Habakkuk 1:1-4
Notes
Transcript
Background
Background
Hang with me through the end of the book.
Date: 609-605 BC
Author: Habakkuk
Location: Judah - pre exile
Northern kingdom is in exile
Form: Wisdom, Lament, Poetic/Hymn
Let’s review some history
931 BC - Kingdom is Divided (2 Kings 12:16-17)
722 BC - Northern Kingdom goes into Assyrian Exile (2 Kings 17:22-23)
In 722BC, 209 years later, the Northern Kingdom is carried off into exile in Assyria.
640 BC - Josiah becomes King (2 Kings 22:1-2)
Son of Amon, Grandson of Manasseh
8 Years Old
Judah has stood alone for 291 years and with the exception of a few, it has largely been led astray by its kings
622 BC - “book of the law” is found (2 Kings 22:3-13)
Later stated as “law of Moses” and “book of the covenant” so this is Torah
No one was looking for it!
Pause, they still had the temple!
Josiah is 26 years old - he’s been king for 18 years
622 BC - Judah affirms covenant with God (2 Kings 23:1-3)
2 The king went up to the house of the Lord and all the men of Judah and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem with him, and the priests and the prophets and all the people, both small and great; and he read in their hearing all the words of the book of the covenant which was found in the house of the Lord.
Book of the Covenant
The king stood by the pillar and made a covenant before the Lord, to walk after the Lord, and to keep His commandments and His testimonies and His statutes with all his heart and all his soul, to carry out the words of this covenant that were written in this book. And all the people entered into the covenant.
Fully turned
Passover Celebrated (2 Chronicles 35:18)
Remembrance and Anticipation (Hope)
612 BC - Nineveh (capital of Assyria) falls to the Babylonians and the Medes
609 BC - Josiah killed in battle (2 Chronicles 35:20-27)
Killed by Neco, Pharoah of Egypt
25 Before him there was no king like him who turned to the Lord with all his heart and with all his soul and with all his might, according to all the law of Moses; nor did any like him arise after him.
26 However, the Lord did not turn from the fierceness of His great wrath with which His anger burned against Judah, because of all the provocations with which Manasseh had provoked Him.
27 The Lord said, “I will remove Judah also from My sight, as I have removed Israel. And I will cast off Jerusalem, this city which I have chosen, and the temple of which I said, ‘My name shall be there.’ ”
609 BC - Jehoahaz is made king (2 Kings 23:31-32)
Only king for 3 months
32 He did evil in the sight of the Lord, according to all that his fathers had done.
609 BC - Jehoiakim is made king (2 Kings 23:36-37)
Kings for 11 years
King during Habakkuk
37 He did evil in the sight of the Lord, according to all that his fathers had done.
“He did evil in the sight of the Lord” is used 48 times.
All of them reference idolatry or sexual immorality
41 reference the kings of Judah and Israel
“according to all that his fathers had done”
Amon - “as Manasseh his father had done” - 2 Kings 21:20
Manasseh as King (2 Kings 21:1)
King for 55 years, longest in Judah
2 He did evil in the sight of the Lord, according to the abominations of the nations whom the Lord dispossessed before the sons of Israel.
In the wilderness before crossing the Jordan
This is in “the book of the covenant”
29 “When the Lord your God cuts off before you the nations which you are going in to dispossess, and you dispossess them and dwell in their land,
30 beware that you are not ensnared to follow them, after they are destroyed before you, and that you do not inquire after their gods, saying, ‘How do these nations serve their gods, that I also may do likewise?’
31 “You shall not behave thus toward the Lord your God, for every abominable act which the Lord hates they have done for their gods; for they even burn their sons and daughters in the fire to their gods.
32 “Whatever I command you, you shall be careful to do; you shall not add to nor take away from it.
Abominations of the Nations (2 Kings 21:2)
4 He built altars in the house of the Lord, of which the Lord had said, “In Jerusalem I will put My name.”
Built altars in the temple (2 Kings 21:4)
6 He made his son pass through the fire, practiced witchcraft and used divination, and dealt with mediums and spiritists. He did much evil in the sight of the Lord provoking Him to anger.
Sacrificed his son, practiced soothsaying, utilized mediums (2 Kings 21:6)
7 Then he set the carved image of Asherah that he had made, in the house of which the Lord said to David and to his son Solomon, “In this house and in Jerusalem, which I have chosen from all the tribes of Israel, I will put My name forever.
