WHEN

It has been my practice to balance my preaching with books of the Bible and thematic messages. I go back and forth from one to the other. When I do Bible books, I also alternate between Old and New Testament books. This is the first time in my 41 years of life and 15 years of pastoral ministry, that I have preached through the entire book of Habakkuk. I have done a message here and there, but never throught the book. That does not seem too difficult because Habakkuk is only 3 chapters long. However, it is a challenge to take a little known book, full of history that we do not relate to today and demonstrate that it does relate to us; even making an impact on how we live each day. I am depending on the Spirit of God to do that.

WHEN?
Habakkuk 1:1-11

Don’t open your Bibles yet this morning. Let’s begin with a little quiz to get our minds awake and alert:

1. How do you spell Huh-back-cuck? [this is the pronunciation]
a. Huhbackcuck
b. Habbakkuk
c. Habakkuk
d. Habbakuk
The correct answer is C

2. Who was Habakkuk?
a. A priest
b. A prophet
c. A king
d. A bum hanging out on the streets of Jerusalem
The correct answer is B

3. What does Habakkuk’s name mean?
a. Peaceful one
b. To wrestle
c. Lover of God
d. I have a bad back
The correct answer is B (to wrestle or embrace)

4. Where is Habakkuk located in the Bible?
a. Just before Zephaniah
b. Just before Haggai
c. Just after Daniel
d. It’s not in the Bible, but in the Apocrypha
The correct answer is A

5. How many chapters are there in Habakkuk?
a. 303
b. 23
c. 13
d. 03
The correct answer is D

6. What was going on in the Northern Kingdom of Israel when Habakkuk prophesied?
a. Israel was experiencing a time of peace and prosperity
b. Israel had a revival and was turning back to God
c. Israel was headed toward captivity very soon
d. Israel was already in captivity by the Assyrians
The correct answer is D

7. What was going on in the Southern Kingdom of Judah when Habakkuk prophesied?
a. Judah was headed toward captivity very soon
b. Judah was having a party
c. Judah was in captivity in Babylon
d. Judah was experiencing spiritual revival
The correct answer is A

8. Why should we study the book of Habbakkuk?
a. Nothing better to do
b. It’s better than studying Leviticus
c. It is the inspired Word of God and profitable for our lives
d. We shouldn’t
The correct answer is C – (surprised?)

Please turn in your Bible to Habakkuk, chapter 1. In the Bible in front of you, it is on page 810 or 826.
Legend has it that a man was lost in the desert, just dying for a drink of water. He stumbled upon an old shack – a ramshackled, windowless, roofless, weatherbeaten old shack. He looked about this place and found a little shade from the heat of the desert sun. As he glanced around he saw a pump about fifteen feet away – an old, rusty water pump. He stumbled over to it, grabbed the handle, and began to pump up and down, up and down. Nothing came out.
Disappointed, he staggered back. He noticed off to the side an old jug. He looked at it, wiped away the dirt and dust, and read a message that said, “You have to prime the pump with all the water in this jug, my friend. P.S.: Be sure you fill the jug again before you leave.”
He popped the cork out of the jug and sure enough, it was almost full of water! Suddenly, he was faced with a decision. If he drank the water, he could live. Ah, but if he poured all the water in the old rusty pump, maybe it would yield fresh, cool water from down deep in the well, all the water he wanted.

He studied the possibility of both options. What should he do, put it into the old pump and take a chance on fresh, cool water or drink what was in the old jug and ignore its message? Should he waste all the water on the hopes of those flimsy instructions written, no telling how long ago?
Reluctantly he poured all the water into the pump.Then he grabbed the handle and began to pump, squeak, squeak, squeak. Still nothing came out! Squeak, squeak, squeak. A little bit began to dribble out, then a small stream, and finally it gushed! To his relief fresh, cool water poured out of the rusty pump. Eagerly, he filled the jug and drank from it. He filled it another time and once again drank its refreshing contents.

Then he filled the jug of the next traveler. He filled it to the top, popped the cork back on, and added this little note: “Believe me, it really works. You have to give it all away before you can get anything back.”

