Habakkuk "God Out of the Box"

You are listening to a message from Southwood Presbyterian Church in Huntsville, Alabama.

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Yeah, and some of the messaging we had with Will this morning, I think he's coming up

with some new ideas of ways to enhance what we do here.

And he was talking about the worship service that he went through this morning.

It lasted for four and a half hours.

So just be on your guard.

I want you to open your Bibles to Habakkuk.

Some of you are going to have to tear the pages apart in this section.

If you want to know where it is, it's right after Nahum.

Turn to Matthew and make a left and go back five books and you'll find it.

There haven't been many books in the Bible that I have repeated through sermons.

In fact, I don't think there are any except for Luke going through here, except Habakkuk.

And this is actually the third time through.

Because what I find here in Habakkuk is a very highly relevant message for us.

It's one of those minor prophets that, unfortunately, we don't read very often.

But I think he speaks to us in so many wonderful ways.

I don't know if you've ever found yourself in a situation

where God shook you down to the foundations

of all that you thought and all that you believed about him.

I mean, maybe even we think about that now when you look at things on a societal level,

when you see the way our society is going and you see, you know,

it seems like evil is running rampant,

righteousness is kind of being pushed out of the picture,

and everything seems to be out of control.

And we wonder, okay, God, what are your promises here?

What are you doing?

Maybe it's on a personal level,

where God did something in your life

that was beyond your understanding and your ability to grasp.

You know, on whatever level that maybe God has ever done this,

sometimes he comes and does these things that totally changes everything.

It changes the way that we think about him.

It changes the way that we relate to him.

It changes how we think about ourselves, about his promises.

It just shapes everything.

And God does, has a way of bringing us to that place

in undoing so much of what we think.

I think that a lot of us have this view of God

that's very tame.

It's very manageable.

It's very predictable.

It's very orderly.

And functions on this basis of a nice set of well-defined rules and categories.

And we like when God is this way

because we like life that's predictable.

We like life that is manageable.

And we like it when we can use these nice formulas

and everything is predictable.

You know, if I do this, if I do this,

then I'm going to get this.

If I read the Bible to my kids as they're younger

and we do family devotions

and then my kids are going to turn out great.

If I give my money when I'm supposed to,

then God is going to bless me

and make sure that I have everything that I need.

God is going to honor what I do for him.

And after all, we've got all these promises in Scripture

that tell us those very things.

But sometimes we find out

that this God that we worship

is not that kind of God.

Sometimes He just will not

and refuses to

fit into our formulas,

our predictable, manageable

ideas

of what He is supposed to do.

Sometimes those who tithe

lose their jobs.

Sometimes really good parents

have children who are addicts.

And what do we do then?

In fact, I would actually go on to say

if your picture of God

is orderly,

predictable,

neat,

and tidy,

you do not

know Him

very well.

He is not a tame God.

He is very unpredictable.

And He lives outside of

our categories

in our boxes

that we create

for Him.

Let me tell you

a little bit about

how I was faced

with this dilemma.

And this was as a pastor.

Back in

the summer of 2009,

I was sitting

in a courtroom.

We had returned

from Hungary

after being there

for six years.

A year or so before,

my oldest daughter

had gotten married

to a guy

that we

had questions

about.

And now,

we were sitting

in a courtroom

in rural Kansas

where he had been

falsely accused

of a horrific crime.

And the jury

was about to come back

with its verdict.

And I remember

that

of even praying,

we had all these

people praying for us,

we had all these

people, you know,

supporting us

and behind,

you know,

just pleading

for God to be

who He's promised

He would be.

A God of justice,

a God of mercy.

And I also remember

that there's one thing

that I absolutely

felt that I could

not stand,

I could not handle,

was to look

into my daughter's

eyes

and hear the word

guilty.

Because my daughter

was a new parent,

had an infant son,

not quite a year old,

and this was not

the life

that I had thought

would be

for my daughter.

I couldn't imagine

her being a single parent.

I couldn't imagine

my grandson

having a father

who was a convicted felon.

I couldn't imagine.

And to deal with

the pain

of her face.

And so when the judge

pronounced the words

guilty,

everything I knew

about God

went out the window.

I didn't know

how to relate

to him anymore.

I didn't know

how to pray

to him anymore.

I didn't know

what to expect

from him anymore.

I was dealing

with a God

I did not know.

And at the moment,

I wasn't sure

I liked it.

He did not

answer my prayers

the way I thought

he should have.

Instead,

he brought to me

some of the deepest pain

I have ever felt.

And how am I

supposed to relate

to a God

who is like that?

