Habakkuk 2:4-20 PERPLEXING TIMES TEACH GOD’S PEOPLE TO LIVE BY FAITH

We have seen the prophet Habakkuk pleading with God to do something concerning the godlessness of Israel, even accusing God of doing nothing about it  (1:1-4).  

God does respond,  telling Habakkuk that the Babylonians shall be  the  instrument of His judgment  on  faithless  Israel (1:5-11). Habakkuk is  absolutely flabbergasted  by this answer and in  1:12-2:1 we have seen  him bargaining with God over this matter. His basic argument is,  “Lord, how could you possibly  use people more wicked than us  (the Babylonian cruelty was proverbial) to chastise your nation?”  Habakkuk is speechless at this revelation, and in response he says,

“I will take my stand at my  watch-post 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.” (2:1)

Habakkuk thus applies a  ‘wait-and –see’ approach  to the situation.

The answer comes in  2:2-3, 

“The Lord answered me: write the vision…it will surely come ; it will not delay”. 

This  prophecy was  recorded  in writing, and now  with hindsight, it  serves as a proof that the Lord’s word through  His inspired prophet is  certain. It all happened in history. It is done. The Babylonians did become God’s tool of judgment upon Israel, BUT  as we shall learn now, the Babylonians  themselves shall be judged by God. This is what we shall consider now.  

What follows now in our text in Ch. 2:2-20  is  God’s assessment of the Babylonians, with a prophetic word  concerning their  future.  God’s first words to Habakkuk concerning the Babylonians are these, 

“Behold his soul is puffed up; it is not upright  within him “ (v.4a) 

The rest of chapter 2  will be an explanation of this fact.    

The soul of the nation of the Babylonians is  unrighteous.

But God  also has a word for His faithful prophet,  who is struggling with  this theological problem – this fact that God here chooses to use an evil people  to punish  his  unfaithful covenant people.  The word which God has for Habakkuk is this,

“the righteous  shall live by his faith”. (Habakkuk 2:4)

Habakkuk was one of these righteous people in Israel, and what he  and others needed to do now in this time  of God’s mysterious dealings with Israel, was to live by faith in God’s sovereign dealings with them. They needed to trust that God would know how to work outall things for their ultimate good (Rom. 8:28). 

“The righteous shall live by his faith…”. This is a famous verse, quoted in   Romans, Galatians and Hebrews, and  in the context of Romans 1:17, this truth  greatly helped the great German  Reformer, Martin Luther, a monk in an Augustinian order of the Roman Catholic church,  who  until then had lived his life in  utter fear and terror  of God. He was  a God fearing man  and you might say, a believer in that sense.  But he  did not know God experientially. He was terrified of God. He never knew whether God was pleased with Him. He never felt good enough for God. He constantly beat himself  (physically  and mentally)  to subdue himself in order to please God. His whole system was built on a works righteousness. When he saw  that  he could never attain to a righteous life before God, but  that he needed to look by faith  to Christ,  he  finally understood  that  this difficult life in this world can only ever be lived  by faith  in God ALONE. This was his conversion experience, and  Martin Luther became a friend of God and a fearless, courageous man,because he had his eyes now focused  on God  and not on  situations before him.

It is  this  kind of faith which says, “Father God, I don’t  quite understand what you are doing  here in this situation, but I  love you and trust you as  my heavenly Father,  and I know that  you are too wise and too loving to err in this.” 

The powerful testimony of Sarah  Edwards  is an eloquent testimony to this attitude. When  her husband,  Jonathan Edwards (1703 – 1758), America’s greatest theologian was 55 years old smallpox vaccinations had just  been invented,  and since they were proving helpful, he was vaccinated. The doctor however administered too much of the vaccine, and he developed a fever which killed him.  His early death brought a severe trial to his wife  Sarah,   but listen how  this God centered woman dealt with his death, in a letter  written to her daughter:

“My very dear child. What shall I say?  A holy and good God has covered us with a dark cloud. The Lord has done it.  He has made me adore his goodness, that we had him so long.  But my God lives; and he has my heart. O what a legacy my husband, and your father, has left us!  We are all given to God; and there I am, and love to be. Your ever affectionate mother, Sarah Edwards[1].

