Numbers 11:1 - "And the people complained in the hearing of the LORD about their misfortunes, and when the LORD heard it, his anger was kindled, and the fire of the LORD bured among them and consumed some outlying parts of the camp."
Numbers 11:4-6 - "Now the rabble that was among them had a strong craving. And the people of Israel also wept again and said, Oh that we had meat to eat! We remember the fish we ate in Egypt that cost nothing, the cucumbers, the melons, the leeks, the onions, and the garlic. But now our strength is dried up, and there is nothing at all bu this manna to look at."
At first reading, this justs seems incredible to me. How in the world could the people of Israel complain about anything? God had miraculously brought them out of bondage in Egypt, parted the Red Sea, bringing them safely across on dry land, before bringing the waters down on the Egyptians. He has provided everything that they need. And yet, they were complaining. Not only were they complaining, but they were acting as though what they had back in Egypt was "the good life" and they wish they could go back there. To captivity! This seems insane. They were ungrateful for what God had done. They certainly did not deserve His kindness.
But, it doesn't take long to realize that this is just like me. God also, through His Son, Jesus Christ, brought me out of bondage, spiritual bondage, and gave me new life. And yet, how often I complain about the fact that things are not the way I wish them to be; and at times, when I sin, I act as though the sinful life, the unredeemed life, is better than what I have in Christ. That is real insanity!
May God grant me the grace to understand enough of what He has given me, so that I will always be thankful, even in the midst of unfortunate circumstances. May we all live with gratefulness in our hearts today. And when the seed of bitterness and complaint come, may God help us to recognize it immediately, humble ourselves, and seek forgiveness.
Thursday, March 6, 2008
Tuesday, March 4, 2008
WHAT
WHAT?
Habakkuk 2:2-17
This message can also be listened to online at www.gbcwestlake.org
Please turn in your Bible to Habakkuk 2.
When I was in elementary school, my good friend Tim slipped and fell by his car. His brother accidentally ran over his arm- yes, ran over his arm with the car; and Tim landed in the hospital. I remember seeing all of the attention that Tim received from everyone, especially the girls. I remember praying, in a sense, that I would receive attention like that. He was getting gifts as well. I was actually jealous of my hospitalized friend. Well, my prayers were answered.
Up until that time, I had never really been injured or in the hospital. Then, it all started to happen. First, I was riding my bike to my grandmother’s house down a steep bumpy hill. I lost control, fell off my bike, hit my head and became unconscious. A neighbor found me in the street. That summer, at camp, I was playing baseball when it was starting to get dark, I misjudged a fly ball; and it hit my face and fractured my cheekbone.
The next year, I went snow skiing for the first time in my life and broke my leg…going up hill. If you haven’t heard this story, you can get the details from me later. So, I find myself in the hospital with a cast that covered my whole leg. Yes, I received some attention, but it wasn’t quite as great as I thought it would be. The broken leg also brought many negative things with it. There were things I could no longer enjoy. There was the unbalance of my body and the failed attempts to travel to places quickly. My leg withered up inside the cast and took a long time to heal. God “answered” my prayer, but not the way I wanted.
She prayed that God would have her whole heart, and that He would do whatever He needed to have her. Soon after that prayer, she found out her husband had struggled for years with a devastating addiction which brought incredible pain to their marriage. It was not the answer she expected from God. It was not what she wanted; but God did answer her prayer. He brought her closer to Him than she had ever been.
He prayed that God would have justice on his boss, who was unreasonable, unfair, and just plain mean. He knew if the boss was out of the way, then everything would be smoother at work and for him in general. Life would be so much better if God would just remove his boss. God answered his prayer, but not the way he expected or hoped. The company went through some downsizing. His boss was moved to another location, but the man whose prayer was answered lost his job.
You could probably plug in your own story here. There is something you desperately want to happen, and so you cry out to God about it. He eventually answers your prayer, perhaps even doing the specific thing you asked. However, the way He answers your prayer is not what you wanted. It is not the way you desired for it to happen. In fact, although your prayer was answered, God’s answer brought new pain and frustration to your life. You might conclude: God, this is not what I prayed for!
2 weeks ago, we talked about Habakkuk’s concern for the sin of God’s people in Judah; and that God decided to answer his prayer for justice by bringing the wicked Chaldeans to bring it on His people. We talked about how we might have that same concern for the sin in the United States of America. We pray for revival, but we desire for God to make things right. We were talking about this in our life group 2 Sunday nights ago.
What if…you cried out to God about the injustices you saw in our land. You listed for God several things that upset you: abortion; perversion of justice in our court system; corruption in politics; people who had cheated you; feeling overtaxed; unfairly treated at work; assaults on Christianity within our own country; and you continued to add to the list. You prayed that God would do something.
After praying for months about this, you turn on your TV to the horrific news: a nuclear device has been set off within the United States. Several foreign enemies of the US are claiming responsibility. Two entire States have been wiped out, with thousands upon thousands of dead already counted. Communication systems have broken down, and there is word that terrorists have infiltrated our government and are trying to take control.
As you process all of this, and try to get your mind around it, God speaks to you. He says: I have answered your prayers. I have judged some of the people you were most concerned about, and I have judged the United States for their sins. I have answered your prayers. How would you feel at that moment? I think you might say something like this: “But, God, this is not what I wanted you to do. You have used people who hate you, outside of the US, to judge us? These people don’t recognize you at all! I didn’t mean for people to die and for our entire national security to be put at risk. I didn’t want you to use THEM to judge us. God: WHY?”
If you can grasp in any way how that might feel, you might be on your way to understanding a little of what Habakkuk was really going through. This prophet of God had cried out to God for justice of His sinful people. God promised to answer His prayer through the more wicked people of the Chaldeans. They would come to Judah, conquer Judah, kill whom they desire, plunder what they want, and then take everyone they desire into captivity for their own service. As you might imagine, Habakkuk never wanted that, and couldn’t believe that God would answer his prayer that way.
But, that is exactly what we learned 2 weeks ago, and Habakkuk responded with his question of WHY? last week. This also lays the foundation for what God is going to say to Habakkuk, to Judah, and to us today. What are we supposed to do as God answers prayer in His way and time; when God carries out His justice His way; when things are not as we would like them to be?
We last left Habakkuk in 2:1, as he says that he would take his position at a high post on the tower and watch what God was going to do, and how God would answer. His main questions could begin with WHAT? WHAT are we supposed to do while you are doing your thing God? And WHAT are you going to do about the wicked Chaldeans whom you have chosen to be the tool of justice for your people Judah?
We have His answers beginning in verse 2 of chapter 2:
Habakkuk 2:2,3 – “And the LORD answered me: Write the vision; make it plain on tablets, so he may run who reads it. For still the vision awaits its appointed time; it hastens to the end – it will not lie. If it seems slow, wait for it; it will surely come; it will not delay.”
Again, this was a very personal prophecy. Habakkuk gave his complaints, and then God would answer Him (“the LORD answered me”). And yet, this prophecy was meant for Habakkuk to share with all of God’s people. He was to write it down so that God’s people would receive His written Word.
When God says that he was to write it down so that “he may run who reads it”, He is probably not saying that the person can outrun God’s justice; but that he would act as a herald, a person who would take an important message and proclaim it to all others who needed to hear it. Not unlike the famous cry: “The British are coming! The British are coming!, the ones who read this message were to make sure everyone else knew what the message was.
I suppose we need to ask: “What is the specific message here that needs to be heard by everyone?” God said this is a vision that will played out in time. It has not yet been fulfilled; but God was guaranteeing that it would take place. Be patient, God says; because it will happen at just the right time. What part of the vision? What message? What will take place?
In context, God is talking about this particular answer to the question, to the complaint that Habakkuk just gave. This has to do with Habakkuk’s concern that the Chaldeans (Babylonians) will never be able to be stopped; added to his concern that God is using the cruel Chaldeans to punish Judah. God is going to lay out this vision momentarily; but it has to do with His response to Habakkuk’s concern. Would He take care of the Chaldeans and their sin, at some point? Would this wicked people, opposed to God, ever be brought to justice? God says: “Be patient. It will happen. I don’t lie.” A question from this passage is:
WHAT are we supposed to do?
God says:
· Be patient
· Trust Me
If you have been here the past couple of weeks, you probably notice some consistent themes here. Habakkuk complains, God answers: What I am about to tell you about the judgment of the Chaldeans will take place; but you will have to wait; and trust.
Scholar Craigie points out: “Just as in human life, the timing of certain actions and events is of crucial importance, so it is also in the divine scheme of things…The apparent lack of divine action, which may cause faith to falter, is in reality only our inability to perceive the timing of divine action. We must try to learn Habakkuk’s lesson: ‘If it seems slow, wait for it; it will surely come; it will not delay’.”
“Without delay” means something different to us than God. Remember the Bible says:
II Peter 3:8 – “But do not overlook this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.”
For believers today, we have been waiting 2,000 years for Jesus Christ to return. It seems like forever! But, to God, it has been just a couple of days since Christ was born and made the promise to return again. It’s no time at all! For Habakkuk and the people of Judah, it would seem like forever before God would actually redeem His people and judge the wicked, including the Chaldeans. But, God promised it would happen – just be patient.
Eventually, God would punish the Chaldeans for their sins. You have heard the phrase: Your sins will find you out. Eventually, those who steal and kill like the Chaldeans did, will be found out and pay the penalty. Years ago, some bank robbers in Montreal robbed the next bank, then in trying to turn their car around for the getaway, they backed the car into a snow bank and left a perfect imprint of their license number. The police met them at home. It was time for justice for them.
Now, God gives the vision for what He is going to do, in the future, to the wicked Chaldeans (Babylonians). In this answer, he includes a description of the Chaldeans themselves, which ultimately brings His judgment upon them:
WHAT have they done?
Habakkuk 2:5 – “Moreover, wine is a traitor, an arrogant man who is never at rest. His greed is as wide as Sheol; like death he has never enough. He gathers for himself all nations and collects as his own all peoples.”
· They abused alcohol
The Babylonians were said to have been addicted to wine; and we know they used wine to take advantage of others (verse 15). It is used to describe them as a people; and the devastation it can bring just like the Chaldeans brought. Wealth is also an option for translation. One real life example of that for Babylon, in the future, was that they were eventually overrun and conquered while their king, Belshazzar and his leaders were eating and getting drunk at a banquet (Daniel 5). The Bible tells us what an abuse of wine can do, like it did to Babylon:
Proverbs 23:32 – “In the end it bites like a serpent and stings like an adder.”
They not only abused alcohol, but they used it for their own advantage against others.
· They were full of pride
Verse 5 – “an arrogant man who is never at rest…”
God is describing the sinful attitude of the Chaldeans, which eventually will lead to their demise. He describes them in verse 5 as a nation that feels they are unbeatable. They feel they can go and overtake any nation at any time. He uses the term “Sheol” to refer to death that everyone eventually experiences. Death never has enough, as people die everyday. That is the picture given to the desire the Chadeans have to take another nation. Once they do take a nation, they are not satisfied, but they want another one. Their pride drives them to desire the wealth and power that comes with overtaking another nation. And they had the ability to do it. It made Habakkuk wonder if anyone could stop them. God is explaining that their own pride will be their downfall.
It is like the sports team that seems unbeatable. They begin to believe that they could never be beaten – they begin to talk like it and act like it. And guess what? Eventually, because of pride they are beaten by a team that is not as talented and don’t belong on the same athletic stage as they do; but they become overconfident and become defeated.
It is like the company you invested in that seems to be a guarantee to make you thousands of dollars. They are strong, with good leadership, and your stock continues to rise. All of a sudden, bad business decisions lead to a business collapse and you instantly lose all of your investments. Overconfidence led to greed, which led to destruction.
It is like the ministry that is well known around the world. Their ministers have everything and the money is pouring in. But, pride leads to hidden sin, which eventually comes out in the open; and all of a sudden, there is a scandal, and it all goes away. A once proud ministry is the butt of jokes and has brought a lot of disappointment to a lot of people. Not to mention, it has brought shame to the name of Christ and Christianity.
Habakkuk 2:6-8 – “Shall not all these take up their taunt against him, with scoffing and riddles for him, and say, Woe to him who heaps up what is not his own – for how long? – and loads himself with pledges! Will not your debtors suddenly arise, and those awake who will make you tremble? Then you will be spoil for them. Because you have plundered many nations, all the remnant of the peoples shall plunder you, for the blood of man and violence to the earth, to cities and all who dwell in them.”
WHAT will happen to them?
· They will be destroyed by the ones they attacked
Beginning in verse 6, we have a term: “Woe” that is a term used for facing some type of coming destruction or judgment. In this case, there are 5 “woes” that announce what is going to happen to the Chaldeans and why. The first woe is that they will be destroyed by the ones they used to dominate themselves.
