Waiting By Faith (In The Crucible Of The World)

If you'd open your Bibles this morning to the book of Habakkuk, we'll be looking at Habakkuk chapter 1, and I continue today a series out of Habakkuk concerning faith in this crucible of the world. We'll begin reading today from Habakkuk chapter 1, verse 12, and we'll read through chapter 2, verse 3. Hear the Word of God. O Lord, are you not from everlasting? My God, my Holy One, we will not die. O Lord, you have appointed them to execute judgment. O Rock, you have ordained them to punish. your eyes are too pure to look on evil you cannot tolerate wrong why then do you tolerate the treacherous why are you silent while the wicked swallow up those more righteous than themselves you have made men like fish in the sea like sea creatures that have no ruler 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 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. Is he to keep on emptying his nets 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 this complaint. Then the Lord replied, Write down the revelation and make it plain on tablets, so that a herald may run with it. For the revelation awaits an appointed time. It speaks of the end and will not prove false. Though it linger, wait for it. It will certainly come and will not delay. Here ends the reading of God's word this morning. As we consider this text from Habakkuk today, we will learn from his waiting by faith. And first of all, his waiting by faith on the horns of a dilemma. Now children, you may not know what the horns of a dilemma are. But you can imagine what it's like if you can imagine a bullfighter who has waved his cape to lead the bull and has missed. And instead of the bull rushing by, he finds himself tossed into the air by the horns of this bull. And he's riding on the horns of a dilemma. He can't get down. And it's very uncomfortable. Habakkuk was having just such a dilemma. He was caught on its horns. A dilemma that was brought about by faith. Remember, Judah was in great distress. We've been discussing this in the evening services. So if you haven't been in the evening service, remember it doesn't mean much here. But Judah was in great distress as we discussed in chapter 1, not only from within because of the wickedness among God's people, but from without because God was to bring Babylon to judge her. And we found how Habakkuk submitted by faith to God's promise to save and his plan to use the Babylonians and finally to his person as we read in verse 12. And because he had such faith, he was deeply troubled. He was deeply troubled. On the one hand, he knew that his God was in control. And that his God was holy and just and good. We read that in verses 12 and the first part of 13. He confesses, O Lord, you are from everlasting. My God, my Holy One, we will not die. O Lord, you have appointed them to execute judgment. O Rock, you have ordained them to punish. Your eyes are too pure to look on evil. You cannot tolerate wrong. He knew this to be true. But on the other hand, he knew that evil was coming upon God's people. We read in verse 15, The wicked foe pulls all of them up with hooks. He catches them in his net. He gathers them in his dragnet. And so he rejoices and is glad. You see, all in Judah were going to be caught up in God's judgment against the wicked. Babylon wasn't going to distinguish between who was good and who was not good in Judah. The emphasis of verse 15 is on the word all. And that's Habakkuk's concern, is that all will be caught up. And in the midst of this tension, God's in control and he's just and he's good. But evil is going to come on his people. Habakkuk had to confess that he knew it was God's doing in verse 14. You have made men like fish in the sea. Like sea creatures that have no ruler. In other words, you've abandoned Judah as their king. You've left them without protection, Lord. And there's going to be collateral damage. There are going to be innocent victims to his view of things. And as Habakkuk was caught on the horns of this dilemma, which was out of his control, he was hard-pressed. And by faith, he turned to God with his complaint. He was hard-pressed between what he believed about God and what he saw happening around him. And he raises to God in verse 13 his complaint. He says, Why then do you tolerate the treacherous? Why are you silent while the wicked swallow up those more righteous than themselves? How can you let this happen? You're in control of all things. Can't you do it a different way? You're holy and you're just. Don't you want to prevent this evil? And this is a dilemma that's not unique to Habakkuk. It's a dilemma that many here have faced and do face right now. as compared to unbelievers who have no faith in this kind of dilemma who ask the wrong question, where was God or where is God? Believers, because of our faith, when hard pressed by these circumstances in life, whether they be natural disasters, terrorist attack, or things closer to home like an illness that is faced that is just not getting better, or the loss of a loved one to death, or disturbed by a child who has renounced the faith. These hit home, and these are deep. And those who have felt