Hope: the Questions & Response of Faith (??!)

Advent—A Season of Preparation (Week 1)

This was the first Sunday of Advent, traditionally focused on Prophecy and hope for the coming Messiah. Last week, in our reading of Acts 13, we read this quote from the OT

Acts 13:40-41 Beware, therefore, lest what is said in the Prophets should come about:

           “‘Look, you scoffers,
    be astounded and perish;
for I am doing a work in your days,
    a work that you will not believe, even if one tells it to you.’” [Hab. 1:5]

Perhaps you have never even heard of Habakkuk. But it is appropriate that we take time to hear his important questions this week, for they are likely our own.

Habakkuk was written some 2600 years ago near the end of the kingdom of Judah. Probably about 607 bc when Chaldeans/Babylonians are just on the rise, after defeating Nineveh the capital of Assyria. Judah’s king was likely Jehoakim (aka Eliakim) who had been put in place by the Egyptian Pharaoh Necco in 608 after Josiah’s death.

This short book is filled with profoundly serious questions, challenging answers, and transcendently wonderful truths. It is one of what we call the Minor Prophets (minor only in that they wrote less than the “Major” prophets.

Habakkuk is different than most prophetic books and is more like Job. Here the prophet is not directly delivering a message from God to the people, but bringing the concerns of the faithful before the Lord. God’s answers are recorded for the people…both Jews and Gentiles.

We can use three punctuation marks, “??!” to remind us of the contents of the Book of Habakkuk because it is structured around two questions, two answers, and an exclamation of faith and praise. This morning I would like to survey the entire book with you (all 56 verses) in the context of the hope recognized during Advent.

For Habakkuk the situation was grim. The reforming King Josiah had died, a compromised wicked king was in charge, and things were in shambles from the perspective of a righteous Jew.

Habakkuk’s 1st Question—How Long shall I cry and You will not hear?  (1:1-4)

“How Long” is a frequently asked question–How Long: Until we get to Grandma’s house? Until dinner? Until Christmas? Election time is always a Habakkuk time for me. “How long O Lord?”

Habakkuk’s question was much more serious for he struggled with deep, troubling questions like…“Does God hear me? Why do the wicked prosper? Why doesn’t God do something?”

I like the way the NLT translates this passage,

“Must I forever see this sin and misery all around me? Wherever I look, I see destruction and violence. I am surrounded by people who love to argue and fight. The law has become paralyzed and useless, and there is no justice in the courts. The wicked far outnumber the righteous, and justice is perverted with bribes and trickery.” (1:3-4 NLT)

Habakkuk was struggling with being able to reconcile what he saw with who God was supposed to be. Can we relate to his concern? I think we can, and because of that, I am glad that the true God of the Bible is not afraid of our questions. I might be afraid of them, but God is not.

God’s Answer– “I am going to Intervene !” (1:5-11)

The “Look among the nations” promise of v. 5 that all these things will happen soon was a mixed blessing for it involved Habakkuk’s wicked countrymen being judged (i.e. conquered and exiled) by the Chaldeans.  Habakkuk could look and see the end of a long-time superpower in the defeat of Assyria in 612 bc (Nineveh) after hundreds of years in power. As well as the death of good King Josiah (609 bc) at the hands of the Egyptians who were then themselves defeated at Haran (608) and Carchemish (606). Who would have thought it? Changes indeed!

However, the Lord’s description of those he was raising up to do this brought fear and trembling. Here are some of the highlights…

• v. 6 “I am raising up the Chaldeans (Babylonians), that bitter and hasty nation.”
• v. 7 Their justice and authority originated with themselves. They were their own idols.
• v. 8 Their cavalry was compared to swift leopards, fierce wolves, and devouring eagles.
• v. 11 They will sweep through and pass on. But they will be held guilty, they whose own strength is their god.

I think that Habakkuk’s response to God’s answer might have been, “Wow! OK, Lord, that wasn’t what I was expecting…” And then he formulates his follow-up question, actually a complex of questions that can be combined into one.

Habakkuk’s 2nd Question—“How Come?” (How come you are using them? They’re worse than we are)” (1:12-17)

• “How come you look on/use those who deal treacherously?” (v. 13) Habakkuk does what we do so well when faced with our own sin, he makes horizontal comparisons with other people who appear even worse than ourselves. God doesn’t deny the claim but really it is beside the point.
• “How come you keep silent when the wicked swallow up those more righteous?” (v.13)
• “Are we men to be caught like fish?” (v. 14)
• “Will they succeed forever in their heartless conquests?” (v. 17 NLT)

Habakkuk was also concerned that the Chaldeans would use this victory over Judah to glorify “their nets” (themselves) as a result. They were not in it to serve God. By the way, this did not surprise God.

After expressing his concerns to God, we see Habakkuk’s faith in even larger terms.

Habakkuk’s Resolve “I will stand my watch” (2:1)

In our house, we had a rule we instituted when our son was little. When you call for someone, count to ten before you call their name again. This cut down on the reverberating calls of “Mom…mom...mom” or, “Aunt…Aunt…Aunt” and allowed time for the adult to answer and intervene appropriately. Now as we are getting older, we had to add the corollary, “If you can’t see them, don’t assume that they can hear you.” Habakkuk had asked his question and was committed to listening for the answer. His hope now expected an answer…eventually!

God’s Answer: “Write it plainly on tablets!” (2:2-20)

I paraphrase this verse, “Make it easy for all to see! So they can tell others!”

God is in essence saying, “I will deal with the Chaldeans. They will not get away with it forever.” In fact, this section contains a series of five “woes” making God’s answer clear for all to read even when mounted on the swift horses of Chaldea. These woes function as prophetic Burma Shave signs (e.g., Big Mistake/ Many Make/ Rely on Horn/ Instead of Brake/ Burma Shave) to the Chaldeans and Jews alike. The faithful could put their hope in God’s promise that the Chaldeans would be judged for their own sins.

