A prophet argues with God about why evil wins — and ends up singing anyway.
Habakkuk opens with a lament to God: how long will violence and injustice within Judah go unanswered? God's shocking response is that He is raising up the Chaldeans (Babylonians) as His instrument of judgment. The prophet protests again—how can a holy God use a nation even more wicked than Judah to execute justice?
Written in the late 7th century BC, likely during the reign of Jehoiakim (609-598 BC), after Josiah's reforms had failed to produce lasting change. The Babylonian rise to power following the Battle of Carchemish (605 BC) provides the geopolitical backdrop.
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