Based on Habakkuk 1:1-3:19
August 23-24, 2008
Prince of Peace Lutheran Church, Palatine, Illinois
Pastor Scott E. Christenson
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When we decided to do this "Ask the Pastor" sermon series, there were two questions that I knew, for sure, were going to be asked. The first was the question we dealt with last weekend. And the second is our question for today. It was submitted in many different forms, but it’s really the same basic question. I’ve written a few of the submissions on your bulletin insert. One of you wrote, "When I look at the events from around the world with all the "bad" things going on, I have to ask, "is God really in control?" If the answer is YES, then He appears to be doing a lousy job. If the answer is NO, then we are in a hopeless situation. Either way, both answers stink and lead to many more questions." Another asked, "Where was God? When bad things happen, how do you answer that question? More importantly—how can you answer this question from a person who is in doubt about God’s existence in the first place?" Yet another asked, "How come in the Bible it says, "if you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer", and yet, when I pray (and I’m not talking about praying for goofy stuff like winning the lottery—I’m talking about prayers for healing and peace and reconciliation for people I love dearly), the sickness and despair and feeling of separation from God continues? Are my prayers inadequate? Is my faith just not strong enough? Am I doing something wrong?" I think you’ll agree that all those questions basically address the same fundamental issue, which is, "why does a good and gracious God allow suffering and evil to continue in our world?" And of course, one of the reasons I knew that question was going to be asked is because that fundamental question has been around for a very long time. I’m sure you know that. But did you also know that there is a very small, little known book of the Bible whose sole purpose is to address that fundamental question? I’m talking about the Old Testament book called "Habakkuk." Now my guess is that if I were to ask all of you to tell me everything you know about Habakkuk, it wouldn’t take very long. In fact, I might not get a lot more than, "Well….it’s in the Old Testament…I think!" We just don’t talk about this book very much in the church today. And that’s really too bad, because Habakkuk helps us answer these fundamental questions that we all struggle so much. So, let’s look at Habakkuk together today. I invite you to open up a Bible to Habakkuk, chapter one. And, as you are looking it up, let me give you just a little background on what you’re about to read. Habakkuk was a prophet who lived about 600 years before the time of Christ. He lived in Judah during a terrible time in their history, during the reign of a king named Jehoiakim. We know from other sources that Jehoiakim was one of the most corrupt kings Judah ever had. To say that he was dishonest and disobedient would be a massive understatement. For example, one of Habakkuk’s contemporaries, Jeremiah the prophet, tried to warn Jehoiakim once about God’s impending judgment on him. But when Jehoiakim received the scroll with Jeremiah’s warning, he burned it. [Jeremiah 36] When another prophet named Uriah tried to warn him also, Jehoiakim tracked him down and killed him. [Jeremiah 26:20-23] So you can understand why Habakkuk’s book starts like this in chapter one, verse two, "How long, O 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 wrong? Destruction and violence are before me; there is strife, and conflict abounds." Sounds a lot like the questions on your insert, doesn’t it? Well, in verse five, God gives Habakkuk an answer, but it’s not a very satisfying answer. It’s kind of like one our questioners said: it’s an answer that only leads to more questions. God says in verse five and following, "Look at the nations and watch—and be utterly amazed. For I am going to do something in your days that you would not believe, even if you were told. I am raising up the Babylonians, that ruthless and impetuous people, who sweep across the whole earth to seize dwelling places not their own." In other words, God is saying, "Yes, Habakkuk! I see all the evil around you. Don’t worry! I’m going to send the Babylonians to destroy your people and take you over," which is kind of like saying to us, "Don’t worry! I’m going to send Al-Qaeda terrorists to take care of this!" If you heard God answer your questions like that, how would you react? You’d say, "that doesn’t make any sense at all!", right? Those people are even more evil than our people! You’d say, "God, your so-called ‘answers’ are only getting me more confused!" Well, that’s exactly what Habakkuk says. Take a look at verse 12 and following, "O LORD, are you not from everlasting? My God, my Holy One, we will not die. O LORD, you have appointed them to execute judgment; O Rock, you have ordained them to punish. Your eyes are too pure to look on evil; you cannot tolerate wrong. Why then do you tolerate the treacherous? Why are you silent while the wicked swallow up those more righteous than themselves?" So, how does God answer that? Take a look at chapter two, verse six and you’ll see the word, "Woe!" If you were to keep reading, you’d see that word occurring over and over. "Woe to those who do this" and "Woe to those who do that." We don’t have time to read it now, but read it later and you’ll see it’s all directed at the Babylonians. God’s saying, "Don’t worry, Habakkuk! I get it! I’m not letting them off the hook! They’ll get what’s coming to them too!" And while that’s helpful, it’s still not satisfying to Habakkuk. Because what God basically said to Habakkuk in the midst of his suffering is, "You think it’s bad now? Things are actually gonna get worse!" And we know they did get worse. History records that in 597 B.C. the Babylonians did exactly what’s predicted here. They came down to Judah and destroyed Jerusalem and took the people away as prisoners into exile. Things went from bad to worse. And that’s why Habakkuk’s final words are so surprising. Take a look at chapter three, verse seventeen. After all that, Habakkuk closes his book with this amazing statement of