Well see,

really,

this is the story

of Habakkuk.

Habakkuk

is a prophecy

that is very different

from all the other

prophecies.

It's a dialogue.

So many of the other

prophecies,

you have a prophet

coming with these words

of judgment

and calls to repentance

for the nation

of Israel

so they could come back

to the God

that they were

supposed to be

worshiping.

But Habakkuk

is really

a conversation

between two

very intimate

friends.

And

it is

a declaration

in a sense

of

what it means

to walk

in faith

with our

creator

and our

redeemer.

So for those

of us

who struggle

with what God

is doing

in our lives

and maybe

struggling

in our world,

Habakkuk,

I think,

is a great

place for us

to learn

how to relate

to him

in faith.

How to relate

in faith

to a God

who will not

fit

in our box.

So what I want to do,

I want us just to go

through this dialogue

in the first chapter

up through

verse 1

of chapter 2

and let's see

how this

all conversation

sets up.

Let me read

verses 1

through 4.

You can see it

there on the screen.

It's the oracle

that Habakkuk

the prophet

saw.

How long,

O Lord,

how long

shall I cry

for help

and you

will not hear

or cry

to you

violence

and you

will not

save?

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

so the law

is paralyzed

and justice

never goes

forth

for the wicked

surround

the righteous

so justice

goes forth

perverted.

Habakkuk

comes to God

opens up

this dialogue

with a complaint

and he's

confused.

