[Read Habakkuk 1:5-11]
Sometimes we come to God with questions but don’t always like the way He answers. We can be like the child who comes to their parent because they’re bored. They ask their parent, “Can I do something?” and the parent responds, “Yes. I have just the thing for you. Take out the garbage and clean your room.” Not the answer they were looking for. Or we can be like the person who keeps asking God for patience and God keeps slowing things down, giving them the opportunity to learn patience, right? We don’t like that answer either.
Last week we talked about how Habakkuk was coming to God with his unpretty prayers of grief and anger. He had been continually asking God to do something about the strife and contention and violence and injustice he saw in the world around him. He asked God, “How much longer before you do something?” When He answers Habakkuk, God fully understands that He’s not giving Habakkuk the answer He is expecting.
God says, “Look among the nations, and see; wonder and be astounded. For I am doing a work in your days that you would not believe if told.” (Habakkuk 1:5, ESV). He begins by telling Habakkuk to look outside of his own little bubble and look among the nations. It’s so easy to become very narrow focused when we’re frustrated or grieving. We easily turn in on ourselves more and more and miss what’s going on around us. So, God tells Habakkuk to look beyond the borders of Israel. Look at what’s going on among the nations and be astounded because God is at work.
This is also a reminder that God does see the bigger picture. We believe that God is omniscient—which means that he knows everything—and we believe that God is omnipresent—which means that he is present everywhere—and we believe that God is in control of everything. So, if anyone can see the bigger picture of what is happening, it’s God, right? God knows more than Habakkuk knows and sees more than Habakkuk sees. Yes, God sees the mess that is happening in Israel, but he also sees what is happening in the nations surrounding Israel. There’s more going on than Habakkuk realizes.
So God reminds Habakkuk that He sees the bigger picture and reminds Habakkuk that He is at work—even though Habakkuk doesn’t see it or understand it. But God also tells Habakkuk that even if He told him what He was doing, Habakkuk wouldn’t believe Him. Even if God explicitly came down to Habakkuk and showed him the bigger picture and told him the plan, Habakkuk wouldn’t believe it. Why? Because it’s not the answer that Habakkuk was looking for.
God says, “I am doing a work in your day. I’m not idly sitting by doing nothing, but you’re not going to like the work I’m doing.” He says, “For behold, I am raising up the Chaldeans, that bitter and hasty nation, who march through the breadth of the earth, to seize dwellings not their own. They are dreaded and fearsome; their justice and dignity go forth from themselves.” (Habakkuk 1:6–7, ESV). The work that the Lord is doing—the answer to Habakkuk’s prayers—is that He is raising up the Chaldeans—better known as the Babylonians—to come and bring judgment upon Israel. That’s not the answer Habakkuk was looking for.
It’s interesting to notice that God never rebukes Habakkuk for his unpretty prayer and God never corrects him for falsely accusing Israel of wrongdoing. God agrees with Habakkuk’s explanation of the world around him. When Habakkuk comes to God and says, “All I see around me is violence and strife and contention and injustice.” God looks at it and says, “Yep. That’s what I see too. I’m doing something about it. I’m bringing judgment upon Israel for their wickedness.”
Now, we don’t like to talk about God’s judgment anymore, do we? It’s not a new thing. Throughout the centuries there have been various false teachers who have tried to ignore/wipe out any concept of God’s judgment and say something like, “Well, God is love. He doesn’t do that anymore.” That’s just wrong. Along with all of the beautiful promises from God that he will never leave us nor forsake us, and that he will provide for us and protect us, are other promises that he will not leave the wicked unpunished. That’s just as much of a promise as the other ones.
Yet, when we talk about God’s judgment, especially in this passage, we cannot forget what we talked about last week. Habakkuk has been praying for a long time, asking God to do something about the wickedness he saw. He was frustrated that God hadn’t acted sooner. He was frustrated with God’s patience.
Yes, I said, God’s patience. It’s important to remember that God didn’t hastily rush in with judgment upon Israel’s wickedness. He was patient. He kept sending prophet after prophet after prophet to correct them and guide them. But they refused to listen. They hardened their hearts and ignored God. But God continued to be patient with them. In Romans, we learn WHY God is patient: “Or do you presume on the riches of his kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that God’s kindness is meant to lead you to repentance?” (Romans 2:4, ESV). God’s kindness and patience is meant to lead people to repentance. God didn’t rush in with judgment upon God’s people because He was patiently waiting for them to repent and turn from their wickedness. He was looking down on them saying, “How much longer?” But they continued to harden their hearts and refuse his correction. So, eventually, when gentle correction isn’t working, He does things the hard way and brings judgment upon that wickedness.
There’s one little line in here that we cannot miss. It’s subtle but it’s there to sting a little bit. It’s there to show Habakkuk—and Israel—how far they’ve fallen. He describes Babylon as a nation who “[seizes] dwellings not their own.” (Habakkuk 1:6, ESV). Does that line ring a bell with you? Listen to his line from Deuteronomy, describing the land God had promised His people: “And when the LORD your God brings you into the land that he swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give you—with great and good cities that you did not build, and houses full of all good things that you did not fill, and cisterns that you did not dig, and vineyards and olive trees that you did not plant—and when you eat and are full, then take care lest you forget the LORD, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.” (Deuteronomy 6:10–12, ESV). God told Israel that he would bring them into a land that was not their own, give them cities that were not their own, and houses that were not their own. But they needed to be careful not to forget the Lord who gave them these things. Now, they’ve forgotten their God. So he is raising up a nation to come against them—a nation who “[seizes] dwellings not their own.” (Habakkuk 1:6, ESV). This is a strong image for God’s people about how far they’ve fallen. They are about to lose the land that God has given them and promised them.
