Sermons

The book of Habakkuk is a “theodicy” which is an “attempt to defend God’s omnipotence and goodness in the face of the problem of evil in the world.”[iii] The book of Habakkuk tells the story of a man asking God about the evil he sees occurring in his country and in the neighboring nations. It also reveals the struggles that Habakkuk has with what he sees and what he believes God should be doing.

            Many of us probably have the same questions that Habakkuk was asking. Questions such as, God do you know what’s going on? God when will you intervene? God why don’t you do something? God if you are good why do you allow evil, pain, and suffering?

            In this book we don’t get all of those answers at once. Just as each of the four gospels in the New Testament give us a portrait of Jesus from different sides and with a different emphasis, the book of Habakkuk answers our questions in a series of steps building upon each other. Each step gets us closer to understanding who God is and why He chooses to do what He does in the way He does.

            The first chapter of Habakkuk’s book focuses on Habakkuk’s problems. Habakkuk 1:1 serves as an introduction, and then we read about Habakkuk’s first question in Habakkuk 1:2-4 which we could summarize this way: How long will evil continue and when will you stop it? In these three verses he questions the inconsistency of God’s actions and God’s character.[iv]

            Next in Habakkuk 1:5-11 we read God’s first answer to Habakkuk which could be summarized in this way: I’m going to stop it, I know what’s going on, and you’ll be surprised how. God tells Habakkuk that He will use ungodly people (Babylon) and ungodly forces to purify His people who are acting ungodly.

            But God’s first answer raised a new problem for Habakkuk and that’s what we’ll examine together. Habakkuk’s second question of God in 1:12-2:1 questions the inconsistency of God’s character by asking why God would use the more serious sinners (Babylonians) punishing the less serious sinners (Judah).[v] Habakkuk is perplexed that the eternal holy God would send a nation more wicked than Judah to punish Judah, but Habakkuk waits for an answer. Let’s look at these three sections and an application for each together.

DECLARATION ABOUT GOD (1:12-13)

In Hebrew there are specific types of questions that expect a positive reply[vi] and Habakkuk’s question is one of those, “Are You not from everlasting, O LORD, my God, my Holy One? We will not die. You, O LORD, have appointed them to judge; and You, O Rock, have established them to correct. Your eyes are too pure to approve evil, and You can not look on wickedness with favor. Why do You look with favor on those who deal treacherously? Why are You silent when the wicked swallow up those more righteous than they?” (Habakkuk 1:12–13).[vii] While these appear as questions, they are actually declarations in the form of questions.[viii] These are rhetorical questions that expect the answer, “Yes of course.”[ix] With this perspective lets note a few key words from Habakkuk 1:12-13.

            The name of God deserves our attention. “LORD” is used two times in Habakkuk 1:12. It’s in all capital letters in our English translation which tells us it’s a translation of YHWH[x] or transliterated as Yahweh. Some believe it comes from the verb, “to be” in Hebrew.[xi] Yahweh was the covenant name of God (Exod 3:14). The use of this name for God by Habakkuk indicated God’s covenant faithfulness and would evoke confidence in the original hearers.

            The titles for God deserve our attention. Habakkuk calls God “Holy One” (v. 12b). This title describes how God transcends the affairs of people and nations. He will not allow sin to go unpunished. Habakkuk also calls God “Rock” (v. 12e).This title views God as a place where someone can go and be safe from danger. It pictures God as a place of safety and protection for His people. It evokes feelings of permanence and stability.

            The attributes of God deserve our attention. Habakkuk describes God as “everlasting” (v. 12a).This was a reminder of the Lord’s saving history in Israel. Next Habakkuk describes God’s “eyes” (13a). This is an “anthropomorphism” which is the attribution of human features to God. Here it describes God’s omnipotence in how He sees everything going on in the world. God sees evil, but he does not condone evil or tolerate evil.

            The activities of God deserve our attention. We read that God has “established them to correct” (v. 12e). God is going to use the Babylonians to punish, but they will not overstep God’s sovereign will. (This was the message of God to Habakkuk in 1:5-11.)

            Lastly, the attitude of Habakkuk deserves our attention. Habakkuk almost seems relieved to know God is active, but God had not responded the way Habakkuk wanted. This is important to note: Habakkuk does not question that God punish Judah, but Habakkuk does question how God will use an evil nation to punish Judah. Habakkuk 1:11-12 reminds us of an important reality in the Christian life which is this.

We have confidence in the eternal God.

            For Habakkuk things are not looking good, but Habakkuk still believes God is good. Thingshave been bad for 300 years in Israel and Judah, and they are not getting better. Yet Habakkuk still has confidence in the eternal God as seen in Habakkuk’s addresses to God as “Lord” “Holy One” “Rock” and “Everlasting.” Pastor John MacArthur writes, “Although the prophet could not fully comprehend the sovereign workings of his righteous God, he expressed his complete faith and trust.”[xii] While the devastation of divine judgement was terrible, Habakkuk drew hope and consolation from God’s holiness and faithfulness.

            Reading about God’s potential judgment requires a reflection on God’s promises to Israel. Scripture written before the book of Habakkuk said God would remain faithful to the Patriarchs based on the covenant with Abraham (Gen 17:2-8; 26:3-5; 28:13-15). Scripture also revealed that God would remain faithful to Israel as they were the descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (Exod 3:3-15; Deut 7:6; 14:1-2; 26:16-18). Furthermore, God would remain faithful to the house of David in how God told David that David would always have a descendant on the throne (2 Sam 7:12-29).[xiii]

            While there were promises given to Israel then, God also gives promises to believers living today. Promises that we will always be tied to God because of His love (Rom 8:38-39). Promises that we are adopted as sons and daughters (Gal 3:26-27). These promises give us confidence in the eternal God.