these by faith have cried out often, Why, Lord? Why? And whether your cry was muffled in your tear-drenched pillow or proclaimed for everyone to hear, the hurt is the same. Why? With Habakkuk, we have wrestled with this dilemma, which is commonly called the problem of evil. A problem that is more heart-wrenching than words can describe, and to speak of it today sounds hollow compared to what people feel when they're in this dilemma. But it hasn't stopped philosophers from describing it by pitting God's goodness, His holiness, that He should want to prevent evil, and His control that He's able to prevent evil. Therefore, there should be no evil against the undeniable fact that there is evil. Without the corrective word of God, if we face that dilemma on our own strength, unbelievers will conclude that, well, there's obviously no God. But most will not go that far. They'll see the dilemma and they don't want to deny God, so they try to dismantle the dilemma. And they'll say things like, well, God really isn't in control. He doesn't really know what's happening until it happens. So evil happens and it just happens. Others will go to the other side of the dilemma and say, well, evil doesn't exist. It's just an illusion. I know it feels bad, but it's just an illusion. But the most common way is for people to step back from the dilemma and deny that it exists at all by saying that God has nothing to do with it. It's all man's fault. by that they mean that people are absolutely free and they can choose evil or they can choose good and God has nothing to say about it. Therefore, he's not responsible. But these approaches to denying the problem of evil cannot effectively dismantle it. And we will see that from God's word that while man is responsible, He's not outside a holy God's control. And he's not able to deny that evil does exist. See, the problem of evil cannot be escaped by our reason alone. Nor can it be escaped in our lifetime. Rather, it must be endured in that by faith. And we know from our catechism that true faith is marked by a certain knowledge of all that God has revealed in his word is true. So we must examine the horns of this dilemma by God's Word and be corrected in our thinking. And first of all, and probably most difficult of all, is that Scripture teaches us that God is in control. He's in control. And I know you say, well, yeah, I know that. I believe in the sovereignty of God. But we need to know that His control is not fleeting or partial. Rather, his control is effective in that nothing is too hard for him and he always accomplishes what he plans. Always. And his control is complete. Complete. He controls everything because he created everything. From the stars in the heavens to the hairs on my head, he's in control. But he doesn't simply allow things to happen, but he causes things to happen. This sunny day is by God's design. He caused it. The refreshing rains we had last week, God brought them. So He controls the weather. And children, He controls the dice that you play with in your games. He controls everything. But not only does He control everything, He controls every time, all of history. From the rise and fall of nations to the lives of each person here and in the world. It is just as David said in Psalm 139, all the days ordained for me were written in the book of life before one of them came to be. God is in control. Therefore, we should say with James, if it is the Lord's will, we will live and do this or that. Now, so far, most of you are probably going, yes, that's fine. I agree with that. But his control goes even further. And this is where it becomes difficult. God ultimately controls the decisions that we make. For these come from our hearts. We learn that in the scripture. Out of the heart issues forth what we choose and what we say and what we do. And as Proverbs 21 says, God directs the heart wherever he pleases. Yet, the proverb continues, all of man's ways seem right to him, but the Lord weighs the heart. So though the Lord steers us, we are still responsible for what we choose. And therein lies the mystery. That in God's control, we're still responsible. And to drive this home a little more pointedly, he controls our decisions that include our sinful decisions and the acts of men. This is hard to swallow. Some might say, I can't go that far. Doesn't that make God the author of sin or the cause of sin? And from our perspective, perhaps we would like to make that conclusion. But from God's word, it is clear that he is sovereign over these choices. But man is responsible. Let's consider what we know from Habakkuk. We know from verse 6 of chapter 1 that God raised up the Babylonians. And we know from verse 12 that he appointed them to execute judgment. And he ordained them to punish. But at the same time, the Babylonians were coming for their own reasons. Their own purposes. They were bent on violence. They were seeking to devour, verse 8 says. They were seeking after luxury and choice food, verse 16 says. And because the Lord granted them such great success, they worshipped themselves. And for which they were guilty, verse 11. in the same way God made the hearts of the Egyptians hate the