Placed an Asherah pole in the temple (2 Kings 21:7)
Asherah pole is wooden item used in worship of a Canaanite fertility goddess
This is where we are with Jehoiakim as king
605 BC - Jehoiakim rules under Nebuchadnezzar (2 Kings 24:1)
609-605 BC - In this 4-5 year range, look how quickly Judah turned
Habakkuk 1:1-4
Habakkuk 1:1-4
1 The oracle which Habakkuk the prophet saw.
Oracle is a conversation. Alternate translation is “burden”
LXX is literally “the word”
If we were going to simplify and summarize Habakkuk, the conversation might look like this:
First Slide
God where is Your justice?
I’m sending Babylon to y’all
How can that be your answer?! They’re the WORST
Y’all should trust Me
Help us. Remember mercy.
I’m coming too
I trust You
Habakkuk goes to the Lord with a problem
2 How long, O Lord, will I call for help, And You will not hear? I cry out to You, “Violence!” Yet You do not save.
3 Why do You make me see iniquity, And cause me to look on wickedness? Yes, destruction and violence are before me; Strife exists and contention arises.
4 Therefore the law is ignored And justice is never upheld. For the wicked surround the righteous; Therefore justice comes out perverted.
Let me ask the obvious question, do you identify with this?
2 How long, O Lord, will I call for help, And You will not hear? I cry out to You, “Violence!” Yet You do not save.
LXX “And You will never hear me!”
Habakkuk begins with the first of two questions, How long.
The first question implies that this is not the first time Habakkuk has petitioned the Lord
Complaint is rooted in unanswered prayer
This is a consequence of the monarchy
18 “Then you will cry out in that day because of your king whom you have chosen for yourselves, but the Lord will not answer you in that day.”
Habakkuk has been living in the consequence of the disobedience of the nation.
2 How long, O Lord, will I call for help, And You will not hear? I cry out to You, “Violence!” Yet You do not save.
Violence! is a mark of intentional transgression
Parallel to Job 19:7
7 “Behold, I cry, ‘Violence!’ but I get no answer; I shout for help, but there is no justice.
Like Job, Habakkuk sees himself as innocent, as part of the faithful remnant. - Lord I’m faithful, I’m in the right!
Yet the Lord has not provided salvation.
It’s worth noting that God asked Moses the same question.
28 Then the Lord said to Moses, “How long do you refuse to keep My commandments and My instructions?
“How long, O Lord” - Habakkuk invokes the name of the covenant
Though Habakkuk feels alone, he is not praying to a deaf God.
3 Why do You make me see iniquity, And cause me to look on wickedness? Yes, destruction and violence are before me; Strife exists and contention arises.
Habakkuk moves to his second question, Why.
Habakkuk recognizes that God is in control of his situation.
He lays out 3 specifics of his situation
Iniquity and Wickedness - Sin
3 Why do You make me see iniquity, And cause me to look on wickedness? Yes, destruction and violence are before me; Strife exists and contention arises.
Destruction and Violence - Consequence
3 Why do You make me see iniquity, And cause me to look on wickedness? Yes, destruction and violence are before me; Strife exists and contention arises.
Strife and Contention - Responses
4 Therefore the law is ignored And justice is never upheld. For the wicked surround the righteous; Therefore justice comes out perverted.
3 Why do You make me see iniquity, And cause me to look on wickedness? Yes, destruction and violence are before me; Strife exists and contention arises.
Therefore: Lord because You make me… and cause me….
4 Therefore the law is ignored And justice is never upheld. For the wicked surround the righteous; Therefore justice comes out perverted.
Courtroom language/setting
The law (Torah) is ignored - the book of the covenant
Justice is never upheld
the Wicked outnumber the righteous
Justice is never upheld
Earlier I said Habakkuk’s complaint is rooted in unanswered prayer, it’s also rooted in who God is.
6 Then the Lord passed by in front of him and proclaimed, “The Lord, the Lord God, compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in lovingkindness and truth;
7 who keeps lovingkindness for thousands, who forgives iniquity, transgression and sin; yet He will by no means leave the guilty unpunished, visiting the iniquity of fathers on the children and on the grandchildren to the third and fourth generations.”
Habakkuk believes that the Lord can do.
Habakkuk cries out to the Lord and asks, where is Your justice?
Where is Your justice?
As we begin our study in Habakkuk, I wonder if you’ve ever asked the Lord “How long” until He answers your prayers. I wonder if you’ve ever been slighted, or if you’ve ever acted righteously only to see injustice surround you. Have you ever asked why do the wicked prosper or why do you let the righteous be persecuted? Perhaps you’ve asked why do bad things happen to God’s faithful people? This is Habakkuk’s plea to the Lord. If you’ve ever asked any of these questions, God’s response to Habakkuk is as relevant today as it was then. So join us in the week’s to come as we unpack the book of Habakkuk.
Let’s Pray!