That is the language of faith  in a good  and loving God.

This is  a great example  of how  “the  righteous shall live by his faith.”

God essentially says to Habakkuk, “Look,  I know  very well  that the Babylonians  are puffed up (arrogant)  and unrighteous, but I am determined to use them, and in the act of using them to chastise you, my covenant people, I am asking you   my righteous servant Habakkuk, and all of you righteous people, who care to listen to the word that I am giving through him,   to trust  me in this !”

What follows in verses  2:6-19 is an exposition of the fact that God knows that the Babylonians  are  wicked, and that He is  determined to exercise judgment upon them once they have done His work.He is by no means condoning them  for their evil behaviour. 

Here is  God’s  analysis of them:

In  2:5  Babylon is compared to a drunkard whose appetite for more wine is never satisfied. In fact, the Babylonians were famous for their drunkenness.  Drunkenness creates false and foolish courage. What they did  was   often fuelled by alcohol. It was not surprising then  that  during one of their drinking parties  described  in the book of  Daniel (5:1-4),   Cyrus and the Persians were able to sneak into the city and defeat the Babylonians. That would be God’s judgment on them.

Also (2:5), the Babylonians were  greedy- ”his greed is as wide as Sheol, like death he has never enough”. The Babylonians, like Hitler and the Nazi’s in my father’s day,  were  never content with the size of their empire. They tried to conquer more and more.

Next, in vv. 6-19 Habakkuk gives a series of "Woe"  oracles to describe  the ‘woeful’ state  of  Babylon.   Can you see the five  sections  in  verses 6, 9, 12, 15 and 19?

1. Woe to the greedy who steal and plunder  for they shall be plundered! (2:6-8) The first crime is theft – “Woe to him who heaps up what is not his own…”. This was   some 2,700 years ago and still the heart of man is unchanged. Our cities and towns and villages are full of thieves and everyone has a story to tell about that. Think also of the political power of  many dictators  in our world, and how they have impoverished their  countries,  and have enriched themselves  and their families, living in palaces protected by private armies, all  while their countrymen and women  suffer,  and their prisons are full of their opponents , and the people cry, “How long must this go on?”(v.6)

God says … the “debtors will suddenly arise… ” (v.7). Those who were once plunderers will be plundered. This will happen to mighty Babylon, says God.  And it will  also happen in the great day of judgment when every thief in Windhoek and Namibia  will be summoned to give an account to God. There will be no escape.

2. Woe to the dishonest who get evil gain for themselves - for the stones will cry out against them from the wall (2:9-11).   The Babylonians enriched themselves by plundering the treasuries and the homes of the people they conquered. Think of the drug barons, the loan sharks and all  those that practice extortion. Think of politicians who  use their position to gain  quick wealth  for themselves through kickbacks  and bribes. Our newspapers  are full of these things.  But the Lord says: “This will not go unnoticed… For the stones will cry out  from  the wall- dishonesty, greed, extortion“,  and the beams of the woodwork will respond  and echo back, “excess,  theft, debauchery,  drunkenness ” (v.11). The love of money is at the heart of this, and it invites God’s judgment.

3. Woe to the violent who build a town with blood for they will weary themselves for nothing (2:12-14).  The Babylonians built their cities with the help of the people they had captured in their wars. When slaves grew exhausted, they were killed without mercy, like  many  prisoners of war  in the wars of the 20^th century.  But think about this: while the Babylonians built their thick walls, did these help them when the appointed time for the destruction of Babylon came?  No one on earth resists God. Before God the fortifications were as nothing!  In the year 538 BC , the Persian  Cyrus launched his attack on the city one night when the population had a big drinking party. They were relying on the strength of these walls. But a canal  of water  from the Euphrates river   ran into the city  under the city wall, and  Cyrus had  the water  diverted,  and so while  they were boozing, Cyrus’ army entered  though that canal right into the city – without  using battering rams or shooting  a single arrow . The nation had  wearied themselves for nothing in building their walls. If God is against the Babylonians, who can be for them?