Verse 6 says that those who have been conquered will cry out “How long?”, just like Habakkuk is doing and Judah will do. How long will this nation continue to steal from others, adding to their own wealth and power?
The Wycliffe Exegetical Commentary gives some detail as to what the Chaldeans would do, in terms of multiplying their wealth at the expense of others: “After their victories over the Assyrians at Carchemish in 605 B.C. capped by their push down the Mediterranean coast after the fleeing Egyptians (previous allies), the Chaldeans soon became masters of all Syro-Palestine. Other campaigns led Nebuchadnezzar to Asia Minor, Egypt and Arabia. Eventually the whole southern portion of the once-vast Assyrian empire lay under Chaldean control. The eagerness of the Chaldeans to take captive men and material wealth is often recorded in the Babylonian Chronicles.”
You may have noticed that we have financial terms used here to explain what will happen. The Chaldeans “collected” other nations (vs.5), and they load up pledges (vs. 6). However, eventually, their debtors, whom they extorted; even these victims will arise and plunder the Chaldeans.
The Chaldeans will experience the principle of Scripture:
Galatians 6:7 – “Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap.”
Proverbs 22:8 – “Whoever sows injustice will reap calamity…”
Enron Corporation was an American energy company based in Houston, Texas. Before its bankruptcy in late 2001, Enron employed around 22,000 people and was one of the world's leading electricity, natural gas, pulp and paper, and communications companies, with claimed revenues of $111 billion in 2000. Fortune named Enron "America's Most Innovative Company" for six consecutive years. At the end of 2001 it was revealed that its reported financial condition was sustained mostly by institutionalized, systematic, and creatively planned accounting fraud. Enron has since become a popular symbol of willful corporate fraud and corruption.
In August of 2000, Enron's stock price hit its highest value of $90. At this point Enron executives, who possessed the inside information on the hidden losses, began to sell their stock. At the same time, the general public and Enron's investors were told to buy the stock. Executives told the investors that the stock would continue to climb until it reached possibly the $130 to $140 range, while secretly unloading their shares.
As executives sold their shares, the price began to drop. Investors were told to continue buying stock or hold steady if they already owned Enron because the stock price would rebound in the near future. Kenneth Lay's strategy for responding to Enron's continuing problems was in his demeanor. As he did many times, Lay would issue a statement or make an appearance to calm investors and assure them that Enron was headed in the right direction.
By August 15, 2001, Enron's stock price had fallen to $42. Many of the investors still trusted Lay and believed that Enron would rule the market. They continued to buy or hold their stock and lost more money every day. As October closed, the stock had fallen to $15. Many saw this as a great opportunity to buy Enron stock because of what Kenneth Lay had been telling them in the media. Their trust and optimism proved greatly misplaced.
Lay has been accused of selling over $70 million worth of stock at this time, which he used to repay cash advances on lines of credit. He sold another $20 million worth of stock in the open market. Also, Lay's wife, Linda, has been accused of selling 500,000 shares of Enron stock totaling $1.2 million on November 28, 2001.
News of Enron's problems, including the millions of dollars in losses they had been hiding went public about 10:30 that morning, and the stock price soon fell to below one dollar.
People were lied to. People trusted in what they thought was a trustworthy company with a sure and secure future. They were willing to risk their life savings, in some cases…and they lost it all. The company that had prospered decided to prosper illegally and thought they were invincible. Eventually, every corrupt company, every corrupt nation, will have its day of destruction. And although they take a lot of people with them, God promises to judge in His time.
What will happen here to the Chaldeans is described in verse 6: “these take up their taunt against [them].” Those victims and other onlookers will begin to taunt and mock those who had destroyed, those who would now lose their pride and power. It would be like those who mocked the leaders of Enron.
Several years ago, while living in Florida, I went to the famed Orange Bowl in Miami for a college football bowl game between the University of Southern California Trojans and my Iowa Hawkeyes. Although my Hawkeyes scored on the opening kickoff, they were then “blown out” by the Trojans the rest of the game. While my dad and I and most of the Hawkeye fans began to leave early, the Trojan fans let us hear it: Over rated! Overrated! Overrated! The Hawkeyes had a high ranking at that time and they were mocking and taunting us and our team.
The Chaldeans who once did the taunting, will be taunted themselves. How the mighty have fallen! It will happen…eventually, says God.
WHAT have they done?
· They have tried to protect themselves as they planned to destroy others
Habakkuk 2:9 – “Woe to him who gets evil gain for his house, to set his nest on high, to be safe from the reach of harm!”
The Chaldeans were all about gain for themselves. And like an eagle high above, setting their nest, thinking that no one can touch them. They are secure, they are safe… They are arrogant. They are clueless.
Have you ever come upon someone in authority, in your family, in ministry, in school, in business, who thinks he is untouchable? He thinks he is in charge and will always be – and acts like it? That was the Chaldeans mindset. So,
WHAT will happen to them?
Habakkuk 2:10 – “You have devised shame for your house by cutting off many peoples; you have forfeited your life.”
· They will die
What they did for pride in cutting off many nations actually brings shame to them and the blood they spilt thinking it protected their lives would actually bring about their own death and demise. What foolishness! What else will happen to them?
· Their destruction will testify against them
Habakkuk 2:11 – “For the stone will cry out from the wall, and the beam from the woodwork respond.”
This is written, in a way, like a court case against the Chaldeans. Here, you have witnesses that testify against them. However, these are not live witnesses, because they have killed everyone. Have you ever heard stories of people who were killed because they were about to testify against someone who had the power to kill them? But, in this case, even if the Chaldeans were able to wipe out every person in every nation who could testify against them, there would be another witness.
Have you ever heard of a prosecuting attorney say that although the victim is dead, she testifies from the grave, because her blood or clothing or warning speak out against the defendant? In this case, the stones and beams from the homes destroyed by the Chaldeans cries out against them, saying: “you are guilty. You have looted us and killed those who owned us. These Chaldeans were cruel and have gained what they have gained through destruction and deceit.”
WHAT have they done?
· Shed the blood of others for their own benefit
Habakkuk 2:12 – “Woe to him who builds a town with blood and founds a city on iniquity!”
The cities of the Babylonian empire were built with the hard labor of the slaves taken in captivity. They used them to build their towns, then abused them, and finally disposed of them as desired. What they have is because of sin.
Habakkuk 2:15 – “Woe to him who makes his neighbors drink – you pour out your wrath and make them drunk, in order to gaze at their nakedness!”
WHAT have they done?
· They took advantage of their enemies
Here, the Chaldeans are described as a neighbor who encourages you to get drunk, only then to take sexual advantage of you – to use you for his own pleasure; or just to shame you – to make fun of you for personal entertainment. That was the sinful character of the Chaldeans. They found pleasure in using others for self-gratification.
WHAT will happen to them?
Habakkuk 2:13,14 – “Behold, is it not from the LORD of hosts that peoples labor merely for fire, and nations weary themselves for nothing? For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD as the waters cover the sea.”
· God will destroy them
The sovereign God speaks and says that all the hard labor and craftsmanship of those enslaved will be for nothing when God destroys Babylon.
“The earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD”
This shows the comparison between the empire of Babylon which will end up in ashes and the rest of the earth which will know the glory of God one day. Isaiah the prophet had said:
Isaiah 11:9 – “…For the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD as the waters cover the sea.”
Here, Habakkuk states that the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD. This looks ahead to the time when Jesus Christ will come to rule and reign in all of His glory, and the entire earth will see it. This demonstrates how great God is compared to how temporary and small Babylon is. Just as the sea is all covered by water, so the earth will be completely covered by God’s glory. Everyone will recognize who is in control:
Philippians 2:10,11 – “So that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”
This prophecy of the destruction of Babylon does not end with the Chaldeans of that day; but is used years later in a couple of different ways:
· To encourage those going through persecution
Hebrews 10:37,38 – “For, Yet a little while, and the coming one will come and will not delay; but my righteous one shall live by faith…”
This is a quote from Habakkuk 2:4. This is also used in a broader way:
· To describe all those who oppose God as Babylon the Great, which will then receive judgment when Christ returns (Revelation 17,18)
Now, back to what would happen to the Chaldeans in the near future. God would destroy them. The ones who brought shame to other nations, including His own people would be filled with shame. God would have all the glory, and the Chaldeans who lusted for glory would experience the humiliation they had brought on so many before.
Habakkuk 2:16,17 – “You will have your fill of shame instead of glory. Drink, yourself, and show your uncircumcision! The cup in the LORD’s right hand will come around to you, and utter shame will come upon your glory! The violence done to Lebanon will overwhelm you, as will the destruction of the beasts that terrified them, for the blood of man and violence to the earth, to cities and all who dwell in them.”
They had caused others to drink so they could shame them in their nakedness. Now, God says, let’s see your nakedness Chaldeans, and show that, being uncircumcised, you are not my chosen people. The cup in the LORD’s right hand is a picture of a cup full of judgment ready to be poured out on His enemy: the Chaldeans.
The violence that the Chaldeans had brought on others would be brought on them. In particular, the nation of Lebanon is mentioned in verse 17. According to Walvoord and Zuck: “This was a nation north of Israel, known for its abundance of cedar trees and wild animals. It had suffered the ruthless removal of timber for Babylonian buildings and the destructive slaughter of beasts that lived in the forests…They had not only wrecked the forests and ravaged the hillsides, but had also ruined lands and cities and everyone in them.”
Many of us have seen the TV game show, “Family Feud.” Here are some actual, but not so good, answers from contestants who have appeared on that game show:Name something a blind person might use: a swordName a bird with a long neck: a penguinName something that floats in the bath: waterName a number you have to memorize: 7Name something that flies that doesn’t have an engine: dishesName a famous bridge: the bridge over troubled watersName a continent: ItalyName an animal you might see at the zoo: a dogName a kind of ache: a pancakeName a part of the body beginning with ’N’: knee
What in the world were they thinking? Those answers aren’t even close! But, guess what? Our reaction to answers like that to those questions is similar to what Habakkuk and Judah were feeling with the answers that God was giving. They sounded just as preposterous and made no sense. There seemed to be no answer to why God had not yet judged the sins of His people. And when an answer did come, it was ridiculous: I am going to use the wicked Chaldeans to judge you. What in the world are you thinking? God’s answers sometimes make no sense to us; and that is why, in the midst of injustice, and in the midst of God doing what He will do, when He chooses to do it, and how, we must respond to a theme the prophet Habakkuk reveals in chapter 2.
WHAT are we supposed to do? There is one more thing to add to the list of what the people of God were supposed to do back in Habakkuk’s day; and it is the same thing we are supposed to be doing today. It goes to a theme for the book of Habakkuk, and it is the overall SO WHAT? question and answer for this study and for today. You might have wondered why we skipped this verse earlier: Look back at:
Habakkuk 2:4 – “Behold, his soul is puffed up; it is not upright with him, but the righteous shall live by his faith.”
This is a great summary of the character of the Chaldeans: they are full of pride. They have a sinful soul. But, the people of God are to be completely different. There is a specific characteristic used to describe “the righteous”. The righteous are not some impossibly perfect people somewhere. The righteous are a description of those who are attempting to follow God and His ways.
For believers today, it is a description of how God sees every believer: as righteous. What we struggle with is living in a practical way up to that position of righteousness that we have through Jesus Christ. It is a daily battle. But, here in Habakkuk, we have a descriptive phrase that tells us how the people of God are supposed to be living: “the righteous shall live by his faith.” This makes it very personal. This is not just a nation, but this is for every individual who claims to know God.
WHAT are we supposed to do?
· Live by faith
“Faith” could be translated “steadfastness” or “faithfulness”. Those who are right with God will live in faithfulness. To “live” this way is to experience each day, humbly following God; which is in stark contrast to how the Chaldeans were living, and to how the enemies of God live today. And, being honest, even we who are followers of Jesus Christ, struggle to humbly walk with God each day. But, this is what should describe us.
If we are living by faith, fully trusting that God is in control and will judge justly (in His time and in His way), then we will seek to live in a way that honors Him. The two ideas are connected, and I believe both are in view here. So, all this talk in Habakkuk about the evil Chaldeans finally being judged by God – how does this relate to us “living by faith”?
Consider if any of these are true or have been true of you:
· Your spouse mistreated, even abused you in some way
· Your children have been disobedient and disrespectful
· Your parents did not treat you in the right way and have caused great harm to your life now
· Your boss unjustly fired you or treats you as slave labor
· Someone stole from you in some way
· Someone started a vicious rumor about you
· Someone physically injured you
· Think of any person who has been unjust to you and seemingly has not been accountable or punished for it.
