The Righteous Will Live By Faith

MIntroduction

Background

We don’t know much about Habakkuk, and most people can’t spell or pronounce his name right, but we do know that he was a prophet.

What we do know about this prophet is that his prophecy takes place just before the book of Daniel begins and the prophecy is fulfilled in the first few years of Daniel’s captivity. We know this because Habakkuk is distressed about the Babylonian invasion of Judah, and we find him questioning God about His inaction over evil and oppression.

Something else we know about Habakkuk from this book is that he was a scholar, and that he was a contemporary of Nahum, Zephaniah, and Jeremiah. That he was an established and competent theologian who likely had formal training in theology.

The most important attribute about Habakkuk is his faith in God, and worship of God. What makes Habakkuk different that most is that the mourning over his nation didn’t cause him to lose his faith and rebel, but his frustration in the waiting caused him to pray to God and to praise God. He didn’t pout like little ole Jonah.

The name Habakkuk means “to embrace” or “to wrestle”[1]In his life, and in this book, he wrestles with God about His character and the condition of His people. But, Habakkuk, by the end of this book, embraces God and His sovereignty.

[1]Weirsbe, Be Amazed, pg. 133

Context

There are some things that we glean from the ministry and the wrestling of Habakkuk.

1. The world that we try and make our home is a barren wasteland that will always leave us questioning God.

2. In every stage of life, even when it doesn’t make sense, we need to watch and listen to what God is doing and saying, and we need to be ready to respond to His commands.

3. God is worthy of our praise, even in the storms of life. As Chuck Swindol Puts it, “the book of Habakkuk reminds us that no place if too dark and no wall too thick for God’s grace to penetrate in a powerful and life-affirming way.”[1]

[1]IFL, Habakkuk.

I. Wrestling with Silence

Habakkuk 1:2–4 NKJV

O Lord, how long shall I cry, And You will not hear? Even cry out to You, “Violence!” And You will not save. Why do You show me iniquity, And cause me to see trouble? For plundering and violence are before me; There is strife, and contention arises. Therefore the law is powerless, And justice never goes forth. For the wicked surround the righteous; Therefore perverse judgment proceeds.

Little Josiah became the King of Judah as an eight year old boy. Under his leadership, the nation of Judah turned back to God.

In 2 Kings 22, Josiah’s court comes to him and says, “Josiah, we have found a book of the law.” When the people read the law of God to Josiah, he repented on behalf of his nation. In 2 Kings 23, he orders that all the false gods and idols be get taken out of Judah, and the nation of Judah prospers under Josiah until his 31 year stint as king ended.

We get here to the opening of Habakkuk, Josiah has been killed in battle, and there is a new king, and his name is Jehoiakim. If you remember Jehoiakim, he was king of Judah when they were captured by Bablyon in the opening chapters of the book of Daniel.

Jehoiakim is not a good King like his father Josiah was, he was a cowardly, and a wicked king that brought judgement on Judah.

look there again in v. 2-3.

Wrestling with Silence

Habakkuk sees all this chaos happening in his nation. He sees the violence, he sees the iniquity and the sin of his nation, and he sees the tension and the division among the people, and he asks God in. v. 2, “How long shall I cry and You will not hear?”

Have you ever been there, church? Have you ever wrestled with the silence of God in your life?

Now, I will say that you can live in victory, you can live in assurance that God’s Holy Spirit lives in you if you’re saved…but that doesn’t mean that there will never be times in your life that you aren’t wrestling with silence from God.

It could be that you’re going through a storm right now. You have a wayward child that you are praying comes home…you are having marital issues and you just need some relief…or maybe you’re just an emotional wreck and for some reason you just can’t hear the voice of God.

Often we ask this about our own nation, these United States. We keep praying that God would work in the hearts of those in power and nothing happens. We see all kinds of unjust things taking place and it’s like God is no where to be found…we are wrestling with silence.

Well, that’s where Habakkuk was. He is in turmoil, so much so that it is affecting him personally. He feels like God will never save him or his nation. His nation has made a covenant with God and they are living like God is dead, and he is watching these foreign nations rise up and Habakkuk understands that the nation of Israel is headed for judgment. And it doesn’t matter how much he prays, it’s as if God is silent.

Look now in v. 4

The Effect of Weak Leadership

The reason that judgement is coming, the reason that Habakkuk has gotten this vision is because “the law is powerless, and justice never goes forth.”

Jehoiakim is a coward. He isn’t interested in law and order, he isn’t interested in protecting the borders of Israel, he is only interested in his own pleasure.

