[David Metzel] Brethren, the Bible can contain some surprising and maybe even startling passages – things that we might not expect. For instance, it records conversations between God and people, or individuals and God. It is obviously not happening today and it has happened, at least as far as the Bible is concerned, on very rare occasions. Now there are a few occasions in the Bible.

There is more than one individual that I shall name today, but it’s not really happening today. We might say, “Wait a minute. I had a conversation with God this morning. I prayed.” And that is good. You should have a conversation with God and you should pray. However, when I am talking about a conversation, I am talking about a dialogue where one speaks, the other listens, then the other speaks and you listen. I am talking about a dialogue. That is not happening today. However, I’ll say that, if you should happen to hear an answer like that or get into a dialogue with God, the first thing I would say to do is talk to Mr. Myers. He would need to know that.

The second thing – not the second thing as far as that – but the second thing is, when I am talking about a conversation with God, I am not talking about those who were on the earth – you know, the first century – when Jesus Christ was walking the earth and people were talking to Him. Obviously, He was talking to them. I am not talking about those conversations. A lot of people talked with Jesus Christ when He was on the earth, but I am talking about those who had conversations with the One who became Jesus Christ – the One who was the God of the Old Testament.

He talked with many – not that many – but a few people. The Bible records that He talked with Abraham. He talked with God. And of course, Abraham received an audible response. But there are others, too. Moses talked with God in a dialogue – in a conversation. There was Joshua. There was Samuel. There is Elijah and others who talked with the One who became Jesus Christ.

A couple of them, interestingly enough, even negotiated or bargained with God. Now it just kinds of boggles my mind that some actually bargained with God. There is the example of Abraham – and I am not going to turn there, but I want to refer to it – in Genesis 18. The God of the Old Testament and two angels came and visited Abraham. It is the occasion where they announced to Sarah that she was going to bear a child.

Before they left, God said to the angels – He said, “Should I hide from Abraham what I am about to do?” And then He explained that the angels were going to go and destroy Sodom and Gomorrah. Well, Abraham knew that Lot lived there. He had relatives there, and so he said, “Well, what if there are 50 righteous people there. Would You destroy Sodom if there were 50 righteous people?” And God said, “No, not for 50.” But Abraham wasn’t through. He said, “Well, what about 45?” And then he kept working his way down, and went to 40, 30, 20 and 10. And finally at 10 God said, “The conversation is over,” and He went His way. But Abraham actually was negotiating with God – bargaining.

Moses also bargained with God for the children of Israel. God was going to destroy the children of Israel and start over with a new nation – a new nation named after Moses. Moses talked God out of that, so to speak. So they negotiated. They bargained with God. And I do want to point out that if any of us have a tendency to want to bargain with God, you know, even on our knees, in a one-way conversation, neither Abraham nor Moses made any vows in the process. They didn’t make any promises to God that, “If You do this, then I will do that.” It wasn’t that type of situation at all. You can read the accounts for yourselves.

Well, today brethren, I am going to take a look at another individual who had a conversation with God – a dialogue. He spoke to God and he received a reply. Now he did not negotiate with God, but he did have some questions. In fact, he had some bold and forthright and difficult questions – questions that had been bothering him – questions that he put to God and questions that he got an answer to. And God did answer his questions. But as things go…now he had an answer to his questions, but he didn’t like the answer. Sometimes it goes that way. He didn’t like the answer, so then he had more questions for God. And we will read about these and God again gave him an answer.

The person I am referring to, his name is Habakkuk. There is obviously a book in the Bible that records this dialogue and today we are going to go through the book of Habakkuk. We are going to see what it is like. Just like any other book in the Bible, it had meaning for the people back then. It also has meaning for those of us who are alive today. Habakkuk is a book for our time. He spoke, that is, Habakkuk spoke to the people of his time.

I am going to break this message down into two parts. In the first part, I am going to go through the book of Habakkuk as an overview. I will read a lot of it. I won’t go into a great deal of detail, but I will go into some. And then the second part of the message is going to be lessons from Habakkuk. So the first part, we are going to take a look at the book; second part, we’ll see what lessons we can learn for today from the book of Habakkuk.

To start off, just with some facts and figures. As far as the meaning of Habakkuk’s name is concerned – this is rather interesting, The Expositor’s Bible Commentary says: “Its name does not lead to an understanding of its meaning,” which is kind of unusual because most of the Minor Prophets, their name had something to do with their message. In this case, it said that his name doesn’t really lean to a meaning however there is, I will say, dispute among the scholars as there is some in the meaning of various passages in the book. Some scholars, such as Arend Remmers, believe that Habakkuk’s name means, to embrace or to wrestle. Now to me those are kind of two opposites, but in any case, this is what one of the scholars said, to embrace or to wrestle.