You are not able to bring discipline on them. It is out of your control. Live by faith. Are you willing to trust God, that in His time and way, He will bring complete and perfect justice on that person, that group, that business, that organization, that nation? Understand, you are not able to decide when and how it happens. You live by faith by demonstrating self-control, by refusing to take your own revenge; and by placing these abusers in the hands of God. And you go on in your life, seeking to honor God, without worrying about how or when He will have justice. Yes, it might happen in this lifetime; but it may very well not happen until they die – and the timing of that is up to God as well.
If you are able to give these things to God and live by faith, you can have the peace that surpasses human understanding (Philippians 4:7). You can concentrate, focus on what God wants to do in and through you today, rather than obsessing over all the injustices you have endured at the hands of others. Give it, give them to God. You: Live by faith.
Habakkuk 2:2-17
This message can also be listened to online at www.gbcwestlake.org
Please turn in your Bible to Habakkuk 2.
When I was in elementary school, my good friend Tim slipped and fell by his car. His brother accidentally ran over his arm- yes, ran over his arm with the car; and Tim landed in the hospital. I remember seeing all of the attention that Tim received from everyone, especially the girls. I remember praying, in a sense, that I would receive attention like that. He was getting gifts as well. I was actually jealous of my hospitalized friend. Well, my prayers were answered.
Up until that time, I had never really been injured or in the hospital. Then, it all started to happen. First, I was riding my bike to my grandmother’s house down a steep bumpy hill. I lost control, fell off my bike, hit my head and became unconscious. A neighbor found me in the street. That summer, at camp, I was playing baseball when it was starting to get dark, I misjudged a fly ball; and it hit my face and fractured my cheekbone.
The next year, I went snow skiing for the first time in my life and broke my leg…going up hill. If you haven’t heard this story, you can get the details from me later. So, I find myself in the hospital with a cast that covered my whole leg. Yes, I received some attention, but it wasn’t quite as great as I thought it would be. The broken leg also brought many negative things with it. There were things I could no longer enjoy. There was the unbalance of my body and the failed attempts to travel to places quickly. My leg withered up inside the cast and took a long time to heal. God “answered” my prayer, but not the way I wanted.
She prayed that God would have her whole heart, and that He would do whatever He needed to have her. Soon after that prayer, she found out her husband had struggled for years with a devastating addiction which brought incredible pain to their marriage. It was not the answer she expected from God. It was not what she wanted; but God did answer her prayer. He brought her closer to Him than she had ever been.
He prayed that God would have justice on his boss, who was unreasonable, unfair, and just plain mean. He knew if the boss was out of the way, then everything would be smoother at work and for him in general. Life would be so much better if God would just remove his boss. God answered his prayer, but not the way he expected or hoped. The company went through some downsizing. His boss was moved to another location, but the man whose prayer was answered lost his job.
You could probably plug in your own story here. There is something you desperately want to happen, and so you cry out to God about it. He eventually answers your prayer, perhaps even doing the specific thing you asked. However, the way He answers your prayer is not what you wanted. It is not the way you desired for it to happen. In fact, although your prayer was answered, God’s answer brought new pain and frustration to your life. You might conclude: God, this is not what I prayed for!
2 weeks ago, we talked about Habakkuk’s concern for the sin of God’s people in Judah; and that God decided to answer his prayer for justice by bringing the wicked Chaldeans to bring it on His people. We talked about how we might have that same concern for the sin in the United States of America. We pray for revival, but we desire for God to make things right. We were talking about this in our life group 2 Sunday nights ago.
What if…you cried out to God about the injustices you saw in our land. You listed for God several things that upset you: abortion; perversion of justice in our court system; corruption in politics; people who had cheated you; feeling overtaxed; unfairly treated at work; assaults on Christianity within our own country; and you continued to add to the list. You prayed that God would do something.
After praying for months about this, you turn on your TV to the horrific news: a nuclear device has been set off within the United States. Several foreign enemies of the US are claiming responsibility. Two entire States have been wiped out, with thousands upon thousands of dead already counted. Communication systems have broken down, and there is word that terrorists have infiltrated our government and are trying to take control.
As you process all of this, and try to get your mind around it, God speaks to you. He says: I have answered your prayers. I have judged some of the people you were most concerned about, and I have judged the United States for their sins. I have answered your prayers. How would you feel at that moment? I think you might say something like this: “But, God, this is not what I wanted you to do. You have used people who hate you, outside of the US, to judge us? These people don’t recognize you at all! I didn’t mean for people to die and for our entire national security to be put at risk. I didn’t want you to use THEM to judge us. God: WHY?”
If you can grasp in any way how that might feel, you might be on your way to understanding a little of what Habakkuk was really going through. This prophet of God had cried out to God for justice of His sinful people. God promised to answer His prayer through the more wicked people of the Chaldeans. They would come to Judah, conquer Judah, kill whom they desire, plunder what they want, and then take everyone they desire into captivity for their own service. As you might imagine, Habakkuk never wanted that, and couldn’t believe that God would answer his prayer that way.
But, that is exactly what we learned 2 weeks ago, and Habakkuk responded with his question of WHY? last week. This also lays the foundation for what God is going to say to Habakkuk, to Judah, and to us today. What are we supposed to do as God answers prayer in His way and time; when God carries out His justice His way; when things are not as we would like them to be?
We last left Habakkuk in 2:1, as he says that he would take his position at a high post on the tower and watch what God was going to do, and how God would answer. His main questions could begin with WHAT? WHAT are we supposed to do while you are doing your thing God? And WHAT are you going to do about the wicked Chaldeans whom you have chosen to be the tool of justice for your people Judah?
We have His answers beginning in verse 2 of chapter 2:
Habakkuk 2:2,3 – “And the LORD answered me: Write the vision; make it plain on tablets, so he may run who reads it. For still the vision awaits its appointed time; it hastens to the end – it will not lie. If it seems slow, wait for it; it will surely come; it will not delay.”
Again, this was a very personal prophecy. Habakkuk gave his complaints, and then God would answer Him (“the LORD answered me”). And yet, this prophecy was meant for Habakkuk to share with all of God’s people. He was to write it down so that God’s people would receive His written Word.
When God says that he was to write it down so that “he may run who reads it”, He is probably not saying that the person can outrun God’s justice; but that he would act as a herald, a person who would take an important message and proclaim it to all others who needed to hear it. Not unlike the famous cry: “The British are coming! The British are coming!, the ones who read this message were to make sure everyone else knew what the message was.
I suppose we need to ask: “What is the specific message here that needs to be heard by everyone?” God said this is a vision that will played out in time. It has not yet been fulfilled; but God was guaranteeing that it would take place. Be patient, God says; because it will happen at just the right time. What part of the vision? What message? What will take place?
In context, God is talking about this particular answer to the question, to the complaint that Habakkuk just gave. This has to do with Habakkuk’s concern that the Chaldeans (Babylonians) will never be able to be stopped; added to his concern that God is using the cruel Chaldeans to punish Judah. God is going to lay out this vision momentarily; but it has to do with His response to Habakkuk’s concern. Would He take care of the Chaldeans and their sin, at some point? Would this wicked people, opposed to God, ever be brought to justice? God says: “Be patient. It will happen. I don’t lie.” A question from this passage is:
WHAT are we supposed to do?
God says:
· Be patient
· Trust Me
If you have been here the past couple of weeks, you probably notice some consistent themes here. Habakkuk complains, God answers: What I am about to tell you about the judgment of the Chaldeans will take place; but you will have to wait; and trust.
Scholar Craigie points out: “Just as in human life, the timing of certain actions and events is of crucial importance, so it is also in the divine scheme of things…The apparent lack of divine action, which may cause faith to falter, is in reality only our inability to perceive the timing of divine action. We must try to learn Habakkuk’s lesson: ‘If it seems slow, wait for it; it will surely come; it will not delay’.”
“Without delay” means something different to us than God. Remember the Bible says:
II Peter 3:8 – “But do not overlook this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.”
For believers today, we have been waiting 2,000 years for Jesus Christ to return. It seems like forever! But, to God, it has been just a couple of days since Christ was born and made the promise to return again. It’s no time at all! For Habakkuk and the people of Judah, it would seem like forever before God would actually redeem His people and judge the wicked, including the Chaldeans. But, God promised it would happen – just be patient.
Eventually, God would punish the Chaldeans for their sins. You have heard the phrase: Your sins will find you out. Eventually, those who steal and kill like the Chaldeans did, will be found out and pay the penalty. Years ago, some bank robbers in Montreal robbed the next bank, then in trying to turn their car around for the getaway, they backed the car into a snow bank and left a perfect imprint of their license number. The police met them at home. It was time for justice for them.
Now, God gives the vision for what He is going to do, in the future, to the wicked Chaldeans (Babylonians). In this answer, he includes a description of the Chaldeans themselves, which ultimately brings His judgment upon them:
WHAT have they done?
Habakkuk 2:5 – “Moreover, wine is a traitor, an arrogant man who is never at rest. His greed is as wide as Sheol; like death he has never enough. He gathers for himself all nations and collects as his own all peoples.”
· They abused alcohol
The Babylonians were said to have been addicted to wine; and we know they used wine to take advantage of others (verse 15). It is used to describe them as a people; and the devastation it can bring just like the Chaldeans brought. Wealth is also an option for translation. One real life example of that for Babylon, in the future, was that they were eventually overrun and conquered while their king, Belshazzar and his leaders were eating and getting drunk at a banquet (Daniel 5). The Bible tells us what an abuse of wine can do, like it did to Babylon:
Proverbs 23:32 – “In the end it bites like a serpent and stings like an adder.”
They not only abused alcohol, but they used it for their own advantage against others.
· They were full of pride
Verse 5 – “an arrogant man who is never at rest…”
God is describing the sinful attitude of the Chaldeans, which eventually will lead to their demise. He describes them in verse 5 as a nation that feels they are unbeatable. They feel they can go and overtake any nation at any time. He uses the term “Sheol” to refer to death that everyone eventually experiences. Death never has enough, as people die everyday. That is the picture given to the desire the Chadeans have to take another nation. Once they do take a nation, they are not satisfied, but they want another one. Their pride drives them to desire the wealth and power that comes with overtaking another nation. And they had the ability to do it. It made Habakkuk wonder if anyone could stop them. God is explaining that their own pride will be their downfall.
It is like the sports team that seems unbeatable. They begin to believe that they could never be beaten – they begin to talk like it and act like it. And guess what? Eventually, because of pride they are beaten by a team that is not as talented and don’t belong on the same athletic stage as they do; but they become overconfident and become defeated.
It is like the company you invested in that seems to be a guarantee to make you thousands of dollars. They are strong, with good leadership, and your stock continues to rise. All of a sudden, bad business decisions lead to a business collapse and you instantly lose all of your investments. Overconfidence led to greed, which led to destruction.
It is like the ministry that is well known around the world. Their ministers have everything and the money is pouring in. But, pride leads to hidden sin, which eventually comes out in the open; and all of a sudden, there is a scandal, and it all goes away. A once proud ministry is the butt of jokes and has brought a lot of disappointment to a lot of people. Not to mention, it has brought shame to the name of Christ and Christianity.
Habakkuk 2:6-8 – “Shall not all these take up their taunt against him, with scoffing and riddles for him, and say, Woe to him who heaps up what is not his own – for how long? – and loads himself with pledges! Will not your debtors suddenly arise, and those awake who will make you tremble? Then you will be spoil for them. Because you have plundered many nations, all the remnant of the peoples shall plunder you, for the blood of man and violence to the earth, to cities and all who dwell in them.”
WHAT will happen to them?
· They will be destroyed by the ones they attacked
Beginning in verse 6, we have a term: “Woe” that is a term used for facing some type of coming destruction or judgment. In this case, there are 5 “woes” that announce what is going to happen to the Chaldeans and why. The first woe is that they will be destroyed by the ones they used to dominate themselves.
Verse 6 says that those who have been conquered will cry out “How long?”, just like Habakkuk is doing and Judah will do. How long will this nation continue to steal from others, adding to their own wealth and power?
The Wycliffe Exegetical Commentary gives some detail as to what the Chaldeans would do, in terms of multiplying their wealth at the expense of others: “After their victories over the Assyrians at Carchemish in 605 B.C. capped by their push down the Mediterranean coast after the fleeing Egyptians (previous allies), the Chaldeans soon became masters of all Syro-Palestine. Other campaigns led Nebuchadnezzar to Asia Minor, Egypt and Arabia. Eventually the whole southern portion of the once-vast Assyrian empire lay under Chaldean control. The eagerness of the Chaldeans to take captive men and material wealth is often recorded in the Babylonian Chronicles.”
You may have noticed that we have financial terms used here to explain what will happen. The Chaldeans “collected” other nations (vs.5), and they load up pledges (vs. 6). However, eventually, their debtors, whom they extorted; even these victims will arise and plunder the Chaldeans.