This legend is a story about faith. Do you go after and only trust in what you can see, or do you believe in the message that is written, the truth of which you cannot yet see? This scenario is played out daily in our lives. We are asked to trust in a God whom we cannot see; and believe in His Word, when we do not know exactly what will happen. This is the theme, I believe, of the little book we are about to journey through together: LIVING BY FAITH.
My hope is that, from our study of Habakkuk, your faith will be strengthened to the place where you will have no problem pouring all of your water into the pump, because you believe the message; and more importantly, you believe in the One who wrote the message. Let’s begin with the first chapter and verse of Habakkuk:

Habakkuk 1:1 – “The oracle that Habakkuk the prophet saw.”
An oracle is a word from God. In this case it was first given to a prophet. A prophet was one who received the Word of God and then passed it on to others. Habakkuk is the name of this prophet and this is what he received from God. He saw it. He received this as a vision from God, and experienced it to some extent as well. He then wrote down what he saw and it is passed along to us today.

I don’t know how well you did on our opening quiz on Habakkuk. I don’t know if you have ever read it or heard messages from it or used it for your devotions. It is most likely that you are not very familiar with this book and there are good reasons for that. But, I want to challenge you to remember a truth that can motivate us, not only to learn about this prophecy from Habakkuk, but to apply it to everyday life.

II Timothy 3:16,17 – “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work.”

All Scripture, including Habakkuk, is profitable for us. God assures us that this book can help us live lives that honor Him. Habakkuk can help us become more mature in Christ, better prepared to serve Him more faithfully. If you believe this is true, then let’s enter this book of Habakkuk with a sense of anticipation for what God wants us to learn, not just in our heads, but our hearts: truth that can transform our lives!

We are not going to be able to understand this Word from God unless we know some of the background of this prophet and what was going on at the time of his prophecy. Habakkuk lived and served God over 600 years before Jesus Christ was born. He was a contemporary of Nahum, Jeremiah and Zephaniah, who also were prophets and wrote concerning the coming captivity of Judah.

At the end of King Solomon’s reign, Israel was divided into 2 kingdoms: The Northern Kingdom, called Israel; and the Southern Kingdom, called Judah. Judah’s capital and key city was Jerusalem. After Israel was taken captive by Assyria in 722 B.C., the emphasis of the prophets was now centered on the Southern Kingdom, Judah, and its future judgment. This is what Habakkuk is writing about.

Unlike many of the prophecies, Habakkuk does not speak directly to the people of Judah; but instead, has a conversation with God Himself. And Habakkuk, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, is able to speak frankly to God about what he is seeing, and is able to ask God a question: WHEN? Look with me at:

Habakkuk 1:2-4 – “O LORD, how long shall I cry for help, and you will not hear? Or cry to you ‘violence!’ and you will not save? Why do you make me see iniquity, and why do you idly look at wrong? Destruction and violence are before me; strife and contention arise. So the law is paralyzed, and justice never goes forth. For the wicked surround the righteous; so justice goes forth perverted.”
His basic question is this: WHEN ARE YOU GOING TO BRING TRUE JUSTICE?

Habakkuk was not necessarily judging God for his inaction, but was honestly searching for answers as a set apart prophet of God. Why was this such a concern for Habakkuk? Before Habakkuk came on the scene, Judah had gone through the rule of a wicked king named Manasseh. Unger’s Bible Dictionary describes his reign: “Ascending the throne at the early age of twelve…he yielded to the influence of the idolatrous…party, and became in time a determined and even fanatical idolater; and as he grew up took delight in introducing into his kingdom to the superstitions of every heathen country. The high places were restored, the groves replanted, the altars of Baal and Astarte rebuilt, and the sun, moon, and all the host of heaven were worshipped…”

The first two commandments that God had given His people were disregarded and disobeyed by the King himself, leading the rest of His people into idolatry. Later, King Josiah came into rule, around 641 B.C. He was only 8 years old when he took reign. According to the same resource: “In the eighth year of his reign he began to seek after the God of David his father, and manifested that enmity to idolatry in all its forms which distinguished his character and reign…so strong was his detestation of idolatry that he ransacked the sepulchers of the idolatrous priests of former days and burned their bones upon the idol altars, before they were over-thrown.”

That doesn’t sound too bad, does it? The problem is that, at the end of King Josiah’s reign, the people reverted back to their old, idolatrous ways. The revival under Josiah had soon been forgotten. Violence was rampant once again and no one seemed to care what was taking place in their nation. Habakkuk was seeing all of this evil taking place once again, and it gets to the point, where he “can’t take it anymore”.

Habakkuk 1:2,3 – “O LORD, how long shall I cry for help, and you will not hear? Or cry to you ‘violence!’ and you will not save? Why do you make me see iniquity, and why do you idly look at wrong? Destruction and violence are before me; strife and contention arise.”

