[Intro]
Why God? Why do You allow evil? Why do You allow all these shootings? Why do You allow Your Church to accept heresy? Why do You allow for murder? Why do You allow children to be abused? Why do You allow the social contagion known as gender ideology and gender-affirming care? Why God? Why do You allow this?
We have all had questions such as these. And, I’m sure you have had so many other questions that you demanded answers from God. We all ask God, “Why?” Why do You allow evil?
The Prophet Habakkuk also asked many of the same questions we ask God. He, like the Prophet Job, questioned why evil existed and why the Lord permitted evil to afflict His people. Today, on this 17thSunday after Pentecost, the Triune God – the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit – gives us the answer to Habakkuk’s, Job’s, and our complaints.
[Why God?]
“O Lord, how long shall I cry for help,
and you will not hear?
Or cry to you ‘Violence!’
and you will not save?” (Habakkuk 1:1-2)
Habakkuk remembers what it was like before the current king of Judah. He remembers this king’s father Josiah, who was one of the few godly kings of Judah. During his reign, he commissioned a remodel of the Jerusalem Temple. Like many remodeling projects, lost items are soon found. Seemingly tucked away in a closet collecting dust was the Book of the Law – the Five Books of Moses: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. They were found by Hilkiah the high priest and when he found them, he didn’t fully appreciate this discovery. You see, they forgot about the Book of the Law. Essentially, each king and their people did what was right in their own eye.
When Josiah saw what the discovery was, he called together the people of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, including the priests and prophets, to hear the Book of the Law read by him. Then “the king stood by the pillar and renewed the covenant in the presence of the LORD – to follow the LORD and keep His commands, statutes and decrees with all his heart and all his soul, thus confirming the words of the covenant written in this book. Then all the people pledged themselves to the covenant” (2 Kings 23:3).
At that moment, everyone pledged themselves to God and His Law.
The Word of God that was seemingly forgotten was now back in plain sight. Following this discovery, Josiah did not want any distractions from God’s truth, so he cleansed the Temple courts of any corrupt religious practices and destroyed all the false idol shrines. God’s Word was certainly working repentance and faith among the people. But then Josiah died.
After his elder son reigned for three months, Jehoiakim then came to the throne. Sadly, he had none of his father’s redeeming qualities. He was godless and his attitude and wicked behavior filtered down to the lesser officials and, finally, to the people themselves.
The people of Judah had God’s Word, but now they chose to ignore it. King Jehoiakim’s behavior filtered down to the people. Still within recent memory was the relative peace under Josiah, since the people agreed on morality. Under Jehoiakim, not so much. The saying, “Culture is downstream of politics” is true. If the culture is corrupt, politics – that is the public, or the people – tends to follow.
“O Lord, how long shall I cry for help,
and you will not hear?
Or cry to you ‘Violence!’
and you will not save? (Habakkuk 1:2)
Habakkuk has been praying to God since Jehoiakim’s behavior filtered down to the people to stop the violence and injustice in Judah, but he believes that God has not been listening. He cried out:
“Why do you make me see iniquity,
and why do you idly look at wrong?
Destruction and violence are before me;
strife and contention arise” (Habakkuk 1:3).
Here, Habakkuk is asking this: “Why, O LORD, do you tolerate wickedness in the first place?” Now, he’s not the first to ask this. Job asked: “Why do the wicked live, reach old age, and grow mighty in power?” (Job 21:7). The Psalmist asked: “How long, O God, is the foe to scoff? Is the enemy to revile your name forever? Why do you hold back your hand, your right hand? Take it from the fold of your garment and destroy them!” (Psalm 74:10-11).
Habakkuk, Job, and the Psalmist each wondered why the Lord seemingly has His hands in His pockets. They ask, “Lord, why do You take no action against those who revile You and ignore Your will? Lord, how can You permit the wicked to slap You in the face?”
[Violence and Destruction]
In our reading, Habakkuk sees “violence” and “destruction” all around him. Now, “violence” is the immoral and criminal behavior evident everywhere in Jerusalem: murder, robbery, theft, fraud, embezzlement, rape, adultery, and other violations of God’s moral Law. These are sins that destroy the lives of individuals and ruin the fabric of society. These acts of violence look much like the things that fill our society today.
