you back it, right? Yeah, where Tom says, go to Matthew and turn backwards. And it is unfortunate that some of these minor prophets, especially, have received less attention in preaching ministry and in our personal Bible reading, because this is a really, really rich book. And I think you'll understand that as we get into the message this evening. Really, this is a book that changed the world. You may not understand why that is, but you'll find out in the message. I'm trying to get your appetite going here. to get into Habakkuk, because I know that, you know, you may have seen that in the bulletin, you might have thought, well, okay, I'm gonna check out. Don't check out, please, all right? I think the Lord has some wonderful things in store for us. So Habakkuk, chapter two, we'll read the first four verses as we begin, but of course, this is our series from 30,000 feet, so we will be trying to give you the 30,000 foot overview of this particular book, as we have for every Other book that has preceded it, Habakkuk 2, beginning in verse 1. I will stand upon my watch and set me upon the tower, and will watch to see what he will say unto me, and what I shall answer when I am reproved. And the Lord answered me and said, write the vision and make it plain upon tables that he may run that readeth it. For the vision is yet for an appointed time, but at the end it shall speak and not lie. Though it tarry, wait for it, because it will surely come. It will not tarry. Behold, his soul which is lifted up is not upright in him. but the just shall live by his faith. Father, we're so grateful to be gathered here this evening. I'm thankful for this church. Lord, I know that many churches, it's like pulling teeth to get people to attend a Lord's Day evening service, but I'm thankful for those in this congregation who have a passion for your word. Pray you bless them for coming tonight Lord, I pray that you give us all great treasures from your word. Lord, use me not because of anything good in me, but more because of the power of your word. May it go forth in clarity. We pray this in Jesus name. Amen. Some years ago, the British journalist Martin Bashir, who at the time was hosting a program on MSNBC, did an interview with Rob Bell. That name probably means something to you. He was a leader in the emerging church movement. He wrote the controversial book, Love Wins, where he basically advocated that everybody was going to make it to heaven eventually. As far as I know, I don't think that Rob Bell has any type of evangelical profession of faith any longer, as far as I know. But in this interview that Martin Bashir did with Rob Bell, At the time, Japan had just experienced a devastating earthquake and tsunami. And so Bashir opened the interview with this question. He said, either God is all powerful, but doesn't care about the people of Japan and their suffering, or he does care about the people of Japan, and he's not all powerful. Which is it? Now, how would you answer Bashir's question? Of course, critics of the Bible like to use questions like this as gotcha questions. They see the logic as inescapable, that we must accept the existence of an all-powerful God who doesn't care about human suffering, or we must accept the existence of a caring God who is not powerful enough to stop human suffering. Of course, the simple answer to Bashir's question is that it creates a false dilemma In logic, we talk about the fallacy of the excluded middle. You'll sometimes see this, where people will give you these two extreme choices, and they don't offer you another option, even though another option is available. And that's what we have in this case. There is a third possibility, and that is that God is all-powerful, that God does care about the people in Japan and their suffering, but he allows suffering to accomplish his greater purposes in the world. One of which, incidentally, may very well have been the salvation of many of the people of Japan. Now, as Christians, we find Bashir's question that he posed to Rob Bell to be a distasteful question. Yet, if we're honest, we have to admit that we wrestle sometimes with our own doubts and questions. Why does a merciful God allow fill in the blank? If God really loves me, then why does he fill in the blank? If you've ever wrestled with these types of questions, then the book of Habakkuk is for you. Now, the prophet Habakkuk is introduced to us in the very first verse of the book. You can see it there in chapter 1 and verse 1. The burden which Habakkuk, the prophet, did see. The word burden refers to an oracle or a prophetic message from God. We don't know for sure what the name Habakkuk means, though some think that it comes from a word that means to embrace. We really know next to nothing about this man Habakkuk. The only place in scripture that we read about him is in the book that bears his name. Now, this is just an interesting aside, but in the Apocrypha, there is an addition to the book of Daniel that is called Bell and the Dragon. And in this addition, it is reported that the prophet Habakkuk was transported to the lion's den by an angel, the lion's den where Daniel was, to provide food for Daniel as he was in the lion's den. But really, there is nothing in that story that suggests that it's historically accurate. And of course, as Protestants, we have rejected the canonicity of the Apocrypha. But the prophet Habakkuk was a genuine prophet of God. who ministered prior to Babylon's invasion of Jerusalem in 605 BC. Now scholars debate the exact time frame of when Habakkuk prophesied, but the majority of conservatives favor a date during the reign of Jehoiakim. I'll give you a little background