I have been doing a lot of thinking about how Christians are supposed to relate to a worldly government. It’s been a journey for me. I think the Old Testament book of Habakkuk may give a very important perspective for Christians to have as we look at “the powers that be.”
In this book, God reveals to Habakkuk that He was going to raise up the Babylonians who in His own words are a “ruthless and impetuous people, who sweep across the whole earth to seize dwellings not their own” (1:6). God concludes that these Babylonians are “guilty people, whose own strength is their god” (1:11).
Habakkuk understood clearly that these evil people were going to be used to punish his own people (1:12), and he is quite concerned with this revelation, so he quickly complains about it. He reasons, “Your eyes are too pure to look on evil: you cannot tolerate wrongdoing. Why then do you tolerate the treacherous? Why are you silent while the wicked swallow up those more righteous than themselves.?” (1:13). He can’t fathom how God would “raise up” these treacherous Babylonians for such a righteous purpose.
This is where this book begins to offer a perspective that can help me (or us) know how to think about worldly governments of all stripes.
God graciously gives Habakkuk an answer. Again He acknowledges the Babylonians’ faults by pointing out that the “enemy is puffed up; his desires are not right” (2:4). He shows Habakkuk (and us) that the enemy’s own shortcomings will be his ruin. He is greedy as the grave and takes peoples captive (2:5), but his creditors will suddenly arise (2:7) and the people that he failed to conquer will plunder him (2:8). In short, this treacherous enemy who is being used for God’s own purposes will eventually be destroyed by his own treachery, but in the midst of this situation the righteous will live by their faith (2:4). And somehow through all of this, “the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord” (2:14).
God’s reply gives Habakkuk a way forward. While he remembers hearing of the Lord’s “fame” (3:2), and he longs to see that again in his own day, he has learned the lesson that the Lord wanted him to learn. Even if he doesn’t see the miracles of old or witness the calamity to befall this wicked nation (3:16); and even if the “fig tree doesn’t bud” or the grapes don’t grow or the olive crops fail (3:17), Habakkuk will live by faith. He will show this faith by his ability to rejoice in the Lord and be joyful in God his Savior even before he sees everything work out (3:18).
What lessons can we take from this short book? While I’m sure there are many, here are some:
- God has the right to raise up whoever He wants to use for His own purposes whether those people are righteous or evil
- In doing so, God doesn’t whitewash the evil of those chosen instruments … so we shouldn’t feel the need to participate in such whitewashing either
- Even God’s chosen instruments, if treacherous individuals or nations, will be destroyed by their treachery … this is a promise that justice will be done and surely is also a warning to not align ourselves with such treachery
- “Living by faith” would surely include trusting that God is working to fill the earth with His glory even through means that are beyond our ability to fathom
- Finally, part of “living by faith” is also trusting God enough to rejoice in Him even when we don’t see how everything will work out
For me, this little book gives me guidance on how to look at any government under which I find myself with honesty about that government while at the same time having joyful faith in the Lord and confidence that He is working for good. I think all those things are quite important.