Asking God the Tough Questions

Habakkuk 1:1–17 NIV

The prophecy that Habakkuk the prophet received. How long, Lord, must I call for help, but you do not listen? Or cry out to you, “Violence!” but you do not save? Why do you make me look at injustice? Why do you tolerate wrongdoing? Destruction and violence are before me; there is strife, and conflict abounds. Therefore the law is paralyzed, and justice never prevails. The wicked hem in the righteous, so that justice is perverted. “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. I am raising up the Babylonians, that ruthless and impetuous people, who sweep across the whole earth to seize dwellings not their own. They are a feared and dreaded people; they are a law to themselves and promote their own honor. Their horses are swifter than leopards, fiercer than wolves at dusk. Their cavalry gallops headlong; their horsemen come from afar. They fly like an eagle swooping to devour; they all come intent on violence. Their hordes advance like a desert wind and gather prisoners like sand. They mock kings and scoff at rulers. They laugh at all fortified cities; by building earthen ramps they capture them. Then they sweep past like the wind and go on— guilty people, whose own strength is their god.” Lord, are you not from everlasting? My God, my Holy One, you will never die. You, Lord, have appointed them to execute judgment; you, my Rock, have ordained them to punish. 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? You have made people like the fish in the sea, like the sea creatures that have no ruler. The wicked foe pulls all of them up with hooks, he catches them in his net, he gathers them up in his dragnet; and so he rejoices and is glad. Therefore he sacrifices to his net and burns incense to his dragnet, for by his net he lives in luxury and enjoys the choicest food. Is he to keep on emptying his net, destroying nations without mercy?

Pronounciation of Habakkuk

19 - We have questions about God and Evil.

1. Why does evil seem to prosper sometimes? How do we process it when the cussing, drinking, wife-abusing child molester lives to be ninety-seven and the God-fearing, faithful husband, and father of three dies of cancer at thirty-seven? How do we respond when the lying, cheating, backstabbing employee gets the promotion, and we don’t?

Lauren Fridsma

A popular question: Why do bad things happen to good people? Or why does God allow bad things to happen to good people/Christians?

Lori Gwilt

Here is a question I was asked..”Why did God create a world that He knew was going to go wrong eventually?”

South Blendon Community Church · A question I’m often asked when defending my faith is, “If God is good and all Holy, why did he create or allow evil? How can something completely pure, righteous, sovereign, holy, and perfect create or allow evil?” Or “Why does a loving God send people to hell”?

How do we process it when the cussing, drinking, wife-abusing child molester lives to be ninety-seven and the God-fearing, faithful husband, and father of three dies of cancer at thirty-seven? How do we respond when the lying, cheating, backstabbing employee gets the promotion, and we don’t? Sometimes we struggle with thinking God doesn’t care in such situations. Many times we think God should’ve handled a situation differently than he did.

A Psalm asking difficult questions

Psalm 88:11-18 - Why do you reject my soul, O Yahweh?

Why do you hide your face from me?

Psalm 79 - Why should the nations say,

“Where is their God?”

This passage opens up the questioning with Habakkuk's first question. How can God allow evil to continue to be such a force in the world.

The powerful and corrupt leadership that Habakkuk faces, causing him to cry out, is an evil that persists in every age. King Jehoiakim’s corrupt vassal relationship with Egypt (and later with Nebuchadnezzar) affected every area of life in Jerusalem. Habakkuk’s contemporary Jeremiah documents the violence that the king perpetrated on the people.5 He killed the innocent who opposed him and refused to pay poor laborers (Jer. 22:13–19). Under his administration the prophets and priesthood were corrupted in adultery and abuse of authority (23:1–2, 9–11). The king sent assassins who killed the prophet Uriah for prophesying (as Habakkuk and Jeremiah also did) that Jerusalem would fall (26:20–23). He burned Jeremiah’s handwritten prophecy in his fireplace as a threat against him (Jer. 36). Like Habakkuk, Jeremiah said that Babylon was God’s agent of discipline against his chosen people. - James Bruckner NAC

Habakkuk wonders why God does not seem to reply to his request to stop the violence and injustice that he sees. Why does God tolerate violence and injustice?

Not only that, Habakkuk sees that law and justice are paralyzed because the wicked have overcome the righteous.

What does this teach about what we can do with our difficult questions?

20 - We Can Ask God Our Questions.

People who grew up in a Faith Tradition that says, "You are not allowed to Question."

21 - https://www.wingclips.com/movie-clips/the-apostle/yelling-at-the-lord

22- Women I worked with lost her child - She argued with God, her husband did not, she kept her faith, he did not.

Seminary Professor - Noticed whenever the people addressed God directly he responded, they moved forward. - I don’t know if that is always true, but it gets at a Truth - We are called as a people to a real relationship with God, and therefore to real dialogue with God.

23 - Asking God Directly

This equips the people of God to pray and listen to God, to ask God difficult questions.

