1 00:00:01,840 --> 00:00:03,360 Thank you. Well, good morning. 2 00:00:03,360 --> 00:00:06,520 It's a pleasure once again to be with you this morning. 3 00:00:07,600 --> 00:00:10,160 I'm thankful for the opportunity to be with you for the next 4 00:00:10,160 --> 00:00:14,120 three weeks as we study the Book of Habakkuk together. 5 00:00:15,360 --> 00:00:19,320 My prayer is that this will be an encouragement to us and very 6 00:00:19,320 --> 00:00:26,400 timely as Habakkuk struggles are similar to the time in which we 7 00:00:26,400 --> 00:00:29,240 live. And so I pray that this series 8 00:00:29,240 --> 00:00:37,960 will be an encouragement to you. These are the times that try 9 00:00:37,960 --> 00:00:44,640 men's souls. Let that sink in for a moment. 10 00:00:47,440 --> 00:00:54,000 These are the times that try men's souls. 11 00:00:56,280 --> 00:01:00,960 These words were penned by Thomas Paine on December 23rd, 12 00:01:00,960 --> 00:01:06,320 1776 concerning the American Revolution. 13 00:01:07,640 --> 00:01:11,720 Paine recognized that what was unfolding was incredibly 14 00:01:11,720 --> 00:01:17,640 difficult and would put people's convictions and faith to the 15 00:01:17,640 --> 00:01:22,480 test. Do you resonate with those words 16 00:01:22,480 --> 00:01:30,200 today? There are so many sufferings and 17 00:01:30,200 --> 00:01:37,840 pain and injustices that we look and see in our world today can 18 00:01:37,840 --> 00:01:41,280 be overwhelming. Do you feel it? 19 00:01:44,280 --> 00:01:48,360 So what do we do with our anger, with our fear, with our despair? 20 00:01:50,680 --> 00:01:55,600 Well, the prophet Habakkuk is in a very similar position, and 21 00:01:55,600 --> 00:01:59,680 over the next few weeks we will see his faith put to the test by 22 00:01:59,680 --> 00:02:05,600 the hardest of times. We will learn from his example 23 00:02:06,560 --> 00:02:09,680 what to do when we are frustrated with God and feel 24 00:02:09,680 --> 00:02:13,120 that he is not there, not acting, not listening. 25 00:02:15,560 --> 00:02:19,120 We will see what Habakkuk does when God does the opposite of 26 00:02:19,120 --> 00:02:21,200 what Habakkuk thinks God should do. 27 00:02:24,280 --> 00:02:28,920 We will witness Habakkuk's resolve to put his faith in the 28 00:02:28,920 --> 00:02:32,520 Lord even when he has no idea what God is doing. 29 00:02:35,000 --> 00:02:40,280 So my prayer for all of us. So whatever season we are in 30 00:02:40,400 --> 00:02:47,160 that we would have faith in who God is, whether you are in the 31 00:02:47,160 --> 00:02:53,560 suffering now or preparing for the next suffering the next time 32 00:02:53,560 --> 00:02:56,680 of trouble. I pray that we would allow our 33 00:02:56,680 --> 00:03:02,080 Potter to shape us as his clay into the image of his Son Jesus. 34 00:03:06,280 --> 00:03:10,240 So this morning we will be looking at this first section of 35 00:03:10,240 --> 00:03:13,720 Habakkuk, verses one through 11 of chapter 1. 36 00:03:13,720 --> 00:03:17,880 But before we dive in, let's take the opportunity to review 37 00:03:17,880 --> 00:03:21,920 some background information. First, let's look at the author. 38 00:03:24,040 --> 00:03:28,520 We know very little about the prophet Habakkuk chapter one, 39 00:03:28,520 --> 00:03:32,120 verse one, the Oracle that Habakkuk the prophet saw. 40 00:03:33,720 --> 00:03:39,520 He's the prophet. There you go, his name. 41 00:03:39,720 --> 00:03:41,640 We're not even sure what it means. 42 00:03:42,280 --> 00:03:45,560 It may be from the Hebrew word habak, which means to embrace, 43 00:03:46,880 --> 00:03:51,880 but we're not entirely sure. One other thing that we come to 44 00:03:51,880 --> 00:03:54,360 find out about Habakkuk is that he is a poet. 45 00:03:56,120 --> 00:04:00,320 As you read this book, we'll look at it this morning 46 00:04:00,320 --> 00:04:02,760 together. You will see the poetic nature 47 00:04:02,760 --> 00:04:08,920 of it, and in fact, the book ends with a Psalm of praise that 48 00:04:08,920 --> 00:04:12,800 Habakkuk offers to God, and so he is a poet. 49 00:04:15,760 --> 00:04:20,360 Other than that, we don't really know much about Habakkuk. 50 00:04:21,320 --> 00:04:23,960 Second, let's talk about the date of the book. 51 00:04:25,040 --> 00:04:27,880 Again, we can't be super precise. 52 00:04:27,880 --> 00:04:29,800 I'm just full of information this morning. 