Who answers the Why...

Habakkuk’s Complaint

Today, we’re going to start a series in the book of Habakkuk. Over the next couple of months, the Lord willing, we’ll endeavour to walk through the book of Habakkuk.

Even though I have taken verses out of the book of Habakkuk, I’ve never preached through the book of Habakkuk. I’m looking forward to see what God wants to say to us.

Background

Not a lot is known about Habakkuk, but it’s believed that Habakkuk was a prophet that came from the tribe of Levi. He was from a priestly home.

Hebrew lore or legend has a couple of stories that he was the son of the Shunamite woman that Elisha raised back to life. In the Apocryphal book of Bel and the Dragon, he was commanded to take Daniel a meal after he had been thrown into the lion’s den a second time. As the story goes, because he didn’t know where the lion’s den was, an angel picked him up by a lock of his hair and carried him there. (BKC)

What we do know is that God called him to be a prophet. This book could have easily fallen into Wisdom lIterature which includes Psalms and Proverbs.

Most of the prophets called the people to repentance and warned the people of Israel that if they didn’t change what they were doing, that God’s would pour out His judgment on them.

In Habakkuk, we have a conversation between Habakkuk and God.

This book was written not long before the exile of the Jews to Babylon, during some dark spiritual days in the land of Judah, probably between 606-604 BC.

As I was asking the Lord where I should preach my next series from, I was drawn to this ancient book. I wondered why, but the more I read it and researched, I was amazed at how applicable some of the themes that come out of Habakkuk are for today.

Let’s read

Habakkuk 1:1–4 NLT

This is the message that the prophet Habakkuk received in a vision. How long, O Lord, must I call for help? But you do not listen! “Violence is everywhere!” I cry, but you do not come to save. Must I forever see these evil deeds? Why must I watch all this misery? Wherever I look, I see destruction and violence. I am surrounded by people who love to argue and fight. The law has become paralyzed, and there is no justice in the courts. The wicked far outnumber the righteous, so that justice has become perverted.

Have you ever complained about life?

Maybe you’re going through a hard time. Maybe you look at what’s going on in the world and you wonder if God cares or if He’s going to do something about it.

When we look at war torn places around the world, it’s hard to turn a blind eye. when we hear of the devastation in Syria and Turkiye, their homes and livelihoods destroyed as well as so many lives that have been lost. Drought and famine plague much of the world. Often we look for human solutions in how to prolong our planet’s health, and yet we wonder how it can continue as nation rises against nation and kingdom against kingdom.

As we look closer to home, we see a shift in our how our society views Christianity and the church. It seems like the goal posts have moved and continue to move. We wonder why there is so much addiction, crime, and even human trafficking, but we can’t sow the wind and not reap the whirlwind.

We wonder why there is so much injustice that is going on and that has gone on among us.

Habakkuk called out to the Lord...

about all that was going on around him as well.

He felt like his prayers and his cries for help were just hitting the ceiling.

Have you ever had those times that you prayed and you wondered if God was there or if He heard or if He even cared?

Have you ever wondered if He noticed the suffering and the heartache of those that are suffering in the world? Does He see all the wickedness going on around us, does it matter to Him?

These were the kinds of questions that were playing over and over in Habakkuk’s head.

If we look at the timeline of the Kings of Judah, we have Hezekiah who was king while Isaiah was the prophet. During this time Hezekiah became sick and was told he would die, but God gave him 15 more years.

He had a son, Manasseh who was wicked but repented near the end of his reign.

After Manasseh died, his son Amon reigned for two years but he did what was evil in the eyes of the Lord. After he assassinated , his son Josiah became king at the age of eight.

He was godly. During the eighteenth year of his reign the Book of the Law was found. The first five books of our Bible.

He tore his clothes and sent those in charge of the temple to inquire of the Lord.

Here’s what they found out

2 Kings 22:14–20 NLT

So Hilkiah the priest, Ahikam, Acbor, Shaphan, and Asaiah went to the New Quarter of Jerusalem to consult with the prophet Huldah. She was the wife of Shallum son of Tikvah, son of Harhas, the keeper of the Temple wardrobe. She said to them, “The Lord, the God of Israel, has spoken! Go back and tell the man who sent you, ‘This is what the Lord says: I am going to bring disaster on this city and its people. All the words written in the scroll that the king of Judah has read will come true. For my people have abandoned me and offered sacrifices to pagan gods, and I am very angry with them for everything they have done. My anger will burn against this place, and it will not be quenched.’ “But go to the king of Judah who sent you to seek the Lord and tell him: ‘This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says concerning the message you have just heard: You were sorry and humbled yourself before the Lord when you heard what I said against this city and its people—that this land would be cursed and become desolate. You tore your clothing in despair and wept before me in repentance. And I have indeed heard you, says the Lord. So I will not send the promised disaster until after you have died and been buried in peace. You will not see the disaster I am going to bring on this city.’ ” So they took her message back to the king.

After Josiah died, his son Jehoahaz became king. He was only king for three months but did what displeased the Lord. He was taken captive by Pharaoh Necho of Egypt and put to death.

Habakkuk’s complaints and concern came to the Lord during Josiah’s second son, Jehoiakim. He was made a subject of Pharaoh Necho. Again, he did what was evil in the sight of the Lord.

Habakkuk 1:2–4 NLT

How long, O Lord, must I call for help? But you do not listen! “Violence is everywhere!” I cry, but you do not come to save. Must I forever see these evil deeds? Why must I watch all this misery? Wherever I look, I see destruction and violence. I am surrounded by people who love to argue and fight. The law has become paralyzed, and there is no justice in the courts. The wicked far outnumber the righteous, so that justice has become perverted.