And as I mentioned, Habakkuk had questions. He had tough questions and he was wrestling with these questions. He said, “Since God is good, why is there evil in the world, and since there is evil in the world, why does it triumph? Why does evil prosper? Why does it triumph over justice or over the righteous? Why is life unfair?” These were questions that he had and, of course, these are questions for our day as well. And of course then he says, “Why doesn’t God do something? You see what is going on – this was in the latter part of Judah, which I will get to, as far as the timing – “Why doesn’t God do something?”

Habakkuk feels very strongly about these questions. And as I mentioned, he is bold and he is forthright, but he is not arrogant. He has a good attitude. He understands his place, but he is forthright. He is very much – I don’t want to use the term, in your face, because that’s a bad connotation – but he is very much forthright. “I believe this and this is what is on my mind. This is what I want to say.”

As far as Habakkuk himself, there is nothing known about him outside of this book. There is not a lot said about him within the book, other than he is a prophet. He calls himself a prophet and he was recognized as a prophet in his day. As far as the date is concerned, again there is controversy about the exact timing. It is before the fall of Judah, when the Chaldeans were probably rising, according to Expositor’s Bible Commentary. The book is thought to take place from a period of 626 to 590 BCE. And this is from internal evidence in the book. Again, it is before the fall of Judah, but obviously in the decline of Judah.

Josiah would have likely been the king during this time, although it may have been his son, Jehoiachin. These were the last days of prosperity for Judah. They were prosperous, and then they were going down, and then ultimately they were going out. They were taken captive. He would have been a contemporary of Jeremiah, so this is the time period about when he was writing – when he was talking with God.

Israel was already taken captive about 100 years – give or take – previously, depending when the time was, but Israel was no longer on the scene. Judah alone was left and they were on their way out. It appears that Habakkuk struggled for quite a while with these questions that he had. He struggled for a long time. Perhaps it was a time like 620 to 590 – maybe all of those years before God finally answered him.

And then as I mentioned, this book is about a communication or a dialogue with God. Habakkuk’s message is different than the other prophets. Other prophets…God has a message that He gives to the prophet and the prophet gives it to the people. This is not that way. This is a dialogue, as I mentioned, between God and Habakkuk, or Habakkuk and God. It is a dialogue.

Habakkuk speaks to God about people and he receives answers likewise. As I mentioned, he feels very strongly and is very bold and forthright but he has a good attitude. He is not arrogant or not abusive in that way. God listened to Habakkuk. He didn’t criticize him. He didn’t rebuke him for asking these questions, even though some of the questions were on the more difficult side.

So with that, let’s turn to the book of Habakkuk, if you are not already there – and I can look around and I see many open Bibles. We are in the book of Habakkuk and we will start reading:

Habakkuk 1:1 The burden – and again, a burden – this is revelation – it is an oracle – it’s a prophecy. The burden which the prophet Habakkuk saw.

Here again he calls himself a prophet. He was recognized as such in that day and he saw it. So it wasn’t just a dialogue. He could see it in his mind, much as Job said, “Now I see.” He saw the vision as well as the dialogue and he starts off and he is praying and he says:

V-2 – O Lord, how long – how very long – shall I cry and You not hear? As I mentioned in the introductory comments about the book and the facts, he had been praying a while. This is a long time. It is not just one time and he sits down – kneels down – and prays and look at the situation around. Life is not fair. He says: How long – how long, God, are You going to look down and see this – and You will not hear? Even cry out to You, “Violence!” And the society was very violent, as when society breaks down, violence increases and he says: And You will not save. 

V-3 – 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.

It sounds like our world today. Pick up a newspaper, or turn on the TV, or look at your cellphone – however you get your news. Violence abounds. Things are bad. Things are very bad. Sometimes people stop and wonder the question, “Why do bad things happen to good people? Why don’t the bad just leave us alone?” But they don’t. The bad seem to prey and prosper and the good suffer. Those abused are abused more by those who are abusers and the abusers seem to prosper.

He almost sounds like when Jesus Christ talks about in the Sermon on the Mount, “Blessed are those who mourn.” Habakkuk is mourning here. He is looking out, seeing Judah, seeing crime on the streets, seeing all sorts of wrongs that are being committed. He is mourning. He is sighing. And he is crying, again asking the question, “Why do bad things happen to good people” and conversely, “Why are the wicked prospering?”

The ones that should be punished, they are the ones that seem to get ahead. Those who are at school and tend to cheat, they are the ones that get the good grades and get promotions and things. Evil happens in business and it happens in school. It happens in government. It happens in all walks of life. The wicked seem to be getting away with it and there is no justice in the land. As I mentioned, those abused suffer and the abusers prosper. Continuing on:

V-4 – Therefore the law is powerless, and justice never goes forth. for the wicked surround the righteous; therefore perverse judgment proceeds.

