Habakkuk is a strange book of the Bible. Written after the exile, the prophet begins by calling God to action. The world seems to be falling apart.
Society is full of violence and injustice. The wicked are winning, good and godly people are disappearing. Habakkuk can’t understand why God isn’t doing something. Why does God allow this evil to continue?
God does answer and says that he will bring judgment but will do it through a pagan nation. Habakkuk can’t understand that either and so begins a dialogue between the prophet and God. What becomes clear is that God is holy, he will bring justice but he works according to his own plan. Habakkuk must surrender himself to God’s plan and trust that God is sovereign over all things.
In the end, despite not fully understanding, Habakkuk declares:
Though the fig tree does not bud
and there are no grapes on the vines,
though the olive crop fails
and the fields produce no food,
though there are no sheep in the pen
and no cattle in the stalls,
yet I will rejoice in the Lord,
I will be joyful in God my Savior.
The Sovereign Lord is my strength;
he makes my feet like the feet of a deer,he enables me to tread on the heights. (3:17-19)
To many people today it might look like the world is falling apart. Sin and wickedness abound. Terrorists roam the world without restriction. The laws of the land are broken and injustice rules. Like Habakkuk we may call out to God wondering where he is.
But God is just as sovereign and in control today as he was in the day of the prophet. While we are confused and distressed by what happens around us we must come to the same conclusion. Regardless of what is happening “I will rejoice in the Lord, I will be joyful in God my Savior. The Sovereign Lord is my strength.”
See you Sunday,
Pastor David