This is the effect of weak leadership in a nation, in a society, in any church or organization. Henry Blackaby would say that, “the greatness of any organization is directly proportional to the greatness of its leaders.”

Now, think about it. Josiah is King…he is a strong leader, he is out at war with his people…and most importantly he was a man that honored God. When he heard the Word of God, his heart melted, he dropped to his knees, and he said, “Oh Lord! What have we done! We will remove these idols from us, today!”

And when Josiah was king, the nation was blessed. Now then, Jehoiakim is king, and he doesn’t care anything about God…all he cares about is saving his own hide, so what he does is he lives in submission to the powers in Egypt.

Now, in the Bible, Egypt will always represent bondage…for the Israelites were in bondage. Now, here is Judah, and they are in bondage to Egypt again, the same Egypt that God called them out of. They aren’t looking to God as their salvation or as their treasure, they are looking to Egypt, they are looking to the world.

So, now God says, “I am going to judge My people, Habakkuk.”

Look now in v. 5-7

God Replies to Habakkuk

Habakkuk 1:5–7 NKJV

“Look among the nations and watch— Be utterly astounded! For I will work a work in your days Which you would not believe, though it were told you. For indeed I am raising up the Chaldeans, A bitter and hasty nation Which marches through the breadth of the earth, To possess dwelling places that are not theirs. They are terrible and dreadful; Their judgment and their dignity proceed from themselves.

God is finally replying to Habakkuk. God is speaking here and this is what He says, “Babylon [the Chaldeans] is coming, and they are going to posses your land.”

So, Habakkuk has said, “God, how come you aren’t working? How long are you going to sit there and allow evil to reign.”

God replies in v. 5-11 and says, “I am working, because I am raising up Nebuchadnezzar and Babylon, and they are going to take Judah into captivity.”

Well, Habakkuk isn’t satisfied with that response…but I want you to notice something here:

God doesn’t give Habakkuk an explanation, He gives him a revelation. He gives Habakkuk the reality that is coming, and God does this to comfort His people.

In Times of Suffering

In times of suffering, we don’t understand all that God is doing…and there isn’t a need for God to explain everything to us because we couldn’t understand even if He wanted us to.

The Scripture says this,

Isaiah 55:8–9 NKJV

“For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways,” says the Lord. “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways, And My thoughts than your thoughts.

When Habakkuk thought God was silent, when Habakkuk thought that God was allowing the evil in Judah to reign, God says, “Evil is not going to reign in my nation, I am bringing them to judgement, and that judgement is at hand.”

Why did God allow Babylon to chasten His people?

Because Judah, time and time again, disobeyed God. And when God gave them a chance to live in that repentance under the Kingship of Josiah, they squandered it. So, now God is going to chastise Judah, He is doing it to act in the best interest of Judah.

Don’t get the picture here that God is chastising them for harm, but He is going to chastise His people for their own good.

Some people don’t think you should spank your children, some don’t think you should really discipline them at all.

Others think that a whipping is a form of control, and that a whipping should be used flippantly, or it should be used to punish a child when they make a mistake or maybe they even whip them or hit them out of anger and frustration.

But when God disciplines, when God chastises, when a healthy discipline takes place, it is always because there has been a period mercy, followed by a willfully disobedient act, resulting in chastisement because of that blatant transgression.

Healthy discipline is not chastisement or discipline for the sake of control, but chastisement for the sake of repentance and restoration.

When a father whips his child, he ought to whip them with love, and he ought to whip them to set them on a path to righteousness and not a path to destruction or to wrath.

When Judah returns from this Babylonian captivity, they aren’t angry at God, but they begin to rebuild the temple of God and return to Him in worship.

It works the same way in our life. What we think are times of suffering, God is going to use every ounce of that suffering and hardship to bring us closer to Him.

So, here is Habakkuk and God having a conversation, Habakkuk doesn’t like this response. He’s thinking what you used to think when you’re daddy was whooping you.

“God, how in the world is this going to help? This is a horrible idea!”

Here’s Habakkuk’s response

Look in v. 12-17

Habakkuk Argues with God

He Challenges His Character

Habakkuk 1:12 NKJV

Are You not from everlasting, O Lord my God, my Holy One?

Habakkuk 1:13 NKJV

You are of purer eyes than to behold evil, And cannot look on wickedness. Why do You look on those who deal treacherously?

