Habakkuk the Intercessor

Habakkuk the Intercessor

Series: Minor Prophets

Text: Hab 1:1-2:1

Introduction: (What?)

Habakkuk (meaning “to embrace”) is different from the other Minor Prophets. Instead of speaking to people on behalf of God, he spoke to God on behalf of people. He recorded his prayers and God’s answers. We know very little about Habakkuk the man. It appears that he was a contemporary of Nahum and Zephaniah as well as Jeremiah. Three NT books quote what is perhaps the greatest line from his book (which is really a song). “The just (righteous) shall live by faith” is found in Romans 1:17 “17 For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith, just as it is written: The righteous will live by faith.”

Gal 3:11 “11 Now it is clear that no one is justified before God by the law, because the righteous will live by faith.”

Hebrews 10:38-39 “38 But my righteous one will live by faith; and if he draws back, I have no pleasure in him. 39 But we are not those who draw back and are destroyed, but those who have faith and are saved.”

Examination: (Why?)

1. Habakkuk’s First Prayer

Hab 1:1-4 “1 The pronouncement that the prophet Habakkuk saw. 2 How long, Lord, must I call for help and you do not listen or cry out to you about violence and you do not save? 3 Why do you force me to look at injustice? Why do you tolerate wrongdoing? Oppression and violence are right in front of me. Strife is ongoing, and conflict escalates. 4 This is why the law is ineffective and justice never emerges. For the wicked restrict the righteous; therefore, justice comes out perverted.”

It sounds as if Habakkuk could be writing today. In a nutshell he is wanting to know why God permits evil in the world and seemingly does not answer the cries for help from those who pray. He was actually writing after the reign of King Josiah, who was the last “good” king of Judah for some time. Those who followed him went from bad to worse. Habakkuk wanted to know why God allowed this to happen.

Those seeking to erode the faith of believers will often pose the same question, but in a different manner. “You don’t believe that a God of love would permit evil in the world do you? Do you think a loving God who is kind at heart would permit suffering in the world?”

These are not new questions. Satan used the same approach to Eve with the intent of making her question God’s motive in denying them the fruit of the tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. The Psalmist Asaph, in Psa 73:2-3 admitted, “2 But as for me, my feet almost slipped; my steps nearly went astray. 3 For I envied the arrogant; I saw the prosperity of the wicked.”

Later in the Psalm Asaph had an Epiphany and realized that, although God didn’t judge immediately, He did judge ultimately. The writer of Eccl 8:11 “11 Because the sentence against an evil act is not carried out quickly, the heart of people is filled with the desire to commit evil.”

Because Habakkuk had a tender, loving heart, he cried out to God on behalf of the righteous people of Judah who had begun to wonder what was the benefit of being righteous if the wicked went unpunished. Their confusion came because they had been raised on the truth of Deut 28:1-6 “1 “Now if you faithfully obey the Lord your God and are careful to follow all his commands I am giving you today, the Lord your God will put you far above all the nations of the earth. 2 All these blessings will come and overtake you, because you obey the Lord your God: 3 You will be blessed in the city and blessed in the country. 4 Your offspring will be blessed, and your land’s produce, and the offspring of your livestock, including the young of your herds and the newborn of your flocks. 5 Your basket and kneading bowl will be blessed. 6 You will be blessed when you come in and blessed when you go out.” But that just didn’t seem to be happening. They were being oppressed by wicked people who seemed to be getting away with sin.

2. God’s First Answer

Hab 1:5-11 “5 Look at the nations and observe— be utterly astounded! For I am doing something in your days that you will not believe when you hear about it. 6 Look! I am raising up the Chaldeans, that bitter, impetuous nation that marches across the earth’s open spaces to seize territories not its own. 7 They are fierce and terrifying; their views of justice and sovereignty stem from themselves. 8 Their horses are swifter than leopards and more fierce than wolves of the night. Their horsemen charge ahead; their horsemen come from distant lands. They fly like eagles, swooping to devour. 9 All of them come to do violence; their faces are set in determination. They gather prisoners like sand. 10 They mock kings, and rulers are a joke to them. They laugh at every fortress and build siege ramps to capture it. 11 Then they sweep by like the wind and pass through. They are guilty; their strength is their god.”