            Where I live in Washington we sometimes experience snow and icy conditions in parking lots. One important element of walking on ice is to look for parts of a parking lot or sidewalk that do not have ice. When walking you look for the solid parts and step there. You avoid the slippery spots and walk on the solid parts. In a similar way, we rest and focus on the elements of God we know for sure. We don’t know everything about God, but we stick with what we do know. Pastor J. Vernon McGee once said, “My friend, do not be disturbed if you are not thinking as God thinks. You are not God. Unfortunately many folk try to take His place.”[xiv] What a blessing it is to have the benefit of confidence looking back at these things. But Habakkuk does not have that benefit. So let’s continue as he shares his concerns with God.

DESCRIPTION OF THE BABYLONIANS (1:14-17)

Helplessness of Humanity (vv. 14-15)

Habakkuk tells us about the helplessness of humanity by using the analogy of fishing, “Why have You made men like the fish of the sea, like creeping things without a ruler over them?” (Habakkuk 1:1). This is an analogy because fish have no leader and they’re easy to catch. These fish represent human society to the Babylonians. In other words, Judah is as helpless as fish and they are going to be easy to catch without a leader.

            Habakkuk tells us about the catch of the sea for the Babylonians, “The Chaldeans bring all of them up with a hook, drag them away with their net, and gather them together in their fishing net. Therefore they rejoice and are glad” (Habakkuk 1:15).  This is what the Babylonians do. The “Chaldeans” were a tribe within the Assyrian Empire that rose up and overtook the Assyrian Empire. Nabopolassar rose up into power in 625 BC and Nebuchadnezzar inherited the powerful kingdom in 605 BC. The Chaldeans were the original tribe name of the nation known as the Babylonians.

            The Babylonians had a tradition of driving a hook through the lower lip of their captives, stringing them together, and then walking them together in a single-file line as their captives.[xv] Brutality was seen when they captured king Zedekiah, killed his sons in front of him, then they gouged out his eyes (2 Kings 25:7).

Haughtiness of Babylonians (vv. 16-17)

The haughtiness of the Babylonians is seen in how they believe in themselves, “Therefore they offer a sacrifice to their net and burn incense to their fishing net; because through these things their catch is large, and their food is plentiful” (Habakkuk 1:16).  The Babylonians attributed their success to their own military might, worshipped what brought them success, loved their livelihood, enjoyed their luxury, and they lived by the plunder of the people that they conquered. Those helpless fish they gathered up indiscriminately and caught in their net were their life.

            The haughtiness of the Babylonians is also seen in how they battle anyone they want, “Will they therefore empty their net And continually slay nations without sparing?” (Habakkuk 1:17). They fill the net, empty it, then fill it again. As we read about the arrogance and self reliance of the Babylonians it reminds us as Christians about an important principle we follow.

We have confidence that we achieve nothing without god

The pride of the Babylonians we read here matches what we read earlier in this chapter, “Then they will sweep through like the wind and pass on. But they will be held guilty, they whose strength is their god” (Habakkuk 1:11). The Babylonians believed everything they achieved was because of their might. Their strength was their god. They believed that what they achieved was because of their effort. As a result there was no acknowledgement of a god in heaven that was allowing them to do what they were doing. And that’s why God will eventually bring them down.

            That same attitude can creep into our lives as believers if we’re not careful. If we’re not careful we might start to depend on our connections, creativity, experience, education, family, or innovativeness. We as Christians must remind ourselves that God is provider and sustainer of everything that we achieve and have. Everything we have is God’s blessing to us.

            All of our success is God’s provision for us. A parent might hear from a teacher that her kids are doing excellent in school. Give God the credit! Someone working in food service might receive grateful compliments from the people she is serving food. Praise God for the honor of doing the work! A mechanic on a car might receive good reviews online for his work. Let the glory go to God!

            I started working at the church I now serve in July of 2021 during COVID when a lot of people were not attending church in person. Within two years of me pastoring that church attendance had doubled in size. For me I had no other choice than to attribute the growth to God’s timing of when He had me start and with the fact that people were now attending church again in person.

            It’s important to praise God when things go well because it’s our human nature to attribute our success to our work instead of to God. The Swiss reformer John Calvin once wrote it was “necessary that God should empty us by his special grace, that we may not be filled with this satanic pride, which is innate, and which cannot by any means be shaken off by us, until the Lord regenerates us by his Spirit.”[xvi] Thus we remind ourselves that we have confidence we achieve nothing without God.

            In this section of Habakkuk’s response to God we are seeing Habakkuk’s experience. We have read about Habakkuk’s declaration that taught us we have confidence in the eternal God. We have read about Habakkak’s description that taught us we achieve nothing without God. Last, we see Habakkuk waiting for a reply.

DETERMINATION TO WAIT (2:1)

Cities in the seventh century often were built with stone towers on top of the city walls so a watchman could easily see approaching visitors. That’s the imagery that Habakkuk employs here[xvii] when he says, “I will stand on my guard post and station myself on the rampart; and I will keep watch to see what He will speak to me, and how I may reply when I am reproved” (Habakkuk 2:1). While the verse designations in our Bible were not originally placed there by the writers, I’d like to point out three characteristics of Habakkuk 2:1.

            The first is that he’s standing (v. 1a). It’s easy when experiencing struggles to get discouraged and sink down into confusion and hopelessness. Instead Habakkuk stands up, has his head high, his eyes are open, and he’s looking out. The second is he’s watching (v. 1b). Habakkuk compares himself to a watchman that keeps his eyes open for approaching messengers or danger. The third is he’s waiting (v. 1c). Habakkuk braces himself for a rebuke, “when I am reproved.” Habakkuk waits patiently for divine revelation.

