Verse 3
Habakkuk wanted to know why Yahweh allowed the iniquity and wickedness that he had to observe every day to continue in Judah. Destruction, ethical wrong, strife, and contention were not only common, but they were increasing. Yet Yahweh did nothing about the situation.
"Violence" (Heb. hamas) occurs six times in Habakkuk (Habakkuk 1:2-3; Habakkuk 1:9; Habakkuk 2:8; Habakkuk 2:17 [twice]), an unusually large number of times for such a short book. The Hebrew word means more than just physical brutality. It refers to flagrant violation of moral law by which someone injures his fellowman (e.g., Genesis 6:11). It is ethical wrong, and physical violence is only one manifestation of it. By piling up synonyms for injustice, Habakkuk stressed the severity of the oppression.
"This is not an instance of the earthen vessel finding fault with the potter who made it-an attitude rebuked by Isaiah and Paul. It is to the one who answers back in unbelief that Paul says, ’Who indeed are you . . . to argue with God?’ (Romans 9:20). But there are others who answer back in faith; their words, when they do so, are the expression of their loyalty to God." [Note: Ibid., p. 844.]
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