here. Jehoiakim was the son of Josiah. We know that Josiah was not just a good king. We did have some of those in the southern kingdom in Judah. But really he was an outstanding king. He was a king who oversaw a nationwide revival. In fact, 2 Kings 24 and verse 25 gives this testimony concerning Josiah. It says this, and like unto him was there no king before him that turned to the Lord with all his heart and with all his soul and with all his might according to all the law of Moses. Neither after him arose there any like him. That's quite a testimony. Now, one of the more notable events that occurred during Josiah's reign occurred during his 18th year on the throne. And if you turn back with me, you can read about this in 2 Kings 22. So you turn back to 2 Kings chapter 22. In this context, Hilkiah, the high priest, announced that he had made a discovery. Look at 2 Kings 22. And verse eight, and Hilkiah the high priest said unto Shaphan the scribe, I have found the book of the law in the house of the Lord. And Hilkiah gave the book to Shaphan and he read it. Now Josiah was preceded by two wicked kings, his grandfather Manasseh and his father Ammon. And so the word of God during those years had largely been neglected. We remember the words of Amos chapter eight in verse 11. Behold, the days come, saith the Lord God, that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the Lord. But with a righteous king on the throne, this spiritual famine had ended. And the law of God was discovered once again, apparently after years, decades probably, of neglect. Now we don't know whether this was the whole law. There are many commentators who believe that this is specifically a reference to Deuteronomy. But notice how the king responds as the law of God is read. Look at verse 11. And it came to pass, when the king had heard the words of the book of the law, that he rent his clothes." In other words, he tore his clothes. That was a sign of mourning and repentance. Verse 12, And the king commanded Hilkiah the priest, and Ahicham the son of Shaphan, and Apphor the son of Micaiah, and Shaphan the scribe. And Ashiah the servant of the king, saying, Go ye and inquire of the Lord for me, and for the people, and for all Judah concerning the words of this book that is found. For great is the wrath of the Lord that is kindled against us, because our fathers have not hearkened unto the words of this book to do according to all that is written concerning us. So Josiah hears the words of the law. He immediately humbles himself before God in a state of mourning, and he realizes that the nation has to be in big trouble because of their sin. And so they consult a prophetess named Huldah. It is notable, interestingly enough, that it is a prophetess who is consulted and not a prophet, which probably points to the real lack of male leadership in these times of spiritual deprivation in the life of Judah. Notice the message that Huldah sends back to Josiah, of course, the inspired message of Jehovah. Verse 15, and she said unto them, thus saith the Lord God of Israel, tell the man that sent you to me, thus saith the Lord, behold, I will bring evil upon this place and upon the inhabitants thereof, even all the words of the book, which the king of Judah hath read, because they have forsaken me and have burned incense unto other gods, that they might provoke me to anger with all the works of their hands. Therefore, my wrath shall be kindled against this place and shall not be quenched. But to the king of Judah, which sent you to inquire of the Lord, thus shall ye say to him, thus saith the Lord God of Israel, as touching the words which thou hast heard, because thine heart was tender, and thou hast humbled thyself before the Lord, when thou heardest what I spake against this place, and against the inhabitants thereof, that they should become a desolation and a curse, and has to rent thy clothes and wept before me. I also have heard thee saith the Lord. Behold, therefore, I will gather thee unto thy fathers and thou shall be gathered into thy grave in peace and thine eyes shall not see all the evil which I will bring upon this place. And they brought the king word again. So the message from the Lord is that, yes, this people has sinned greatly. And there are very specific consequences that are listed in the law of God for that type of disobedience. This people has abandoned God. They've worshipped idols. And so, therefore, God must bring down his hand of judgment upon his people. At the same time, God promises mercy to Josiah. Josiah will enjoy a reign of peace and blessing, and he will not see any of the devastation that is coming on the land of Judah. Now, following Josiah in the throne was his son Jehoahaz. And unfortunately, Jehoahaz did not follow in his father's footsteps, but he went back to the idolatry of his grandfather and great-grandfather. Jehoahaz's reign was very short-lived. He was on the throne for a mere three months, if you can believe that, before the Egyptian pharaoh came and took him away captive. And the pharaoh replaced Jehoahaz with another one of Josiah's sons by the name of Jehoiakim. Really, he was nothing more than an Egyptian puppet, if you want to put it in those terms. And again, he continued the policies of idolatry. And this, we think, is the historical context in which Habakkuk ministered. It was a difficult time to be a prophet of the one true God. As official government policy advocated idolatry, and of course, true spokesmen of the living God were persecuted. It was also a difficult time geopolitically. Of course, very practically, there are pressures mounting on the nation. We see that from Egypt. We see that from