One theme that becomes impossible to miss as we read the Old Testament is that God is not merely reacting to history. The biblical authors refuse to let us imagine a God who simply responds to human wickedness as events unfold. Instead, they consistently present God as the sovereign Lord who rules over history itself.
At times, the prophets reveal this in ways that are frankly shocking and uncomfortable. It would be much easier to picture God merely responding to the evil of Assyria or Babylon. But Scripture does not give us that option.
In Isaiah, God calls Assyria “the rod of my anger” and says, “the staff in their hands is my fury” (Isa. 10:5). Yet Isaiah is equally clear that this does not excuse Assyria. God declares, “When the Lord has finished all his work on Mount Zion and on Jerusalem, he will punish the speech of the arrogant heart of the king of Assyria” (Isa. 10:12). Nor was Assyria consciously carrying out God’s will. Quite the opposite. Isaiah says, “He does not so intend, and his heart does not so think; but it is in his heart to destroy” (Isa. 10:7). Assyria acts from its own evil desires and is fully responsible for its wickedness, even as God sovereignly uses its actions to accomplish his purposes.
The same truth appears in the Babylonian conquest of Jerusalem. Many of the prophets emphasize this, but perhaps nowhere more dramatically than in Habakkuk. The book is essentially the prophet’s plea for God to explain how such a catastrophe could happen.
Habakkuk cries out, “O LORD, how long shall I cry for help, and you will not hear?” (Hab. 1:2). God’s answer is startling: “Behold, I am raising up the Chaldeans, that bitter and hasty nation” (Hab. 1:6).
Habakkuk is stunned. “Why do you idly look at traitors and remain silent when the wicked swallows up the man more righteous than he?” (Hab. 1:13).
God’s answer is not that Babylon is innocent. On the contrary, Babylon too will be judged. “Behold, his soul is puffed up; it is not upright within him, but the righteous shall live by his faith” (Hab. 2:4). God’s justice will come in his own time, but the righteous must trust him while they wait.
The book concludes with one of the most remarkable expressions of faith in all of Scripture:
Though the fig tree should not blossom,
nor fruit be on the vines…
yet I will rejoice in the LORD;
I will take joy in the God of my salvation.
(Hab. 3:17–18)
This same theme continues into the New Testament. At Pentecost, Peter explains Jesus’ crucifixion not primarily by pointing to Judas, the Jewish leaders, or the Roman authorities, wicked though they were. Instead, he declares that Jesus was “delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God” (Acts 2:23). The very greatest evil ever committed was simultaneously the fulfillment of God’s sovereign plan of redemption.
From beginning to end, the Bible presents a God who is not scrambling to respond to history but directing it. As Paul says, God “works all things according to the counsel of his will” (Eph. 1:11).
That truth is meant to comfort those who believe in God. Only a God who is sovereign over history can guarantee that all things will work “for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” (Romans 8:28). Because of God’s sovereignty over history, we can trust that our lives are not governed by chance, by fate, or by the whims of wicked rulers. Jesus assures us that not even a sparrow falls to the ground apart from our Father’s will, and even the hairs of our heads are all numbered (Matt. 10:29–30). We are not in control of history; the God who loves us is. And thank God for that.