Habakkuk 1:1-4 - Prayer and the Problem of Evil

Welcome back to Strength for the Day. And I am here as always with my good friend, Pastor Dennis Fountain of the Moses Lake Baptist Church.

I'm glad you called me a friend.

Yep. I look up to you. I don't really have a choice.

But both in your uprightness of character and uprightness of your physical stature, I look up to you.

Okay.

Both.

I'm glad you didn't say uprightness of like weight or something like that.

Because that way I don't even know what uprightness of weight would be.

I don't either, but I just thought you're going to call me fat.

Yeah. Well, you know what?

I've been working out more. Come on, man.

Yeah, you have been, and I'm proud of you. You're welcome. But we are beginning a brand new study today.

Yeah. And I'm going to call on you to do a task that I didn't tell you that you were going to do before we started recording. We're beginning the Book of Habakkuk.

Yes.

And it is a short book.

56 verses.

Yep.

It is one of the 12 minor prophets that if you look at some Old Testament collections that the Jews would have had maybe during the time of Christ, all 12 of those minor prophets were combined in one book called the Book of the Twelve.

And this is kind of one of those things that's hidden away in scripture. Some people have no idea it exists.

Right.

If you gave them a list of like Jedidiah, Hagariah, Habakkuk, and...

I've never heard Hagariah...

. and Zebulon. If you ask people, hey, which of these is an actual Book of the Bible?

I don't know that a ton of Christians might know that Habakkuk is one of those books, but it's important. It's in God's word.

Great book.

Can you give us some of the historical background, some of the biblical background to what's happening in the Book of Habakkuk? Why is this written?

Sure. So I think, and you can probably speak to this even more than I can. When you look at the Book of Habakkuk, there's a lot of parallels.

Would that be right? Parallels to our day and age?

Yeah.

Like just a ton. So for those of you listening and watching, like Habakkuk is ministering at a time. We actually just talked about this.

Jehoiakim would have been king.

Some king of what nation?

Jehoiakim would be king of Judah. So this is where we're at. Israel at this time, 6, I don't know, like 680 BC?

When they get overthrown, 692?

I think it's, see, this is the stuff we need to read beforehand. Is it like 685 BC?

It is something like that, BC. Yeah, not 80, sorry. BC.

So anyway, Israel, the nation of Israel is no longer a nation. Remember the 10 or 12 tribes of Israel.

Old Testament specifically had been divided up into the 10 of the north, which should be Israel north, and then Judah and Simeon, Simeon as Judah, as the tribe of Judah that would be down south.

And so Israel of north has been taken out, God as our aid, and because of their sin and their wickedness before the Lord.

By what nation?

The first time, well, Israel. Yeah. Was it Babylon?

It wasn't Babylon. Assyria. See, that's where you should be doing this.

And the date is 586 BC is the date.

Is when Israel is when Babylon came to Judah, comes and destroys Judah.

So 600s, this is where this is. You have a king Hezekiah that is reigning. We can read about him in the Book of Isaiah and Second Kings.

And then Hezekiah, God came to him and said like, Hey, I'm going to judge you and Israel. He repents, turns back to God. God gives him 15 more years.

He has a son, though Manasseh, who Manasseh reigns as a wicked king, reigns for over 50 years. And then God takes him out. And then you have his son that became king, which was who?

Is that one Asa?

So, I think, well, no, Josiah.

Oh, Josiah, great.

Josiah, that's king.

I was like, wait, is it Asa? No, it's Josiah. So he was reigned at eight years old.

And he would reign for 31 years. It would be under Josiah that Israel would experience, or that Judah would experience revival, because he finally like found the word of God and was reintroduced. And so he reigned for 31 years.

At the age of 39, he made a very poor decision and went to war, and God told him not to, and he disobeyed, and God judged him, and he died.

So now, fast forward a few years later, Israel is no more, Judah is still there, Jehoiakim is king, and Hezekiah, surrounded by-

Habakkuk.

Or Habakkuk, excuse me, Hezekiah was the king. Habakkuk, just surrounded by wickedness, is now writing really a prayer. Really, when you look at the Book of Habakkuk, it's just, okay, so it's a discussion.

Really, Habakkuk is a discussion between Habakkuk and God. And in his day and age, here's where the parallel comes in. In his day and age, it seemed like sin was going without punishment, and God's people were involved in that sin.