It helps to see these as five “tablets” like a series of Burma Shave signs of Chaldean guilt. Woes were declared for Babylon’s...

1. Selfish Ambition  (2:6-8)
2. Covetousness / greed  (2:9-11)
3. Violence  (2:12-14)
4. Moral Shame  (2:15-17)
5. Idolatry  (2:18-19)

Pride is a soul problem and the proud Chaldeans who had mocked all before them, would themselves be mocked... at the appointed time, wait for it! Two ways were made clear:

1. The proud, puffed up, dishonest, drunken, dissatisfied Chaldeans will have death.
2. The just, godly, righteous Israelites will have life through faith in the living God.

Highlighted against this dark passage of well-deserved judgment are three transcendent statements that seem to reach far beyond Habakkuk’s immediate context. These are statements that should engender great hope if we embrace them and we don’t forget:

• “but the just shall live by faith” (2:4)
• “For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord” (2:14) This describes an intimate experiential knowledge…not just an objective knowing.
• “But the Lord is in his holy temple”! (2:20) As idols keep silent before their makers, we should do the same. Picture of waiting on the Lord for direction and teaching, rather than finding our judgment and dignity coming from ourselves (1:7)

Habakkuk’s Response: “How Wonderful!” (3:1-19)

This is the exclamation mark of the outline. Habakkuk’s response included prayer, a hymn, and his own personal creed or faith statement as a result.

A.  His Prayer  (3:1-2)

Warren Wiersbe writes: “Habakkuk prayed because he was overwhelmed by God’s splendor. He was in awe of God’s deeds. He had seen a vision of the greatness of God (v. 3-15) and this vision had left him weak and helpless (v. 16). All he could do was cry out to God.”

      What did he pray? After admitting his fear, he prayed,

• Keep doing Your Work (e.g., revive it, reveal it, but…). What God was doing was not what Habakkuk would have chosen, but he accepted God’s plan and prayed, “Thy will be done... let Thy work continue!” 
• In wrath remember mercy (for both Israel and Babylon). We place our hope in his mercy rather than in our own worthiness.

B.  His Hymn   (3:3-15)

Wiersbe splits up this hymn into three parts;

1. God came in splendor (v.3-5)
2. The Lord stood in Power (6-7) For instance, “measured” (v.6) was a symbol that you possess something and can do what you want to with it.
3. God marched in victory (8-15) He will deliver his people, wherever they are found!

   You marched through the earth in fury;
    you threshed the nations in anger.
   You went out for the salvation of your people,
                         for the salvation of your anointed. (v.12-13)

C.  His Creed (3:16-19) “Yet…”

Habakkuk concludes this short book with his own statement of faith. Instead of panicking and acting out of worry and fear…

 He resolved to wait quietly for the day of trouble (v. 16, echo of v.2)

I hear, and my body trembles;
    my lips quiver at the sound;
rottenness enters into my bones;
    my legs tremble beneath me.
Yet I will quietly wait for the day of trouble
    to come upon people who invade us.

 He resolved not only to trust God but to rejoice in the God of Salvation. (v. 17-18)

Though the fig tree should not blossom,
    nor fruit be on the vines,
the produce of the olive fail
    and the fields yield no food,
the flock be cut off from the fold
    and there be no herd in the stalls,
yet I will rejoice in the Lord;
    I will take joy in the God of my salvation.

This is still Thanksgiving weekend in the USA, and we would do well to remember that the Pilgrims left England as refugees persecuted for their beliefs.

• They knew they served a great God who would be their Lord wherever they lived.
• They gave thanks for his great works in salvation, and in bringing them to America
• They very much embraced His mission and desired to be sincere and humble servants…to take the gospel to the whole earth.

Let me use those sincere, but imperfect people as an illustration of hope in difficult times.

Despite a very difficult first year at Plymouth, at harvest time the Pilgrims gave thanks abundantly in and for all things. That first Thanksgiving was after a year in which 47 out of 102 Pilgrims had died [doing the math we find that 55 survived] because of the rigors of three months at sea followed by a brutally cold winter with poor shelters and marginal nutrition. However, as their ranks thinned, they drew closer together and prayed even harder—never giving in to despair. Then in October 1621, as they set aside time to thank God for their first harvest, 90 Native Americans showed up and brought additional food with them to add to the celebration. Such was the first Thanksgiving. But the difficulties were not past.

In November 1621, another ship arrived and dropped off 35 more people with no supplies of any kind. This increased population severely taxed their food supply until the next harvest. That second winter the daily ration was ultimately reduced to five kernels of dried corn per day, yet miraculously no one died of starvation. They never despaired, but always gave thanks and during really bad times they gave thanks even more. putting their hope in the Lord So when the time came for the second Thanksgiving celebration, the first course was five kernels of corn lest anyone should forget.

            He re-states his faith… “The Lord is my strength” (v. 19; contrast to 1:11) 

                He previously was trembling in fear, now able to run on the high places!

"God, the Lord, is my strength;
    he makes my feet like the deer's;
    he makes me tread on my high places."

D.  Our Own Statement of Faith: What if the six earthly things we most depended on failed? Habakkuk lived in an agrarian society, and in v. 17-18 listed the six things that were what the people needed to survive…not just to be comfortable. How would we write this passage for our own lives?

This week we concluded our service by lighting the Candle of Prophecy… as a symbol of hope, looking for the light of Christ in our darkened world. We do not trust in our own light, nor in our own strength, but hope in Jesus Christ! He is so much more than the reason for this season!