            Old Testament scholar O. Palmer Robertson writes that Habakkuk “will not attempt to reconcile in his own mind the apparent contradiction between the election of Israel by God as the object of his special love and the devastation of Israel at the hands of the rapacious Chaldeans as ordered by the Lord himself. He will not resort to the sources of human wisdom. Instead, he will watch for an answer that can come from the Lord.”[xviii]

            Habakkuk expects to get a reply. Sometimes only God can answer. The last lesson we learn from this passage is this.

We have confidence that God will reply.

When God replies He might correct us or comfort us, but we should have confidence that He will reply to us. And we need a place to go to wait for His reply just as Habakkuk did.

            As this relates to us, we need a place to get above the mess we are in and get away from the distractions we face. It might be some quiet time in the morning with coffee and a Bible and a journal. It might be late at night after everyone is sleeping when you can quietly pray. Maybe you sneak away in the middle of the day and go sit in your car on your lunchbreak while at work.

            When we encounter tough times we usually respond in two ways. Sometimes we leave God. When we leave God we withdraw from Sunday worship, stop attending a weekly Bible study, quit giving, or discontinue serving. Sometimes we lean into God. When we lean into God we rigorously study His Word more, seek counsel from Godly friends or family, and spend more time in fellowship with church people.

            I want to encourage you to lean into God. He knows what you’re going through, He knows what you’re feeling, and He knows what to do. You can be confident that He will reply. These types of situations require a certain level of human responsibility. If God speaks, we must be ready to listen. And when we lean into God it shows Him that we are ready to listen and that we are ready for His correction or His comfort.

            Reading Habakkuk’s reply in these verses gives us confidence in the eternal God, confidence that we achieve nothing without God, and confidence God will reply.

CONCLUSION

I hope that reading through the book of Habakkuk causes us to admire the man Habakkuk. We find Habakkuk here waiting for God’s reply. He wants to honor God, to see God’s people change their lifestyle, and he wants to make Judah a place holy and honorable before God. Yet he has to wait for God’s reply.

            This is tough because we don’t like to wait. We’re taught waiting is bad. We’ve been trained that waiting is an enemy. We have ATMs that give us instant cash, same day deliveries from Amazon, meals made in minutes, as well as have movies, books, and music that appear instantly on our TVs, tablets, and phones when we want them. Author Jen Wilkin states, “But being able to wait is distinctly Christian. In fact, it’s a mark of Christian maturity.”[xix] We as Christians can wait and be confident.

            Sometimes the answers come immediately, but most of the time God reveals those answers much later—sometimes, months or years pass—then we finally get an answer from God for why He’s done what He did in our lives, for why He caused us to endure what we went through, and for why He allowed people to do or say certain things. While we wait we can have confidence in the eternal God, we can have confidence that we achieve nothing without God, and we can have confidence that God will reply.

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[i] Originally prepared and delivered at Lakeview Missionary Church on April 30, 2023, third in a series “Reverent Wrestlings” from Habakkuk.

[ii] Christopher L. Scott serves as senior pastor at Lakeview Missionary Church in Moses Lake, WA.

[iii] Page Brooks and D. A. Neal, “Theodicy,” ed. John D. Barry et al., The Lexham Bible Dictionary (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2016).

[iv] Christopher L. Scott, “Wondering and Waiting: Habakkuk 1:1-4” in Word & Deed, vol XXVI Number 2 May 2024, 93-101.

[v] Habakkuk has good reason to be puzzled. In 722 BC the Assyrian army arrived in Israel in the north and wiped out Israel. As a result the nation had been removed from the ancient near eastern landscape. Habakkuk naturally wondered if that might be the same fate of Judah? These questions Habakkuk asks likely are in 607 BC.

[vi] Habakkuk 1:12 begins with the interrogative particle, halo.

[vii] Scripture taken from the New American Standard Bible, Copyright The Lockman Foundation 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995. Used by permission.

[viii] J. Ronald Blue explains, “In Hebrew, the form of the question-O LORD, are You not from everlasting?-requires an affirmative reply. It is as much a declaration as an interrogation” (J. Ronald Blue, “Habakkuk,” in The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures, ed. J. F. Walvoord and R. B. Zuck, vol. 1 [Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1985], 1511).

[ix] The NET Bible (Biblical Studies Press, 2005).

[x] According to one lexicon it occurs 6,823 times in the Old Testament (Brown, Francis, Samuel Rolles Driver, and Charles Augustus Briggs. Enhanced Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew and English Lexicon. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1977).

[xi] Other forms based on the Hebrew are “God” from Elohim and “Lord” from Adonai.

[xii] MacArthur Study Bible (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 1996), 1289.

[xiii] Richard Patterson, Habakkuk, Cornerstone Biblical Commentary, vol. 10 (Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House, 2008), 412.

[xiv] J Vernon McGee, Nahum and Habakkuk, Thru the Bible Commentary Series, vol. 30 (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 1991), 80.

[xv] Numerous commentaries cite this. O. Palmer Robertson, The Books of Nahum, Habakkuk, and Zephaniah. The New International Commentary on the Old Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1990), 163 and Thomas Constable, Notes on Habakkuk, 2023 edition, p. 23. Accessed May 27, 2024, https://planobiblechapel.org/tcon/notes/pdf/habakkuk.pdf. Both Constable and Robertson cite the W. Rudolph, Micha-Nahum-Habakuk-Zephanja (sic), KAT 13/3, second edition (Gütersloh: Gerd Mohn, 1975), 211. Also see the “Stele of victory from Susa” which depicts enemies caught in a net from 2371-2316 BC (Cultural Backgrounds Study Bible, [Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2019], 1551).