53 00:04:32,440 --> 00:04:38,360 That's what you came for, right? The contact, the content of the 54 00:04:38,360 --> 00:04:41,360 book does help to provide some information about the date. 55 00:04:42,000 --> 00:04:45,840 So in this section we will find this morning that God is raising 56 00:04:45,840 --> 00:04:51,640 up the Babylonians to judge the nation of Judah, which means 57 00:04:51,640 --> 00:04:55,080 that Habakkuk serves near the tail end of the Kingdom of 58 00:04:55,080 --> 00:04:58,080 Judah. If you're familiar with biblical 59 00:04:58,080 --> 00:05:01,240 history, Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, comes in and 60 00:05:01,240 --> 00:05:07,920 destroys Jerusalem in 586 BC. Think of Daniel being carried 61 00:05:07,920 --> 00:05:11,040 off. And so Habakkuk ministers before 62 00:05:11,040 --> 00:05:15,680 the exile, but seemingly not much before the exile. 63 00:05:17,320 --> 00:05:22,840 And so a good range is to think that he ministers and lives in 64 00:05:22,840 --> 00:05:27,800 the late 6 hundreds BC, although again, we cannot be definitive 65 00:05:27,800 --> 00:05:31,120 on that. Thirdly, let's just take a 66 00:05:31,120 --> 00:05:33,840 minute to examine the outline of the book. 67 00:05:34,840 --> 00:05:37,560 We're going to study this book in three sections. 68 00:05:37,880 --> 00:05:42,400 The section today opens with a complaint that Habakkuk brings 69 00:05:42,400 --> 00:05:48,520 to the Lord. O Lord, how long He surveys the 70 00:05:48,520 --> 00:05:53,520 nation of Judah and is overwhelmed at the evil 71 00:05:53,520 --> 00:05:55,560 atrocities that are being committed. 72 00:05:56,360 --> 00:05:58,960 And so he cries out to God to intervene. 73 00:06:01,120 --> 00:06:06,360 The first section ends with the Lord's answer to Habakkuk 74 00:06:06,360 --> 00:06:11,200 concerning this first complaint. That's what we'll be covering 75 00:06:11,200 --> 00:06:14,800 today. Next week we'll look at the 76 00:06:14,800 --> 00:06:17,560 second section. Habakkuk does not like God's 77 00:06:17,560 --> 00:06:20,880 response at all. You ever done that? 78 00:06:21,840 --> 00:06:27,200 So he lodges a second complaint. God, what are you doing? 79 00:06:28,400 --> 00:06:31,440 And God responds to that second complaint. 80 00:06:31,440 --> 00:06:34,480 That's next week. That's the second section. 81 00:06:35,400 --> 00:06:38,000 And then, as I mentioned a moment ago, the third section 82 00:06:38,000 --> 00:06:42,800 ends with a Psalm of trust and praise that Habakkuk writes, 83 00:06:44,160 --> 00:06:48,760 declaring, I will trust you even when I disagree with what you're 84 00:06:48,760 --> 00:06:52,800 doing. And so that's our outline for 85 00:06:52,800 --> 00:06:55,200 these next three weeks together in this book. 86 00:06:56,800 --> 00:07:00,720 Let's turn our attention now to Habakkuk's first complaint. 87 00:07:01,080 --> 00:07:06,680 Let's reread it again together, Chapter 1, verses 2 through 40. 88 00:07:06,680 --> 00:07:09,680 Lord, how long shall I cry for help? 89 00:07:09,760 --> 00:07:14,120 And you will not hear or cry to you violence, and you will not 90 00:07:14,120 --> 00:07:17,880 save. Why do you make me see iniquity? 91 00:07:17,880 --> 00:07:21,080 And why do you idly look at wrong? 92 00:07:22,080 --> 00:07:25,160 Destruction and violence are before me. 93 00:07:25,160 --> 00:07:30,280 Strife and contention arise, So the law is paralyzed. 94 00:07:30,560 --> 00:07:35,000 And justice never goes forth. For the wicked surround the 95 00:07:35,000 --> 00:07:39,480 righteous, So justice goes forth perverted. 96 00:07:42,440 --> 00:07:47,720 This is a heavy complaint. This is one that Habakkuk has 97 00:07:47,760 --> 00:07:50,200 offered numerous times to the Lord. 98 00:07:51,800 --> 00:07:57,000 How long must he continue to cry out before God intervenes? 99 00:07:59,000 --> 00:08:02,360 He sees the wickedness that is prevailing. 100 00:08:02,360 --> 00:08:09,440 Do you resonate with that? Do you look around the world and 101 00:08:09,440 --> 00:08:14,320 feel like the bad guys are winning, feel that evil is 102 00:08:14,320 --> 00:08:17,840 triumphing? That's heavy. 103 00:08:21,000 --> 00:08:24,480 Let's dig in a little bit into these verses, into this 104 00:08:24,480 --> 00:08:27,560 complaint. First, notice how Habakkuk opens 105 00:08:27,560 --> 00:08:30,760 it. He addresses it to the Lord. 106 00:08:30,760 --> 00:08:34,640 Capital L, Capital O, Capital R, Capital D This is Yahweh, 107 00:08:34,640 --> 00:08:38,600 Jehovah. This is the Lord Almighty, the 108 00:08:38,600 --> 00:08:42,520 Creator and Sustainer of the universe, the covenant keeping 109 00:08:42,520 --> 00:08:45,800 God of Israel, the one who is all powerful. 