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