Complaining To God – Part 2
Habakkuk 1:12-2:1
“My God, my Holy One, youwill never die.” vs. 12
A Vow Of Silence
A monk joined a monastery and took a vow of silence. After the first 10 years his superior called him in and asked, “Do you have anything to say?” The monk replied, “Food bad.” After another 10 years the monk again had opportunity to voice his thoughts. He said, “Bed hard.” Another 10 years went by and again he was called in before his superior. When asked if he had anything to say, he responded, “I quit.” “It doesn’t surprise me a bit. You’ve done nothing but complain ever since you got here.”
Read Passage – Habakkuk
Lord, are you not from everlasting? My God, my Holy One, youwill never die. You, Lord, have appointed them to execute judgment; you, my Rock, have ordained them to punish. 13 Your eyes are too pure to look on evil; you cannot tolerate wrongdoing. Why then do you tolerate the treacherous? Why are you silent while the wicked swallow up those more righteous than themselves? 14 You have made people like the fish in the sea, like the sea creatures that have no ruler. 15 The wicked foe pulls all of them up with hooks, he catches them in his net, he gathers them up in his dragnet; and so he rejoices and is glad. 16 Therefore he sacrifices to his net and burns incense to his dragnet, for by his net he lives in luxury and enjoys the choicest food. 17 Is he to keep on emptying his net, destroying nations without mercy? I will stand at my watch and station myself on the ramparts; I will look to see what he will say to me, and what answer I am to give to this complaint.
Let Me Repeat The Question
Last week we looked at the first complaint of Habakkuk to God. Habakkuk was questioning God about the evil in the world and why God was putting up with it. He said in ch. 1 verse 3:
“Why do you make me look at injustice? Why do you tolerate wrongdoing?” Hab. 1:3
We also looked at God’s answer. The main thrust of God’s answer to Habakkuk was to trust him, to watch for God and the work that he is doing, to accept that God’s plan may be different and to trust that God is good. Somehow, Habakkuk isn’t completely satisfied with that answer. So, he repeats his question again, verse 13:
“Why then do you tolerate the treacherous?” vs. 13
You might be thinking, “That Habakkuk must have a lot of confidence to question God a second time” or you might think he is just plain crazy. But you know, I have to admire him. God answers and Habakkuk is not quite satisfied with it so instead of just being a good little prophet and keeping his thoughts to himself, he goes back to God and questions him again. This can be a big revelation to us; that when God answers, yes we trust his answer, but that doesn’t mean we can’t go back and ask again or even ask for clarification. We do that in our relationships with each other and somehow I think we can do that with God too. He is not going to zap us or get mad at us. God is patient. He will work with us and wants us to trust him so if it means repeating the answer or giving another answer, he does.
Misconceptions About God’s Silence
Here is what I see as a problem we have; when we don’t get the answer we want, when we feel that God is being silent, when it’s hard to understand God and his ways, we read a lot of things into the silence. Silence can be confusing to us one, because we are not used to listening, and two, because we put a lot of our own fears, questions, and ideas into the silence that might not necessarily be there.
Ex. You ask someone a question and they just look at you. So many things can be read into that; they might not have heard you, they might be mad, might be thinking, etc.
Two misconceptions about God’s silence are pointed out in this passage.
- Having “Things” Mean You Have Gods Approval
The first is that having “things” (material things) means you have God’s approval. Just because a person has material possessions does not mean that they are acting within God’s will and with his blessing. Habakkuk says in verse 16:
“Therefore he sacrifices to his net and burns incense to his dragnet, for by his net he lives in luxury and enjoys the choicest food.” vs. 16
The metaphor in this scenario is wicked fisherman (i.e. the Babylonians) who use and abuse people and things for their own gain and then they live it up. We have to be sure that we are not in the business of using others only to build ourselves up and so we can enjoy a life of luxury while others are being abused and exploited. They exploited people, hurt them, killed them abused them all so they could accumulate their material things; then they had parties and celebrations to rub it in their faces. You might say we don’t do that kind of thing but be careful.
Ex. The movement to eliminate sweatshops and abuse of people only so big companies can make money and fill their own pockets.
God’s answer in Hab. 2 gives us more insight to that same thing.
“Woe to him who gives drink to his neighbors, pouring it from the wineskin till they are drunk, so that he can gaze on their naked bodies! 16 You will be filled with shame instead of glory.” Hab. 2:15-16
He shows that they exploited their neighbors by getting them drunk so they could take advantage of them sexually. But God shows what his kind of an attitude does; it eventually brings shame.
