Living By Faith When God Seems Invisible

Theological Perspectives from Habakkuk

The life of faith may seem relatively easy to accomplish in the context of worship and religious activity. In the beauty and wonder of religious ceremony, God seems unusually close and it is not difficult to see and sense His presence and be reminded of His goodness and blessing. In these kinds of times it is easy to praise, worship, and live faithfully before Him. However, frequently God’s people struggle to live faithfully when God seems distant or even absent. To make matters worse, often God’s ways do not seem compatible with what we know about His character. If God is all-powerful and all-loving, then why does He allow His children to suffer? Why does He allow His program to seemingly be thwarted by wicked men? Perhaps hardest question of all is the age old question – “If God is who He says He is, then why do the wicked prosper? Asaph, the songwriter of ancient Israel asked this question candidly and forthrightly in Psalm 73. He began by acknowledging what he knew to be true about God – “Truly God is good to Israel, to such as are pure in heart.” But he went on to admit that the contradiction between this theological truth and his personal experience nearly destroyed him – “But as for me, my feet had almost stumbled; my steps had nearly slipped.” What was it that caused this near spiritual disaster? His observation that the wicked seem to prosper and the Godly seem to suffer!

This question was not unique to Asaph. God’s people in every generation and under every conceivable set of circumstances have wrestled with the issue of why the wicked prosper. How are righteous people to respond when evil triumphs and wicked men prosper? What are we to do when life seems unfair or we are surrounded by troubles and difficulties and God seems conspicuously absent? The best answer to all of this is found in the short but powerful prophecy. Habakkuk articulates our own question: “Why do God’s actions at times seem contrary to His nature? What is the godly man to do when evil triumphs and God seems absent?” Habakkuk reveals God’s answer: “He is to live by faith!” His book contains the secret to developing a “Faith for Bad Times.”

Author and Date

“Habakkuk” means ardent embrace or one who embraces (1:1; 3:1). It is interesting to note that he begins by questioning God and ends by embracing God in a song of praise even though God’s had not chosen to change or alter his difficult circumstance. Almost nothing is known about Habakkuk other than his name and his office – that of a prophet. He prophesied to Judah sometime before the Babylonians carried them away into captivity in 586 B.C. It seems best to date Habakkuk in this period 612 – 605 B.C.

Background

Times were not good for Judah in Habakkuk’s day. It had been approximately one hundred years since God had brought His devastating judgment upon the ten Northern tribes of Israel. The Assyrian nation had eventually come up against Judah – in fact one of their kings, Sennacherib had even surrounded Jerusalem and laid siege to King Hezekiah’s army. Who had not heard the story of his commanding general taunting Hezekiah and his army? That night over 180,000 Assyrian soldiers perished and Sennacherib retreated to Nineveh. Of course, to hear him recount the story in the annals of history – his version was slightly different. According to him, his army had shut Hezekiah up in Jerusalem like a bird in a cage. Amazingly, there is no mention of the deaths of his troops. Nor does he give a reason why he did not finish Hezekiah and destroy Jerusalem. However, all of Judah knew the real story. Behind Sennacherib’s defeat was the powerful intervention of God! Those days were long gone and with them the brief revival and renewal that had come through Hezekiah’s efforts. Now, almost a century later – God’s people were just as wicked if not more so than they were before Hezekiah’s famous repentance! In short order, Judah was back to her old ways – wickedness, idolatry, and injustice were once again the order of the day! Against this backdrop of wickedness running wild in Judah – one righteous man stands and asks God a question – “Lord, How long are you going to let this wickedness among your people go on unchecked and unjudged?”

