When God s Answer Doesn t Make Sense Habakkuk 1:5-2:1

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1 When God s Answer Doesn t Make Sense Habakkuk 1:5-2:1 One thing the Old Testament (and for that matter, the entire Bible) cannot be accused of is sugarcoating human experience. Take, for example, the fascinating account of Job. From the opening chapters of that book we find a good God allowing the very epitome of evil, Satan himself, to bring unimaginable tragedy and suffering into the life of this man. And from a casual reading of the book, we re left with the question, What s the deal? How can a good God allow such bad things? Someone has expressed the question this way: Sooner or later I must face the question in plain language. What reason have we, except our own desperate wishes, to believe that God is, by any standard we can conceive, good? Doesn t all the evidence suggest exactly the opposite? i Those are not the words of an atheist or skeptic. They re not written by the promoters of a smear campaign against Christianity. They are the words of C. S. Lewis, one of the greatest defenders of biblical faith during the 20 th Century. He wrote those words as he grieved the loss of his wife to cancer. As a believer, Lewis was dealing with the problem of pain the problem of evil. And maybe you re asking the same question. If God is good, how can he allow such evil? Can we reconcile what the Bible says about God that he is good, loving, just and kind with the harsh realities of pain and evil in the world all around us? Of course, that question remains rather theoretical as long as evil and its tragic consequences don t touch too close to us personally. It s fairly easy to engage in tidy, philosophical discussions about a tsunami, a Katrina, a genocide in Rwanda, or the 1001 tragedies that we read about every day in the news. But it is not until the sharp pain of evil touches you and me personally that all of our tidy reasoning begins to unravel. Well, the sharp pain of evil did touch Habakkuk personally, and some of his tidy reasoning did begin to unravel. That s why he s called the question-mark prophet. But the fascinating thing about this book is that it tells us how his bent over question mark became an upright exclamation mark, declaring child-like trust in a faithful, all-powerful God! In verses 1-4 of this book, Habakkuk asks the question, Where is God when I need him most? But for Habakkuk, this question was divided into two more specific questions. First, Is God aware? That is, does he even hear my prayer? And second, Does God care? That is, if he does hear my prayer, why doesn t he show up and intervene? As Habakkuk looks around among his own people, all he sees is violence. This word is used six times in three chapters and means far more than mere physical brutality. It speaks of every form 1

2 of ethical wrong and injustice. Habakkuk wants to highlight just how terrible the situation was in Judah under the reign of King Jehoiakim. The entire society was marked by abuse, violence, injustice, greed, conflict, and oppression. No wonder he says in verse 4: Therefore the law is paralyzed, and justice never prevails. The wicked hem in the righteous, so that justice is perverted (Habakkuk 1:4). And Habakkuk asks, God, don t you care? Why don t you step in now and do something about it? After all, such suffering, pain, loss and grief seem so senseless. Put another way: If God is all-powerful and could do something and if God is all-good and seemingly would do something, why doesn t he put a halt to all this mess? And I m sure that you ve asked those same questions. God, are you aware? Don t you see the troubling I m in? Do you hear me when I cry out to you? And if you do hear, don t you care? Aren t you concerned about my family, my children, my work or lack of it, my financial woes, my church, my future? What we discover today in Habakkuk 1:5-17 is that yes, God is aware, and yes, God does care. But when God hears and answers, sometimes what he tells us doesn t make sense to our very limited, human perspective. We begin in verse 5 where we see God s surprising answer to Habakkuk. God s Surprising Answer to Habakkuk (1:5-11) 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. Habakkuk 1:5 God is saying, Habakkuk, don t think I m not aware, and don t think I don t care! I m about to do something that will blow you away! So quit being so up-tight. I m going to do something out-of- sight! Actually, the grammar of this verse indicates that God is speaking not just to Habakkuk, but to the entire nation. All of you in Judah, look at the nations and watch and be utterly amazed. Literally God says, Shock yourselves and be shocked by what I am about to do! One reason that you and I think at times that God isn t aware and that God doesn t care is because we have such an in the box God. We foolishly begin to think that God is made in our image rather than we in his image. And because our conception of God and his ways is so limited to our own human understanding, we limit God to a narrow range of possibilities. Again, if we knew what God knows in any particular set of circumstances, we would better understand. But the fact of the matter is that we don t. What is God about to do that would be so astonishing? 6 I am raising up the Babylonians ii, that ruthless and impetuous people, who sweep across the whole earth to seize dwellings not their own. Habakkuk 1:6 The Babylonians were well-known for their treachery and ruthless ways in warfare. The paradox, however, is that here God is going to use the vicious Babylonians to bring judgment on His own people, Judah. In this way, Babylon became the rod of God s punishment. 2

