I: The burden which Habakkuk the prophet did see.

In which the old man travels to Minnesota in the winter of 1861 and is overtaken by a storm.

II: How long, O Lord?

In which the old man has an audience with a Dakota chief who is concerned for the fate of his people; theological questions are introduced; the old man receives a vision of coming destruction; the old man challenges God.

III: I will stand upon my watch.

In which the chief invites the old man to spend the winter with his village, teaching them from the Scripture; the old man agrees, and resolves to continue his challenge to God until a more favorable answer is received.

IV: That he may run who readeth it.

In which the old man is waylaid by a mysterious cavalryman; theological matters are discussed; the Eucharist is prepared and shared; the old man is pressed into service as a witness to the fulfillment of his vision.

V: Woe!

In which the town of Redwood Ferry is destroyed by frustrated Dakotas; the five “woes” of Habakkuk are seen in a new and terrible context; the old man lifts his voice against God in defiance; theodicy is discussed; the angel rebukes the old man; bloodshed.

Selah

In which the old man returns East in a state of madness and confusion; the old man is comforted by a strange physician.

VI: Let the earth keep silence before him.

In which the old man regains his sanity; the old man visits the ruins of the church where he ministered as a young man; the old man delivers a sermon to no one; biblical solutions to the problem of theodicy are humbly offered; the old man resolves to humility.

VII: The everlasting mountains were scattered.

In which the old man travels to Chattanooga, Tennessee in the late fall of 1863; the old man reunites with a fellow northerner and abolitionist behind Confederate lines; the morality of slavery is discussed with a Confederate artillery crew; the old man witnesses the Battle of Missionary Ridge from far too close a vantage; the old man works as a battlefield chaplain in the aftermath; a young soldier is converted and baptized; a soul departs to an unknown fate.

VIII: Although the fig tree shall not blossom.

In which the old man returns to Minnesota in the spring of 1864; the old man searches for the village of Thunder Voice, but does not find it; the old man weeps alone for all he has seen; he commits his soul to God; a final mercy; now he waits.

Benediction

Epilogue

A brief review of theological and historical themes.