[xvi] John Calvin and John Owen. Commentaries on the Twelve Minor Prophets (Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software, 2010), 52.

[xvii] Other prophets used a similar image of a watchtower to explain their attitude of expectation (Isa 21:8; Jer 6:17; Ezek 3:17; 33:2, 33)

[xviii] Robertson, Habakkuk, 165.

[xix] Jen Wilkin, “Waiting on the Word,” Christianity Today, April 2022, p. 30.

We’ve all heard news that was too good to be true. Statements on the radio or YouTube tell us: “You’ll never have to pay an energy bill again after you put solar panels on your house,” or “Drinking a glass of water before bed will cause you to lose 30lbs in a month,” and my personal favorite, “This kind of chocolate is healthy and good for you.”

            While those statements are too good to be true, the people living in Judah in 606 BC were about to receive news that was too bad to be true. When they heard it they might have said, Could you repeat that? or I heard what you said, but it was so odd, I must have misunderstood you.

            Habakkuk 1:1-4 recorded Habakkuk’s complaints and cry out to God. Habakkuk pleaded with God to do something about the evil, wickedness, and violence that Habakkuk saw occurring in the nation of Judah. In Habakkuk 1:5-11 we read God’s response to Habakkuk.

GOD’S INTENTION OF DISCIPLINE    

            Habakkuk 1:5 serves as an introduction to this oracle of judgement. “Look among the nations! Observe! Be astonished! Wonder! Because I am doing something in your days— You would not believe if you were told.”[i] God breaks the silence Habakkuk endured as Habakkuk shared, “How long O Lord, will I call for help, and You will not hear?” (v. 2). That question is answered now. God has been doing something. When the text says “Look” and “Observe” and “Be Astonished!” and “Wonder!” those are all plural imperatives[ii] in the Hebrew text that emphasize two things. First, there is an urgency of what is commanded that they look and take note. Second, as plurals these words are addressed to the nation of Judah, not only to the prophet Habakkuk.

            Habakkuk is learning God has not been idle while Habakkuk asked his question. Habakkuk is learning God’s silence does not equal indifference, that God is already working on specific plans, and that God’s answers are not what Habakkuk wanted. Habakkuk had thought God would turn the people from wickedness to righteousness. He thought God would turn the people to the temple and away from pagan gods. He thought God would turn the king to God and way from idolatry.

God is sovereign in how He deals with all people.

            God surprises them in what He does and what God does reminds them about God’s sovereignty. The late Warren Wiersbe explained, “God gave Habakkuk a revelation, not an explanation, for what we always need in times of doubt is a new view of God. The Lord doesn’t owe us any explanations, but He does graciously reveal Himself and His work to those who seek Him.”[iii] This new view is that God is sovereign.

            Theologian John Fienberg defines sovereignty this way, “God’s power of absolute self-determination … God’s choices are determined only by his own nature and purposes…. God’s sovereign will is also free, for nobody forces him to do anything, and whatever he does is in accord with his own purposes and wishes.”[iv]

            We know God is sovereign from different areas. We know God is sovereign from Scripture. Psalm 103:19 tells us, “The LORD has established His throne in the heavens, And His sovereignty rules over all.” And 1 Chronicles 29:11 reveals, “Yours, O LORD, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the victory and the majesty, indeed everything that is in the heavens and the earth; Yours is the dominion, O LORD, and You exalt Yourself as head over all.” We also know God is sovereign from His names in Scripture, “God Most High” (Genesis 14:18–20), “God Almighty” (Genesis 17:1), “Master & Lord, Jesus Christ” (Jude 4). And we know God is sovereign from world history, “you O king, are the king of kings, to whom the God of heaven has given the kingdom, the power, the strength and the glory; and wherever the sons of men dwell, or the beasts of the field, or the birds of the sky, He has given them into your hand and has caused you to rule over them all” (Daniel 2:37–38).

            Scripture makes it clear that God is sovereign in how He deals with all people. Bible teacher Kenneth Barker comments on Habakkuk 1:5,

The Lord’s answer indicates his sovereignty. He is not bound by the listener’s whims or by their standards of “fairness.” He responds according to his sovereign will. He is the Lord of history who works in history to accomplish his purpose. Habakkuk’s questions reflect the questions of many people. Especially when we deal with personal affronts, difficulties, and disappointment, we desire to know where God is and what he is doing. Habakkuk reminds us that God is at work even if it appears He is not. He is the Lord of the universe who works to accomplish his purposes in his world and in our lives.[v]

            So Habakkuk learns God is sovereign in what God does, next Habakkuk learns God is sovereign in who God chooses.

GOD’S INSTRUMENT OF DISCIPLINE[vi]

            Habakkuk 1:5 is an introduction to the oracle of judgement and Habakkuk 1:6-11 is the explanation.

The Destruction by the Babylonians

            “For behold, I am raising up the Chaldeans” (Habakkuk 1:6a). The Hebrew word, kasdim, is translated as “Chaldeans”[vii] in the NASB but this group of people is better known by another name: Babylonians (see NIV and NLT). The Babylonians were a tribe within the Assyrian Empire that rose up and overtook the Assyrian Empire. Nabopolassar rose up into power in 625 BC and Nebuchadnezzar inherited the powerful kingdom in 605 BC.[viii]

            This was surprising for two reasons. One, that a small group within the nation of Assyria could rise up and overtake Assyria. Two, that God would allow a foreign wicked evil nation to punish the nation of Judah.