Do you know the urgency of this situation? It would not be different than someone who is in desperate need of help and feels like no one is listening. In August of this past year, police in St. Paul, Minnesota reported that witnesses ignored a woman’s cries for help. A security video from an apartment hallway shows at least 10 witnesses ignored a woman’s cries for help for more than an hour as a man beat and sexually assaulted her. The video tape shows one person looking out of her door probably three times. It shows another person walking up, observing what’s going on, then turning and putting up the hood of his sweatshirt.

Imagine the feeling of being attacked, crying for help and people who hear you don’t respond. It was this sense of desperation that caused the prophet Habakkuk to cry out continually: God, help us. God, help me. There is sin all around – there is all kinds of injustice and we are being spiritually destroyed. We need you. I need you. Where are you? When are you going to answer me? And now, Habakkuk details why he is so frustrated – he lists the conditions concerning which he is asking God to respond to.

Habakkuk uses four key words here to describe the sinful state of the nation of Judah at that time: “violence”, “iniquity” (injustice), “wrong” (trouble) and “destruction” (plundering). According to commentator Richard Patterson, these words “depict a society that is characterized by malicious wickedness, deceitful iniquity – both moral and spiritual, oppressive behavior toward others, and the general spiritual and ethical havoc that exist where such sin abounds”. The result?

Habakkuk 1:4 – “So the law is paralyzed, and justice never goes forth. For the wicked surround the righteous; so justice goes forth perverted.”

Since these types of sins were abounding in Judah, there was a plague of injustice that Habakkuk recognized clearly. He describes it in two ways here in verse 4: God’s law was paralyzed, not in operation, because of the condition of people’s hearts. So, true justice simply did not happen. Secondly, those opposed to God’s ways were then in control, not allowing those in line with God to have any influence. So, any justice there was ended up a perversion of the truth.

In January of last year, Saddam Hussein was hanged for the killing of 148 Shiite men and boys in 1982. There would be many illustrations of the perversion of justice and wickedness in the life of Hussein. One example comes from 1979, when at the age of 42, he became president of Iraq and moved to eliminate all opposition. According to Newsweek, “at a Baath party congress, he charged dozens of rivals with treason. One by one they were forced to leave the hall and face immediate execution. They screamed and shouted, pleaded and cried. Slightly bored, Saddam sat behind a desk on the stage sipping a glass of water and smoking Cuban cigars. Then he had a video of the meeting distributed throughout the Arab world to show what happened to anyone who might even think about challenging his rule.”

This is great perversion of justice, and it is exactly the kind of thing Habakkuk was crying out about. God, you have got to do something about this! You are the just God; and you are allowing your people to be unjust – all the time. When are you going to do something? Can you feel his pain? Think of all the injustices you have heard about in our world – across the seas, in your work place, in the church, in your family, at school, in government and in our court systems. I’m sure we could talk for hours about the perversion of justice we have heard about. Multiply that times 10 and you might be where Habakkuk was: crying out in desperation for God to do something.

It seems that Habakkuk had been crying out for some time, perhaps years. And, up until then, it did not seem that God had done anything about the corrupt justice system and the sins of the people of Judah. When would God act? It seems like forever since things were right. Habakkuk was probably discouraged and frustrated as he uttered these words. God’s inaction seemed, from Habakkuk’s viewpoint, that God was not listening.

David wrote in:

Psalm 13:1,2 – “How long, O LORD? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me? How long must I take counsel in my soul and have sorrow in my heart all the day?..

King David cried out to God, when, because of his present circumstances, it seemed as if God had forgotten him and was no longer listening. He was left to crying himself to sleep at night. Habakkuk felt the same frustration.

SO WHAT ABOUT YOU? Let me make a couple of applications right here:
· Feel free to cry out to God with real emotion
One of the great things about the example of Habakkuk, King David and many others, is that God allowed and did not punish those who would cry out to Him, including expressing emotions of fear, anger and disappointment with God. No matter what your circumstances, God expects you to be real with Him. Don’t hide your feelings. Express them to the only one who can handle them fully, who can understand them, and who can help you see things clearly.

Secondly:
· Expect injustice in our sinful world
Until Christ returns, there will be plenty of injustice here. You can obsess over it and spend your lifetime trying to rid the world of injustice. But, it will still remain. Knowing it is here can help us turn to the only one who can help us deal with it, and the only one who can cure it.

In answer to his questions, Habakkuk writes God’s response to Him, beginning in:

Habakkuk 1:5 – “Look among the nations, and see; wonder and be astounded. For I am doing a work in your days that you would not believe if told.”