Israelites and God hardened Pharaoh's heart against Israel and God would later harden the hearts of the Jews against the gospel we read in Romans and when we can believe this that is when we want to cry out why God why but we have to look deeper for if we look deeper we find that in all these circumstances where God directed the sinful decisions and acts of men he controls in such a way that it serves his greater purpose he caused the Egyptians to hate Israel so that his name would be glorified he caused Pharaoh's heart to be hardened so that his name might be proclaimed to all the nations and he closed the eyes and the ears of the Jews so that the Gentiles, you and me, could come and glorify God for his mercy. You see, God has a perspective we don't have and he works these things for his greater good. And we will see in Habakkuk as we move forward that in the vision that God gives Habakkuk in chapter 2, verse 14, Habakkuk will see that the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord as the waters cover the sea. Even in bringing Babylon, God would be glorified. In God's mysterious way, His control of evil is tied to His control of the salvation and the faith of men. Ephesians chapter 2 makes it clear that we were each and every one dead in our own transgressions and sin. But God, in His great love and mercy toward us, made us alive in Christ. It is by grace you have been saved through faith, we're told. And that's the gift of God. And this great salvation that stands in such dark contrast to the evil of men is also for God's great purpose. Ephesians chapter 1, verse 11. This has been done in order that we who were the first to hope in Christ might be for the praise of His glory. It is, as the Westminster Standards teach, what is the first duty of man? To praise God. To glorify God and to enjoy Him forever. I'm sorry I messed that up. To glorify God and enjoy Him forever. God is in control. That's the hardest part of this dilemma. God is in control. It's complete. It's effective. It serves His purpose, even though it uses evil. But the scripture also teaches us at the same time on the same side that God is holy. We won't spend much time here because I don't think we'll have the trouble that we have with God's sovereignty in this regard. God is holy, not only in his being, there's no one holy like the Lord, but also in his ethics, in his work with others. It is as Moses sang in Deuteronomy 32. He is the rock. His works are perfect. And all his ways are just. A faithful God who does no wrong. Upright and just is he. And this holy God takes no pleasure in evil. That's also true. So God is holy. There's no denying. And God is in control. Absolutely. And as much as our finite minds would like to stay right there and say, I like that. God's in control and God is just and God is holy and God is good. We have to face the reality that evil does exist. Our experience proves it to us. The newspaper proves it to us. The scriptures prove it to us. Habakkuk cries out in verse 17, is he to keep on? Is he to keep on? he cries this as the psalmist did in Psalm 94, how long will the wicked, O Lord, how long will the wicked rejoice? To read the Psalter is to recognize that evil exists. So you see, the problem of evil persists. We have the two horns of this dilemma. And even the Lord Jesus Christ in his humanity he was not exempt from this problem of evil. And we see this most clearly in what John Murray called the arch crime of history against Jesus. In his passion and his death on the cross. You see, this arch crime was all under God's control. Was it not? For Christ's life was one of perfect obedience. It began with his conception by God's decree, by God's working. And everything he did in his life fulfilled a prophecy that God had spoken beforehand. And everything he did in his life fulfilled obedience to his Father's will. God was in control of it all. Yet Jesus Christ in the flesh subjected himself to evil. He was betrayed by evil men. as decreed by God beforehand. By Judas, who was responsible for his sin. As Jesus said in Luke 22, the Son of Man will go as it has been decreed, but woe to that man who betrays him. And Jesus was betrayed by the Jews with the help of the pagan Romans. And they were responsible for their sin, as preached by Peter in Acts chapter 2. Men of Israel, listen to this. Jesus of Nazareth was a man accredited by God to you. This man was handed over to you by God's set purpose and foreknowledge. And you, with the help of wicked men, put him to death by nailing him to the cross. The arch crime of history. All by God's control. And yet it used evil to accomplish its work. And it satisfied in the process God's holiness. It satisfied God's holiness. For just the right time, God presented him, Jesus Christ, as the sacrifice of atonement through faith in his blood. He did it to demonstrate his justice at the present time so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus. It satisfied God's holiness, his justice. It was under God's control. It used evil means. He was satisfied by God's holiness, and it was all for the glory of God. As Jesus, at the close of his earthly ministry, prayed in John 17, Father, the time