Habakkuk 1:12-17 (2)

Praying God’s Revealed Will

Introduction:

Prayer is ordained to this end that we should confess our needs to God, and bare our hearts to him, as children lay their troubles in full confidence before their parents.

John Calvin (French Reformer)

Psalm 73:12–17 (ESV) A Psalm of Asaph

Behold, these are the wicked;

always at ease, they increase in riches.

All in vain have I kept my heart clean

and washed my hands in innocence.

For all the day long I have been stricken

and rebuked every morning.

If I had said, “I will speak thus,”

I would have betrayed the generation of your children.

But when I thought how to understand this,

it seemed to me a wearisome task,

until I went into the sanctuary of God;

then I discerned their end.

What we have in our text this evening is Habakkuk, again trying to understand what God has revealed to him. This is the plight of mere human beings. Trying to understand what God is doing, he has revealed what’s to come but what about the day to day trials in life. It’s hard sometimes so we will be able to learn from Habakkuk how to pray in response to God’s revealed will for clarity and for confidence.

Habakkuk 1:1-17

**READ/PRAY**

Plural Noun Proposition: In Habakkuk 1:12-17, the prophet demonstrates for you TWO faithful ways to petition God in prayer.

I. Petition the Lord for Clarity (vv 12-14)

Habakkuk 1:12–14 “Are you not from everlasting, O Lord my God, my Holy One? We shall not die. O Lord, you have ordained them as a judgment, and you, O Rock, have established them for reproof. You who are of purer eyes than to see evil and cannot look at wrong, why do you idly look at traitors and remain silent when the wicked swallows up the man more righteous than he? You make mankind like the fish of the sea, like crawling things that have no ruler.”

Habakkuk’s first prayer was answered by God. But instead of removing Habakkuk’s burden and confusion, God added to it.

He can easily understand Judah’s coming punishment for sin, but the struggle is about trying to reconcile God’s holiness with God’s determination to use such a wicked people like the Chaldean’s to destroy the people of God.

On 9/11/2001, Muslim terrorists flew airplanes into the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. Of course causing many believers to question God…why? Not that we are a nation of God’s people and that terrorist attack was His judgment, but the question is at the front of believer’s minds none the less.

In the same way the coming judgment that God has revealed to Habakkuk causes the prophet to pray a rhetorical “why” question to God here in our text

v12 Are you not from everlasting

Psalm 90:2 “Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever you had formed the earth and the world, from everlasting to everlasting you are God.”

If you try and think back as far as man can think, God was before that. And if you try and think forward after the book of Revelation, God is after that.

Isaiah 40:28 “Have you not known? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary; his understanding is unsearchable.”

I truly think Habakkuk could have been thinking about Moses’ prayer in

Deuteronomy 33:27 “The eternal God is your dwelling place, and underneath are the everlasting arms. And he thrust out the enemy before you and said, ‘Destroy.’”

Habakkuk’s hope in this rhetorical question is that God’s arms are truly everlasting, that He is the eternal dwelling place for Judah. And that God will thrust out the enemy…sooner than later

O Lord my God, my Holy One?

Literally, O Yahweh…my God, my Holy One.

Holy One is also found in 3:3 and is Isaiah’s favorite characterization of Israel’s God (thirty times). The pronoun my emphasizes Habakkuk’s personal relationship with God. Habakkuk has an intimate knowledge of Yahweh, a seemingly familiar relationship with the Sovereign King of the Universe

A familiar call for those who truly know and love God and want to get his attention. As our Jesus made the same familiar call in

Psalm 22:1 “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me, from the words of my groaning?”

Mark 15:34 “And at the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?” which means, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?””

We shall not die

Now this reading seems out of place. If you look in vv 12-14:

Are you not from everlasting; you have ordained: you O Rock have established; You who are pure eyes; why do you idly look at traitors; v14 You make mankind like the fish of the sea

“you” this 2nd person pronoun, used in the singular here is referring to God. Yet in v12 it changes to “We” shall not die

This is what’s known as one of the eighteen called by the Hebrews ‘the appointment of the scribes.’ It’s believed that Ezra and his colleagues corrected the old reading ‘thou shall not die’ or ‘you shall not die’, into ‘we shall not die.’

Whether this phrase expresses the confidence that God will leave a remnant after the judgment or whether he is expressing his confidence in the future security of Israel because of God’s own indestructibility, it reflects Habakkuk’s faith that Yahweh will keep his covenant with his people.