The Chaldeans will experience the principle of Scripture:
Galatians 6:7 – “Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap.”
Proverbs 22:8 – “Whoever sows injustice will reap calamity…”
Enron Corporation was an American energy company based in Houston, Texas. Before its bankruptcy in late 2001, Enron employed around 22,000 people and was one of the world's leading electricity, natural gas, pulp and paper, and communications companies, with claimed revenues of $111 billion in 2000. Fortune named Enron "America's Most Innovative Company" for six consecutive years. At the end of 2001 it was revealed that its reported financial condition was sustained mostly by institutionalized, systematic, and creatively planned accounting fraud. Enron has since become a popular symbol of willful corporate fraud and corruption.
In August of 2000, Enron's stock price hit its highest value of $90. At this point Enron executives, who possessed the inside information on the hidden losses, began to sell their stock. At the same time, the general public and Enron's investors were told to buy the stock. Executives told the investors that the stock would continue to climb until it reached possibly the $130 to $140 range, while secretly unloading their shares.
As executives sold their shares, the price began to drop. Investors were told to continue buying stock or hold steady if they already owned Enron because the stock price would rebound in the near future. Kenneth Lay's strategy for responding to Enron's continuing problems was in his demeanor. As he did many times, Lay would issue a statement or make an appearance to calm investors and assure them that Enron was headed in the right direction.
By August 15, 2001, Enron's stock price had fallen to $42. Many of the investors still trusted Lay and believed that Enron would rule the market. They continued to buy or hold their stock and lost more money every day. As October closed, the stock had fallen to $15. Many saw this as a great opportunity to buy Enron stock because of what Kenneth Lay had been telling them in the media. Their trust and optimism proved greatly misplaced.
Lay has been accused of selling over $70 million worth of stock at this time, which he used to repay cash advances on lines of credit. He sold another $20 million worth of stock in the open market. Also, Lay's wife, Linda, has been accused of selling 500,000 shares of Enron stock totaling $1.2 million on November 28, 2001.
News of Enron's problems, including the millions of dollars in losses they had been hiding went public about 10:30 that morning, and the stock price soon fell to below one dollar.
People were lied to. People trusted in what they thought was a trustworthy company with a sure and secure future. They were willing to risk their life savings, in some cases…and they lost it all. The company that had prospered decided to prosper illegally and thought they were invincible. Eventually, every corrupt company, every corrupt nation, will have its day of destruction. And although they take a lot of people with them, God promises to judge in His time.
What will happen here to the Chaldeans is described in verse 6: “these take up their taunt against [them].” Those victims and other onlookers will begin to taunt and mock those who had destroyed, those who would now lose their pride and power. It would be like those who mocked the leaders of Enron.
Several years ago, while living in Florida, I went to the famed Orange Bowl in Miami for a college football bowl game between the University of Southern California Trojans and my Iowa Hawkeyes. Although my Hawkeyes scored on the opening kickoff, they were then “blown out” by the Trojans the rest of the game. While my dad and I and most of the Hawkeye fans began to leave early, the Trojan fans let us hear it: Over rated! Overrated! Overrated! The Hawkeyes had a high ranking at that time and they were mocking and taunting us and our team.
The Chaldeans who once did the taunting, will be taunted themselves. How the mighty have fallen! It will happen…eventually, says God.
WHAT have they done?
· They have tried to protect themselves as they planned to destroy others
Habakkuk 2:9 – “Woe to him who gets evil gain for his house, to set his nest on high, to be safe from the reach of harm!”
The Chaldeans were all about gain for themselves. And like an eagle high above, setting their nest, thinking that no one can touch them. They are secure, they are safe… They are arrogant. They are clueless.
Have you ever come upon someone in authority, in your family, in ministry, in school, in business, who thinks he is untouchable? He thinks he is in charge and will always be – and acts like it? That was the Chaldeans mindset. So,
WHAT will happen to them?
Habakkuk 2:10 – “You have devised shame for your house by cutting off many peoples; you have forfeited your life.”
· They will die
What they did for pride in cutting off many nations actually brings shame to them and the blood they spilt thinking it protected their lives would actually bring about their own death and demise. What foolishness! What else will happen to them?
· Their destruction will testify against them
Habakkuk 2:11 – “For the stone will cry out from the wall, and the beam from the woodwork respond.”
This is written, in a way, like a court case against the Chaldeans. Here, you have witnesses that testify against them. However, these are not live witnesses, because they have killed everyone. Have you ever heard stories of people who were killed because they were about to testify against someone who had the power to kill them? But, in this case, even if the Chaldeans were able to wipe out every person in every nation who could testify against them, there would be another witness.
Have you ever heard of a prosecuting attorney say that although the victim is dead, she testifies from the grave, because her blood or clothing or warning speak out against the defendant? In this case, the stones and beams from the homes destroyed by the Chaldeans cries out against them, saying: “you are guilty. You have looted us and killed those who owned us. These Chaldeans were cruel and have gained what they have gained through destruction and deceit.”
WHAT have they done?
· Shed the blood of others for their own benefit
Habakkuk 2:12 – “Woe to him who builds a town with blood and founds a city on iniquity!”
The cities of the Babylonian empire were built with the hard labor of the slaves taken in captivity. They used them to build their towns, then abused them, and finally disposed of them as desired. What they have is because of sin.
Habakkuk 2:15 – “Woe to him who makes his neighbors drink – you pour out your wrath and make them drunk, in order to gaze at their nakedness!”
WHAT have they done?
· They took advantage of their enemies
Here, the Chaldeans are described as a neighbor who encourages you to get drunk, only then to take sexual advantage of you – to use you for his own pleasure; or just to shame you – to make fun of you for personal entertainment. That was the sinful character of the Chaldeans. They found pleasure in using others for self-gratification.
WHAT will happen to them?
Habakkuk 2:13,14 – “Behold, is it not from the LORD of hosts that peoples labor merely for fire, and nations weary themselves for nothing? For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD as the waters cover the sea.”
· God will destroy them
The sovereign God speaks and says that all the hard labor and craftsmanship of those enslaved will be for nothing when God destroys Babylon.
“The earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD”
This shows the comparison between the empire of Babylon which will end up in ashes and the rest of the earth which will know the glory of God one day. Isaiah the prophet had said:
Isaiah 11:9 – “…For the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD as the waters cover the sea.”
Here, Habakkuk states that the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD. This looks ahead to the time when Jesus Christ will come to rule and reign in all of His glory, and the entire earth will see it. This demonstrates how great God is compared to how temporary and small Babylon is. Just as the sea is all covered by water, so the earth will be completely covered by God’s glory. Everyone will recognize who is in control:
Philippians 2:10,11 – “So that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”
This prophecy of the destruction of Babylon does not end with the Chaldeans of that day; but is used years later in a couple of different ways:
· To encourage those going through persecution
Hebrews 10:37,38 – “For, Yet a little while, and the coming one will come and will not delay; but my righteous one shall live by faith…”
This is a quote from Habakkuk 2:4. This is also used in a broader way:
· To describe all those who oppose God as Babylon the Great, which will then receive judgment when Christ returns (Revelation 17,18)
Now, back to what would happen to the Chaldeans in the near future. God would destroy them. The ones who brought shame to other nations, including His own people would be filled with shame. God would have all the glory, and the Chaldeans who lusted for glory would experience the humiliation they had brought on so many before.
Habakkuk 2:16,17 – “You will have your fill of shame instead of glory. Drink, yourself, and show your uncircumcision! The cup in the LORD’s right hand will come around to you, and utter shame will come upon your glory! The violence done to Lebanon will overwhelm you, as will the destruction of the beasts that terrified them, for the blood of man and violence to the earth, to cities and all who dwell in them.”
They had caused others to drink so they could shame them in their nakedness. Now, God says, let’s see your nakedness Chaldeans, and show that, being uncircumcised, you are not my chosen people. The cup in the LORD’s right hand is a picture of a cup full of judgment ready to be poured out on His enemy: the Chaldeans.
The violence that the Chaldeans had brought on others would be brought on them. In particular, the nation of Lebanon is mentioned in verse 17. According to Walvoord and Zuck: “This was a nation north of Israel, known for its abundance of cedar trees and wild animals. It had suffered the ruthless removal of timber for Babylonian buildings and the destructive slaughter of beasts that lived in the forests…They had not only wrecked the forests and ravaged the hillsides, but had also ruined lands and cities and everyone in them.”
Many of us have seen the TV game show, “Family Feud.” Here are some actual, but not so good, answers from contestants who have appeared on that game show:Name something a blind person might use: a swordName a bird with a long neck: a penguinName something that floats in the bath: waterName a number you have to memorize: 7Name something that flies that doesn’t have an engine: dishesName a famous bridge: the bridge over troubled watersName a continent: ItalyName an animal you might see at the zoo: a dogName a kind of ache: a pancakeName a part of the body beginning with ’N’: knee
What in the world were they thinking? Those answers aren’t even close! But, guess what? Our reaction to answers like that to those questions is similar to what Habakkuk and Judah were feeling with the answers that God was giving. They sounded just as preposterous and made no sense. There seemed to be no answer to why God had not yet judged the sins of His people. And when an answer did come, it was ridiculous: I am going to use the wicked Chaldeans to judge you. What in the world are you thinking? God’s answers sometimes make no sense to us; and that is why, in the midst of injustice, and in the midst of God doing what He will do, when He chooses to do it, and how, we must respond to a theme the prophet Habakkuk reveals in chapter 2.
WHAT are we supposed to do? There is one more thing to add to the list of what the people of God were supposed to do back in Habakkuk’s day; and it is the same thing we are supposed to be doing today. It goes to a theme for the book of Habakkuk, and it is the overall SO WHAT? question and answer for this study and for today. You might have wondered why we skipped this verse earlier: Look back at:
Habakkuk 2:4 – “Behold, his soul is puffed up; it is not upright with him, but the righteous shall live by his faith.”
This is a great summary of the character of the Chaldeans: they are full of pride. They have a sinful soul. But, the people of God are to be completely different. There is a specific characteristic used to describe “the righteous”. The righteous are not some impossibly perfect people somewhere. The righteous are a description of those who are attempting to follow God and His ways.
For believers today, it is a description of how God sees every believer: as righteous. What we struggle with is living in a practical way up to that position of righteousness that we have through Jesus Christ. It is a daily battle. But, here in Habakkuk, we have a descriptive phrase that tells us how the people of God are supposed to be living: “the righteous shall live by his faith.” This makes it very personal. This is not just a nation, but this is for every individual who claims to know God.
WHAT are we supposed to do?
· Live by faith
“Faith” could be translated “steadfastness” or “faithfulness”. Those who are right with God will live in faithfulness. To “live” this way is to experience each day, humbly following God; which is in stark contrast to how the Chaldeans were living, and to how the enemies of God live today. And, being honest, even we who are followers of Jesus Christ, struggle to humbly walk with God each day. But, this is what should describe us.
If we are living by faith, fully trusting that God is in control and will judge justly (in His time and in His way), then we will seek to live in a way that honors Him. The two ideas are connected, and I believe both are in view here. So, all this talk in Habakkuk about the evil Chaldeans finally being judged by God – how does this relate to us “living by faith”?
Consider if any of these are true or have been true of you:
· Your spouse mistreated, even abused you in some way
· Your children have been disobedient and disrespectful
· Your parents did not treat you in the right way and have caused great harm to your life now
· Your boss unjustly fired you or treats you as slave labor
· Someone stole from you in some way
· Someone started a vicious rumor about you
· Someone physically injured you
· Think of any person who has been unjust to you and seemingly has not been accountable or punished for it.
You are not able to bring discipline on them. It is out of your control. Live by faith. Are you willing to trust God, that in His time and way, He will bring complete and perfect justice on that person, that group, that business, that organization, that nation? Understand, you are not able to decide when and how it happens. You live by faith by demonstrating self-control, by refusing to take your own revenge; and by placing these abusers in the hands of God. And you go on in your life, seeking to honor God, without worrying about how or when He will have justice. Yes, it might happen in this lifetime; but it may very well not happen until they die – and the timing of that is up to God as well.
If you are able to give these things to God and live by faith, you can have the peace that surpasses human understanding (Philippians 4:7). You can concentrate, focus on what God wants to do in and through you today, rather than obsessing over all the injustices you have endured at the hands of others. Give it, give them to God. You: Live by faith.
Wednesday, February 27, 2008
Prayer Requests and Praises for March
Greg’s
Prayer Requests and Praises
March, 2008
Praises
1. Psalm 42:11 – “Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me? Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my salvation and my God.”
2. I was able to re-write a major part of my rough draft for my research paper for seminary. I have more work to do, but it was a major accomplishment.