God doesn’t turn a blind eye...

Habakkuk’s cries did reach God. God wasn’t ignoring him. God saw the wickedness. He saw that the evil outnumbered the righteous. He saw that there was no justice.

God even saw the violence.

The Northern ten tribes had already gone into exile. The ruthless Assyrians had displaced them from their country. The tribes of Reuben, Simeon, Gad, Asher, Zebulun, Naphtali, Ephraim, Manasseh, Dan, and Issachar were already gone. This was because of the evil that they had done.

Only Benjamin, Judah and part of the tribe of Levi were left and Habakkuk was calling out to God about the sin in his country.

Even when we see the sin and evil that goes on in our nation and in our world, we may wonder if God sees, but God has not turned a blind eye. He sees what’s going on around us.

The Psalmist David wrote this when he was seized by his Philistine enemies while he was in Gath.

Psalm 56:1–9 NLT

O God, have mercy on me, for people are hounding me. My foes attack me all day long. I am constantly hounded by those who slander me, and many are boldly attacking me. But when I am afraid, I will put my trust in you. I praise God for what he has promised. I trust in God, so why should I be afraid? What can mere mortals do to me? They are always twisting what I say; they spend their days plotting to harm me. They come together to spy on me— watching my every step, eager to kill me. Don’t let them get away with their wickedness; in your anger, O God, bring them down. You keep track of all my sorrows. You have collected all my tears in your bottle. You have recorded each one in your book. My enemies will retreat when I call to you for help. This I know: God is on my side!

The prayers that you pray. The tears that you cry don’t go unnoticed.

What was

God’s Response...

Habakkuk 1:5–11 NLT

The Lord replied, “Look around at the nations; look and be amazed! For I am doing something in your own day, something you wouldn’t believe even if someone told you about it. I am raising up the Babylonians, a cruel and violent people. They will march across the world and conquer other lands. They are notorious for their cruelty and do whatever they like. Their horses are swifter than cheetahs and fiercer than wolves at dusk. Their charioteers charge from far away. Like eagles, they swoop down to devour their prey. “On they come, all bent on violence. Their hordes advance like a desert wind, sweeping captives ahead of them like sand. They scoff at kings and princes and scorn all their fortresses. They simply pile ramps of earth against their walls and capture them! They sweep past like the wind and are gone. But they are deeply guilty, for their own strength is their god.”

God’s solution vs Human solutions

Isaiah 55:8–9 NLT

“My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts,” says the Lord. “And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine. For just as the heavens are higher than the earth, so my ways are higher than your ways and my thoughts higher than your thoughts.

As we get deeper into our study in Habakkuk, we’ll see God’s heart. Judah had been like a disobedient child and

God needed to discipline them…

I never enjoyed the discipline I received from my parents. To me it seemed like punishment, but did very little to bring me to repentance. One might think that a good spank with a belt, a wooden spoon, or a fly swatter would change a behaviour, but for some reason, the urge to wrestle with my brother far outweighed any deterrence of the belt. The older I got the more severe the discipline became.

God had been patient with His children, but even when they turned to Him, many times they didn’t get rid of all their idols or high places of worship. And all too soon, they’d find themselves right back in the same sins that their ancestors had done.

Finally, God decided to discipline them by raising up the Babylonians led by Nebuchadnezzar to punish them.

This would be a hard and a difficult time. The good would suffer with the bad, but something had to turn their hearts. Something had to change their minds and their actions, so a people even more wicked than His children would punish them.

They wouldn’t listen to the prophets. They wouldn’t turn their ways, so God would use someone else to chasten them.

We don’t always like discipline either...

but God does it because He loves us.

Proverbs 3:1–14 NLT

My child, never forget the things I have taught you. Store my commands in your heart. If you do this, you will live many years, and your life will be satisfying. Never let loyalty and kindness leave you! Tie them around your neck as a reminder. Write them deep within your heart. Then you will find favor with both God and people, and you will earn a good reputation. Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take. Don’t be impressed with your own wisdom. Instead, fear the Lord and turn away from evil. Then you will have healing for your body and strength for your bones. Honor the Lord with your wealth and with the best part of everything you produce. Then he will fill your barns with grain, and your vats will overflow with good wine. My child, don’t reject the Lord’s discipline, and don’t be upset when he corrects you. For the Lord corrects those he loves, just as a father corrects a child in whom he delights. Joyful is the person who finds wisdom, the one who gains understanding. For wisdom is more profitable than silver, and her wages are better than gold.

The fact that God would use the Babylonians baffled Habakkuk, but God wants nothing more than for us to follow Him. As parents, we want to do whatever it takes to change our kids hearts from doing wrong.

It was my first combine ride in the fall of 1974. The combine got plugged, and my Dad set me over a swath away from the machine. He did what he could to protect me from harm, but while he was preoccupied with unplugging the combine, he didn’t see me come up to the combine.

When I touched the moving chain and sprocket with my thumb, I never had to be told again what the consequences could be for sticking my hand into a moving part on an implement.

If Dad had only realized where I was, he would have done anything to protect me, but that was probably the best lesson I could have learned about safety, to keep my hands away from anything that is moving on a farm implement.

My prayer is that we hear God’s voice when He speaks. My prayer is that we don’t have to learn the hard way, but that His discipline doesn’t need to be harsh. Oh that we would have ears to listen quickly to His voice.

Isaiah 55:6–7 NLT

Seek the Lord while you can find him. Call on him now while he is near. Let the wicked change their ways and banish the very thought of doing wrong. Let them turn to the Lord that he may have mercy on them. Yes, turn to our God, for he will forgive generously.

Let’s pray!