            In the book of Habakkuk we see God using ungodly people and ungodly forces to punish and purify His people in Judah who were acting ungodly.

The Description of the Babylonians

            Their size is described, “That fierce and impetuous people who march throughout the earth to seize dwelling places which are not theirs” (Habakkuk 1:6).The word “That” begins a list of twenty different features of the Babylonians.

            Their status is described, “They are dreaded and feared; their justice and authority originate with themselves” (Habakkuk 1:7). They do whatever they wanted. There was no judge but themselves, and no law but themselves.

            Their speed is described, “Their horses are swifter than leopards and keener than wolves in the evening. Their horsemen come galloping, their horsemen come from afar; they fly like an eagle swooping down to devour” (Habakkuk 1:8). We want to take Scripture in a simple straightforward literal way except in some cases when that seems impossible. For example, “horses are swifter than leopards” is hyperbole (an exaggeration that’s used to say more than is literally meant.)[ix] Babylon was 600 miles east of Judah. The essence here is that distance will not make a difference.

            Their success is described, “All of them come for violence. Their horde of faces moves forward. They collect captives like sand” (Habakkuk 1:9). Whatever they look at they take for themselves.

            Their scoffing is described, “They mock at kings and rulers are a laughing matter to them. They laugh at every fortress and heap up rubble to capture it” (Habakkuk 1:10). An example of the Babylonians’ brutality was seen when they captured king Zedekiah, killed his sons in front of him, then they gouged out his eyes (2 Kings 25:7). The phrase, “heap up rubble to capture it” refers to piling up dirt to a wall so they could capture it. Nothing could stop the Babylonians. The lesson is this: everyone should fear the nation that has no fear.

God is just in how He deals with Israel in a specific way.

            God had a unique relationship with Israel. He made a promise with Abraham marking out one family and one nation (see Genesis 11:10-Exodus 18:27).[x] God also gave the Mosaic Law which was 613 laws for a life of obedience following God (see Exodus 19:1-Acts 1:26).[xi] The people were responsible to keep the law (James 2:10) but they failed (Romans 10:1-3).             

            The goal of the promise with Abraham and the Law with Israel was to make Israel a kingdom of priests as described in Exodus 19:6 when God said to Israel, “and you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.”[xii] Before Moses died he gave two promises to Israel. The first promise was for blessings on the nation of Israel if they followed God’s laws faithfully (Deuteronomy 28:1-14). The second promise was of curses that would come upon Israel if they disobeyed God and His word (Deuteronomy 28:15-68).[xiii]

            I say all of this because we—as Americans—shouldn’t insert ourselves into these prophecies in Habakkuk because God hasn’t made a promise with America like He did Israel.

            Israel’s prophets warned them that God would allow Gentiles to overrun Judah because of their disobedience to God (Deuteronomy 28:49-50; 1 Kings 11:14, 23; Jeremiah 4; 5:14-17; 6:22-30; Amos 6:14), but the people did not believe this would happen (Jeremiah 5:12; 6:14; 7:1-34; 8:11; Lamentations 4:12; Amos 6). Therefore God allowed Gentile nations to conquer them. God was doing to Israel what He told Israel He would do if they refused to return to Him. God was dealing with them because God had warned them.

            While we’ve seen God reveal to Habakkuk who this nation is (Babylon) and what they are like (powerful and wicked). Next God reveals what Babylon will do.

GOD’S IMPLEMENTATION OF DISCIPLINE

            While Habakkuk 1:5 was the introduction and Habakkuk 1:6-10 was the explanation, now we see Habakkuk 1:11 is the climax: “Then they [Babylonians] will sweep through like the wind and pass on. But they will be held guilty, they whose strength is their god.”

            We see that the Babylonians will reign and nothing will stop them. (Only God is going to be able to stop them). As one Bible teacher has said, “God may seem to be strangely silent and inactive in threatening circumstances. He sometimes gives unexpected answers to our prayers. And He sometimes uses unlikely instruments to correct His people.”[xiv] That unlikely instrument is the nation of Babylon.

            But we also see that the Babylonians source of their reign will be temporary. The phrase, “whose strength is their god” indicates that their strength will be their demise. Their might will cause their downfall.

God is gracious in how he deals with us in a different way.

            Let’s look at Acts 13:39-41 to see how God interacts with us differently now than He did with Israel then:

And through Him [Jesus] everyone who believes is freed from all things, from which you could not be freed through the Law of Moses. Therefore take heed, so that the thing spoken of in the Prophets may not come upon you: “Behold, you scoffers, and marvel, and perish; for I am accomplishing a work in your days, a work which you will never believe, though someone should describe it to you.”

            Let me explain the significance of these three verses. There are different ways to outline the book of Acts. There’s a geography outline focusing on what occurs in Jerusalem (chapters 1-7), Judea (chapter 8), and Samaria (chapters 9-28). There’s also a ministry outline profiling the ministry of Peter (chapters 1-12) and Paul (chapters 13-28). The outline I want to emphasize is the Gospel outline in which the Gospel is directed toward the Jews (chapters 1-10) and then to the Gentiles (chapters 11-28). God makes it clear in the book of Acts that God is no longer using one nation—Israel—to display glory. No longer is Israel the mediator. Now all people have access to God through one man: Jesus Christ.

            There are some important meanings for us to understand. We are part of that offer to the Gentiles. When Christ died on the Cross He fulfilled the Law (Acts 13:39). The end of that Law is why we don’t sacrifice a lamb at the end of our church services, why we worship on Sunday(the day of the resurrection) not Saturday(the day of the Sabbath), and why we don’t practice the feasts of the Old Testament. We are living in the time of grace. We interact with God because of the grace offered to us. We are not interacting with God based on the Law that was given to Israel. We don’t have the same obligations as Israel under the Law because we are Gentiles living in the age of grace.

