Habakkuk, Habakkuk, whatever way you say it. I think they say Habakkuk in America. I think
we say Habakkuk in Ireland, but I won't get into an argument with anyone over it. Habakkuk,
chapter 1. That's on page 940, and you're going to need a page number this morning for
that, 940. It's a small book, just three chapters, and we're going to take the next three weeks
together to study what God has to say to us through it.
So we're going to read from chapter 1, verse 1, up until chapter 2, and verse 4 today.
Before we start, let's pray. Let's commit this time to the Lord.
Lord, what we're about to read isn't all easy. We need your help.
Or we find it hard to understand your ways and to trust you. God, give us grace now to hear
what your word has to say to us. In Jesus' name, amen.
Do you ever get overwhelmed by the injustice and suffering in the world around you?
Do you ever pray about it and wonder why God continues to allow it to happen?
A few months ago, you would have heard in the news that an army officer walked free from a
Limerick courtroom after knocking a woman unconscious on the streets of Limerick and bragging about
it to his friends.
Elsewhere on our city streets, drug dealers exploit vulnerable young people to sell drugs while they
themselves get off scot-free, living lives of luxury.
Further afield, in Ukraine, you may have heard this in the news,
tens of thousands of children have been forcibly deported to Russia with no promise of ever being returned.
In the Israel-Hamas war, approximately 30,000 civilians have been killed.
And over a hundred hostages remain in captivity.
All of this and more.
It makes us cry out with Habakkuk.
In verse 2, read with me.
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 has the honesty to say out loud what we're all thinking.
When we see justice being perverted time and time again.
And what follows is this gripping dialogue between this weary, doubting man and his God,
which we really need to hear today.
This text is going to show us how to talk to God about the ugly realities of injustice and suffering.
What to do when God seems deaf to our cries.
Or when his answers are too difficult to accept.
And finally, we're going to learn how God calls us to live by faith as we struggle with all of these things.
And we're going to walk through this text in the structure that it gives us.
Habakkuk speaks.
God responds.
Then Habakkuk responds to God.
And God has his final word.
So let's start with Habakkuk's questions, which we just read there.
And I wonder, did those questions make you feel just a little bit uncomfortable?
I mean, is it okay to express frustration and doubt like that to God?
I mean, look at verse 2.
He asks, how long, Lord, must I call for help?
But you do not listen.
Now, Habakkuk is a prophet of God.
He knows the scriptures back to front.
He obviously knows that God listens to our cries.
But he's living in Judah at this moment in time.
And this nation is spiraling out of control and wickedness.
He is frustrated and he's wearied from the rampant injustice he sees around him.
And right now in this moment, he honestly feels like God isn't listening to his prayers.
That's real life, isn't it?
There's no glossing over the truth.
We get tired.
We get tired of praying the same prayers over and over and not seeing any change.
We say, what's the point in praying about this anymore?
Why is God just letting it happen?
And yes, deep down in our hearts, we know that God does hear every cry of ours.
We know Romans 8.28.
He works everything for good.
But some days we just don't feel it.
Is that okay?
Well, I think the first thing that we learn from Habakkuk here is that God can take our honest questions.
He can handle our doubts.
Tomorrow, I might have total faith that he's listening and he's working everything out for good.
But Habakkuk shows us that it's okay to be honest with God if we don't feel it today.
God can handle our honest questions.
He wants us to come to him with our doubts, not to pull away.
But what's also really important to note here is how Habakkuk asks his honest questions.
And it's a humble asking.
This is no arrogant, I know better than you, rant,
with one foot already out the door to leave.
No, Habakkuk isn't giving up on God here.
That's clear.
Neither is this a kind of superficial glossing over the situation or the pain he feels,
pretending it doesn't exist.
No, both those are wrong.
No, this is a humble asking.
Where Habakkuk asks his honest questions about his pain.
And even if he has to wait to get an answer, he's staying.
And we can follow Habakkuk's example here as we bring our questions to God
about the pain and injustice that we can't understand.
Even the very asking of those questions is an act of faith in and of itself.
