Sermon Tone Analysis
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Introduction
Main Idea
At first I thought of the main idea being, "How can God be holy and pure in allowing evil and suffering?"
At first I thought of the main idea being, "How can God be holy and pure in allowing evil and suffering?"
But the book of Habakkuk is not a book about God being on trial as if God needed to be vindicated.
The real theme of the book I believe is this.
"God deserves glory no matter how evil and wicked the world is."
Before we ask how can God allow evil in the world, we must simply observe that;
There is evil in the world.
We do not need to look far to see evil in our world today.
We do not need to look far to see evil in our world today.
More than ever before we see murder, war, violence and sin, so much that it has become normal and to some extent numbing to the conscience.
It doesn’t take much to ask ourselves, what is wrong with the world.
“When a newspaper posed the question, ‘What’s Wrong with the World?’
G. K. Chesterton wrote a brief letter in response: ‘Dear Sirs: I am.
Sincerely Yours, G. K. Chesterton.’
Which is exactly the better question.
Many ask how can God be good when there is so much evil and suffering in the world.
When we should be asking, what is wrong with us.
We are whats wrong with the world.
The book of Habakkuk is not about how can God be God when there is evil and suffering.
Even though the prophet poses questions to that extent.
The real issue here is that one can forget why there is evil and suffering.
The reason there is evil and suffering in the world is because man has fallen.
Through one man, Adam, sin entered into the world.
Death came through sin.
And what Adam deserved and all who follow him was the wrath of God.
The problem with this answer to many is that they struggle with how unfair this seems.
But their problem is that they do not know God and His holiness.
The fact that God would even allow us to live is an act of grace.
We are dealing with evil and suffering in the world because we have fallen.
We have sinned.
And the book of Habakkuk captures this in redemptive history.
God deserves to be worshipped no matter how evil and wicked the world is because of who He is.
And only those who come to saving faith, can and will.
Background
The Book of Habakkuk was likely written between 610 and 605 B.C.
The book of Nahum was written before this book and what took place was the destruction of Nineveh by the Babylonians around 612B.C.
It gives a grave description of what would happen to Nineveh through the Babylonians.
The book of Habakkuk was written shortly after the great fall of Nineveh.
The book of Nahum was written before this book and what took place was the destruction of Nineveh by the Babylonians.
The book of Habakkuk was written shortly after.
The prophet saw a city that had repented 150 years prior through their ministry of Jonah, destroyed.
The Babylonians were rising in power and they were coming to conquer.
The book of Habakkuk was written at a time when there was much sin and trouble in Judah.
Prior to the book being written, King Josiah brought significant spiritual reform.
We see this in 2 Kings chapters 22 and 23.
He put away idolatrous practices where the words of the covenant were again read in public and the temple was being repaired.
This was a time of revival.
But then Josiah was killed in battle which left his throne to 3 sons.
After Josiah’s death, his son Jehoahaz was chosen to be king by the people.
But Jehoahaz didn’t follow his father’s legacy in remaining faithful to the Lord.
Instead he “did evil in the sight of the Lord” ().
Jehoahaz reigned only for three months before he was taken into captivity by the king of Egypt.
The king of Egypt replaced him with his brother Eliakim ( ; ).
And the Egyptian king renamed the 25-year-old Eliakim “Jehoiakim.”
Jehoiakim would revert to doing evil in the sight of the Lord and this would bring God’s judgement on Judah.
Around this time, Jeremiah the prophet prophesied a 70 year captivity which was a message of judgement against Judah.
Judah had many idols that were set up in high places and they were engaging in practices that were clearly forbidden by God.
Because of Judah’s sins, God would send Nebuchadnezzar, who was the king of Babylon, to destroy Jerusalem and take the Jews captive for seventy years ().
Afterwards, God used Babylon to bring judgment against Israel for their sins of idolatry and rebellion against Him.
The Babylonians laid siege to Jerusalem for over a year.
They slaughtered many people and they would even destroy the temple.
They took captive many of God’s people and they left Jerusalem in ruins.
Habakkuk lived in troubled times where he witnessed the decline of God's covenant people who had given themselves to idolatry and sin.
And he knew that the Babylonian armies would be used by God as an act of judgement because of their idolatry and sin.
The evil he saw coming and witnessed made the prophet ask questions.
Which is what suffering does.
Evil and suffering does bring out from us the questions of how can this be and why.
This is what the prophet is experiencing.
Questions come from experiencing and observing evil and suffering.
4 Points
1: The question about the eternality of God (v.12)
2: The question about the purity and perceived silence of God (v.13)
3: The question about the treatment of God's people (v.14-17)
4: The prophet waits for an answer (ch 2. v.1)
4: The prophet waits for an answer (ch 2. v.1)
4: The prophet waits for an answer (ch 2. v.1)
1: The question about the eternality of God (v.12)
a.
The prophet acknowledges God as everlasting
Habakkuk
I use the word acknowledge because this question is rhetorical.
A rhetorical question is asked solely to produce an effect or to make an assertion and not to elicit a reply.
It is a question asked to make a point, not to get an answer but to get a point across.
This term everlasting I found to be used much in the book of Daniel which makes sense since Daniel was one who was taken into exile by the Babylonians.
Everlasting or forever: an indeterminate and unending time going on into the future; also possibly an indeterminate and unending time extending into the past.
Daniel acknowledged God as living forever.
And he tied that to His kingdom
forever n. — an indeterminate and unending time going on into the future; also possibly an indeterminate and unending time extending into the past.
The question of God being eternal is brought forth to assure that God’s people would also live forever.
Thus the next part of the verse.
“We will not die.”
b.
The prophet acknowledges God's holiness
The prophet acknowledges God's appointmentThe prophet acknowledges God as the rock and establishment of the Babylonians for correction.
He brings up the issue of God being pure in the midst of allowing a wicked people to conquer God’s own covenant people later in our text.
c.
The prophet acknowledges God's appointment
The prophet admits that God appointed the Babylonians as an act of judgment.
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