110 00:08:47,240 --> 00:08:51,200 That's significant. When you and I are faced with 111 00:08:51,200 --> 00:08:53,640 trouble, where do we take that trouble? 112 00:08:56,040 --> 00:09:02,000 Habakkuk takes it to the Lord. He recognizes that God is the 113 00:09:02,000 --> 00:09:04,040 one who can do something about it. 114 00:09:06,240 --> 00:09:10,040 That's where his heart takes him to the Lord. 115 00:09:12,040 --> 00:09:16,080 Habakkuk then launches into his complaint and he does so in a 116 00:09:16,080 --> 00:09:19,960 very poetic way. When you look at this, it reads 117 00:09:19,960 --> 00:09:23,360 very similarly to other psalms of lament that we have in the 118 00:09:23,360 --> 00:09:26,880 book of Psalms. Again, this is poetic and one of 119 00:09:26,880 --> 00:09:33,400 the things that Habakkuk does is he uses 6 words, three pairs of 120 00:09:33,400 --> 00:09:39,560 words to describe the situation. One of the first keywords that 121 00:09:39,560 --> 00:09:42,760 he uses is the word violence. He actually uses this word 122 00:09:42,760 --> 00:09:45,840 twice. He used it first in verse 20, 123 00:09:45,840 --> 00:09:51,280 Cry to you, violence, and then he uses it again in verse 3, 124 00:09:51,280 --> 00:09:54,160 Destruction and violence are before me. 125 00:09:54,600 --> 00:09:57,760 This word violence is a keyword in the book of Habakkuk. 126 00:09:58,560 --> 00:10:03,360 It's going to be used six times. In fact, only Psalms and 127 00:10:03,360 --> 00:10:06,520 Proverbs use this word more than Habakkuk does. 128 00:10:06,520 --> 00:10:08,280 And Habakkuk is a very short book. 129 00:10:10,920 --> 00:10:15,920 This word violence carries with it the flagrant violation of 130 00:10:15,920 --> 00:10:20,920 moral law by which man injuries another man. 131 00:10:21,760 --> 00:10:23,840 This word violence does two things. 132 00:10:23,840 --> 00:10:28,240 First, it disregards God's law, does not care about what the 133 00:10:28,240 --> 00:10:34,280 Lord has said, and secondly, it enacts an abuse on another human 134 00:10:34,280 --> 00:10:37,800 being. Now, when we think violence, we 135 00:10:37,800 --> 00:10:40,920 think physical. That's part of this word. 136 00:10:40,920 --> 00:10:43,280 But it can be so much more than that too. 137 00:10:45,040 --> 00:10:48,640 And here we see that this word violence is paired with the word 138 00:10:48,640 --> 00:10:51,640 destruction. Destruction. 139 00:10:51,640 --> 00:10:54,760 This is not the only time these two words are paired together. 140 00:10:55,960 --> 00:10:59,400 Let's turn briefly to Ezekiel 45. 141 00:11:01,280 --> 00:11:06,560 Ezekiel 45, verse 9, it says this. 142 00:11:08,200 --> 00:11:14,400 Thus says the Lord God, enough, O Princess of Israel, put away 143 00:11:14,400 --> 00:11:17,080 violence and oppression, destruction. 144 00:11:17,080 --> 00:11:22,560 Same word, put away violence and destruction and execute justice 145 00:11:22,560 --> 00:11:26,400 and righteousness. Cease your evictions of my 146 00:11:26,400 --> 00:11:31,960 people, declares the Lord God. These two words are paired 147 00:11:31,960 --> 00:11:36,440 together in other places like Jeremiah 20 verse 8 or Amos 3 148 00:11:36,440 --> 00:11:39,680 verse 10. Violence and destruction when 149 00:11:39,680 --> 00:11:45,000 paired together demonstrate that it is those who are in authority 150 00:11:45,000 --> 00:11:47,120 who are committing these atrocities. 151 00:11:48,640 --> 00:11:51,880 When Habakkuk looks at the Kingdom of Judah, it is the 152 00:11:51,880 --> 00:11:56,120 priest, the spiritual leaders as well as the political leaders 153 00:11:56,120 --> 00:12:01,320 that are the most guilty, that they are the ones who are 154 00:12:01,320 --> 00:12:03,160 committing violence and destruction. 155 00:12:03,160 --> 00:12:06,600 Do you see what Ezekiel said, O Princess of Israel? 156 00:12:07,040 --> 00:12:11,360 Those who are in authority are the ones who are primarily 157 00:12:11,360 --> 00:12:16,560 guilty, violence and destruction. 158 00:12:17,440 --> 00:12:20,600 The second pair of words that Habakkuk uses to describe the 159 00:12:20,600 --> 00:12:23,760 situation in Judah are iniquity and wrong. 160 00:12:23,760 --> 00:12:26,920 Verse 3. Why do you make me see iniquity 161 00:12:26,920 --> 00:12:29,240 and why do you idly look at wrong? 162 00:12:30,200 --> 00:12:33,320 These two words are paired together about 10 times in the 163 00:12:33,320 --> 00:12:38,880 Old Testament, and again we see this in Job 15 and Psalm 7. 