HABAKKUK, FROM COMPLAING TO TRUSTING IN TRIALS

Habakkuk 1-3

(Much of the material in this sermon has been taken from C.J.Mahaney’s book Humility)

 

INTRODUCTION Before I left on my trip I may have tried your patience by preaching on patience in trials, adversity, and suffering from James 5:7-11. I preached four messages from that section with the main emphasis of James command in verse 7, “Be patient brothers!” For most people-the command of James, and all my teaching on patience, most quickly evokes the response "Bill that is easier said than done".  To help us get beyond our difficulty, I want to take you, by way of Holy Scripture. into the presence of some­one for whom life did not make sense, someone whose horizon foretold appalling and dreadful suffering for him­self and God's people, and yet who learned a divine perspective on suffering and trials-a perspective that altogether transformed him from a complainer and a ques­tioner into a faith-filled worshiper of God. His name was one that after today I hope that you will remember well: Habakkuk. To help us lay hold of that divine perspective, I invite you to join me in the presence of this prophet Habakkuk. I believe we all need to listen intently to Habakkuk so we can emulate his example when our circumstances seem to contradict the character and promises of God. And let me assure you: At some point in your life, you will know circumstances that seem to contradict the character and promises of God, if you haven't already; at some moment in your future, life will not make sense. That is why we should strive to develop a theology of suffering ahead of time, so that we will be prepared for suffering and sustained throughout our experience of it. Because the crucial unanswered question is not whether we will suffer, but how we'll respond when we suffer. Habakkuk, as someone who has given the subject of evil and suffering much thought, can greatly help us here. He allowed his own outlook to be adjusted so that he no longer lived with false expectations. He was transformed by a divine perspective that prepared him for suffering more severe than anything you and I will likely ever know. You may, even now, be confronting tragedy. If so, Habakkuk would like to have a word with you, to both comfort and strengthen you. And if you aren't currently suffering, Habakkuk would like to prepare you for the inevitable.

I.OUR FIRST VIEW OF HABAKKUK: CONFUSED AND COMPLAINING (Habakkuk 1:1-4, 12-17) When we're first introduced to Habakkuk, we hear a godly but confused prophet complaining before God, "0 h Lord, how long shall I cry for help and you will not hear?" (Habakkuk 1:2). He's confused because in looking around at God's people he sees rampant apostasy- and disobedience and oppression, which God seems to be tolerating. He asks "Why do you idly look at wrong?  (1:3). He accuses God of irresponsible idleness while “the wicked surround the righteous" and "justice goes forth perverted" (1:4). Amos had warned the northern kingdom that injustice would bring judgment, and in 722 BC Assyria swept the northern kingdom away. Now here is the southern kingdom of Judah, 130 years later, guilty of the same offenses. They had not learned anything from history. We must remember here that God was in no way obligated to respond to any complaint from Habakkuk, himself a sinner. But God mercifully and graciously does respond in verses 5-11. He lets Habakkuk know that He has every intention of disci­plining His people, but not in a way Habakkuk could have anticipated. As the instrument to punish and to purify His people, God plans to send an invasion force from the Babylonians (Chaldean’s) -a proud, ruthless, godless nation. This invasion eventually happened at the end of the sixth century BC, and Jerusalem fell to Nebuchadnezzar in 586 BC. Unlike Joel and Zephaniah and Amos, there is no mention of the possibility that destruction could be averted. God does not call for national repentance. It is too late. This is indeed a shock to Habakkuk's theological sys­tem. The prophet is horrified. How can a holy God use such an unholy means to discipline His people?  Habakkuk's complaints continue in verses 12-17. He asks God, "Why do you idly look at traitors and are silent when the wicked swallows up the man more righteous than he?" (1:13). Again he's accusing God of failing to maintain His own standards of holiness and righteousness. God's plan appears inconsistent with both His character and His promises.

II. GOD’S PROFOUND RESPONSE TO HABAKKUK’S COMPLAINT (Chapter 2) Once again God responds, and His response is an even greater expression of mercy toward Habakkuk and toward each of us. It's an answer that will transform Habakkuk, a change that will be on full display for us in the rest of this short book, and one that is fully relevant for each of us who has turned from our sins and trusted in the Savior, Jesus Christ. The first part of God's answer is centered on this state­ment: "The righteous shall live by his faith" (2:4; Romans 1:16)-which is good news for all of us. Faith in God is the key to gaining a divine perspective of perplexing and troubling circumstances. Second, Habakkuk learns from God that the way of the proud ultimately will not prosper, be they Israelite or Babylonian. God's purposes will ultimately prevail and be fulfilled: "For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD as the waters cover the sea" (2:14). His answer to the prophet then reaches a climax with these awesome words: "The LORD is in his holy temple-, let all the earth keep silence before him" (2:20).