Babylon. But this is a nation that is ripe for the judgment of God. And Huldah, that prophetess, already made the announcement that, yes, they've enjoyed these years of peace and blessing and revival under Josiah. But now the time has come for judgment. Habakkuk ministers at a time of moral chaos. And in this context, he's filled with questions. And so the lesson that Habakkuk would learn and the lesson that all of us should learn is this. We must demonstrate a patient and persevering faith in God, even in the midst of moral chaos. We must demonstrate a patient and persevering faith in God, even in the midst of moral chaos. Now, the book of Habakkuk answers for us three piercing questions that arise in times of moral chaos. And these questions will outline the book for us. Number one, number one, why does God allow injustice? Why does God allow injustice? And we find this in chapter 1 verses 1 through 11. So let's go back to Habakkuk. If you're in 2 Kings, go back to Habakkuk. Hopefully you'll still be able to find it. But look with me in verse 2 of chapter 1 in Habakkuk. Beckett writes, O Lord, how long shall I cry, and thou wilt not hear? Even cry out unto thee of violence, and thou wilt not save. Why dost thou show me iniquity, and cause me to behold grievance? For spoiling and violence are before me, and there are that raise up strife and contention. Therefore the law is slacked, and judgment doth never go forth. For the wicked doth compass about the righteous, Therefore, wrong judgment proceeded." Everywhere the prophet looks, there's injustice. The law has been cast aside. There's no real justice. Violence is abounding. And very likely, Habakkuk himself is personally experiencing hostility because of his role as a spokesman for God. Do these types of descriptions sound familiar? Certainly in our own society, we see law and order being thrown by the wayside. There are so many examples I could share, but I found this one recently. This is a case of Joshua Long, 37-year-old resident of Boone, Iowa. He recently pled guilty to multiple counts of sexual exploitation involving a minor. He apparently possessed multiple screenshots on his phone that depicted the abuse of a young girl under 12 years of age. And you ask, well, how long was Mr. Long sentenced? Well, of course, as you can imagine, a long prison sentence was possibly on the table, but the judge ordered that Long would serve zero years in prison and instead be subject to five years of probation. Does that make us angry? I think we can understand Habakkuk's question. How long, oh Lord, will I cry out about all this injustice and not see any answer to my prayer? Habakkuk's boldness before God here is quite striking, isn't it? Certainly, we need to be very careful when we address Almighty God. He is God, and we're not. So we have no right to approach him irreverently. And yet, this is not the only place in scripture where we see one of God's servants wrestling with these kinds of questions. We see this really all throughout the Psalms. We saw that in Psalm 10 a moment ago. Let me read to you some other examples. You can turn there if you'd like. Psalm 13, verse one, how long wilt thou forget me, O Lord, forever? How long wilt thou hide thy face from me? How long shall I take counsel in my soul, having sorrow in my heart daily? How long shall mine enemy be exalted over me? Psalm 79 and verse five, how long, Lord, wilt thou be angry forever? Shall thy jealousy burn like fire? Psalm 80 in verse 4, O LORD God of hosts, how long wilt thou be angry against the prayer of thy people? Psalm 89 verse 46, how long, Lord, wilt thou hide thyself forever? Shall thy wrath burn like fire? Psalm 94 verse 3, Lord, how long shall the wicked, how long shall the wicked triumph? How long shall they utter and speak hard things and all the workers of iniquity boast themselves? And we have no right to accuse God. We have no right to point our finger at him and to question his character. Yet it is normal, and I would even argue biblical, for believers to question why and how long. God gives an answer to Habakkuk, but it's not the one that he would have wanted or expected. Look at verse 5. Behold ye among the heathen, and regard and wonder marvelously. For I will work a work in your days which ye will not believe, though it be told you. For lo, I raise up the Chaldeans, that bitter and hasty nation, which shall march through the breadth of the land to possess the dwelling places that are not theirs. They are terrible and dreadful. Their judgment and their dignity shall proceed of themselves. Their horses also are swifter than the leopards and are more fierce than the evening wolves. And their horsemen shall spread themselves, and their horsemen shall come from far. They shall fly as the eagle that hasteth to eat. They shall come all for violence. Their faces shall sup up as the east wind and they shall gather the captivity as the sand and they shall scoff at the kings and the princes shall be a scorn unto them. They shall deride every stronghold. They shall heap dust and take it. Then shall his mind change and he shall pass over and offend, imputing this power unto his God. Quite a response. God comes to Habakkuk. He says, oh yes, I will deal with the injustices among the people of God, and I'm going to do it by bringing in the Babylonian people, the Chaldeans. This is a prospect that is quite literally, according to the words of the passage, unbelievable in the minds of human man. Now, it would be one thing if the people of Babylon were a righteous people, but they're not. The descriptions that are given here indicates that these are people that are violent, they are brutal, and notice what