Questioning God
Waiting Among the Fig Trees • Sermon • Submitted
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Introduction
Introduction
Remember sword drills? Find Habakkuk
Context
One of 12 Minor Prophets
Minor because of length not because less important.
Usually prophets speak to the people on behalf of God
In Habakkuk the prophet is speaking to God on behalf of the people and in so doing, God’s message is given to his people.
“Waiting Among the Fig Trees?”
Theme of waiting:
Habakkuk 1:2 (ESV)
2 O Lord, how long shall I cry for help, and you will not hear? Or cry to you “Violence!” and you will not save?
Habakkuk 1:13 (ESV)
13 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?
Habakkuk 2:3 (ESV)
3 For still the vision awaits its appointed time; it hastens to the end—it will not lie. If it seems slow, wait for it; it will surely come; it will not delay.
Habakkuk 3:16–18 (ESV)
16 I hear, and my body trembles; my lips quiver at the sound; rottenness enters into my bones; my legs tremble beneath me. Yet I will quietly wait for the day of trouble to come upon people who invade us. 17 Though the fig tree should not blossom, nor fruit be on the vines, the produce of the olive fail and the fields yield no food, the flock be cut off from the fold and there be no herd in the stalls, 18 yet I will rejoice in the Lord; I will take joy in the God of my salvation.
The struggle of faith in a world of suffering is how Habakkuk begins and ends with a song of worship in a world of suffering
What changed? Not the world, not the suffering, not God, but Habakkuk and his faith
The hope and goal of this series is to
lead you to have honest conversations with God
start the process of growing your faith in the midst of your questions and waiting
Habakkuk 1:1–11 (ESV)
1 The oracle that Habakkuk the prophet saw. 2 O Lord, how long shall I cry for help, and you will not hear? Or cry to you “Violence!” and you will not save? 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. 4 So the law is paralyzed, and justice never goes forth. For the wicked surround the righteous; so justice goes forth perverted.
The Context:
Habakkuk lived after the fall of the nation of Israel to the Assyrians and he is living during the time just before the nation of Judah is taken captive by the Babylonians.
2 Kings records the turbulent leadership of the nation of Judah.
“Did was was right, did what was evil.”
Judah experienced a short-lived revival under the leadership of King Josiah after the discover of the book of the Law in the temple. (2Kings 22-23). Josiah reigns 31yrs.
Around 609 BC, King Josiah dies in a battle against Pharaoh Neco.
Habakkuk likely spent the majority of his life under this king who ruled the nation according to God’s Law.
Following Josiah:
Jehoahaz (3 months) “And he did what was evil in the sight of the LORD, according to all that his fathers had done.”
Pharaoh Neco deposed Jehoahaz and put Jehoiakim (Josiah’s son) in his place as king of Judah.
Jehoiakim (11 years) “And he did what was evil in the sight of the LORD, according to all that his fathers had done.”
Habakkuk sees:
What was once a godly nation now a nation that neglects to mention God.
Political corruption.
The righteous of the nation are now the marginalized and even persecuted.
People are out for themselves regardless of who it hurts.
Jeremiah 22 you can read about how the Egyptian Pharaoh had Jehoiakim under his thumb and so all of daily life in Jerusalem was affected by Pharaoh’s control and by Jehoiakim’s refusal to do what was right.
Under his administration the prophets and priesthood were corrupted in adultery and abuse of authority (23:1–2, 9–11). The king sent assassins who killed the prophet Uriah for prophesying (as Habakkuk and Jeremiah also did) that Jerusalem would fall (26:20–23). He burned Jeremiah’s handwritten prophecy in his fireplace as a threat against him (Jer. 36).
This corruption of Judah’s government, the removal of God’s laws from the nation, the evil and godlessness that became rampant throughout Judah is the historical context from which Habakkuk writes. This is the pain behind the questions.
What about you? Have you ever questioned God?
The evil around us.
The news from the doctor.
The phone call you were dreading.