Habakkuk doesn’t like this plan. He’s asking God this question that so many people have asked God, “God, I thought you were better than this! Why are you allowing this to happen?!”

Habakkuk doesn’t think it’s right that a pagan nation isn’t being judged, but that God’s people are being judged.

Now, there Habakkuk was, he was looking at the condition of Judah, and He says, “Oh, God! Help! Violence! You need to do something! We are an evil people and we need Your mighty hand, Lord!”

God says, “I am preparing a rod of correction and they are the Chaldeans. For the sake of Judah, for the benefit of My people, they will be captured by these Babylonians.”

Habakkuk comes back and says, “Whoa, whoa, whoa, God…aren’t you Holy? Aren’t you a God that can’t look on evil? And now you’re going to allow these pagans to be our judge? It’s not fair, God! It’s not right!”

When we experience suffering in our lives, when we get to a place of doubt and begin to wrestle with God, there is a temptation for us to lose trust in Him and then to seek out our own solutions.

But, when we do that we ignore the reality that God is always doing what is best for us, even when we don’t understand.

There is a temptation for us to place ourselves under bondage and return to Egypt, there is a temptation for us to try and intervene on our behalf or on behalf of another, and divert the will of God.

But, if we will just understand that God is holy, that God is working for us and not against us, then when the pain comes, we may have our doubts, but we will never turn tail and run, thinking that God has abandoned us.

In your life, doubt is not the issue…the issue in unbelief. An unbelief that God is working in your best interest…but Habakkuk still believes in God, he is just in a place of doubting because of the hard things he has seen.

Look now in v. 17

He Challenges His Decision

Habakkuk 1:17 NKJV

Shall they therefore empty their net, And continue to slay nations without pity?

What the prophet is asking in this verse is this, “Will you judge Judah, and not judge Babylon? Oh Holy, and righteous God? Will you allow them to slay nations without pity?”

Habakkuk can’t believe it…but then, Habakkuk doesn’t understand the seriousness of Judah’s transgression.

They have the law, they had the wonderful King Josiah, they had the very power and presence of God…and they still chose sin and unbelief. Their sin was greater than that of the pagan nation, because the pagans were acting just like pagans are supposed to.

Babylon will see their own judgement, but God always beings with His people.

1 Peter 4:17 NKJV

For the time has come for judgment to begin at the house of God.

How can God judge the world if His own house isn’t in order? He won’t do it…He will always begin judgement with His people.

So, there are times in our lives that we wrestle with what we think is silence, but once God speaks, we need to watch and listen

II. Watching and Listening

In chapter 2, Habakkuk starts out on the wall, watching and waiting for God to prove Himself again.

Habakkuk Waits for God’s Correction

Habakkuk 2:1 NKJV

I will stand my watch And set myself on the rampart, And watch to see what He will say to me, And what I will answer when I am corrected.

He says he will stand his watch on the wall of Jerusalem.

A watchman’s job was to warn the people of incoming danger. Habakkuk is standing on the wall and waiting for a message from God. He has personally taken it upon himself to bear the burden of his nation and of his people and to take the role of a protector.

Then he says, “I will answer when I am corrected.”

Habakkuk questioned God…and yet he trusts God. He doubted, but he still believed.

He now stands, watching over his nation, expecting God to reveal His plan and His purpose.

In your life, it’s a natural reaction to question God…it’s a natural reaction to have doubts…but it becomes sinful when there is unbelief in your heart.

It becomes sinful when you become a fireman instead of a watchman. Running around trying to put out all of the fires of life without ever watching and listening for a word from God.

Arguing with God and then believing that you are right and He is wrong…that is unbelief.

Habakkuk doubted God, but he says, “I will watch, and I will listen when I am corrected, because I trust in You, God.”

Look now in 2:2-4

God Asks His People to Trust His Word

Habakkuk 2:2–4 NKJV

Then the Lord answered me and said: “Write the vision And make it plain on tablets, That he may run who reads it. For the vision is yet for an appointed time; But at the end it will speak, and it will not lie. Though it tarries, wait for it; Because it will surely come, It will not tarry. “Behold the proud, His soul is not upright in him; But the just shall live by his faith.

God Instructs Habakkuk

Notice there in v. 2 that when God speaks, He gives Habakkuk and action to perform.

He says, “Write this down where people can read it”

Now, here are some principles when it comes to discerning the will of God when you are watching and listening.

1. There is going to be an action to perform.

The action that God gives you isn’t going to be something as big as “start a church”, it’s going to be something as spectacular as “write this down”.

