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...
- Selfish Ambition (2:6-8)
- Covetousness / greed (2:9-11)
- Violence (2:12-14)
- Moral
Shame (2:15-17)
- 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: - The proud, puffed up, dishonest, drunken, dissatisfied
Chaldeans will have death.
- 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;
- God
came in splendor (v.3-5)
- 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.
- 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!
Open to me the gates
of righteousness, that I may enter through them
Psalm 140:12-13 
Attend to my cry,
