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.

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.

Eagle’s Wings Ministries UK Ltd

Reg Charity No. 1132628

FAITH TO ASK SEARCHING QUESTIONS

Lord I don’t understand!

Well - yes there will be times we don’t understand what God is up to! After all, He is God and we are mere human beings with finite minds and finite understanding. Whilst this is true, God has still given us our minds to think through the difficult issues which face us and face the world. By his Holy Spirit he has also brought us into such a relationship with himself that we can ask searching questions, if, like Habakkuk, we do so with an honest heart, willing to hear what God will say.

Habakkuk

1 v12 - 2 v1

In the first part of chapter one, God’s reply to Habakkuk’s first round of questioning brings shock and horror to this honest man of God, adding to his confusion. One violent and oppressive super power, Assyria, is being replaced by another, Babylon, just as bad, if not worse! No wonder Habakkuk cries out to the Lord!

“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?” [V13]

The Message expresses well this anguished cry of Habakkuk’s heart.

“But you can’t be serious! You can’t condone evil! So why don’t you do something about this? Why are you silent now? This outrage! Evil men swallow up the righteous and you stand around and watch!”

We see that, Habakkuk knows the character of God - holy, everlasting, sovereign; more than that, he knows God personally, “My God, my Holy One.” He is not saying, “God, because I don’t understand how you seem to tolerate evil, I doubt you and struggle to believe in you.” He is bold enough to be very direct with God because of his personal relationship with Him. He knows God is the Rock of His people; His eyes are too pure to look on evil. Yet, in a combination of faith and confusion, he acknowledges that God in His sovereignty has appointed the Babylonians, despite their evil being greater than others,“to execute judgment; O Rock, you have ordained them to punish.” v12b. SO, WHY? ‘Why God, are you acting in this way? I don’t understand.’

We can sympathise with Habakkuk. They are contemporary twenty first century questions. Out of the depth of your relationship with the Lord, be honest with Him. Don’t be afraid to say, ‘God, I don’t understand.’ Then wait, watch and listen as did Habakkuk 2 v1.

I will look to see what he will say to me,

and what answer I am to give to this complaint.

Mike Stear
12th February, 2012