And God goes on to describe this nation in great detail, doesn’t he? He says, “Their horses are swifter than leopards, more fierce than the evening wolves; their horsemen press proudly on. Their horsemen come from afar; they fly like an eagle swift to devour.” (Habakkuk 1:8, ESV). They’re able to move quickly. He goes on to say, “They all come for violence, all their faces forward. They gather captives like sand. At kings they scoff, and at rulers they laugh. They laugh at every fortress, for they pile up earth and take it.” (Habakkuk 1:9–10, ESV). They come upon cities with great force, everyone together, and they win. They laugh at kings and rulers because there’s no stopping them. They laugh at fortresses and earth mounds because they will not hinder them from conquering a city. So this is a nation whose army is fast and powerful.
I have to admit, that when I read this at first, I scratched my head for a while, wondering why God was going into such detail about the Babylonian army. Why does he keep going on and on about how fast they are and how powerful they are? It almost seems like He’s rubbing it in a bit, doesn’t it? And some commentators said that God is doing this to terrify the people—to show them what is going to happen to them and to show them the end result of their wickedness. To some degree, I think that’s right, but there’s more going on deeper.
Yes, God is doing this to terrify the people, but he’s terrifying them in a particular way. He’s removing all of their idols. He’s removing all of their false things in which they place their hope.
So, it would have been easy for Israel to hear about the Babylonians being raised up and to brush it off by saying, “Oh, they’re really far away. There’s no way they’re going to come this far and come after a little nation like ours. And, even if they did, it’s going to take a really long time for them to get here. We don’t have to worry.” So, God says, “No, you do need to worry. This army moves faster than a leopard. It’s like an eagle sweeping across the face of the earth. Don’t put your hope in time and distance. They will be here before you know it.”
In response, Israel could have said, “Okay. Fine. They’re fast, but we have friends. We know people. We have alliances with other kings and kingdoms who will protect us. We don’t need to worry. They’ll save us.” So, God says, “No, you do need to worry. Those kings and kingdoms will not save you. This country laughs at kings and kingdoms. No kingdom has been able to stand against them.” So, Israel responds, “Okay. Fine. But we have fortresses and earth mounds…” “Nope. Those aren’t going to help you either. This nation is coming to bring judement upon your wickedness because you have turned your back on your God. You cannot turn to any of these other things for hope and comfort. They will not help you.” So, they’re terrified because they had placed their hope and trust in all of these things, but none of them could truly save them. And when you lose everything in which you’ve placed your hope and trust, it’s a terrifying experience.
This is why we need to put our hope and trust in something that can never be taken away, can never disappear, will never leave us nor forsake us. We need to place our hope and trust in our God. And, that’s why He’s doing what He’s doing. Remember, we’re told in Romans, “Or do you presume on the riches of his kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that God’s kindness is meant to lead you to repentance?” (Romans 2:4, ESV). Why hasn’t God brought judgment? Why has God been patient? Because He wants people to repent and place their hope and trust in Him. He doesn’t want people to place their hope and trust in things that will let them down and fail them. That’s a terrifying experience. Rather, he works and acts so that people will turn from these things and place their hope and trust in Him.
That’s also why he eventually brings judgment. If the gentle correction doesn’t work, God will ratchet things up a notch. He will eventually begin to take away all of these frail things in which you are putting your hope and trust. That’s really what judgment is, isn’t it? You place your hope and trust in armies? Eventually God will take it away so that you put your hope and trust in him. You place your hope and trust in money? Eventually God will take it away so that you place your hope and trust in him. You put your hope and trust in a piece of land? Eventually God will take it away so that you place your hope and trust in him. His judgment is never for judgment’s sake. It’s always for our own good and for His glory.
That’s something that’s really important for us to remember. God’s ways are higher than our ways and God often works in mysterious ways. And one of the things we can read throughout the Bible is that God is able to bring judgment and blessing at the same time. He can discipline and judge a people for their wickedness, but use that same judgment and discipline to draw them back to himself and give them a peace that surpasses understanding. Judgment and blessing at the same time. Or we can watch God judge a nation, scatter it throughout the earth, but then use those scattered people like grains sowed across the globe, which will begin to grow where they’ve been planted and his kingdom will continue to grow and advance. Judgment and blessing at the same time.
You know, last week I spent quite a bit of time talking about how our current situation is similar to Habakkuk’s situation. And I think, as unpopular as it may be to say, the United States is in a place where we deserve the judgment of God. I think we need to recognize that and we need to recognize that God has been gently correcting us over and over and over again, and we’re not listening. I also think we need to recognize that the only reason God hasn’t brought a more severe judgment upon our country is because of His grace and mercy. He’s being patient because he wants us to repent and turn to him.
But, we need to bring this message much closer to home. We not only need to recognize that our country deserves the judgment of God, each one of us needs to recognize that WE deserve the judgment of God. If we’re honest with ourselves, the strife and contention and violence and injustice we see in the world around us, is in our own heart. We deserve the judgment of God. Yet, because of his grace and mercy, he hasn’t brought that judgment upon you. Why? Because he wants you to repent and turn to him in faith. He wants you to stop placing your trust in vain things that will let you down and disappoint you. He wants you to experience the peace of placing all of your hope and trust in Him—the eternal, unshakeable God who created the universe. If you keep waiting, if you keep placing your trust in these other things, God will continue to come after you, slowly removing each hopeless idol and it will be a rough go for a while. So, stop waiting, stop putting your hope and trust in these hopeless things. Repent and believe. Place your trust in our patient and merciful God.