Habakkuk 1:5
Look at the nations and watch—
and be utterly amazed.
For I am going to do something in your days
that you would not believe,
even if you were told.
Introduction
We continue this little study of the minor prophets with one of my favorite books of the Bible to say, which is Habakkuk. Habakkuk is one of those books of the Bible that I myself sometimes overlook. Some have speculated that Habakkuk was either a priest, a choirmaster in the temple (mainly because of the music notes that are included in the final chapter of the book), or just a member of the tribe of Levi. If the latter were so, it would reveal that he had been set aside by God to be a leader within the community of believers. This book was likely written about the same time as Jeremiah. Jeremiah, Habakkuk, and some of the other prophets were living in a time where they were seeing God’s judgment come down upon His people, and they were seeing what happened when their leaders turned away from God. This was right after the time of King Hezekiah’s death, and his son Manasseh had come into power and turned his back completely on God. It got so bad with Manasseh that he actually sacrificed one of his sons to one of the false gods!
During this time, Habakkuk asks God a few questions. First, he asks why God was using the Babylonians to be his instrument of justice when they were so wicked. He also asks if the divine purpose of these events be justified? And finally, perhaps the most important question to us today was this: why do the wicked seem to triumph while the righteous suffer? Why is it that good people have to suffer bad things? Shouldn’t it be the other way around? We struggle, we toil, we do the right thing, but yet we get attacked, we have things happen to us that we don’t understand, we lose things, we lose friends and family. We sometimes want to scream at God, WHY? Is it because we are meant to suffer? Is it because we have done something evil and deserve it? Or is it from Satan attacking us? And what are we to do when something terrible befalls us? We do what Habakkuk does: go to the Lord. Let’s look at what he says to God and what God says back.
Complaints
Habakkuk opens his prayer with this in verse 2. “How long, Lord, must I call for help, but you do not listen? Or cry out to you, ‘Violence!’ but you do not save?” Something terrible is happening to Habakkuk at this time, and to his people. He knew that the leaders of his land were not following God, and he knew that God was revealing something to him in a way that would show God’s forgiveness and lovingness towards them. But sometimes you just are so worn down by trying to do the right thing, and you just get beat down sometimes by the weariness of life. You wonder, is God really listening? I mean, I’m doing everything in the right way, coming to the Lord in humbleness often, staying in righteousness, even tithing above what I need to do. Are you there God?! Do you hear me? Habakkuk had felt somewhat abandoned, I think. The righteous were suffering, and they were calling for help, but no help was coming.
Sometimes, when God hears our complaints, it is our job to wait and listen for Him. Have you ever wanted something badly, but had to wait on it? Either it hadn’t been released, or else you had to save up for it? The payoff for something you truly have to wait on is usually greater than the instant gratification if someone just gave it to you, isn’t it? In this entire book of the Bible, God shows to Habakkuk that the coming salvation of the people is going to be great, but that Habakkuk has to hold on. I was reading this week for this topic, and I read an outline that stated that ‘preachers, churches, and Christians must sometimes pray and wait long for an answer.” James 5:7 says “be patient, therefore, brothers, until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, being patient about it, until it receives the early and the late rains.” That might be the best picture that we have here for us today. What happens when you eat fruit that is not quite ripe? Either it tastes awful (think about the bitterness of red blackberries), or it will make you have terrible indigestion. Being patient for God is a difficult thing to do, especially when you are waiting on an answer. We live in a society today that we expect instant gratification. We have apps on our phones and computers that when we put in a comment, we can have people ‘like’ or ‘love’ those comments immediately. And the downside to that is that if we come to expect that all the time, even of our Lord, then we might be disappointed! Sometimes, we have to wait for the late rains before the fruits can be harvested.
God’s response to this first complaint from Habakkuk is one that surprises the writer, as well as us. God gives us one of the greatest verses in the Bible, chapter 1, verse 5, which I read earlier but I think it’s good to hear one more time. It says “Look at the nations and watch - and be utterly amazed. For I am going to do something in your days that you would not believe, even if you were told.” God promises to Habakkuk that something amazing is going to happen. It’s a double meaning right here. The first amazing thing, right then and there, is that God was going to use the Babylonians to punish His people. The Babylonians! Think of the people you dislike the most, the most anti-God people you can think of, and then think about them just overrunning where you live. And think, too, you haven’t done anything really to anger God personally. You’ve asked forgiveness of your sins, you’ve accepted Jesus as your personal savior, but yet God is still allowing this to happen. You can imagine what your response to God would be if you could talk to him face to face, right? Well, that’s not far off from what Habakkuk does in the latter part of this first chapter. He is indignant to God! He says in verse 13 “your eyes are too pure to look on evil; you cannot tolerate wrongdoing. Why then do you tolerate the treacherous? Why are you silent while the wicked swallow up those more righteous than themselves?” Habakkuk is frankly offended personally by God’s choice of tool here, and wouldn’t you be, too? These are idolaters, they sacrifice children to their gods, they are horrendous people! But God is not done yet. Remember, I said that this would have a double meaning, right? We have a salvation coming.
