https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OPMaRqGJPUU
Habakkuk was a prophet
His audience was the people of Judah
What makes this book unique in comparison to the other books on prophets is that in this book we do not see Habakkuk speaking to the people we see him talking to God. (or rather complaining)
In previous books on minor prophets we see them directly addressing the people of their coming doom.
Habakkuk comes to God and is complaining that nothing has been done to those who are evil.
* Habakkuk 1:2-4
* 2 How long, O Lord, must I call for help?
But you do not listen!
“Violence is everywhere!” I cry,
but you do not come to save.
3 Must I forever see these evil deeds?
Why must I watch all this misery?
Wherever I look,
I see destruction and violence.
I am surrounded by people
who love to argue and fight.
4 The law has become paralyzed,
and there is no justice in the courts.
The wicked far outnumber the righteous,
so that justice has become perverted.
* 5 The Lord replied,
“Look around at the nations;
look and be amazed![a]
For I am doing something in your own day,
something you wouldn’t believe
even if someone told you about it.
6 I am raising up the Babylonians,[b]
a cruel and violent people.
They will march across the world
and conquer other lands.
7 They are notorious for their cruelty
and do whatever they like.
8 Their horses are swifter than cheetahs[c]
and fiercer than wolves at dusk.
Their charioteers charge from far away.
Like eagles, they swoop down to devour their prey.
* God has a plan to bring justice to Israel
* but wait! The Babylonians were way worse than Israel,
* true, God has a plan for them too
This book, as we learned from the video is a back and forth dialogue with God and Habakkak
* He noticed the evil in the world and was asking God when he was going to do something about it
* I am sure many of you have had this very same question
* Idk about you, but I find it a bit comforting to read that there were other believers who struggled with this too
* Yes, there is tons of evil in the world
* yes, things are not fair
* in fact, when we choose t follow God things can become more difficult
* The question remains, why does God allow these things to happen without striking them down?
* I don’t know for sure, but if I had to guess it would be because there is something good happening in the midst of the evil, even if that good is us crying out to him to complain
* God does not turn his back on us and allow awful things to happen just for kicks and giggles
* God is very strategic, he uses every moment to teach or show us something
* The Babylonians are his creation too, even though they were awful people, I can’t imagine the thought to destroy them would be easy
Habakkuk ends with this:
* I trembled inside when I heard this;
my lips quivered with fear.
My legs gave way beneath me,[e]
and I shook in terror.
I will wait quietly for the coming day
when disaster will strike the people who invade us.
17 Even though the fig trees have no blossoms,
and there are no grapes on the vines;
even though the olive crop fails,
and the fields lie empty and barren;
even though the flocks die in the fields,
and the cattle barns are empty,
18 yet I will rejoice in the Lord!
I will be joyful in the God of my salvation!
19 The Sovereign Lord is my strength!
He is an example of us to how we should live despite what evil is in our world
God does not want his people to suffer
We need to trust in him that he will help make things right and that good will come out of those negative situations
Habakkuk was able to find hope, without seeing God promise. We have the benefit of having the NT, where we see God’s promise revealed.
* we have proof that God makes things better, not perfect but better than they were
* We also have the best hope of all, Jesus
* because of him we have a hope for a future in heaven with God
We have so many reasons to have hope,
* from the sun rising to the beautiful sunset
* God is present among the evil,
* evil will always be there, but so will God
* We need to continually keep our eyes on him and trust that he will help get us through
Let’s pray
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