happens in verse 11. They get through pillaging all these nations and plundering. Notice the response in verse 11, imputing this his power unto his God. In other words, they attribute their own might with the powers of deity. Basically, they're worshiping themselves. Now, how can God use a people like this? A people so wicked to judge his own people? You see, really, the response that God gives to Habakkuk doesn't really settle Habakkuk down too well. It really raises more questions, and that's how we find another question here. Look at number two, the second question, why does God seem unfair? Why does God seem unfair? You see this in chapter one, verse 12, down through chapter two in verse 20. But let's look at chapter one in verse 12. This is Habakkuk's response to God. He says in verse 12, Art thou not from everlasting, O Lord my God, mine Holy One? We shall not die. O Lord, thou hast ordained them for judgment, and O mighty God, thou hast established them for correction. Thou art of purer eyes than to behold evil, and canst not look on iniquity. Wherefore lookest thou upon them that deal treacherously and holdest thy tongue when the wicked devoureth the man that is more righteous than he. That title, holy one, appears twice in the book of Habakkuk. And that word holy, it stresses two aspects of God's character. The first is God's transcendence. He is high above anything and everything and everyone else. To use a colloquial expression, we would say that God is a cut above the rest. The word holy also indicates God's total purity and separation from sin. And of course, that is where Habakkuk places the emphasis here. So here is this holy God, totally separate from sin. His eyes, as Habakkuk says, can't even look on evil. And yet this holy God, that same God that we remember in that great vision that Isaiah had in Isaiah 6, the seraphim surrounding the throne cried out, holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts. The whole earth is full of his glory. That God, this same God extends somehow his favor to the wicked Babylonian people and uses them to judge a people who are more righteous than they are. Now Habakkuk knows that God is not limited by the boundaries of time. In this passage, in verse 12, he says that God is from everlasting. He also knows that God is not limited by ability. He calls God the mighty God. So why? Why does God allow the Babylonians to come and to do violence against God's own people? Look at the analogy that Habakkuk gives starting in verse 14. He says, and makest men as the fishes of the sea, as the creeping things that have no ruler over them. They take up all of them with the angle. They catch them in their net and gather them in their drag. Therefore they rejoice and are glad. Therefore they sacrifice under their net and burn incense under their drag because by them their portion is fat and their meat plenteous. Shall they therefore empty their net and not spare continually to slay the nations? You see the analogy that's given here, that ultimately the Babylonians are compared to fishermen, and the nations of the world are compared to the fish of the sea. And you imagine a fisherman going in with a net for a big catch. That is the regard, Habakkuk says, that the Babylonians have for human life. They're just completely indiscriminate. They're just going after anybody and everybody they can, interested in nothing more than their own profit. There's a really bizarre image that's created in verse 16. It is said there that these people sacrifice unto their net. Now, isn't that an interesting image? Can you imagine a fisherman bowing before his fishing net in worship? That's exactly what Habakkuk is depicting here. But again, this draws on what the Lord himself has already said about the Babylonian people, that they have regarded their own military might as their God. And so this is the same thing they're essentially doing here. They are attributing their own might, their own power, their own skills with all the powers of deity. How could God do this? How could God use this wicked people to judge his own people? Habakkuk wanted an answer. Notice chapter two in verse one, I will stand upon my watch and set me upon the tower and will watch to see what he will say unto me and what I shall answer when I am reproved. Now it could be that Habakkuk was a literal watchman who actually sat and guarded the city gates of Jerusalem. But you may remember that Ezekiel uses similar language to talk about the role of the prophets. Ezekiel 3, verse 17, this is what God says to Ezekiel. Son of man, I have made thee a watchman unto the house of Israel. Therefore, hear the word at my mouth and give them warning from me. And you remember in Ezekiel that Analogy is used to indicate Ezekiel's need to warn the people of their need to turn from their wicked ways. And so it could be that Habakkuk is doing something similar to Ezekiel. He's conceiving of himself as this watchman who is warning the people of their sins. In this case, Habakkuk had to go, in essence, to his watchtower to wait for a response from God. Have you ever considered how much of your life is spent waiting? We wait for all kinds of things, don't we? We go to the checkout counter at the grocery store. We have to wait. We sit in rush hour traffic, and we have to wait. You go to the doctor's office, and boy, do you ever wait at the doctor's office. Maybe some of you young people here, you've been on long trips. You have to wait, don't you? That's frustrating, isn't it? We took a little family outing this week, and just a few minutes into the drive, my son was already asking if we were there yet. Some of you parents have been there, right? So