As for “injustice,” Habakkuk observes that the courts are corrupt, that the processes of justice have broken down to a two-tiered justice system. Justice is perverted to favor the wicked intentions of the godless, and the godly who play by the rules are taken advantage of. The wicked escape punishment, and the godly find that justice eludes them. The godly are ridiculed because they refuse to condone evil.
The way Habakkuk pictures the Law in his society is memorable: “The Law is paralyzed” (Habakkuk 1:4). Now, a paralyzed person cannot move, so he is unable to work or defend himself. This is how the Law is in an immoral society. The Law is ineffective. The Law is easy to circumvent. The Law is so crippled that “justice never prevails.” When the Law is paralyzed, there is no agreement on what is right or wrong. Thus, there is no willingness to punish those who break laws. As a result, the Law ceases to function. It becomes unable to dispense proper justice.
An immoral society is a lawless society. Where the Ten Commandments have become paralyzed, the breakdown of Law and Order in society is the inevitable result. This is what Habakkuk saw all around him, and he wondered why a just God did not act. Why is God tolerating this? Why did God let it get this bad in the first place?
[The Answer]
But like a watchman standing on the walls of Jerusalem, alert and waiting for a messenger to come bearing news, Habakkuk waits patiently for the Lord’s message. He waits because he is not alone in wanting an answer.
After cry after cry to God, Habakkuk finally receives a reply. The LORD answered him: “Write the vision;
make it plain on tablets,
so he may run who reads it” (Habakkuk 2:2).
Habakkuk then wrote what God spoke to him on large posters – similar to a billboard today – that could be easily read by all who passed by. God’s message is clear: He wants this message to get out. He wants others to hear and read it. He wants this message to have the broadest possible audience.
So, what was God’s message of reply?
“Behold, his soul is puffed up; it is not upright within him,
but the righteous shall live by his faith” (Habakkuk 2:4).
God is telling Habakkuk that He will use the Babylonians to punish Judah for its wickedness. Wait? What? Aren’t the Babylonians even more wicked? Yes, they are, but
due to their wickedness Judah will soon be taken into exile by the “puffed up” Babylonians, but in sharp contrast to the arrogance of the Babylonians, the Lord says, “But the righteous shall live by his faith.”
Faith is holding firm to the one true God who can be trusted, even though we cannot always understand His ways. Faith is trusting in God’s promises. For the people of Judah, their lives were about to radically change as they would be taken away from their homeland and sent into exile in an unknown place. So, throughout all the “why’s”, God gives them the answer: “I will never leave you or forsake you. Trust in Me, for I will deliver you salvation.”
When all was looking grim, God encourages His people that He will deliver them exactly what He had promised. It may look bad now, but in time, He always delivers.
So, what “why questions” are you asking God? At each Divine Service, God delivers peace to our “why questions.” He delivers forgiveness of sins and strength for our faith through His Word and Sacrament. He reminds us that despite the craziness of this fallen world, He is still in control.
The Holy Spirit inspired Paul, much like Habakkuk here, as he wrote: “If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare His own Son, but gave Him up for us all – how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things” (Romans 8:31, 32). What things? Paul is acknowledging that God has done everything for our salvation. It is finished. Salvation is ours by faith in Jesus Christ as Lord.
For Habakkuk, he was awaiting deliverance. In time, he was delivered. He was not able to see it during his life, but he trusted in his deliverance. All of the world was delivered when Jesus died to pay for our sins. And nothing separates us from the love of Christ.
As we leave this place today, we will still face challenges, confront difficult circumstances as we face wicked unbelievers in society, but no matter what “the righteous will live by his faith.”
Now, the Lord’s answer may not completely satisfy our sense of fairness, but remember this: God’s ways transcend our ways. Salvation, though delayed, will surely come. This salvation is received in God’s justification of the sinner by grace through faith: “For the righteous shall live by his faith.”Amen.
The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus, our Lord. Amen.
+ SOLI DEO GLORIA +
No comments:
Post a Comment