“By Faith – Habakkuk”

Scripture: Habakkuk 3:1-19

Our faith example for today is one of the Minor Prophets. His name is Habakkuk, and he had a problem – If God is such a just and righteous God, why are our lives plagued so by injustice, and why is evil so prevalent and persistently against us? How do we continue to have faith in the ultimate power of justice, while living in a world that is so overwhelmingly unjust? Job seemed to have dealt with similar feelings, while never losing faith in his Lord’s righteous nature. Today, we see how this prophet dealt with his issues.

When Habakkuk begins his lament, it had been about 100 years since the Northern Kingdom of Israel fell to the onslaught of Assyria, and was taken into captivity. Now, it is the Southern Kingdom of Judah’s turn to face great tribulation at the hands of a foreign evil. All during Israel’s sinful history, Judah had managed to remain relatively faithful, but sin always seems to be able to work its way into our lives, regardless of our desires.

Habakkuk’s prophesy is a little different than other prophetic books – this is more of a struggle with the prophet’s understanding of, and trust in God, than it is a declaration of failure against the people. This is a personal story, and in that regard, this book may actually be our book! He asks several questions of God, striving to resolve the apparent dichotomy between his belief in the divine nature, and what he and his nation is going through at the time.
He asks questions like “How long must I go on calling out to you for help?” And “Why are you making me go through such trying times?” And “Why are you being so tolerant of sin and evil ways?” And “Why are you silent while the wicked destroy the lives of your righteous people?”

Do any of these sound familiar to you? Is there anything here that you personally may have thrown up to the Almighty? And the Lord’s answers, at first, don’t bring any satisfaction to Habakkuk’s troubled soul, just as his answers to you may have been just as troubling. But slowly, the prophet begins to trust in Jehovah’s ways, even if he doesn’t totally understand them. As “trust” begins to rebuild his sagging spirit, and as he finally confesses that he will wait and watch for his God to work (Habakkuk 2:1), the prophet offers the most heartfelt prayer of celebration to Almighty God.

This is his prayer of rejoicing.

Read Habakkuk 3:1-7

The structure of the prayer that is lifted up is reminiscent of the Psalms, and in these first seven verses, he offers nothing but praise to God. Habakkuk offers up a glowing tribute to the Lord, but is this from the prophet’s new-found faith, or is it a vision from God? Back in the beginning of chapter 2 (2:2-3), God tells the prophet that he is giving him a revelation, and that he is to write it down. The first 15 verses of this prayer may very well be that God-given prophecy, and Habakkuk is overjoyed to both preserve it and share it with us.

The might of the Divine Lord is presented in marvelous terms – almost in militaristic splendor! His power is unlike anything that exists on earth, and nothing can stand against him. The prophet compares the glory of God to the grandeur of creation, which isn’t such a far out comparison!
In verse 5, where we read that plague goes before him and pestilence follows, these aren’t just a reference to worldly calamities that destroy our lives - they are intended to resemble a military campaign. God can even use the types of disasters that assail our lives as his own army, wielding out his justice against evil instead of against humanity in general. And even the created nature has no power or permanence, and it can never stand against the might of God.

Read Habakkuk 3:8-15

And not only can’t nature stand against the Lord, the warrior God’s power can even seem like the very acts of nature that astound us and amaze us when they are loosened. Floods, earthquakes, thunder and lightning – we have little recourse when these powers of nature occur, and these things can only begin to describe what the Lord’s vengeance against the evil of earth will be like. And the prophet rejoices that this is what will, one day, come to justify the time of waiting that we have to endure while we watch for the day when the Lord’s anger will be released.

But this won’t be revealed during Habakkuk’s life time, and it may very well come about long after our own! Yes, the Lord will use Babylon to destroy the evil of Judah, and eventually, he will use the Medo-Persians to destroy the evil of Babylon, but that will only be a sample of what is going to come against the collective wickedness of earth. Habakkuk’s prophecy in prayer is a proclamation of the Day of Victory that will come in Christ Jesus’ return.

In verse 12, we read that God will “thresh” the nations. For those of us who aren’t familiar with agricultural terms, threshing is the process that is used to separate the grain from the straw and chaff – the undesirable parts that are useful only as bedding or fuel. In Zephaniah 2:1-2, he speaks of the day when evil will be driven away as the winds carry the chaff away. And in Matthew 3:11-12, John the Baptist, in speaking about the baptism by spirit and fire that will come to us by Jesus, says that the Lord will be gathering his wheat (the righteous) into his granary, while the remaining chaff (evil and sin) will be completely destroyed.
By the example of a very common event, the prophet describes how God will be resolving our dilemma of pain and suffering and sin. And even in the confidence that Satan and his minions may have for their success, they will have none, for victory will all belong to the Christ.

Read Habakkuk 3:16-19

The vision ends and Habakkuk responds. As we begin to read these last few verses, can you begin to sense the level of excitement in the prophet’s soul? His heart pounds, his lips quiver, his legs tremble, and yet, he can still wait patiently and expectantly for the Lord’s Day to come. Contrast this with the first part of this book, in which we read only of Habakkuk’s deep frustration and great pain because of the sin and evil that is all around him.

Do you understand why I originally said that this is a book about us? Are you one who has pleaded with Jesus to end the foolishness of this world? Are you one who has asked “How long will you continue to allow your faithful people to be brutally slaughtered by the evils of Satan?” Have you ever wondered out loud how long it will be before the Church can set the ways of earth far behind and truly become one in Christ?

No one can know for certain when that will happen, except to know that the Day of the Lord’s return will be the day when the answer to all of our questions is a resounding “TODAY!” But until then, worrying about the present condition of our lives will gain us nothing (Matthew 6:25-34). Matthew 6 advises us to “seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” (NIV) This is the lesson that our brother Habakkuk had to learn, and it is the lesson that each of us must begin to lean heavily upon. The prophet was worried about the ravages that sin was inflicting on the nation, but he eventually came to the conclusion that faith had nothing to do with God accomplishing the acts that he wanted. Faith is about enduring the travesties of earth while having complete trust that the glorious Day of the Lord is on its way, and that on that day, Christ will be victorious and sin will be defeated!

Habakkuk discovered that in his fear, in his anguish, in his failure to see God at work in his life, he was relinquishing the faith that would sustain him throughout his trials. And we must learn this for our own lives – that today is, in general, not the promise or the doing of God. Our hope is for a joy filled faith that will sustain us until His tomorrow arrives.

Praise the Lord!