III A TRANSFORMED HABAKKUK (Chapter 3) This encounter transforms Habakkuk's heart before God. For as the third and final chapter of this brief book begins, the prophet we now see bears no resemblance to the man we saw in chapters 1 and 2. He has been transformed from questioning to praying, from confusion to certainty, from being perplexed to fully trusting in God. What a surprise! A cataclysmic change has occurred in the disposition of Habakkuk’s heart, and yet there has been absolutely no improvement in his circumstances. Nothing has changed, and yet for Habakkuk's heart, everything has changed. He is no longer proud; his soul is no longer puffed up. Instead he is humbly trusting God.  Having been informed by God that the righteous one lives by his faith, Habakkuk has become an illustration and the personification of that truth. Faith is indeed what he's now living by. Three characteristics of his transformation are on par­ticular display in chapter 3 and they represent three prominent marks of anyone who is truly humble before God. Such a person is (1) prayerful before God, (2) waiting on God, and (3) rejoicing in God.

1. HABAKKUK MODELS GOD-CENTERED PRAYER Notice the quick declaration that begins chapter 3:1, "A prayer of Habakkuk the prophet, according to Shigionoth." But it is more than his own personal prayer. It is intended as a psalm to be used in worship. When it says "A prayer of Habakkuk the prophet, according to Shigionoth," it means that the prayer is to be used to musical accompaniment with a spirit of excitement and triumph. This is confirmed by two things: 1) the very last phrase of the book, in verse 19 "To the choirmaster: with stringed instruments," and 2) the use of "Selah" at the end of verses 3, 9, and 13. The reason this is important to see is that Habakkuk wants us to be able to sing this prayer with him. It is not here to merely inform us about Habakkuk's piety. It's here to show us how we should face trials. Habakkuk is no longer questioning God, but humbly and appropriately praying to God. And observe the content of his prayer. It isn't focused on his own needs or his confusion or his complaints about evildoers or the Babylonians; rather, it's distinctively and decidedly God-centered. "O LORD, I have heard the report of you, and your work, O LORD, do I fear" (3:2). Habakkuk has become preoccupied with God, and now he's passionate about God's activity and purpose in history: "Your work, O LORD, do I fear. In the midst of the years revive it; in-the midst of the years make it known" (3:2). Habakkuk has been assured of suffering. God has made it clear that the Babylonians will invade and there's no place to run, no place to hide. Habakkuk, along with all of God's people, will suffer. Yet what do we find Habakkuk praying in this same verse? "O LORD... in wrath remember mercy" (3:2). His plea for mercy is centered in a prayer for the fulfillment of God's purposes. Throughout the rest of Habakkuk's prayer in this chapter, he strengthens his faith through a historical review of the decisive events in the history of Israel's salvation, with an emphasis on the exodus. He acknowledges how God has dealt in history with a succession of Israel's enemies, and states his belief that God will eventually deal with the Babylonians as well. He knows God will act decisively for His peoples deliverance-“for the salvation of your people, for the salvation of Your anointed" (3:13). Notice especially the emphatic beginning of this review of God's salvation work: "God came..." (3:3). Habakkuk no longer sees God as being idle in response to His people. No, God came! Isn't this same truth at the heart of our own salvation history, in the person and work of our Savior? "Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners" (1 Timothy 1:15). "The Son of Man came... to give his life as a ransom for many" (Matthew 20:28). "The Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost" (Luke 19:10). God came! Jesus came! He hasn't been idle in the past, He isn't idle in the present, and He will not be idle in the future. Nor will He be for us!

2. HABAKKUK MODELS WAITING QUIETLY ON THE LORD

Habakkuk is a compelling example not only of prayer, but also of patience. He says, "I will quietly wait for the day of trouble to come upon people who invade us" (Habakkuk 3:16). God has promised to discipline His people, He has promised to judge the Babylonians, and He has promised to fill the earth with the knowledge of His glory; therefore, Habakkuk will wait humbly and quietly for the fulfillment of each promise, be it judgment or blessing.  Remember that Habakkuk knew nothing about Gods timing on all this. He didn't know the hour or the day, the didn't know the month or even the year-and normally. Neither do we. Though we find the promises of God throughout Scripture, they don't come with specific dates and times. Therefore, when our circumstances contradict God's character and promises, we're tempted to supply God with a time frame and demand that He fulfill His promises according to it. Habakkuk's example is different. He quietly waits-and that takes faith. It takes faith to wait tranquilly for something for which we have a promise from God, but no date. What promise has gone unfulfilled in your life so far? Marriage? Pregnancy? Healing? A particular promotion or position? Salvation for a loved one? Will you, like Habakkuk, quietly and humbly wait for God's fulfillment of His promise? If Habakkuk can wait quietly for divine action on the grand scale he had in view, then surely you and I can calmly yield to Gods timeline in our relatively little lives. Please don't misunderstand this. Waiting is not resigna­tion; waiting is an active trust in God to provide fulfillment in His perfect timing, according to His ultimate purpose of glorifying His Son.