- Having “Power” Means You Have God’s Approval
A second thing we read into the silence is that we somehow we feel those in power have God’s approval. Listen again to verse 15:
“The wicked foe pulls all of them up with hooks, he catches them in his net, he gathers them up in his dragnet; and so he rejoices and is glad.” vs. 15
The “them” in this passage is people. Remember the Babylonians were ruthless and cruel people. They would lead prisoners away in hooks and kill and maim their prisoners and then laugh about it. They were thought this was fun. This is not the way God wants people treated. Habakkuk saw this and it was agony to know what these people were doing. How could god use them? Because God allowed them to do what they were doing does not mean they had God’s approval. It so easy for those in power to feel invincible and have a sense of empowerment. We can sometimes give them that empowerment too. God follows that up in ch. 2 verses 9-11:
“Woe to him who builds his house by unjust gain, setting his nest on high to escape the clutches of ruin! 10 You have plotted the ruin of many peoples, shaming your own house and forfeiting your life. 11 The stones of the wall will cry out, and the beams of the woodwork will echo it.” Hab. 2:9-11
The picture here is that people with power set themselves above others like with their houses, in the passage the example is nests. They feel they are protected and above others. The thing is that those that abuse their power and authority will one day be held accountable for it and they bring disgrace to their own house.
Reminders God Is In Control
Even though Habakkuk is complaining again, he is still trusting God and knows that God is the source of all things good and that he can still trust him. He does this by remembering the attributes of God that bring stability to life and to our circumstances. One aspect of this that we shouldn’t overlook is that it is o.k. and maybe even good for us to verbalize our thoughts and the things we know are true about God. Naming God’s attributes can bring comfort in the midst of our distress. These attributes are found in the opening part of his complaint.
- He is eternal
The first attribute that Habakkuk speaks of is that God is eternal. He says in verse 12a:
“Lord, are you not from everlasting? My God, my Holy One, you will never die.” vs. 12a
Habakkuk reminds himself and us that God always has been, is, and always will be. God has seen it all and has been there every step of the way. We have to remember that our circumstances, our struggles, our difficulties are temporary. Our lives are temporary but we are being prepared for the eternal life we will have with God himself. Think about the struggles we face and how most of those struggles last only a short time.
Ex. Our struggle with our mortgage and now two years later we are looking at paying it off, and soon! Within the next year and a half.
- He is Strong and Unchanging
A second attribute that Habakkuk speaks of is that God is Strong and Unchanging; verse 12:b:
“You, Lord, have appointed them to execute judgment; you, my Rock, have ordained them to punish.” vs. 12b
In this verse he uses the term “The Rock” as description of his strength and steadiness. This is the same thought that David uses numerous times in the Psalms about God being our Rock (Ps. 18:2, 19:14, 61:2, 92:15), our refuge, our strength in times of distress and struggle. He is the place to which we run. I believe Habakkuk is comparing our weakness and changing circumstances to God’s strength and stability.
Ex. Barbara’s house in S.F. built on Nob\ Hill/Russian Hill and we aske if they were nervous being up so high and their answer was “No, this is built on bedrock, it is solid.”
First Service Song: On Christ the Solid Rock I Stand
Second Service song; Solid rock
- He is holy
And the third attribute is that God is holy; verse 13:
“Your eyes are too pure to look on evil; you cannot tolerate wrongdoing.” vs. 13
Habakkuk remembers that God is a holy God and he will not tolerate sin. God will act and God will respond. He is a patient God, a loving God and a merciful God but he will not tolerate sin for long or forever. We live in a sinful state and we get used to sin and bad things happening around us. Not so for God. In the silence, we sometimes feel God is being too tolerant. But remember this, we want others to be corrected for their wrong doings and we want God to act, and fast, but we want to be tolerant and patient with us.
Ex. Someone talking on their phone while driving. We want them to be caught and corrected. We want the police to be lenient with us.
Not Giving Up On God
Why remember the attributes of God? Because when we remind ourselves of them, we are expressing our continued trust in God. Listen to how Habakkuk ends this complaint, verse 2:1:
“I will stand at my watch and station myself on the ramparts; I will look to see what he will say to me…” vs. 2:1
He tells God that he is going to stand and watch. He says I will station myself. In other words, I am planting myself right here because I know you will work, I know I can trust you God and I am not giving up.
