I. SETTING. A. Military

Transcription

1 ROUTE 66 - HABAKKUK How Long O Lord? Dr. Jon McNeff, Senior Pastor October 30, 2013 Note: The following are the pastor s notes used in teaching this message. This is not a complete, word-for-word transcription of what was taught. These notes serve as a companion to the complete message, which is available by listening to the audio version. Bible quotes are primarily from NASB and ESV, respectively. Shortly after World War II began, Martyn Lloyd-Jones, pastor of Westminster Chapel in London preached a series of sermons on Habakkuk in response to people s questions regarding WWII the book was called From Fear to Faith a classic study of Habakkuk spoke of four great lessons from Habakkuk first one History is under God s control even when it seems completely out of control to us he writes: Every nation on earth is under the hand of God, for there is no power in this world that is not ultimately controlled by him. Things are not what they appear to be. It seemed to be the astute military prowess of the Chaldeans that had brought them into the ascendancy. But it was not so at all, for God had raised them up. God is the Lord of history. He is seated in the heavens, and the nations to him are as grasshoppers, as a drop in a bucket, or as the small dust of the balance. The Bible asserts that God is over all. He started the historical process, he is controlling it, and he is going to end it. We must never lose sight of this crucial fact. 1 I. SETTING A. Military Mention of the Chaldeans in Habakkuk 1:6 suggests that Habakkuk wrote shortly before Nebuchadnezzar conquered Nineveh in 612 B.C. his father Nabopolassar had come to power in 626 B.C. he immediately began to flex his muscles which threatened the Assyrians who had conquered Israel in 722 B.C. his son Nebuchadnezzar conquered the Assyrian capital of Nineveh in 612 B.C. this caused the Assyrian nobility to seek refuge in Haran Nebuchadnezzar pursued them there and defeated them in Haran in 609 B.C. they then fled to Carchemish where Nebuchadnezzar defeated them in 605 B.C. this encouraged his three successive campaigns against Jerusalem that began in 605 B.C. and ended with his destruction of Jerusalem in 586 B.C. B. Social and religious Habakkuk was also troubled by the deep social strife of violence and wickedness as seen in Habakkuk 1:2-4 I cry out to You, Violence! Yet You do not save. Why do You make me see iniquity, And cause me to look on wickedness? Yes, destruction and violence are before me; Strife exists and contention arises. Therefore the law is ignored and justice is never upheld. For the wicked surround the righteous; Therefore justice comes out perverted. Habakkuk s references to rampant violence and wickedness would also indicate a time after good king Josiah was killed in 609 B.C. Josiah was crowned at the age of eight in 639 B.C. began religious reforms eight years later when he was 16 in his 18 th year (622 B.C.) he began repairs on the temple which had fallen into ruin the priest Hilkiah discovered the Book of the Law in the temple he implemented many spiritual reforms (2 Chronicles 34:3-7) and abolished many of the idolatrous practices of his father Amon (2 Kings 21:20-22) and grandfather Manasseh (2 Kings 21:11-13) 2 Chronicles 35:20-34 indicates that the Egyptian king Necho traveled through Judah to assist the fleeing Assyrian king he was opposed by King Josiah at Megiddo Josiah was killed in the ensuing battle in 609 B.C., leaving the throne to a succession of three sons and a grandson upon his death the nation quickly reverted to her evil ways when Josiah s reforms were overturned by his son Jehoiakim Jeremiah 22:13-19 indicates these were so bad that Jeremiah said, He will be buried with a donkey s burial, dragged off and thrown out beyond the gates of Jerusalem. Habakkuk probably lived through the transition from Josiah to Jehoiakim saw the reversal of all that Josiah had done tore down the asherim abolished pagan worship couldn t understand why God wouldn t cleanse His own people and purge the sin that he saw all around him II. HABAKKUK S FIRST COMPLAINT Habakkuk 1:1-4 1 D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones, From Fear to Faith (1953, reprint, London: InterVarsity Press, 1966), 22. 1