Structure and Outline

Habakkuk carefully constructs his prophecy into 8 specific divisions as follows:

1. First Complaint to God - 1:2-4
2. God’s First Response - 1:5-11
3. Second Complaint to God - 1:12-17
4. Prophet’s Decision to Wait for God’s Answer - 2:1
5. God’s Second Response - 2:2-5
6. God’s 5 Woes Against Babylon - 2:6-20
7. Habakkuk’s Prayer - 3:1-15
8. Habakkuk’s Decision to Rejoice in the Lord - 3:16-19

The following represents a simple outline of the book:

Habakkuk’s Message

As one reads Habakkuk, it is clear that he was not speaking as a casual observer with an interesting theological perplexity. His questions rose out of the pressure of life! What he saw and felt created in him questions about what He knew and believed to be true about God. His theology did not match up with his experience – and in the crucible of crisis, God was about to strengthen Habakkuk’s ability to believe in the unseen and live accordingly – by faith and not by sight!

Part One: Waiting For God’s Intervention (1:1 – 2:1)

This first section consists of two complaints by Habakkuk and God’s first answer. His first complaint is articulated in terms of what God had caused him to see going on in the nation of Judah. God had “showed him iniquity and caused him to see trouble.” (1:3). Strife and plundering were a constant sight before his eyes. As a result, the law was powerless and injustice and wickedness prevailed. He uses the same word here to describe the violence of the land that Moses used in Genesis to describe the moral condition of the earth before the flood! At the heart of his complaint was a frustration with God’s seeming toleration of the wicked ways of His people. This section reveals Habakkuk’s responses to that frustration – responses are often found in our lives.

Distress over Surrounding Immoral Conditions (1:2-4)

Habakkuk used 6 different terms to describe the depravity going on around him – violence, injustice, wrong, destruction, strife, and conflict. Society had sunk to despicable lows. What made this even more painful was that just 12 years earlier these same people had witnessed God’s gracious intervention in the revival He sent under King Josiah in 621 B.C. (II Kings 22:8-20). Habakkuk was understandably troubled by what he saw going on around him – and God was strangely silent. So, he lifts up his voice and cries out to God to express his spiritual distress at what he perceives.

Distress seen in Sensitivity to Wrong (1:2-3) Nowhere in the book does Habakkuk ever express doubt in God’s ability to help. He knows God can judge and deliver. The issue for Habakkuk is why God has chosen not to act up to this point. Why has God tolerated this wickedness for so long? His sensitivity to the evil pervasive in Judah produces great anguish – so deep is his distress over what he sees that he literally ‘shouts’ or ‘roars’ out his frustration to God when he considers the violence going on among God’s people (1:2). Five times we are reminded of how violent the nation has become (1:2, 3, 9; 2:8, 17). This word is the same word used in Genesis 6:11 to describe the world that God judged in Noah’s day. The implicit question is this: “Lord, if you didn’t tolerate this in Noah’s day but sent a flood; why do you tolerate it now?”

Distress seen in Helplessness in the Pervasive Presence of Wrong (1:3) Not only is Habakkuk sensitive to what is going on around him – he observes that he is completely powerless in the face of such pervasive wickedness – he can’t do anything to stem the tide! He uses terminology associated with sight to indicate his distress! “God, you are showing me iniquity and forcing me to see trouble. Strife, contention, plundering, and violence are always present before me – everywhere I turn, I see this going on. Not only does it go on in every place, but it goes on all the time!”

Distress seen in the Loss of Law and Justice (1:4) So powerful was evil in the land that the law had become paralyzed and powerless! True justice of any kind had vanished from the land and the righteous were being oppressed on every side! Habakkuk’s distress drove him to God in prayer! Often when we see the kinds of things that Habakkuk saw, we are tempted to abandon God and His ways. Not so for Habakkuk – what he saw frustrated him but he took his frustrations and his questions to the proper place – to the presence of God in prayer! This is the way of faith – this is the life of a faithful man even when the fabric of society around him has come apart at the seams.

Amazement Over God’s Decisive Intervention (1:5-11)

God chooses to answer Habakkuk’s complaint. In so doing, He takes up Habakkuk’s image of “sight.” Habakkuk was frustrated because he believed that by not acting, God was showing him violence and making him see trouble on every side. God instructed Habakkuk (and the entire nation – note the 2nd person plurals) to “Look! Watch! – and be utterly astounded/amazed (1:5)! Far from being distant, uninvolved, and inactive, God was about to announce a work that would amaze all who heard. And He would bring it to pass before their eyes!