Such faith should be in our hearts as well. I think we live sometimes with this strange unbelief in our hearts. Can this all be true? Will Christ raise me from the dead? Is my physical death here on earth just a gateway into eternal life with him? Be confident friends

John 10:28 “I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand.”

John 11:26 “and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?”

v12 O Lord you have ordained them as a judgment and you O Rock have established them for reproof

God has ordained and established the Chaldean’s to reprove Judah for their sin

Saint John was a Spanish priest (1542-1591) some say he was racist, he was a Catholic priest, he was a major figure in the counter-reformation, and you may never hear me quote a catholic priest again, but he has a statement about the sovereignty of God that is really good

Do not be made sad by the adverse events of this life, for you do not know the good they bring with them, ordained in the justice of God, for the everlasting joy of the elect.

Saint John of the Cross (Carmelites)

I mean he spits some truth here and I think Habakkuk may not understand yet the good that could come from this judgment but he does recognize that God is in control

Habakkuk also addressed the LORD as his Rock, a figure for security and protection. This figure for God, so common in the Psalms (e.g., Pss. 18:2, 31; 19:14; 28:1; 95:1), is found only here in the minor prophets.

Reproof or discipline from the Lord

God is going to use the Chaldeans the same way he used the Assyrians in Isa 10. To discipline his chosen people.

Jeremiah 30:11 “For I am with you to save you, declares the Lord; I will make a full end of all the nations among whom I scattered you, but of you I will not make a full end. I will discipline you in just measure, and I will by no means leave you unpunished.”

Hebrews 12:5–6 “And have you forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as sons? “My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, nor be weary when reproved by him. For the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives.”

God loves Israel, therefore discipline is sent from his hand in order to correct

My dad only had to spank me once growing up as a kid. But I remember him telling me, “This is going to hurt me more than it’s going to hurt you.” I just thought really? Let me help you with that…don’t spank me! That didn’t work

But Israel needed discipline then, and they need it now. And if you look carefully, it seems like the whole world is in need of his correcting hand, does it not?

v13 You who are of purer eyes than to see evil and cannot look at wrong, why do you idly look at traitors and remain silent when the wicked swallows up the man more righteous than he?

It almost feels like there should be a “but” here. But You who are of purer eyes than to see evil and cannot look at wrong

It’s one thing to have a human prophet look at the evil in the world and look at wrong, like Habakkuk said in

Habakkuk 1:3 “Why do you make me see iniquity, and why do you idly look at wrong? Destruction and violence are before me; strife and contention arise.”

It is quite another thing, in his mind, for God himself to look at evil and wrong

See Habakkuk saw the sins of Israel and the sins of the Chaldeans and he literally could do nothing about it, but his question is like, but your eyes are too pure to see this evil and look at this wrong, and you could do something about it God…right? But yet you remain silent and do nothing.

Have you prayed like this before. Maybe when you see the depravity of the world or maybe the remains of depravity still in yourself? How can God even look at you or this world and not delete us all immediately?

God’s eyes are pure yet when he looks at you, you are covered by the blood of his son, you are made pure by the blood of Christ

But what about the evil in the world, he sees it. And judgment is coming and vengeance is the Lord’s.

So although God was silent when the wicked Chaldean’s swallowed up Judah, even though they were more righteous, Yahweh will not be silent forever.

At the final judgment, after the wicked have swallowed up the righteous, Jesus describes what will happen when he breaks his silence in Matt 25.

Matthew 25:45–46 “Then he will answer them, saying, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.’ And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”

v14 You make mankind like the fish of the sea, like crawling things that have no ruler

It’s interesting how Habakkuk ends v13, the wicked swallows up the righteous, like fish of the sea

After the flood, God established a covenant with Noah and said

Genesis 9:2–3 “The fear of you and the dread of you shall be upon every beast of the earth and upon every bird of the heavens, upon everything that creeps on the ground and all the fish of the sea. Into your hand they are delivered. Every moving thing that lives shall be food for you. And as I gave you the green plants, I give you everything.”

In the same way, God is delivering the Jews into the Chaldean’s hands like fish of the sea, to be swallowed up

The irony in Habakkuk’s statement is that Judah acted like Yahweh was not their ruler. This act of rejecting God and worshiping idols made them like worms in his eyes. Crawling around or like fish flopping around, without a ruler, without any protector. That is what they wanted anyway.

See God commanded man to rule over the fish of the sea or have dominion over fish, not to be fish and definitely not to be worms. And yet because of their rebellious hearts, God turns them over to themselves.

