Who Are You, Lord?

[Read Habakkuk 1:12-2:1]

There’s an interesting tendency among the human race. Let me give a few examples. You catch two of your children in the process of doing something they shouldn’t be doing. You pull one of them off to the side to talk to them about what they just did. You correct them for doing something wrong. Almost always, what’s going to be the first thing to come out of their mouth? “But, my brother did it first” or “My brother did it worse.” 

They grow up and become teenagers. Once again, you notice something happening in their life that needs correction, maybe it’s the way they’re dressing or the way they’re talking. So, you pull them aside and say, “We don’t talk that way or dress that way in our family. It doesn’t honor God.” What’s going to come out of their mouth? “Well, everyone else in my school uses worse language and dresses worse than I do.” 

They grow up and become adults. You notice they are beginning to use alcohol in a way that isn’t helpful or are wasting their money on pointless things. So, you bring it up and talk to them about it: “It seems like you’re drinking more than is helpful. That’s not a healthy path to head down.” Or “It seems like you’re not stewarding your money well. God has given you that money for a reason.” What’s going to come out of their mouth? “Well, I know plenty of people who drink more than I do and spend their money WAY more foolishly than I do!” 

It’s interesting, isn’t it? We have this natural tendency to compare ourselves to everyone around us in order to redirect the blame from ourselves. You know what the proper response is, right? How you’re supposed to respond when people try to point the blame elsewhere when you’re correcting them? It doesn’t matter if it’s a young child, a teenager, or an adult. You look them directly in the eye and say, “I’m not talking about them right now. I’m talking about you. I’ll deal with your brother when I deal with your brother. Right now I’m dealing with you and we’re going to talk about the way you’re handling yourself.” 

We see Habakkuk doing something similar in today’s passage. Remember, he has been praying for God to do something about the violence and contention and strife and injustice he sees around him. Then God responds by telling Habakkuk that he is doing something. He is raising up the Babylonians to bring judgment upon the wickedness of Israel. Then, what does Habakkuk say? He basically says, “Wait! What!?! Those guys are WAY worse than us!”

Then Habakkuk begins to describe them. Describing Babylon, he says, “He brings all of them up with a hook; he drags them out with his net; he gathers them in his dragnet; so he rejoices and is glad. Therefore he sacrifices to his net and makes offerings to his dragnet; for by them he lives in luxury, and his food is rich. Is he then to keep on emptying his net and mercilessly killing nations forever?” (Habakkuk 1:15–17, ESV). He’s comparing the world to a bunch of fish and Babylon as the fisherman who continues to catch more and more and more fish. Babylon keeps overtaking more and more nations. 

But there’s more going on here. The Babylonians had kept some of the nasty, wicked practices of the Assyrians (who were really brutal). So, the Babylonians didn’t just come in, overcome the walls of the city, and overthrow the city. Once they overcame the city, they would take the captives, chain them together, and lead them out of their land. Do you know HOW they led them out of their land? I bet the image you have in your brain is a bunch of people with their hands and feet shackled together—kinda like you see in the movies. That’s not what Babylon did. They would chain people together by placing a sharp hook through their lips—chaining the captives together lip by lip. Habakkuk says, “THAT’s how wicked these people are!”

Not only that, but once they capture all of these people, and their net is full, they don’t even acknowledge that God has allowed them to win the battle. Instead they make “…sacrifices to his net and makes offerings to his dragnet; for by them he lives in luxury, and his food is rich.” (Habakkuk 1:16, ESV). So, they refuse to acknowledge that God is the one who has given them power and might and prosperity. They worship their “nets”—their power and might and armies and...—the tools they’ve used to become prosperous. So, they’re not just a wicked nations, they’re an idolatrous nation who refuses to worship the God who created them. 

So, God comes to Habakkuk, informing him that discipline and correction and judgment are coming, and Habakkuk responds by pointing the blame elsewhere: “You think WE’RE bad. Those guys are WAY worse!” 

Now remember what I said the very first week of this series. As we go through the book of Habakkuk, we’re going to be learning how to live in a culture filled with violence, strife, contention, injustice, and wickedness. How do we live out our faith in a world like this? In a culture like this? While Habakkuk doesn’t get everything right, he is able to teach us quite a bit. 