            There are some implications for us because of that grace. If you forgot to pray this morning or didn’t read your Bible yesterday you don’t have to worry about God sending lightening to strike you and correct you. God is not going to give you all red lights on your way to work on Monday to punish you for forgetting to put your tithe check in the offering plate on Sunday. We don’t worship a fickle god that has petty disagreements with us. We worship a God that gave His Son to die for us and His desire is that we place our faith in His son and obediently follow Him.

CONCLUSION

            Christ coming displayed God’s grace of salvation. Under grace the responsibility of man is to accept the gift of righteousness offered freely through Jesus Christ to all people (Romans 5:15-18). There are two important elements of the time of grace. One is that we get blessed through grace. Another is that grace is offered to all. God no longer is dealing with one people—Israel—now He is interacting with all mankind (as seen from Acts 2:1 through Revelation 19:21).[xv]

            And that’s the news that is too good to be true. That God loved the world so much that He gave His Son—through the nation of Israel—to offer salvation to all the world. That faith in His Son gives eternal life. That’s news that is good and true.

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[i] Scripture taken from the New American Standard Bible, Copyright The Lockman Foundation 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995. Used by permission.

[ii] An imperative in Hebrew is “urgent or demanding immediate, specific action on the part of the addressee” (Bruce Waltke and M O’Connor, An Introduction to Biblical Hebrew Syntax [Winona Lake, IN: Eisenbrauns, 1990], 571).

[iii] Warren Wiersbe, Be Amazed (Colorado Springs, CO: David C. Cook, 2012, 2^nd edition), 136-137.

[iv] John Feinberg, No One Like Him (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2006), 294.

[v] Kenneth L. Barker, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, vol. 20. The New American Commentary (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1999), 302.

[vi] Outline for this section is slightly adapted from J. Ron Blue, “Habakkuk” in Bible Knowledge Commentary: Old Testament, edited by John Walvoord and Roy Zuck (Colorado Springs, CO: David C. Cook, 1985), 1510.

[vii] In Hebrew, כַּשְׂדִּים

[viii] B. T. Arnold, “Babylon” (pp. 53-60) edited by Mark J. Boda and Gordon J. McConville, Dictionary of the Old Testament: Prophets (Downers Grove, IL; Inter-Varsity Press, 2012), 59.

[ix] Thomas Constable, Notes on Habakkuk, 2023 edition, p. 19, footnote 3, accessed November 23, 2023, https://planobiblechapel.org/tcon/notes/pdf/habakkuk.pdf.

[x] Charles Ryrie, Dispensationalism (Chicago, IL: Moody, 2007), 61-63.

[xi] Ibid., 63-64.

[xii] “Their role thenceforth would be to mediate or intercede as priests between the holy God and the wayward nations of the world, with the end in view not only of declaring his salvation but also of providing the human channel in and through whom this salvation would be effected.” (Eugene H. Merrill, Kingdom of Priests, 2^nd ed. [Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2008], 98.

[xiii] There are four times as many curses as there are blessings, either to follow Ancient Near East (ANE) treaties or to foreshadow the future failure of Israel to keep the covenant.

[xiv] Constable, Notes on Habakkuk, p. 21.

[xv] Ryrie, Dispensationalism, 64.

Most of us have been mesmerized by the pictures we’ve seen of our earth taken from space. Those pictures from space reveal the beautiful oceans, the various continents, the perfectly round shape of the earth, as well as the clouds and weather we can see developing on earth. It looks like the most beautiful place in the galaxy. The earth from those pictures looks peaceful, clean, and calm. Those pictures of our world are nothing but majestic.

            Yet, while the earth looks so beautiful when you are tens of thousands of miles away, those of us that live on earth don’t see the same beauty. When we live on earth we live in the midst of a different world. When we live on earth we see dust blown up by the wind, violence among animals, pollution from creation, injustice by humans, sadness in our communities, and we see suffering.

            In the midst of this we often ask God: Do you know what’s going on? When will you intervene? Why don’t you do something? If you are good why do you allow pain, suffering, and evil?

            The Old Testament book of Habakkuk was written 2600 years ago, yet it deals with a modern problem and common questions we all experience. The book of Habakkuk answers our questions because Habakkuk was asking the same questions then that we ask now. Thankfully, we don’t just read about Habakkuk’s questions, we read about God’s answers.

HABAKKUK’S CALL

“The oracle which Habakkuk the prophet saw.” (Habakkuk 1:1, NASB)[i]

The Prophet

His name, “Habakkuk” (חֲבַקּ֖וּק) only shows up two times in the Bible (Hab 1:1; 3:1). But the book of Habakkuk is quoted several times in the New Testament. Habakkuk 2:4 is quoted by Paul (Rom 1:17; Gal 3:11) as well as by the author of Hebrews (Heb 10:38) and Habakkuk 1:5 is quoted by Paul in a sermon that Luke records in Acts 13:41.

            While nothing in Scripture describes Habakkuk, we can make some conclusions about him from what we read. Habakkuk likely was an officially ordained prophet who was part of the temple liturgical singing. He appears well educated, deeply sensitive, and based on his literary style he was as much of a poet as a prophet.[ii] He also was probably a composer of music or led worship in the table based on the musical notations of Hab 3:19. Habakkuk likely recorded this book in 606-604 BC, under king Jehoiakim (Jer 22:15-17; 2 Kings 23:34-24:5). This means he lived in the final dark days of the southern nation of Judah.

