Where is God's justice? Habakkuk 1:1-11

Injustice

Have you ever experienced the pain of an injustice?

Amity experiences these on a daily basis.

The inhumanity of her parents allowing her to only watch 1 wiggles episode or sometimes no wiggles episodes is probably the greatest injustice any human being has faced since apartheid in south africa.

silly example, but we have an inbuilt sense of justice don’t we. And Habakkuk is crying out for it in our reading today.

The book of Habakkuk

Habakkuk 1:1 TNIV

The prophecy that Habakkuk the prophet received.

Latter third of the seventh century BC (630-612/05).

612 - Fall of Nineveh (Assyrian capital) and 605 - the complete downfall of the Assyrian empire.

This is when historians know that the Babylonians whom God mentions in Hab 1:6 began to rise up and become a world power.

Prophets normally call God’s people to account for failing to live up to God’s standards.

Habakkuk is the opposite. Crying out to God for failing to bring the evil throughout Israel and in the surrounding nations to account. Habakkuk is begging God to judge his people.

“The book of Habakkuk teaches both the faithfulness of God and what faithful living before God looks like when life is turned upside down and catastrophe strikes.”

It should be a fun few weeks as we work our way through this little prophetic book.

So today we’ve got part 1 or a two part conversation between the prophet Habakkuk and God.

Complaint (Hab 1:2-4)

Habakkuk 1:2–4 TNIV

How long, Lord, must I call for help, but you do not listen? Or cry out to you, “Violence!” but you do not save? Why do you make me look at injustice? Why do you tolerate wrongdoing? Destruction and violence are before me; there is strife, and conflict abounds. Therefore the law is paralyzed, and justice never prevails. The wicked hem in the righteous, so that justice is perverted.

Habakkuk is upset with the wicked and destructive behaviour of his own people.

He wants vindication for those who have been faithful to him in the midst of great injustice, wrongdoing, destruction, conflict.

I wonder if maybe you feel like you can relate?

Perhaps for some of us today maybe we kind of can relate to where Habakkuk’s coming from. Perhaps some here today feel like we’ve sat in church for many many years only to watch things like;

the sexual revolution,

the demise of regular church attendance,

the rise of state sanctioned abortion,

same sex marriage,

euthanasia,

the idolisation of youth and lack of respect for elders

And we hear Habakkuk’s cry to God, How long oh Lord? And we know the feeling only to well.

Well as Habakkuk has laid his heart of his sleeve before God, how does God respond?

God replies (Hab 1:5-11)

I’m going to make things worse for you Habbakuk.

He is going to raise up the Babylonian Empire to punish Israel for its sins (v5-6).

What are they like?

ruthless and impetuous (v6)

they seize land (v6)

Habakkuk 1:6 TNIV

I am raising up the Babylonians, that ruthless and impetuous people, who sweep across the whole earth to seize dwellings not their own.

They are feared (v7)

Habakkuk 1:7 TNIV

They are a feared and dreaded people; they are a law to themselves and promote their own honor.

They are militarily powerful and destructive (v8-9)

Habakkuk 1:8 TNIV

Their horses are swifter than leopards, fiercer than wolves at dusk. Their cavalry gallops headlong; their horsemen come from afar. They fly like a vulture swooping to devour;

Habakkuk 1:9 TNIV

they all come bent on violence. Their hordes advance like a desert wind and gather prisoners like sand.

God is preparing a nation to punish his rebellious people.

God is going to use this nation to bring about his purposes.

We’ll see next week that this is not exactly what Habakkuk was hoping for, however what we do see is here is that God does indeed take sin, unrighteousness seriously. He will not let it go unpunished.

God is a just God

Israel has failed to be faithful and there are consequences for that.

You and I need to face this reality. God will not allow wickedness and sin to go unpunished.

There are consequences for our misdeeds.

Oh well you say, I’m ok. God will surely let me into heaven, think of all the rapists, murderers and thieves out there who are far worse than me.

God’s word is clear

Romans 3:23 TNIV

for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,

You and I are guilty of sin. God would be justified in raising up the babylonians and sending them through our city and suburbs and homes. We must turn from our sin and turn to God seeking his forgiveness and help. Otherwise we will face the judgment of God.

You know, often we think that God’s justice is a bad thing.

But God’s hatred of sin and his just punishment of it is in fact a wonderful thing.

It means that for the family of Chrissie Clare Venn was a 13-year-old Australian girl who was murdered near Ulverstone nearly 100 years ago and who’s killed was never found and is now presumed dead justice will prevail.

It means for the con man who stole the life savings of over 17,000 pensioners in Britain in 2003 and was allowed to keep the all the money thanks to a legal technicality will face justice one day.

It means for the powerless widow and orphan in war torn South Sudan who have had their husband killed by militia men and live in fear of rape and murder each and every day will one day receive vindication and justice.

What a wonderful thing the justice of God is.

What a terrifying thing it is for those of us, all of us, who are destined to be on the receiving end of it.

Jesus brings justice and mercy

Habakkuk lived in a pre-Jesus world but as Habakkuk cries out for justice he points us to Jesus.

For with the coming of Christ God is able to be both just and merciful.

Remember:

Romans 3:23 TNIV

for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,

But Paul continues:

Romans 3:24–26 TNIV

and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement, through the shedding of his blood—to be received by faith. He did this to demonstrate his justice, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished— he did it to demonstrate his justice at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus.

Jesus Christ dies as a sacrifice in our place if we trust in him.

God has to do this in order to be just. God can’t be just if his forgiveness means he overlooks sin. Rather in Jesus God is both just in punishing sin through sending Jesus to the cross on our behalf, and merciful in allowing us through faith to be justified, or forgiven by that act of mercy.

Anyone can receive mercy. The murderer, the con man, the militia man, the priest, the pagan, the parishioner. And God’s justice in punishing sin can still be done. This is the beauty of our faith.

No one is too far gone. Anyone can receive mercy, justice will prevail.

You have a choice. Face the full force of God’s judgment like a civilian in the streets of Israel as the mighty Babylonians tear through it with all their merciless military might, or fall on your knees in faith and seek the sanctuary of God’s mercy in allowing Jesus death to cover you. To pay the price.

Jesus brings justice and mercy. Will you look to him with faith? Or will you face judgment on your own?