“What is the meaning of it, Watson?” said Holmes solemnly as he laid down the paper. “What object is served by this circle of misery and violence and fear? It must tend to some end, or else our universe is ruled by chance, which is unthinkable. But what end? There is the great standing perennial problem to which human reason is far from an answer as ever.” Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

The problem of evil is exceedingly frustrating! In the first chapter of Habakkuk, the prophet lays out five reasons that we struggle with suffering and injustice in this world. It is unyielding, unpredictable, ubiquitous, unrestrained, and unclear.

The expression, "O' Lord, how long," shows us that the prophet is not just bothered by evil in the streets, but the duration of it. Most people can put up with a lot when it's only for a short period of time, but perseverance becomes increasingly difficult when the pain continues. As one of our senior saints once commented regarding her hip surgery, "The pain is excruciating, but it is quite bearable since I know I will be up and around in a few short weeks." Habakkuk is not just concerned about evil and suffering, but the unyielding nature of it.

Evil is also unpredictable. Throughout the first chapter Habakkuk employs language and pictures that signifies sudden change: the horses will come swiftly and the birds will be make quick destruction (v. 8). As unexpectedly as an eagle snatches an unassuming mouse in the field suffering can come into our lives at any time. The news of cancer comes quickly; the natural disaster strikes without warning; rarely does the enemy indicate that they are about to attack.

Habakkuk also laments the ubiquitous nature of evil. Consider the language in verse 4: "So the law is paralyzed, and justice never goes forth. For the wicked surround the righteous; so justice goes forth perverted." According to Habakkuk, there is no escape. Evil is in the streets and the homes, the business and the courts, the city and the countryside. This world offers little hope for refuge.

Injustice is also unrestrained: "the law is paralyzed" (v. 4). Some assume that more laws and regulations will check injustice and evil in the world; however, we learn here that law cannot change the heart. The law can make you an equal opportunity employer, but it cannot make you love someone of another race. The law can threaten arrest for domestic violence, but it cannot make you love your spouse and kids. In short, the law cannot deal with the deeper issues of evil. More laws do not mean less injustice.

As frustrating as these first four points are, one final consideration pushes Habakkuk over the edge. The Babylonians are more wicked than the people of Israel (v. 13). Habakkuk is not so much struggling with why God would allow allow suffering in this life; rather, he is struggling with how God could use these wicked people as instruments to judge a people more righteous than they (vs. 13). why God would use these remarkably wicked people to flourish at the expense of the people of God. All of this is too much for the prophet to understand.