If we’re going to live out our faith in a messed up world, we need to start by holding firmly to what we know about God—Who He is and What He has done. We see Habakkuk doing that, repeatedly, throughout this passage. When things in the world are confusing, and we don’t understand everything, there’s a temptation for us to change the way we understand God. Rather than molding our reality to what we know about God, we try to mold God into something that fits the way we see reality. That’s not helpful. We need to remember who our God is and what He has done, then mold reality to fit that picture.

So, Habakkuk begins by saying, “Are you not from everlasting, O LORD my God, my Holy One?” (Habakkuk 1:12, ESV). Although Habakkuk is confused, he is laying a proper foundation. He doesn’t understand why things are the way they are, but He knows that God is from everlasting. He knows that God existed before everything was created, continues to exist now, and will continue to exist forever. God is from everlasting to everlasting. Habakkuk is holding on to this truth firmly. He isn’t letting go of it, even though he may be tempted to change it based on what he sees in the world. He knows he CAN’T change who God is because God is from everlasting and doesn’t change. The same God that made promises to Abraham is the same God that is speaking to Habakkuk now. He doesn’t change. So, Habakkuk shouldn’t try to change Him. 

Habakkuk also knows that God is Holy and Pure. He calls God “my Holy One” and later says “You who are of purer eyes than to see evil and cannot look at wrong…” (Habakkuk 1:12–13, ESV). Again, Habakkuk knows these things are true of God. He knows that God is holy and pure. He knows that God cannot look upon evil. And, because of what he sees in the world, Habakkuk may be tempted to change his view of God—to try and mold God to fit his current circumstances—but he doesn’t do that. God’s holiness and purity don’t change based on the circumstances. God is holy from eternity to eternity. It doesn’t change. 

Habakkuk also knows that God is Sovereign and in control of all things. He says things like, “O LORD, you have ordained them as a judgment, and you, O Rock, have established them for reproof…You make mankind like the fish of the sea, like crawling things that have no ruler.” (Habakkuk 1:12–14, ESV). God is sovereign and in control of everything that is happening. He acknowledges that God has ordained Babylon’s rise to power and their judgement of Israel. He acknowledges that God can make mankind like fish—like animals who have no ruler. God is in control of all things. Again, because of what Habakkuk sees in the world, he might be tempted to change that truth about God, right? I mean, it doesn’t seem like God is in control. It doesn’t look like God is in control at the moment. It would be easier to pretend like God is not in control—like everything is randomly happening. But, again, Habakkuk knows he cannot do this. He must hold firmly to the truth he knows about God because the truth doesn’t change…because God doesn’t change. God is in control. He was in control when he created the universe and he continues to be in control now—even when things don’t make sense. 

One of the most beautiful things that Habakkuk knows is that God is his God—not just some random God, but he is MY God. Twice Habakkuk says, “O LORD my God, my Holy One” (Habakkuk 1:12, ESV). My God. My Holy One. Not just some random God. On top of that, Habakkuk uses God’s covenantal name. Notice how the name “LORD” is in all caps: “O LORD my God, my Holy One…O LORD…” (Habakkuk 1:12, ESV). Whenever you see that in your Bible, it’s telling you that they’re using the name Yahweh—God’s covenantal name for his people. It’s a reminder that this God has promised to be their God, and these people have promised to be his people. There’s a relationship between God and his people. Again, based on what Habakkuk is seeing and hearing, he may be tempted to forget that truth or change that truth, right? I mean, in Habakkuk’s eyes, God hasn’t been acting like there’s a relationship here. And, how could God bring judgment upon his own people? But, again, Habakkuk knows he cannot change this fact about God because God doesn’t change. God has promised to be their God. It doesn’t matter if it looks that way to Habakkuk. That promise stands and God doesn’t change. So, Habakkuk holds firmly to that truth—even when things don’t make sense. 

Notice how this changes the way he prays to his God. Remember what I said that first week. If we are going to properly live in this culture, we must continually be in prayer to our God, laying our anger and our grief at his feet. But as we lay our anger and our grief at God’s feet, we must not forget who he is and what he has done. We must always remember that God is eternal, that God is holy and pure, that God is in control, and that God is OUR God. When we remember these things in prayer, and hold onto them, refusing to let go of these truths, it changes the way we pray. 

