Justice and the Prophets
God Requires Justice
Live in the light of God (Isaiah 2:5)
Consequences for Injustice
Habakkuk 2:1-5 New International Version
2 I will stand at my watch and station myself on the ramparts; I will look to see what he will say to me, and what answer I am to give to this complaint.[ a]
The Lord’s Answer
2 Then the Lord replied:
“Write down the revelation and make it plain on tablets so that a herald[ b] may run with it. 3 For the revelation awaits an appointed time; it speaks of the end and will not prove false. Though it linger, wait for it; it[ c] will certainly come and will not delay.
4 “See, the enemy is puffed up; his desires are not upright— but the righteous person will live by his faithfulness[ d]— 5 indeed, wine betrays him; he is arrogant and never at rest. Because he is as greedy as the grave and like death is never satisfied, he gathers to himself all the nations and takes captive all the peoples.
For Reflection
Habakkuk's lament is also our lament. "How long, Lord, must I call for help, but you do not listen? Or cry out to you, “Violence! but you do not save? 3 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. 4 Therefore the law is paralyzed, and justice never prevails. The wicked hem in the righteous, so that justice is perverted."
God responds with the answer, "wait." The time God refers to is not the end of time, but rather the time that in the natural course of life, those who are filled with self-importance but soul empty and who perpetrate injustices end. The wicked will die of their folly. The vile die as they have lived, violently.
In the meantime, stay faithful and obedient servants of God and each other. The righteous who believe in God shall live a sweet, quiet, happy, holy life, above the chaos that surrounds him. Fixed in faith and hope in God, the righteous find peace in obedient service to humankind.
Pray
Pray and find rest from the current troubles of your time.
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