3 God s people didn t believe that God would do this! The prophet Jeremiah, writing only about 20 years later, says this: These people have denied what the Lord says. They have said, That is not so! No harm will come to us. We will not experience war and famine (Jeremiah 5:12). iii Even today God s people say the same thing. We sometimes think that we can just go on pursuing our own selfish desires and that God won t do a thing about it! But the writer to the Hebrews reminds us: 5 And have you completely forgotten this word of encouragement that addresses you as a father addresses his son? It says, My son, do not make light of the Lord s discipline, and do not lose heart when he rebukes you, 6 because the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and he chastens everyone he accepts as his son. 7 Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as his children. For what children are not disciplined by their father? Hebrews 12:5-6 God doesn t spank the devil s children. But he does his own. Babylon s invasion of Judah is God s spank. And it s a hard one. Notice verse 7: 7 They are a feared and dreaded people; they are a law to themselves and promote their own honor. Habakkuk 1:7 I see a principle here. When you and I refuse to fear God, it may result in fearing people and things that are far less worthy of our fear. God s people had refused to fear God (in the sense of loving, respecting and obeying God). They now will fear the dreaded Babylonians. 8 Their horses are swifter than leopards, fiercer than wolves at dusk. Their cavalry gallops headlong; their horsemen come from afar. They fly like an eagle swooping to devour; Habakkuk 1:8 The Babylonian military machine was state of the art. Three terms are used here to describe their horses and cavalry. They were faster than leopards, one of the fastest animals in the cat family. They were more eager than wolves, anxious to tear their prey apart. And they were like eagles (or vultures) who swoop down upon their prey unexpectedly. Verse 9: 9 they all come intent on violence. Their hordes advance like a desert wind and gather prisoners like sand. Habakkuk 1:9 The Babylonians were as successful at taking captives from their enemies as the east wind could drive dust before it. The Babylonians advanced like a whirlwind and gathered up captives innumerable as the sand. 10 They mock kings and scoff at rulers. They laugh at all fortified cities; by building earthen ramps they capture them. 11 Then they sweep past like the wind and go on guilty people, whose own strength is their god. Habakkuk 1:10 The feared Babylonians would laugh and mock, for no one could defeat them. They didn t need to build siege ramps. They would simply heap up rubble in order to conquer the fortifications. 3