4. Woe to the sexual pervert for you will be shamed! (2:15-17). Alcohol and sexual immorality go hand in hand.  Here is a picture of Babylonian depravity, using drink  to lower the inhibitions of men and women  until  they  had no sense of shame left.  But God says  in v. 16b,  Now it is your turn!  “You will be filled with shame instead of glory …”.  God will put a cup in your hand to drink Babylon but it will be the cup of disgrace!  The violence you inflicted in one particular shameful massacre in Lebanon will be inflicted on you. That will be your future when Cyrus captures the city.”

So, here is the perspective that Habakkuk (and we) need:  God having judged his own people with the Babylonian invasion ultimately brings worse judgment on Babylon. God is answering Habakkuk’s prayer. Babylon is not going to have the last word in history. This powerful  empire  will eventually  be sacked   through God’s servant  Cyrus, the Persian.

THE EARTH WILL BE FILLED WITH THE KNOWLEDGE OF THE GLORY OF GOD.

God assures Habakkuk, “For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea.” (2:14). This is one of these beautiful verses in the Bible  which  we sometimes find in the midst of the most depressing and darkest of circumstances. God is saying, “Look up, Habakkuk! Don’t despair. This is hard to understand, but  I am committed to subduing this earth for my glory!”   

God said the same  in Isaiah 10 and 11 in the context of the Assyrian invasion. There God speaks of His judgment coming upon that ungodly  nation. In that context also God tells the people through Isaiah of a Branch growing out of the root of Jesse. There these identical words are used, ‘For the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD as the waters cover the sea’ (Isa. 11:9). The Branch is a reference to the Messiah. It is He of whose coming it was said, ‘The glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together: For the mouth of the Lord has spoken’ (Isa.40:5).

Those words should fill us with hope and confidence.   This is   a theology of glory. This is a vision of the true end: The earth will be filled with the glory of the Lord as the waters cover the sea!  Obadiah  (same era as Habakkuk, and same circumstances) says in conclusion of his brief prophecy “ … and the kingdom shall be the Lord’s” (v.21).

And with this in mind we conclude with v. 20:

“The Lord is  in His holy temple; let  all the earth keep silent before Him”.  God is in charge of your world. He knows the way He takes amidst all the current political and economic maneuvering   in this world.  This  is what Hababkkuk  learned at this time . Perplexing times teach God's people to live by faith in God.   Rest in His sovereignty, dear child of God. Amen!

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[1] Elizabeth Dodds: Marriage to a difficult man, p.200

ECCLESIASTES 1:12 - 2:26 "SOLOMON'S PERSONAL TESTIMONY- Chasing The Wind"

Last time we considered the introduction in Ecclesiastes 1:1-11. Solomon, the author, king in Jerusalem (1:12) there describes the weariness, the monotony and the repetition of life under the sun. At face value this sounds so  pessimistic! Who on earth wants to read such a book and hear such a message? And yet I have found that people rarely consider the entire book of Ecclesiastes to be off putting  or pessimistic. Many people find it fascinating to think that such a book can be found in the Bible. It makes something come alive in us. We can relate to it. I suspect that its rawness – describing life as it is, as we experience it under the sun, may have something to do with it. People like gut level talk.  Yet, I remind you that gut level talk  without God at the center is in itself meaningless. We thank God that we can consider this text in the greater light which we have in the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Solomon is clearly a man who has been greatly gifted by God to think deeply about life. He is not satisfied by simply living the life. In 1:13 he tells us, “…I applied my heart to seek and to search out by wisdom all that is done under heaven.” And then follows the first mentioning of God.  “It is an unhappy business that God has given to the children of man to be busy with. I have seen everything that is done under the sun, and behold, all is vanity and a striving after the wind.”  (v.13b,14). Notice what he says, “It is an unhappy business that God has given to the children of man.”

What is the cause of this unhappiness which the children of man have been given by God? Why would God make man, who is created in His image, unhappy?  The answer is not given here.  The fact is merely stated. Here we have  to go further into holy Scripture. The answer to man’s unhappiness is found  in  Genesis 2 &3. The children of man are the descendants of Adam and Eve. Mankind  was originally made  to  be  happy and contented. They  became unhappy   after disobeying  God’s explicit instruction in Genesis  2:16,17:  

“And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, “You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.”  

