Lord, Are You Watching?!

Embracing God's Priorities & Perspectives series

by Pastor Frank Rice

Habakkuk 1:1-11

 

Ever get the feeling that things are getting out of control?! A mom at the supermarket seems oblivious to her kids pulling the stuff off of the shelves! The dad at the football game seems ignorant of what his boys are doing as they misbehave in the end zone! The teacher has no clue what his students are doing every time he turns his back on them! It seems they ought to do something to curb deviant behavior! The prophet Habakkuk goes right to the top with his concern! Chaos reigns in Judea! It seems God is oblivious! He ought to do something to correct it! So the prophet approaches Him with his complaint…

 

 

 

 

v      The LORD had spoken to the prophet and His startling message had created a significant burden (v. 1).

 

1.      The prophet writes a deeply personal dialogue between him and the LORD, unlike most other prophetic books.

 

 

 

2.      He writes during the reign of King Jehoiakim, the epitome of moral bankruptcy and pathetic leadership.

 

 

 

3.      He writes after having experienced religious reform and the relatively godly leadership of King Josiah. But Josiah had been killed in battle and hope had gone down the tubes!

 

 

 

4.      Disappointment & frustration had replaced hope for the godly!

 

 

 

v      The prophet pours out his complaint to the LORD (vv. 2-4). (At least he has the sense to take his complaints to Someone who can do something about them!)

 

1.      The prophet is frustrated by unanswered prayer (v. 2).

 

(a)   He had evidently been praying for an extended period of time about his concern.

 

 

 

(b)   The intensity of his prayers had reached a level that should have been heard. Note the shift from “cry” to “cry out.”

 

 

 

 

 

(c)   Yet the LORD would not respond. He would not deliver the nation from ungodliness! (The prophet didn’t doubt God’s ability to do so, but His willingness to do so.)

 

 

 

2.      The prophet is tired and exasperated by the constant presence of violence and injustice in his culture (v. 3).

 

(a)   Everywhere he turns people are abusing one another!

 

 

 

(b)   He sees blatant injustice & wrongful suffering. The wicked oppressors are causing untold suffering on their victims, and no one does anything about it!

 

 

 

(c)   He sees destruction & violence (hamas), wreaking havoc on life-supporting infrastructures and relationships.

 

 

(d)   He sees strife and conflict! The courts of law are rife with lawsuits and legal quarrels! (And he’s weary of watching!)

 

 

 

3.      The prophet sees the inevitable results of this behavior (v. 4).

 

 

 

(a)   The law is practically worthless (paralyzed), so that justice never wins! (This has got to affect cultural morale!)

 

 

 

(b)   The wicked outnumber and pressure the righteous, so that justice is always averted. No wonder he’s so frustrated!

 

 

 

 

v      The LORD provides a response to His struggling prophet (v. 5).

 

1.      This will not be the response for which he was hoping! His response will be “both comforting and confounding.” The LORD does respond, but not in the way expected!

 

 

 

2.      The prophet is told to expand his world view, to look at the “big picture.” The whole world is under His authority!

 

 

 

3.      The prophet is warned that what the LORD is about to do will blow his mind! (He might want to sit down for this one!)

 

 

 

v      The LORD’s solution to the problem of religious perversion and societal injustice will be swift & terrible, the Babylonians are coming (vv. 6-11)!

 

1.      These people are characterized by ruthlessness, recklessness, and uninhibited greed (v. 6)! They grab what they can and go!

 

 

 

2.      They strike fear and dread into the hearts of men. They set their own standards and laws, and seek their own glory (v. 7).

 

 

 

3.      Their advancing hoards are likened to the swiftest (leopards), fiercest (wolves), and most rapacious (eagles) animals. They appear out of nowhere, attack, and then vanish (v. 8).

 

 

 

4.      They’re bent on violence; they swarm unexpectedly and menacingly, gathering captives and leading them away (v. 9).

 

 

 

5.      They have no fear / respect for those in authority or power, scoffing at those who resist as they overwhelm and overpower their defenses. Then they take off into the night (vv. 10-11a).

 

 

 

6.      These ungodly men worship themselves. They are their own gods (v. 11b)!

 

 

 

We imagine the prophet sitting silently, stunned, and in disbelief!

 

“LORD, that’s not what I had in mind!”

 

The LORD had given an answer, but not the one wanted or expected. That happens sometimes, probably more often than not.

 

Some time invested in Romans 11:33-36 may help us sort things out.

 

And if time permits, Job 38-42 would provide perspective!