faith, "Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will be joyful in God my Savior." And the question we’re left to struggle with is this: how do WE make the same journey? How do we go from all our struggles and questions and get to the point where WE can say, "Though my loved ones never reconcile and my sick friends end up dying, despite my prayers; though my kids never get their act together and I never do feel financially secure; (etc, etc), yet I will rejoice in the Lord." How do we get there? Well, I can tell you for sure how we DON’T get there. We don’t get there by totally understanding everything and by getting perfectly satisfying answers to every tough question you may have. If that’s what you’re waiting for, you’re never gonna get there, because you have an impossible and unrealistic expectation. Let me explain with a simple illustration. My son Timmy is three years old. And I believe that deep down he knows very well that his Daddy loves him to death. Why? Because every day I hug him and kiss him and we play and tickle and laugh together. But every once in a while, Daddy acts in a way that Timmy doesn’t expect from someone who loves him so much. It happened just the other day when I took Timmy to Jewel with me. We were getting out the car to go into the store and Timmy just wanted to get down and RUN! Well, how do you suppose Daddy acted then? Timmy, if he could, would have probably said, "Man, Daddy seems angry! Daddy’s even yelling at me! Daddy’s grabbing my arm really tight and I don’t want him to do that!" In that little moment, all of a sudden, Timmy is not having fun with Daddy at all. Timmy is crying and yelling. He’s mad! And if you could get inside his head and see what he’s thinking in that moment he’s probably saying, "Why Dad?! Why are you acting like this?! I thought you were a loving Daddy?! How can running and laughing be outside of your will for me?" And, what can I do in that moment? I can’t explain it to him! He’s three! At some point, Timmy just has to decide to trust me, even though he doesn’t understand. Now, you get the point, right? If that’s true of me and my son, imagine how true it must be between you and your Heavenly Father—the omnipotent, omniscient, creator of the universe! See the problem isn’t that your questions are bad or misguided. The problem is that compared to God, you’re three years old! We heard in our readings today that that’s what Job learned in his time of suffering. We read God’s response to Job today and it’s harsh, but it’s absolutely true. God says, oh, I’m sorry, "Where were you when I laid the earth’s foundation? Tell me, if you understand. Who marked off its dimensions? Surely you know!" [Job 38:4-5] ‘Cause you and I are equals, right? And Job rightly responds, "Surely I spoke of things I did not understand, things too wonderful for me to know." [Job 42:3] It’s an important lesson for us too. But it’s still not what gets us from the questions to the point of trusting God. I don’t think that’s how it worked for Timmy that day and it certainly isn’t how Habakkuk got there. How did he get there? For that, you have read Habakkuk 3:2. The turning point comes when Habakkuk prays these words, "LORD, I have heard of your fame; I stand in awe of your deeds, O LORD. Renew them in our day, in our time make them known; in wrath remember mercy." And then he starts talking about all these things that God did. Do you see what’s happening there? What’s happening is that we are learning that the way you get to the point of trusting God isn’t by getting all your questions answered—cause you’re three years old and that’s never gonna happen. The way you get there is by remembering what God did in the past. You find peace with the things you don’t understand by filtering them through the things you know for certain. And if Habakkuk was able to do that, how much more can we? Because we have something incredible that Habakkuk didn’t have—the cross of Jesus Christ. Imagine what Good Friday would have been like for you if you’d have been a personal friend of Jesus! Imagine what it would have been like to see this man who embodied love and forgiveness like no one else, who’s teaching stirred your heart like you never thought possible, a man who you believed was the Savior of the world, now being mocked and beaten and spit upon and tortured by godless and evil men! I think if we had been there like that we all would have prayed Habakkuk’s prayer. "How long, O 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 wrong?" We would have been so sure that we were right and God was wrong, and yet just three days later we would have had to choke down Job’s words, "Surely I spoke of things I did not understand, things too wonderful for me to know." See, the cross is the ultimate answer to our questions because it reminds us in the most powerful way that suffering and evil do not tie the hands of our gracious and loving Father. We learn from the cross that just because WE don’t understand what God is doing doesn’t mean that God has failed to act. The cross is the ultimate reminder to us that when it seems like God is doing nothing, He is often doing His greatest work. In the light of the cross, and only in the light of the cross can we answer our questions today: Is God really in control? Answer? Absolutely yes! But then why does He appear to be doing such a lousy job? Answer? Because you’re three years old and that’s how three-year-olds, who can only see a very small part of the whole picture, think! What about someone who doesn’t believe in Jesus? How do I explain to them what God was doing when bad things happened? Answer? You can’t really. First things first. Tell them about the things you do know for certain. And what if God isn’t doing what I ask? Are my prayers inadequate? Am I doing something wrong? Answer: maybe. When Habakkuk prayed for peace, he certainly never thought a Babylonian invasion would be God’s answer! But it was! It wasn’t at all what Habakkuk wanted, but it was exactly what he needed so that someday there could full and sufficient answers to every one of his questions and ours. God is doing the same thing in your life today so that you can say by faith, "Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will be joyful in God my Savior." |