Habakkuk Asks God Questions.

 

I just finished listening to a sermon by Tim Keller on the book of Habakkuk chapter 1. He spoke this in 2009, after the 2008 crash of Wall Street. Many people lost their jobs at this time. It had become a hard time for almost everyone. As I was listening, I thought it could be a sermon preached for today.

The people of Israel had become wicked. They were even doing more evil than the countries that surrounded them. God had sent them many prophets, but they would not listen to them.

Habakkuk was a prophet of God at this time and his book opens with him asking God,

“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.”

I would say destruction, violence, strife and contention is the order of the day in our world and in our own country. Americans have become two sets of people who argue continually and some become violent and kill. There are record mass shootings, the rule of law is threatened and of course when you think about justice, it is sorely missing.

Habakkuk wanted to know why God wasn’t doing anything to stop it. Where was he? God answered him by telling him the Babylonians would be coming to take the country of Israel by war. Their goal was to rule the known world, which they did.

Habakkuk didn’t like to hear that and asked if they would all be destroyed. He said, “Are we like fish to be caught and killed?” He decided to wait and watch for God’s answer.

The answer is interesting, because God tells him to get pen and paper and write down what he says. He tells Habakkuk what he is saying is going to happen in the far future and the end of time. I know God’s answer is a lot to read, but it is also vitally important if a person wants to know what the Lord’s will is for people. He wants people to have love, justice and generosity, but what he describes of the world is the opposite of that.

God is saying that at times he must put an end to evil, in Habakkuk’s time and in ours. It’s because there is too much evil and too many people are being harmed. At the end of time, I think it will be a necessity because the world is dying from global warming. He will come to rescue those who believe in him.

I’m just going to copy and paste Chapter 2 of Habbakuk.

Then the LORD said to me,

“Write my answer plainly on tablets,

so that a runner can carry the correct message to others.

This vision is for a future time.

It describes the end, and it will be fulfilled.

If it seems slow in coming, wait patiently,

for it will surely take place.

It will not be delayed.

 “Look at the proud!

They trust in themselves, and their lives are crooked.

But the righteous will live by their faithfulness to God.

Wealth is treacherous,

and the arrogant are never at rest.

They open their mouths as wide as the grave,

and like death, they are never satisfied.

In their greed they have gathered up many nations

and swallowed many peoples.

 “But soon their captives will taunt them.

They will mock them, saying,

‘What sorrow awaits you thieves!

Now you will get what you deserve!

You’ve become rich by extortion,

but how much longer can this go on?’

Suddenly, your debtors will take action.

They will turn on you and take all you have,

while you stand trembling and helpless.

Because you have plundered many nations,

now all the survivors will plunder you.

You committed murder throughout the countryside

and filled the towns with violence.

 “What sorrow awaits you who build big houses

with money gained dishonestly!

You believe your wealth will buy security,

putting your family’s nest beyond the reach of danger.

But by the murders you committed,

you have shamed your name and forfeited your lives.

The very stones in the walls cry out against you,

and the beams in the ceilings echo the complaint.

 “What sorrow awaits you who build cities

with money gained through murder and corruption!

Has not the LORD of Heaven’s Armies promised

that the wealth of nations will turn to ashes?

They work so hard,

but all in vain!

For as the waters fill the sea,

the earth will be filled with an awareness

of the glory of the LORD.

 “What sorrow awaits you who make your neighbors drunk!

You force your cup on them

so you can gloat over their shameful nakedness.

But soon it will be your turn to be disgraced.

Come, drink and be exposed!

Drink from the cup of the LORD’s judgment,

and all your glory will be turned to shame.

You cut down the forests of Lebanon.

Now you will be cut down.

You destroyed the wild animals,

so now their terror will be yours.

You committed murder throughout the countryside

and filled the towns with violence.

     “What good is an idol carved by man,

or a cast image that deceives you?

How foolish to trust in your own creation—

a god that can’t even talk!

What sorrow awaits you who say to wooden idols,

‘Wake up and save us!’

To speechless stone images you say,

‘Rise up and teach us!’

Can an idol tell you what to do?

They may be overlaid with gold and silver,

but they are lifeless inside.

       But the LORD is in his holy Temple.

Let all the earth be silent before him.”

 

At the end of his book in Chapter 3, Habakkuk accepts all that God has said. He finishes with a paragraph filled with faith:

 

“Even though the fig trees have no blossoms,

and there are no grapes on the vines;

even though the olive crop fails,

and the fields lie empty and barren;

even though the flocks die in the fields,

and the cattle barns are empty,

yet I will rejoice in the LORD!

I will be joyful in the God of my salvation!

The Sovereign LORD is my strength!

He makes me as surefooted as a deer,

able to tread upon the heights.”

 

If the time of the end of the world happens while we are here, this is the attitude we must have if we want to be saved from this world of sin. We see the sin in the news every day. Everyone must choose who they want to follow, God or Man. Do we want the things of this world which will ultimately be destroyed? Do we want to do anything we can to have wealth, status and power? These are the people who ignore or use the poor for their own ends. These are the people who start wars in order to make money. These are the people who fight against the poor to have a living wage. They buy up land, apartment buildings and houses and then ask exorbitant prices so they increase the homeless population. Do you want to align with such people? This is what the Lord is asking all of us. He has left that choice to us, he cannot force anyone to turn to him and with his strength, become a good person.

 

If you would like to listen to Tim Keller’s sermon, you can find it here.

Why Does God Do Nothing? - Gospel in Life