When Adam and Eve disobeyed God, everything that God said by way of a warning came true in Genesis 3:16-19. Apart from being now subject to the curse of death,  man’s work is now cursed. His life is  now  filled with pain and dissatisfaction.  

Sin caused a holy God to hand man over to an unhappy business. But remember that man, when he still had a true free will to obey God, had brought this unhappy business ultimately  upon himself and his future generations. And so now, everything that Solomon describes is tainted by this fact! He actually makes this point in 7:29: 

“See, this alone I have found, that God made man upright, but they have sought out many schemes”.  Man, without God has become a  schemer.  Although man retains the image of God in his fallen state, and although man has God’s creative energy invested within him, man cannot ultimately enjoy his work. Sin keeps  messing things up. Things feel hollow and meaningless – a futile chasing after the wind. God is not in it, because man, without  being renewed by the gospel is acting in his own strength and wisdom.

Some of you know the story of the famous painter, Vincent van Gogh (1853-1890)[1]. He is considered the greatest Dutch artist after Rembrandt van Rijn (1609-1669). But the story of his life is so sad. He committed suicide at the age of 37.  He did not live to enjoy the fruit of his creative genius.  He had a massive talent, but not a life lived in honour of the Creator who gave him these wonderful gifts. The fallen world was too much in him. Great gifts and great intellects used apart from God are a great challenge to any man or woman possessed by such abilities.  Solomon concludes the first chapter with these words, “For in much wisdom is much vexation, and he who increases knowledge, increases sorrow.” (1:18). So very profound!   

The pursuit of knowledge apart from God can drive one mad. I showed you this last time from the life of Friedrich Nietzsche, the German philosopher who went insane at 55. 

I came across this 2007 top documentary called, “Dangerous Knowledge”[2] by David Malone. In this documentary Malone looks at the lives of four brilliant mathematician- philosophers – Georg Cantor, Ludwig Boltzmann, Kurt Gödel and Alan Turing. Their genius has profoundly affected us, but all of them went insane and eventually committed suicide. 

Georg Cantor (1845-1918) laid the foundation for much of 20th-century mathematics. He died in a mental asylum. 

Ludwig Boltzmann (1844-1906) struggled to prove the existence of atoms. He had mental issues  and committed suicide. 

Kurt Gödel (1906-1978), a friend of Albert Einstein, and himself a profound mathematician, became paranoid and starved himself to death. 

Alan Turing (1912-1954), famous for deciphering the German military codes during WWII, is the father of computer science. He struggled with many issues and he committed suicide. 

Each one of these men  had  great gifts, but their hearts and minds were not redeemed by the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and in the end they were alone  and  frightened by their great thoughts.  While insanity and  suicide  is not the outcome  for every intelligent person, it is still true to says that when we remove   God from the center of our intellectual pursuit, we are not safe with our thoughts. They may drive us to insanity and suicide at worst and depression at best. Solomon warns us. This brings us to the main body  of our text.

Ecclesiastes 2:1-23

Here we find Solomon’s personal testimony. He not only gives himself to a life spent in the pursuit of wisdom and knowledge (1:12-18), but also to a life of unrestrained pleasure (2:1-3),   and the construction of magnificent buildings and gardens (2:4-6). He has many slaves to serve him. He has great possessions of animal livestock (2:7). He owns much silver and gold (12:8a). His legendary wealth is described in in 1 Kings 10:6-7. 

Solomon has endless entertainment and endless sex: “I got singers, both men and women and many concubines…”  (2:8b). 1 Kings 11:1-8 comments on this, and v. 3 in particular is very telling, “He had 700 wives, princesses, and 300 concubines. And his wives turned away his heart. For when Solomon was old his wives turned away his heart after other gods, and his heart was not wholly true to the Lord his God…”.