He knows

who God

is,

he knows

what God

has promised,

he knows

what he has

taught

but what he

sees

before his

face

is not

what

he thinks

should be

because

he

thinks

what he's

saying here

is that

God

what it

seems

here

is that

you

have put

me in

a place

with all

these wicked

people

and these

are your

people

they are

perverting

justice

righteousness

is basically

being pushed

out of society

and you're

making me

see this

but all

the while

it appears

like you're

blind

that you

don't see it

because if you

did see it

you would

be doing

something

but you're

not doing

anything

that I

can see

and why

in fact

it's gotten

so bad

in Habakkuk's

mind

that he said

that the

wicked surround

the righteous

they're

hemmed in

they seem

to be more

numerous than

the good

folks

and there's

no justice

but notice

too how

he begins

this whole

dialogue

he says

how long

do I cry

to you

for help

this is not

the first

time

Habakkuk

has prayed

this

he has

been going

to God

over

and over

and over

again

in this

prayer

he feels

like

is falling

on deaf

ears

and so

he's

confused

he's

and he's

going to

God

and wrestling

with him

and saying

okay

what's going

on here

this is not

right

well then we

get to verse

five and

God comes

and answers

look what he

says

he says

look

among the

nations

and see

wonder

and be

astonished

for I

am doing

a work

in your

days

that you

would not

believe

if told

for behold

I am

raising up

the Chaldeans

that bitter

and hasty

nation

who march

through the

breadth of

the earth

to seize

dwellings

not their

own

they are

dreaded

and fearsome

their justice

and dignity

go forth

from themselves

their horses

are swifter

than leopards

more fierce

than the evening

wolves

their horsemen

press proudly

on

their horsemen

come from

afar

they fly

like an eagle

swift

to devour

they all

come for

violence

all their

faces forward

they gather

captives

like sand

at kings

they scoff

and at rulers

they laugh

and they laugh

at every

fortress

for they

pile up

earth

and take

it

then they

sweep

by like

the winds

and go

on

guilty

men

whose

God

whose

own

might

is

their

God

wow

God

answers

Habakkuk

and basically

says oh

you think

I'm not

doing

anything

oh I

am

I'm doing

something

beyond

wonderful

I am

right now

at work

raising up

the Chaldeans

Nebuchadnezzar

all the

Babylonians

and they're

going to

come

and they're

going to

bring

justice

God

is

bringing

justice

on

Israel

and all

the

wickedness

that was

there

but what

was surprising

to Habakkuk

now

is that

he's

using

the

Babylonians

to do

it

to do

his

work

this

arrogant

godless

extremely

violent

people

are

going to

flood

into

Israel

and take

care of

business

wow

what do you

think Habakkuk

thought of

that

well

we look

at verse

12

through 17

and we

see

are you

not

from

everlasting

oh

lord

my

god

my

holy

one

we

will

not

die

oh

lord

you

have

ordained

them

as a

judgment

and you

oh

rock

have

established

them

for

reproof

you

who

are

of

pure

eyes

than

to

see

evil

and

cannot

look

at

wrong

why

do

you

idly

look

at

nations

and are

silent

when the

wicked

swallows

up

the

man

more

righteous

than

he

you

have

made

mankind

like

the

fish

of

the

sea

like

crawling

things

that

have

no

ruler

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

his

dragnet

for

by

them

he

lives

in

luxury

and

his

food

is

rich

is

he

then

to

keep

on

emptying

his

net

and

merciliously

killing

nations

forever

Habakkuk's

response

if he

wasn't

confused

before

he

is

now

because

he

goes

to

God

he

says

God

what's

going

on

and

God

says

I've

got

a

plan

but

if

I

tell

you

you

won't

believe

me

and

Habakkuk

basically

says

tell

me

and

God

tells

him

and

Habakkuk

says

I

don't

believe

you

God

tells

him

and

what

he

seems

to

be

doing

is

totally

the

opposite

of

what

Habakkuk

has

known

and

he

is

more

than

troubled

in

fact

his

response

here

is

quite

brutally

honest

and

very

strong

we

can't

even

say

that

Habakkuk

is

ticked

off

and

he

cannot

understand

how

God

could

do

such

a

thing

how

could

you

take

these

arrogant

violent

pagan

people

and

use

them

to

judge

those

who

are

more

righteous

than

they

are

that

you

would

use

them

to

come

and

destroy

us

and

his

confusion

gets

the

best

of

him

and

he

just

goes

to

God

and

pours

out

his

anguish

in a

flood

and

then

we

have

the

conclusion

we

see

verse

one

of

chapter

two

where

he

says

I

will

take

my

stand

at

my

watch

post

and

station

myself

on

the

tower

and

I

will

look

out

to

see

what

he

will

say

to

me

and

what

I

will

answer

concerning

my

complaint

Habakkuk

doesn't know

what God

is going

to say

but he's

already

building

a

defense

to

argue

his

case

I

love

this

dialogue

especially

because

God

has

shown

himself

so far

outside

the

categories

that I

had

for

him

but it

also

and because

of that

it

shows

us

a pathway

of

dealing

with

God

in

faith

and

Habakkuk's

response

his

dealing

with

God

is

very

much

in

faith

but we

have to

see

how

that

looks

so first

what is

faith's

response

to

confusion

how do

you respond

in such

a situation

where God

is so

confusing

right now

you know

what do

you do

when God

throws

you for a

loop

what do

you do

when you

get

confused

how do

you respond

when you

are in

pain

or when

you are

perplexed

with all

that God

is bringing

into your

life

all this

stuff

at the

hands

of God

how do

you relate

to him

how do

you respond

to him

well there's

a couple

of ways

a lot

of us

just run

but we

run

in a

couple

of different

ways

sometimes

we just

flat

run

God

you don't

make any

sense

Christianity

is

confusing

it's not

what it

should

be

I'm

out of

here

forget

it

God

if this

is what

you do

and you

don't fit

into this

box the way

I think

well forget

it

I'm gone

in our

frustration

we just

run and

leave

we'll go

find another

religion

we'll go

find another

philosophy

we'll go

find something

else

some other

system