3. Our Honor Our Servants program on February 10th went very well, as we recognized everyone who serves here at Grace.
4. Our constitution revision is ready to go to our people for a vote (March 30)
5. My meetings with men on Wednesday mornings have been a great encouragement to me, as we meet for breakfast and discuss a book.
Requests
1.That I will be able to finish my final draft on my paper and be able to graduate this May.
2. For Phil Dawson and I, as we travel to Michigan to speak for a spiritual emphasis week at Freedom Baptist Academy in Hudsonville.
3. Wisdom for the next steps we need to take as a church ministry.
4. For our Easter services (an “early morning” joint service with another church) and our regular service (where we expect to have more visiting non-believers than usual)
5. Upcoming messages: March
2 – WHAT? – Habakkuk 2:2-17
9 – Habakkuk 2:18- 3:16
16 – Habakkuk 3:17 -19
23 – Easter – Resurrection on Trial
30 – Mark 1:1-8 – beginning of Mark series
Prayer Requests and Praises
March, 2008
Praises
1. Psalm 42:11 – “Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me? Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my salvation and my God.”
2. I was able to re-write a major part of my rough draft for my research paper for seminary. I have more work to do, but it was a major accomplishment.
3. Our Honor Our Servants program on February 10th went very well, as we recognized everyone who serves here at Grace.
4. Our constitution revision is ready to go to our people for a vote (March 30)
5. My meetings with men on Wednesday mornings have been a great encouragement to me, as we meet for breakfast and discuss a book.
Requests
1.That I will be able to finish my final draft on my paper and be able to graduate this May.
2. For Phil Dawson and I, as we travel to Michigan to speak for a spiritual emphasis week at Freedom Baptist Academy in Hudsonville.
3. Wisdom for the next steps we need to take as a church ministry.
4. For our Easter services (an “early morning” joint service with another church) and our regular service (where we expect to have more visiting non-believers than usual)
5. Upcoming messages: March
2 – WHAT? – Habakkuk 2:2-17
9 – Habakkuk 2:18- 3:16
16 – Habakkuk 3:17 -19
23 – Easter – Resurrection on Trial
30 – Mark 1:1-8 – beginning of Mark series
Monday, February 25, 2008
WHY
WHY?
Habakkuk 1:12-2:1
Please turn in your Bible to Habakkuk, chapter 1.
Have you ever asked the question: WHY? There are many things that don’t make sense aren’t there? I read some questions recently that people have of common things in our lives:
· Why do we drive on parkways and park on driveways?
· Why do fat chance and slim chance mean the same thing?
· If a black box in a plane is indestructible, why can't they make the whole plane out of it?
· Isn't it a bit unnerving that doctors call what they do "practice"?
· If a cow laughed real hard, would milk come out her nose?
· Why does your nose run and your feet smell?
· Why do they put Braille dots on the keypad of the drive-up ATM?
· Why is it that when you're driving and looking for an address, you turn down the volume on the radio? [I do that, and have no idea why!]
· If a man is standing in the middle of the forest speaking and there is no woman around to hear him, is he still wrong?
· Why is abbreviated such a long word?
Those are why questions that really don’t mean very much to us, although they are fun to think about for a second or two. But, there are other why questions that might be a little more personal:
· Why do we all have the same inspired Word of God and yet there are disagreements among believers about almost every passage and issue addressed in the Scriptures?
· Why do we talk about having a special fellowship with other people and churches and yet we never actually get together to have some?
· Why are we expected to win a war across the seas, when we cannot see the enemy?
· Why do so many people that are obviously guilty not get convicted?
· Why do so many that are convicted not have to serve the full prison term?
· Why did God choose to put men and women together in a marriage relationship when He purposely made us so completely different?
· Why are children one of the greatest joys that can take place in life and one of the things that bring the greatest frustrations at the same time?
· Why is life so much shorter than it was in the Old Testament, when there are so many things we would love to do, including good things for the glory of God?
· Why do I have the desire to work hard and yet cannot find a good paying job that I can enjoy?
And there are yet even more serious, difficult to answer questions – ones we might ask of God:
· Why are so many babies aborted before they have the opportunity to live outside the womb? Why can’t science prove that life begins at conception?
· Why do so many children die in so many, tragic ways?
· Why do people die when hit by a drunk driver, and yet the one intoxicated seems to end up unharmed?
· Why do you allow school shootings?
· Why did you allow 9-11 to happen?
· Why do people who love you get cancer or some other disease that will take life too soon?
· Why did you bring me a spouse, knowing that we wouldn’t be able to last, having to go through a difficult divorce? Why didn’t you spare us the pain?
· Why don’t you seem to hear me when I call out to you in desperation?
· Why don’t you answer me?
· Why don’t you do something?
And then, when God does do something, we might ask: WHY did you do that God? I don’t understand!
Some of these are very personal, very difficult questions that we or others we know struggle with. People who have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ have them, and those who do not. If you can relate to some of these questions, perhaps you can relate to the questions Habakkuk the prophet was asking here in the book with his name.
Last week, I introduced to you a theme of Habakkuk: Living By Faith. We will see our theme verse next week, but this theme is seen throughout this prophecy. Habakkuk has questions for God, based on what he is experiencing. He has a dialogue with God, and a main message that will be seen more clearly is that God asks us, even in the midst of confusing circumstances, to live by faith.
Let me also remind you of the background for this particular book of Habakkuk. He was a prophet to the Southern Kingdom of God’s people called Judah. Israel was already in captivity and Judah was headed there in the future. But, for that present time, Habakkuk was experiencing incredible frustration with God over the fact that the terrible sins of His people were not being dwelt with. His first question was:
When are You going to bring true justice? Your people are sinning and you have done nothing about it. Well, last week, we also heard God’s answer: I am about to judge my people for their sin, and I have chosen the Chaldeans to do it. The Chaldeans (also called Babylonians) had taken over Babylon in Assyria, and they had a terrible reputation for being a cruel people, opposed to God and His ways.
Thomas Jefferson wrote in 1784: “I tremble for my country, when I reflect that God is just, that His justice cannot sleep forever.” Habakkuk and Judah were about to experience God’s justice; but it was not in the form that they would have chosen.
That brings us to our passage this morning, beginning in chapter 1 and verse 12. Let’s go ahead and read the whole passage, going through verse 1 of chapter 2:
Habakkuk 1:12 – “Are you not from everlasting, O LORD my God, my Holy One? We shall not die. O LORD, you have ordained them as a judgment, and you, O Rock, have established them for reproof.”
Habakkuk 1:13 – “You who are of purer eyes than to see evil and cannot look at wrong, why do you idly look at traitors and are silent when the wicked swallows up the man more righteous than he?”
Habakkuk 1:14,15 – “You make mankind like the fish of the sea, like crawling things that have no ruler. He brings all of them up with a hook; he drags them out with his net; he gathers them in his dragnet; so he rejoices and is glad.”
Habakkuk 1:16,17 – “Therefore he sacrifices to his net and makes offerings to his dragnet; for by them he lives in luxury, and his food is rich. Is he then to keep on emptying his net and mercilessly killing nations forever?”
Habakkuk 2:1 – “I will take my stand at my watchpost and station myself on the tower, and look out to see what he will say to me, and what I will answer concerning my complaint.”
Habakkuk is still struggling, but he is now struggling with another question, another complaint, something else that he just does not understand.
This is great, because Habakkuk was like most of us. He asked God to do something, and then when God said what He was going to do, Habakkuk asked why in the world He would do it that way. It is like the experience many of us as parents have had. Our children will complain about something (yes, even the pastor’s kids do that!); and we will give them our solution, thinking that that should take care of the complaining. Only then, to hear them complain about how we were answering their original complaint. Doesn’t that just fill us with joy as parents? No. And yet, it is what Habakkuk was doing to God; and if we are honest, we have done it as well. Let’s take a closer look at Habakkuk’s specific complaint.
Habakkuk began his first complaint with a rhetorical question, and he does the same thing here with his second complaint:
Habakkuk 1:12 – “Are you not from everlasting, O LORD my God, my Holy One?..” This is a rhetorical question because the answer is so obvious, that it needs no answer. The answer, of course, is: Yes, God is everlasting, with no beginning and no ending.
1. Habakkuk was confident in God’s character:
· God is eternal
That is important in this discussion. Because God is eternal, He has seen it all and will last through eternity, as generations come and go. The fact that He is eternal should boost confidence that God can handle anything – including the cycle of human sin that continues.
· God is holy
Habakkuk uses significant terms for God. Using Yahweh (which most of us have translated LORD, in all capital letters), he refers to the name of God that reminds us how this is Israel’s God, the faithful God who called His people, protects His people, and sometimes punishes His people. He also uses a term translated God that refers to God’s supremacy. He also makes it personal: You are my God, my Holy One.
Habakkuk 1:13 – “You who are of purer eyes than to see evil and cannot look at wrong…”
Habakkuk’s confidence was that with a holy God, He would not excuse sin. This is what he was concerned about at the beginning of the chapter. But, God’s holiness also boosts confidence that God will never do anything that is wrong, even if His decisions are difficult to understand.
Habakkuk exclamation: “we shall not die” (verse 12) is hard to interpret; but the best guess is probably this. That he was talking about God’s people not passing away or being completely destroyed, because the everlasting God is Yahweh, Israel’s covenant keeping God. He was confident God would keep His promises and God’s people would never be extinguished.
This is the trust that a young child has in his parents. When he disobeys, he should know that he will be lovingly disciplined. However, that discipline is sometimes disagreeable and sometimes very painful. In fact, it could seem to the young child that his parents, because of their discipline, may not truly care for him. Yet, he must come back to the basic belief he has about the character of his parents. That they love him, even though they discipline him. And, although they may, in a moment of weakness, talk about selling their disobedient child to some foreign agency, he knows his parents are in it for the long haul, and plan to always be there for him (keeping their promises). I think that is the spirit in which Habakkuk is addressing God. He is holding onto the belief of what he knows to be true of God’s character.
Look at the second half of verse 12:
Habakkuk 1:12 – “…O LORD, you have ordained them as a judgment, and you , O Rock, have established them for reproof.”
· God is sovereign
This means that God is the creator of all, king of all, the one and only true God, and can do whatever He pleases. He is in control. Therefore, it is well within His character to choose to judge sin in any way He sees fit. In this case, God has chosen to judge His people in Judah sins with an even more corrupt people, the Chaldeans. But, Habakkuk states the truth of His character: He is sovereign. But, don’t miss another characteristic mentioned in the context of His sovereignty:
· God is a refuge
Calling God the Rock is not new for God’s people. Many times, especially in the praise writings of Israel, God would be called their Rock, referring to the fact that He was a safe haven, a protection, and refuge. One such example is from a Psalm of David:
Psalm 18:2 – “The LORD is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer, my god, my rock, in whom I take refuge…”
Habakkuk had to count on that characteristic, when it seemed like Judah was being left unprotected by God. This was the sure, strong refuge for His people, that decided to use a more ungodly people to judge them.
Based on God’s character, there can be a conclusion drawn from this:
[Conclusion]: God will do what is right and best for His people.
I do believe that Habakkuk, God’s prophet, was confident in God’s character. However, it is also very clear, from this passage, that:
2. Habakkuk was confused by God’s choices
Why does God allow certain things to happen? Not long ago, Virginia DiGiorgio and her husband came to the Theater district in Cleveland for the opening night of the production of “The Lion King”. According to the Plain Dealer, “…before the Brecksville couple made it to the show, a 13-year-old boy and 3 of his friends, fleeing police in a stolen car, barreled toward them…Everyone in the car was under 15. DiGiorgio’s husband saw the car coming and tried to pull his wife to safety. But it was too late. The [car]…stolen from a public housing project a day earlier, hit her and barely missed him. DiGiorio, 57, was [dead]…”
There are many questions that could be asked here. We have questions for the boy who was driving, as to why in the world he would get behind the wheel at his age. We have questions for the guardians of this boy. We have questions for his friends that were in the car and for their guardians. We have questions for the police about the chase. We have questions for the husband. But, mainly, our questions go to God, the sovereign, loving, holy God, that allowed this to happen. WHY?
Habakkuk could be confident in the character of God, but still, like us at times, he was confused by the choices God made. It doesn’t make any human sense.
Habakkuk 1:14 – “You who are of purer eyes than to see evil and cannot look at wrong, why do you idly look at traitors and are silent when the wicked swallows up the man more righteous than he?”
Here is Habakkuk’s 2nd question: WHY would you use a more wicked people to judge your own?
Habakkuk is saying: You are a holy God, and I have no problem with you judging your sinful people Judah. It has been one of my greatest frustrations. But, God, since you are so holy, how in the world could you use a more wicked, corrupt people like the Chaldeans to do your judgment? Habakkuk uses the phrase “swallow up” to describe what the Chaldeans will do to the people of Judah. They are going to completely devour us. It doesn’t seem fair. God: What about their wickedness, which in my opinion, is much worse than ours? I don’t like it.
