Good Morning Joes and Janes;

Time to wake up, and start another day.   Grab a cup of coffee and let’s take a look at God’s Word.  This morning I was contemplating all the bad things that go on in our country and how they can be stopped.  When we see the direction the country is headed we can get depressed, feel frustrated, small and ineffective.  But we are not the first in the world to have these feelings.  I was looking at the Old Testament book of Habakkuk.  You might be asking; “where is that one at?”  Well, if you go to Matthew, the first book in the New Testament and go back 5 books you will be there.

This was written by Habakkuk in around 607 BC shortly before the Chaldeans, (controlling Babylon) came in and conquer Judah.

Habakkuk 1:1-10

1. The oracle that Habakkuk the prophet received.

Habakkuk’s Complaint

2. How long, O LORD, must I call for help, but you do not listen? Or cry out to you, “Violence!” but you do not save?  3. Why do you make me look at injustice? Why do you tolerate wrong? Destruction and violence are before me; there is strife, and conflict abounds.  4. Therefore the law is paralyzed, and justice never prevails. The wicked hem in the righteous, so that justice is perverted.

I can really relate to Habakkuk’ complaint.   So many things go on like abortion, violence and unjust laws.  At the same time it seems like often the law is paralyzed and ineffective and justice is forgotten.  It seems, sometimes like the wicked are winning.  Where is God? Why isn’t he coming to the rescue?  When is he going to do something to fix this mess?

God is sovereign and does bring both judgment and justice to the world.  But also his ways are not our ways and sometimes his timing and methods are not what we think they should be.  Look at Gods answer to Habakkuk’s prayer.

The LORD’s Answer

5. “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.  6. I am raising up the Babylonians, that ruthless and impetuous people, who sweep across the whole earth to seize dwelling places not their own.  7. They are a feared and dreaded people; they are a law to themselves and promote their own honor.   8. Their horses are swifter than leopards, fiercer than wolves at dusk. Their cavalry gallops headlong; their horsemen come from afar. They fly like a vulture swooping to devour; 9. they all come bent on violence. Their hordes advance like a desert wind and gather prisoners like sand.  10. They deride kings and scoff at rulers. They laugh at all fortified cities; they build earthen ramps and capture them.  11. Then they sweep past like the wind and go on– guilty men, whose own strength is their god.”

Chaldean Empire ca. 600 BCE. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Wait a minute!  Hold the phone!  Whatch you talkin’ about Willis?  God is going to use these Chaldeans to judge the Judeans.  The Chaldeans are way bad!  The Judeans are not that evil!  They haven’t been taking over their neighbors.  These Chaldeans are feared and dreaded by everyone.  They are really guilty men who don’t look to God at all and only rely on their own strength.

Why would God allow these people come in and bring judgment on the Judeans?  Habakkuk’s response was about the same as you can read in verses 12 through 17.

This morning's Sun rise. What will today bring? What will future Sun rises bring?

Habakkuk’s Second Complaint

12. O LORD, are you not from everlasting?  My God, my Holy One, we will not die.  O LORD, you have appointed them to execute judgment; O Rock, you have ordained them to punish.  13. Your eyes are too pure to look on evil; you cannot tolerate wrong. Why then do you tolerate the treacherous?  Why are you silent while the wicked swallow up those more righteous than themselves?  14. You have made men like fish in the sea, like 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.  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?

Now Habakkuk is questioning God’s answer to his prayers!  Why are you silent while the wicked swallow up those more righteous than themselves?  God, how can you use these really evil people to discipline us?  Are you going to allow these evil people to just go around destroying all the nations without mercy?

Suddenly Habakkuk’s concerns have broadened!  While still worried about justice for Judea, now he is asking how many nations is God going to allow to be destroyed by the evil Babylonians.   How can this be Gods answer to Habakkuk’s prayers?

As Christians do we have faith in God’s actions?  If things seem to go from bad to worse, will we question God’s power and control over the situation?  Will we have the faith to believe in our hearts that the Creator of the Universe really has everything under control?  We do not know what the future holds in the near term but we do know the final outcome of world events.  We must have faith that the God who created the Universe is just and has both the present and future in his control.  God has a perfect plan and we must play our part in that plan.  To know what part we play we need to have a personal relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ.  Not an “I’ll call out to you if I get in trouble” relationship; but a daily conversation, seeking his guidance step by step kind of relationship.

Then when we see God’s hand moving in world events we can say; “Praise God for his power and glory and answers to prayer!”

Regular Joe

Related articles

• Sermonette: God’s Use For Evil (worthyofthegospel.wordpress.com)
• A Minor Prophet with a Major Message (anotherchristianblog.org)
• Scary Bible Verses We Love to Quote (A Case for Context) Part 2 (thesalvationtimes.wordpress.com)