Amazed by God’s Unbelievable Work (1:5) God instructed him to “watch” and “look!” God was about to do a work so great and so unexpected that no one who heard it would ever have anticipated God would do this thing! He was about to address the pervasive injustice and the violence in such a way as to leave no questions about His character.

Amazed by God’s Use of Wicked Instruments (1:6-11) God revealed that He would judge the evil of His people – but – in a shocking way! He would bring up a wicked nation – the Chaldeans (Babylonians) – to do this work of judgment. They would be rough and savage killing, ravaging, and destroying everything in their path to power. They would be utterly “lawless” (1:6-11). There is some poetic justice here – violent and lawless Judah would be herself judged and violated by a nation that was known for violence and lawlessness. They who troubled others would now be troubled by “troublers!”

God’s answer to Habakkuk’s first question – “How long?” was – “Not very long! He had appointed a nation to judge Judah and they were on their way!” However, instead of producing quietness and rest, God’s answer actually created additional distress for the prophet.

Distress Over God’s Use of the Wicked (1:12 – 2:1)

Habakkuk carefully raises another concern. “Now that I know what You are planning to do and when You are planning to do it – I have a bigger question. Knowing what I know about Your holiness (1:12) and unchangeable character (1:12), I am convinced that you will not abandon us nor forget your promises and plans for us as a nation – “we shall not die” (1:12). However, I am shocked! Given who You are (holy and just) how can You use this wicked nation to do your righteous work?”

Distressed because God’s action was so contrary to His name (1:12) Habakkuk begins his second question by asking a rhetorical question – “Are you not from everlasting?” This is followed by two names/titles for God -- “Holy One” and “Rock” (1:12) – names that addressed God’s holy and unchangeable character. God’s determination to use the pagan Babylonians seemed to directly contradict everything that God was and represented.

Distressed because God’s action was so contrary to His nature (1:12-13) Now Habakkuk calls attention to God’s purity by describing God as being of “pure eyes” (1:13). Habakkuk is “reminding God” that he is supposed to be unwilling to look favorably on sin or treat wickedness casually. Given this aspect of God’s nature – why would He look with apparent favor on such a wicked and vile nation? Why would He hold His righteous tongue and keep silent when a wicked nation would destroy and devour another nation more righteous then themselves?

Distressed because God’s action was contrary to His justice (1:14-17) The nation God had determined to raise up against Judah was far more wicked than Israel! They were good at doing bad! They took violence to new levels. They viewed men and nations as little more than fish that they could gather in their nets and drag away with their hooks. In fact they worshiped the very things by which they brought about so much violence. Rather than attribute their success to God – they believed they had gathered and conquered because of their own might and through the power of their own gods! In fact, they were so hungry for more wealth, more victories, and more prisoners that as soon as they filled their nets, they emptied them and rushed back out to fill them up again with more prisoners taken by violence. And in light of this, Habakkuk questions, “God, if You are going to bring righteous judgment upon Your people Judah for their violence and wickedness – why would You use a nation that is even more wicked and violent (Babylon) to do this? When it comes to violence and wickedness, Babylon makes Judah look like a Sunday School class!

However, even as Habakkuk made his second complaint, h e was absolutely convinced that no matter what evidence to the contrary, God is righteous! Like a Rock, His purposes for and promises to His people are unchanging and dependable! With this in mind, Habakkuk reaches two important conclusions. First, “We will not die! God will not abandon us nor forget His righteous plan and promise to us. Come what may around us – even judgment from God’s own hand, we will not be completely cut off!” (1:12). Second, “I will wait for God and ask Him to adjust my perspective (2:1).” Like a watchman climbing up his watchtower waiting to receive the news of the hour, Habakkuk determined to patiently and expectantly wait for God to explain His works. Habakkuk’s example provides important instruction in how we are to respond when we have similar questions. So often we charge God foolishly and then when God’s answer does not conform to our thinking – we judge God!

