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Habakkuk was a prophet.
We don’t know anything about him. There’s no mention of him anywhere else in the Bible. All we have are three chapters attributed to him.
We do know more about prophets in general.
Prophets were a unique breed of people. They play a prominent role in the Old Testament times.
Prophets had a unique role. They spoke on behalf of God. It’s as if the words they spoke were directly from God
Many times, they were words of judgment and condemnation for how corrupt and crooked people had become. Other times, they were words of hope and consolation.
The words that prophets spoke didn’t come from nowhere. They came from the tight, intimate connection they had with God
That connection was so tight that it’s as if their mind was God’s, and the mind of God was in them. Their words were God’s words, and God’s words became theirs.
It was a special calling, but it was also a heavy burden.
Because they saw the world as God saw it, they could never be at ease.
They could not turn their eyes from the evil around them. They could not ignore all the suffering at the hands of injustice. They could not stay silent at the abuses of power by those in power.
Prophets were tortured souls because they carried God’s heavy burden in their hearts. It made them go crazy.
But they could not stay silent. They could only speak God’s truth.
Because of that, they were isolated people. They were persecuted. No one liked them because they felt bad or uncomfortable around them.
Most of the prophetic books in the Bible are the prophet’s words to the people. The book of Habakkuk is different. It is entirely an internal dialogue between Habakkuk and God. There are no words to the people.
But you get a glimpse into the mind of Habakkuk. You get a window into the internal struggles of this prophet.
You can see right from the beginning that his mind is not at ease.
O Lord, how long shall I cry for help, and you will not listen? Or cry to you “Violence!” and you will not save? Why do you make me see wrongdoing and look at trouble? Destruction and violence are before me; strife and contention arise. So the law becomes slack, and justice never prevails. The wicked surround the righteous; therefore judgment comes forth perverted. (Habakkuk 1:1-4)
We don’t know exactly what was going on around him. But clearly he sees things that disturbs his heart.
Habakkuk has been crying out to God for a long time. But God has not responded. Nothing has changed.
He sees violence and trouble all around him. There is no justice. Seeing this trouble, violence and injustice disturbs him, but God will not let him take his eyes away from all the trouble.
He says that the law has become slack. The word for law means capital “L” law, or Torah. The law that God gave to the people.
God’s Word means nothing to people. There is no boundary on their behaviour. Powerful people use justice for their own ends.
All of this is too much for him to bear. He raises out this loud complaint to God.
When I look around, the world I see today is not that different from what Habakkuk saw.
I see a violent world. I see people scoffing at morality and virtue. I see people using power by any means necessary to get what they want.
There are no more guardrails. People say what they want, do what they want. Doing the right thing is a funny concept.
I see this especially when I read newspapers. I have a subscription to a major American and Canadian newspaper. The feeling I get when I read the American newspaper always leaves me feeling heavy and down.
I used to spend a lot of time reading analysis and opinion pieces. I wanted to understand and have a pulse of what’s going on. But these days, it’s too depressing and heavy.
So many times, I just look at the headlines and skip reading it. I turn instead to sports articles and columns. Especially lately while the Blue Jays were on their hot run.
Unlike Habakkuk, I often turn my eyes away from all the things happening.
When there is overwhelming injustice around you, when things around are not alright, the greatest temptation is to become indifferent.
To close your eyes.
Shut off the heart and mind from things that bother the conscience. To turn inward. Focus on yourself and your own problems and forget about everything else.
Indifference is a way of coping with the overwhelming problems of the world.
But I realize that indifference is just a mask for something deeper: a loss of belief. Loss of belief that things can change. Loss of belief that there’s something bigger than me worth fighting for.
Loss of belief in God. Or belief in a God who has the desire or power to do anything for the world.
When you lose belief, the reality of hopelessness is too much to bear, so indifference is the easier route to take.
Life then just becomes about enjoying the moment and things around you. Moment to moment existence. Nothing beyond the moment to work for, strive for, hope for.
That is the life of indifference.
We see a different response in Habakkuk.
This is how he responds:
I will stand at my watchpost and station myself on the rampart; I will keep watch to see what he will say to me and what he will answer concerning my complaint. (Habakkuk 2:1)
Instead of indifference or despair, you see a resolve. A determination.
He accepts the limits of what he can do about his present situation. But he is not resigned to the present reality. There is a defiance toward the present reality.
I see the image of someone standing on a tower. There is fighting going on below. The enemy is winning the battle and getting closer to the gates.
But yet, he looks out in the distance to see if help is coming. He is not giving up hope of help.
In Habakkuk’s response, I see faith. An unwillingness to let go of belief in God. A stubborn belief that God is still active and involved.
Faith is waiting for a response from God even when everything is going wrong.
Instead of giving into indifference or despair, he waits for a response. He waits for a new vision.
Faith is a powerful thing.
Through all of history, faith has been the seed of change. Faith has given birth to a new vision of the possible. Faith has kept the fire burning through the darkest hours.
Faith kept Nelson Mandela going through twenty seven years in prison. Faith kept the apostles going through great persecutions. Faith kept immigrants going despite hardships and bleak circumstances.
The Lord answered Habakkuk:
Then the Lord answered me and said: Write the vision; make it plain on tablets, so that a runner may read it. For there is still a vision for the appointed time; it speaks of the end and does not lie. If it seems to tarry, wait for it; it will surely come; it will not delay.
Look at the proud! Their spirit is not right in them, but the righteous live by their faithfulness. (Habakkuk 2:2-4)
He received an answer: Wait. There will be a vision for the appointed time: Wait. Keep faith.
And he received an answer for what to do in the present: be faithful. Carry on with the good work. Do right.
God will bring about a good ending.
God spoke through the prophets. They were rejected in their own time, but their words became a moral compass for the people.
That prophetic role was passed onto Jesus. This is how he introduced himself at the beginning of his ministry:
He stood up to read, and the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set free those who are oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” And he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant, and sat down. The eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him. Then he began to say to them, “Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.” (Luke 4:17-21)
Jesus inherited the prophet’s role. But it was much more than just proclaiming words like the prophets did. He brought healing and new life to people.
After Jesus ascended into heaven, he gave the Holy Spirit to the Church.
The Church is the presence of Christ to continue what he began. It is the beating heart of Christ in the world.
No longer is the prophet’s role confined to an individual. It is given to all of us as the Church, the body of Christ.
To be the Church is to see the world as it, so mired in sin and far from God. We lament and cry out at the gap between what God desires and how we live.
The Church stands at the watchpost every Sunday to listen for God’s Word. We wait for a vision in turbulent times. The Church remains faithful: we love one another and love the brokenhearted.
Church anniversary: prayers and visions. Next generation and reaching beyond our own church community. God is stirring something up within our church.
Habakkuk closes his dialogue with this confession:
Though the fig tree does not blossom and no fruit is on the vines; though the produce of the olive fails and the fields yield no food; though the flock is cut off from the fold and there is no herd in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the Lord; I will exult in the God of my salvation. (Habakkuk 3:17-18)
No matter how dire things seem, no matter how hopeless, we will not succumb to indifference. We will continue to be faithful.
In the end, through his struggle and awakening, Habakkuk experienced God in a real way:
God, the Lord, is my strength; he makes my feet like the feet of a deer and makes me tread upon the heights. (Habakkuk 3:19)
As we come together each week to worship, we cry out to God. We wait for God’s Word. We remain faithful.
As we worship, God lifts us up. God makes our feet like the deer.
Do not give in to indifference. Wait and be faithful.
May God’s strength lift you up on the heights.
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