"Thou art of purer eyes than to behold evil, and canst not look on iniquity: wherefore lookest thou upon them that deal treacherously, and holdest thy tongue when the wicked devoureth the man that is more righteous than he?"
Habakkuk 1:13
In this chapter, Habakkuk the prophet is having a conversation with the LORD. Here he is asking questions about the soon coming judgment of God, through the Chaldeans (Babylonians). At one time these were friends of Israel, but now they are fearful enemies. Part of Habakkuk’s dilemma is that even though his people Israel, are wicked, God is sending the Chaldeans to judge them, and these people are so much more corrupt than Israel ever was. How can God use evil to punish evil? Habakkuk knows well the character of God; He is pure. God is holy, and there is no hint of sin in Him. This is why he is puzzled over God’s plans. How can this pure God, watch these sinners and those who are “dealing treacherously” (deceitfully)?
He has a good point. God hates all sin. Even we, as human beings, will not look at sickening sights, but we turn away from them. So God in His holiness looks away from man’s sin. See how the psalmist describes the response of this sinful world when holy God looks upon it: “He looketh on the earth, and it trembleth: he toucheth the hills, and they smoke,” (Psalm 104:32). All God need do is to look at His creation, and it trembles in awe of His majesty and power. But He does not want to look on sin.
Back to Habakkuk’s issue, if God looks upon evil, He must destroy it, right? Then how can our holy God look at sinful people and not kill us? These thoughts immediately come to mind:
God is merciful. He gives mercy to mankind.
All through the Old Testament history of the Children of Israel, God’s mercy stands out in His treatment of them. “They [Israel] refused to obey and were not mindful of the wonders that you [God] performed among them, but they stiffened their neck and appointed a leader to return to their slavery in Egypt. But you are a God ready to forgive, gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, and did not forsake them,” (Nehemiah 9:17, ESV).
God is love. He loves the people His Son died to save.
When God spoke to Israel about caring for “strangers,” the “stranger” was a person that was a foreigner to Israel and who didn’t know the God of Israel. What was God’s thoughts about strangers? “For the LORD your God is God of gods, and Lord of lords, a great God, a mighty, and a terrible, which regardeth not persons, nor taketh reward: He doth execute the judgment of the fatherless and widow, and loveth the stranger, in giving him food and raiment,” (Deuteronomy 10:17-18). God cared for those who did not know Him.
God is long-suffering. He is so very patient with people.
“But thou, O Lord, art a God full of compassion, and gracious, longsuffering, and plenteous in mercy and truth,” (Psalm 86:15).
Jesus, God’s holy Son, came to earth, put on a robe of human flesh, lived a perfectly sinless life among sinners. He gave His life for sinners on the Cross of Calvary. Jesus shed His blood to pay our sin debt. He returned to glory, sprinkled His own blood on the mercy seat, and then sat down at the right hand of His Father; the sacrifice for sin being completed by the Son and accepted by the Father. This pure and sinless God offers all sinners salvation from their sin. In the believing heart, the Holy Spirit begins the work of progressive sanctification, conforming us to the “image of the Son,” (Romans 8:29).
Oh! to be like Thee, oh! to be like Thee,
Blessed Redeemer, pure as Thou art;
Come in Thy sweetness, come in Thy fullness;
Stamp Thine own image deep on my heart.
I have learned in today’s verse that My God is Pure!
1. “Oh, To Be Like Thee,” text by Thomas O. Chisholm, music by William J. Kirkpatrick, in 1897. Copywrite status, public domain.