Habakkuk teaches us that the man who lives by faith will constantly and faithfully wait for God to set all things right – including his own personal thinking about the matter! And when we sit upon our “watch-tower” waiting for God to answer, there are at least three important things to remember. First, we are to remember that righteousness is not optional for us no matter what the circumstances around us may be or how confusing God’s actions (or lack of action) may be to us at the moment. We are called to obey even when we don’t understand. Second, we are to remember that all of history is really more about God and not about men. We must view history from God’s perspective and not our own. Consistently, God’s actions will eventually reveal the truth that righteousness exalts a nation (or an individual) and sin is a reproach to a people (Proverbs 14:34). Finally, we are to rest patiently on God’s character. He is the holy one. He is the rock! There is enough purity and stability in Him to fulfill all we need in times of crisis!

Part Two: Learning to Live by Faith (2:2-20)

So what is the godly man to do when the wicked seem to prosper? He is to continue to be godly. He is to continue to faithfully wait upon the Lord and to serve Him in gladness and righteousness. In short, the godly man must live by faith when his world is up-side down!

The Proclamation of Faith (2:2)

Finally, God’s answer arrived. “Then the Lord answered me and said: Write the vision and make it plain on tablets, that he may run who reads it!” He instructed Habakkuk to do three specific things.

First, he was to preserve the Answer/Vision by writing it down on tablets of stone. In this statement, God gave Habakkuk similar instructions to the ones He gave Moses for the inscribing of the 10 Commandments. Just as God’s answer for life and blessing in Moses day were preserved on tablets of stone, God’s answer for blessing during Habakkuk’s day were to be written on tablets!

Second, he was to proclaim the Answer/Vision clearly and plainly. Not only was God’s answer so important that it was to be permanently preserved – it was to be plainly stated and made available to all! God had not given just a private word of comfort to a curious and confused prophet – this was intended to be for all of God’s people.

Third, he was emphasize the need to perform according to the Answer/Vision (“That he may run who reads it”). There is debate as to what this phrase means. One idea is that Habakkuk was to make the answer so clear and so plain that a person running by would be able to read the message without having to stop! A better interpretation understands “run” as a reference for living and ordering life. As one read the message, he would then organize and live his life accordingly. In other words, he was to perform and act according to the vision! His life would be marked by an obedience of faith!

The Implementation of Faith (2:3)

God assured Habakkuk that what He was about to reveal to Him would in fact come to pass in its appointed time. Habakkuk was to wait patiently for God to act in His time and in His way! God’s plans and time tables are never affected by man! He will act at exactly the appointed time and though it seem to be delayed to us – it will come right on God’s schedule.

The Revelation of Faith (2:4-5)

These verses contain the central phrase to all of God’s dealings with His people in any age – “The just shall live by faith!” As the tablets given to Moses revealed the way of life and blessing – so the message Habakkuk engraved on these tablets would reveal the way to true life!

God contrasts the man who lives by faith and the proud man. The man who is proud has a soul that is not upright – He is lost! Rather than looking to God and trusting Him, this man looks to himself and takes pride in his abilities and agendas. At the heart of pride is self – self-reliance, self-gratification, self-independence. At the heart of faith is dependence on another – in this case God! Whereas the proud man has an unsaved soul – the man who lives by faith is called just. He is saved!

There are some who argue that Habakkuk is simply observing that the righteous man who continues to live faithfully to God’s covenant law will live would be spared from judgment. In this view – “faith” is simply another term for “faithfulness.” However, Habakkuk seems to be saying more than this. Like Abraham of old, a man who depends totally on God (a man who has faith) is made just. Because of his faith, and as a result of being made just – he will live! There is no doubt that both Testaments teach that the justified man will live in faithful obedience. Faithfulness (obedience) is the fruit of saving faith. So, in contrast to the proud and independent Babylonians whom God will ultimately destroy, Habakkuk announces that God will give life to all who give up their independence and turn to Him in faith! Such ones will evidence faithfulness in their lives as they wait for their deliverance.

