The Bible Study Podcast, episode 770. Today, the Bible Study podcast continues the study of the books of the minor prophets with the book of Habakkuk, chapter one.

Welcome to the Bible Study podcast. I'm your host, Chris Christensen. We come into yet another minor

prophet here, the book of Habakkuk, again only three chapters long, and the first one goes like this.

The prophecy that Habakkuk, the prophet received. Habakkuk's complaint. How long, Lord, must I call for help, but you do not listen, or cry out to you violence,

but you do not save?

Why do you make me look at injustice?

Why do you tolerate wrongdoing?

Destruction and violence are before me.

There is strife and conflict abounds.

Therefore the law is paralyzed,

and justice never prevails. The wicked hymn in the righteous, so that justice is perverted.

This is a familiar theme. It's a familiar theme with those who pray to God, I think, in any age.

And we may not all see the same thing, and we may all look at what is injustice and who's getting justice differently.

But I think a lot of us feel from time to time just like the prophet Habakkuk.

Why do you make me look at injustice? Why do the wrong people succeed? Why does evil seem to prosper? Why, God, you tolerate wrongdoing? I see destruction.

I see violence. I see strife. I see conflict. I see the law that justice is not going to the right people

and justice being perverted. And Lord, how long? And it is easy to get frustrated with God's timing

on justice because God's timing is not our timing. My timing is there are to be justice and ought to be

yesterday. But of course, God who is a merciful God, we were learning that over the last couple

books as God is giving, for instance, the people of Nineveh and the people of Assyria a chance

in the book of Nahom and the book of Jonah, even though God has problems with them,

God gives them a chance to repent.

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