So first, we bring our honest questions to God and we ask humbly,
waiting for his answer.
Now, I know what you're thinking.
That's all well and good, Sam.
But what about when God's answer isn't what I asked for?
What if nothing changes for months or years?
What if the pain or the injustice simply gets worse?
Well, this is actually what happened to Habakkuk.
Because after Habakkuk's honest questions, in verse 5,
come God's difficult answers.
And it's going to feel for all the world like God is failing him.
But God's difficult answers are not the end of the story.
Not for us.
Not for Habakkuk.
Let's hear God's response in verse 5.
He says,
Look at the nations and watch, and be utterly amazed.
For I am going to do something in your days that you would not even believe,
even if you were told.
And I think the first thing to note here
is that God's difficult answers are not as we expect.
God reminds Habakkuk and us that his ways are so much higher than ours.
We were hearing that already from what Connor shared from Romans this morning.
In fact, we should not expect to understand all of God's actions in our world, should we?
It shouldn't surprise us if we don't get it,
or can't see how this situation works for good,
because God is the all-knowing, perfectly just creator,
who sees everything from beginning to end.
But that's hard to trust, isn't it, in the middle of a crisis?
And I think it all boils down to this.
Are we willing to trust God
with the things that we don't expect
and the things that don't make sense?
Let's continue.
In verse 6, with God's difficult, unexpected answer.
Here it is, verse 6.
I am raising up the Babylonians,
that ruthless and impetuous people
who will sweep across the whole earth
to seize dwellings not their own.
They are a feared and dreaded people.
They are a law to themselves
and promote their own honor.
Their horses are swifter than leopards,
fiercer than wolves at dusk.
Their cavalry gallops headlong.
Their horsemen come from afar.
They fly like an eagle, swooping to devour.
They all come intent on violence.
Their hordes advance like a desert wind
and gather prisoners like sand.
They mock kings and scoff at rulers.
They laugh at all fortified cities.
By building earthen ramps, they capture them.
Then they sweep past like the wind and go on.
Guilty people whose own strength is their God.
Let's be real.
This is Habakkuk's worst nightmare.
Can you imagine the horror of God telling you directly
that your country will be overrun by a ruthless army
who will destroy, kill, and take captive?
And for Habakkuk, worse still.
God is the one sending them.
God says it himself in verse 6.
He says, I am raising up the Babylonians.
This text tells us straight out
that God raises up evil nations
to do evil things
within his perfect plan
for his people and his world.
And this difficult answer plunges Habakkuk and us
into a painful struggle.
And this is a struggle that God's servants
in every age have gone through.
How can God be holy and good
and yet sovereign over evil?
But before we delve more into this,
just notice in verse 12
how Habakkuk addresses God
in the middle of this struggle.
He uses words like,
my Lord,
my God,
my Holy One,
my Rock.
That's the kind of language that says,
I'm coming to you, Lord,
because I know you're faithful.
Even if I don't understand what you're doing.
Even if I'm confused and angry.
You're still my Lord.
You're still my Rock.
On which I stand.
What a way to approach
those painful struggles in our lives.
Saying,
Lord, you are still my Rock.
Even in the middle of this.
To where else can I go?
So in that light,
let's delve into Habakkuk's struggle
to square God's goodness
with his sovereignty over evil.
Let's read together from verse 12.
Lord,
are you not from everlasting?
My God,
my Holy One,
you will never die.
You, Lord,
have appointed them
to execute judgment.
You,
my Rock,
have ordained them
to punish.
Verse 13,
your eyes are too pure
to look on evil.
You cannot tolerate wrongdoing.
Why then do you tolerate
the treacherous?
Why are you silent?
While the wicked
swallow up those more righteous
than themselves.
And we're all with Habakkuk here,
aren't we?
I mean,
he rightly points out,
God,
you're holy.
Your eyes are too pure
to look on evil.
How can you be
sovereign over evil
and still good?
Well,
as we read on in Habakkuk,
actually in chapter 2,
we'll see that
while God is 100%
sovereign over evil,
people are also
100% responsible
for the evil
that they do.
we're going to read
in chapter 2
how God pronounces judgment
on this nation
of Babylon
for their wickedness.