This could be a line out of one of our newspapers today. This happens all the time; all the time.

There is a scripture that I came across early in my years in the church that I always wondered, what does that mean? I am not going to turn there. It is Isaiah 5:20. It says:

Isaiah 5:20 – Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil;

I thought, “That doesn’t make sense. Why would anyone be doing that? How can anyone be doing that?” I really didn’t understand that and, quite frankly, today I really don’t understand it, except all I have to do is open my eyes and look around. It is all around. People call good evil and evil good. Just as an example: Where can we post the Ten Commandments? You can probably post them on this building, but not on many other buildings will you be able to post them, even though this country was supposedly built – and it was built to a large extent – with the law based on the Ten Commandments. Evil is prospering and God is not doing anything. He is saying, “Why God? Why are You not doing something? The law is ignored. Unrighteousness abounds.”
Starting in Habakkuk 1:5, we have the first response from God. This is God’s answer to Habakkuk.

Habakkuk 1:5 “Look among the nations and watch. Be utterly astounded! For I will work a work in your days which you would not believe, though it were told you.

So God is doing something. He is doing a work. At this particular time, obviously, it is nothing that is visible, nothing that people are going to see, but God is doing a work. He has plans. He is preparing. Paul quotes this verse in the book of Acts – a similar thing – where he says God is doing a work. God is working out behind the scenes. Silence does not mean that God is not doing anything or that He is not answering. Sometimes when God answers, the answer is very quick. Sometimes it is not. Sometimes we have to be patient. Just think at the time of the Exodus – before Moses came on the scene – Israel waited and waited and waited at least 80 years that we know of, and likely much longer than that. So continuing on, He says:

V-6-11 - For indeed I am raising up the Chaldeans, a bitter and hasty nation which marches through the breadth of the earth, to possess dwelling places that are not theirs. They are terrible and dreadful; their judgment and their dignity proceed from themselves. Their horses also are swifter than leopards – in other words, this is a pretty awesome war-machine – and more fierce than evening wolves. Of course the wolves, they eat at night. They sleep all day so they get hungry again and the next night they go hunting. Their chargers charge head; their cavalry comes from afar; they fly as the eagle that hastens to eat. They all come for violence; their faces are set like the east wind. They gather captives like sand. They scoff at kings, and princes are scorned by them. They deride every stronghold, for they heap up earthen mounds and seize it. Then his mind changes, and he transgresses; he commits offence, ascribing this power to his god.”

Interestingly enough, where He says in Habakkuk 1:6, I am raising up the Chaldeans, Dr. Ward suggests that this word Chaldeans could be singular. It could be Chaldean instead of Chaldeans, as all of the pronouns in the Masoretic text that modify that – modify Chaldeans – are singular. They are not plural. So really, what does that mean? What it means is, if this is a Chaldean, this is someone who we would call, today, the beast power. This is a terrible, strong, merciless individual who goes forth conquering and to conquer. Much like today, we say there is the beast, who is an individual, and there is also the beast power or the beast system. This Chaldean could be a man and also he represents a system.

It is kind of interesting. Basically, it starts out with Habakkuk, where he says, “God, why don’t you do something?” God says, “Well, I will tell you what I’m going to do. I’m going to bring the Chaldeans and they are going to destroy Judah.” That wasn’t the answer that Habakkuk was looking for. Basically, and there were two problems with that. The first problem is that Habakkuk says, “I see problems. Can’t we fix the problems? Do we have to destroy the nation? I just want to fix the problems.” It is like, say you have a house and it needs some maintenance. Maybe it needs to be painted and a few other maintenance items – perhaps new windows, door, whatever. And so this is what he is looking for. Habakkuk is looking for a course correction from sin to righteousness. And what God is saying, “I want to tear the house down. I want to destroy it all. I want to send them away. The Babylonians are going to take you captive and not only that – not only that, I am going to take the Jews to the Babylonians.”

I don’t know what a good analogy would be for us today, but you might say that, here we are in the United States, and God is going to send a bunch of barbarians to clean us up. Again, I don’t know if barbarians is a good example, or maybe say, “I want to clean out the penitentiary and bring all the felons and they are going to destroy everything.” This is kind of the answer that Habakkuk got, and it wasn’t really what he was expecting or wanting. Continuing on:

V-12-13 - Are You not from everlasting, O Lord my God, my Holy One? Aren’t You merciful? Aren’t You kind? We are not going to die. We are Your people. We have a covenant. We shall not die. O Lord, You have pointed them – all these bad people – for judgment; O Rock, You have marked them for correction. Your are of purer eyes than to behold evil, and cannot look on wickedness.

