(Note: By request, I am conducting the
next series of devotions on Habakkuk, then following with devotional study of
the Book of Job)
The
Twenty-Third Sunday after Trinity
The
Collect.
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O
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GOD, our refuge and strength, who art the author of all godliness; Be
ready, we beseech thee, to hear the devout prayers of thy Church; and grant
that those things which we ask faithfully we may obtain effectually; through
Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
1 The
burden which Habakkuk the prophet did see. 2 O Lord, how long shall I cry,
and thou wilt not hear! even cry out unto thee of violence, and thou wilt not
save! 3 Why dost thou shew me iniquity, and cause me to behold grievance?
for spoiling and violence are before me: and there are that raise up strife and
contention. 4 Therefore the law is slacked, and judgment doth never go
forth: for the wicked doth compass about the righteous; therefore wrong
judgment proceedeth. (Habakkuk 1:1-4)
We will take up a devotional study of the Book of Habakkuk over the next
several days. This book is particularly relevant to our present times in that
the prophet uttered his words during a time of great apostasy and wickedness in
the people of God. The times of Habakkuk were very similar to those days we
witness in our own dearly beloved nation today.
Credible sources differ on the precise time frame of Habakkuk. Bishop Ussher
dates the time of its writing at 626 B.C., but other chronological analyses
date the writing to 610 B.C. Some others even date the writing to 515 B.C. This
last date seems far too recent in view of historical documentation in secular
sources. Though Habakkuk seems to have begun his service to the Lord as a
priest around 630 B.C., the date of 610 B.C. seems the most accurate account of
his prpophecy and in greatest accord with the actual record of the Chaldean
invasion under Nebuchadnezzar. According to Eusebius, Habakkuk did live to see
the bondage of Judah by Nebuchadnezzar. It seems consistent with the
narrative that Habakkuk prophesied in the last years of the reign of the good
King Josiah and, perhaps, during the reign of the wicked King Jehoiakim. The
biblical `scrolls of the Law' were found in the Temple when King Josiah was
twenty, and he immediately sought to lead God's people back to a love and
obedience to God. This resulted in a period in which God withheld His wrath and
judgment from Israel (particularly, Judah). The `revival' was half-hearted
being mostly an awakening of Josiah to the terrible sins of his people, and a
devout dependence of Josiah upon the mercies of God.
Later, Josiah was succeeded by an evil King – Jehoiakim, who had no such
reverence for the Word of God (sound familiar?). When it was revealed to
Jehoiakim how his behavior was very wicked and incurred God's wrath, King
Jehoiakim cut the scroll up with his pen knife and cast it into the fire. We
see essentially the same thing happening at the highest echelon of our own
government today! The Prophet, Habakkuk, viewed the wickedness of Israel-Judah
and, rather than plead that the Lord would withhold judgment, question why God
would not immediately bring these people into judgment.
Habakkuk is a prophet who, like Jacob, wrestled with God. He loved the
righteousness of God above every other consideration and would have preferred
to see his people suffer tribulation and judgment than to be permitted to sin
without limit. His will was the same as that of God. The big difference was timing.
God will often suffer a people to sin so grossly that their cup of iniquity is
so full and overflowing that they cannot question the hand of judgment when it
falls upon their heads. Habakkuk was only less patient than God! God's great
patience with a disobedient people was something that Habakkuk did not
understand at the beginning of his ministry.
We shall examine the five parts of this book in the coming days: 1) The
personal anguish of Habakkuk at God's delay of judgment against the wickedness
of the people of Israel owing, it seems, to the repentance of a good King,
Josiah. This consideration is covered in today's devotion. - Habakkuk
1:1-4. 2) God's response to the entreaties of Habakkuk in 1:5-11. 3)
The response of Habakkuk to God's counsel (1:12-17) and his awaiting
further guidance from God in 2:1. 4) The vision of God to Habakkuk which
comes to his eager and watchful eyes – 2:2-20. And 5) The finale of the
Book of Habakkuk with his Psalm of wondrous sublimity and praise.
We note, in this first part (1:1-4) that Habakkuk had a burden to understand
and proclaim the Will of the Lord. Every minister and prophet
must bear that same burden. He cannot escape the sure bonds of his calling in
God to go forth and proclaim the Word! The burden which Habakkuk the
prophet did see.
Every minister of the Lord is anxious to see, not only His mercy, but His
judgment enacted against those whom he loves. His cry goes up night and day
with anguish and inquiry – HOW LONG, O LORD? The minister or prophet may even
suppose that the Lord does not hear for His delay of action, but He does
indeed! Another point of great importance here is this: the minister or prophet
of God suffers great pain in his heart at the wickedness that displeases his
Lord. Do we suffer when we see how our nation has been overrun with sin and
licientiousness? 2.O Lord, how long shall I cry, and thou wilt
not hear! even cry out unto thee of violence, and thou wilt not
save! 3. Why dost thou shew me iniquity, and cause me to
behold grievance? for spoiling and violence are before me: and there are
that raise up strife and contention.
Now is shown the grievous distress the prophet, or minister, feels when he
observes the Law of God trampled under foot without a visible and prompt
retribution. He longs to see the judgment of the Lord come down on his sinful
neighbors – not because he despises them, but because he loves them enough to
desire even tribulation if it will awaken their slumbering consciences. He sees
the judgment of wicked men trumping the judgment of God. The righteous suffer,
and the wicked prosper according to the prophets point of view. But WAIT upon
the Lord. All things will be righted in His own time! 4 Therefore
the law is slacked, and judgment doth never go forth: for the wicked doth
compass about the righteous; therefore wrong judgment proceedeth
Can you feel Habakkuk's frustration? When you look about you in our own
country, do you desire that the Lord would bring down the wicked who bear rule
and elevate the righteous in the land? We have reached a sorry state today in
which so-called ministers of God are too politically correct, or fearful, to
sound the alarm. Like Jeremiah, we MUST – even if our courage takes us into the
pits of torment. "I tell you that, if
these should hold their peace, the stones would immediately cry out."
(Luke 19:40) Are we not better than stones, my friends?