God speaks of them
as having total control
over their actions.
They choose
the evil
that they're going to bring
upon Israel.
And yet,
equally true
was that God
was totally sovereign
over those evil choices
to achieve his purposes
for his people.
God is 100% sovereign.
People are 100% responsible.
Both true
at the same time.
A profound mystery
that God has chosen
not to fully explain
to us.
And again,
we come back
to the same question.
Are we willing
to trust God
with the difficult answers
he gives,
the things
that we don't
yet understand?
Even when the answer
he gives
is the thing
that we fear the most
as for Habakkuk.
Will we stay around?
Or will we walk
out the door on him?
Habakkuk,
while completely devastated,
he's staying.
And in an act of faith,
he continues
to struggle
with God
in prayer.
So,
from verses 14
on to 16,
he compares Babylon
to this greedy angler,
like a fisherman,
who mercilessly
just hoards
people like fish
into his net
while living
in luxury.
Let's pick it up
in verse 17.
Is he,
Babylon,
to keep on
emptying his net,
destroying nations
without mercy?
I will stand
at my watch
and station myself
on the ramparts.
I will look
to see
what he will say
to me
and what answer
I am to give
to this complaint.
Well,
what's your painful
struggle today?
You prayed
for hope
and God gave you
something you never
expected.
maybe even
the thing
you dreaded
the most.
And like Habakkuk
in verse 17,
you honestly
ask God,
will this ever end?
How is God
good
in this situation?
We're all
in the same struggle
and it feels
like we are
standing
up there
on the city
walls
with Habakkuk.
What an epic
scene.
and we
need
answers
and we're
going to
wait for them.
We're standing
on those city
walls
as it were.
We've got
no one else
to turn to.
We're going
to God.
The scene
is set.
Everything
is out
on the table
and God
is about
to give
his response.
what will
he say?
Let's read
from verse 2.
Then the
Lord replied,
write down
the revelation
and make it
plain on
tablets so
that a
herald may
run with
it.
For the
revelation
awaits an
appointed time.
It speaks
of the end
and will
not prove
false.
Though it
linger,
wait for
it.
It will
certainly
come.
And will
not
delay.
The
revelation
is spelled
out in
the rest
of this
chapter.
And in
summary,
Babylon
will be
judged
by God.
But in
the meantime,
Habakkuk
will have
to wait.
And sometimes
that waiting
feels unbearable,
doesn't it?
But God
tells us
how it
is possible
to wait
patiently for
his justice.
And this
is the
climax
statement.
This is
what it
all comes
down to
in verse
four.
Let's
read it
together.
See,
the enemy
is puffed
up.
His
desires
are not
upright.
But the
righteous
person
will live
by his
faithfulness.
Or simply
put,
will live
by
faith.
That's
how we
can wait
patiently
in the
struggle.
God
calls us
to live
by
faith.
This is
the opposite
of the
ungodly.
Did you
notice that?
They are
puffed up.
Or they
live by
their own
strength.
They don't
need God.
And in
verse five
it says
they're never
satisfied by
all the
things they
accumulate,
but not
those who
live by
faith in
God.
Hebrews
11.1
kind of
helps us
to understand
what this
word faith
means.
It says
this,
faith is
confidence
in what
we hope
for,
and assurance
about what
we do
not see.
Everything
in the
Christian life
ultimately
boils down
to this
charge.
Live
by
faith.
And it
starts with
our salvation,
doesn't it?
How can
sinful people
be made
right with
God?
Well,
we place
our faith
in Jesus'
perfect
obedience
for us,
and death
for our
sin.
We live
by faith
in him.
What's
the key
to patient
endurance
as we
wait for
God's
justice?
Well,
we live
by faith
in God's
future
judgment.
What's
the key
to not
giving up
when we
don't
understand
what God's
doing?
Well,
we live
by faith
in God's
perfect
wisdom.
Don't
you see
how
our
whole
life
in
Christ
is
lived
by
faith
from
start
to
finish.
