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!

Beforehand

Jesus’ Prepared His Followers Ahead of Time

Did you know that Jesus was a “Prepper”? Well perhaps not in the way we usually use the word. He didn't gather up emergency food or weapons. However, he didn’t let events take his followers by surprise. This post looks at the time in his ministry when Jesus began to tell his disciples what was coming, in particular regarding his coming death and resurrection. He told them the truth ahead of time… but that doesn’t mean they listened.

I think that it is instructive for us to “go to school” both on Jesus’ preparation of himself for what was ahead, and on how he honestly and realistically prepared his followers for what was coming. In particular, we will examine how Jesus began to speak about his approaching betrayal, death, and resurrection.

1) Jesus prepared himself for what was ahead.

There are countless things that I could list related to Jesus’ attitude and actions that placed him in readiness for the test in the Garden of Gethsemane, and the hours to follow before priests, kings, and governors. However I will just list a few. I would also encourage you to look up some of the Bible references listed as part of your personal Bible reading this week.

• He was filled with the Holy Spirit (Matt. 3:13; Mark 1:10; Luke 4:1)
• He knew the love of the Father
• At his Baptism (Matt. 3:16-17; Mark 1:11; Luke 3:21-22)
• At his Transfiguration (Matt. 17:5; Mark 9:7; Luke 9:5; 2 Peter 1:17)
• All the time (John 5:20)
• He regularly spent time in prayer alone with the Father. (Mark 1:35; Luke 11:1)
• He obeyed the Father, only speaking what the Father spoke
• He didn’t procrastinate or deviate from the plan of God. (Luke 9:51 & many ref.)
• He loved and served people, making the most of the time (Matt. 20:28; Mark 10:45)
• He surrendered his will to the Father in prayer (Matt. 26:39; Luke 22:41-42)

When I consider these things that Jesus did as a manifestation of the inner life of the triune God I am humbled to realize that he invites us to share in that same kind of community. All these preparations that I have listed would be just as beneficial to us in overcoming the enemy’s internal and external attacks.

Jesus didn’t stop at being a good example for his followers; he actively prepared them for what was coming.

2) Jesus prepared his followers for what was ahead.

Jesus’s preparation of the 12, his disciples, served a manifold purpose. It was so that…

• They would know that he knew what would happen ahead of time.
• They might believe (trust) in Christ when it happened.
• They might have hope for their own situations.

How did Jesus do this? He told his disciples the truth ahead of time—both the good and the bad. Once Jesus turned his face toward Jerusalem, that last time, he spent more time pouring into the twelve and less time with the crowds. Some things they listened to and some they ignored (either because they didn’t understand it or because they didn’t want to hear it). He told them that: 

• False christs would come (Matthew 24:24-26; Mark 13:22-24).
• Households would be divided by the truth (Luke 12:51-53; Matt. 10:34-36)
• He wasn’t coming right back, the gospel must first be preached to all nations (Mark 13:10-12).
• That they would all fall away…even Peter (Matt. 26:31-35; Mark 14:27-29). I need to say that we, like Peter, disagree with the Lord perhaps more than we think. We don’t like his plans or we don’t like his honesty. Nonetheless he is always right…and he always loves us even when he has to call us out.
• That all the stones of the temple would be thrown down (Matt 2:2; Mark 13:1-3; Luke 21:6). 
• That they would face persecution (Mark 13:9, 13; Luke 21; John 16:2).
• That He would give them his peace (John 14:27). “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.”

I included the last one so as to end on a positive note. How many of us would sign up is the gospel was presented with such a grim outlook? Yet, what I love is that Jesus knew that they would face such hardship and needed to have an accurate presentation that allowed them to “count the cost” of discipleship, rather than be dismayed by the “bait & switch” approach of a prosperity message. Certainly there were many encouraging promises, but Jesus was also brutally honest—especially in speaking about his approaching death.

3) Jesus Prepared them for his Passion

In preparation for Easter, for the rest of this post, I would like to focus on Jesus’ preparation of his followers for his coming death in three passages found in the Gospel of Mark.

A) Mark 8:31-38

And he began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and the chief priests and the scribes and be killed, and after three days rise again. And he said this plainly. And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. But turning and seeing his disciples, he rebuked Peter and said, “Get behind me, Satan! For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man.”

Peter was brash enough to begin to rebuke the Lord for such a plan, and Jesus just as bluntly rebuked the words of Satan that Peter spoke. Satan means “adversary” and he always opposes the plan of God. Peter thinking for a moment that he was Jesus’s handler, was only seeing things from a worldly perspective. Jesus however didn’t waste the opportunity, in the next few verses, to encourage even the crowd to set their minds on the things of God.

v. 34-38 And calling the crowd to him with his disciples, he said to them, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel's will save it.  For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul? For what can a man give in return for his soul? For whoever is ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him will the Son of Man also be ashamed when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.”

