When the figs wont grow (Habakkuk)

Introduction

A large part of discipleship is learning.

Matthew 28:18–20 KJV 1900

And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.

Learning more about God and the Scriptures should be a priority for the Christian.

I try to balance preaching on Wednesday nights with regular preachy sermons with regular Bible studies, and I try to mix the two, but tonight will be more of a bible study. Sunday morning we talked about going deeper into Scripture and into our relationship with God.

So let’s learn a little tonight about a specific prophet that you might not know a lot about.

What is a prophet?

In a general sense, a prophet is a person who speaks God’s truth to others. The English word prophet comes from the Greek word prophetes, which can mean “one who speaks forth” or “advocate.” Prophets are also called “seers,” because of their spiritual insight or their ability to “see” the future. In the Bible, prophets often had both a teaching and revelatory role, declaring God’s truth on contemporary issues while also revealing details about the future. Isaiah’s ministry, for example, touched on both the present and the future. He preached boldly against the corruption of his day (Isaiah 1:4) and delivered grand visions of the future of Israel (Isaiah 25:8). Prophets had the task of faithfully speaking God’s Word to the people. They were instrumental in guiding the nation of Israel and establishing the church. God’s household is “built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone” (Ephesians 2:20). More than 133 named prophets are mentioned in the Bible, including 16 women. In addition, numerous others prophesied, such as the 70 elders of Israel (Numbers 11:25) and the 100 prophets rescued by Obadiah (1 Kings 18:4). The first named prophet in the Bible is Abraham. In Genesis 20:7 God spoke to Abimelech in dream, saying, “Now then, return [Abraham’s] wife, for he is a prophet, so that he will pray for you, and you will live.” God had revealed Himself to Abraham on numerous occasions.

What is the difference between a prophet and a priest?

Prophet- represents God to man

Priest- represents man to God

Major Prophets- Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Daniel (and Lamentations).

Minor Prophets- Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi

Tonight we are going to take a look at Habakkuk. Turn to the book of Habakkuk if you have your Bible.

The name Habakkuk means to embrace. What we are not sure of is whether or not Habakkuk is being embraced or if he is the embracer.

Some scholars describe Habakkuk as the embracer. He embraces his people in his arms, holds them up, and comforts them. Some believed that Habakkuk’s name referenced how he embraced the problem of divine justice in a terrible point of time. Others believe that Habakkuk is the one being embraced and comforted by God in such a trying time.

The book of Habakkuk is different from the other Old Testament prophetical books because it is more of a conversation between the Prophet and the Lord, rather than the Prophet declaring the Lord’s message to the Lord’s people. This book resembles more of the poetical books rather than the prophetical books.

Habakkuk 1:1–6 KJV 1900

The burden which Habakkuk the prophet did see. O Lord, how long shall I cry, and thou wilt not hear! Even cry out unto thee of violence, and thou wilt not save! Why dost thou shew me iniquity, and cause me to behold grievance? For spoiling and violence are before me: And there are that raise up strife and contention. Therefore the law is slacked, and judgment doth never go forth: For the wicked doth compass about the righteous; Therefore wrong judgment proceedeth. Behold ye among the heathen, and regard, and wonder marvellously: For I will work a work in your days, Which ye will not believe, though it be told you. For, lo, I raise up the Chaldeans, that bitter and hasty nation, Which shall march through the breadth of the land, To possess the dwellingplaces that are not theirs.

Different version reads:

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.

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.

1. Habakkuk Questions (v. 2-3)

Habakkuk crying out to the Lord about this particular problem he is seeing in his nation. These verses look like they should be found in the book of Psalms rather than in a book of prophecy. Habakkuk is asking how long he will have to cry for help until the Lord hears and saves. He asks why so much wickedness and iniquity is taking place while the Lord just idly watches. He is growing weary of seeing the wickedness and iniquity going unpunished. He desires for the Lord to help and save in such a time of trouble in the nation. It seems to him that the Lord is sitting idly by while His people dwindle into evil and chaos.

Apply it to today

2. God Answers (v. 5-11)

You can see the Lord’s answer in verses five through eleven. It may not necessarily be the exact answer that Habakkuk was looking for, but it was an answer nonetheless. The fact that Habakkuk used harsh language like “you idly look at wrong” truly shows how passionate and emotional he was. If he would have used such sharp words with a human being, there is no doubt that any man would have been very upset with him. Yall know what we call that in Texas? Them are fightin words.

However, he did not use these words with fleshly and sinful man, but with the perfect and sinless Lord. The Lord is compassionate and understanding of the troubles that Habakkuk is facing. The Lord’s answer implies He has not been idly sitting in the press box watching the game of human life, but is on the field coaching and directing every moment of it. The Lord was about to shock both Habakkuk and the nation of Judah in verse six of chapter one. The Lord Himself was raising up the Babylonians. God had been preparing both Judah and the Babylonians for the coming exile. He then detailed their strength and wickedness and how they are conquering the nations. The Lord knew that more harsh words from a measly prophet to the people would not change their minds or their actions. He knew that something more needed to be done. So He was preparing them for an exile in one of the most wicked countries so that they would have to come back to Him and rely upon Him alone. Of course, this would usher a response from Habakkuk. This means of discipline was probably not exactly what he was expecting or desiring.