But as
we come
to the
end,
I want
to leave
you with
an
encouragement
to
continue
praying
in the
struggle
like
Habakkuk
did.
And it
goes back
to his
very first
question.
Do you
remember that
at the
start?
God,
are you
even
listening?
And in
Revelation 5,
John
sees right
into the
throne room
of heaven.
And this
is what
we see.
You can
read along
on the
screen.
Revelation
5,
8,
the four
creatures
and the
twenty-four
elders
fell down
before the
lamb.
Each one
had a
harp.
And they
were holding
golden
bowls
full of
incense,
which are
the prayers
of God's
people.
This is
amazing.
Your prayers
and mine,
they don't
float into
the abyss.
God is
never tuned
out.
The image
here is
of God
collecting
every one
of your
prayers in
these golden
bowls.
They are a
sweet-smelling
incense to
him.
They delight
him.
He treasures
every whisper
of yours,
every cry
of desperation,
every plea
for justice.
God stores
away every
one of your
prayers,
prayed
according
to his
will.
And why
is he
doing this?
Well,
I think it's
worth us
turning to
Revelation
together.
Revelation
chapter 8
verse 3.
We're going
to see
these golden
bowls of
our prayers
reappear here.
This is
Revelation
chapter 8
verse 3.
It's on
page
1,239.
Revelation
8 verse
3.
I'm going
to read
down to
verse 5.
Another
angel who
had a
golden censer
came and
stood at
the altar.
This is in
the throne
room of
heaven.
He was
given much
incense to
offer with
the prayers
of all
God's
people on
the golden
altar in
front of
the throne.
The smoke
of the
incense together
with the
prayers of
God's people
went up
before God
from the
angel's
hand.
Then the
angel took
the censer,
filled it
with fire
from the
altar and
hurled it
on the
earth.
And there
came peals
of thunder,
rumblings,
flashes of
lightning and
an earthquake.
Now there's
a lot of
vivid imagery
for us to
take in
here, but
just notice
the prayers
of God's
people fuel
the fire
that is
hurled onto
the earth
at the
end of
time.
And that
fire, we
believe,
represents God's
coming judgment
on all
injustice
and his
renewal
of the
earth.
One writer
says it
like this,
you can
follow along
on the
screen.
The renewal
of the
world,
heaven and
earth,
restored as
one,
begins
with God
pouring out
all the
prayers of
his children
like a
purifying fire
with one
great
resounding
yes.
I find that
so encouraging.
I hope you
do too.
the loved
ones you
prayed for
who never
got better,
the pain
that you
prayed against
that never
went away,
the injustice
you prayed
for that
continued,
unchecked,
the peace
you prayed
for which
never came.
God treasures
all of those
prayers.
And on the
last day,
God will use
every one of
those prayers
to begin
his renewal
of all things.
Death will
die,
pain will end,
injustice and
war will
cease.
The answer
will be
yes,
yes and
yes.
Your prayers
are not
wasted breath.
They're not
ignored.
Both Habakkuk's
prayers and
ours matter
eternally.
And God
invites us
to pray
in faith
as we
patiently
wait for
God to
act.
so bring
to him
your honest
questions
and your
doubts.
Lay them
before him.
And when
his answers
just don't
make sense
to you,
stay in
the struggle
in prayer.
Remember
God's charge
to you
today.
Live
by faith
in the
sovereign
judge who
will right
all wrongs
and he will
make all
things new.
Live by
faith in
the only
savior
Jesus
whose
unjust
death
bought
your
forgiveness.
Live by
faith
in the
wise
loving
shepherd
who leads
you
through the
valley of
pain.
Let's
pray to
him now.
Lord, we
so desperately
need your
help with
this
because we
feel the
sting of
injustice and
pain and we
doubt your
goodness.
Give us
faith
to trust
you when
we can't
see you
moving.
oh Lord,
thank you
that you
treasure
every
prayer of
ours.
Give us
the grace
to persevere
in prayer
and to
live by
faith
in your
promise
just like
Habakkuk
did.
we pray
all of
these
things
for
your
glory
and for
our
good.
Amen.
We're going
to sing a
song now.