Never before had a Hebrew king so much prestige and so much wealth. Solomon says, “So I became great and surpassed all who were before me in Jerusalem…” (2:9). He had the means to pursue all that his eyes desired (2:10). He made it his goal to give himself to unrestrained pleasure… ”I kept my heart from no pleasure”. He also confesses that, “my heart found pleasure in all my toil, and this was the reward for all my toil” (2:10). Was is it enjoyable? Yes, of course, and secretly (and not so secretly) we tend to envy him. That’s the stuff that the tabloids and the glossy magazines thrive upon- the reports of the lives of those who pursue wealth and unrestrained pleasure. We buy these magazines because we crave this.  But what was the outcome? Well, we read of it in 1 Kings 11. And we read of it in 2:11, 

“Then I considered all that my hands had done and the toil I had expended in doing it, and behold, all was vanity, and a striving after wind [3] and there was nothing to be gained under the sun.” (2:11) 

The search continues!  

“So I turned to consider wisdom and madness and folly…”(2:12). Having  looked life materially, he now considers life philosophically. He begins to question the meaning of searching for wisdom itself (2:12ff). Is it better to live as a wise man or a fool?  He decides that a wise man is better off than a fool.  A wise man avoids many pitfalls; a fool falls into many of them. It is not difficult to see which way of life is preferable. “But here is the sad point“, says Solomon, “The wise man and the fool both die in the end – so there is no advantage in being wise after all”.  This thought fills Solomon with bitterness, “so I hated life, because what is done under the sun was grievous to me, for all is vanity and a striving after wind.” (2:17)  

Do you get the point?  You work, you get wealth, you apply wisdom, but then he confesses in 2:18-21 the meaninglessness of his work. He mentions toil/labour eight times. This man wasn’t an arm chair philosopher. He worked hard. He built, he invested and he produced. But Solomon gets to the point where he says to himself, “What’s the point of it all?  I will leave this all to a man who comes after me- and who knows whether he will be wise or a fool?… This also is vanity” (2:19).  

When he saw this, his heart was filled with despair (2:20) since ultimately everything is left to a person who essentially did not labour for all this hard work- and who will probably squander it. “So, what is the use of all this striving”, he asks? (2:22). A man may work and worry and lose sleep- but in the end… for what?  This also is vanity (2:23). So again, what is the point of it all?  Nothing under the sun brings lasting satisfaction.

Interim conclusions  and an ultimate conclusion

Interim conclusion: So far we have learned that  all things are vanity! They are all a striving after the wind (lit. shepherding the wind);  They are nothing gained under the sun. Thank God that this is not the final conclusion.

The Ultimate conclusion (2:24-26): Here comes the first bit of God centered counsel for living life in a fallen world from the mouth of Solomon. 

If pursued for its own sake this life is filled with so much meaninglessness, Solomon now asks, How then do you work? How then should you think?  How should you eat and drink?  The answer is given in 2:24-25: 

“There is nothing better for a person than that he should eat and drink and find enjoyment in his toil. This also, I saw, is from the hand of God, for apart from him who can eat or who can have enjoyment?  

So the answer is this:  Find God at the center of your life! And then eat and drink and work, and pursue  EVERYTHING with  God at the center. 

Remember that it is God who provides  your daily work and your daily bread.  That thought is repeated  in 3:12 &13.  And this  is precisely what  Paul also teaches the Corinthian church, “So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.” (1 Cor. 10:31)

And now take note of this final verse  in 2:26: “For to the one who pleases him God has given wisdom and knowledge and joy, but to the sinner he has given the business of gathering and collecting, only to give to one who pleases God. This also is vanity and a striving after wind.”

A God fearing man (cf. 5:7)   walks through life with a God centered perspective, and the fruit of this life is godly wisdom, knowledge and joy. And it totally satisfies the man/ woman who walks with God. They have God, and if they have God, they have everything.  

The man who does not fear God (the sinner) works (gathers and collects) ultimately only to lose what he gains. He has pockets with holes in them (Haggai 1:6).And eventually he will lose everything to the meek  who please God, for it is the meek alone  that will ultimately inherit the earth (Matt 5:5). The God-less life is ultimately wasted and meaningless.