164 00:12:39,480 --> 00:12:43,360 These words typically denote perverted justice and social 165 00:12:43,360 --> 00:12:48,960 oppression that again these descriptions are very specific 166 00:12:48,960 --> 00:12:51,040 about the nature of what's happening here in Judah. 167 00:12:52,760 --> 00:12:56,480 The third word pair we see is strife and contention. 168 00:12:57,720 --> 00:13:01,720 Again, in verse 3, strife and contention arise. 169 00:13:04,040 --> 00:13:08,040 These words evoke the anger and dissension that is born of 170 00:13:08,040 --> 00:13:12,960 uncompromising wills. These occur when two parties are 171 00:13:12,960 --> 00:13:17,040 unwilling to compromise on their beliefs and so they are always 172 00:13:17,040 --> 00:13:23,240 at odds with each other. They're unwilling to promote 173 00:13:23,240 --> 00:13:29,840 peace, foster working together. They refuse and stay at odds 174 00:13:29,840 --> 00:13:32,520 with one another. Strife and contention. 175 00:13:33,600 --> 00:13:36,600 Again, these two words are also paired together. 176 00:13:36,600 --> 00:13:39,000 They're paired together, in fact, three times in the book of 177 00:13:39,000 --> 00:13:42,280 Proverbs. Let's read those together. 178 00:13:42,360 --> 00:13:53,320 Proverbs 15, verse 18. A hot tempered man stirs up 179 00:13:53,320 --> 00:13:59,520 strife, but he who is slow to anger quiets contention, Strife 180 00:13:59,600 --> 00:14:03,560 and contention. Proverbs 1714 says this, The 181 00:14:03,560 --> 00:14:07,400 beginning of strife is like letting out water, so quit 182 00:14:07,640 --> 00:14:11,120 before the quarrel, or the contention breaks out. 183 00:14:11,120 --> 00:14:18,560 And again in Proverbs 26, verses 20 and 21, for lack of wood the 184 00:14:18,560 --> 00:14:22,840 fire goes out, and where there is no whisperer, quarreling 185 00:14:22,840 --> 00:14:27,240 contention ceases. As charcoal to hot embers and 186 00:14:27,240 --> 00:14:31,240 wood to fire, so is a quarrelsome man, contentious 187 00:14:31,240 --> 00:14:36,840 man, for kindling strife. And so we see over and over 188 00:14:36,840 --> 00:14:41,920 again in this section that Habakkuk is using very familiar 189 00:14:41,920 --> 00:14:45,160 language that is found in the Old Testament to describe the 190 00:14:45,160 --> 00:14:49,760 nature of the problems in Judah. And it is that it is those in 191 00:14:49,760 --> 00:14:54,840 power who are abusing that power, rejecting God's law and 192 00:14:54,840 --> 00:15:02,600 hurting other people. And so what's the result? 193 00:15:03,400 --> 00:15:07,960 Look at verse four. So the law is paralyzed and 194 00:15:07,960 --> 00:15:11,720 justice never goes forth, for the wicked surround the 195 00:15:11,720 --> 00:15:15,040 righteous. So justice goes forth perverted. 196 00:15:16,360 --> 00:15:21,280 The very people who God raised up to defend law and justice are 197 00:15:21,280 --> 00:15:25,400 the very ones who are committing these atrocities, who are not 198 00:15:25,400 --> 00:15:28,760 adhering to what God has established. 199 00:15:29,080 --> 00:15:32,360 The law here is most certainly the law that God gave to the 200 00:15:32,360 --> 00:15:36,480 nation of Israel at Mount Sinai through Moses. 201 00:15:38,000 --> 00:15:43,600 It is the priesthood and the political rulers who are 202 00:15:43,600 --> 00:15:49,000 supposed to follow, to honor, to enforce these laws. 203 00:15:49,800 --> 00:15:56,840 But instead the wicked surround the righteous, and justice goes 204 00:15:56,840 --> 00:15:58,480 forth. Perverted. 205 00:16:00,480 --> 00:16:05,080 It's heavy. What is it that Habakkuk wants 206 00:16:05,080 --> 00:16:07,880 God to do? Let's look back at verse 2. 207 00:16:07,880 --> 00:16:12,280 Verse 2 contains the answer. He says, O Lord, how long shall 208 00:16:12,280 --> 00:16:16,120 I cry for help? And you will not hear or cry to 209 00:16:16,120 --> 00:16:18,080 you violence, and you will not save. 210 00:16:18,080 --> 00:16:24,720 He wants God to hear and to save the word to hear. 211 00:16:24,720 --> 00:16:29,800 We're familiar with some of us, Shema, from Deuteronomy 6. 212 00:16:30,120 --> 00:16:34,280 The idea of here is not just listening, like when your kids 213 00:16:34,280 --> 00:16:38,880 say, Oh yeah, I heard you and that only happens to me now. 214 00:16:38,880 --> 00:16:42,040 It means you act upon what you've just heard. 215 00:16:42,680 --> 00:16:45,760 That's embedded in this word, Shema. 