4 And as they sweep past like the wind, leaving only devastation in their path, they have only one god themselves and their own strength. Habakkuk s Perplexed Questioning of God (1:12-17) For Habakkuk, God s answer didn t make sense. And sometimes for us, God s answers just don t make sense. And so we ask more questions, just like Habakkuk. However, he first begins with an affirmation of faith. 12 LORD, are you not from everlasting? My God, my Holy One, you will never die. You, LORD, have appointed them to execute judgment; you, my Rock, have ordained them to punish. Habakkuk 1:12 What a contrast to verse 11. For the Babylonians their own strength is their god. In contrast, for Habakkuk, his God is the Lord, who exists from everlasting to everlasting. iv And not only that, but Habakkuk affirms that his God is sovereign and has appointed Babylon to be his rod of chastisement to punish his own people. But this is where his questioning begins. Verse 13: 13 Your eyes are too pure to look on evil; you cannot tolerate wrongdoing.why then do you tolerate the treacherous? Why are you silent while the wicked swallow up those more righteous than themselves? Habakkuk 1:13 Habakkuk seems to be saying: OK God, you are aware, you do care, but all of this seems so unfair! How can you use evil to punish evil? v It doesn t make sense. He seems to be intensely struggling with the same question that plagued C.S. Lewis What reason have we... to believe that God is, by any standard we can conceive, good? The apocryphal book Bel and the Dragon records a legend about Habakkuk that is pure fantasy. Supposedly an angel commanded Habakkuk to take a meal to Daniel, who was in the lions den a second time. When the prophet complained that he did not know where the den was, the angel picked him up by a lock of his hair and carried him to the spot (Bel vv ). vi While the story is imaginary, the picture of Habakkuk being grabbed by the angel and taken where he didn t want to go is insightful. We are often like that. We have perplexing, troubling questions about God and his management of the universe or his management of our own lives and we sometimes don t want to go there. But Habakkuk eventually did. And we must also. Whether for a believer or an unbeliever, doubt is not a bad thing. Don t beat yourself up over your doubts. Doubt exists because truth and falsehood exist. Think about it; if there were no truth or untruth, doubt would have little significance. Yes, doubt exists because truth exists. God invites us to honestly explore our doubts. Augustine once said, I doubt, therefore truth is. If there were no absolute truth, then doubt wouldn t exist or serve a purpose. Our doubts actually demonstrate the existence of truth. But doubt is also a vital part of vibrant faith. Os Guinness has said: Find out how seriously a believer takes his doubts and you have an index of how seriously a believer takes his faith. vii 4

5 Habakkuk took his faith seriously, and therefore he took his doubts seriously. And so should you and I. Habakkuk continues: 14 You have made people like the fish in the sea, like the sea creatures that have no ruler. 15 The wicked foe pulls all of them up with hooks, he catches them in his net, he gathers them up in his dragnet; and so he rejoices and is glad. Habakkuk 1:14-15 Big fish eat little fish, and bigger fish eat the big fish. This is what was taking place in Habakkuk s day. Babylon, a big fish, was about to gobble up Judah and God wasn t doing anything about it. To the contrary, God seems to be guiding the big fish! And when the big fish attack, they take their little fish and drag them along with hooks in their mouths, just like when you go fishing! This was a common practice of the Babylonians, who would drag their captives along with hooks. They seemed to have about as much regard for human life as fishermen have for fish. 16 Therefore he sacrifices to his net and burns incense to his dragnet, for by his net he lives in luxury and enjoys the choicest food. 17 Is he to keep on emptying his net, destroying nations without mercy? Habakkuk 1:16 Not only do the Babylonians have no regard for human life, but they have no regard for the true and living God. Rather than worship God, they worship that which enables them to succeed in life, their nets. And do not many do the same today? Contemporary idolatry is not limited to burning incense to inanimate objects. People of position and power often worship that which gives them that position and power. And Habakkuk asks, God, how can you use such people to discipline your own people? When God s Answer Doesn t Make Sense Remember God s Surprising Ways So what do we do when God s answers don t make sense? Here s the first thing we learn from this passage. Remember God s surprising ways. Look at verse 5 again: 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. Habakkuk 1:5 Our God is an out-of-the-box God. One of the greatest difficulties that you and I have when it comes to prayer and faith and trusting God in our lives is our in-the-box thinking. This kind of thinking can hinder us, not only in our personal lives, but also in our life as a church. It s interesting that the Apostle Paul cites this very passage in Acts 13 as he preached to his own Jewish people in the temple in Antioch. Here s what he says: 38 Therefore, my friends, I want you to know that through Jesus the forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you. 39 Through him everyone who believes is set free from every sin, a justification you were not able to obtain under the law of Moses. 40 Take care that what the prophets have said does not happen to you: 41 Look, you scoffers, wonder and perish, for I am going to do something in your days that you would never believe, even if someone told you. Acts 13:

