We all, at one time or
another, have had serious questions that we need answered to resolve our doubt.
Children can be very inquisitive can't they? The queries of college students are
a little more complex, but we all have questions!
I’ve, often, longed for the
time when I will be home, in heaven, and can sit at Jesus’ feet and ask Him my
questions! How about you? Do you have some questions you wish you could ask God
who knows all things? Do we really have to wait?
The prophet, Habakkuk had
some questions or complaints and he brought them, directly, to God! Habakkuk’s
frustration should be an encouragement to us as we struggle to move from doubt
to faith in our own lives!
Habakkuk lived in Judah
during the reign of Jehoikim. He
prophesied between the fall of Ninevah in 612 B.C. and the Babylonian invasion
of Judah, which took place in 588 B.C. Babylon was, fast, becoming a world
power, with Assyria being in such disarray. The book or oracle records the
prophet, Habakkuk’s dialogue with God.
Habakkuk 1:1-4 says, The
oracle Habakkuk the prophet received ~
“How long, O Lord, must I
call for help, but you do not listen? Or cry out to you, “Violence!” but you do
not save? Why do you make me look at injustice? Why do you tolerate wrong?
Destruction and violence are before me; there is strife, and conflict abounds.
Therefore the law is paralyzed, and justice never prevails. The wicked hem in
the righteous, so that justice is perverted.”
In summary, Habakkuk,
basically, is asking 2 questions:
“Why do you, often, seem
indifferent in the face of evil? Why do evil people seem to go unpunished?”
(Good questions! We may have wondered the same thing, at times, but Habakkuk
dares to ask God!)
Most prophetic books bring
God’s word to the people, but in Habakkuk’s case, we see the opposite, the
people’s questions are being brought to God. Habakkuk is dismayed by the
corruption and violence around him in Judah and he boldly pours his heart out
before His Maker!
When things around us become
almost unbearable, it’s human nature to wonder if God has forgotten us. We have
to remember God is Sovereign, He is in control and He sees all and knows all.
Sometimes, though, like Habakkuk, we don’t understand why God does what He
does, it can seem unfair. We don’t see things from God’s perspective, that’s
why He’s God and we are not.
God answered Habakkuk’s
questions in Habakkuk 1: 5-11, He says,
“Look at the nations and
watch ~ and be utterly amazed! For I’m going to do something in your days that
you would not believe, even if I told you.”
I am raising up the Babylonians, that ruthless
and impetuous people, who sweep across the whole earth to seize dwelling places
not their own. They are a feared and dreaded people; they are a law to themselves
and promote their own honor.” (Wow! And this is God speaking, His perspective
of Babylon, they must have really been treacherous!) God continues ~
“Their cavalry gallops
headlong; their horsemen come from afar. They fly like a vulture swooping to
devour; they all come bent on violence. Their hordes advance like a desert wind
and gather prisoners like sand. They deride kings and scoff at rulers. They
laugh at all fortified cities; they build earthen ramps and capture them. Then
they sweep past like the wind and go on ~ guilty men, whose own strength is
their god.”
What was God about to do,
that He thought Jerusalem would be utterly amazed by? God’s people were about
to witness some unimaginable series of events:
1) Their own independent and
prosperous kingdom, Judah, would suddenly become a vassal nation (they would
become slaves)
2) Egypt, a world power for
centuries, would be crushed overnight;
3) Ninevah, the capital of
the Assyrian empire, would be so completely ransacked that the people would
forget where it had been
4) The Babylonians would rise
to power.
Though this would have been
hard for the people of Judah to imagine, it did all take place in their
lifetime ~ it all happened just as God said it would.
Well, Habakkuk was
complaining to God about the corruption around him in Judah, he wanted God to
deal with it, but Habakkuk was in Judah. Do you really think this is what he
wanted to hear from God?
Habakkuk has a second
complaint in Habakkuk 1: 12-17. Habakkuk is taken back that God would use a
more wicked nation, Babylon, to punish the more righteous nation of the two, Judah. Of
course, Babylon did not realize God was using them to cause Judah to turn back
to Him nor did they realize their pride, their self glory, would be their
downfall. Babylon was proud of it’s military power, strategies, armies and
weapons. God called them a ruthless people and that they were a law unto
themselves and promoted their own honor.
Have you ever seen a bully
and wished a BIGGER bully would come along and pound on him a bit, so he’d realize
what he was doing to others and would get a different perspective? Well, Judah
was about to learn a lesson ~ they were about to see corruption and violence at
a whole new level! Habakkuk was struggling with God’s plan, His chosen rod of
discipline, for Judah, even though Habakkuk was the one complaining to God
about their corruption and violence.
Today injustice abounds in
our world, but we must not let our struggle cause us to doubt God. Many
Christians struggle with the injustice we see around us today, especially, when
it comes to children, but we can learn from Habakkuk’s conclusion of the
matter.
Habakkuk knew that God was
going to discipline Judah and he realized it wasn’t going to be a fun
experience. Habakkuk didn’t even ask God to remove him from the discipline, but
accepted it as God’s will. Habakkuk saw that Judah needed the discipline.
Crop failure and the lost of
livestock would devastate Judah, but Habakkuk was resolved to choose to rejoice
in the Lord, even in times of starvation or loss. Habakkuk’s joy was not based
on his circumstances, but he chose to find it in the strength that God could
give him in the present, day to day. God’s strength was Habakkuk’s confidence,
his sure footing. Habakkuk chose to accept God’s Sovereignty and to trust God’s
will. Ultimately, Habakkuk chose faith! The key verse of Habakkuk is found in
2:4, “the righteous shall live by faith”. Could you have stayed in Judah
knowing what God had ordained? I have to ask that of myself, that same
question. Would I want to flee and go to a better place, knowing that
information? Would I even ask God what He wanted for me or would I just assume
it made common sense to get out of there? We like our comfort!
Habakkuk’s prayer in chapter
three begins: “Lord, I have heard of Your fame; I stand in awe of Your deeds, O
Lord. Renew them in our day, in our time make them known; in wrath remember
mercy.” All of Israel was taught from very small, all that God had done in
bringing them out of Egypt to a land of milk and honey and all the wonders He had
done. Habakkuk’s heart was for his own people to see God’s mercy and wonders again
in his day.
Here’s Habakkuk’s last words
on the matter in Habakkuk 3:16-19, continuing in his prayer:
“I heard and my heart
pounded, my lips quivered at the sound; decay crept into my bones, and my legs
trembled. Yet I will wait, patiently, for the day of calamity to come on the
nation invading us. Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on
the vine, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though
there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in
the Lord, I will be joyful in God my Savior. The Sovereign Lord is my strength;
He makes my feet of a deer, He enables me to go on the heights.”
Habakkuk praised God for
answering his questions. Evil will not triumph forever and God can be trusted
to vindicate those who are faithful to Him, but in His timing. God gives those
that love Him their surefooted confidence through the difficulties of this life,
in the present, which we call today. There’s no grace yet for tomorrow, God
gives it just for today! We have to choose to live by grace in the present
moment and rejoice in God our Savior! He is our Strength! We will run like deer
through rough and dangerous terrain, only because He is our strength and He makes
us able!
In the proper time, we can
trust God will bring about justice and, completely, rid the world of evil. In
the meantime, God’s people need to live in the strength of His Spirit, being
confident in His ultimate victory over evil and in His Sovereignty! We must,
patiently, wait in Lord and on the Lord! Remembering, He cannot act outside of
love.
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