216 00:16:46,600 --> 00:16:51,120 And so Habakkuk says God hear me and do something about it. 217 00:16:53,000 --> 00:16:56,400 And specifically, what he is asking the Lord to do is to 218 00:16:56,400 --> 00:17:02,000 save, is to deliver from that which oppresses that which 219 00:17:02,000 --> 00:17:08,680 restricts wants God to save, to deliver. 220 00:17:14,640 --> 00:17:18,520 And so here we have the tone that is set by Habakkuk. 221 00:17:19,400 --> 00:17:22,880 And Habakkuk feels as though God is not answering, even though 222 00:17:22,880 --> 00:17:25,359 Habakkuk repeatedly calls for help. 223 00:17:28,960 --> 00:17:32,120 Maybe you're in a similar position this morning. 224 00:17:33,880 --> 00:17:37,760 It's overwhelming. What hope is there? 225 00:17:40,840 --> 00:17:44,520 But we turn next to God's response, and what we'll 226 00:17:44,520 --> 00:17:49,280 discover is that God's response is not at all what Habakkuk had 227 00:17:49,280 --> 00:17:53,800 in mind. Let's read chapter 1, verses 5 228 00:17:53,800 --> 00:17:59,720 through 11 together. It says, look among the nations 229 00:17:59,720 --> 00:18:05,360 and see wonder and be astounded. This is the Lord speaking, for 230 00:18:05,360 --> 00:18:09,040 I'm doing a work in your days that you would not believe if 231 00:18:09,040 --> 00:18:12,320 told. For behold, I'm raising up the 232 00:18:12,320 --> 00:18:16,640 Chaldeans, that bitter and hasty nation who marched through the 233 00:18:16,640 --> 00:18:20,480 breath of the earth to seize dwellings not their own. 234 00:18:21,120 --> 00:18:25,360 They are dreaded and fearsome. Their justice and dignity go 235 00:18:25,360 --> 00:18:29,040 forth from themselves. Their horses are swifter than 236 00:18:29,040 --> 00:18:32,080 leopards, more fierce than the evening wolves. 237 00:18:32,600 --> 00:18:38,000 Their horsemen press proudly on, their horsemen come from afar, 238 00:18:38,240 --> 00:18:41,400 They fly like an eagle swift to devour. 239 00:18:42,040 --> 00:18:46,760 They all come for violence, all their faces forward They gather 240 00:18:46,760 --> 00:18:51,560 captives like sand. At kings they scoff, and at 241 00:18:51,560 --> 00:18:55,240 rulers they laugh. They laugh at every fortress, 242 00:18:55,240 --> 00:18:57,640 For they pile up earth and take it. 243 00:18:58,560 --> 00:19:02,520 Then they sweep by like the wind, and go on guilty man, 244 00:19:02,520 --> 00:19:12,920 whose own might is their God. This is not at all what Habakkuk 245 00:19:12,920 --> 00:19:15,600 had in mind. Not at all. 246 00:19:18,320 --> 00:19:21,320 That's why the Lord says, For I am doing a work in your days 247 00:19:21,320 --> 00:19:25,160 that you would not believe if told. 248 00:19:27,480 --> 00:19:33,320 How can we fathom this? That God's solution to judging 249 00:19:33,320 --> 00:19:38,920 His own people is to take a nation that is more wicked and 250 00:19:38,920 --> 00:19:41,760 use them as His instrument of judgment? 251 00:19:46,440 --> 00:19:52,440 How could this be? Why would God do this? 252 00:19:53,680 --> 00:20:00,880 It's astounding. There are a few words that sort 253 00:20:00,880 --> 00:20:06,840 of help outline this section. First, we have the word nations. 254 00:20:08,120 --> 00:20:13,160 OK, so Habakkuk is told by God, hey, look at the nations. 255 00:20:13,160 --> 00:20:17,640 From there is where my solution is going to come. 256 00:20:19,680 --> 00:20:24,240 And then it drops down to the singular from nations to nation. 257 00:20:25,160 --> 00:20:28,320 When he brings up the Chaldeans, that bitter and hasty nation, so 258 00:20:28,320 --> 00:20:33,560 it is that particular nation that God is going to use to 259 00:20:33,560 --> 00:20:37,680 judge his people. And then at the end, in verse 260 00:20:37,680 --> 00:20:44,040 11, you see how God describes the nation of Babylon, the 261 00:20:44,040 --> 00:20:48,240 Chaldeans. He describes them as guilty men. 262 00:20:49,120 --> 00:20:51,040 So there's some foreshadowing here. 263 00:20:52,280 --> 00:20:53,560 We don't want to get ahead of ourselves. 264 00:20:53,560 --> 00:20:58,680 Come back next week. OK, But these are guilty men. 265 00:20:58,680 --> 00:21:03,760 Foreshadowing that eventually these people too will face God's 266 00:21:03,760 --> 00:21:08,960 judgment. Foreshadowing next week. 267 00:21:12,520 --> 00:21:15,280 But we see God lay out this plan. 268 00:21:16,360 --> 00:21:20,920 Notice how God's response echoes similar words that are found in 269 00:21:20,920 --> 00:21:25,200 Habakkuk's complaint. Habakkuk complaints that God 270 00:21:25,200 --> 00:21:31,680 must idly look at wrong, that God is looking but not really 271 00:21:31,680 --> 00:21:34,800 understanding. And so what's the first thing 272 00:21:34,800 --> 00:21:43,440 that God tells Habakkuk? He says, look, look, as I 273 00:21:43,440 --> 00:21:55,800 execute my sovereign plan, look. Behold, God also uses pairs of 274 00:21:55,800 --> 00:21:59,960 words to describe the nation of Babylon. 