God challenged Habakkuk to open his eyes and look around. In reality God was very active. He was not just sitting in heaven observing evil and doing nothing about it. He said, “If I told you what I was doing, you wouldn’t believe it.” Then He went on to point out some of His activity.

Paul quoted this text in Acts 13:41 “41 Look, you scoffers, marvel and vanish away, because I am doing a work in your days, a work that you will never believe, even if someone were to explain it to you.”” He was warning the people of Antioch not to fall prey to the thinking of those in Habakkuk’s day.

God specifically mentioned “the Chaldeans”. It will help for us to take a moment and see just who the Chaldeans were…and are.

They lived in the southern part of Babylonia (the southern part of Iraq today). They were a semi-nomadic tribe of intelligent, aggressive, warlike people. Abraham was from “Ur of the Chaldees”. Several Chaldeans, including Nebuchadnezzar and Belshazzar became kings of the Babylonians. In the Book of Daniel, the Chaldeans were the wise men who prevailed upon Nebuchadnezzar to throw Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego into the fiery furnace. They were known for their study of astrology and most likely the wise men who followed the star when Christ was born were Chaldeans.

Chaldeans today are an Aramaic speaking Eastern Orthodox Catholic group of people in Iraq and an estimated 500,000 Chaldeans/Assyrians live throughout the United States. Michigan, California, Arizona, and Illinois have the most significant numbers. Their population experiences constant growth because of the continuous flood of Christian refugees. Christians are still fleeing Iraq due to religious persecution.

God pictured the Chaldeans of Habakkuk’s day as fierce warriors who rampaged through the area seizing territory that was not theirs. He used them to discipline the people of Judah because of their idolatry.

3. Habakkuk’s Second Prayer

Hab 1:12-2:1 “12 Are you not from eternity, Lord my God? My Holy One, you will not die. Lord, you appointed them to execute judgment; my Rock, you destined them to punish us. 13 Your eyes are too pure to look on evil, and you cannot tolerate wrongdoing. So why do you tolerate those who are treacherous? Why are you silent while one who is wicked swallows up one who is more righteous than himself? 14 You have made mankind like the fish of the sea, like marine creatures that have no ruler. 15 The Chaldeans pull them all up with a hook, catch them in their dragnet, and gather them in their fishing net; that is why they are glad and rejoice. 16 That is why they sacrifice to their dragnet and burn incense to their fishing net, for by these things their portion is rich and their food plentiful. 17 Will they therefore empty their net and continually slaughter nations without mercy? 1 I will stand at my guard post and station myself on the lookout tower. I will watch to see what he will say to me and what I and what I should reply about my complaint.”

In this second prayer Habakkuk expresses faith that is mixed with doubt. He believes that God is righteous and eternal. He believes that God has used the Chaldeans to discipline the idolatrous people of Judah, but he just can’t quite reconcile what he believes with what is happening.

In v 13 he voiced both his faith and his doubt. “Your eyes are too pure to look on evil, and you cannot tolerate wrongdoing. So why do you tolerate those who are treacherous? Why are you silent while one who is wicked swallows up one who is more righteous than himself? Then he explains what he is observing in vv 14-17 and in the 1st vs of ch 2 he says, “I will stand at my guard post and station myself on the lookout tower. I will watch to see what He will say to me and what I should reply about my complaint.” Next week we will look at God’s answer.

Application: (How does this impact my life?)

There is evil all around us. Even righteous people are being persecuted for their faith. It is OK to ask God what is going on.

Persecution for believers is a way God purifies their faith. In Jas 1:3 “3 because you know that the testing of your faith produces endurance.”

Expect persecution. Expect your faith to be tested. But be assured that on the other side of the testing your faith will be stronger than ever before.