Again, Habakkuk just cannot believe, one, the nation is going to be destroyed, or, two, that the Babylonians…they are the bad guys. Judah is the good guy. How can you use a bad guy to get the good guy? It says:

V-13-17 - You are of purer eyes than to behold evil, and cannot look on wickedness. Why do You look on those who deal treacherously, and hold Your tongue when the wicked devours a person more righteous than he? Judah is the good guy. Why do You make men like fish of the sea, like creeping things that have no ruler over them? They take up all of them with a hook. It is, again, talking about their war-machine. They are very thorough and very efficient. They catch them in their net, and gather them in their dragnet. Therefore, they rejoice and are glad. Therefore, they sacrifice to their net – in other words, they look at their war- machines and they worship their war-machines – and burn incense to their dragnet; because by them their share is sumptuous and their food plentiful. Shall they therefore empty their net, and continue to slay nations without pity? Are they going to continue to march on and on and on and destroy?

Habakkuk 2:1 – He says: I will stand my watch. This is my second question: “God, what are You going to do? Are You really going to do that?” I will stand my watch and set myself on the rampart, and watch to see what He will say to me, and what I will answer when I am corrected.

Again, Habakkuk realizes that he is talking to God. He is asking some hard questions like, “How can You do this? How can You take an evil people and destroy a good people?” But he said, “I will see what He is going to answer when I am corrected.” So he doesn’t have a bad attitude as far as this is concerned. He is understanding that he is talking with God, but still, he has questions. He is perplexed. How can God use an evil people to destroy a good people?

The first words say that You are of purer eyes than to behold evil, and cannot look on wickedness (Habakkuk 1:13). He is asking, again, “Why would God use a wicked nation to punish one more righteous?” But again, was Judah righteous? Habakkuk had plenty to complain about. There was sin. There was violence. There were all sorts of problems taking place in the streets. Judah was not righteous, but the thing that Judah had that Babylon did not have is, they were God’s people. They, at one time, knew better. God was dealing with them at one time. Well, He is still dealing with them now, but they were more responsive. God gave them His laws. He gave them His covenants. He blessed them in many, many ways. But as opposed to the Babylonians, they really didn’t know God. They were on their own. So in one sense Judah – and Israel for that matter – they were not only better in God’s eyes, they were worse, because they actually knew better. And of course, you get right down to it, the wages of sin are death, as we know from Romans 6:23. It doesn’t make any difference if a righteous person or nation such as Judah did it, or an unrighteous nation, such as Babylon. The wages of sin are death. God is not a respecter of persons. Again, Israel should have known better, but they didn’t.

So that was Habakkuk’s second question. And then we come to God’s second answer in verse 2:

V-2-3 – Then the Lord answered me and said: “Write the vision and make it plain on tablets, that he may run who reads it. For the vision is yet for an appointed time. Here again, it says, “Make it plain on tablets.” There is a lot of…well, the scholars…I won’t say argue amongst themselves…there is a lot of controversy. What exactly does that mean? What I get from that is, “Put it on a billboard. Let people see it. Let them see what is going to happen. And then after they see it and understand, they are going to run.” Then it says: For the vision is yet for an appointed time. God has a time table. He knows what He is doing and when He is going to do it. He has a schedule. Obviously, Habakkuk didn’t know the schedule. We don’t know the schedule, but there is an appointed time. This was not going to come upon God as some sort of a surprise. There is an appointed time and then He says: But at the end it will speak, and it will not lie. Though it tarries, wait for it.

So while this message had applications in the book at the time of Habakkuk, it also has applications for our time – at the time of the end. God says to wait for the promise. It will come.

There is an interesting commentary from the Dead Sea Scrolls. I saw this in Nelson’s Illustrated Bible Dictionary, in the article on the Dead Sea Scrolls, where it says: “A commentary on the Book of Habakkuk, known as the Pesher on Habakkuk, was written to demonstrate how the prophet Habakkuk, who lived in the seventh century BC, was actually writing for the battle of the last days, when the wicked would be defeated by the righteous.” So they understood that this was a prophecy of the last days, and skipping ahead a few lines, it says: “And God told Habakkuk to write down that which would happen to the final generation.” So this definitely, again, had application back in Habakkuk’s days. It also applies to our days and to the time of the end.

Then it says:

V-3-4 - But at the end it will speak, and it will not lie. Though it tarries – in other words, you don’t apparently see it coming, but it is coming, it says – wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not tarry. Behold the proud, his soul is not upright in him; but the just shall live by his faith.

