Long, O Lord?” – When Faith Faces Injustice

Text:

Habakkuk 1:1–11

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I. INTRODUCTION: Setting the Scene

Historical Background

• Habakkuk likely prophesied during the final decades of Judah’s kingdom, probably around 609–605 BC, during or

just after the death of King Josiah.

• Judah is in moral and spiritual decline. After Josiah’s reforms, his successors (Jehoahaz, Jehoiakim) led the nation

back into idolatry, corruption, and injustice.

• The Babylonian Empire is rising rapidly, having just defeated the Assyrians and Egyptians. The people of God face

threats both from within and without.

Biblical and Cultural Context

• Uniquely, Habakkuk does not begin with a word from God to the people, but with a word from the prophet to God.

This is a dialogue, not a traditional prophetic oracle.

• Habakkuk’s name may mean “embracer” or “wrestler”—a fitting name for a prophet who holds onto God while

grappling with hard questions.

• The opening cry of “How long, O Lord?” echoes the language of lament and the psalms (cf. Psalm 13), showing that

lament is not unfaithfulness, but a form of deep faith.

Habakkuk in the New Testament

• Habakkuk 2:4, “The righteous will live by faith,” becomes a foundational text for New Testament theology.

• Quoted in Romans 1:17, Galatians 3:11, and Hebrews 10:38.

• Paul uses it to a?rm that salvation is by faith, not law, and that faith must endure even through trials.

• This makes Habakkuk a bridge between Old Testament lament and New Testament gospel faith.

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II. VERSE-BY-VERSE EXPOSITION: Habakkuk 1:1–11

Verse 1 – “The pronouncement that the prophet Habakkuk saw.”

• This is a burden (Hebrew: massa)—a weighty revelation.

• Habakkuk doesn’t just hear a message—he sees it, feels it. This is personal, heavy.

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Verses 2–4 – The Prophet’s Complaint

“How long, O Lord, must I call for help and you do not listen…”

• Habakkuk cries out because God seems silent, indi?erent to injustice.

• The verbs: “call,” “cry out,” “do not save” show intense, prolonged distress.

Key Issues Habakkuk Lists:

• Violence (v.2)

• Injustice and oppression (v.3)

• Strife and conflict everywhere (v.3)

• The law is paralyzed—even Torah isn’t being followed (v.4)

• The wicked surround the righteous (v.4)

• Justice is perverted—turned upside down (v.4)

Application:

• This sounds like today: violence, corruption, injustice, silence.

• Habakkuk gives us permission to question and lament, not in rebellion, but in deep relational trust.

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Verses 5–6 – God’s Shocking Response

“Look at the nations and observe… I am doing something in your days you will not believe…”

• God is at work—but not in the way Habakkuk expected.

• He is raising up Babylon (Chaldeans)—a pagan, violent, and brutal nation.

Surprise: God will use a more wicked nation to judge His people.

• This turns Habakkuk’s theology inside out.

Application:

• Sometimes God’s answers to prayer are more confusing than His silence.

• God works on a global scale, even using unrighteous people for His sovereign purposes.

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Verses 7–11 – The Character of the Babylonians

Descriptions:

• Fearsome and dreaded (v.7)

• Lawless in self-worship (v.7)

• Fast and fierce like leopards, wolves, and eagles (v.8)

• Bent on violence, gathering captives like sand (v.9)

• Mock kings, laugh at strongholds (v.10)

• Idolize their own strength as their god (v.11)

Key Insight:

• God is using Babylon to bring judgment, but He sees their arrogance and will eventually deal with them (cf. ch. 2).

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III. SERMON THEME & BIG IDEA

Theme:

When it feels like God is silent in the face of injustice, faith dares to cry out—and dares to listen.

Big Idea:

You don’t have to pretend everything is fine to be a person of faith. Faith begins with honesty, grows through listening, and

holds on when answers don’t make sense.

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IV. CONCLUSION: Faith That Laments

• Habakkuk doesn’t get immediate comfort, but he begins a journey of faith through honest lament.

• The rest of the book will show that faith matures in stages—from protest, to waiting, to worship.

• For us, the gospel doesn’t remove our questions, but it anchors us in Christ, the one who cried, “My God, why?”

and was answered through resurrection.

Practical Call:

• This week, pray your questions, not just your praises.

• God invites honesty, not polish.

• Don’t be afraid to say, “How long, O Lord?”—because faith that asks becomes faith that sees.