WEDNESDAY
We have all been in situations where things have gone from bad to worse-- where we have jumped from the frying pan into the fire. This is exactly the situation that Habakkuk finds himself in.
Throughout the writing of the minor prophets, Judah had continued in the process of spiritual decay. Foolish and unwise kings had lead the people into idolatry and the people ignored (for the most part) the message of the prophets. This all changed when Josiah became King. Josiah led his people into a season of reform. He repented on behalf of Judah and called on the people to do that same. Once again the nation was living in right relationship with Yahweh and their covenant relationship was being restored. Things were finally going well in Judah, or at least better than they had been. Then things began to change. Josiah died in a battle against the Egyptian army and the King of Egypt placed Josiah’s son, Jehoahaz as King. Jehoahaz brought Judah back to the worship of idols and to make matters worse, Necho II (the King of Egypt) returned to Judah, removed Jehoahaz and replaced him with his brother, Jehoiakim, who was a real piece of work. Jehoiakim would lead the people of Judah away from God and into their own destruction.
This is the context in which Habakkuk is speaking. He has seen the decay in the people of Judah from the time that Josiah reigned as king. The people were on the verge of revival and Habakkuk watched it all unravel. He saw the people of God return to the mistakes of their fathers and grandfathers. This is how the book begins; Habakkuk is crying out to God and asking Him to intervene.
Throughout the writing of the minor prophets, Judah had continued in the process of spiritual decay. Foolish and unwise kings had lead the people into idolatry and the people ignored (for the most part) the message of the prophets. This all changed when Josiah became King. Josiah led his people into a season of reform. He repented on behalf of Judah and called on the people to do that same. Once again the nation was living in right relationship with Yahweh and their covenant relationship was being restored. Things were finally going well in Judah, or at least better than they had been. Then things began to change. Josiah died in a battle against the Egyptian army and the King of Egypt placed Josiah’s son, Jehoahaz as King. Jehoahaz brought Judah back to the worship of idols and to make matters worse, Necho II (the King of Egypt) returned to Judah, removed Jehoahaz and replaced him with his brother, Jehoiakim, who was a real piece of work. Jehoiakim would lead the people of Judah away from God and into their own destruction.
This is the context in which Habakkuk is speaking. He has seen the decay in the people of Judah from the time that Josiah reigned as king. The people were on the verge of revival and Habakkuk watched it all unravel. He saw the people of God return to the mistakes of their fathers and grandfathers. This is how the book begins; Habakkuk is crying out to God and asking Him to intervene.
Listen to how God responds, (Habakkuk 1:5-11):
5 “Look at the nations and watch—
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.
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.
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.
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;
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[b] advance like a desert wind
and gather prisoners like sand.
Their hordes[b] 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.
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.”
What? The Babylonians? That is the answer to Habakkuk’s call for intervention in Judah? The Babylonians were ruthless and brutal people who heaped death and destruction on nearly everyone that crossed their paths. Habakkuk essentially says, “Your going to deal with the disobedience of Israel by ushering in a nation that is even worse off than we are?” Things have literally gone from bad to worse.
One of the central questions that Habakkuk asks is why? Why would God use a people as brutal and unjust as the Babylonians to accomplish his purposes in Judah?
The message of Habakkuk’s proclamation is that God’s primary purpose is to restore His people to right relationship with Himself, by any means necessary. God makes it clear to Habakkuk that the Babylonians would eventually be held accountable for their brutality and cruelty, but in the meantime, they would be the very instrument that God would use to call His people to return to Himself. I love how God describes this in verse 5 saying, “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.”
This is not to say that every pain, struggle, injustice and challenge that we experience is the result of some disobedience in our lives. Scripture is clear that we encounter these things for a variety of reasons and often times we might not know in the midst of it. However, what Habakkuk does make clear, is the degree to which God will go in order to pursue us. It is a measure of His love... even if it requires using the most unlikely of means.
Pastor Sterling Moore
guilty men, whose own strength is their god.”
What? The Babylonians? That is the answer to Habakkuk’s call for intervention in Judah? The Babylonians were ruthless and brutal people who heaped death and destruction on nearly everyone that crossed their paths. Habakkuk essentially says, “Your going to deal with the disobedience of Israel by ushering in a nation that is even worse off than we are?” Things have literally gone from bad to worse.
One of the central questions that Habakkuk asks is why? Why would God use a people as brutal and unjust as the Babylonians to accomplish his purposes in Judah?
The message of Habakkuk’s proclamation is that God’s primary purpose is to restore His people to right relationship with Himself, by any means necessary. God makes it clear to Habakkuk that the Babylonians would eventually be held accountable for their brutality and cruelty, but in the meantime, they would be the very instrument that God would use to call His people to return to Himself. I love how God describes this in verse 5 saying, “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.”
This is not to say that every pain, struggle, injustice and challenge that we experience is the result of some disobedience in our lives. Scripture is clear that we encounter these things for a variety of reasons and often times we might not know in the midst of it. However, what Habakkuk does make clear, is the degree to which God will go in order to pursue us. It is a measure of His love... even if it requires using the most unlikely of means.
Pastor Sterling Moore
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