God has now begun to answer. Habakkuk has been waiting…and waiting…and waiting…and now God is speaking. He tells Habakkuk, who will then in turn tell the people of Judah: “Get ready for me to act in a way you will not believe. You will be amazed!” God indicates that He is about to do something about what Habakkuk has been praying: what will he do about the sin problems that are infecting our people? But, his answer is not what Habakkuk expected, and certainly not what the people of Judah would expect.

Habakkuk 1:6,7 – “For behold, I am raising up the Chaldeans, that bitter and hasty nation, who march through the breadth of the earth, to seize dwellings not their own. They are dreaded and fearsome; their justice and dignity go forth from themselves.”

God’s answer to Habakkuk’s question of “when” is that He would do something very soon. It turned out to be about 20 years from this moment, when the Chaldeans took Judah, the Southern Kingdom of Israel captive. The Chaldeans had taken Babylon for themselves by 626 B.C. Within the next 20 years, they had taken all of Babylon. It would be in 586 B.C. that Babylon would capture all of Judah and take her captive.

The Chaldeans (or Babylonians) were known as cruel, never getting tired of destroying someone else. They had no problem looting and seizing anything for themselves. They were feared. Think of how the Giant Goliath was feared by everyone the Philistines faced, including Israel. He was dreaded, and so was the Chaldean army. Using the terms justice and dignity here in verse 7 does not mean they had any, but it means they were a law unto themselves. They made their own decisions and it wasn’t necessarily for anyone’s benefit except their own.

SO WHAT ABOUT GOD?
· He is in control (I am doing a work)
In a circumstance where Habakkuk thought God might have forgotten about His people, He reassures Habakkuk that He does know what He is doing.
· He will act as He chooses (I am raising up the Chaldeans)
You mean the evil people just described in verses 6,7? Yes!

This reminds me of the biblical story of Pharoah in Egypt. When He was enslaving God’s people and putting them under heavy burdens, you might wonder why God would allow Him to remain in rule. Not only did he allow him to rule, he purposely put him there! This was God’s Word to Pharoah:

Exodus 9:16 – “But for this purpose I have raised you up, to show you my power, so that my name may be proclaimed in all the earth.”

God raised up Pharoah, so that even though he would do evil things, it would eventually show God’s power and bring glory to Him. God now raised up the Chaldeans, although a sinful people, to bring glory to God by judging His sinful people Judah. I know this is very difficult to comprehend; but we simply cannot fully understand the mind of God; but we can trust Him by faith.

God then uses figures of speech to describe what the Chaldeans are like in battle.

Habakkuk 1:8– “Their horses are swifter than leopards, more fierce than the evening wolves; their horsemen press proudly on. Their horsemen come from afar; they fly like an eagle swift to devour.”

They can cover large distances in a small amount of time and bring quick devastation.

Habakkuk 1:9-11 – “They all come for violence, all their faces forward. They gather captives like sand. At kings they scoff, and at rulers they laugh. They laugh at every fortress, for they pile up earth and take it. Then they sweep by like the wind and go on, guilty men, whose own might is their god!”

Isn’t it interesting that God points out that the Chaldeans were known for their violence; and that is one of the defining characteristics that Judah has displayed (verse 2)? You have acted in violence, and now you are going to be the recipients of it yourselves. God makes it clear that He has been seeing what has been going on in the sinfulness of His people; and He is getting ready to act. These verses say it is impossible to count the number of prisoners the Chaldeans have taken. They laugh at their enemies and their attempts to fortify themselves, because they are able to defeat anyone and destroy any barrier. They come in, destroy and go their own way.

Commentators Walvoord and Zuck said: “They poured derision on the strongholds which their victims considered impregnable. They simply built earthen ramps against the walls of cities built on mounds, and raced up those ramps, attacked the cities easily, and seized the fortified strongholds.”

“It was their custom to exhibit captive rulers as public spectacles. Their brutality is seen in the way they treated Zedekiah after Jerusalem fell. They killed his sons before his eyes and then, with that awesome sight burned into his memory, they put out his eyes, bound him in shackles, and took him prisoner to Babylon.” (II Kings 25:7)

And then God describes these men: they are guilty (sinful) and they do not trust in the one true God. In fact, they trust in their own might. This was the very ungodly characteristic that God’s people, Judah, had taken on. They had begun to trust in their own wisdom and power. Foolish mistake. And now, a fierce Babylonian army, that did not honor God at all would be the ones to come and judge Judah.