6 Those Jews to whom Paul is preaching are caught up in the same unbelief that characterized the Jews of Habakkuk s day. Their God was too in-the-box. They just couldn t believe that the gospel was now going beyond the confines of Israel to the surrounding nations. No doubt God s work of calling the Gentiles into his church would be just as astonishing as his work of using the Babylonian armies to punish Judah. And Paul is saying, Be careful not to get stuck in your limited, puny understanding of God s ways. God is so much bigger than that! Our God is an out-of-the-box God who often works in out-of-the-box ways. God wants to amaze us. He wants to lead us from see level (s.e.e.) to above see level, from being up tight to seeing what is out-of-sight. He wants to lead us in new frontiers of faith and he wants to amaze us with his amazing ways. Don t hold back. Don t resist. Don t stay in-thebox. Allow God to move you out of the box in new ventures of faith. Grab ahold of his surprising ways. Remember God s Sovereign Ways When God s answers don t make sense, remember God s surprising ways. But also remember God s sovereign ways. Lord, are you not from everlasting? My God, my Holy One, you will never die. You, Lord, have appointed them to execute judgment you, my Rock, have ordained them to punish. Habakkuk 1:12 We must always remember that God is not obligated to explain himself to you and me. Check out these verses from the Old Testament: It is the glory of God to conceal a matter. Proverbs 25:2 Truly you are a God who hides himself. Isaiah 45:15 The secret things belong to the Lord our God. Deuteronomy 29:29 For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways. Isaiah 55:8-9 Yes, when God s answers don t make sense, remember God s sovereign ways. Remember that you and I would better understand the perplexing questions of life if we knew what God knows. And remember that when we pray, God grants us what we would have asked if we knew what God knows. Stand in Silence and Wait Finally, stand in silence and wait. Habakkuk says in verse 1 of chapter 2: I will stand at my watch and station myself on the ramparts; I will look to see what he will say to me... When you are perplexed and God s answers don t seem to make sense, stand still, be silent, and wait. While we may not always understand the purpose of evil, its reality and its consequences are not outside the providential control of a good God. The best example of this is the suffering 6

7 experienced by the Son of God himself. Dorothy Sayers has said: Whatever the answer to why there is evil and suffering in the world, this much is true: God took his own medicine. viii The best answer to the question, What is the purpose of evil? is found at the cross where the very Son of God suffered and died. You ask, Why doesn t God do something? Where is God in all of this? God is where he has always been since that infamous Good Friday when Jesus Christ experienced the brute force of satanic evil. At that moment, when God seemed most absent, he was more present than ever before. Jesus identification with you and me in sin and suffering is finally the best and only answer to the perplexities of evil in this world. When trouble is near and God is far (or at least, when he seems far away), look to the cross. Look to God the Son who invaded time and space, who identifies with you in the painful consequences of living in a fallen world, and remember that the final chapter has not yet been written. Or better, it has been written, we just haven t experienced it yet. A better world is coming. i C.S. Lewis, A Grief Observed. ii In some of your versions, the word Babylonians is translated Chaldeans. These are basically synonyms. The Chaldeans were descendants of Nahor, Abraham s brother (Gen. 22:22). When Nabopolassar, a Chaldean, came to the throne of Babylon in 626 B.C. he began to promote a ruthless and treacherous campaign to overtake the world. iii Deut. 28:47 Because you have not served the Lord your God joyfully and wholeheartedly with the abundance of everything you have, 48 instead in hunger, thirst, nakedness, and poverty you will serve your enemies whom the Lord will send against you. They will place an iron yoke on your neck until they have destroyed you. iv The MT reads, we will not die, but an ancient scribal tradition has you [i.e., God] will not die. This is preferred as a more difficult reading that can explain the rise of the other variant. v Psalm 5:4 Certainly you are not a God who approves of evil; evil people cannot dwell with you. 7