God's Response to Tough Questions

Habakkuk 2:1–20 (NIV)

I will stand at my watch and station myself on the ramparts; I will look to see what he will say to me, and what answer I am to give to this complaint.

Then the Lord replied: “Write down the revelation and make it plain on tablets so that a herald may run with it.

For the revelation awaits an appointed time; it speaks of the end and will not prove false. Though it linger, wait for it; it will certainly come and will not delay.

“See, the enemy is puffed up; his desires are not upright— but the righteous person will live by his faithfulness—

indeed, wine betrays him; he is arrogant and never at rest. Because he is as greedy as the grave and like death is never satisfied, he gathers to himself all the nations and takes captive all the peoples.

“Will not all of them taunt him with ridicule and scorn, saying, “ ‘Woe to him who piles up stolen goods and makes himself wealthy by extortion! How long must this go on?’

Will not your creditors suddenly arise? Will they not wake up and make you tremble? Then you will become their prey.

Because you have plundered many nations, the peoples who are left will plunder you. For you have shed human blood; you have destroyed lands and cities and everyone in them.

“Woe to him who builds his house by unjust gain, setting his nest on high to escape the clutches of ruin!

You have plotted the ruin of many peoples, shaming your own house and forfeiting your life.

The stones of the wall will cry out, and the beams of the woodwork will echo it.

“Woe to him who builds a city with bloodshed and establishes a town by injustice!

Has not the Lord Almighty determined that the people’s labor is only fuel for the fire, that the nations exhaust themselves for nothing?

For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord as the waters cover the sea.

“Woe to him who gives drink to his neighbors, pouring it from the wineskin till they are drunk, so that he can gaze on their naked bodies!

You will be filled with shame instead of glory. Now it is your turn! Drink and let your nakedness be exposed! The cup from the Lord’s right hand is coming around to you, and disgrace will cover your glory.

The violence you have done to Lebanon will overwhelm you, and your destruction of animals will terrify you. For you have shed human blood; you have destroyed lands and cities and everyone in them.

“Of what value is an idol carved by a craftsman? Or an image that teaches lies? For the one who makes it trusts in his own creation; he makes idols that cannot speak.

Woe to him who says to wood, ‘Come to life!’ Or to lifeless stone, ‘Wake up!’ Can it give guidance? It is covered with gold and silver; there is no breath in it.”

The Lord is in his holy temple; let all the earth be silent before him.

18 - The Story of Evil and God’s Promises.

Last week we looked at a few difficult questions, and we looked at Habakkuk as an example of what to do with those questions.

Curiously direct those questions honestly to God.

Wait and hear the answer.

Sometimes we will not like the answer - Babylon taking over.

He asks a second question, and God responds again.

The Story of God for context.

19 - In the beginning God’s Good Creation.

Heavens (Angels) and Earth (Humans)

Why? Not need, but want a family to love

Love, Not compelled, Not robots, “Consent,” Reciprocal, requires choice.

One “Angel” Satan Jealous of humans - likely wanted to rule the earth, not humans tempted and decieved humans to get them out of the picture.

Death - The removal of God’s life giving provision “Tree of Life” - Consequence of rejecting God.

Why Not Death on that day? - God’s Grace for redemption. - Death a mixture of God’s Grace and Consequence for sin.

Noah’s Ark as the answer to- Why does God allow evil to exist?

Alternative - Not give up on the plan for humans and creation, or just wipe them out completely. Which would you prefer?

20 - Tower of Babel - Picture of Deuteronomy 32 Worldview - If you want to be ruled by other “gods.” then I give you what you want?”

21 - Picture of Star Wars Deflector Shield - God removes the shield of Grace.

God is abundantly Patient.: Israel Timeline

22 - Canaanites - 600 - 700 years till sin comes to completion. between Abr. and Josh. -

23 - Israel - 600 - 700 years Judges - Babylon. 350+ years since David died. - God is patient, really, really patient - giving every opportunity for people to repent and return.