The just shall live by his faith. This is a key scripture in the book of Habakkuk. It is quoted three times in the New Testament – all by the apostle Paul – and it is a key scripture. I heard it referred to as the SPS o specific purpose statement of the book – for those who have been in Spokesman’s Club, for those in the young men’s or women’s Christian Leadership Clubs. Specific purpose statement – that is a definite part of the message. You have an introduction and then you have, what are we talking about?

This is what Habakkuk is talking about and what this book is talking about – the just shall live by his faith. As I mentioned it is quoted three times in the New Testament and it is faith that helps us and takes us through many of the trials of life. Some translations use the word faithfulness instead of faith – in other words, having belief and then having action that goes along with the belief – having faithfulness that is demonstrated by what we believe – having actions demonstrating it – trusting God and living with His precepts.

The King James Version Old Testament Lexicon talks about the word being translated as fidelity. It means fidelity. It is translated most often as faithfulness. It’s Strong’s number 530, and again, the word is faithfulness. It is belief that is put into action.

Interestingly enough, and I will spend a little time on this verse, The Tanakh says – this is the way they translate the verse: The righteous man is rewarded with life for his fidelity – “the righteous man is rewarded with life for his fidelity” – and then it has a marginal note. I love these marginal notes. As far as the scholars are concerned, they said, “The meaning is really uncertain.” We don’t know exactly what it is, but it says, “Apparently there is a reward for the upright and that reward is life. It is his breath within him – the life, breath, within him.”

The Companion Bible also has an interesting passage on this verse. It says: “Those who are faithful will live forever in a resurrection.” Isn’t that interesting? It is not just, “the just will live by faith.” We are talking about living forever in a resurrection. “The Hebrew accents place the emphasis on the shall live. It is a contrast. Those who are evil are going to perish.” They are going to die. “Those who are faithful – those who are just – are going to live forever.”

Continuing on:

V-5 – “Indeed, because he transgresses by wine – he has a problem with drinking. He is a proud man, and he does not stay at home. Again, this is talking about Babylon; talking about those who are evil. Because he enlarges his desire as hell – or the grave – and he is like death, and cannot be satisfied. You’ll never satisfy – I shouldn’t say never – never is a long time – as far as this life is concerned, you’ll never satisfy the death. You’ll never satisfy the grave. It keeps receiving more and more and more. He gathers to himself all nations and heaps up for himself all peoples.

So Babylon was an awesome war-machine back then. In the future there is also going to be an awesome war-machine.

Then in Habakkuk 2:6, it is kind of interesting. It changes the subject. God has said this is an awesome power, He said the just will live by faith, then He says:

V.6 - “Will not all these take up a proverb against him…” – all these being the nations that were conquered. Will not all these take up a proverb against him, and a taunting riddle against him, and say, ‘Woe… – and this starts a series of five woes against Babylon – five woes. I’ll read a little bit and I’ll paraphrase a little bit.

Habakkuk 2:6-8 It talks about woe to the plunderer. And then dropping down in verse 8:

V-8 - Because you have plundered many nations, all the remnant of the people shall plunder you.

The plunderer will be plundered.

Habakkuk 2:9-11 – it says: “Woe to the one who covets. And again, they coveted the possessions – the riches – of all that were around them. Well, it says, “Woe to him who covets and gain,” and  basically, what it says, dropping down to verse 10:

V.10 - You give shameful counsel to your house, cutting off many peoples – and in coveting and taking, you actually – sin against – your own self – your own soul.

In Habakkuk 2:12 -14, it says, “Woe to the violent.”

V12-14 – “Woe to him who builds a town with bloodshed, who establishes a city by (sin) iniquity! Behold, is it not of the Lord of hosts that the peoples labor to feed the fire, and nations weary themselves in vain? They weary themselves with all of their bloodshed and then in the next verse, it is kind of an interesting inset. For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea.

It is kind of interesting. That is a scripture we often hear at the Feast of Tabernacles – talking about the millennium, when the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the Lord. It is just an inset here among the woes. And then in the next verse we have another woe – the fourth of the woes. It is woe to the sensual.

V-15 – “Woe to him who gives drink to his neighbor, pressing him to your bottle, even to make him drunk,

And basically, what it is saying here in Habakkuk 2:15 – 17, is woe to the sensual. I’ll see if I can pick it up in verse 17:

V-17 – For the violence done to Lebanon will cover you, and the plunder of beasts which made them afraid, because of men’s blood and the violence of the land and the city,

Well, I went too far. Basically, what it is saying is, “You were violent and you are going to receive violence as repayment.” Woe to the sensual.

In Habakkuk 2:18-20, “Woe to those who are idolators.”