much of our lives spent waiting, and really, when you think about it, the whole essence of our Christian life is waiting. And yes, God does some tremendous things in our Christian life. But there are small things that we wait for in our Christian life. But really, ultimately, we are waiting for the rapture, right? We're awaiting the redemption of our bodies. We're awaiting the return of Christ. We're awaiting the glorious millennial kingdom. We're waiting for all of these things. That's the Christian life. Certainly that's the position that Habakkuk finds himself in. He's posed these questions before God, he's challenged the Lord, and now he's waiting for a response. And the response, indeed, would come. Notice chapter 2 and verse 2. And the Lord answered me and said, write the vision and make it plain upon tables that he may run that read of it." The idea here is that God is giving Habakkuk this information that he's to write down and he's to make it so clear that anybody can read it, even somebody running by. It would be kind of like a billboard or a marquee, something that could be clearly seen. Verse three, for the vision is yet for an appointed time, but at the end it shall speak and not lie. Though it tarry, wait for it, because it will surely come, it will not tarry. Now that might sound like. Doublespeak almost. It might tarry, but it won't tarry. But the whole point here, really, is God is saying that, look, from the human perspective, it might seem like things aren't going well. It might seem like there's chaos. It might seem like God's purposes are delayed. But God gives Habakkuk the assurance, God's appointed time will come. Everything that God has promised will come to pass. So wait for it. Again, we get ourselves into the pressure of waiting, right? Now look at what is said in the next verse. This verse, friends, is one of the great texts of the Bible. It is one of those texts that really encapsulates the message of the entire Bible. You have a few verses like that in scripture. One of them that we've gone over over and over again is Jonah chapter two and verse nine. Salvation is of the Lord. This is another one of those verses that really, if you wanted to boil down the message of scripture, this is a good verse to do it with. The Talmud, the significant work in Jewish tradition, sort of like a Bible commentary, says that Moses received 613 commandments. And the Talmud further says that David reduced the 613 commandments to 11. Micah, they say, reduced the commands to three. Isaiah reduced them to two, and Habakkuk reduced them to one, specifically verse four. Notice, behold, his soul which is lifted up is not upright in him, but the just shall live by his faith. Significant characteristic of the just person, the righteous person, is that he lives by faith. We see this with Genesis, with Abraham, right? Genesis 15 in verse six. And he believed in the Lord and what? He counted it to him for righteousness. Now, interestingly enough, Habakkuk chapter two in verse four is quoted three times in the New Testament. And I just, I know it's a little bit of a rabbit trail, but follow me there for a moment if you would. Let's go over to Romans 1 and look at the first of those. Romans 1 and verse 16. Notice what Paul writes, For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For therein, that is, of course, in the gospel, the power of God unto salvation, is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith, as it is written, the just shall live by faith. Now you may be familiar with the fact that this text in Romans, which quotes from Habakkuk, Habakkuk 2.4, is what totally changed Martin Luther's thinking. It was through this passage that Luther understood that we are declared righteous, not by our works, but by faith alone. And so we could say, really, that the Book of Habakkuk ultimately led to the Protestant Reformation. Now, you see much of the same thing in Galatians. If you look over in Galatians 3, in verse 11, Of course, Romans and Galatians both dealing heavily with this idea of justification, how we are declared righteous before God. Notice Galatians 3 and verse 11. But that no man is justified by the law in the sight of God, it is evident for what? The just shall live by faith. So here you see Paul in two separate passages citing Habakkuk as evidence for the fact that the just shall live by faith, and that is a proof for the doctrine of justification by faith alone. Now, there is one other place we see this passage, and that's in Hebrews. If you look over in Hebrews chapter 10 and verse 37. Hebrews 10 and verse 37. Hebrews 10 37 the author of Hebrews writes for yet a little while and he that shall come will come and will not tarry. Now the just shall live by faith. But if any man draw back my soul shall have no pleasure in him. But we are not of them who draw back unto perdition but of them that believe to the saving of the soul. Now if you're familiar with the author of Hebrews, you know that Hebrews emphasizes the need for perseverance. Back in chapter 3, the author emphasizes the fact, he says in verse 14, we are made partakers of Christ if we hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast unto the end. And so the author then comes back around to Habakkuk 2 in verse 4 to indicate the need to persevere in the faith and not to shrink back. Now this might seem a bit curious to us. Romans and Galatians use Habakkuk to speak of justification, that moment in time when a person trusts in Christ and God declares him righteous because of his faith. Hebrews, on the other hand, uses Habakkuk to speak of sanctification, our ongoing walk of faith. I would argue, really, that Habakkuk 2.4 can