has come. Glorify your Son that your Son may glorify you. I have brought you glory on earth by completing the work you gave me to do. And now, Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with you before the world began. And the Father did. He raised him on the third day and evil was overcome. And he ascended to heaven, the glorified Christ. And he lives today to intercede for us. So we see that the horns of the dilemma cannot be explained away. They're real. And they were just as real and certainly more pointed perhaps for Job as we read the book of Job. He waited by faith on the horns of a dilemma, did he not? In fact, he approached God for an interview. He wanted to know all about it. And we know what happened. God interviewed Job. And Job didn't do so well. He didn't have any answers. And he was left humbled and speechless before God. He had to endure it by faith. And we have to endure it by faith. As we continue waiting by faith on the answer. On the answer. Habakkuk, in his distress, took his complaint to God. And God answered him. And without getting into the substance of God's answer, we can learn a few things about waiting by faith from this exchange. First, we can learn that the answer comes only from God. Look at chapter 2, verse 1. Habakkuk says, 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. As a prophet of God, Habakkuk took his stand and he stationed himself on the walls of the city looking out, waiting for God to give him his vision. He removed himself and raised himself above the fray of the city, above the distractions of all the people. And he was attentive to God. And he waited for an answer. I will look to see what he will say to me. And what answer I am to give to this complaint. And as he stood there and he waited, he waited not just for himself, but he waited for God's people. And we see here again as we have earlier that the prophet plays a role between God and men. He speaks to God for men and he speaks to men for God. That's why it reads here, I will look to see, he's talking to the people. I will take my stand and 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 you concerning this complaint. This is the role of mediator as the prophet. In our waiting on the horns of this dilemma, we can learn from Habakkuk. Unlike him, we're not to seek out new and special revelation of God. We're to look what he's already given us. We're to stand on the ramparts and look to his word. Like him, we can separate ourselves from the distractions and thoughts and cares of this world and by constant and resolute attention focus our thoughts on God's kingdom and his righteousness. And we can study the scripture for answers. And we can continue in prayer before God. And we can consult with the wise and the experienced in faith who've gone through it. after the first service I had an interesting discussion with an elderly gentleman who has been through a lot in life. And he could say with James, if the Lord will, I'll be here for my next birthday, 94. And he could say, you know, the Lord has taught me to wait. He's taught me to look to his word when I'm in trouble. And I have a peace in my life that I didn't have 20 years ago. and that's a resource in the life of the church that I think we miss. When you are on the horns of this dilemma, this problem of evil, and your thinking is not real clear, besides turning to God in his word, you can turn to God through his people and seek out those who have experience in the faith and have endured this. We see also in this section that the answer not only came only from God, it came in the here and the now. It came in history. It came to the prophet, it seems, in no time, for no sooner had he taken his stand to watch than the Lord replied. And we don't know how long that interval was, and it really doesn't matter, but I think it does tell us that the time that he waited was insignificant, was short, compared to the waiting that was yet to come, which we will see. And it does suggest that he indeed was God's prophet because God was anxious to answer him. But not only did the answer come to the prophet, but it came through the prophet to all the people. Verse 2. The Lord replied, Write down the revelation and make it plain on tablets so that a herald may run with it. Write it down. Make it plain. And here we have it, today. Here we have it, today. It was written not only for Israel, it was written for us. And it's written in such a way that a man running may read it. The Hebrew says that a man running may read it. And that's an interesting turn of phrase. It's an interesting picture. Is the man reading as he runs? Is he running as he reads? The NIVs interpreted it so that one who reads it may run. Meaning that a herald, someone who is able to read, may run with it and announce it to all God's people, wide and far. Or perhaps it means so that one may read it while running. In other words, so clear that someone would understand it even running by and seeing it. So that all God's people, both highly intelligent and not so intelligent, will understand. And I suspect the meaning is both. It's unclear. Now the content of the vision that God gave is picked up in verse 4 through 