V-18-20 – “What profit is the image, that its maker should carve it, the molded image, a teacher of lies? Woe to him who says to wood, ‘Awake!’ to silent stone, ‘Arise! It shall teach!’ Behold, it is overlaid with gold and silver – it is very beautiful – yet in it there is no breath at all. But the Lord is in His holy temple – the Lord is in a temple. Let all the earth keep silence before Him.”

Again, Habakkuk had this second question: How could He use the Babylonians? God said, “Don’t worry about them. You are going to get yours. They are going to get their punishment.” At this point Habakkuk realizes that the questions are answered. He is starting to get the picture. He realizes what God is doing. God reigns. Babylon is going to be punished. God is in control and He is going to act. He doesn’t understand the timing, but God is going to act and his questions are answered.

So, Habakkuk 3…this is a rather interesting chapter. I’ll just read a few verses at the beginning. This is actually a prayer of praise. Habakkuk gets it now. He sees and he understands. This has been called a psalm and it is written poetically – obviously not in English, but it is written poetically – and it was meant to be part of the worship service. It says:

Habakkuk 3:1-2 – A prayer of Habakkuk the prophet, on Shigionoth. O Lord, I have heard your speech and was afraid; O Lord, revive Your work in the midst of the years! In the midst of the years make it known. In other words, he understands what this work is that God is going to do. It is going to be an awesome and a terrible work and then it says, In wrath remember mercy.

So he pleads for mercy – mercy for himself and mercy for others. He might be personally affected. He might not be personally affected. But he knowns God is merciful and he prays for mercy.

Habakkuk 3:13-15 is a poetic description of various acts of the past that God has done delivering His people – talking and referring back to the Exodus – to the conquest, to the period of the judges. And I want to start reading again in verse 16:

Habakkuk 3:16 – When I heard, my body trembled – in other words, he gets it, he understands, he sees his place – he understands God’s awesome power and what is going to happen – my lips quivered at the voice. Rottenness entered my bones and I trembled in myself, that I might rest in the day of trouble. Again, I’ve never been that afraid. I hope I never get that afraid, but I have heard of people that were so fearful that their bones actually hurt. It’s a terrible feeling. He says:
When he comes up to the people, He will invade them with his troops.

And then it says in a nice encouraging end:

V-17-19 – Though the fig tree may not blossom, nor fruit be on the vines; though the labor of the olive may fail, and the fields yield no food; though the flock may be cut off from the fold, and there be no herd in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation. The Lord God is my strength; He will make my feet like deer’s feet, and He will make me walk on my high hills. And again, this was part of a worship service. It says, “To the Chief Musician. With my stringed instruments.”

It is an interesting description there. He is saying, regardless of the physical circumstances – and we’ve got an abundance now – we enjoy a very high quality of life…. There was a time in the past when this quality of life was not extant and we know of a time in the future when it is not going to be extant either – when food is going to be scare. I could talk about, and again, this is a book for the time of the end. Looking ahead, there is the great tribulation. There are going to be famines. There are going to be sicknesses. There are going to be problems. What Habakkuk is saying is, “Regardless of the problems, God is there. He sees, He understands and He will deliver.”

So that is a very quick overview of the book of Habakkuk. Maybe some think it is not so quick, but in any case, there is a lot in this book. It is a very interesting little book and again it is a conversation – a conversation between a prophet and God and God and His prophet.

Well, as I mentioned, the second part of the message is going to be lessons from the book of Habakkuk – lessons from the book of Habakkuk.

He starts out in Habakkuk 1:2 saying, “How long? How long? How long is this going to go on?” He has been praying a long time – a really long time. Have you ever prayed a long time for something and wondered, “Well, am I ever going to get an answer? What is God doing? Why isn’t God answering?”

Well, actually that reminds me of a parable of Jesus Christ – a parable of Jesus Christ. Turn to Luke 18 and we will see a little bit more about that. How long? Again maybe Habakkuk is praying for 20 or 30 years – a long time before he finally got his answer. Luke 18 – the parable of the unjust judge or the persistent widow. It says:

Luke 18:1-8 - Then He spoke a parable to them, that men always ought to pray and not lose heart – so again, the specific purpose statement – what is the purpose of this parable? – that men always ought to pray and not lose heart, saying: “There was in a certain city a judge who did not fear God nor regard man. Now there was a widow in that city; and she came to him, saying, ‘Get justice for me from my adversary.’ And he – that’s the judge – would not for a while; but afterward he said within himself. ‘Though I do not fear God nor regard man, yet because this widow troubles me I will avenge her, lest by her continual coming she weary me.’” Then the Lord said, “Hear what the unjust judge said – so that’s really the parable – now He is explaining it – so here is what the unjust judge said - “And shall God not avenge His own elect who cry out day and night to Him, though He bears long with them? Again, how long? How long? “I tell you that He will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will He really find faith on the earth?” Well, I will start first by addressing this latter part where it says: “I tell you that He will avenge them speedily. 

