- In Habakkuk’s day, Jerusalem was about to be pummeled. Their feelings, their sense of self, had gotten in the way of following God’s unchanging character and standards.
Studying Habakkuk this morning with a group of guys, I ran across this line: “So the law is paralyzed…justice goes forth perverted.”
The “law,” of course, refers to the Torah or the laws of Moses. On paper, so to speak, they seem to be just fine. But the people administering those laws have more than a few problems with their own lives, most notably a lack of love and respect for the Giver of the Law.
If anyone has been to a developing country, one of the things that is quickly noticeable, particularly in urban areas, is the lack of a strong sense of the “rule of law.” When you return to America, even if you were complaining about the country as you left it, you are very grateful to be back where the rule of law is still formidable…although getting shakier every day (particularly if the 24/7 news cycle looms large in your life!)
Perverted justice is different than no justice. The stated law is there, the courts are in motion, the lawyers are doing their thing, the gavel slams down with vehemence. But in a faltering culture the laws, the courts, the lawyers and the judge begin to slip towards serving the powerful, the rich, the loud, and the unrighteously persistent.
In this context, the righteous and those hungering and thirsting for justice grow weary, because what should be obvious becomes obfuscated. Philosopher Frederick Copleston was once engaged in a debate with Bertrand Russell. At a certain point in their discussion, Copleston asked Russell how he differentiated between right and wrong. Irritated, the atheist replied he did so the same way he differentiated between blue and green. Copleston countered, Those are colors, and those you differentiate with sight. I am talking about morality. So, again, how do you differentiate between right and wrong?
Russell said – by feelings.
And there, increasingly, you have the American culture in a nutshell. From certain judges on the Supreme Court to powerful corporations to the classrooms of this nation, more and more weight is given to feelings over facts.
In Habakkuk’s day, Jerusalem was about to be pummeled. Their feelings, their sense of self, had gotten in the way of following God’s unchanging character and standards. And now, judgment.
Like other prophets before him, Habakkuk was tasked with proclaiming the coming disaster. Feelings and self, lifted high above God and His law and grace, will bring a nation to spiritual, moral, intellectual, and economic catastrophe. Some say that this paralyzing of the law has begun in the West and is rising in America, in particular. But this moment in our history is not merely a moment but the result of a movement of perversion across decades.
Preparing for America’s 250th birthday, it would be wise to revisit the prophetic books of Scripture, discern what went wrong with Israel and Judah, and consider what we should be doing to prevent a similar course of events here. Reading Habakkuk and other prophets, one thing is sure…
God does not play.
Matt Friedeman