Why the Babylonians?

God’s response is...

24 - Evil Begets its own destruction

In the remainder of Habakkuk 2, God makes it known that he sees the wickedness of the Chaldeans. He knows their pride, violence, brutality, and godlessness. He is answering Habakkuk’s complaint that he is not dealing with their wickedness; in fact, it appears he is rewarding it. God makes plain that the Chaldeans’ day will come. God will not be mocked. He closes chapter 2 by saying, “But the LORD is in his holy temple; let all the earth keep silence before him” (v. 20). God is reminding Habakkuk that he can be trusted, even when he seems silent in the moment.

What are God’s options for stopping the evil happening in Israel?

Stop his plan of redemption - Make everyone robots?

Natural Disaster - Flood scenario.

Remove the protection that keeps the most powerful nation from taking them over.

God chooses option 3 - Why?

Stops the evil by his people

Wake up call - Oh, this is what God warned us about.

Remnant - God’s plan is not all lost. - Grace and Judgment. - God does not give up.

What will happen to the Babylonians?

Arrogance of the Babylonians - They will be like in debt and their collectors will call the loan - Receive ridicule and will be plundered violently

Stealing homes for evil gain - the house will fall on you.

Take over cities - They will be burned up - it will be for vanity

Date Raping nations - You will be uncovered.

You make idols - but they will lie to you for your destruction.

In essence Evil will destroy itself. Yes, Habakkuk the Babylon’s are evil, but they will also come to ruin.

In the first two chapters of Habakkuk, we see the difference between wrath and discipline. God is bringing discipline to the Israelites and wrath to the Chaldeans. Discipline is always redemptive in the long run. Although discipline may feel like wrath at the time, its purpose is to bring correction and a changed heart. For the Israelites, wrath would have allowed them to continue in their wickedness and walk away from God. It is far better to experience the active discipline of God than the passive wrath of God. We know that God disciplines those he loves (Hebrews 12:4–12). While not all difficult situations are God’s discipline or his wrath, it’s important that we allow difficulty to turn us toward the Father instead of away from him. God does not necessarily cause all the difficult situations in our lives, but he will definitely use them for his glory and for our good.

How do we live with this answer?

25 - The Righteous Live by Faith.

The Lexham English Bible Chapter 2

14 For the earth will be filled

with the knowledge of the glory of Yahweh,

like the waters covering the sea.

The Promise of God. - It will take some time.

Habakkuk 2 opens with the prophet stating that he will stand at his watch post and station himself on the tower. He has made his questions, frustrations, and objections known to God; now he is ready for God’s response. Verse 1 in the NKJV translation discloses that Habakkuk plans to “watch to see what He will say to me, and what I will answer when I am corrected.” This mindset understands that when we are frustrated with what God is or isn’t doing, we are the ones who are missing the mark. Ultimately, our thinking needs to be corrected. God’s perspective is completely different from ours. We are limited by time and space; God is not. Our way of thinking sees only in part. God’s way of thinking sees everything. No matter our age in years, it still bears no comparison to the eternal God. James describes our life as “a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes” (James 4:14).

Story of Ben getting poke.

God tells Habakkuk that he does see, and he will deal with everything that is going on. Verse 4—“The righteous shall live by his faith”—is a powerful verse that Paul quotes in Romans 1:17 and Galatians 3:11. It’s also quoted in Hebrews 10:38. This truth is echoed throughout Scripture. As believers, we do not live by what we see with our eyes. We do not live based on circumstances and situations. We live by the goodness, faithfulness, and promises of God.

In our limited view, we often get frustrated with God when things don’t go our way. But what we don’t see is that God may have something better down the road for us that isn’t even on our radar yet. Many times, God is either preparing us for or saving us from something we have no idea is ahead.

Conclusion:

How are you Trusting God in the midst of your tough questions? What promises can you hold on to? How can seeing the big picture increase our Trust of God?