What we think are small tasks assigned to us by God, you know, those tasks that we think we’re too good for, always serve a greater purpose than we realize. Remember, “my thoughts are higher than your thoughts”

2. The glory of God is going to be revealed.

When God gives you an action, you won’t get any glory from it. When you give yourself an action, you’ll get all the glory, and so it’s not from God.

This is God’s prophecy, and it will take place, and when the people read it, God says, “that he may run who reads it”

What does God mean here?

Isaiah 40:31 NKJV

But those who wait on the Lord Shall renew their strength; They shall mount up with wings like eagles, They shall run and not be weary, They shall walk and not faint.

This word, this prophecy from God, this action to perform is for the edification and the encouragement of His people…so when they are without strength, they will run the race of endurance.

In your life, when you are tired, and you are weary, look at the promise of God that He is working for your good and that He is faithful…and you won’t faint, you will run the race of endurance.

3. It will only take place in His timing

v. 3 says, “the vision is yet for an appointed time, but at the end it will speak and it will not lie.”

In other words, God is saying, “this judgement is going to be long, 70 years long, but you need to have faith in My word.”

v. 3 says, “Though it tarries, wait for it; because it will surely come.

We have our own prophecy now, don’t we? We live in a world of suffering and calamity, but God says in His word that Jesus is coming again, and that Jesus is going to take us out of this world and He is going to establish us in a new Heaven and in a New Earth…and though it tarries church, we must wait for it…because Jesus is coming, and He’s coming soon.

In your life, you cannot rush the plans of God, and it will take longer than you are expecting, so trust Him and hang on for the ride…being humble in the process and allowing Him to exalt you at the proper time.

4. You’ll just have to trust Him

v. 4 gives us one of the most beautiful truths of the Bible and it says, “the just shall live by faith”

This is a profound statement, that we don’t walk according to what our eyes can see, but we walk according to what God imparts to us in His word.

When God says it, we can trust it. When He says that He is working all things together for the good of those who love Him and are called according to His purpose, we need to trust that with all of our heart and with all our strength.

Proverbs 3:5–8 NKJV

Trust in the Lord with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths. Do not be wise in your own eyes; Fear the Lord and depart from evil. It will be health to your flesh, And strength to your bones.

These are the promises that God gave to Habakkuk, and they were written down. Not for the glory of Habakkuk, but for the glory of God and for the benefit of His people.

“The just shall live by faith”

Look now in 2:5-19

God Promises Babylon’s Judgement

What God does in these verses is He names their sins. Selfish ambition, thievery, disregard for human life, flattery and drunkenness, and idol worship.

That’s the world. That’s who the world is, they are against God, and they will see judgement, even if it seems like they’re winning now.

Last in ch. 2, mark down v. 14 and v. 20

All Praise Belongs to God

Here on Earth,

Man, we’re in rough shape…

but, one day, all the squabbling will come to an end, Jesus will sit on the throne, and in the presence of His Majesty there will be stillness, joy, and peace.

Every knee shall bow, and every tongue shall confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of the Father.

In Ch. 1, Habakkuk wrestles with Silence, in ch. 2, he watches and He listens. Now then..in chapter 3, he worships in the chaos.

III. Worshipping in the Chaos

Habakkuk 3:2 NKJV

O Lord, I have heard Your speech and was afraid; O Lord, revive Your work in the midst of the years! In the midst of the years make it known; In wrath remember mercy.

The Presence of God

The truth here is that God’s word is hard to accept, that growing closer to Him is not an easy task.

Moses trembled before God, Daniel was physically weak because of the visions he saw, and when John saw Jesus in the Revelation he fell at His feet like a dead man…

What it takes to follow the Lord is absolute abandonment of self and an absolute trust in God for our provision, our health, our emotions, and everything else you can think of.

Jesus says this,

Luke 14:33 NKJV

Whoever of you does not forsake all that he has cannot be My disciple.

Look in v. 3-19

God is Over All

This is Habakkuk’s prayer and song of praise to God.

We serve a holy God that gives us great rest…when we gather in worship…we gather to pray to him, to sing spiritual songs to Him, and to receive His word with gladness, even on days the preaching is a little harder than anyone wanted including me.

Church, we become the church when we gather, when we praise, and when we worship.

To worship God is not just to sing to Him, but so much more than that it is to obey Him.

We worship the God Who is over all when we obey His commandments, and when we trust in His word.

John 14:21 NKJV

He who has My commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me. And he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and manifest Myself to him.”

Conclusion