Habakkuk 1:12-13

12 Are You not from everlasting, O Lord my God, my Holy One? We shall not die. O Lord, You have appointed them for judgment; O Rock, You have marked them for correction. 13 You are of purer eyes than to behold evil, And cannot look on wickedness. Why do You look on those who deal treacherously, And hold Your tongue when the wicked devours A person more righteous than he?

 

Devotional

In this passages context Habakkuk appeals to the Lord, not to look with complacency on the wickedness of the Babylonians, whom the Lord had appointed to judge His people for their sins (KJ commentary). But were very cruel in their dealings with God's people, and so they like those before them, and after them, always triumph in their mortal power until God the Maker takes it all away! And so Hezekiah's frustration at seeing the wicked prosper for a season does not mean that God has forgotten, or will forget their deeds, but He will repay them in His own time (consider Psalm 94:1-23).  

Now the phrase:

"You are of purer eyes than to behold evil,
And cannot look on wickedness"

Indicates that God cannot look on evil or wickedness with any sort of indifference. For God is a God of truth and justice (Deut 32:4; Psalm 89:4). Therefore He must judge sin, whether in His own people's lives or anyone elses (consider Exodus 24:5-8 then read Num 14:11-38 if you know the context, if not go back and read the whole sad legacy of Israel refusing to enter the promised land, or just see Ezek 18:4). Yet as the Scripture also reveals, God is God of mercy who willingly extends mercy to everyone who humbles themselves and now seeks Him for it through Christ (consider Matt 9:9-13). For God has a provided a means by which He can now both serve His justice and extend His mercy to everyone who repents and believes; who looks too Jesus Christ crucified for their sins remission. For it is only by Jesus Christ's crucifixion death, and thus Jesus being our Substitute in suffering for our sins to death, that God can now look on and receive us all who believe in Him (Heb 9:22). Thus it is only by the Lord Jesus Christ's first atoning for all our sins, that God now looks on us all with eyes of grace (John 1:17). For God in having provided the finial and most Perfect sacrifice for all our sins, now looks for and longs for us all to be reconciled to Himself. Therefore when anyone believes in the Lord Jesus Christ's Person and calls on His Name, they will be saved from His just and holy wrath against their sins, and be brought into an everlasting relationship with Himself (John 3:16; 11:25-26; 14:6). For it is by Jesus Christ's crucifixion death, then resurrection from the dead, by which God can now impute Jesus Christ's own Righteousness to us all who believe, and in so doing, make us right (i.e. justified) in His own sight.

If you have never understood your own sinful condition (Rom 3:23) and separation from God (Isaiah 59:2) and thus in your needing a Savior to come and save you from your sins and the wrath to come. Understand and know this, that God loves you and He sent His Son Jesus to suffer and die in your place, so that God might redeem you from your sins and death and bring you into the Kingdom of heaven giving you everlasting life with Himself the moment you believe. For there is nothing that you and I can do to atone for our own sins; neither charitable deeds, nor generous giving, nor sacrificial living,  nor prayers can make atone for what we are, and what we have done. Only Jesus Christ can and has. Therefore I urge you, be reconciled to God! Put your faith (i.e. complete trust) in the Lord Jesus Christ's Person and sacrificial atonement on the cross for all our sins. "For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him." 2 Cor 5:21

Scripture Quotations
The New King James Version. Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1982