The Gospel in Ecclesiastes

There is no true enjoyment of life, no real meaning to work, apart from God. Sin has messed life up. Life cries out of meaningfulness, but apart from God’s intervention and apart from  this reversal of the curse by a Divine  intervention this cannot happen. The Lord Jesus Christ is God’s ultimate answer to the curse of meaninglessness. 

See how He changed the life of Paul in Philippians 4:12,13. 

As a fallen being have you been changed  by the gospel of God? 

Do you sense that  you are being helped  to escape the futility  of life in this world through  God centered, gospel centered thinking?

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[1] https://www.vincentvangogh.org/biography.jsp . I have seen some of his paintings in the National  Art gallery at Trafalgar square in London

[2] https://topdocumentaryfilms.com/dangerous-knowledge/

[3] lit. “shepherding the wind”

Habakkuk 2:1 - 4 "WAITING FOR GOD’S ANSWER- learning to live by Faith"

Habakkuk was  called of God  to warn  the Jews before He would send terrible  judgment upon them. Concerning this he carried a  heavy burden (oracle) on his heart. God help us if we must speak judgment without  a heartfelt burden.  In a vision Habakkuk saw his country delivered  into the  hands of the Babylonians, and he  wrestled  with God  on account of this. When he enquired  of God concerning this, God was  seemingly quiet for a while, BUT THEN the Word came to Habakkuk. God  informed  Habakkuk in 1:5-11, that He was indeed  in the process of sending His instruments of judgment – the Babylonians!  

Habakkuk was alarmed  at this. In his mind the  Babylonians  were worse sinners – more morally and spiritually depraved  than Israel. So he argued with God concerning this (1:12-17) for  he was puzzled,  because  God’s answer  just did not make  sense.  

What was he to do now? 

He  decided to wait!  He says: 

“I will take my stand at my watch post 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 (2:1).

Habakkuk is withdrawing to his observation station. He is resolved to say nothing until God clarifies the matter.  This is actually good counsel for perplexed Christians. What do you do, when you cannot do anything? What do you do when you are puzzled and troubled and perplexed and not sure of what God is doing?  What can you do when you don’t understand God’s  logic?  While many people  think that any way is right, the watchful and loving pastor often has to remind his people,  “There is a way  that seems right to a man, but its end is the way to death.” (Prov.  16:25). 

Habakkuk chooses to wait.  He  says,  “I will wait  and see what  He will say to me.”   Habakkuk is a model to us in this respect. Troubled in heart, he doesn’t resort to pragmatic self -help.  He resolves to wait for what God will say  on this matter. Remember,  that God has already spoken  in 1:5-11.  He will surely speak again.

Let’s  just think over this a little bit more:  When God’s answer does not make sense, many Christians  reason,  “Well,  then  I will just have to  figure it out by myself “ .   

Many people in the Bible had tried this.

• Job  and his 4 friends tried it – and ultimately  they were all rebuked by God (Job 38ff). 
• King  Saul  tried   it, when the Philistines were threatening , and  when Samuel did not arrive  in time, and he chose to  present  the burnt offerings – something that he was not permitted to do.  (1 Samuel 13)
• One of the disciples of Jesus tried it when he sought to defend the Lord Jesus Christ  in the hour of  betrayal. He   drew a sword, cutting off the ear   of the servant of the high priest (Matt.  26:51ff). It was premature and unnecessary and unhelpful. Jesus had to rebuke him.

When we do not like what we hear from God’s Word, we easily  are tempted to get impatient. We start looking for other solutions.  The truth is  that we live in a complex world. Sin makes things complex. The truth is that we are rarely able  to see the whole picture. And what we think ought to happen,  and  what God  decides will happen may not always be the same. Who among men understood what God was doing with Job?  His friends  said that he was  being punished for his sin. But  the Bible teaches us that  God’s purpose was not to punish Job, but to  refine Job.

So, before  we are tempted  to  give quick answers or responses, or get angry with God,  we have  to learn to wait  upon God.