20, which we won't cover today. But for now we can know that God revealed His will in the present. And He called for it to be preserved. Because as verse 3 makes clear, the answer was yet to be fulfilled in the future. For the revelation awaits an appointed time. It speaks of the end and will not prove false. Though it linger, wait for it. It will certainly come and will not wait. And here's where the tension lies, people of God, because the answer was revealed in the now, in the present. But it will not be realized until the end, the last day. We have to wait. We have to wait. And we don't like to wait. I don't like to wait two and a half minutes for my burrito to cook in the microwave oven. That's a long time. I don't like to wait until next year. We have to wait to the end, God says. But it's not a matter of if it will come, it's a matter of when it will come. It will not be late, for it's on God's timetable. As Jesus said, no one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, not the Son, but the Father, but the Father. It can't be hurried and it can't be delayed. By faith we must wait. People of God, the problem of evil will persist as long as there is history. Therefore, we will have to continue waiting by faith on the horns of this dilemma and waiting by faith for the answer to be fully realized just as the Old Testament saints had to wait for the coming of Christ. As the saints of old waited by faith, Abraham waited in the land that he never received. And Israel waited for 400 years before Moses was able to deliver them. And once they were in the promised land, Israel waited, sometimes in obedience, often in disobedience, waiting, waiting for the Messiah. And just when it seemed that God had quit speaking to them, and just when it seemed that it wasn't going to happen, Jesus came. At just the right time. And he came and he subjected himself to this problem of evil in the here and the now in history. And he was and is God's answer. Through him, God's control was confirmed. Through him, God's holiness was preserved. And through him, evil was overcome by the blood of the Lamb. So why do we have to wait? Why didn't it end at the cross and the resurrection? Why are we here 2,000 years later waiting on the same dilemma? because God waits because God waits to consummate his answer we read in 2 Peter chapter 3 do not forget this one thing dear friends with the Lord a day is like a thousand years and a thousand years are like a day the Lord is not slow in keeping his promise as some understand slowness he is patient with you not wanting anyone to perish but everyone to come to repentance each day when we wake up and God has given us another day it's another day that he waits it's another day that he waits for the gospel to go forth and the fullness of the church to be brought in he waits and by waiting he's fulfilling his own good purposes he says in Isaiah 8 for my own namesake I delay wrath for his own glory first and foremost but also because he waits and we wait, we can know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purposes. So as we wait by faith in the crucible of this world, we are to turn from evil and to do good. And we're to overcome evil with good. For we have been joined to the resurrected Christ and we live in him. And therefore we've been joined in his sufferings as we wait in order to enjoy the glories to follow. And when our waiting is over, when that last day comes, when the consummation of all things is brought, when our faith will be sight and when our hope will be realized, there will be no more complaint. There will be no more problem of evil. For history will be no more. And with all the saints around the throne of God, we will sing the song of the Lamb as we look back on all that God has done and see that yes he was in control and yes he's holy and yes he used evil but it was all for his good purposes and to his glory and to the benefit of his people. We will sing the song of the Lamb Great and marvelous are your deeds Lord God Almighty. Just and true are your ways, King of Ages. Who will not fear you, O Lord, and bring glory to your name. For you alone are holy. All nations will come and worship before you, for your righteous acts have been revealed. Do you long for that day? Do you long for that day? Amen. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, we are confronted today in the words of Habakkuk with a problem that is real to all of us. Some more so than others, Lord, as the points on the horns dig deep. Help us, Lord, as we continue, as you continue to wait. As we continue on the horns of this dilemma, as we live out our lives here in this world. That we would remember that the answer is found with you and you alone. And that the answer is given in Jesus Christ, our Lord. Help us, Lord, to turn to Him. To be reminded that you are in control of all things. And they're working out for your good pleasure, to the glory of your name, and for the good of your people. And help us, Lord, to wait by faith on that last day when all things will be put right and we will be overwhelmed with the glories which we encounter in Jesus Christ our Lord for eternity in whose name we pray Amen