We all experience a suffering or pain that can shake our faith to the point we cry out to God with the tough questions.
ILLUST - The day I came home and found Christine curled up in a ball and asking God, “Would it really throw the planets out of alignment to give us a child?”
It was an honest question, directed to God, that deepened our faith, and eventually led to joy.
I remember the feeling I had this past December when I learned my mother passed away. I remember asking God why he would remove from this earth a person who so dearly loved him, faithfully followed him, and was leading others to follow him as well. (No, he did not need another angel — that’s terrible theology)
God’s reply to Habakkuk’s questions:
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. 6 For behold, I am raising up the Chaldeans, that bitter and hasty nation, who march through the breadth of the earth, to seize dwellings not their own.
Chaldeans = neo-Babylonians - early version of the Babylonians who will become the next world superpower. A war machine that will eventually and ruthlessly destroy everything in it’s path, including Jerusalem.
7 They are dreaded and fearsome; their justice and dignity go forth from themselves. 8 Their horses are swifter than leopards, more fierce than the evening wolves; their horsemen press proudly on. Their horsemen come from afar; they fly like an eagle swift to devour. 9 They all come for violence, all their faces forward. They gather captives like sand. 10 At kings they scoff, and at rulers they laugh. They laugh at every fortress, for they pile up earth and take it. 11 Then they sweep by like the wind and go on, guilty men, whose own might is their god!”
“Oh, thanks for that. That clears everything up. Because of the evil and violence in our nation, you are going to send a MORE evil and MORE violent nation to destroy us. Got it. That’s helpful”
God is ok with your questions.
God is ok with your questions.
How do we know God is ok with your questions:
1. God does not scold Habakkuk.
2. This is a Spirit-directed prophecy.
Isn’t it interesting that this is an oracle that Habakkuk “saw.”
3. There are plenty of examples of other faithful men and women asking difficult questions of God.
One third of the Psalms are prayers/songs of lament.
David
1 Why, O Lord, do you stand far away? Why do you hide yourself in times of trouble?
1 How long, O Lord? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me? 2 How long must I take counsel in my soul and have sorrow in my heart all the day? How long shall my enemy be exalted over me?
Asaph
5 How long, O Lord? Will you be angry forever? Will your jealousy burn like fire?
Sons of Korah (priests)
23 Awake! Why are you sleeping, O Lord? Rouse yourself! Do not reject us forever! 24 Why do you hide your face? Why do you forget our affliction and oppression?
Jesus
46 And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” that is, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”
4. God saw fit to preserve it for you.
One third of the Psalms are prayers/songs of lament. Habakkuk’s words echo throughout the Psalter (“How long?” Ps. 6:3; 13:1–2; 79:5; 89:46; “Why do you …?” Ps. 10:1; 44:23–24; 74:11). The entire books of Job and Lamentations are dedicated to expressing the confusion and pain of unbearable suffering by the faithful
James Bruckner, Jonah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, The NIV Application Commentary (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 2004), 215.
Habakkuk’s questions:
God, don’t you hear? (2a)
God, don’t you hear? (2a)
God, don’t you care? (2b)
God, don’t you care? (2b)
God, won’t you act? (3a)
God, won’t you act? (3a)
God, are you not powerful enough? (3b)
God, are you not powerful enough? (3b)
God, doesn’t your Word mean anything? (4)
God, doesn’t your Word mean anything? (4)
When you question God be:
Honest (not simply heat) -
Bring God a request, not a protest. -
Open hands not a shaking fist.
Because God is good.
Faithful (not faithless)
Questioning is not the opposite of faith.
You can be a faithful Christian and ask God tough questions.
You can be a faithful Christian and struggle with the evil you see around you as well as the difficult things you are going through.
You can be a faithful Christian and struggle from time to time with your faith.
“It’s ok to ask God a question; it’s just wrong to demand an answer.”
Because God is God.
Humble (expect to be changed)
When we come to God with questions, we wait for his answer instead of giving him ours.