3. HABAKKUK MODELS HUMBLY REJOICING IN OUR TRIALS Finally, fasten your eyes and attention on one of the most stunning and remarkable passages in all of Scripture, one that's found at the close of Habakkuk's book: “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.” (Habakkuk 3:17-18) Remember that this is not a mere fading away of some pleasant pastoral scene that Habakkuk is referring to. What's in view for him is the complete destruction of his people's land and livelihood. The circumstances he envi­sions are appalling and horrific. The "though" at the beginning of this passage is not hypothetical; Habakkuk understands keenly the acute­ness of suffering that he and his homeland will experience when the Babylonians invade. It will mean the loss not only of all luxuries but of all necessities-even to the extent that there is "no food." Habakkuk was by no means unaware of the Babylonians' methods as conquerors: They would pillage the entire land and capture and deport the people. There would be indiscriminate vio­lence and destruction. That was the reality Habakkuk faced. And his response? "Yet I will take joy”. When a man and a woman marry, they pledge their love and faithfulness to each other "for better or for worse, whether rich or poor, in sickness and in health, 'til death do us part." And if that's true between husband and wife, how much more between us and God! We are each other's, and we are God's, no matter how severe the tribulation. We trust each other, and we trust him absolutely. Here is truly the full and final resolution of the conflict we first saw raging in the prophets soul beginning in chap­ter l. Habakkuk at last is liberated from superficial, circumstantial happiness. The source and object of his rejoicing is God Himself "I will rejoice in the LORD, I will take joy in the God of my salvation." Habakkuk has discov­ered true joy, which transcends circumstances and exists even in the midst of severe suffering a joy found in God alone. And here alone is where you and I can find joy in the midst of our severest suffering. Without ignoring the reality of suffering, Habakkuk turned his attention away from it and fixed his gaze upon the more serious and critical issue of salvation. He turned away from temporary trials to discover joy in "the God of my salvation," the God who delivers him not only from present judgment, but, more important, from future judg­ment. That's why he can sing and why we can sing as well.

IV. WHAT IS YOUR RESPONSE IN SUFFERING? Let me tell you with genu­ine care and compassion that if you listen carefully to Habakkuk, you can move beyond it and learn to find joy in an unexpected place. I'm not minimizing your suffering or your pain; but I would also want to help you with a divine perspective that provides substantive help and has a life ­transforming effect. If, in your suffering, you discover the divine perspective Habakkuk experienced, you can know the same cataclysmic change that took place in his heart and life, a change so dramatic it could make you virtually unrecog­nizable to your friends and family.  Here's what Habakkuk learned: Those who know true joy in the midst of suffering are those who recognize that, in this life, our suffering is never as great or as serious as our sins. As Jonathan Edwards wrote, "How far less [are] the greatest afflictions that we meet with in this world ... than we have deserved!” That's a divine perspec­tive of suffering. Regardless of the severity of suffering we experience in this life, it will always be less than what we have deserved for our sins. So how will we respond when our circumstances seem to contradict God's character and promises? How will we react when God appears to be idle to us, when He seems to be tolerating sin and refusing to relieve suffering? How will we respond when life doesn't make sense? Will we resemble the Habakkuk of chapters I and 2? Or will we be more like the transformed prophet we hear from in chapter 3? Will we be complaining? Or trusting?

CLOSING THOUGHT May we look to Christ and rejoice, knowing the Lord's strength in the way Habakkuk described it in the book's concluding lines: GOD, the Lord, is my strength; he makes my feet like the deer's; he makes me tread on my high places. (Habakkuk 3:19). Habakkuk had a serious climb ahead of him, and so do we all. We'll face difficult terrain, but those mountains and high places can be transformed into opportunities and occasions to experience God's strength and to persevere ultimately to prevail by grace-as we humbly pray, as we humbly wait, and as we humbly rejoice. George Herbert, a seventeenth century pastor and poet wrote, “Away despair, my gracious Lord He doth hear; though winds and waves assault my keel, He does preserve it, He does steer,  Even when the boat seems most to reel, storms are the triumph His art, Well may He close His eyes, but not His heart.”  May we be enthralled like Herbert and Habakkuk with the amazing grace that banishes hopelessness from our hearts and let us learn from Herbert and from Habakkuk to say, “Away Despair!”