Habakkuk was the prophet with all the questions. He challenged God! Why me? He didn’t want to be the one who confronted the people with God’s word. No way to be popular with that. Then Why the Chaldeans? The Chaldeans are the Babylonians and they were a wicked and cruel civilization. Why did God allow this evil nation to destroy His own people along with the place of worship in Jerusalem? Yes, Israel sinned, but the people doing the punishing were far worse than those being punished! What’s up with that?

Habakkuk asks, “Why do you look on the treacherous, and are silent when the wicked swallow those more righteous than they?” What’s up with that, God? Habakkuk challenges God to do something about this. Life isn’t always fair is it? Live isn’t always good is it? Of course not. The wicked do prosper and the righteous do suffer in this world. I don’t like it! You don’t like it, and God doesn’t like it either. You and I don’t have the ability to do much about it except in small ways in our own personal lives and relationships. But God can and he promises He will.

With Easter coming up, I’ve been thinking about the resurrection. It dawned on me as I wrote the above paragraph that this was the exact question facing the disciples of Jesus on Good Friday. Jesus, the righteous one, was accused by the unholy religious leaders, condemned by a “stand-for-nothing” Pilate, and executed by a band of torturing soldiers. What’s up with that? The resurrection was God’s way of doing something about that! The resurrection will also be the way he does something about all the wicked and evil in the world. The wicked will be judged! The righteous will be vindicated! That’s what Easter is all about!

I can hardly wait!

Chuck

“I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?” John 11:25-26