A BIBLE STUDY ON THE BOOK OF HABBAKUK

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. In the meantime, we are to praise and worship Him just as He instructed Jehosephat to send the praise team up before the army of Israel. He also told them "Ye shall not need to fight in this battle: set yourselves, stand ye still, and see the salvation of the LORD with you" 2 Chronicles 20:17. As the praise team worshiped God on the battle field that day, God fought against the enemies of Israel and Jehosephat and the army did not even lift a finger in that war. As they began to sing and to praise, the LORD set ambushments against the children of Ammon, Moa, and mount Seir, which were come against Judah; and they were smitten. V. 22. This is a wonderful testimony of God's sovereign control of enemies that set themselves up against His people. Continue reading 2 Chronicles and see for yourself.

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 this 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 decayed 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 glory is revealed in the sunrise, clouds, thunder, storms, 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 a 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 that we need, 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 to never change. We can count on God to do His part. The question is, can He count on us to do ours?

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