Notice how this changes the way Habakkuk brings his complaint to God. He says, “Are you not from everlasting, O LORD my God, my Holy One? We shall not die.” (Habakkuk 1:12, ESV). Habakkuk is confused about God’s response. But as He comes to God, he basically says, “Alright God, I know you are from everlasting—you don’t change—and I know you’re Holy, and I know you’re my God—the God of Israel. That means we will not be wiped out.” Notice how Habakkuk uses these truths about God’s character to wrestle with his confusion and bring some clarity and hope in his prayers. He knows that God will not completely wipe out his people because God has promised that he won’t completely wipe out his people. So, by holding firmly to what He knows about God, he finds hope and comfort and clarity in the midst of his confusion. 

Yet, Habakkuk is still confused. He says, “You who are of purer eyes than to see evil and cannot look at wrong, why do you idly look at traitors and remain silent when the wicked swallows up the man more righteous than he?” (Habakkuk 1:13, ESV). Again, Habakkuk says, “Alright God, I know some things about you. I know that you are Holy and cannot look upon evil. I know that you’re in control of all things. I know that we are your people. But I don’t get it. I don’t get why you allow these wicked people to wickedly swallow up your people. I get that things are bad with us, but these guys are way worse than us. Why are you using them to judge us?” 

Again, notice how Habakkuk takes what he knows about God and uses it in his prayer. He’s wrestling with God at this point, but not in a bad way. Habakkuk isn’t wrestling with God like an atheist—accusing God of maliciously and capriciously wiping out nations. No, Habakkuk is wrestling with God by faith. He has faith that God is from everlasting, that God is holy, that God is in control, that God has claimed Israel as his own, but he’s confused. He doesn’t understand how what he knows about God lines up with what he’s seeing in the world and hearing from God. So, he’s wrestling. He’s praying to God, “Please clear things up for me. This doesn’t make sense, but I want to understand. If this is who you are, why are things happening like this?” This prayer is very similar to another prayer from the New Testament where a man cries out, “I believe; help my unbelief!” (Mark 9:24, ESV). 

Then Habakkuk ends with a powerful statement. He says, “I will take my stand at my watchpost and station myself on the tower, and look out to see what he will say to me, and what I will answer concerning my complaint.” (Habakkuk 2:1, ESV). Again, Habakkuk is trusting his God. He has been reminded of who God is. He has wrestled with God by faith. And now he plans to keep his eyes on God until he hears from him. He says he will take his stand at the watchpost and will not leave until he hears an answer from his God. He has faith—he KNOWS—that God WILL answer him. So, he plants his feet and refuses to budge until he hears from his God. 

Habakkuk’s faith also shows where he places his hope and where he looks for wisdom. Like I’ve said throughout this sermon, it would have been easy for Habakkuk to inform his decisions by what he sees going on in the world around him—to change the way he understands God. It would have been easy for Habakkuk to inform his decisions by what he hears from the world around him—to embrace the wisdom of the world. It would have been easy for Habakkuk to trust himself and base his decisions on what he’s feeling at the time. But, because Habakkuk knows his God and trusts his God, he looks to him for that answer. He doesn’t look inside himself for the answer. He doesn’t look to the world for the answer. He doesn’t look at his circumstances for the answer. He says, “I will take my stand in this watchtower and I will not leave until I hear from my God.” That’s the only place he will find truth and wisdom. 

This is the type of resolve that comes in our souls through faith. By faith, we know who our God is. By faith, we know that our God is from everlasting to everlasting. By faith, we know that our God is holy and pure and cannot be in the presence of evil. By faith, we know that God sent his Son—Jesus Christ—into the world to save us from our sin and cleanse us so that we could be in his presence. We know that when we look to Jesus Christ by faith, and trust in his forgiveness, we are adopted into God’s family and we can now call him “My God.” By faith, we hold onto these truths about who God is and what He has done, no matter the circumstance and no matter what the world has to say about it. By faith, we continually pray to our God, asking him to give us wisdom and insight and clarity to understand what is happening. By faith, we come to our God in prayer asking him to strengthen our faith. And, by faith, we plant our feet at our watchpost—refusing to look to ourselves for wisdom, refusing to look to the world for wisdom, refusing to look at our circumstances for wisdom—we plant our feet at our watchpost and say, “I will not move until I hear what my God has to say to me. He will answer me. I know it.”