The Vindication of Faith (2:6-20)

God announced five “Woe” oracles upon proud Babylon. In contrast to the just man who because of his faith in God would live – this arrogant nation would die! God announced their immanent and sure demise in a series of five very graphic “woe” statements revealing what He would do to them for their sins. Each woe is stated in terms of poetic justice indicating that God would devise a punishment according to the crime.

First, The Plunder would be Plundered (2:6-8) Babylon is depicted as having increased goods by seizing and taking the goods of another – now what he had taken would be taken from him. He who had so often plundered would now be thoroughly plundered!

Second, The Secure would be Exposed (2:9-11) Babylon had a lust for power – they thirsted for conquests! In order to establish a secure place where they could plunder and pillage in safety, they attempted to set up an invincible city! Like a bird of prey who built its nest high on a rock or crag – Babylon sinned without fear because they believed they dwelled in safety. God would tear down their “safe nest” and the very materials used in the constructions would cry out against this nation!

Third, The Expansionist would be Thwarted/Reduced (2:12-14) Babylon boasted in her buildings and in the expansion of her empire and power throughout the world! She would often conscript workers from those she captured and have them build monuments and cities to spread her glory and power – God said all of this would be in vain! Her workers would build – but what they built would end up burned with fire! It would not last. In spite of her best efforts to expand her influence and power to all the earth – Babylon would soon be toppled and destroyed – even her memory would fade until no one even remembered her mighty kings and monuments. In contrast – God’s influence and power would spread throughout the whole earth! All the world would know Him! (2:14)

Fourth, The Shameless would be Shamed (2:15-17) In their violent pursuit of power – there was no limit to the shameful deeds this nation would do against other nations, lands, and people! Babylon was a nation know for drunkenness (e.g. Belshazzar). Often they would use drink to get others to do shameful and abhorrent deeds. However, now they would be the ones forced to drink – this time the cup of wine would be forced down their throats by the right hand of Jehovah! They would now be the ones exposed and shamed before the world!

Finally, The Idolater would be Powerless (2:18-20) The final woe is pronounced against them for their worship and attendance to lifeless idols. Rather than devote their attention and service to the true God of Heaven, they were willing to serve and attend to lifeless idols made by their own hands. While the Babylonians were busy dressing their idols in gold and waking them up and appealing to them for teaching – God was in His holy temple! While the lifeless idols needed the Babylonians to speak and call their names to create for them an existence – God was so real and powerful that the entire earth was silent before Him! While the Babylonians had to provide for and protect their gods – God provided for and protected His people!

Part Three: Responding to God’s Presence in History (3:1-15)

Habakkuk was also given a picture of God’s future work in His world – to judge wicked nations, to chastise a disobedient people, to build His glorious Kingdom! He responded to this fearsome and awesome revelation by pouring out his heart in praying and singing. As he faced the future work of God – he worshipped! In worship he drew strength for himself and for others by reflecting and recounting the wonderful and at times terrible work that God had done in the past!

By Means of a Prayer

When Habakkuk heard God’s answer to his questions – his first response was to obey God and write down the vision. His second response was to utter a prayer. In this prayer, he acknowledges openly that God’s speech had produced fear in his heart. How would he handle his fear? By focusing on God’s works of the past and remembering the future works that God had promised to do! He handled his fear by focusing on the person and character of God! His prayer has been addressed elsewhere in issue more thoroughly. Here let us note three simply observations regarding what Habakkuk prayed for.

First, Habakkuk asks God to revive his work. He prayed that that God would revive the work necessary for the carrying out of His program and purpose. In this case, Habakkuk may actually be praying for God to do the work of judgment and discipline that must be done before the glorious work of setting up the kingdom can proceed. In a very real sense, this petition is the OT version of the NT prayer “Thy will be done, Thy kingdom come!” Far from praying selfishly – Habakkuk models the prayer of faith. Lord, do whatever work has to be done in order for your ultimate purpose to be accomplished – no matter what that work may mean for me!