The Oracle

The word, “oracle” (מַשָּׂא) (NLT, “message”, NIV, “prophecy” or literally “burden”) is “a pronouncement or message from God to people.”[iii] In the Old Testament there are three types of oracles:Judgement, blessing, and salvation.[iv] The book of Habakkuk is an oracle of judgement against the evil of the nation of Judah, its kings, its people, and its rulers.

            While most prophets in the Old Testament brought God’s messages to the people, Habakkuk is different. Habakkuk brings the people’s questions to God. And that starts here in verses two and three.

HABAKKUK’S CRY

“How long, O Lord, will I call for help, And You will not hear? I cry out to You, ‘Violence!’ Yet You do not save. Why do You make me see iniquity, And cause me to look on wickedness? Yes, destruction and violence are before me; Strife exists and contention arises.” (Habakkuk 1:2–3)

How Long?

Habakkuk is perplexed by the common wickedness he sees. He wonders why God doesn’t do something about it. Based on these two verses it’s clear he has been asking these questions for a while,[v] but he’s not getting a response. And because he hasn’t received a response he wonders what was going on. Habakkuk is frustrated and exasperated.

            Habakkuk has probably been trying to fix the situation. He probably had given sermons, taught classes, held seminars, conducted counseling, sang songs, wrote “letters to the editor,” and possibly conducted PR campaigns to try to get the people to return back to God from their wicked ways.  

Why?

In verses two and three we see Habakkuk pile up the synonyms as he describes what was going on among the people in Judah: “violence” (vv. 2, 3), “iniquity” (v. 3), “wickedness” (v. 3), “destruction” (v. 3), “strife” (v. 3), “contention” (v. 3). Charles Ryrie describes that “the strife and contention was between the Jewish people themselves, not with their enemies.”[vi] Habakkuk’s issues were with his neighbors in the city of Jerusalem, his fellow priests, and political rulers under whom he served. Because of this God is going to send a foreign nation to punish them.

            We are hearing about the hurting heart of Habakkuk. He has not received an answer from God, he sees wickedness continue in his nation, he feels like God is distant, and he probably feels alone.

 Questions of God should occur in the context of trust of God.

Throughout Scripture there are many biblical examples of people asking God questions but not getting answers. David (Pss 13:1-4; 22:1, 11, 19-20), Asaph (Pss 74:1-2, 10-11), and the Sons of Korah (Pss 88) are just a few of the examples from the Psalms.

            When we read about Habakkuk and see other examples of people asking God questions but not receiving answers it reminds us that our questions should focus on God’s work, not God’s character. We question what God does, not who God is. We can question God’s actions, but we should never question His deity. Additionally, our questions should be directed toward God. We should talk to God, not about God to others. We should complain to God, not about God to others. It’s okay to ask questions such as: “God, are you doing your job?” “God, if feels like you don’t care?” “God, I wonder if you are paying attention?” “God, are you taking a day off?

            I believe we can say these things and still be respectful for who God is even if we question what He does. However, this is a fine-line. A child asking a parent, “Why do you want me to eat all my vegetables?” is very different than the child asking, “Why do I need to do what you say?”

            We can trust God because of His character. We know God is omniscient (all-knowing), omnipotent (all-powerful), and holy (just and perfect). Yet, the more we know Him, the more we trust Him. It is important that we must not believe that God’s silence is a sign of His indifference or inactivity (see Dan 10:12-14 for proof). In the midst of our struggles, sufferings, and problems we need to recognize the long-range plans that God has and that God is putting together even though those long-range plans never make sense at the beginning.

            We must remember that God can see the whole picture but that we cannot. We’ve seen Habakkuk’s cry and his questions he asks from a place of trust and next we see Habakkuk’s heart and concern.

HABAKKUK’S CONCERN

“Therefore the law is ignored And justice is never upheld. For the wicked surround the righteous; Therefore justice comes out perverted.” (Habakkuk 1:4)

The Law

The “law” here is the Hebrew word, torah, (תּוֹרָה) which was the authoritative teaching of God’s Old Testament that revealed God’s will and was supposed to direct the life of God’s people in righteousness. “When used in the singular without clear definition, as here, torah signifies God’s covenantal code established with Israel, given through Moses and set forth particularly in the book of Deuteronomy (e.g., Dt 1:5; 4:8; 17:18-19; 31:9; 33:4; Jos 8:31-32)”[vii]

            But the law was ineffective.The law, apparently is “ignored.” (NIV translates it as “paralyzed”). In other words, the Law has had no effect on the people. It has literally been “numbed” in the lives of the people in Judah. The people are not respecting the Law or giving authority to it. The Law in the life of the people of Judah was like cold numb hands that try to tie a fishing knot. The Law had been considered pointless.

The Situation

Sin was ruling in the land. The rulers were not administering justice to those that needed it. Corruption and lawlessness were part of the situation they were living under. But how bad was it? Habakkuk lived under King Jehoiakim of Judah. Jehoiakim ruled in Judah 609-605 BC under Egypt’s oversight and 605-601 under Babylon’s oversight. During his rule Jehoiakim killed innocent people who opposed him, refused to pay poor laborers (2 Kings 23:35-37; Jer 22:13-19), he killed Uriah the prophet for prophesying that Jerusalem would fall (Jer 26:20-23), and he burned the prophet Jeremiah’s hand-written prophecy (Jer 36). Furthermore, prophets and priests were known to commit adultery and abuse their authority under his rulership (Jer 23:1-2, 9-11).[viii]

Questions of evil and suffering should acknowledge we live in a fallen world.