Immorality had come very much into the people of Israel and Judah, the Hebrew people, and of course, prophets of God were up and speaking to the people on behalf of God. That's actually not Habakkuk's case.

Habakkuk's case is he's, if I can say it this way, he's just taking a bunch of complaints to the Lord, like God, what's going on with this? Look at this wickedness. When are you going to step in?

And that's really what the book is about. So I don't know if that's what you're looking for in the question, but that's kind of the context of it. And I love, I really do love it, just even as we've studied for this, remind.

I actually was like, man, I need to preach through Habakkuk. We need to do this. So we'll see, maybe 2025.

There you go.

Seems like a long ways away now. But yeah, so that's some of the context of what Habakkuk is dealing with. It's a nation in horrible turmoil and desperate wickedness.

And you can read through Second Kings and Second Chronicles to kind of get a little bit of the picture of the specific sins that they were dealing with. You can read through, man, Isaiah and Jeremiah.

Jeremiah would be a great kind of parallel thing that you might look at as far as some of them.

Yeah, from years before.

Yeah, for some of the sins that Judah was committing. That led to then what Habakkuk is saying here. So I'm going to read the first four verses.

We'll talk about that a little bit and then see if we go a little bit further into the book. But let's start off with reading the burden, the prophecy, which the prophet Habakkuk saw. Here's his question to the Lord.

O Lord, how long shall I cry? And you will not hear. Even cry out to you, there is violence, and you will not save.

Why do you show me iniquity and cause me to see trouble? For plundering and violence are before me. There is strife and contention arises.

Therefore the law is powerless, and justice never goes forth. For the wicked surround the righteous, therefore perverse judgment proceeds.

So here Habakkuk is laying out, hey, God, there is a ton of sin, and the people that are supposed to be restraining evil, the rulers, the leaders, the princes, as we can read about in other books of the prophets, they're not doing anything, first of

all, to restrain evil, and secondly, they are participating in evil. So he goes, hey, God, what is going on?

Like, there's no justice, these are supposed to be your people, and they are not behaving like your people, and I'm calling on you to do something. Does that ring a bell for you? Does that sound or seem familiar to our day and age?

Well, yeah, I mean, that's where we look at what we said just a minute ago, like, there's so much great comparison in his day and our day, like sin is running rampant, and unfortunately, there's a lot of that which is Christian, and for those not

watching, you know, the quotation marks, they're called Christian, but people, Christians aren't acting like Christians, aren't living for the Lord. Churches that aren't really worshiping God, they're instead worshiping their church or the man in

their church, or, you know, just what they're doing. Or the culture around them. Or the culture, yeah. It's just, sin has infiltrated our culture so much that I think we could look at Habakkuk and very quickly go, huh, same thing.

Talking about violence, so talking about murders. And not just murders, but just like heinous acts of crime against humanity that was taking place, and God's not saving.

He says, why do you show me iniquity and cause me to see trouble for plundering and violence are before me? Like, hey, I'm seeing all of the sin and all of the distress in our culture. There's strife and contention that's arising.

I mean, the pride and the bitterness that's taking root. The law is powerless and justice never goes forth. For wicked surround the righteous, therefore perverse judgment proceeds.

What you just said, like, it has infiltrated even the government.

Yeah.

And man, you look at, I mean, I don't know if we have people to watch this from other nations, but you look at America. Like America, I was talking with somebody just recently. I might have even said it last week preaching.

America is not a Christian nation.

Yeah.

Like we, you know, we have this, oh, Christian, no. We were founded upon principles that are drawn from scripture. And I love, I'm an American, and I love the United States, and I love my country and our soldiers.

And I love all that. But we are not a Christian nation because Christ is not first in our nation, nor has he been first for a very long time.

And to one extent, as Baptist believers, there's an extent in which we want that, that we don't establish, you know, a state church where we punish nonbelievers. So in one extent, good.

The other side of that then is, okay, well, because we can't and don't want to enforce, you know, Christian righteousness in all of its aspects, other than basic things, what's sometimes referred to as second table stuff of murder, sexual crimes,

theft, those kinds of things. Where was I going with that? Oh, oh, so to the one side, we go, okay, well, we're not a Christian nation. Okay, well, we're kind of okay with that.

We've seen historically what happens when you have a Christian nation that ends up being more like Israel. That way, God, armed with God's law, does not do justice, that there is this violence. But at the same time, it brings some sorrow with it.