2 A. How long, O Lord Habakkuk 1:2 Habakkuk 1:2 How long, O Lord, will I call for help, And You will not hear? I cry out to You, Violence! Yet You do not save. The question of God delaying punishment and justice is a constant dilemma for man: Psalm 6:3 And my soul is greatly dismayed; But You, O Lord how long? Psalm 10:1 Why do You stand afar off, O Lord? Why do You hide Yourself in times of trouble? Psalm 35:17 Lord, how long will You look on? Rescue my soul from their ravages, My only life from the lions. Psalm 74:10-11 How long, O God, will the adversary revile, And the enemy spurn Your name forever? Why do You withdraw Your hand, even Your right hand? From within Your bosom, destroy them! Psalm 13:1-4 How long, O Lord? Will You forget me forever? How long will You hide Your face from me? How long shall I take counsel in my soul, Having sorrow in my heart all the day? How long will my enemy be exalted over me? Consider and answer me, O Lord my God; Enlighten my eyes, or I will sleep the sleep of death, And my enemy will say, I have overcome him, And my adversaries will rejoice when I am shaken. Jeremiah 14:9 Why are You like a man dismayed, Like a mighty man who cannot save? Yet You are in our midst, O Lord, And we are called by Your name; Do not forsake us! Even Jesus reflected this on the cross Matthew 27:46 My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me? This could be the cry of the victims of guerrilla thugs, a godless regime, a victim of crime, or an abused wife B. The presence of evil Habakkuk 1:3-4 Habakkuk sees evil all around Habakkuk 1:2b-4 I cry out to You, Violence! Yet You do not save. Why do You make me see iniquity, And cause me to look on wickedness? Yes, destruction and violence are before me; Strife exists and contention arises. Therefore the law is ignored And justice is never upheld. For the wicked surround the righteous; Therefore justice comes out perverted. Habakkuk saw the return of idolatry like Amos, he saw the return of the sacrifice of babies on the altars of pagan gods financial greed sexual sin lack of justice like the wild west disregard for God s laws allows man to pursue his impulses unchecked III. GOD S FIRST RESPONSE Habakkuk 1:5-11 A. I am doing something Habakkuk 1:5 Habakkuk 1:5 Look among the nations! Observe! Be astonished! Wonder! Because I am doing something in your days You would not believe if you were told. The fact that God answers tells us He is very aware of our circumstances Habakkuk thought God had moved but God is always working: Psalm 121:3-4 He will not allow your foot to slip; He who keeps you will not slumber. Behold, He who keeps Israel Will neither slumber nor sleep. Romans 8:28 And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. B. I am raising up the Chaldeans Habakkuk 1:6 Habakkuk 1:6 For behold, I am raising up the Chaldeans, That fierce and impetuous people Who march throughout the earth To seize dwelling places which are not theirs. 2

3 This was the beginning of the Babylonian Empire the Assyrians were cruel, wicked people God was going to punish them by another group of people who were not as cruel, but more powerful Habakkuk evidently thought God would intervene and restore worship they way He had through Josiah the introduction of the Babylonians was a foreign concept to him God described the Babylonians for Habakkuk in Habakkuk 1:6-11 not pretty IV. HABAKKUK S SECOND COMPLAINT Habakkuk 1:12-2:1 A. Affirmation of God s holiness Habakkuk 1:12-13a Habakkuk 1:12-13a Are You not from everlasting, O Lord, my God, my Holy One? We will not die. You, O Lord, have appointed them to judge; And You, O Rock, have established them to correct. Your eyes are too pure to approve evil, And You can not look on wickedness with favor. Affirms God s holiness affirms His right to judge he knows God cannot give approval to evil but... B. Questions God s plan Habakkuk 1:13b-17 Habakkuk 1:13b Why do You look with favor On those who deal treacherously? Why are You silent when the wicked swallow up Those more righteous than they? Why the Chaldeans???!! why were you silent after Josiah died? why did you stand by and let your people ascend into sin? why are you now going to bring judgment (which we deserve) at the hands of a people who are worse sinners than we are?? As if to inform God, Habakkuk then describes the Chaldeans from Habakkuk 1:15-17 C. Waits for God s answer Habakkuk 2:1 Waiting for God s answer Habakkuk 2:1 I will stand on my guard post And station myself on the rampart; And I will keep watch to see what He will speak to me, and how I may reply when I am reproved. having reasoned through the problem Habakkuk now positions himself to wait for God s answer He will station myself on the rampart the watchtower the place to see everything look for the enemy s advance and order the direction of the troops Habakkuk wants to see everything and wait for God s response How do we do this? not just waiting for subjective feeling it involves searching Scripture (passages like this one) seeing how God works in difficult situations receiving counsel We must also expect God to answer He may be silent, but He has answered V. GOD S SECOND RESPONSE Habakkuk 2:2-20 A. The righteous live by faith Habakkuk 2:4 Key verse Habakkuk 2:4 Behold, as for the proud one, His soul is not right within him; But the righteous will live by his faith. New Testament picks up on this theme as consistent pattern of life quoted in Romans 1:17; Galatians 2:16; and Galatians 3:11-12 to teach salvation through justification through faith in Christ Living in faith as explained in Habakkuk 2:4 and 3:17-19 is amplified in New Testament: Colossians 1:21-23 And although you were formerly alienated and hostile in mind, engaged in evil deeds, yet He has now reconciled you in His fleshly body through death, in order to present you before Him holy and blameless and beyond reproach if indeed you continue in the faith firmly established and 3