· They are more sinful than we are (v.13)
It would be like a brother feeling good about the fact that his parents are going to finally punish one of his sisters (she deserved it!); and then to be horrified that his parents hired the neighborhood street gang to bring down judgment in their own special way on her. Are you crazy parents? What do you think you are doing. My sister may be sinful and I think she deserves to be punished; but by the more wicked, corrupt gang in the neighborhood? No way! They deserve your punishment more than my sister. This doesn’t make sense!
Habakkuk believed in God’s holiness, but it seemed that His actions (using the Chaldeans) would contradict His holiness, wouldn’t it?
Daily we read about things in our justice system that make no sense, don’t we? Though a Massachusetts convict violated his probation by buying a lottery ticket, a judge says he can keep the $1 million prize he won. Are you kidding me? He’s a convict, in violation of his parole and he is rewarded – an instant millionaire? That is in contradiction of justice. Where is the justice in that? It’s not fair. It’s not right! But, it is a reality. And Habakkuk needed to deal with this reality that God had revealed. In order to strengthen his problem with this, Habakkuk added:
· They are unstoppable (vs. 14-17)
And to make this point, he uses the analogy of fishing.
Habakkuk 1:14,15 – “You make mankind like the fish of the sea, like crawling things that have no ruler. He brings all of them up with a hook; he drags them out with his net; he gathers them in his dragnet; so he rejoices and is glad.”
What God has put in place, Habakkuk says, is like this scenario of fishing. The Chaldean people is the fisherman, the hooks and nets are their methods of powerful warfare, and the fish they easily catch are the nations they have conquered. He tosses the caught ones aside and mercilessly goes after another catch. The fisherman’s success only makes him desire more and gain greater pleasure in the demise of others.
According to the Wycliffe Exegetical Commentary: “Habakkuk’s fears were not unfounded, for the Chaldean war machine was effective enough not only to gain for them political dominance across the northern part of the fertile Crescent… to the borders of Egypt but also to create the mighty Neo-Babylonian empire with the city of Babylon as the chief beneficiary.”
They continued to build their strength and going after more nations. Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, would eventually go into the borders of Egypt itself. Could they ever be stopped? These are people who have no regard for God or His ways.
Habakkuk 1:16 – “Therefore he sacrifices to his net and makes offerings to his dragnet; for by them he lives in luxury, and his food is rich…”
This fisherman is so happy about his devouring of the fish that he celebrates by worshipping the tools of his trade. This is how he makes his money and he has everything he desires. The analogy demonstrates that the Chaldeans have no desire for God, and ignoring Him, they worship false gods and even their own strength. Their military victories and domination over others makes them a very rich people, as well as powerful.
How could God allow this people who actively oppose Him and trust in their own wisdom and power? I thought hated this type of pride. So, how could he bless them by way of giving them victory over His people?
Psalm 20:7 – “Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the LORD our God.”
God, we are the ones who trust in your name. I realize that we have been very sinful recently and deserve punishment. But, they are the ones who don’t trust in you at all. They are the ones who are trusting in themselves. How could they be your choice as the tool to discipline your chosen people? How could you reward them for their sin?
They built their own riches and trusted in them. Commentator Richard Patterson writes: “Nebuchadnezzar’s Babylon would prove to be a spectacle of opulence…access to Babylon was gained by 9 major gates. The most famous of these, the Ishtar Gate, was flanked on either side by 40-foot towers…the sacred processions…to [one of the temples]was a paved street bordered by high walls decorated with brilliantly colored animals painted on a blue background. Ancient historians counted Nebuchadnezzar as the builder of the famed Hanging Gardens, heralded as one of the seven wonders of the world.”
In reference to their worship of other gods, D.J. Wiseman says of the main shrine of this temple complex: “One king claimed to have redecorated the Marduk shrine with gypsum and silver alloy, which Nebuchadnezzar replaced with fine gold. The walls were studded with precious stones set in gold place, and stone and lapis lazuli pillars supported cedar roof beams. The texts describe the god’s gilded bedchamber adjacent to the throne room.
Herodutus described two statues of the god, one seated…Herodutus was told that 800 talents of gold (16,8 metric tons) were used for these statues and for the table , throne, and footstool A thousand talents of incense were burned annually at the festivals while innumerable sacrificial animals were brought in to the two golden altars…”
They were powerful and they were rich. Habakkuk is wondering why God would allow it?
Have you ever wondered that in different areas of life? Why did that co-worker get the raise or higher position when he is ungodly, gossips against management and in reality, is a worse worker than you? Why does that student get special treatment from the teacher, just because she looks a certain way or is a special athlete? Doesn’t the teacher know that she cheats in order to get good grades? Does the teacher realize what she does when no one is looking? How did that neighbor get the great paying job, the nicer home, the nicer cars, the better vacations? Doesn’t God know that every other word out of their mouths is a swear word, usually taking His name in vain? They have raucous parties, get drunk, and show no love for us. They don’t go to church, and they couldn’t care less about God. Why does God seem to bless them anyway, and we who love Him are struggling to make ends meet? Have you ever wondered those things? Then, you can relate a little bit to Habakkuk’s concerns.
What Habakkuk doesn’t know is what will eventually happen to wicked Babylon. The prophets Isaiah and Jeremiah were going to prophesy about the coming destruction of Babylon because of their materialism and religious worship. This is why in the book of Revelation, the term Babylon is used as a symbolic term for everyone who lives in selfishness and is opposed to God and His ways.
But, for now, all Habakkuk knows is that God is going to use the wicked Chaldeans from Babylon to bring destruction to His people. In fact, God would be the One raising them up for this particular purpose. That does not sit very well with him.
Habakkuk 1:17 – “Is he then to keep on emptying his net and mercilessly killing nations forever?”
This is what is seemed like for Habakkuk. Is this just going to keep going on and on and on and on? Can they ever be stopped. God, will this go on forever? It is like the frustration people feel when a criminal is let out of prison only to commit another crime.
Out of New York City: “Paris Drake is accused of a senseless and brutal crime on a busy Midtown street in broad daylight. Whether or not he is convicted of bashing a woman's head with a brick, his arrest has highlighted the criminal justice system's failure to deal with repeat offenders.
Before the alleged attack, Drake had been jailed more than twenty times and was a free man for exactly 17 days out of the last eight years. Like many of his fellow inamtes, Drake was arrested several times on drug-related charges (an estimated 70% of the City's 70,000 inmates have a history of drug abuse). Most of his crimes were misdemeanors, which typically bring sentences of only a few weeks or months in jail.
Clearly, the system doesn't work for Drake and thousands of others who spend years cycling in and out of prison. Prison advocates call for more drug programs, but too often inmates themselves complain that these programs don't work. When Drake, for instance, was finally ordered to seek treatment after years of revolving-door prison stints, he blew it off.
This type of story infuriates people, especially those whose lives are forever changed because someone committed a crime against a loved one; and that someone, in public opinion should never have been let out of prison. Well, Habakkuk was having the same kind of frustrating thoughts. The Chaldeans destroy one nation and then they go after another. God, you are the holy and righteous judge. How could you allow this to continue; especially when they are coming after Your people!
In the midst of confusion, Habakkuk had to come to a conclusion:
Conclusion: I will wait to see what God will do
Habakkuk 2:1 – “I will take my stand at my watchpost and station myself on the tower, and look out to see what he will say to me, and what I will answer concerning my complaint.”
Like a watchman in the king’s service, standing high above all, he is awaiting the message to be delivered. Habakkuk is going to wait and see what God will say. He may expect that God is going to reprove him, or help him to see things clearly. He may expect God to seemingly change His mind, and not use the corrupt Chaldeans to judge His people in Judah. But, either way, he is going to “wait and see what God says and what God does. And then Habakkuk will respond once again concerning this complaint.
Tim Hansel was about as active a person as anyone could be. He lived in Central California and his passion was mountain climbing. He loved it so much that he made his work leading mountain climbing expeditions. But one day in 1973 around dusk when the snow-covered mountain turned to ice, Tim fell and suffered an injury that would cripple him for the rest of his life. It wasn’t that he would be bound by a wheel chair, he wasn’t. He could move around fine. But his spine was unalterably damaged so that every movement gave him excruciating pain. Pain so intense that it shook him to the core of his being.Tim spent several years questioning God. “Why did this have to happen to me? Why don’t you take away the pain?” As you can imagine, the longer Tim lived with the pain the more intense the questions got. But then after a couple of years, Tim’s questions began to be answered. As you read through his journal, you can get glimpses into the answers that God was giving him.
Winter 75. “Perhaps this is the ultimate realization--when we recognize that all questions have the same answer that comes from you, O Lord, from you.”
Spring 76. “At times I whisper in the night: “God I’ve learned enough now! I’m ready for the next test.”
Summer 76. “Learning patience. . . takes a lot of patience.”“What a test of character adversity is. It can either destroy or build up, depending on our chosen response. Pain can either make us better or bitter.”
Spring 78. “If your security is based on something that can be taken away from you--you will constantly be on a false edge of security.”
Tim, over a period of time, in trying to figure out WHY God would allow this, had to wait…to learn more about God through it…more about himself. He needed patience…endurance. So did Habakkuk…So do we.
So, we need to answer the question for ourselves:
SO WHAT? [based on this passage from Habakkuk, what are we supposed to do?]
When confused by life’s circumstances and you’re asking the question: WHY:
1. Commit it to God
Habakkuk was not just stewing about this in his mind and heart, becoming more bitter toward God for his inaction and then confusing action. He was, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, being very direct with God with the confusion and frustration he was experiencing. In other words: Pray. Don’t go into depression first. Don’t tell all your friends about your frustrations first. God directly to God, who desires you to tell Him exactly what you are thinking and feeling, even though He already knows! Bringing God in on your personal experience is the first and best move.
2. Rest in God’s character
This is what Habakkuk had to do, although he still didn’t fully understand. But, when you are confused about what God is doing, what He is allowing, you must center in on the revealed character of God. Trusting in the fact that God is faithful, right, loving, just, holy, forgiving and trustworthy, etc. should allow you, in the midst of difficult, confusing circumstances, to rest as you trust in Him. You have seen Him at work before, and He will do what is absolutely best for your spiritual good – in His way, in His time. Are you willing to trust in what you know to be true about God?
3. Wait and see what God will do.
In the beginning of the confusion, you need to commit it to Him; and all the way through the difficult times, you have to commit it to Him. And when you have come to end of your strength, and you realize it is out of your control, leave it with God. Stand back and see what God decides to do. You know it will be right. You know it will be best.
Is there some area of confusion in your life right now? Is there something God is doing or has allowed that you just can’t quite figure out? Are you willing to take some time right now, to commit this all to Him? Are you willing to stop trying to manipulate everything to your liking, and allow God to do what is best? Are you willing to share your heart with God, pray, and then recognize what He decides to do as what is best?
Let’s pray.
Habakkuk 1:12-2:1
Please turn in your Bible to Habakkuk, chapter 1.
Have you ever asked the question: WHY? There are many things that don’t make sense aren’t there? I read some questions recently that people have of common things in our lives:
· Why do we drive on parkways and park on driveways?
· Why do fat chance and slim chance mean the same thing?
· If a black box in a plane is indestructible, why can't they make the whole plane out of it?
· Isn't it a bit unnerving that doctors call what they do "practice"?
· If a cow laughed real hard, would milk come out her nose?
· Why does your nose run and your feet smell?
· Why do they put Braille dots on the keypad of the drive-up ATM?
· Why is it that when you're driving and looking for an address, you turn down the volume on the radio? [I do that, and have no idea why!]
· If a man is standing in the middle of the forest speaking and there is no woman around to hear him, is he still wrong?
· Why is abbreviated such a long word?
Those are why questions that really don’t mean very much to us, although they are fun to think about for a second or two. But, there are other why questions that might be a little more personal:
· Why do we all have the same inspired Word of God and yet there are disagreements among believers about almost every passage and issue addressed in the Scriptures?
· Why do we talk about having a special fellowship with other people and churches and yet we never actually get together to have some?
· Why are we expected to win a war across the seas, when we cannot see the enemy?
· Why do so many people that are obviously guilty not get convicted?
· Why do so many that are convicted not have to serve the full prison term?
· Why did God choose to put men and women together in a marriage relationship when He purposely made us so completely different?
· Why are children one of the greatest joys that can take place in life and one of the things that bring the greatest frustrations at the same time?
· Why is life so much shorter than it was in the Old Testament, when there are so many things we would love to do, including good things for the glory of God?
· Why do I have the desire to work hard and yet cannot find a good paying job that I can enjoy?