Bring out the process here of listening to God.....Talk about Listening Prayer

1. Habakkuk Asks Specific Questions

2. He waits and listens

3. God Responds

- The Prophets of the Old Testament have this role - Empowered by the Holy Spirit, They enter God's presence to listen to God, see Visions and then Communicate what they hear to the People.

Oracle “Prophetic Utterance”- Personal Conversation, meant to be shared. - Musical Prophet in the Temple

In the New Testament - Joel 2:28/Acts 2:17-18 - All who believe have access to the Holy Spirit - Some are given the gift of Prophecy.

But when we ask God the difficult questions....

24 - We might not like the answer.

God tells Habakkuk to look at what is happening amongst the nations because God is doing

something astonishing with them.

􂿞God is rousing the Babylonian Nation who are. a fierce and impetuous nation, steal dwelling,s Dreadful and fearsome, prideful and self-righteous Powerful and swift, Come for violence and capture captives, Kings and rulers are no match for them, They will sin and become guilty for what they do. Their own might is their god!

What???????!!!!

􂿞God, you are Holy and eternal, 􂿞God you have marked Assyria and Babylon for Judgment, 􂿞God, you can not stand evil and wrongdoing, so...

‣ Why do you allow the wicked to swallow up those more righteous? ‣ You have made people like fish and crawling creatures who have no ruler • The enemy catches them like fish • Then rejoices and exults over the catch • Sacrifices his net and seine like his god. • Because it brings them food and riches • And so they will not stop destroying nations without mercy.

1. For Habakkuk, this must have been even more difficult to understand than Israel’s evil simply going unnoticed or unpunished. From the perspective of an American, Imagine our response if God in a vision you asked God, “Do you see what’s happening in this country?” and then his response is, “Behold, I am allowing some terrorists in air planes to come and destroy the world trade center towers.” Most people would be shocked and ask, “God, do you know what you’re doing? Surely this isn’t your plan!” This is precisely what Habakkuk’s response is: “God, how can you possibly use a people more wicked than Israel to execute your punishment? I don’t like your answer!” (see vv. 12–17).

Habakkuk is equiping the people of God to not be surprised by evil people/nations who do things for evil gain.

􂿞It shows on a national level, that evil becomes its own judgment,

􂿞God allows evil to destroy evil. Evil will implode on itself. Those who live by the sword will die by the sword, and the measure in which judgment occurs will be the measure in which one will be judged. Then those who judge or live by the sword will be also judged and die by the sword.

Turning to Jesus and not leave you in despair.-

􂿞Jesus allows it to happen. He lived in the midst of it when he was on earth, and we are called to do the same.

􂿞Jesus allows himself to be swallowed up by those who have evil intent.

􂿞Jesus identifies with those who have been swallowed up by evil.

􂿞Jesus equips fishers of men by other means than violence, but by the good news.

How can we question and grow in Trust at the same time?

25 - Questioning and Trusting at the same time

The Questioning over the past few years. "Question Everything!!!"

- There are two types of questioning in that statement.

Questioning Everything means "Believe Nothing." - In other words approach everything coming from the media with suspicion. Assume everything is a lie. - Danger "You just reinforce your own assumptions or suspicions."

Questioning Everything means "Seek to Understand Everything." - In other words approach everything with curiosity. Doing ones due diligence to pursue the Truth wherever that might lead.

Here Habakkuk is Seeking to Understand - "Daniel Migliore" Theology as Seeking to Understand.

Protest and lament can be faithful or unfaithful.8 Railing against God can be unfaithful, particularly when the protest is accompanied by life-denying or death-promoting behaviors. Some will protest against God through self-destructive and abusive behaviors toward others, often those who love them. This unfaithful path of protest usually begins with a significant but subtle distinction. The faithful protest begins with an attitude that continues to address God (“God, how could you allow?…”). The unfaithful protest begins with the impersonal (and judging) abstraction (“How could God allow?…”). - James Bruckner NIVAC

1. As we close chapter 1, the important thing to realize is that Habakkuk continues to stay in dialogue with God. It’s easy for us to question God and even disagree with him, to wonder if he even cares about what’s going on or if he sees our dilemma. When we find ourselves in this situation, we shouldn’t turn away from God in frustration and anger. God can handle our questions, and he even invites us to wrestle with him; but we must always realize that he’s the potter and we’re the clay (Jeremiah 18:1–6; Isaiah 45:9). Even as we bring our questions and doubts to God, it’s equally important that we bring an open heart for his inspection (Psalm 139:23–24) and ask ourselves if we want our will or his will to be done.

Conclusions:

You Have difficult Questions. That is OK, start a dialogue with God. He wants to hear from you, he will respond to you. Ask these questions in community, and we can ask God together. - I know that his answer here is not a satisfying one, but we have not finished Habakkuk yet. We will learn more about How God responds to these questions. Come Back.