275 00:21:59,960 --> 00:22:04,880 Now I've used Babylon twice. Just a side note, if you recall 276 00:22:04,880 --> 00:22:08,840 in Genesis, Abraham is called from the land of Ur of the 277 00:22:08,880 --> 00:22:12,880 Chaldeys, right? This is actually Abraham's 278 00:22:12,880 --> 00:22:17,000 people, the Chaldeans. That's the people group, the 279 00:22:17,000 --> 00:22:21,280 nation that they live in, the Kingdom that they lead is 280 00:22:21,280 --> 00:22:24,280 Babylon. So they're used synonymously. 281 00:22:25,200 --> 00:22:28,800 Nebo Palazzar was the first major king. 282 00:22:28,800 --> 00:22:31,840 He's the father of Nebuchadnezzar, who, as I 283 00:22:31,840 --> 00:22:35,120 mentioned before, eventually comes in and destroys Jerusalem. 284 00:22:35,640 --> 00:22:40,720 So Chaldeans and Babylonians are in fact the same people, so I'll 285 00:22:40,720 --> 00:22:44,840 use them interchangeably. But notice again that God uses 286 00:22:44,840 --> 00:22:47,160 pairs of words to describe this nation. 287 00:22:47,440 --> 00:22:51,240 In verse 6, He describes them as bitter and hasty. 288 00:22:51,760 --> 00:22:54,720 Bitter and hasty. There's a brashness about these 289 00:22:54,720 --> 00:22:58,920 people that gives no concern for the people they destroy. 290 00:23:00,920 --> 00:23:05,400 They do not care. God also describes them as 291 00:23:05,400 --> 00:23:10,960 dreaded and fearsome in verse 7. This is fascinating. 292 00:23:11,840 --> 00:23:15,640 The leaders in Israel were meant to fear the Lord, right? 293 00:23:16,800 --> 00:23:20,400 And in that fearing they would honor God, they would follow 294 00:23:20,400 --> 00:23:22,440 him, and they would enforce His laws. 295 00:23:23,240 --> 00:23:28,600 God is bringing in a people who are far less deserving of fear 296 00:23:29,120 --> 00:23:33,120 compared to God. But the people are going to fear 297 00:23:33,200 --> 00:23:39,200 the Babylonians. In some ways God is using them 298 00:23:40,480 --> 00:23:43,560 in place of Himself, saying these are the people you are 299 00:23:43,560 --> 00:23:48,080 going to fear because you are not properly fearing me. 300 00:23:49,760 --> 00:23:54,160 They are dreaded and fearsome. We also see in verse 7 that the 301 00:23:54,160 --> 00:23:59,480 Babylonians justice and dignity go forth from themselves. 302 00:24:01,240 --> 00:24:06,600 They are their own gods. They care nothing for the 303 00:24:06,600 --> 00:24:08,920 Creator. They worship the God of self. 304 00:24:08,920 --> 00:24:13,800 Thank back to the Tower of Babel, let us make a name for 305 00:24:13,800 --> 00:24:19,720 ourselves. They do not want to submit to 306 00:24:19,720 --> 00:24:26,160 their creator, but instead worship themselves. 307 00:24:27,320 --> 00:24:30,600 God also notes that they are swift and fearsome, and he uses 308 00:24:30,600 --> 00:24:35,280 all these animals, these vicious creatures, to describe how they 309 00:24:35,280 --> 00:24:38,600 move. Leopards and wolves and eagles 310 00:24:38,600 --> 00:24:43,560 to describe how powerful they are, the might that they 311 00:24:43,560 --> 00:24:45,720 possess. And Judah is not going to stand 312 00:24:45,720 --> 00:24:51,360 a chance. I think it's fascinating. 313 00:24:51,360 --> 00:24:53,760 Did you catch that? Verse 9? 314 00:24:53,760 --> 00:25:01,440 They gather captives like sand. God tells Abraham that his 315 00:25:01,440 --> 00:25:04,280 descendants will be like the sand innumerable. 316 00:25:05,520 --> 00:25:09,840 We see that same picture, the same word sand, to describe the 317 00:25:09,840 --> 00:25:13,280 countless people that Babylon is going to conquer. 318 00:25:14,160 --> 00:25:18,640 And they laugh at other kingdoms who are helpless before their 319 00:25:18,680 --> 00:25:22,640 might. No king or stronghold stands a 320 00:25:22,640 --> 00:25:27,400 chance. Seems very hopeless and dark, 321 00:25:27,400 --> 00:25:31,800 doesn't it? But again, verse 11, we have 322 00:25:31,800 --> 00:25:35,680 this foreshadowing. The Lord knows that these are 323 00:25:35,680 --> 00:25:41,280 guilty man whose own might is their God and their might 324 00:25:41,280 --> 00:25:44,920 compared to the Lord's is completely insignificant. 