do double duty, because specifically of that word faith. That Hebrew word faith actually has two different ideas. It can refer to faith, and it can refer to faithfulness. And really, I think if you look both in the Old Testament and in the New, you find that both of those ideas are very, very closely related. Those who have saving faith will ultimately be faithful, and they will persevere in faith. Now, do you see how this is so significant for Habakkuk? In his day, Habakkuk is surrounded by injustice in the culture. And now he learns that God is going to use the wicked Babylonians to judge his own people. In such circumstances, he shouldn't despair. He shouldn't become depressed. Instead, he needs to cling tightly to his faith in Jehovah. He needs to have confidence in the truth that Abraham expressed. Genesis 18, 25. Shall not the judge of all the earth do right? Now, if we come back to Habakkuk, flip back to Habakkuk chapter two, you'll find that there is a striking context rest here in this passage. In Habakkuk two and verse four, notice, behold, his soul which is lifted up is not upright in him, but the just shall live. by faith. The just here are contrasted with those who are lifted up or those who are proud. I heard one of our church people this morning quoting from Proverbs 3 and verses 5 and 6. Trust in the Lord with all thine heart and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him and he shall direct thy paths. You know the opposite of Righteousness isn't just unrighteousness. The opposite of faith isn't just unbelief. The opposite of both of these is ultimately pride. Because it's a pride that says, I don't need God. The pride of the Babylonians led them to worship their own power and might. Look at how this pride is further described in verse 5. Yea, also because he transgresseth by wine, he is a proud man, neither keepeth at home, who enlargeth his desire as hell, and is as death, and cannot be satisfied, but gathereth unto him all nations, and heapeth unto him all people. This proud people who has no regard for human life, they too will be judged. It's quite remarkable. And I mean, this is just so like God. His ways are not our ways. His thoughts are not our thoughts, Isaiah says. But here you have God using the wicked Babylonians to judge His own people. And then what does God do? He turns right back around and then He judges the Babylonians for their cruelty toward His people. That is ultimately what is going to be communicated in the next several verses, really, up to the end of the chapter. And what follows in chapter two is a series of five woes. These woes, they're really laments. They're declarations of sorrow that come because God is about to bring his judgment. Verse six introduces the woes. Notice, shall not all these take up a parable against him and a taunting proverb against him? So this is a taunt. All these peoples who have been oppressed by Babylon, now the tables have been turned. Now we're not going to read through all the woes, but we'll just kind of hit some highlights here. In the first woe, Judgment is pronounced on the one who comes into a foreign land and plunders what isn't his. Of course, as the Babylonians had done. The Babylonians, they saw themselves as creditors with the rest of the world's nations as debtors to them. But God was going to turn things around so that the other nations would become the creditors and Babylon would become the debtor. The second woe condemns the unjust gain of the Babylonians. who used the wealth of the people that they conquered to set their nest on high, or in other words, to build a lofty place that they thought would be invincible from any type of attack. Really, this unjust gain would be a source of shame. And even the building materials that were used in these projects that the Babylonians did, those materials would cry out against the Babylonians. The third woe condemns the fact that the Babylonians built their empire through bloodshed and slave labor. This slave labor would ultimately build an empire that would feed a fire that would consume itself so that this mighty empire would be reduced to ashes. Glory of Babylon contrasts with an infinitely greater glory. Look with me in verse 14 of chapter two. For the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord as the waters cover the sea. This is a prophecy specifically of the millennium. When Jesus returns to set up his kingdom, knowledge of God's glory will be as plentiful as the waters across the sea. How much greater is the glory of Jehovah God than the glory of the passing nations of earth. The fourth woe is introduced in verse 15, and this is a verse that some of you might be familiar with. Look with me at verse 15. Woe unto him that giveth his neighbor drink, that puttest thy bottle to him, and makest him drunken also, that thou mayest look on their nakedness. Now, this is just, if we take a time out for a moment, I think that sometimes in our fundamental churches, verses like this kind of become our go-to proof texts. And we might ignore the rest of the book of Habakkuk, but then we zero in on this one verse because it proves something that we want to prove, right? Really, ultimately, this verse isn't talking about the bartender. It's not talking about the liquor salesman, though those are certainly not professions that I could endorse, right? What he's talking about is the cruelty of the Babylonians. As they would go into these territories and conquer peoples, they were so crass and so crude that they would actually cause these peoples to be drunken and then they would actually sexually abuse them. That's the kind of behavior portrayed here. And what God indicates