One of the modern myths we need to extinguish as Christians is that if we become Christians all our problems will go away. When we become Christians our basic spiritual problem of being separated from God because of sin is fixed, but there’s still the problem that we live in a fallen world. We live in a world that does not follow God’s laws and that is ruled under Satan’s program (John 12:31; 2 Cor 4:3-4). This means life won’t always go as planned for us as Christians. This means we need to acknowledge that the world in which we live in is sinful, and that sinful world pollutes our lives.

            When things don’t go the way we think they should we need to remind ourselves that there is injustice in this world. We need to remind ourselves that the sin of the Old Testament still effects us today. In the book of Genesis Adam and Eve committed the original sin (Gen 3), then Cain kills Abel (Gen 4), then God sends the Flood to wipe out the earth because of sin (Gen 6), then God disseminates the people because they were prideful wanting to build a tower to the heavens (Gen 11), then God wipes out Sodom and Gomorrah because of the sin there (Gen 18). That’s a lot of sin for only half of one book of the Bible! And if that’s not bad enough for you, read the book of Judges, 2 Kings, or Jeremiah.

            Consider Habakkuk who was probably a priest in the temple, he likely taught the Law, possibly led singing (Hab 3:19), and he likely enjoyed a good and safe life in Jerusalem. But as we will learn from Habakkuk 1:5-11, God is going to send the nation of Babylon to punish Judah for their sins. Habakkuk is going to endure the Babylonians coming simply because of the fallen world, not because of what he did or didn’t do. Nothing Habakkuk has done has caused God’s punishment to come on Judah, yet Habakkuk still has to endure it.

            Pain, evil, and suffering are the fault of the world we live in, not God. God gave us the freedom to make choices and a byproduct of that freedom is that sometimes the choices that others make hurt us. Sometimes our choices hurt us, but those are easier to wrestle with because we know who to blame: us. But when other people’s decisions effect us negatively, those are the hard situations to endure.

            When I lived in Texas I knew a guy who raised his daughter to love God and follow God. She graduated college and married a man that wanted to be a pastor. She supported him as he went to seminary and served in his first pastor position. But after he had been a pastor a few years he felt like he should be in the Air Force instead of being a pastor. Again she supported him and his decision to leave Christian ministry to join the Air Force and pursue his dream to be a pilot. Soon she found herself alone with their three kids while her husband was flying around the world in the Air Force with his female copilot. It wasn’t too much longer till the man announced he felt he wasn’t supposed to be married to his wife, instead he believed he was supposed to marry his female copilot. The woman I knew found herself divorced, alone, and caring for her three children while the ex-husband was flying around the world with his new wife.

            May I say something clearly and directly? Nothing that woman did caused her to have to experience the hurt and pain and shame that she has had to endure. She did everything right. She chose a spouse that loved God, she supported him through Seminary to be a pastor, she supported him as a pastor, she supported his dream to be a pilot in the Air Force, yet she ended up middle aged and divorced with three kids by herself.

            When we have questions about suffering like this we need to acknowledge that we live in a fallen world. Sometimes we experience pain and suffering that was not caused by anything that we did. But it’s important we remember that our viewpoint is limited, much like the view of the earth was 100 years ago.

CONCLUSION

For more than a thousand years we knew the earth was round, but we could not prove that the earth was round. We knew it intellectually, but we could not prove it physically. That was until 1931 when Captain Albert Stevens, an officer in the U.S. Army Air Corps, took his airplane to 21,000 feet above the earth and took a picture of the Andes Mountains in front of him which are 22,838 feet above the earth. If the earth was flat the Andes Mountains should have been level or slightly above the horizon of his picture which he took 287 miles away. But the Andes mountains were well below the horizon of his picture, thus serving as the first physical evidence that the earth was round.[ix] For years we knew intellectually that the earth was round, but we couldn’t prove it or see it physically.             And that’s sometimes how it works for us when we as Christians are in pain and suffering. We know that God is good. We know God loves us. We know God has a plan. But it’s hard to endure because we can’t see His plan. We can’t see the whole picture that God is painting. But we can trust that in the future after we’ve endured pain and suffering, that God will show us the full picture and we will understand his perspective.

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[i] Scripture taken from the New American Standard Bible, Copyright The Lockman Foundation 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995. Used by permission.

 

[ii] J. Ron Blue, “Habakkuk” in The Bible Knowledge Commentary: Old Testament, edited by John Walvoord and Roy Zuck (Colorado Springs, CO: David C. Cook, 1985), 1508.

 

[iii] Leland Ryken, Symbols and Reality (Wooster, OH: Weaver Book Company, 2016), 31.

 

[iv] Ryken, Symbols and Reality, 32-43.

 

[v] The phrase, עַד־אָ֧נָה indicates that the wicked conduct has continued for a long time without God stopping it (Carl Friedrich Keil, The Twelve Minor Prophets, vol. 2 [Grand Rapids, MI: Wm B. Eerdmans, 1949], 56).

 

[vi] Ryrie Study Bible (Chicago, IL: Moody Publishers, 2012) ,1117.

 

[vii] Carl E. Armerding, “Habakkuk,” in The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Daniel–Malachi (Revised Edition), edited by Tremper Longman III and David E. Garland, vol. 8 (. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2008), 611..

 

[viii] Adapted from J.K. Bruckner, “Habakkuk, Book of” in Dictionary of the Old Testament: Prophets, edited by Mark Boda and J. Gordon McConville (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2012), 294-301, specifically p. 296.

 

[ix] “90 Years of Our Changing Views of Earth,” NASA. https://www.nasa.gov/feature/90-years-of-our-changing-views-of-earth Accessed May 30, 2023.