In our New Testament  context, where God has spoken in Christ (Hebrews 12:1-3), and where the  revelation of His will is complete is complete,  we  need to learn  to sit prayerfully before our open   Bibles,  and to learn  and discern  concerning  God’s ways with us.  Our instant, restless  society  finds this difficult. We want instant answers and solutions. We really  need to  learn the value and importance of  waiting on God  as we meditate prayerfully  over His written Word,  withdrawing  into quiet places as it were, and sometimes we need  to remain there  until the Lord  has given us understanding  and clarity  concerning a course of action,  though His written Word. It is seldom wrong  to wait!

This is pertinent counsel to people like myself, called to the pastoral ministry. How dare I counsel you with mere human intuition  or wisdom?  Pastor’s  above all people (though not exclusively) need  to  learn to understand  the value  of  knowing  the  full counsel of the Word of God. Pastors are  dealing with the soul (or the heart)  which is by far the most complex  aspect   relating to  the human being.  Being a medical doctor is difficult enough. Making accurate diagnoses and  applying effective treatment  for a sick body is a science  that requires many hours of intensive study.  But the soul is more complex than the body. The soul is intangible.It is deep and it is hidden  to the human  eye.  The body is tangible. Cancer and  Covid19   have  tangible origins, and medical science is working hard to find a cure.

Working with  the intangible soul  is different. This  is where the work of the pastor lies. He is called to be a physician of souls. The procedure  for the cure of souls  is  not found in medical text books, although modern psychology aims to be a substitute  for biblical pastoral work, but we know  that it is a very ‘ iffy’  science.  

The only  effective  medication and treatment  and balm for the  cure of the soul  is found within the realm  of the holy Word of God. The Bible is  the  definitive  book   that speaks authoritatively  about

•  man’s origin
•  man’s unique  relationship to God (being made in the image of God)
• the effects of sin  upon that relationship. 

The  human  soul is  deeply affected  by the fall. In fact, the soul is dead to God (Eph.2:1), and unaided  man  is  exposed to a bewildering array  of  God hating  behaviour.  The 10 commandments are an exposition  of what  the soul relates  to in its sinful  state.  The primary sins  that  are born in the intangible world of  our souls are,  

• Idolatry (the replacement of God  by other loves)
• The dishonouring of  primary relationships  such as  father and mother 
•  murder, adultery, stealing, coveting. 

All these  find their roots in the fallen soul of man. The only cure  for sin  is  to  bring our fallen natures to Christ, the Redeemer from sin. Through faith in Him   men and women are  being  restored. 

So, how  can I understand  the depths of depravity, and the knock on effects of  that depravity   into which the human  soul has entered?

How can I understand  the ways of God  with a  person in my congregation,  without a thorough knowledge of the  Bible?  How can I make a distinction between what a man  or woman brings upon themselves  and  the sanctifying  work of God? 

How can I help  people  without   the divine remedy  prescribed  in the Word of God for such sin? 

Not without being intimately acquainted  with  the word  and the work of the Great Shepherd of our souls.  The biblical pastor will be a watchman (Ezekiel 33), and the work of a watchman is to make known  and to  repeat the  Word of the Lord to his people. 

Pity the church that have   pastors   who have fallen asleep in their complacency, and who have no relationship with the Lord Jesus, and who therefore do not diligently feed the flock with the Word of the Lord. 

An unattended  flock will become easy prey for the wolves  (Acts 20 :29ff).  If it wasn’t for the fact that  Jesus had watched and prayed for Peter, he would have become   Satan’s casualty,  “Simon , Simon, behold, Satan demanded to have you, that he might sift you like wheat, but I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail.” (Lk. 22:32)

GOD SPEAKS !

So then, as Habakkuk  waits  we read these  words, “And the Lord answered me…” (2:2a). God is faithful. He will give an answer. Here it is:  

“Write the vision; make it plain on tablets ,so he may run who reads it…”  

Before God says anything to Habakkuk, He  wants to  make  sure that these words won’t get lost. Habakkuk must   write these words down. 

“Write the  vision…”!  

Now some 2,800 years after the writing of these words, we read these words and we  are greatly helped by them  as we  learn of the ways of God in this world! 