here is that ultimately they will reap what they have sown. You notice verse 16, thou art filled with shame for glory, drink thou also and let thy foreskin be uncovered. Of course, a reference to the fact that they're uncircumcised, which was shameful in the Jewish culture. The cup of the Lord's right hand shall be turned unto thee and a shameful spewing shall be on my glory. This is common imagery. The wrath of almighty God is compared to a cup that the nations drink from. So the people of Babylon that have subjected the nations to this literal drunkenness, this nation, Babylon, would face a far greater drunkenness, if you like, being intoxicated with the wrath of God. By the way, you remember how Babylon fell? You remember Daniel chapter five? What was happening at the time of the fall of Babylon? Well, you remember that Belshazzar was holding a great drunken feast. And he grabbed those vessels from the house of Jehovah and actually poured the wine in those vessels and was drinking from them and blaspheming God and praising their gods of wood and stone. And God brought final judgment onto the land of Babylon. Indeed, they did reap what they sowed, did they not? Now we have a final woe in this chapter. It's really the climax and it hits at the root problem here. Notice verse 18. What profit at the graven image that the maker thereof hath graven it? The molten image and a teacher of lies that the maker of his work trusted therein to make dumb idols. Woe unto him that saith to the wood, awake, and to the dumb stone, arise, it shall teach. Behold, it is laid over with gold and silver, and there is no breath at all in the midst of it. Now there's an interesting irony here. On the one hand, you have these pagan peoples making these statues, these idols, and calling on the statues to teach them. Of course, it's an absurd image, right? The psalmist in Psalm 115 reminds us of the fact that the idols have mouths, but they don't speak. They've got eyes. They don't see. They have ears. They don't hear. The idols are completely incapable of doing anything. They're just statues. Certainly, they can't awaken. Certainly, they can't teach. And yet, in another sense, God describes the idols as teachers of lies. And we think of all the millions, even billions of people who have been deceived by idolatry down through human history, ultimately ending up in the lake of fire. It may seem strange that earlier God had declared that the Babylonians worshipped their own power, their own might. And Habakkuk said that they worshipped the nets that they used to catch the nations of the world. But here God condemns the fact that they fashioned these statues and worshipped them. So which was it? Did they worship themselves or did they worship idols? And the answer, of course, is both. You notice the emphasis in verse 18, what profiteth the graven image that the maker thereof hath graven it. The Babylonians worship the gods of their own making. And so ultimately, they're only worshiping themselves. Dear friends, the state religion of Babylon was a little different from the state religion of the United States of America. You say, what religion is that? It's humanism. And you say, what's humanism? We don't have time to define it in detail this evening, but let me give you this quote. This is from the second Humanist Manifesto. There have been three iterations of that document signed by some of these big power brokers in the culture. But this is the second humanist manifesto that was published in 1973. Let me give you this quote. In the best sense, religion may inspire dedication to the highest ethical ideals. See, I'm tempted to just go on many sermons reading through this. I'll resist the temptation. The cultivation of moral devotion and creative imagination is an expression of genuine spiritual experience and aspiration. We believe, however, that traditional dogmatic or authoritarian religions that place revelation, God, ritual, or creed above human needs and experience do a disservice to the human species. Any account of nature should pass the tests of scientific evidence. In our judgment, the dogmas and myths of traditional religions do not do so. Even at this late date in human history, certain elementary facts based upon the critical use of scientific reason have to be restated. We find insufficient evidence for belief in the existence of a supernatural. It is either meaningless or irrelevant to the question of survival and fulfillment of the human race. As non-theists, we begin with humans, not God. Nature, not deity. Nature may indeed be broader and deeper than we now know. Any new discoveries, however, will but enlarge our knowledge of the natural. I would suggest to you that humanism is really nothing more than a more sophisticated and less supernatural version of the same idolatry that has pervaded human culture for thousands of years. Look with me at verse 20. God declares, but the Lord is in his holy temple. Let all the earth keep silence before him. The idols, they're dumb. They can't speak. They have no breath. By contrast, Jehovah is in His holy temple. He can speak and He has spoken in His word. He's spoken in the Bible. Therefore, all humanity is called to be silent and to hear Him. Now, this is a big question that this section has addressed. Why does God seem unfair? In the back, it gives a solid answer here. Even this seeming unfairness will ultimately be corrected. But we must patiently wait in faith, trusting that God knows what is best. There's one question left that we have to address, and that's this. Number three, how should we respond to our righteous God? How should we respond to our righteous God? There's really two