We may not always like the answer God gives. His answer may be that we suffer even greater or longer, but it will always be for his glory and our good. (we will see next week how this works out.)
We come humbly because when we bring God a problem there will be change; however, it may not be a change of the things around you, it may be a change within you.
Because God is for HIS glory.
While you have questions, God has answers.
While you have questions, God has answers.
Notice between verse 4 and 5 it does not say “There was a great cosmic pause.”
God had answers before you had questions.
God had answers before you had questions.
God is omniscient. He knows. We don’t worship a God who gets surprised.
(this is important because of how some have chosen to deal with theodicy - the problem of evil - Open Theism - God doesn’t know - He responds)
Would you rather worship a God who is reactionary or all-knowing?
24 Before they call I will answer; while they are yet speaking I will hear.
8 Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.
God’s reasons go deeper than your questions.
God’s reasons go deeper than your questions.
God broadens Habakkuk’s perspective.
5 “Look among the nations, and see; wonder and be astounded.
You think it is violent in Judah? Look at Babylon!
For I am doing a work in your days that you would not believe if told.
ILLUST - A Few Good Men, “You can’t handle the truth!” You think something is bad, it is because there is more you don’t see.
Job
In one day Job lost everything - sons and daughters, wealth, livelihood — everything.
What Job did NOT know is the cosmic drama that was behind all of it.
(Not saying your difficulties are a result of a confrontation of Satan, but it is to say God’s reasons go deeper than our experience.)
God’s answers are bigger than your problems.
God’s answers are bigger than your problems.
While you are wringing your hands the Creator God is arranging the world.
In your waiting God is already working.
In your waiting God is already working.
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. 6 For behold, I am raising up the Chaldeans, that bitter and hasty nation, who march through the breadth of the earth, to seize dwellings not their own.
God didn’t need to wait until Habakkuk said something. He didn’t need a reminder or motivation to get started.
God didn’t say “I will.” He said “I am.”
7 Then the Lord said, “I have surely seen the affliction of my people who are in Egypt and have heard their cry because of their taskmasters. I know their sufferings, 8 and I have come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land to a good and broad land, a land flowing with milk and honey, to the place of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites.
God heard the Israelites. While they were groaning, God was already preparing Moses’ mother’s heart to save her child by making a small floating basket for him when it became illegal to have a son.
He was already filling the daughter of Pharaoh with compassion so that she would rescue Moses when she finds him in the basket.
He was preparing Moses by giving him nurture with his own mother as she became his nursemaid.
He was preparing Moses with the finest education in the courts of Egypt.
He was preparing Moses as Moses fled to Midian after killing an Egyptian. It was here Moses learned valuable lessons about living in the desert — a skill he will need for many more years.
God was working to prepare the way of the Exodus even while Israelites were waiting.
Jesus heals on the Sabbath (a time of resting and waiting)
Jews were mad. . .
17 But Jesus answered them, “My Father is working until now, and I am working.”
Conclusion
Conclusion
Mark 4:35–41 (ESV)
35 On that day, when evening had come, he said to them, “Let us go across to the other side.” 36 And leaving the crowd, they took him with them in the boat, just as he was. And other boats were with him. 37 And a great windstorm arose, and the waves were breaking into the boat, so that the boat was already filling. 38 But he was in the stern, asleep on the cushion. And they woke him and said to him, “Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?” 39 And he awoke and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, “Peace! Be still!” And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm. 40 He said to them, “Why are you so afraid? Have you still no faith?” 41 And they were filled with great fear and said to one another, “Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?”
The faith was not to still the storm it was to ride it out with Jesus.
The point was not that Habakkuk received all the answers.
The point was not that Habakkuk gained the power to change things.
The point IS:
Hab is in relationship with the One who has all the answers.
Hab is in relationship with the One who has all the power to change things.
It’s the RELATIONSHIP.
You can have peace IF Jesus is in your boat.
What questions do you have for God today?
PRAY