4 steadfast, and not moved away from the hope of the gospel that you have heard, which was proclaimed in all creation under heaven, and of which I, Paul, was made a minister. Hebrews 3:12-14 Take care, brethren, that there not be in any one of you an evil, unbelieving heart that falls away from the living God. But encourage one another day after day, as long as it is still called Today, so that none of you will be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. For we have become partakers of Christ, if we hold fast the beginning of our assurance firm until the end... Hebrews 10:38-39 But My righteous one shall live by faith; And if he shrinks back, My soul has no pleasure in him. But we are not of those who shrink back to destruction, but of those who have faith to the preserving of the soul. This became the foundation of the Reformation when Luther went to Rome he observed people who climbed the steps of St. John s Lateran church on their knees because they were told that they were from Pilate s judgment hall Pope promised indulgence to everyone who did this! B. The unrighteous are proud Habakkuk 2:5 Habakkuk 2:5 Furthermore, wine betrays the haughty man, So that he does not stay at home. He enlarges his appetite like Sheol, And he is like death, never satisfied. He also gathers to himself all nations And collects to himself all peoples. C. Five woes of the wicked Habakkuk 2:6-20 refers to Babylon specifically applied to the proud and wicked generally 1. Extortion Habakkuk 2:6-8 Habakkuk 2:6 Will not all of these take up a taunt-song against him, Even mockery and insinuations against him and say, Woe to him who increases what is not his For how long And makes himself rich with loans? the Babylonians demanded heavy taxation from conquered nations amounted to financial extortion pay or die 2. Exploitation Habakkuk 2:9-11 The Babylonians took advantage of countries they conquered and did what they wanted to set themselves above the people even though they took what they wanted, when they got their homes completed, everyone knew they were gained dishonestly 3. Violence Habakkuk 2:12-14 The natural progression and companion to exploitation is violence if you think you can get away with it, you will force your way on anyone 4. Corruption Habakkuk 2:15-17 Habakkuk 2:15 Woe to you who make your neighbors drink, Who mix in your venom even to make them drunk So as to look on their nakedness! they seduced the people in the countries by getting them drunk to get what they wanted 5. Idolatry Habakkuk 2:18-20 No wonder they were corrupt and vile they served pagan idols had no sense of morals or virtue idols were useless VI. HABAKKUK S PRAYER Habakkuk 3:1-19 One of the great prayers in the Bible alongside Abraham s intercession for Sodom and David s prayer for intercession for the materials of the temple 4

5 The thrust of his prayer here is different than his concern in Habakkuk 1 after he had contemplated God and heard from Him, Habakkuk was willing to acknowledge God s plan despite his own desires and inability to understand what God was doing A. The plea for mercy Habakkuk 3:1-2 Recognition of the coming of the Chaldeans In wrath remember mercy. B. Praise for God s power Habakkuk 3:3-15 Vast explanation and acceptance of God s power C. Promise of God s plan Habakkuk 3:16-19 Underline this wonderful assertion of serving God no matter what our temporal circumstances may be Habakkuk 3:17-19 Though the fig tree should not blossom And there be no fruit on the vines, Though the yield of the olive should fail And the fields produce no food, Though the flock should be cut off from the fold And there be no cattle in the stalls, Yet I will exult in the Lord, I will rejoice in the God of my salvation. The Lord God is my strength, and He has made my feet like hinds feet, And makes me walk on my high places. Habakkuk comes to the same conclusion Job did in Job 42:5,6 I have heard of You by the hearing of the ear; But now my eye sees You; Therefore I retract, And I repent in dust and ashes. God is worthy of being served despite temporal blessing Isaiah 55:8-9 For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways, declares the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways and My thoughts than your thoughts. 5