325 00:25:47,680 --> 00:25:51,040 And so we have this foreshadowing that their 326 00:25:51,040 --> 00:25:57,400 judgment is also going to come. I was reading a commentary this 327 00:25:57,400 --> 00:26:00,240 week and the commentator noted this about Babylon. 328 00:26:00,240 --> 00:26:03,280 Listen to this. The Babylonian horde is 329 00:26:03,280 --> 00:26:09,080 personified in the singular forms in the idea of nation, and 330 00:26:09,080 --> 00:26:14,120 ruthless arrogance is rightly epitomized as a form of self 331 00:26:14,240 --> 00:26:17,960 deification. They make themselves to be their 332 00:26:17,960 --> 00:26:21,440 own God. Such people acknowledge no 333 00:26:21,440 --> 00:26:25,400 accountability, seek no repentance, and offer no 334 00:26:25,400 --> 00:26:29,880 reparations while violating the most fundamental order of 335 00:26:29,880 --> 00:26:35,000 created life. For such, the verdict of guilty 336 00:26:35,320 --> 00:26:38,880 can mean only the sentence of radical destruction. 337 00:26:41,560 --> 00:26:43,760 So we have this foreshadowing here still. 338 00:26:45,600 --> 00:26:47,240 But that's where we have to leave it today. 339 00:26:48,480 --> 00:26:52,160 We have to leave it in the uncertainty and the unrest that 340 00:26:52,160 --> 00:26:55,680 Habakkuk feels when God says here is my plan. 341 00:26:55,920 --> 00:27:01,440 And Habakkuk is dumbfounded. How could this be what God wants 342 00:27:01,440 --> 00:27:05,080 to do? Maybe you're thinking the same 343 00:27:05,080 --> 00:27:07,360 thing. How can God judge his people 344 00:27:07,360 --> 00:27:13,680 this way? Come back next week, we'll look 345 00:27:13,680 --> 00:27:18,200 at Habakkuk second complaint. But as we close this morning, I 346 00:27:18,200 --> 00:27:23,000 want to offer us three applications as we close. 347 00:27:27,600 --> 00:27:32,280 There's so much trouble that we can see in the world, both near 348 00:27:32,280 --> 00:27:38,000 and far. So much trouble, so much unrest, 349 00:27:38,000 --> 00:27:41,920 division, strife, contention, violence. 350 00:27:44,560 --> 00:27:48,680 What do we do? Our first application for this 351 00:27:48,680 --> 00:27:53,560 morning is go to God. Go to God. 352 00:27:55,560 --> 00:27:58,480 Psalm 121 says I will lift my eyes to the hills. 353 00:27:58,640 --> 00:28:03,000 Where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, the 354 00:28:03,000 --> 00:28:06,800 maker of heaven and earth. The psalmist goes on to say 355 00:28:06,800 --> 00:28:10,880 later that he will never slumber nor sleep. 356 00:28:12,120 --> 00:28:19,120 God is the God who sees. He is the God who acts even when 357 00:28:19,120 --> 00:28:22,320 we don't understand. So when you and I are facing 358 00:28:22,680 --> 00:28:28,200 overwhelming situations, when we're prone to despair and fear 359 00:28:28,200 --> 00:28:34,160 and sorrow, go to God, cry out to him. 360 00:28:34,160 --> 00:28:38,560 Just like Habakkuk, the other psalmist, many people have done 361 00:28:38,560 --> 00:28:49,080 before us how long, O Lord, go to God? 362 00:28:49,120 --> 00:28:51,360 The alternative is to go to something else, right? 363 00:28:52,440 --> 00:28:57,760 There's so many other ways of escape that we can try to sort 364 00:28:57,760 --> 00:29:02,640 of self regulate ourselves, get through difficult situations. 365 00:29:03,160 --> 00:29:06,760 We can turn to so many other things that offer cheap, 366 00:29:06,760 --> 00:29:10,640 temporary satisfaction, but can never truly answer the pain and 367 00:29:10,640 --> 00:29:12,840 sorrow that we feel in our hearts. 368 00:29:13,800 --> 00:29:19,880 Go to God. Leave it at His feet like 369 00:29:19,880 --> 00:29:23,400 Habakkuk. Consistently, day after day 370 00:29:23,400 --> 00:29:27,520 after day, even if you don't feel that God is doing what you 371 00:29:27,520 --> 00:29:33,040 want Him to do, go to God, cry out to Him. 372 00:29:34,080 --> 00:29:38,240 Peter tells us to cast all our cares on him because He cares 373 00:29:38,240 --> 00:29:44,080 for us in this world. Jesus says we will face trouble, 374 00:29:44,080 --> 00:29:47,840 but take heart because He has overcome the world. 375 00:29:48,880 --> 00:29:56,520 There is hope in God, go to Him. Application #2 Lean on the 376 00:29:56,520 --> 00:29:59,800 community of faith. We have been surrounded by a 377 00:29:59,800 --> 00:30:04,960 cloud of witnesses. The thing about agony and and 378 00:30:04,960 --> 00:30:09,000 terror and suffering and sorrow is that it tends to isolate us 379 00:30:09,000 --> 00:30:13,680 from other people. And we make lots of excuses. 