SO WHAT ABOUT GOD?
· He will bring justice, in His time and in His way

A theme of Habakkuk is living by faith. This is what it is all about. Not seeing what God is going to do…Not knowing when He is going to it…not knowing how He is going to do it…and maybe not even understanding why He would do it a certain way. But, this is what God’s people have had to deal with since the beginning. God is God. He is loving and He is just. He will judge sin; but He may not do what you want, when you want Him to do it or how you want Him to do it. Will you trust Him anyway?

SO WHAT ABOUT US?
· Trust God’s justice

How do we do that? I think it begins with God’s Word. We read about His justice, how He has carried it out in the past and how He will carry it out in the future. We see that this just God is also loving, full of grace and abounding mercy. In fact, we should probably also point out that the only times we want to see God’s justice is when it has to do with someone else’s sin – right? We don’t really want His complete justice to be carried out on us – why? Because if He judged according to what I deserve, I would be dead – and so would you! Part of trusting God’s justice is praising Him for His great forgiveness and mercy. These are also a part of our just God’s character.

And then we apply this truth of God’s justice, this knowledge, to our circumstances. It would not be too difficult to apply this feeling of frustration to our own country – the United States of America. We can read on our currency: In God We Trust, and yet look at a nation that seems to trust only in itself. We are not willing to acknowledge God in public life. It is too offensive, controversial – so we ignore Him.

We could list hundreds of sinful actions our nation has taken – actions that do not honor God, but oppose Him and His ways. We love our country, but we are sick of the sin that surrounds us. If we trust God’s justice, then we know He will judge the sins of our nation and its people in His time and in His way. We pray, of course, for a revival instead. That the hearts of her people would be turned to Him, which would radically change the direction of our nation and our worship of God.

Has someone hurt you deeply? Has someone sinned against you? Don’t take revenge. In fact, instead of taking out your own justice, we are to demonstrate love as we trust in God’s justice:

Romans 12:19-21 – “Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord. To the contrary, if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink…Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.”

You see: when you are trusting God’s justice, then you know He will take care of the person who hurt you. At the same time, your responsibility is not to stand there and say: “God’s going to get you”, but to do the unthinkable: love that person with kindness just as Christ loved you when you didn’t deserve it.

When you get upset over abortion or a court case or another nation that abuses the United States; or someone is sinning within your own family, you can trust the justice of God. That allows you to have patience, love and self-control, even in the midst of it. Habakkuk cried out…he waited…and eventually…God answered. He will do the same for you.

A defendant was on trial for murder in Oklahoma. There was strong evidence indicating guilt, but there was no corpse. In the defense’s closing statement the lawyer, knowing that his client would probably be convicted, resorted to a trick. "Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, I have a surprise for you all," the lawyer said as he looked at his watch. "Within one minute, the person presumed dead in this case will walk into this courtroom." He looked toward the courtroom door. The jurors, somewhat stunned, all looked on eagerly. A minute passed. Nothing happened.

Finally the lawyer said, "Actually, I made up the previous statement. But you all looked on with anticipation. I, therefore, put it to you that there is reasonable doubt in this case as to whether anyone was killed and insist that you return a verdict of not guilty." The jury, clearly confused, retired to deliberate. A few minutes later, the jury returned and pronounced a verdict of guilty. "But how?" inquired the lawyer. "You must have had some doubt; I saw all of you stare at the door." Answered the jury foreman: "Oh, we did look. But your client didn’t."

That man, of course, knew the truth. The person could not walk through the door, because he was dead. And the defendant knew he was dead because he had killed him. It is with the same assurance that we can handle the injustices in today’s world. Even if everyone around us is looking at that door, with confusion, with doubt, with unbelief, we can look straight ahead because we know the truth: God is in control, even in the midst of injustice.

And when the whole world thinks they need to be in control of injustice, we know the truth: God is. And when the whole world thinks fate is in control of injustice, we know the truth: God is. And when we are experiencing injustice, we do not need to doubt who allowed it, who knows about it, and who will take care of it in His time and in His way: God will.

Let’s bow our heads and take some for private prayer.

PRAY silently. Praise God for His character, including His justice. Thank God for His mercy, that He doesn’t give you the immediate justice you deserve. Thank Him that He will judge rightly when it is time. Go ahead and spend a moment in praise.

Keep PRAYING. Go ahead and list the injustices you are facing. Go ahead and tell God what you think about these injustices in the world and in your life. Ask Him to answer and to deal with it. I will give you some time to do that.

Now, continue PRAYING. Tell God whether or not you will trust Him in the meantime. Ask God what it is He wants you to do while you await His justice.