Habakkuk 1

Intro:

Habakkuk is a minor prophet in the Bible. He’s minor, because his writing is small, compared to Isaiah and Ezekiel, which are known as major prophets.

He’s one of the prophets that I love because of how honest he is.

I think a lot of us will be able to understand what young Habakkuk is going through.

However,

See, Habakkuk was alive during a very rough time. He had King Manassah who was terrible.

King Manasseh was so bad..

2 Chronicles 33:3–10 NKJV

For he rebuilt the high places which Hezekiah his father had broken down; he raised up altars for the Baals, and made wooden images; and he worshiped all the host of heaven and served them. He also built altars in the house of the Lord, of which the Lord had said, “In Jerusalem shall My name be forever.” And he built altars for all the host of heaven in the two courts of the house of the Lord. Also he caused his sons to pass through the fire in the Valley of the Son of Hinnom; he practiced soothsaying, used witchcraft and sorcery, and consulted mediums and spiritists. He did much evil in the sight of the Lord, to provoke Him to anger. He even set a carved image, the idol which he had made, in the house of God, of which God had said to David and to Solomon his son, “In this house and in Jerusalem, which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel, I will put My name forever; and I will not again remove the foot of Israel from the land which I have appointed for your fathers—only if they are careful to do all that I have commanded them, according to the whole law and the statutes and the ordinances by the hand of Moses.” So Manasseh seduced Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem to do more evil than the nations whom the Lord had destroyed before the children of Israel. And the Lord spoke to Manasseh and his people, but they would not listen.

2 Chron

He restored pagan worship temples, that His father tore down.

He raised up altars for baal

Made wooden images

and the list goes on…

According to tradition, Manasseh was the one who killed Isaiah.

Some think that Habakkuk was written toward the end of the reign of Josiah and the start of Jehoakim.

This book is related to a wicked time in Judah.

After reading all this, we see 3 Main Things in this passage.

2 Important Questions...

1 Action.

Why aren’t you listening God?

We get to the point where we feel like God isn’t listening to us anymore.

We come to the point of crying “Lord, Where are you!”

I think it’s safe to say we all have been there.

We’re in prayer and we feel like our prayers are just hitting the ceiling. We feel like we are talking to no one but ourselves.

Why do you show me sin?

Do you ever wonder why God reveals iniquity or trouble in you, or in others?

Why would he show it to us?

To keep us humble, because we all have pride.

To keep us submissive to him

To make us value our salvation more?

Why would he show us it in others?

For us to see what we could’ve been.

To see how wicked sin is, that we may pass by it and hate it, and not indulge in it.

To admire the grace of God when he saves sinners.

Uses it to make us want to work more earnestly to bring people to Christ.

“Ah, my brethren, we need to know more of the evil of men, to make us more earnest in seeking their salvation; for if there be anything in which the Church is lacking more than in any other matter, it is in the matter of earnestness” (Spurgeon).