That because it's not a Christian nation, also because a nation can't get saved.

I think it's just the idea that it's a nation that fears God, and a nation that, of course, walks away from that.

I mean, because in all honesty, like, you know, your grandparents, your great grandparents, they would say, man, 50, 70 years ago, our nation seemed very Christian, and really it did. I mean, it wasn't...

Yeah, where you had the Bible in a more predominant, more esteemed way, much more so than now.

Yeah. So that's where I think Habakkuk, he had seen that take place in his world, of singing like, I am looking around, Lord, and there's murder and violence, and it's the government, and they're just as much a part of this.

As the people, as the people, and why aren't you doing something?

Yeah.

You know? So I don't know, you want to talk about that, or you want to keep reading?

Well, I'll just say one thing that I think I'm stealing from something you wanted to say. When we see those things happening, often our natural response is to complain to people. Yeah.

And what you mentioned earlier, I don't remember if we are recording or not, is what we ought to do is what Habakkuk says here, we ought to bring it to God.

Yeah.

And call on the one who is just and who is righteous, and say, God, our nation is in desperate need of you.

Yeah.

People are in desperate need of knowing you, and believing you, and following you, and what, did you have any other thoughts on that?

Well, I would say, I mean, I don't know, well, here's the way, I read my question. Do we keep going and get to 5 through 11, or are you going to talk about this for a second?

Well, we'll park it here.

We'll talk about this. So here's what I would say. Yeah, I 100% agree with you.

We, okay, we can look at it from one of a few perspectives. Number one, we could look at it and be like, man, Habakkuk praying for his nation, we need to pray for our nation. I would wholeheartedly agree with that.

I think that's needed. We talk about that often. And Paul wrote about that, pray first for kings, and there's so much there.

Yep. But I really look at this and I just talk about, I mean, I very much sympathize and empathize with Habakkuk. And here's where I would say this to our listener and those watching.

Like, have you ever had a situation in your life, and Bryon, I know you have, that you don't understand, and you're like, God, where are you? Like, God, what are you doing? Like, why are you allowing this?

I remember a just personal story. I remember a few years ago watching my dad as a pastor get maligned and mistreated and just, you know, just accused. It was just a horrific situation.

And I remember thinking, like, God, like, defend him. Like, he didn't do it. Defend him, you know?

And I just remember kind of complaining, and I was talking to a pastor, a friend of mine, complaining about this situation.

And I just remember him telling me, like, Dennis, like, bitterness is gonna ruin your life unless you just take this and give it to God.

And I think that if we're not careful, when we, for those listening and watching, when we have situations that bother us, that we don't know what to do with it, we have to choose to either complain to others and get frustrated at people and anger and

malicious malice and wrath and stuff that comes out of that.

I think we talked about that a few weeks ago.

Yeah, yeah, exactly.

And we allow that to happen. Or we bottle it up and we become bitter people. Or we complain and accuse God in the sense of like, he doesn't care, forget this.

Or the fourth option is to do what Habakkuk did. He did complain. And there is some accusation of like, God, where are you?

But if you go through the book, you can find it's from a heart that genuinely wants God to work and God to intervene. Not like, God, judge your people and come on, strike them dead. It's like, God, like, where are you in this?

And the lesson that I think, and this is what you hit on just a second ago, when I look at the first four verses, the lesson I think is, who am I going to with my frustrations and with my complaints?

And really, I think there's a very valuable lesson on prayer. I've been very much challenged by that in my own life lately, prayer and fasting. And, you know, God really does, I think of a verse I marked for this, Psalm 62, 8.

Well, verse 7 and 8, it says, And God is my salvation, and my glory, the rock of my strength. My refuge is in God. Trust in him at all times, you people.

Pour out your heart before him, because God is a refuge for us. Say la or stop and think about that. And the fact is that we really do have a God that we can trust in.

So I don't know, I'll throw it back to you for maybe closing remarks, but I would just say this to anyone listening, watching to us as well, like, realize that God really does care about our situation.

We'll see that in the next few verses, like God knows what's going on, but he really wants us to pour out our heart to him. So maybe today, as this launches out, maybe you would ask God to help you this week. God help me to pour my heart out to you.

Help me to genuinely take my concerns to you.

Maybe it's about your family or your work, or maybe there's a personal situation or some sin that's in your life that you just can't overcome, and you've been complaining to other people about life and your marriage and your family or work or

whatever. Maybe instead, a good thought this week would be, Lord, I want to take this to you. I want to learn from Habakkuk to say, God, I need you in this.