Habakkuk is petitioning God for understanding. Understanding for the everlasting nature of God. Understanding for the promise that all of Israel will not die. Understanding for God’s sovereignty in judgment and discipline. Understanding for the way God can seemingly be looking at evil although his eyes are pure. Understanding for the silence as the wicked feast on the righteous like sushi. Understanding for how mankind has been turned into fish of the sea, like worms with no ruler.

Habakkuk is petitioning the Lord for clarity. For a clear picture of what he’s doing.

When I was younger I just couldn’t understand the things that I was going through. I thought evil was normal. It never occurred to me that abuse and neglect was wrong. It wasn’t until I got older that the wounds that were afflicted on me began to really hurt. The scars from my childhood stayed with me for many years, even after the Lord saved me. I remember being in tears as I wrestled with God about my childhood. It wasn’t until I was teaching in Kids’ Church here in 2021 that God healed my scars that I bore for over 40 years. You see I was assigned to teach the parable of the Unforgiving Servant in Matt 18. I couldn’t do it. I had unforgiveness in my heart for an evil person. Yet the conviction of my own sins being forgiving by God because of the love of Christ for an evil sinner like me broke me. Forgiveness for this person filled my heart as I thought of the forgiveness I have been shown in Christ. And because of my filled new heart I received I was able to teach the beauty of forgiveness by God.

You see, you can all look back on your lives and wonder why God has allowed pain in your lives…maybe since childhood. Maybe even now. I don’t know what is going on in all of your lives but Romans 8:28 “And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.”

So it’s ok. Petition God for understanding and clarity on what he’s done or is doing in your life. Ask him to open your eyes to his word so that you might better understand his ways. Is there something in your Christian walk that’s cloudy or you’re not quite sure how to live according to scripture? Maybe you need help with courage or maybe you need to be discipled? Ask him to reveal to you areas in your life that you are still falling short of the glory of God in…is it pride, envy, lust, time in the word? Petition God for clarity on how to fight sin and love Jesus with all your heart tonight.

And when you go to God in prayer for his help to ease your troubled soul, he will answer. He will give you clarity, it’s in his word that reveals his character and how he has displayed his will to man throughout time. And after you receive your understanding and clarity from God, next petition the Lord for confidence in his will.

II. Petition the Lord for Confidence (vv 15-17)

Habakkuk 1:15–17 “He brings all of them up with a hook; he drags them out with his net; he gathers them in his dragnet; so he rejoices and is glad. Therefore he sacrifices to his net and makes offerings to his dragnet; for by them he lives in luxury, and his food is rich. Is he then to keep on emptying his net and mercilessly killing nations forever?”

v14 was the setting, vv15-17 are the actions

Habakkuk, after petitioning God for clarity, continues with an illustration of how he sees the seemingly never ending relentless wickedness of the Chaldeans

The “He” is the Chaldeans and the “them” are God’s people

Amos 4:2 “The Lord God has sworn by his holiness that, behold, the days are coming upon you, when they shall take you away with hooks, even the last of you with fishhooks.”

Here God is speaking through Amos to the Northern Kingdom of Israel unlike the Southern here in Habakkuk but notice the similar wording.

They shall take you away with hooks, even the last of you with fishhooks

It is clear that God intends to take Israel away from their lush land, they will be hooked and dragged away

Now when Amos says “even the last of you with fishhooks” that is in the feminine gender. Not only will everyone be taken away, but even the women will suffer the same fate.

v 15 In the same way, “The Chaldeans brings all of them up with a hook; he drags them out with his net”

The Chaldeans will capture Israel not only with a hook but draw them away with a net.

There is no separation between the masc. or the fem. senses here, the whole race will be captured

Nebuchadnezzar and the Chaldeans are here a faint image of Satan, who casts out his hooks and his nets in the stormy sea of this life, taking some by individual hooks, sweeping others in whole masses in nets, to do evil; and whoever is found like a worm with no ruler, and will not have Christ to reign over him, Satan tempts, hurries, and drags away as his prey. Adam was caught on his hook, and he drew him out of Paradise with his net. And by one many became sinners, and in Adam we all died, and all saints afterward were with him in the same way cast out of Paradise. And because Satan deceived the first man, he slays without ceasing the whole human race.