In Luke 18:6-7, it says, “Hear what the unjust judge said: will He not avenge His own elect who cry out day and night to Him, though He bears long with them?

You look at those words, bearing long and speedily and you wonder, “Well, what is the relationship?” Bearing long and speedily seem like they are two opposite types of things. What it is, that the judge is bearing long. In other words, the judge is representing God. He is listening for a long time, but when he decides to act, the action will come in a very quick way. It’s not going to take a long time. Once God determines the appointed time, so to speak, it is going to happen. It is going to happen quickly.

The New Living Bible and The Young’s Literal Translations say that it is quickly. He is going to bear long, but then when he decides to take action, it is going to happen very quickly. And again, just reading the purpose of the parable again, … that men always ought to pray and not lose heart.

Well, why would you lose heart? Why would a person lose heart? Let’s say you pray for something and nothing happens. A year from now you are still praying for something, nothing happens. Two years from now you are praying for something and nothing happens. This is how someone would lose heart. Obviously, if you pray forsomething and the next day, there it is, losing heart is not even in the equation. It is not even a consideration. But, if we do not get what we ask for – if we do not get what we ask for – and time goes on, and it goes on, and it goes on, and as it said, “…though He bears long with them.” Habakkuk said, “How long? How long do I have to pray? How long is this going to go on?”

In his mind God, was not doing anything. Actually, God was doing something and when we pray, God hears. God will give us an answer. I don’t say He will give us an answer immediately. It might be, “Yes.” It might be, “No.” It might be, “Wait.” He might be deciding what He is going to do. How long? Obviously we need to keep praying. We need to continue to look to God. God is there. He does listen. He does hear and He will answer.  He may not answer in the time frame that we want, but we need to pray and maybe even fast about a situation for as long as it takes.

Think about. Let’s go back. I mentioned the tribulation a while ago and I don’t really want to spend a lot of time there, because obviously that’s not a nice thing to think about, but there are going to be Christians in the tribulation – true Christians – in the tribulation. They are going to be praying and what are they going to be praying for? They are going to be praying for food. They are going to be praying for protection. They are going to be praying for safety. God is doing something else at that particular time. God is doing something else. He is working. It is not that He is not listening, but I would guess that likely those people are going to continue to pray, and they are not going to receive the answer that they are looking for.

Another point. That was say, point number 1. God wants us to persevere in prayer. How long? I’ll say, “As long as it takes.” Sometimes we get an answer that we are not expecting or maybe not even wanting.

There is the occasion of Mary and Martha – and I am not going to turn there. This is in John 11. But Mary and Martha, they wanted Christ to come and heal Lazarus. Well, He delayed – and He purposely delayed. Lazarus died. God was doing something else. Did He not hear the requests of Mary and Martha? This obviously was Jesus Christ. Yes, He did. He understood. He knew what the situation was and He was doing something else.

Turn to 2 Corinthians 12. We will look at an example of the apostle Paul. It is kind of an interesting situation. I will start reading in 2 Corinthians 12:7 – just breaking into the context, Paul is saying:

2 Corinthians 12:7-9 – And lest I should be exalted above measure by the abundance of the revelations, a thorn in the flesh was given to me – again, whether this was a physical affliction, it doesn’t really say but it is a thorn in the flesh – it says – a messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I be exalted above measure. Concerning this thing I pleaded (he pleaded) with the Lord three times that it might depart from me. We don’t really know the period of time that Paul prayed over, whether it was three days in a row of three years in a row, we don’t know, but he pleaded that it would depart from him. And He said to me – this is God saying to Paul – “My grace is sufficient for you” – so here Paul wanted relief from something – let’s say it was a physical affliction – God says, “No, I am not going to heal you. I am not going to take this affliction from you but I will give you the strength to endure, the strength to go on, the strength to put up with this and to continue to serve Me.” “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.”

So again, while God didn’t give Paul the answer that he originally wanted. He gave him an answer. And for that matter, when He does similar things for us, He answers in a way that is best for us – what is best for us – not always what we want. Sometimes we don’t know what is best for us. We think we do. Sometimes we don’t.

Point number 3: God has a plan and a timetable.

I was going to turn to 2 Peter 3:8, where it talks about, “with God a day is as a thousand years and a thousand years are as a day.” God has a plan. He operates in time differently. I am not sure how He operates. He doesn’t operate in time. He operates above time. God is eternal. We saw from Habakkuk there was an appointed time. There is an appointed time ahead when Jesus Christ will return. He was working then. God is working now. It wasn’t where everybody could see or plainly understand, but it was taking place. In the time of Habakkuk, God was in control. God is still in control. He has a plan and He has a time table. We need to be patient. We need to continue on and to be faithful.

