Lord, I have heard the report about You; Lord, I stand in awe of Your deeds. Revive Your work in these years; make it known in these years."
“How long,
Lord, must I call for help and You do not listen
or cry out to
You about violence and You do not save?
Why do You
force me to look at injustice?
Why do You
tolerate wrongdoing?
Oppression and
violence are right in front of me.
Strife is
ongoing, and conflict escalates.”
(Habakkuk
1:2-3)
Habakkuk knew
that God was more than capable of changing a situation. He rules the
heavens and earth and could easily bring an end to violence or
injustice. So why was He delaying? Why was He allowing it?
Ever watch the
news and wonder this? See people killing and massacring others
violently and wonder, 'Where is God in all of this? Why is He
allowing this?'
What is sad
about war and violence is that so many innocent people pay the price.
I think about all the Syrian families and children fleeing their
country and living in refuge camps in Jordan because of the war and
violence. The families in Haiti still living in tents because of the
tremendous earthquake. Or all the children and families murdered and
tormented in Gulu by the LRA.
The Lord does
not delay forever. An example is Nineveh. God first turned away
His judgment against them because they repented. He did not desire
to destroy them. However, when they then turned back and continued
in violence, God took vengeance so that oppression would not rise up
for a second time. (Nahum 1:9)
When injustice
is continually done, we can know that God will not just overlook it
and allow it to go on forever. As Nahum proclaims, “The Lord is
slow to anger but great in power; the Lord will never leave the
guilty unpunished” (Nahum 1:3)
In God taking
vengeance, it is not out of cruelty but in righteousness. As an
example, if someone in your family was murdered, it would not be
justice to pat the murderer on the head, give him some money for the
road and let him go. One would expect that the murderer would
experience consequences (that would hopefully cause them to repent of
their actions) and that they would not be given the freedom to act
again.
It was in the Lord's protection of those who took refuge in Him that He was taking vengeance and coming against Nineveh. Nahum proclaims in Nahum 1:7, “The Lord is good, a stronghold in the day of distress; He cares for those who take refuge in Him.”
God acts in vengeance to
protect but also bring repentance when our trust is in the world. As an example, God came against Moab because they trusted in the world. Jeremiah prophesied that “Moab has
been at ease from his youth” and God would decant Moab by tipping
him over and emptying his vessels (Jer. 48:12-13). In Jer. 48:13
Jeremiah proclaims, “Moab shall be ashamed of Chemosh, As the house
of Israel was ashamed of Bethel, their confidence.”
Instead of
taking refuge in God as things became difficult, they took refuge in those things they trusted
in in the “year of their punishment.” (Job 48:44). As a result
of a lack of repentance and turning to God as a refuge, trusting in and holding onto
their idols caused them more pain.
The Lord
proclaims in Jeremiah 48:45-47,
“'Those who
fled stood under the shadow of Heshbon because of exhaustion.
But a fire
shall come out of Heshbon, a flame from the midst of Sihon,
And shall
devour the brow of Moab,
The crown of
the head of the sons of tumult.
Woe to you , O
Moab! The people of Chemosh perish;
For your sons
have been taken captive, and your daughters captive.
Yet I will
bring back the captives of Moab in the latter days', says the Lord.”
Heshbon is a
stronghold. They were trusting in their strongholds to protect them
during difficulty. Sihon was the king of Heshbon who, when the
Isrealites were coming out of Egypt, would not let them pass through
the land. [3] They came out against the Israelites and were defeated
by them.\
In this prophesy, Jeremiah could have been referring to a later king also named Sihon or using the situation with the Israelites where they had came out of captivity and were in exhaustion, still defeating their enemy for parallel understanding that God was in charge. Ultimately, God's purpose was to bring repentance and freedom.
In this prophesy, Jeremiah could have been referring to a later king also named Sihon or using the situation with the Israelites where they had came out of captivity and were in exhaustion, still defeating their enemy for parallel understanding that God was in charge. Ultimately, God's purpose was to bring repentance and freedom.
Habakkuk
is one who took refuge in God when life became difficult. And he knew that God was righteous and
more than capable of bringing forth justice. He prayed to God about
the injustice during the reign of Jehoiakim who was oppressing the
people as He could not understand why God was allowing it (Jer.
22:13).
One
commentary notes, “The deterioration of society had become a cause
of frustration and disappointment for the godly. plundering and
violence: Abuse of power, acts of injustice, and oppressive deeds
were common in Judah. strife … contention: The people of Judah
argued with each other and were involved in destructive litigation.”
[1]
God responded
to Habakkuk's prayer and cry for justice by telling him,
“Look at the
nations and observe– be utterly astounded!
For something
is taking place in your days
that you will
not believe when you hear about it.
Look! I am
raising up the Chaldeans,
that bitter,
impetuous nation that marches across the earth's open spaces
to seize
territories not its own.”
(Habakkuk
1:5-6)
On the one
hand, it had to feel like cool water running against a burn to be
told by God that He was going to act. But then God tells him not
that he was raising up the unjust Chaldeans to come against them.
They would be used to execute judgment and punish them (Hab. 1:12)
Habakkuk
responds in Hab 1:13,17, “Your eyes are too pure to look on evil,
and You cannot tolerate wrongdoing. So why do you tolerate those who
are treacherous? Why are You silent while one who is wicked swallows
up one who is more righteous than himself?... Will they [Chaldeans]
therefore empty their net and continually slaughter nations without
mercy?”