Salvation of Sinners
God continues in chapter 2 of this book, almost as if Habakkuk had interrupted God. I have a bad habit of talking too much, as y’all well know. I also try to be conscientious about not stepping over people’s words when they are talking to me. I think this is one of those times where Habakkuk really had just stepped right over God’s words in his indignant state! But God talks to him in a way that a father would talk to his child when the child is indignant towards the parents for what they perceive as injustice. God says in chapter 2 verse 3 that “the revelation awaits an appointed time; it speaks of the end and will not prove false. Though it linger, wait for it; it will certain come and will not delay.” God says to wait, Habakkuk. I understand that you can’t fully understand this right now. But please know that I am fully in control, and that your salvation is coming, and the salvation for all who are righteous is coming.
This reminds me of Psalm 37:7-9, which says “Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him; fret not yourself over the one who prospers in his way, over the man who carries out evil devices! Refrain from anger, and forsake wrath! Fret not yourself; it tends only to evil. For the evildoers shall be cut off, but those who wait for the Lord shall inherit the land.” Our anger at God, our worry, our fretting over the why of God’s devices when not put into a frame of faith will inevitably lead us into sinfulness. I know that it is hard for us to not worry about the seeming success of those who go against God’s word and teachings. I’ll give you a personal example. One of my favorite actors is Stephen Fry. He’s a British actor, and is a fine one at that. He has been in Sherlock Holmes movies, he is a very talented voice actor, and is generally seemingly a good person. That said, he is an avowed atheist. In fact, he gives a great deal of money to atheist causes, and has been quoted as saying that he will do everything in his power to stop the ‘brainwashing of people’ to this ‘fairytale of heaven and hell.’ When I found that out, and found out that in his great influence that he had convinced others to abandon their faith in Christ, it grieved me. I stopped watching his movies, stopped supporting his art. But even beyond that, it somehow personally insulted me that he would go out of his way to support causes that went against God’s teachings. Now, does Stephen Fry know me from Adam’s housecat? Absolutely not! Would it matter one whit to him that I was offended by him? Likely not. In fact, he would likely dismiss me outright and ridicule me. Now, does this mean that we are to do likewise to those that are like that, not even the rich and famous? Absolutely not. God’s edict here is to not fret over it. God’s revelation, his judgement, and his mercy always comes. It will certain come and will not delay, and those who wait for the Lord will inherit His riches.
It’s a hard thing to do, though. We see our friends, our family, our neighbors suffer through terrible things. We wonder “why is God allowing this?” I will tell you that sometimes, God does judge us. But other times, it is because of the actions of others that God punishes. Other times, it is because he is putting us through the crucible to refine us. And even other times, it is because Satan is attacking us. But here is the secret of all of these scenarios: God is still completely in control of all of it. In chapter 2, verse 4 of Habakkuk, God’s word says “See, the enemy is puffed up; his desires are not upright- but the righteous person will live by faithfulness.” God then goes on through the rest of this chapter and shows the effects of living in an unrighteous manner. In verse 10, their house is shamed, and their lives are forfeited. In verse 16, their nakedness is exposed by their drunkenness, not necessarily fully from alcohol, but also from the drunkenness of excess, and in the next verse, God covers them in disgrace over their glory. In verse 20, God gives his ultimate showing that He is still in control of everything, even if we are being attacked, where He says “the Lord is in his holy temple; let all the earth be silent before him.” When we have to wait for the answer to prayers, when we have to suffer through the terrible things of this world, through the unrighteous benefitting while the righteous suffer, God is still in control of it all. And we turn back to Him no matter what, just like Habakkuk does in chapter three.