In response to this passage, I have to ask, “Is there something that God has said to us that we tend to reject because like Peter we have set our minds on the things of man?”

B) Mark 9:30-32

They went on from there and passed through Galilee. And he did not want anyone to know, for he was teaching his disciples, saying to them, “The Son of Man is going to be delivered into the hands of men, and they will kill him. And when he is killed, after three days he will rise.” But they did not understand the saying, and were afraid to ask him.

This section reminds me of my high school where I asked the teacher to explain the concept again but still didn’t understand it but pretended like I did because I was embarrassed to keep asking.  So what better way to cover up your own inadequacies than to argue over who is the greatest? That is what they did, which makes their response a, “Yeah, whatever Jesus…” kind of an answer. But Jesus knew what was going on and instead of avoiding conflict he addressed it directly by turning their glory-grasping upside-down.

Jesus and the Children (Hook)

v. 33-37 And they came to Capernaum. And when he was in the house he asked them, “What were you discussing on the way?” But they kept silent, for on the way they had argued with one another about who was the greatest. And he sat down and called the twelve. And he said to them, “If anyone would be first, he must be last of all and servant of all.” And he took a child and put him in the midst of them, and taking him in his arms, he said to them, “Whoever receives one such child in my name receives me, and whoever receives me, receives not me but him who sent me.”

After reading this passage I need to ask, “What is more important in my life than hearing what Jesus is saying to me?” Have we stopped listening to what the Lord is saying? Have we lost our “still, small voice” that whispers God’s Word to our hearts? I will go so far as to say that, any time that we contend for our own greatness, the words of God will tend to be ignored, for we cannot serve two masters.

C) Mark 10:32-34

And they were on the road, going up to Jerusalem, and Jesus was walking ahead of them. And they were amazed, and those who followed were afraid. And taking the twelve again, he began to tell them what was to happen to him, saying, “See, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be delivered over to the chief priests and the scribes, and they will condemn him to death and deliver him over to the Gentiles. And they will mock him and spit on him, and flog him and kill him. And after three days he will rise.”

Too much information! This is the most detailed description yet. Did they respond by saying, “What? How can this be? Jesus, how could anyone do this to you?” Nope. Not even close. That was not how they responded. In fact James and John (in an apparently random

change of topic) were calling “Shotgun!” for the seats of honor in the coming kingdom…that they thought Jesus was going to establish on the earth. Nope…they still were not listening. Sociologists call this BIRG-ing. The acronym stands for Basking In Reflected Glory. We all want to be around the successful, popular, and powerful…to bask in their glory as it were. This is evidenced by our love for autographs, celebrity selfies, and gathering around the popular speakers at conferences.

v. 35-45 And James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came up to him and said to him, “Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask of you.” And he said to them, “What do you want me to do for you?” And they said to him, “Grant us to sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your glory.” 

Jesus said to them, “You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I drink, or to be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized?”  And they said to him, “We are able.” And Jesus said to them, “The cup that I drink you will drink, and with the baptism with which I am baptized, you will be baptized, but to sit at my right hand or at my left is not mine to grant, but it is for those for whom it has been prepared.”

 And when the ten heard it, they began to be indignant at James and John. And Jesus called them to him and said to them, “You know that those who are considered rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. But it shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be slave of all. For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

When James and John asked for the kingdom seats of honor Jesus recognized that they really didn’t know what they were asking. And when they naively said that they could drink from “the cup” and participate in “the baptism” of which Jesus spoke, they again didn’t get it, though they would one day experience it first-hand. What was this this “baptism” and that “cup”? Jesus was talking about his suffering and death. Can we drink of it?

The Expositor’s Bible Commentary rightly notes,

“The way to privileged position in the messianic kingdom is not by grabbing for power but by relinquishing it through suffering and death. Jesus explains this to them by using the analogies of the cup and baptism. The cup, symbolizing trouble and suffering, is found in the OT… (Ps 75:8; Isa 51:17; Mark 14:36; Jer 49:12; Ezek 23:31-34). Baptism is a symbol of a deluge of trouble (cf. Pss 18:16; 69:1-2 and the expression "baptism of fire").

As a result of this passage I am prompted to ask several questions, “How is our attitude different from that of Jesus?” (Phil. 2:3-8) Are we ready for what is coming or are we overestimating our spiritual preparedness? Are we content with the prepared place to which God has called us or are we yearning for another? Are we willing to surrender our will to his? Questions like these are not easily answered. We need to be following Jesus with all our hearts. 

Thankfully Jesus prepares his followers for what is coming. Are we listening?