A Bible Study on the
Book of Habbakuk
With
today's headlines of evil and disasters everywhere, we find ourselves with a
similar complaint as the one made by the prophet Habbakuk. While we may agree
with his complaint, let us also agree with his conclusion of a confession of
trust and joy in the Lord.
Just as I am sure many of us have wondered, Habbakuk actually went before
the Lord and asked the age old question. Why does God allow evil to go
unpunished? Of course, if we understand anything about Scriptures, we know that
sin will be punished and faith will be rewarded. The solution, of course, is to
trust that God is sovereign and in complete control of all things. We are
to wait upon Him and rest in Him, believing Him when He says, "vengeance is
mine, I will repay...saith the Lord" Romans 12:19.
Jeremiah 29:11 tells us that God has a plan for us, one that will not harm
us but one that will give us a hope and a future that is for our good. God's
answer to Habbakuk confirms this message for us. In verse 5 of Chapter 1, God
says "I am going to do something in your days you would not believe if I
told you." God does not overlook evil and He is not powerless to do
anything about it. We will see that evil, along with everything else, serves
God's purposes in this world.
Chapter 1 from verse 7 through Chapter 2 verse 10, we see a portrait of the
evil in Habbakuk's day and will notice that it is very much like the world
today. Verse 7 begins by saying "the wicked are feared and dreaded,
they are a law to themselves," meaning they are arrogant without
concern for what is right or wrong. They make up their own rules as they go.
Verse 11 goes on to explain that "they promote their own honor, they
are "swift as leopards, fiercer than wolves", "bent on violence,"
and they "gather prisoners and the oppressed" while they "scoff
at rulers." Sound like anyone you know? It seems as if today's entire
society deny authority, rebel against religion and violence appears to be the
order of the day. The Columbine murders and the Atlanta killings are sheer
examples of the wickedness and evilness of the world. Chapter 2 begins to
explain the personality of the wicked, verse 4 says they "are puffed up with
pride," their "desires are not upright" "they are never at
rest", their "greed is never satisfied," and they "plot the
ruin of others." This sounds like the average John Doe today. He is
self-willed, having no respect for righteousness and goodness, he is full of
pride believing he is in control of his own destiny. His greed is never
satisfied, the more he gets the more he wants. The restlessness of souls can be
seen in the fast-past environment of today. Some of the mottos are: "get all you
can get, as fast as you can get it, before anyone else can get it;" "every man
for himself" and "you have to look out for #1."
In such a degenerated world, how
are we as Christians are to respond?
Again, God does not leave us without an answer. Chapter 3 will direct our hearts in how we should respond and what we can expect from the Lord. Verse 1 begins by saying, "remember the goodness of the Lord in the past." Remembering the past track record of the Lord will comfort your heart every time. When looking back over our lives, we can all see times where we knew the Lord worked things out for us. I always say, if He did it once, He will do it again. Romans 1:17, Galatians 3:1 and Hebrew 10:38 all reveal that "the just shall live by faith."
The
prophet Habbakuk began to recall the deeds God had performed for Israel in the
past; i.e., the Egyptian oppression and God's deliverance through Moses; the
parting of the Red Sea; all of Joshua, David and Solomon's conquests. Sometimes,
we become so familiar with these stories that we begin to view them as only
stories. But on the contrary, they are actual accounts of God's interference on
behalf of His people.
We can place our faith in a God full of glory and power. How is God's glory
and power revealed? Verses 2-11 says God's glory is revealed in the sunrise,
clouds, thunder, sun and moon. We can all expect God to be God and that He
will deliver His people. He will "crush the head of the wicked, strip him
head to toe and his spear will pierce his own heart." There is an end to
wickedness and evil. God will deliver us. Satan will be exposed for the vile,
wicked one that he is. But, I believe this is God's business. Our business is to
do what God calls us to do.
Verses 16
and 17 are God's direction for us. He says we are to respond in reverent awe of
who God is. Like, Habbakuk, our "hearts should pound" our "lips
quiver at the sound of His Word", with our "legs trembling,"
waiting "patiently" upon the Lord.
Now we have gotten to the real problem we have under these circumstances:
Waiting on the Lord. We can all wait as long as we believe we will get an
answer right away. But, should some time go by and we have yet to see an answer
or the deliverance we are waiting for, we begin to panic and most times give up.
We should learn the lesson of faith that Habbakuk learned from this encounter
with the Almighty. He learned to trust that God will provide what he needs
regardless of the circumstances and while the circumstances do not change, he is
to continue to rejoice in the Lord.
Verses 18-19 gives us an analogy of situations that do not look as if they
are going to change. God tells Habbakuk that he is to rejoice, even though the "trees
do not bud" meaning even when there are no opportunities available at the
time. Rejoice even though there are "no grapes on the vine" meaning the
supply is low and your need remains. Rejoice even when the "olive crop
failed" meaning even in the face of disappointment and failure. Rejoice
even when the "field produce no food" and there are "no sheep or
cattle." Even when we do not see a way out or the provisions, we are to
rejoice in the fact that God will provide because He is faithful and just. There
are 2 things I know of that God cannot do. He cannot lie and He cannot change.
So, we can stand on His Word and count on it never to change. We can count on
God to do His part. The question is, can He count on us?
It has
always surprised me to know that people in Biblical days struggled with a lot of
the same hardships and weaknesses we struggle with. I do find, however, that
their faith was rooted a lot deeper than ours. I am not sure of the exact reason
for this, I can only guess that it has something to do with our "do it yourself"
world.
Unlike Habbakuk's society, man is more self sufficient in his thinking
today. With knowledge at our fingertips (i.e., computers and the internet and
the many technological advances), man has been allowed to feel powerful and in
control. We have lost our sense of dependence upon God. I believe because of
this, God has left man to his own devices.
Although Habbakuk's society would be considered primitive in light of
today's standards, I believe it is the simplicity of their lifestyle that
resulted in the development of a deeper sense of God. Therefore, even in their
humanness, their faith outshines ours leaving us feeling somewhat bewildered.
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