Habakkuk looks at the future of his beloved people and sees the evil in the Chaldeans and begins to lose his confidence in God’s will

he gathers them in his dragnet; so he rejoices and is glad

The brutal Chaldeans literally shout for joy and gladness fills their heart at their destruction of Judah. Their catch brings them happiness and the ease at which it happens makes their victory that much sweeter

v16 Therefore he sacrifices to his net and makes offerings to his dragnet; for by them he lives in luxury, and his food is rich

This picture of sacrificing to their net they used to capture their fish shows how they didn’t recognize God’s hand in this, but attributed their success to the means they used. The king of Assyria had a similar boastful look in his eyes

Isaiah 10:13–14 “For he says: “By the strength of my hand I have done it, and by my wisdom, for I have understanding; I remove the boundaries of peoples, and plunder their treasures; like a bull I bring down those who sit on thrones. My hand has found like a nest the wealth of the peoples; and as one gathers eggs that have been forsaken, so I have gathered all the earth; and there was none that moved a wing or opened the mouth or chirped.”

The way God deals with Israel and Judah is nothing new. As well as the response from the tools he used, their response is always the same. Patting themselves on the back instead of fearing God.

Does anyone like Bogeys milkshakes in here? What’s your favorite flavor?

Mine is a pineapple caramel shake. It is so good! Now imagine I was telling you about Bogeys and their shakes and I was like, “Man, the shakes at Bogeys are so delicious. They make me feel like I’m living in luxury and my shakes are rich! Therefore I’m going to make sacrifices to the spoon. I’m going to make an offering to the cup.

That’s exactly what the Chaldeans will be doing. Making sacrifices to their instruments or tools. See whatever man finds his trust in, that is what becomes his God. See these evil men trust in their hooks and nets, what do you trust in? Yourself? Then you worship yourself. Your girlfriend or boyfriend? Then you worship them. Do you trust your money? Then you worship money. What do you trust in? Or maybe who do you trust in? I hope it’s not yourself, I hope it’s not another person, I hope it’s not money, I hope your trust is in your redeemer. The one who has never let you down and will never leave you nor forsake you. Worship him.

v17 Is he then to keep on emptying his net and mercilessly killing nations forever?

In the last verse of this chapter, Habakkuk petitions God for confidence with lament

Are the Chaldeans going to continue capturing and assimilating people, one nation by one nation. Defeating one, emptying his net, and mercilessly killing one after the other, after the other? Because this is all they have done, are doing now, and will do in the future

Habakkuk 1:9–10 “They all come for violence, all their faces forward. They gather captives like sand. At kings they scoff, and at rulers they laugh. They laugh at every fortress, for they pile up earth and take it.”

Without interruption they enjoy the fruit of their violence

God told Habakkuk to Habakkuk 1:5 ““Look among the nations, and see; wonder and be astounded. For I am doing a work in your days that you would not believe if told.” Now having revealed his will to Habakkuk, the prophet’s confidence is shaken

Look down at your hands, you have the entire Word of God in your hands. From Genesis to Revelation you have the entire Will of God in your hands. With that Bible you have all you need to live a godly life. You have the words of eternal life. You have everything you need to serve the Lord and his bride the church. You have no lack of knowledge about the character of God. You have no lack of knowledge about the gospel and the beauty that is Jesus.

Yet you have let the world convince you that it’s not enough. You have let the world tell you that the Bible is not clear enough to be understood. You have let the world tell you that your sin is too great. You have let the world tell you that faith alone is not enough for God to save you. You have let the world tell you that the Bible is not inerrant or infallible. You have let the world tell you that evil rules and there is nothing that you or your God can do about it. You have let the world cause you to doubt God’s promises to you. You have let the world strip your confidence away from God.

But I wonder friends, was that the world you were listening to or was that… you?

See I think it’s fear that makes you lose your trust in God. But if you don’t trust God then what is your trust in?

Listen to David in Psalm 56.

Psalm 56:3–4 “When I am afraid, I put my trust in you. In God, whose word I praise, in God I trust; I shall not be afraid. What can flesh do to me?”

Psalm 62:8 “Trust in him at all times, O people; pour out your heart before him; God is a refuge for us. Selah”

Psalm 115:11 “You who fear the Lord, trust in the Lord! He is their help and their shield.”

Psalm 37:5 “Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him, and he will act.”

And God did act.

You see when you pray the Bible or God’s revealed will and when you petition him for clarity and petition him for confidence, he will always provide for you the answer that you can trust in.

It’s Jesus…trust in him and worship him for the great love that he demonstrated on the cross for you, that while you were still sinners, Christ died for you. I pray that that is crystal clear for you, I pray that that fills your heart and mind with confidence in the eternal love with which God loves you. Friends petition God for understanding and he will give you the confidence to endure.