Apply it to today

3. Habakkuk Complains (v. 12-17)

How could the Lord use such an evil nation as a wicked instrument to carry out His judgement on the people? Habakkuk relies on the immutability, eternalness, omniscience, omnipotence, omnipresence, and other characteristics of the Lord in this passage. He directly makes the assumption that the Hebrews will not be completely extinguished because God will not break His covenant with His people. He leaves the impression that it is a perversion of justice for a more sinful people to destroy a more righteous people in verse thirteen. Although Judah had been guilty of evil deeds, it was nothing compared to the disgusting wickedness of the Babylonians. In verses fourteen and fifteen he compares the people to fish in the sea, being caught by hooks and brought up by the nets of the evil ones. He then explains how these people worship the hooks and the nets. They worship the means by which they receive their blessings and luxuries. These Babylonians worship false gods and idols. How could God use such a wicked people to judge Judah? The chapter concludes with the Prophet asking if the fisherman will keep emptying his net so he can keep killing people forever and ever.

Apply it to today

4. God Answers (v. 2-5)

The righteous shall live by faith v. 4

Apply it to today

5. Habakkuk’s Woe (v. 6-20)

The majority of chapter two consists of what is called a taunt, or a chant of woe against a different people. A taunt is meant to provoke. It is usually rude and offensive. One person said that humans taunt because they love to win. The taunt of Habakkuk is letting the listener know that God’s people will win in the end, regardless of what happens in the present. The purpose of a taunt is to express victory, it is a scoff, it can be somewhat prideful. The longest battle that has been taking place throughout all of history is the battle between good and evil. All the way back to Genesis chapter three and verse fifteen, the protoevangelium, the reader sees the first Messianic prophecy of how good will overcome evil, how Christ will overcome Satan. There are times throughout history when it seems like God’s people are on the losing team. However, God’s people must remember that good will win in the end. The taunt in verses six through twenty is just a long list of woes and scoffs against the enemy. The most significant part of this taunt is at the very end, verse twenty. It says that God is in His temple and that the earth must keep silence before Him. This taunt does not even give the enemy a chance to reply. They must keep silence before the Lord. This is the mic drop to this chapter. How can the evil enemy of God give Him any sort of answer? Why will He not allow it? They must keep silent because any answer that they have to give would simply be insufficient of His righteous demands. After the taunt of chapter two, the reader will find the prayer and praise of the Prophet in chapter three.

6. Habakkuk’s Praise

(v. 1-19)

His praise was a prayer and a song

After the prophet is reminded to have faith, after he is reminded that he is on the winning side, after he has heard the taunt, he cannot do anything but praise the Lord. Again, this section of Scripture reads like poetry and looks like it was stolen from one of the wisdom books. He begins with a prayer of praise and then transitions to a song of praise and rejoicing.

The interesting thing about this prayer is that it does not ask for anything. It is not a prayer of petition or supplication asking for something. It is not a prayer of intercession praying for someone else. It is simply a prayer of praise. For sixteen verses, Habakkuk just praises the Lord in prayer for who He is and what He has done. This is the part of prayer that modern Christianity forgets. Too often Christians skip the prayer of praise and go right on to petition or supplication. A lesson can be learned from the prayer of Habakkuk, especially from the last sentence of his prayer. All he says is that he will wait for the day of trouble to come upon the enemies. Habakkuk does not pray for that day of trouble to come, he just says he will wait. The reason he says this is because now he is full of faith and trust. The Lord said that the enemy will eventually get their consequences and punishment, so Habakkuk believed Him. There was no reason to agonize in prayer over the enemy or to pray some sort of imprecatory prayer against them. The Lord said He would take care of it, so Habakkuk believed Him and decided to just wait on the Lord. After the prophet’s prayer, the reader will notice the prophet’s song of rejoicing starting in verse seventeen.

There are three verses left in chapter three of the book of Habakkuk, three verses left in the book period. How does the prophet decide to conclude his book of prophecy? He concludes by penning a hymn of praise and rejoicing to the Lord. The theme of this hymn is that regardless of the circumstances that he faces, he can rejoice in the Lord and find strength in Him. The last line leads the reader to believe that Habakkuk was some sort of instrumentalist and musician and that this song would be some sort of song for a choir or his own playing. This too should be learned by Christians, that the Lord is the only true source of joy and strength.

Even if the figs don’t grow (v. 17) he’s still going to praise God. Will you still praise God if the figs don’t grow

Conclusion

Application-

We must be students of the Bible, to go deeper into Scripture and deeper into our relationship with God.

It’s okay to ask questions like Habakkuk did.

Have faith regardless of the Lord’s answer.

Praise and rejoice in the Lord even when the figs don’t grow.