We are reminded of God’s plan year by year as we keep His feasts. Again, that is what His plan is all about – adding children to His family.

Point number 4: The righteous will live by faith.

Turn to Revelation 17:14. This is just breaking right into the context. It is talking about those who are going to come back with Christ.

Revelation 17:14 – These will make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb will overcome them, for He is Lord of lords and King of kings; and those who are with Him (those with Jesus Christ) are called, chosen, and faithful.”

Those who have been bearing long, those who have been patient, those who have been enduring, those who have been faithful, they are the ones that are going to come back with Jesus Christ.

Turn back to Hebrews 10, and we will look at one of the places where the just shall live by faith is quoted.

Hebrews 10:36-39 – For you have need of endurance – I think of Habakkuk – how long do we need to endure? – so that after you have done the will of God, you may receive the promise. For yet a little while, and He who is coming will come and will not tarry. So again, there is an appointed time and when it happens it will happen. Now the just shall live by faith – there is that term again – but if anyone draws back, My soul has no pleasure in him. But we are not of those who draw back to perdition, but of those who believe to the saving of the soul.

And then, what message on faith would be complete without Hebrews 11? I am really not going to go through Hebrews 11, other than site it as a wonderful example. And, as you look through these examples of the “heroes of the Old Testament,” you look at what they did. All the things that they did, these are verbs. These are actions.

It says – Hebrews 11:4 – Abel offered, Hebrews 11:5 – Enoch pleased God. Noah moved with godly fear. Abraham went out, he obeyed, he dwelt, he waited, he offered. Isaac blessed and worshiped. Moses was hidden. Moses refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter. He chose esteem. He forsook Egypt so he could be with the people of God.

All these are actions. It is faith and works. Much as we hear of the book of James, it is faithfulness and works. It is living our life in a way that is pleasing to God. Let’s start reading now in Hebrew 11:32.

Hebrews 11:32-36 – And what more shall I say? For the time would fail me to tell of Gideon and Barak and Samson and Jephthah, also of David and Samuel and the prophets: who through faith subdued kingdoms, worked righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong – I think we understand in all the stories that this is talking about all the accounts of deliverance – deliverance from death, deliverance from dire circumstances – out of weakness were made strong, became valiant in battle, turned to flight the armies of the aliens. Women received their dead raised to life again. And then it continues on and it says: …others were tortured, not accepting deliverance, that they might obtain a better resurrection. So it didn’t always work out the way everybody would like for it to work out. It didn’t happen. Still others had a trial of mockings and scourgings, yes, and of chains and imprisonment.

And of course imprisonment back then was not like imprisonment today. I keep referring to this. This was the time before prisoners had rights. No TV; no workout area and no this, that, or the other; no computers. They were in holes in the ground, quite often beaten before they were thrown in.

V-37-40 – They were stoned, they were sawn in two, were tempted, were slain with the sword. They wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins, being destitute, afflicted, tormented of whom the world was not worthy. They wandered in deserts and mountains, in dens and caves of the earth. And all these, having obtained a good testimony through faith, did not receive the promise, God having provided something better for us, that they should not be made perfect apart from us.

As I mentioned, it worked out for some and even for those that it worked out for, it wasn’t necessarily easy, but it did work out for some where they were delivered.
Sometimes a person or people were not delivered but either way, either way, it was alright. Both groups are heading for the Kingdom of God. Both will be in the Kingdom of God. They were not shaken by circumstances and again I hate to keep going back to the tribulation but I will. I mentioned that there are going to be some in the tribulation that are going to be praying for food, for safety, for whatever, for deliverance and they are not going to make it. They are not going to make it during the tribulation. They will make it into the Kingdom of God and that’s really the important thing.

Let’s turn back to Habakkuk 3, and let’s look at that summary again.

Habakkuk 3:17-18 -  Though the fig tree may not blossom - in other words the physical circumstances, they are really not what you want. They are really dire, there are really problems and people are really hurting. Though the fig tree may not blossom, nor fruit be on the vines; Though the labor of the olive may fail, and the fields yield no food; though the flock may be cut off from the fold, and there be no herd in the stalls. Yet I will rejoice in the Lord. He is not looking at physical circumstances. He is looking ahead to spiritual circumstances. Yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation.

So we need to endure. We need to have perseverance.

Again, Habakkuk said, “How long?” Again the answer is, “As long as it takes.” We need to remember the advice from Habakkuk. Whatever situation we are in – whether it is dire or whether it is very pleasant – we need to remember the lesson from the book of Habakkuk.

Whatever condition we are in, it says the just live by faith. And I will say now, “And with faith the just will live forever.”