answers, prayer and praise. Prayer and praise. First, let's consider prayer. You have chapter 3 in verse 1, a prayer of Habakkuk, the prophet, upon Shegionah. Really, this introduces a prayer that really reads like one of the Psalms. And it actually has musical instructions throughout, like Selah, for example. But notice verse 2. O Lord, I have heard thy speech and was afraid. O Lord, revive thy work in the midst of the years. In the midst of the years, make known. In wrath, remember. mercy. You see at this point that God has given this lengthy response to Habakkuk and Habakkuk's perspective has changed a great deal. He recognizes now that God must pour out his wrath on his people. There's no getting around that. But at this point he asks God simply as he's pouring out wrath to remember mercy. Lord we know we've got to come We know we deserve it, but Lord, please be merciful. Don't destroy your people totally. Remember mercy. Habakkuk is hopeful, ultimately, for the future of his people because he remembers, as you read through verses 3 through 16, God's faithfulness in the past. Ultimately Habakkuk recalls what God did in the Exodus, what God did in the conquest of the Promised Land, and God demonstrating His power and His mercy toward His people in those occasions. Habakkuk is confident that God will do the same again for the nation of Israel. Of course, we know that that will come to pass in the millennial time. There's also praise here. Look with me at how the book ends, starting in verse 17. Although the fig tree shall not blossom, neither shall the fruit be in the vines. The labor of the olives shall fail and the field shall yield no meat. The flock shall be cut off from the fold and there shall be no herd in the stalls. Yet I will rejoice in the Lord. I will rejoice in the God of my salvation. The Lord God is my strength and he will make my feet like Heinz feet and he will make me to walk upon mine high places. to the chief singer on my stringed instruments. We remember that the just shall live by faith. Indeed, Habakkuk has demonstrated persevering faith here. He indicates that even when God comes through the land and he destroys all of our agricultural resources, even when all the livestock is gone, yet I will continue to find my joy in God. Because I will know that He is the God of salvation. He will ultimately deliver. And He will enable me to ride on the high places. Basically the image here is that even as all this destruction and chaos is taking place around me, ultimately I can live on a higher plane. Because I'm finding my joy, not in the temporary circumstances around me, I'm finding my joy in Him. Now, what is the takeaway from Habakkuk for us today? Well, Habakkuk gives us a rallying cry, if you like. The just shall live by faith. What is it that you're struggling with? Well, Brother Nick, I'm just, I'm real nervous about all this Russia-Ukraine stuff. The just shall live by faith. Boy, that doctor's prognosis is not looking too good. The just shall live by faith. I just can't understand why this culture is so wicked. Why isn't God doing anything? The just shall live by faith. It doesn't matter what issue you want to throw. Whether it's a personal trial, whether it's something on the geopolitical stage, whether it's some kind of issue in your family, whatever question it is, whatever concern it is, the answer is always the same. The just shall live by faith. Let me give you a good New Testament cross reference, 2 Corinthians 5.8. For we walk by faith and not by what? Sight. That's hard, isn't it? Because if we're, I mean, that's just natural to walk by sight. To look around us. We see the chaos. We see the disintegration of morality. We see a culture that has given over to ungodliness. We see wicked men arising to powers of influence in the culture. And it's easy to see all of that and to be discouraged. But you see, we don't walk by sight. We walk by faith. And we trust that as we keep walking by faith, that ultimately all of God's promises will come to pass. You say, Brother Nick, how do you know that? Well, God has been faithful in the past, hasn't he? Jesus came in perfect fulfillment of all the prophecies of Scripture. Jesus lived a perfect life. He gave his life as a substitutionary sacrifice on Calvary's cross. He rose again from the dead. ascended to heaven, and one day he's coming back. First he will come in the clouds to claim his bride, the church, and we will be gathered together with him. And then he will actually come and set his feet on planet earth and set up his glorious kingdom, first for a thousand years on the present earth, and then the present earth will give way to the new heavens and the new earth, where there will be a glorious eternity with the people of God. Aren't those precious promises? Friends, we have to do something frustrating in the interim. We've gotta wait. Let's not forget though, the just shall live by faith. Father, we thank you for these words that we've seen in the book of Habakkuk. We thank you, Lord, for even this book written hundreds, thousands of years ago still remains very relevant to our culture, our lives. Indeed, the same questions are raised here that have always been raised by humanity. Lord, thank you that you are faithful. Give us grace to persevere in faith, knowing that you will bring all your promises to pass. And Lord, I do pray for anyone here who has never come to saving faith, Lord, we think of That great passage and how it was used in the Reformation, the just shall live by faith. And there may very well be, Lord, someone here who has yet to see that truth for themselves. Oh, Lord, open their eyes this very day. And we pray this in Jesus' name.