380 00:30:13,680 --> 00:30:15,400 I do in my own life. Well, I don't want to burden 381 00:30:15,400 --> 00:30:19,520 other people or I don't want to appear weak or I don't want to 382 00:30:19,520 --> 00:30:23,400 trouble people with my problems. So I'm just going to silently 383 00:30:23,400 --> 00:30:26,800 bear it on my own. Do not do that. 384 00:30:28,840 --> 00:30:32,600 God has placed us within this beautiful church, this beautiful 385 00:30:32,600 --> 00:30:38,240 family, to be able to bear one another's burdens, to be able to 386 00:30:38,240 --> 00:30:43,440 care for each other. So please find those people who 387 00:30:43,440 --> 00:30:47,440 are your confidante so you can go to and say, I need help, I 388 00:30:47,440 --> 00:30:49,160 need prayer, I need encouragement. 389 00:30:49,160 --> 00:30:52,640 I don't know what God is doing. I'm confused, I'm angry, I'm 390 00:30:52,640 --> 00:30:57,240 restless, I'm fearful. Go to the community of faith, 391 00:30:59,120 --> 00:31:02,960 lean on them to help lift you up in times of trouble. 392 00:31:04,800 --> 00:31:09,240 And finally, embrace others going through difficulties, 393 00:31:09,840 --> 00:31:15,920 whether they ask or not. Offer a word of encouragement. 394 00:31:15,920 --> 00:31:19,240 OfferUp prayers on behalf of those in our body who you know 395 00:31:19,440 --> 00:31:23,720 are going through difficult times, who are experiencing the 396 00:31:23,720 --> 00:31:27,680 agony and sorrow and injustices of living in this world. 397 00:31:29,640 --> 00:31:36,040 Lift them up. A prayer, a note, a meal. 398 00:31:36,720 --> 00:31:39,840 Continue to do the things that are so important in this 399 00:31:39,840 --> 00:31:44,520 community. We are like Christ, not to just 400 00:31:44,520 --> 00:31:47,400 look at our own interests, but also at the interests of others, 401 00:31:48,360 --> 00:31:50,560 to bear one another's burdens in love. 402 00:31:52,240 --> 00:31:56,800 Make the effort. It's hard work, but do it to 403 00:31:56,800 --> 00:31:59,880 reach out to those in need, to offer encouragement and 404 00:31:59,880 --> 00:32:05,960 consolation. And so as we close this morning, 405 00:32:05,960 --> 00:32:11,320 we have seen that we can trust our faithful sovereign Lord with 406 00:32:11,320 --> 00:32:18,120 our fears, despairs, and angers. And He will answer us not 407 00:32:18,120 --> 00:32:22,920 according to what we want or what we would do about it, but 408 00:32:22,920 --> 00:32:27,040 He will answer us according to His perfect will, which 409 00:32:27,080 --> 00:32:31,680 ultimately is for our good. Let's pray together. 410 00:32:33,120 --> 00:32:34,680 God we are. So grateful for. 411 00:32:34,680 --> 00:32:39,840 This timely book of Habakkuk. It is so easy. 412 00:32:39,840 --> 00:32:42,760 In the world in which we live, to feel overwhelmed. 413 00:32:46,400 --> 00:32:49,280 To feel fearful. To feel angry. 414 00:32:50,840 --> 00:32:54,560 At the injustice and. Evil, it seems so often, father, 415 00:32:54,560 --> 00:33:00,880 that evil is winning. God, I pray that you would. 416 00:33:00,880 --> 00:33:05,680 Challenge each of us this morning to bring our sorrows, 417 00:33:05,680 --> 00:33:11,800 our cares to you because you love us and though. 418 00:33:11,800 --> 00:33:15,160 You might not answer. How we want you to all the time. 419 00:33:17,400 --> 00:33:20,440 We can trust you because. You are in control. 420 00:33:21,400 --> 00:33:25,160 God, I pray that this would be a community that. 421 00:33:25,160 --> 00:33:27,880 Supports and lifts up. One another those who are 422 00:33:27,880 --> 00:33:31,080 hurting and in anguish that we could. 423 00:33:31,080 --> 00:33:34,000 Encourage and pray. For and build up our brothers 424 00:33:34,000 --> 00:33:37,960 and sisters, we thank you for the body of Christ. 425 00:33:40,320 --> 00:33:43,880 That we can live together. In. 426 00:33:43,880 --> 00:33:46,920 Relationship with each other. And with you, God, we're so 427 00:33:46,920 --> 00:33:49,160 grateful for the hope of the gospel. 428 00:33:49,480 --> 00:33:53,640 It's so easy to become overwhelmed, and we thank. 429 00:33:53,640 --> 00:33:56,360 You that we have. Forgiveness of our sins because 430 00:33:56,360 --> 00:34:00,840 of what Jesus has done for us. May we rest in the hope of the 431 00:34:00,840 --> 00:34:03,520 Gospel. Even when life seems hopeless, 432 00:34:05,120 --> 00:34:06,680 we pray. These things in Christ. 433 00:34:06,680 --> 00:34:08,840 'S precious name. Amen.