 “Make it plain on tablets”

God’s word was to be recorded on a tablet, so that there would be no uncertainty  or ambiguity or reinterpretation  of this message. 

“So he may run who reads it” 

The word  which God gives to the prophet was to be read in the whole land. A herald was  sent through the land to proclaim  this message  from God.  

Then the Lord adds  this word, “For still the vision awaits its appointed time; it hastens to the end—it will not lie.  If it seems slow, wait for it; it will surely come; it will not delay“ (2:3). 

This  vision was  still unfulfilled, but  it is coming – it hastens to the end.  It would happen in time  just as God had told Habakkuk.

And now follows  an important  message  to the remnant in Israel, those who would wait patiently for this  time of   judgment, and  who would  keep trusting in God.  

What follows  are  Habakkuk’s most famous words and quoted in Romans, Galatians  and Hebrews. Theseare the  words that turned around the life of  the German Reformer, Martin Luther

 THE RIGHTEOUS WILL LIVE BY HIS FAITH.

“Behold, his soul is puffed up; it is not upright within him, but the righteous shall live by his faith. (v.4).  

There are only two possible attitudes in this world with respect  to  God and His Word. The first is that  of  unbelief, and  the second is that of faith. In the words of Habakkuk,  either our souls  are puffed up  or self – righteous  (and therefore not upright), or our souls  live in faith and dependence upon God and His Word. This is  the  righteousness that God loves.  The person who lives by his/her  faith in God  is righteous. The righteous person makes  their decisions  based upon the Word of God.  The  person possessed  by such faith accepts God’s rule.  Hebrews  Chapters 10-12  expound and illustrate this  truth in the lives of those  that walk by faith in God.

There are two ways in which we can choose to look  at  events (past, present, future)  in this world.

• Some say that world events are simply random. Things happen. The survival of the fittest - the one who has the most money and the biggest army  wins.
• The other view says that God is in charge of history - not fate, not money, not armies, not powerful people.  God has the last word on everything, and when God says  that Babylon will invade  Judah,  or when a Covid-19  virus  will invade the world, then it  will be so. No explanation  needed. Faith means taking God at His word. It says,“Lord , I don’t understand it but I believe that what you are doing is righteous  and good”. That  is the faith of  Hebrews 11. These men and women believed God,  simply because  God had spoken.  This is the life that pleases God.

Right now  Habakkuk is in the process of moving from   fear or frustration  to faith.  This is the text  on which the rest of this prophetic  book is hinged. From this  position, the prophet (and we)  move into  the position of understanding, and with that, he and we,  move  into  the peace, hope and joy of  the God  who controls the world in the midst of  some very terrible  circumstances.

TWO ESSENTIAL CHARACTERISTICS OF A RIGHTEOUS PERSON LIVING BY FAITH

(i) You’ve got to know the truth. You must have knowledge.  Faith doesn’t begin or end in a vacuum. You  need to know  God in Christ.  In order to have faith in Him you need to know: 

• Who is He? 
• Why did He come? 
• What did He teach? 
• Why did He die?  
• Why did He rise from the dead?  
• Where is He now?  
• What is He going to do in the future?  

The more you know about Jesus, the more you learn to trust Him. 

The less you know about Jesus, the weaker your faith will be. 

In who or what are you  trusting right now? You must know him well.

(ii) You’ve got to have personal trust. The righteous will live by his own faith.  You must have this  faith personally. True, saving faith moves  from knowledge  to trust. The longer you know Him, the easier it is to trust Him.  In order  to trust Him , you must get into Him, if you know what I mean. Think of it this way. If you are on a cruise ship that is sinking, what do you do? 

You know you need to get to a lifeboat. 

You know that you have to climb over the side and climb down the ladder and get into the boat. 

But even that knowledge is not enough. 

You have to do it. 

You must personally get into the lifeboat. It is the only way to be saved from the sea. 

So then,  in waiting for God's answer, Habakkuk is  really  learning one big  thing at this time. He is learning to trust God in this bad situation. And we shall learn  with Him that He will not be disappointed. The answer  is in the making  and  Habakkuk  will be a changed man.