A final prayer
The final chapter of Habakkuk comes to us as a song. As I mentioned, we don’t know for certain if Habakkuk was a priest, a choirmaster, or just a Levite. But we know that he put into this last chapter the notes for this to be sung. One commentary put it this way, that Habakkuk 3 has these literary notes for the Temple choir such as appear in the Psalms. Either the psalm was recited by Habkkuk from memory as a result of participation in Temple worship or the psalm was recognized by collectors of scripture as a familiar Temple psalm. Either method enabled the choir to conclude the public reaching of Habakkuk with a song. Habakkuk’s prayer thus became the congregation’s song. It became a song of the people for God’s blessings. Interestingly enough, at least to me, is that after this chapter, God does not respond immediately to Habakkuk. You might imagine that after God had promised salvation from the enemies, Habakkuk must have calmed down. Perhaps he had a peace that God gave to Him.
Habakkuk responds with righteousness and with the right kind of humbleness to God. in verse 2 of chapter 3, Habakkuk says to God “Lord, I have heard of your fame; I stand in awe of your deeds, Lord. Repeat them in our day, in our time make them known; in wrath remember mercy.” He is begging God to repeat the blessings that He has shown to His people once again, but this time instead of asking it in an impatient way, in a way that shows anger and shows immaturity, he shows that he understands that God’s timing is not his timing, and knows that God is completely in control. Habakkuk, I believe, still doesn’t understand completely why he is in such a bad state. He doesn’t understand why bad things continue to happen, but he has determined himself to follow God and to do what is right, what is holy, and what God’s will is. Verses 16-19 gives us a clear picture when it says “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 vines, 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 like the feet of a deer, he enables me to tread on the heights.” The sovereign Lord is my strength and enables me to tread on the heights.
Have you ever had a mountaintop experience, either physically or spiritually? Sometimes it’s like when we go on one of Bud’s hikes, and we get to one of the outcrops and see the valleys below us. It’s quite a sight, isn't it? Or what about when we go to a conference or have a great Bible study where you have that natural spiritual high and you just don’t want to come down off of it? What makes it so special? Would it be so special if we could just stay there all the time? Or if it didn’t take much work to get there? Or if we didn’t experience the valleys while going to the top? God can place us on the mountaintop at any point, but in his great and infinite wisdom, he has us go through the valleys sometimes as well. Psalm 23, one that was probably the first Psalm you ever memorized, tells us that we will talk through the valley of the shadow of death. What are we to do in it? Fear no evil, for God is with us; his rod and his staff comfort us. What does it say at the end of that Psalm? “Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life; and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever.” We have goodness and mercy, and the ultimate reward of dwelling in the house of the Lord when this life is through. Habakkuk asks “why do we have to suffer, Lord?” We have to wait sometimes for that answer, but even when waiting, we cling to God, knowing that he will take us to even greater heights, and show us even greater things than we can even imagine.
Conclusion
We don’t always understand God’s timing, or even God’s methods. We can’t. As Paul put it, we are looking at glory like through a clouded mirror. Do we have troubles? Absolutely. When we are sinful, can God punish us? Yes. Do we get attacked by the enemy? Completely. In fact, in October, we’ll talk extensively about five different ways that Satan attacks us, and what we can do about it. But what are we to do about it? What can we do about it? What Habakkuk does at the very beginning is right, even if it’s done in a way that is impetuous: Habakkuk still goes straight to God. We are always called to go to God. I am reminded of a story of a man who took his daughter hiking with him up a steep mountain. As they started, the man told his daughter to go ahead of him, that he would be right behind her. At first, she zestfully began to climb. She was glad to show her father how intrepid she was, and how strong and capable. But the trail got harder. It grew steeper and more difficult. She slipped and fell. Thorns cut her. Tears came on her cheeks, but still she persisted. She had a strong will, and she was determined not to fail. She had a strong will, and she was determined not to fail. But at least the task became completely impossible, and after the most cruel fall of all, she turned weeping to her father. He took her tenderly in his arms, and they climbed to the top of the mountain together. He never had intended for her to do it alone.
We are never intended to climb to the top of the mountain alone. The whole experience was meant to teach us that our life is to be supplemented by our Lord. Even though we want things in life to be perfect, to be free of heartache, of suffering, and free of worry and woe, we have this in our lives. But God provides us the relief only. Why do bad things happen to good people? Because there is sin in our lives. Because Satan wants to do terrible things to us to try to draw us away from the Lord and to impact our witness in terrible ways. But most of all, why do bad things happen to us as Christians? Because sometimes God allows those things to happen to us so that we will turn to him, have the Father take us in His arms and take us to the mountaintop together. Let’s pray.
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