And again, that's not the main thrust of this passage of these first four verses, but I love Habakkuk's heart to say, God, what's going on? Where are you at? Because he really does genuinely want God's involvement.

So I don't know. What do you think?

Yeah. As I look at the verses, I see maybe three big things. One, God invites our questions and concerns and complaints and prayers.

It's a great thought.

Like, you read through Psalms, and we think, if someone talked to me like David is talking to God right now, but that's not how God views it, and God preserved it as inspired scripture to say, hey, I know what it is.

Jesus Christ on the cross.

Yeah.

My God, why have you forsaken me?

Well, can I say something real quick?

Yes, please do.

David, real fast, you talk about David. That's why the Bible says in Samuel that God looked about someone after his own heart. It's not somebody who was similar to God's character.

That's what people think. Oh, is that for God? That's not what it means.

A man after God's own heart is David sought God's heart.

Yeah.

Like, where are you in this? What is going on? I want to know what you're thinking.

Yeah.

And yeah, we read that sometimes, it can be like, whoa, but God invites that.

I love that thought. Yeah.

Go ahead. Sorry. No, no, totally.

So number one, God invites our questions, concerns, complaints, all of that. When you look at scripture, he always honors that versus when people complain about God to other people, there's a very different response.

You have the children of Israel in the wilderness. Yes, very different than Habakkuk or David.

Instead of complaining about God, they complain to God, which kind of brings me to the second thought, that realizing that there is something wrong in the nation or in an area of our life or in the world at large and calling on God and calling on his

character and righteousness is always a good thing to do. To ask God like, God, be faithful to your promises. God, you have said this. Will you follow through with it?

And we can see that throughout scripture, that different people throughout history have asked God, God, you said that you are this and I want to hold you to it. Like God, I'm praying your character and your promises.

And I think that's a great thing for us to do in times of heartache and hardship just like with your dad that we go, okay, God, I know that you are just, I know that you are the vindicator, the justifier of the righteous. I'm asking you to do that.

God, I know that you punish evil. I'm asking you to punish evil in this area. So that's a wonderful thing to do.

So he invites our complaints and our questions. It's a good thing to claim God's character and promises and pray and ask that he would follow through with those things. But then thirdly, I see that it takes time and it takes patience.

And especially in America, we like our microwave Christianity. We like our fast food Christianity, our Amazon One Day Prime Christianity, but our Amazon drone drop Christianity. But I see there in verse two, how long shall I cry?

You can cry out to your violence and you will not save. And there he just goes through and is like, hey, this has been going on a while. I have been praying these prayers.

I've been asking these things. And in the meantime, it doesn't mean that God isn't there. It doesn't mean that he isn't working.

You can look back on history and see that he doesn't do things immediately like we want him to. He does everything in his time.

So as we pray, as we cry out, as we pour out our hearts before him, as we complain, as we call on him, and his character and his righteousness, realize that we need to wait because he is God and we are not. And so we need to wait on his timetable.

He doesn't need to act on ours, which that takes humility. It takes us going, okay, God, I would do this faster, but I trust you. So today, pray the prayer that you maybe have kind of given up on.

Pray asking God, like claiming his character and his promises, which that affects then how we pray. Can we pray, hey, God, this is in accordance with your will, with your word, with your character.

But as we do that, like, pray today, pray with patience, pray with waiting. And continue to ask God to work. Maybe for a loved one that needs to accept Christ, or that has walked away from the Lord to return.

Maybe for a situation in which there needs to be reconciliation, and peace, and love being restored. All of those would be things that would be in accordance with God's will, with his character.

So that would be, I think, something that I would say, let's pray, let's pray with patience today.

That's a great thought. And so I want to, I just wrap up. We're out of time, but just tell you this.

I love what you said. God invites you. God invites us into his presence, invites us into prayer.

So this week, spend some extra time talking with the Lord about those needs. Like Bryon said, that you've been kind of pushing down the road and thinking, ah, I didn't give up on that. And God invites that.

So take your, pour out your heart to him, and know that we have a God we can trust. If you want to read ahead, we'll go from verses five, verse five, verse 11 next, maybe even further.

So we will see you next week as we continue our study in the Book of Habakkuk. Have a great week. Talk with the Lord and spending time with him.