Second, he asks God to bring about clear understanding. Habakkuk asked that in the midst of the years – while this was going on in the present world – that God would make His work clear and known! Habakkuk like Aseph before him had agonized over the seeming incompatibility between what God was doing or not doing in the world around him and the character of God. God had graciously given him a wonderful and clarifying explanation. Habakkuk longed for others to understand what God had shown him so that they might rightly understand God’s actions and His purpose and respond as people of faith should respond – in faithfulness!

Finally, he asks for God to be merciful in the midst of discipline. The word “wrath” here carries the idea of strong disturbance or troubling. Judah was facing a time when she would be shaken to her very foundations. Everything that defined her as a nation externally would be taken from her – her king, her Jerusalem, her temple, her freedom, and even the visible presence of her God. In all of this necessary “shaking” – Habakkuk pleads for God to remember mercy in this midst of His necessary but painful discipline.

By Means of a Psalm

In times of trouble when God seems distant or absent, God’s faithful people have always encouraged others by singing. Often the intent of their song is to get a doubting and at times disobedient people to focus on God’s plan and purpose for them both in the immediate circumstance as well as in the distant future. One very effective way to accomplish this is to direct people to the future by pointing them to the past!

In his song/psalm Habakkuk recounted the mighty deeds and acts of God for His people throughout their history as His chosen nation. In graphic language Habakkuk walked the nation through the path of God’s deliverance from Egypt in the days of Moses and the early judges (Othniel and Gideon 3:7). God did all of this for the express purpose of delivering and saving His people (3:13). Habakkuk’s point was this: What God did in the past, He would do again in the future!

Conclusion

So how does it all end? How did Habakkuk respond to all that God revealed in answering his original questions? He responded with the same response God desires from all who live by faith – with a resounding “yes!” to God’s purposes and plans! His response consists of two important elements that must be true of ours.

First, Rejoicing in the Midst of Present Anguish: 3:16. Habakkuk acknowledged that he “heard” God’s answer and it had a profound physical effect on him. His body trembled. His lips quivered at the thought of what God was about to do. His bones ached and lacked strength. His legs trembled so they could not support him! Even though he understood and accepted God’s decision to use the Babylonians to discipline Judah – he fully recognized what this meant in real life and it produced deep sorrow, anguish, and even fear! In the midst of this description of his fear is a request that he would rest (be at ease and trust) in that day when God would trouble Judah. As painful as the experience was just thinking about what God would do – Habakkuk prays that he will not resist God when God actually brings about the judgment!

Second, Trusting in the face of Anticipated Adversity: 3:17-18. Habakkuk realized that the day had come and gone for repentance. Judah had squandered away her last opportunity to avert God’s judgment. It would come with terrifying certainty. And it would bring devastating consequences and hardship for everyone who dwelt in the nation – righteous and unrighteous. Knowing all of this, Habakkuk determined that God’s purposes are more important than his personal provision and well being. If having no figs, grapes, olives, or sheep would advance the grand purpose of a loving and wise God – then Habakkuk was for it!

We must be careful to note that this was not a stoic acceptance to endure at all costs – to take whatever would come and survive. Habakkuk was determined to do more than just endure for God – He was absolutely determined to enjoy God no matter what was going on around him. His joy would not be in his circumstances but in His relationship with God! God would be His joy and His strength.

Habakkuk contains the best declaration of what it means for justified men and women to live by faith. Faith here is more than salvific or theological – it is personal and practical. It operates in the market place of life when troubles come. God did not have to always provide health, wealth, and happiness so that the man who lived by faith would continue to live faithfully rejoicing in God. This man had trusted God with eternal matters – he would confidently continue forward believing that God was trustworthy in earthly mundane matters no matter how difficult and dark the days might be. People who have been made just by faith really live! And they live faithfully all the time! No matter when, where, or what is going on around them. When life falls apart at the seams – the man who lives by faith goes forward rejoicing in the God in whom he has believed!