to help

us

grapple

with this

hard

reality

of life

we just

run

because

this

God

that we

thought

that was

so great

and loving

is now

hard

we don't

want anything

to do

with him

and so

in our

hardship

we just

leave

but there's

another way

we run

and that

is

we run

straight

into our

religion

straight

into our

Christian

practice

and that

what that

looks like

is

okay

you know

we

we stick

to what

we know

to the

doctrines

that we

have

and we

may

vocalize

them

we may

say

yeah

I know

God

is

sovereign

and we

continue to

put the

smiles on

our faces

we continue

to act

in all

of our

religious

niceties

that God

is nowhere

to be found

he is not

anywhere close

we have

basically

shielded

ourselves

from this

God

by our

religious

practice

to avoid

that

confusion

and perplexity

and pain

that comes

when we

really get

to know

him

but we're

not getting

to know

him

we're hiding

in a

system

that we

think will

make sense

of things

but

unfortunately

it will

leave us

empty

so

whether

we are

running

off to

some

other

philosophy

or we're

running

back

deeper

in our

religion

we're

still

running

we're

running

away

you know

some

of us

again

we're

we're

running

this is

not how

Habakkuk

deals

with

the

situation

even

from the

very

beginning

when

Habakkuk

was

perplexed

he ran

but he

didn't run

away

where does

he go

with his

complaint

he goes

to God

and when

it gets

worse

what does

he do

he keeps

going

to God

it's like

he's entering

into this

this wrestling

match

with God

because he

wants to

know

and that's

where he

goes

he prays

he doesn't

just shut

down but

he prays

his prayer

in some

ways

on the

surface

is

disrespectful

it is

harsh

it's

in your

face

but it

is the

prayer of

faith

because here

he's

demonstrating

that it

was God

was the

one he

trusted

and that's

where he

was going

he didn't

understand

anything

he didn't

know what

he was

doing

but he

knew who

he trusted

and he

was going

there

I actually

think

this is the

way prayer

should be

it's not

very common

we don't pray

like this

very often

I think

we're afraid

to

to go

before the

holy

God

and just

pour out

your anger

and your

confusion

and tell

him

this is God

you're not

being fair

here

to really

be honest

with him

I don't

one thing

in my

relationship

with my

wife

the last

thing that

she wants

is me to

shut down

and not

say anything

that's the

last thing

because she

has no

idea

well she's

got a pretty

good idea

what's going

on

I'm ticked

off

but in a

relationship

it does

not help

anything

in fact

it says

something

very

terrible

about the

state of

that

relationship

when

I get

to a

place

of maybe

anger

and confusion

and I

just

suck it

up

and I

don't

talk

and that's

not what

she wants

because that

means I

have run

away

she wants

to engage

she wants

me to

trust her

enough

to give

her my

heart

let me

tell you

something

God is

no different

yes he

is the

holy one

yes he

is our

king

he is

your

father

he is

a father

that says

look you

don't

understand

come here

let's

talk about

this

trust me

with it

and that

is

the

prayer

of

faith

and let

me tell

you

something

whatever

you say

God

can take

it

he already

knows it's

there

what he

wants

is us

to engage

our hearts

in our

relationship

and not

just our

actions

or our

heads

engage

your

heart

pour

out

your

heart

he

wants

your

heart

and he

can

deal

with

it

trust

him

enough

to

wrestle

with

him

to get

to know

him

that is

the response

of faith

and to

that

prayer

of faith

God

shows

his

grace

to

Habakkuk

instead

of

just

smashing

Habakkuk

for his

insolence

because he's

so brash

and

irreverent

God

chooses to

enter into

the wrestling

match

with him

he comes

down to

Habakkuk

he reveals

himself

in a very

gentle

and a very

gracious

way

we might

think it

wasn't so

gentle

but oh

it was

but it

is a

wrestling

match

I don't

know if

you remember

the story

of

Jacob

go back

and read

Genesis

32

and in

the story

Jacob

is

perplexed

he is

coming

back

to

Canaan

coming

back

from

living

with

Laban

his

brother-in-law

being abused

living this

life of

really

deception

and so

forth

he is

about to

be

confronted

with

Esau

who is

coming

to him

with a

big

horde

of

people

thinking

that

Esau

is all

ticked

off

at him

and

Jacob

doesn't

know

where

to

turn

but

he

meets

this

angel

of

the

Lord

in

the

wilderness

and

with

that

angel

Jacob

wrestled

all

night

long

because

he wanted

one

thing

he says

I am

not

going

to let

you

go

until

you

bless

me

and

the

amazing

thing

about

that

is

is

that

that

was

God

himself

a

pre

incarnate

appearance

of

God

who

allowed

this

man

to

wrestle

with

him

all

night

long

I

mean

that

one

should

have

been

over

quick

but

it

wasn't

God

invited

Jacob

to

engage

and

when

you

wrestle

you

have

to

get

really

close

and

so

finally

at

the

end

you

know

he

could

have

just

done

away

with

Jacob

but

he

didn't

and

Jacob

said

you

know

I

will

not

let

go

until

you

bless

me

and

the

Lord

touched

his

hip

touched

the

socket

of it

something

happened

to

it

it

wouldn't

function

anymore

and

God

blessed

him

God

met

with

Jacob

wrestled

with

him

and

blessed

him

Jacob

limped

from

there

on

out

but

he

had

wrestled

with

God

and

had

come

to

know

him

in

a

way

he

had

never

known

him

before

and

Jacob

was

a

whole

new

man

in a

sense

after

that

in

so

many

ways

God

is

we

have

to

know

this

about

God

and

why

he

brings

about

these

situations

he

is

in

pursuit

of

our

hearts

he

is

not

content

just

with

the

performance

of

religion

he

is

not

content

with

just

right

doctrine

he

is

not

content

with

these

boxes

that

we

live

in

that

we

create

that

hides

him

more

than

reveals

him

he

says

no

you're

going to

get

to

know

me

and so

he

comes

and

tears

our

boxes

apart

in

pursuit

of

our

hearts

he

is

more

willing

to

answer

prayers

than

we

are

willing

to

pray

them

he

is

more

willing

to

engage

with