And there are yet even more serious, difficult to answer questions – ones we might ask of God:
· Why are so many babies aborted before they have the opportunity to live outside the womb? Why can’t science prove that life begins at conception?
· Why do so many children die in so many, tragic ways?
· Why do people die when hit by a drunk driver, and yet the one intoxicated seems to end up unharmed?
· Why do you allow school shootings?
· Why did you allow 9-11 to happen?
· Why do people who love you get cancer or some other disease that will take life too soon?
· Why did you bring me a spouse, knowing that we wouldn’t be able to last, having to go through a difficult divorce? Why didn’t you spare us the pain?
· Why don’t you seem to hear me when I call out to you in desperation?
· Why don’t you answer me?
· Why don’t you do something?
And then, when God does do something, we might ask: WHY did you do that God? I don’t understand!
Some of these are very personal, very difficult questions that we or others we know struggle with. People who have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ have them, and those who do not. If you can relate to some of these questions, perhaps you can relate to the questions Habakkuk the prophet was asking here in the book with his name.
Last week, I introduced to you a theme of Habakkuk: Living By Faith. We will see our theme verse next week, but this theme is seen throughout this prophecy. Habakkuk has questions for God, based on what he is experiencing. He has a dialogue with God, and a main message that will be seen more clearly is that God asks us, even in the midst of confusing circumstances, to live by faith.
Let me also remind you of the background for this particular book of Habakkuk. He was a prophet to the Southern Kingdom of God’s people called Judah. Israel was already in captivity and Judah was headed there in the future. But, for that present time, Habakkuk was experiencing incredible frustration with God over the fact that the terrible sins of His people were not being dwelt with. His first question was:
When are You going to bring true justice? Your people are sinning and you have done nothing about it. Well, last week, we also heard God’s answer: I am about to judge my people for their sin, and I have chosen the Chaldeans to do it. The Chaldeans (also called Babylonians) had taken over Babylon in Assyria, and they had a terrible reputation for being a cruel people, opposed to God and His ways.
Thomas Jefferson wrote in 1784: “I tremble for my country, when I reflect that God is just, that His justice cannot sleep forever.” Habakkuk and Judah were about to experience God’s justice; but it was not in the form that they would have chosen.
That brings us to our passage this morning, beginning in chapter 1 and verse 12. Let’s go ahead and read the whole passage, going through verse 1 of chapter 2:
Habakkuk 1:12 – “Are you not from everlasting, O LORD my God, my Holy One? We shall not die. O LORD, you have ordained them as a judgment, and you, O Rock, have established them for reproof.”
Habakkuk 1:13 – “You who are of purer eyes than to see evil and cannot look at wrong, why do you idly look at traitors and are silent when the wicked swallows up the man more righteous than he?”
Habakkuk 1:14,15 – “You make mankind like the fish of the sea, like crawling things that have no ruler. He brings all of them up with a hook; he drags them out with his net; he gathers them in his dragnet; so he rejoices and is glad.”
Habakkuk 1:16,17 – “Therefore he sacrifices to his net and makes offerings to his dragnet; for by them he lives in luxury, and his food is rich. Is he then to keep on emptying his net and mercilessly killing nations forever?”
Habakkuk 2:1 – “I will take my stand at my watchpost and station myself on the tower, and look out to see what he will say to me, and what I will answer concerning my complaint.”
Habakkuk is still struggling, but he is now struggling with another question, another complaint, something else that he just does not understand.
This is great, because Habakkuk was like most of us. He asked God to do something, and then when God said what He was going to do, Habakkuk asked why in the world He would do it that way. It is like the experience many of us as parents have had. Our children will complain about something (yes, even the pastor’s kids do that!); and we will give them our solution, thinking that that should take care of the complaining. Only then, to hear them complain about how we were answering their original complaint. Doesn’t that just fill us with joy as parents? No. And yet, it is what Habakkuk was doing to God; and if we are honest, we have done it as well. Let’s take a closer look at Habakkuk’s specific complaint.
Habakkuk began his first complaint with a rhetorical question, and he does the same thing here with his second complaint:
Habakkuk 1:12 – “Are you not from everlasting, O LORD my God, my Holy One?..” This is a rhetorical question because the answer is so obvious, that it needs no answer. The answer, of course, is: Yes, God is everlasting, with no beginning and no ending.
1. Habakkuk was confident in God’s character:
· God is eternal
That is important in this discussion. Because God is eternal, He has seen it all and will last through eternity, as generations come and go. The fact that He is eternal should boost confidence that God can handle anything – including the cycle of human sin that continues.
· God is holy
Habakkuk uses significant terms for God. Using Yahweh (which most of us have translated LORD, in all capital letters), he refers to the name of God that reminds us how this is Israel’s God, the faithful God who called His people, protects His people, and sometimes punishes His people. He also uses a term translated God that refers to God’s supremacy. He also makes it personal: You are my God, my Holy One.
Habakkuk 1:13 – “You who are of purer eyes than to see evil and cannot look at wrong…”
Habakkuk’s confidence was that with a holy God, He would not excuse sin. This is what he was concerned about at the beginning of the chapter. But, God’s holiness also boosts confidence that God will never do anything that is wrong, even if His decisions are difficult to understand.
Habakkuk exclamation: “we shall not die” (verse 12) is hard to interpret; but the best guess is probably this. That he was talking about God’s people not passing away or being completely destroyed, because the everlasting God is Yahweh, Israel’s covenant keeping God. He was confident God would keep His promises and God’s people would never be extinguished.
This is the trust that a young child has in his parents. When he disobeys, he should know that he will be lovingly disciplined. However, that discipline is sometimes disagreeable and sometimes very painful. In fact, it could seem to the young child that his parents, because of their discipline, may not truly care for him. Yet, he must come back to the basic belief he has about the character of his parents. That they love him, even though they discipline him. And, although they may, in a moment of weakness, talk about selling their disobedient child to some foreign agency, he knows his parents are in it for the long haul, and plan to always be there for him (keeping their promises). I think that is the spirit in which Habakkuk is addressing God. He is holding onto the belief of what he knows to be true of God’s character.
Look at the second half of verse 12:
Habakkuk 1:12 – “…O LORD, you have ordained them as a judgment, and you , O Rock, have established them for reproof.”
· God is sovereign
This means that God is the creator of all, king of all, the one and only true God, and can do whatever He pleases. He is in control. Therefore, it is well within His character to choose to judge sin in any way He sees fit. In this case, God has chosen to judge His people in Judah sins with an even more corrupt people, the Chaldeans. But, Habakkuk states the truth of His character: He is sovereign. But, don’t miss another characteristic mentioned in the context of His sovereignty:
· God is a refuge
Calling God the Rock is not new for God’s people. Many times, especially in the praise writings of Israel, God would be called their Rock, referring to the fact that He was a safe haven, a protection, and refuge. One such example is from a Psalm of David:
Psalm 18:2 – “The LORD is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer, my god, my rock, in whom I take refuge…”
Habakkuk had to count on that characteristic, when it seemed like Judah was being left unprotected by God. This was the sure, strong refuge for His people, that decided to use a more ungodly people to judge them.
Based on God’s character, there can be a conclusion drawn from this:
[Conclusion]: God will do what is right and best for His people.
I do believe that Habakkuk, God’s prophet, was confident in God’s character. However, it is also very clear, from this passage, that:
2. Habakkuk was confused by God’s choices
Why does God allow certain things to happen? Not long ago, Virginia DiGiorgio and her husband came to the Theater district in Cleveland for the opening night of the production of “The Lion King”. According to the Plain Dealer, “…before the Brecksville couple made it to the show, a 13-year-old boy and 3 of his friends, fleeing police in a stolen car, barreled toward them…Everyone in the car was under 15. DiGiorgio’s husband saw the car coming and tried to pull his wife to safety. But it was too late. The [car]…stolen from a public housing project a day earlier, hit her and barely missed him. DiGiorio, 57, was [dead]…”
There are many questions that could be asked here. We have questions for the boy who was driving, as to why in the world he would get behind the wheel at his age. We have questions for the guardians of this boy. We have questions for his friends that were in the car and for their guardians. We have questions for the police about the chase. We have questions for the husband. But, mainly, our questions go to God, the sovereign, loving, holy God, that allowed this to happen. WHY?
Habakkuk could be confident in the character of God, but still, like us at times, he was confused by the choices God made. It doesn’t make any human sense.
Habakkuk 1:14 – “You who are of purer eyes than to see evil and cannot look at wrong, why do you idly look at traitors and are silent when the wicked swallows up the man more righteous than he?”
Here is Habakkuk’s 2nd question: WHY would you use a more wicked people to judge your own?
Habakkuk is saying: You are a holy God, and I have no problem with you judging your sinful people Judah. It has been one of my greatest frustrations. But, God, since you are so holy, how in the world could you use a more wicked, corrupt people like the Chaldeans to do your judgment? Habakkuk uses the phrase “swallow up” to describe what the Chaldeans will do to the people of Judah. They are going to completely devour us. It doesn’t seem fair. God: What about their wickedness, which in my opinion, is much worse than ours? I don’t like it.
· They are more sinful than we are (v.13)
It would be like a brother feeling good about the fact that his parents are going to finally punish one of his sisters (she deserved it!); and then to be horrified that his parents hired the neighborhood street gang to bring down judgment in their own special way on her. Are you crazy parents? What do you think you are doing. My sister may be sinful and I think she deserves to be punished; but by the more wicked, corrupt gang in the neighborhood? No way! They deserve your punishment more than my sister. This doesn’t make sense!
Habakkuk believed in God’s holiness, but it seemed that His actions (using the Chaldeans) would contradict His holiness, wouldn’t it?
Daily we read about things in our justice system that make no sense, don’t we? Though a Massachusetts convict violated his probation by buying a lottery ticket, a judge says he can keep the $1 million prize he won. Are you kidding me? He’s a convict, in violation of his parole and he is rewarded – an instant millionaire? That is in contradiction of justice. Where is the justice in that? It’s not fair. It’s not right! But, it is a reality. And Habakkuk needed to deal with this reality that God had revealed. In order to strengthen his problem with this, Habakkuk added:
· They are unstoppable (vs. 14-17)
And to make this point, he uses the analogy of fishing.
Habakkuk 1:14,15 – “You make mankind like the fish of the sea, like crawling things that have no ruler. He brings all of them up with a hook; he drags them out with his net; he gathers them in his dragnet; so he rejoices and is glad.”
What God has put in place, Habakkuk says, is like this scenario of fishing. The Chaldean people is the fisherman, the hooks and nets are their methods of powerful warfare, and the fish they easily catch are the nations they have conquered. He tosses the caught ones aside and mercilessly goes after another catch. The fisherman’s success only makes him desire more and gain greater pleasure in the demise of others.
According to the Wycliffe Exegetical Commentary: “Habakkuk’s fears were not unfounded, for the Chaldean war machine was effective enough not only to gain for them political dominance across the northern part of the fertile Crescent… to the borders of Egypt but also to create the mighty Neo-Babylonian empire with the city of Babylon as the chief beneficiary.”
They continued to build their strength and going after more nations. Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, would eventually go into the borders of Egypt itself. Could they ever be stopped? These are people who have no regard for God or His ways.
Habakkuk 1:16 – “Therefore he sacrifices to his net and makes offerings to his dragnet; for by them he lives in luxury, and his food is rich…”
This fisherman is so happy about his devouring of the fish that he celebrates by worshipping the tools of his trade. This is how he makes his money and he has everything he desires. The analogy demonstrates that the Chaldeans have no desire for God, and ignoring Him, they worship false gods and even their own strength. Their military victories and domination over others makes them a very rich people, as well as powerful.
How could God allow this people who actively oppose Him and trust in their own wisdom and power? I thought hated this type of pride. So, how could he bless them by way of giving them victory over His people?
Psalm 20:7 – “Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the LORD our God.”
God, we are the ones who trust in your name. I realize that we have been very sinful recently and deserve punishment. But, they are the ones who don’t trust in you at all. They are the ones who are trusting in themselves. How could they be your choice as the tool to discipline your chosen people? How could you reward them for their sin?
They built their own riches and trusted in them. Commentator Richard Patterson writes: “Nebuchadnezzar’s Babylon would prove to be a spectacle of opulence…access to Babylon was gained by 9 major gates. The most famous of these, the Ishtar Gate, was flanked on either side by 40-foot towers…the sacred processions…to [one of the temples]was a paved street bordered by high walls decorated with brilliantly colored animals painted on a blue background. Ancient historians counted Nebuchadnezzar as the builder of the famed Hanging Gardens, heralded as one of the seven wonders of the world.”