The Chaldean's
were tremendously evil and wicked. Commentary notes that this
so-called justice of the Chaldeans was not divine but rather
human.[2] Hab. 1:7 says, “they are fierce and terrifying; their
views of justice and sovereignty stem from themselves.”
But in
His plan, God would use them to bring about His righteous purposes.
He works all things, even in evil, to our good (Romans 8:28). An
example of this is in Genesis 50:20 where Joseph's brothers had
plotted to murder him but then sold him into slavery instead. Joseph
told his brothers as God brought about justice out of evil, “You
intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what
is now being done, the saving of many lives.”
Habakkuk is dissapointed that God is using/allowing the Chaldeans to punish them. God tells
Habakkuk to wait and trust Him. In Hab. 2:3 God tells him, “For
the vision is yet for the appointed time; it testifies about the end
[what will come] and will not lie. Though it delays, wait for it,
since it will certainly come and not be late.”
Even though God
would allow the Chaldeans to punish them, He would eventually bring
about His divine purposes and justice. The Lord proclaims that
cities built on bloodshed and founded on injustice would only add
fuel to the fire and come to nothing (Hab 2:13). Rather than
bloodshed, the earth would be “filled with the knowledge of the
Lord's glory, as the water covers the sea.” (Hab. 2:14)[a]
God
demonstrates over and over how he can work in the midst of evil and
injustice to bring about His divine purposes. 1 John 5:19 says,
“[And] we know that we are of God, and the whole world lieth in
wickedness." We live in a fallen world but God brought forth perfect
justice in bringing His Son into the world to die on a cross that we
may have life through Him.
As God calls us
to follow Him and become like Him, His people are instruments in
which God desires to use to bring forth His divine purposes and
justice in the world. We are to be His army and He has given us all
we need to defeat evil and bring His kingdom and divine purposes and
justice forth.
David
proclaims:
“Through You we will push down our enemies; through Your name we
will trample those who rise up against us. For I will not trust in my
bow, nor shall my sword save me. But You have saved us from our
enemies, and have put to shame those who hated us. In God we boast
all day long, and praise Your name forever.” Psalm
44:5
“Blessed be the Lord my Rock, who trains my hands for war, and my
fingers for battle – my loving kindness and my fortress, my high
tower and my deliverer, my shield and the One in whom I take refuge,
who subdues my people under me.” Psalm
144:1
For by You I can run against a troop; by my God I can leap over a
wall. As for God, His way is perfect; the word of the Lord is proven;
He is a shield to all who trust in Him.” 2
Samuel 22:29
A beautiful example of God
using His people to bring forth justice is with the situation in
Gulu, Uganda with the Children of the Night. It was people who rose
up and spoke up for those who had no voice and took action by the
means that they had right in front of them that the evil began to be
defeated. People came together in unity around the greater purpose
of defeating evil.
Jason Russell, a Christian,
had put together a documentary and YouTube video to call people to action in being the hands and feet of justice. The video went
viral with over 97 million views. Many people all over the world
responded to his appeal to justice and participated in making their
voice heard, giving donations and doing what they could to create
change in the situation to arrest the leader of the LRA.
If you have not seen the
YouTube video KONY 2012, here it is:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KArCWQUJerw
God
desires for his people to participate in bringing forth His justice
and His divine purposes. 1 John 3:10 says, “By this it is
evident who are the children of God, and who are the children of the
devil: whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is
the one who does not love his brother.”
We are
not to just sit back and complain about what happens as inactive and
lukewarm Christians, but to be mobilized with His love. As James
2:17 says, faith not accompanied by action is dead.
And so who is our brother or our neighbor and what does loving them look like?
And so who is our brother or our neighbor and what does loving them look like?
An expert of the law once
asked this question of Jesus in Luke 10:25-29 and Jesus responded with a
parable:
In reply Jesus said: “A man was going down from Jerusalem to
Jericho, when he was attacked by robbers. They stripped him of his
clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. A priest
happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he
passed by on the other side. So too, a Levite, when he came to the
place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan, as
he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took
pity on him. He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil
and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, brought him to an
inn and took care of him. The next day he took out two denarii
and gave them to the innkeeper. ‘Look after him,’ he said, ‘and
when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may
have.’ “
Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?”
The expert in the law replied, “The one who had mercy on him.”
Jesus told him, “Go and do likewise.”
(Luke 10:30-37)
Lord, we desire to “Go and do likewise” being Your instruments to bring forth your divine purposes. Please empower us, give us courage, and lead us in how to love our neighbor and bring forth your justice in the world.
a. What
Habakkuk found in the middle of all this distress was that God was
with him, cares for him, and sees him through everything.
Habakkuk
proclaims in Hab. 3:17-19,
“Though the
fig tree does not bud
and there is no
fruit on the vines,
though the
olive crop fails
and the fields
produce no food,
though there
are no sheep in the pen
and no cattle
in the stalls,
yet I will
triumph in Yahweh;
I will rejoice
in the god of my salvation!
Yahweh my Lord
is my strength;
He makes my
feet like those of a deer
and enables me
to walk on mountain heights!”
- HCSB Study Bible. Holman Christian Standard Bible: God's Word for Life. Holman Bible Pubulishers, Nashville, TN. 2010.
- For more information on Sihon see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sihon. Last Accessed 8/21/13.
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