In reference to their worship of other gods, D.J. Wiseman says of the main shrine of this temple complex: “One king claimed to have redecorated the Marduk shrine with gypsum and silver alloy, which Nebuchadnezzar replaced with fine gold. The walls were studded with precious stones set in gold place, and stone and lapis lazuli pillars supported cedar roof beams. The texts describe the god’s gilded bedchamber adjacent to the throne room.
Herodutus described two statues of the god, one seated…Herodutus was told that 800 talents of gold (16,8 metric tons) were used for these statues and for the table , throne, and footstool A thousand talents of incense were burned annually at the festivals while innumerable sacrificial animals were brought in to the two golden altars…”
They were powerful and they were rich. Habakkuk is wondering why God would allow it?
Have you ever wondered that in different areas of life? Why did that co-worker get the raise or higher position when he is ungodly, gossips against management and in reality, is a worse worker than you? Why does that student get special treatment from the teacher, just because she looks a certain way or is a special athlete? Doesn’t the teacher know that she cheats in order to get good grades? Does the teacher realize what she does when no one is looking? How did that neighbor get the great paying job, the nicer home, the nicer cars, the better vacations? Doesn’t God know that every other word out of their mouths is a swear word, usually taking His name in vain? They have raucous parties, get drunk, and show no love for us. They don’t go to church, and they couldn’t care less about God. Why does God seem to bless them anyway, and we who love Him are struggling to make ends meet? Have you ever wondered those things? Then, you can relate a little bit to Habakkuk’s concerns.
What Habakkuk doesn’t know is what will eventually happen to wicked Babylon. The prophets Isaiah and Jeremiah were going to prophesy about the coming destruction of Babylon because of their materialism and religious worship. This is why in the book of Revelation, the term Babylon is used as a symbolic term for everyone who lives in selfishness and is opposed to God and His ways.
But, for now, all Habakkuk knows is that God is going to use the wicked Chaldeans from Babylon to bring destruction to His people. In fact, God would be the One raising them up for this particular purpose. That does not sit very well with him.
Habakkuk 1:17 – “Is he then to keep on emptying his net and mercilessly killing nations forever?”
This is what is seemed like for Habakkuk. Is this just going to keep going on and on and on and on? Can they ever be stopped. God, will this go on forever? It is like the frustration people feel when a criminal is let out of prison only to commit another crime.
Out of New York City: “Paris Drake is accused of a senseless and brutal crime on a busy Midtown street in broad daylight. Whether or not he is convicted of bashing a woman's head with a brick, his arrest has highlighted the criminal justice system's failure to deal with repeat offenders.
Before the alleged attack, Drake had been jailed more than twenty times and was a free man for exactly 17 days out of the last eight years. Like many of his fellow inamtes, Drake was arrested several times on drug-related charges (an estimated 70% of the City's 70,000 inmates have a history of drug abuse). Most of his crimes were misdemeanors, which typically bring sentences of only a few weeks or months in jail.
Clearly, the system doesn't work for Drake and thousands of others who spend years cycling in and out of prison. Prison advocates call for more drug programs, but too often inmates themselves complain that these programs don't work. When Drake, for instance, was finally ordered to seek treatment after years of revolving-door prison stints, he blew it off.
This type of story infuriates people, especially those whose lives are forever changed because someone committed a crime against a loved one; and that someone, in public opinion should never have been let out of prison. Well, Habakkuk was having the same kind of frustrating thoughts. The Chaldeans destroy one nation and then they go after another. God, you are the holy and righteous judge. How could you allow this to continue; especially when they are coming after Your people!
In the midst of confusion, Habakkuk had to come to a conclusion:
Conclusion: I will wait to see what God will do
Habakkuk 2:1 – “I will take my stand at my watchpost and station myself on the tower, and look out to see what he will say to me, and what I will answer concerning my complaint.”
Like a watchman in the king’s service, standing high above all, he is awaiting the message to be delivered. Habakkuk is going to wait and see what God will say. He may expect that God is going to reprove him, or help him to see things clearly. He may expect God to seemingly change His mind, and not use the corrupt Chaldeans to judge His people in Judah. But, either way, he is going to “wait and see what God says and what God does. And then Habakkuk will respond once again concerning this complaint.
Tim Hansel was about as active a person as anyone could be. He lived in Central California and his passion was mountain climbing. He loved it so much that he made his work leading mountain climbing expeditions. But one day in 1973 around dusk when the snow-covered mountain turned to ice, Tim fell and suffered an injury that would cripple him for the rest of his life. It wasn’t that he would be bound by a wheel chair, he wasn’t. He could move around fine. But his spine was unalterably damaged so that every movement gave him excruciating pain. Pain so intense that it shook him to the core of his being.Tim spent several years questioning God. “Why did this have to happen to me? Why don’t you take away the pain?” As you can imagine, the longer Tim lived with the pain the more intense the questions got. But then after a couple of years, Tim’s questions began to be answered. As you read through his journal, you can get glimpses into the answers that God was giving him.
Winter 75. “Perhaps this is the ultimate realization--when we recognize that all questions have the same answer that comes from you, O Lord, from you.”
Spring 76. “At times I whisper in the night: “God I’ve learned enough now! I’m ready for the next test.”
Summer 76. “Learning patience. . . takes a lot of patience.”“What a test of character adversity is. It can either destroy or build up, depending on our chosen response. Pain can either make us better or bitter.”
Spring 78. “If your security is based on something that can be taken away from you--you will constantly be on a false edge of security.”
Tim, over a period of time, in trying to figure out WHY God would allow this, had to wait…to learn more about God through it…more about himself. He needed patience…endurance. So did Habakkuk…So do we.
So, we need to answer the question for ourselves:
SO WHAT? [based on this passage from Habakkuk, what are we supposed to do?]
When confused by life’s circumstances and you’re asking the question: WHY:
1. Commit it to God
Habakkuk was not just stewing about this in his mind and heart, becoming more bitter toward God for his inaction and then confusing action. He was, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, being very direct with God with the confusion and frustration he was experiencing. In other words: Pray. Don’t go into depression first. Don’t tell all your friends about your frustrations first. God directly to God, who desires you to tell Him exactly what you are thinking and feeling, even though He already knows! Bringing God in on your personal experience is the first and best move.
2. Rest in God’s character
This is what Habakkuk had to do, although he still didn’t fully understand. But, when you are confused about what God is doing, what He is allowing, you must center in on the revealed character of God. Trusting in the fact that God is faithful, right, loving, just, holy, forgiving and trustworthy, etc. should allow you, in the midst of difficult, confusing circumstances, to rest as you trust in Him. You have seen Him at work before, and He will do what is absolutely best for your spiritual good – in His way, in His time. Are you willing to trust in what you know to be true about God?
3. Wait and see what God will do.
In the beginning of the confusion, you need to commit it to Him; and all the way through the difficult times, you have to commit it to Him. And when you have come to end of your strength, and you realize it is out of your control, leave it with God. Stand back and see what God decides to do. You know it will be right. You know it will be best.
Is there some area of confusion in your life right now? Is there something God is doing or has allowed that you just can’t quite figure out? Are you willing to take some time right now, to commit this all to Him? Are you willing to stop trying to manipulate everything to your liking, and allow God to do what is best? Are you willing to share your heart with God, pray, and then recognize what He decides to do as what is best?
Let’s pray.
Monday, February 18, 2008
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.
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.
Friday, February 15, 2008
Mr. Livingstone, I presume
We are always looking for things that we can use at the dinner table, to engage our children's in the truths of God, and encourage them to follow Him. One recent attempt at this was to read a chapter each night from the book: David Livingstone: Africa's Trailblazer, by Janet and Geoff Benge. It is a part of the Christian Heroes: Then and Now Series, put out by YWAM publishing. Our older children have read some of the other books in the series on their own. We would highly recommend them.
David Livingstone gained a passion for missions, and because of a particular missionary that he heard speak, his heart was drawn to reach the people of Africa with the gospel. His specific "call" was to reach people with the truth who had never heard. If a people group of Africa had already heard the gospel, it was his desire to move on forward to share it with others, whom the gospel had not yet reached.
The historical context of this story is that David was born in 1813 and died in 1873. He was trained as a medical doctor and used the knowledge he had to bring some physical healing to those in Africa as well. But, the majority of this story seemed to center in on the hardships David faced as he went to places no other "white man" had ever been, and produced journals and maps that helped him become very well known back in London, England.
He faced many trials, including the attacks of wild animals, limited transportation options, lack of funds, opposition to the gospel, and all kinds of diseases (to name a few). What really struck me was that he married a missionary's daughter and began to serve with her. But, very soon, when children came, he was separated (for a variety of necessary reasons) from his wife and children. In fact, he really did not get to see his children grow up. He continued to "trailblaze" in Africa, where his family could not go. He saw limited "success" of the gospel changing hearts, but he did do incredible things when it came to geographical success.
I know that "success" in spiritual terms is not about numbers necessarily. But, I found myself really bothered by the fact that he continued his treks into untamed Africa, when his wife and children needed him most. I suppose people could argue on either side of this. What I have come to settle on in my mind is this: If it was a particular "call", a burden, that David Livingstone could not shake or put aside...if he truly believed that this is what God wanted him to do...if he and his wife understood the risks involved before they were married...then it seems to me that he sacrificed some of the most important things in life for what WAS most important. He sacrificed the better for the best. He gave his life for Jesus Christ.
I would never want the comforts of life to keep me from following God's direction. And yet, I would also not want some personal accomplishments that might come from doing something to tempt me away from God's will of loving my family and leading them to God. I have always been open to going anywhere God calls, but I sense, that at least at this time in my life, He has called me to have my family with me in ministry. Maybe that will change when they are "on their own". I am also convinced, at least for the moment, that God has called me to serve Him here in the United States. Yes, many have heard of the gospel, but most have not responded.
May we all be sensitive to what God has called us to do - for the sake of eternity and for His glory!
David Livingstone gained a passion for missions, and because of a particular missionary that he heard speak, his heart was drawn to reach the people of Africa with the gospel. His specific "call" was to reach people with the truth who had never heard. If a people group of Africa had already heard the gospel, it was his desire to move on forward to share it with others, whom the gospel had not yet reached.
The historical context of this story is that David was born in 1813 and died in 1873. He was trained as a medical doctor and used the knowledge he had to bring some physical healing to those in Africa as well. But, the majority of this story seemed to center in on the hardships David faced as he went to places no other "white man" had ever been, and produced journals and maps that helped him become very well known back in London, England.
He faced many trials, including the attacks of wild animals, limited transportation options, lack of funds, opposition to the gospel, and all kinds of diseases (to name a few). What really struck me was that he married a missionary's daughter and began to serve with her. But, very soon, when children came, he was separated (for a variety of necessary reasons) from his wife and children. In fact, he really did not get to see his children grow up. He continued to "trailblaze" in Africa, where his family could not go. He saw limited "success" of the gospel changing hearts, but he did do incredible things when it came to geographical success.
I know that "success" in spiritual terms is not about numbers necessarily. But, I found myself really bothered by the fact that he continued his treks into untamed Africa, when his wife and children needed him most. I suppose people could argue on either side of this. What I have come to settle on in my mind is this: If it was a particular "call", a burden, that David Livingstone could not shake or put aside...if he truly believed that this is what God wanted him to do...if he and his wife understood the risks involved before they were married...then it seems to me that he sacrificed some of the most important things in life for what WAS most important. He sacrificed the better for the best. He gave his life for Jesus Christ.
I would never want the comforts of life to keep me from following God's direction. And yet, I would also not want some personal accomplishments that might come from doing something to tempt me away from God's will of loving my family and leading them to God. I have always been open to going anywhere God calls, but I sense, that at least at this time in my life, He has called me to have my family with me in ministry. Maybe that will change when they are "on their own". I am also convinced, at least for the moment, that God has called me to serve Him here in the United States. Yes, many have heard of the gospel, but most have not responded.
May we all be sensitive to what God has called us to do - for the sake of eternity and for His glory!
Thursday, February 14, 2008
Will you be my Valentine?
You love God and want to honor Him with your life
You are the most beautiful woman in the world
You are the greatest lover - the only one
You are the best friend I have
You are a wonderful mother, desiring to lead them to God
Your strengths are much greater than you recognize
Your weaknesses are covered by God's grace
You provide good and healthy meals for our family
You take care of our home
You go the extra mile for our children
You are growing as a godly woman
TERESA,
WILL YOU BE MY VALENTINE?
I love you!
Greg
You are the most beautiful woman in the world
You are the greatest lover - the only one
You are the best friend I have
You are a wonderful mother, desiring to lead them to God
Your strengths are much greater than you recognize
Your weaknesses are covered by God's grace
You provide good and healthy meals for our family
You take care of our home
You go the extra mile for our children
You are growing as a godly woman
TERESA,
WILL YOU BE MY VALENTINE?
I love you!
Greg
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