Introduction: Grace be to you and peace, from God our Father, and from our Savior and Lord, Jesus Christ. Our text is the Old Testament Lesson just read, from Habakkuk 1 and 2. We begin with prayer.
Dear fellow disciples of our Savior and Lord, Jesus Christ:
- Have you ever sat and cried out to the Lord because some great and unjust suffering has occurred? What were your thoughts when you watched the Twin Towers on 9/11? What are your thoughts when you contemplate the wealth of some and the extreme poverty of others? What do you think when you hear of a loved one who is stricken by some grave illness or injury, and consider the apparent health and vitality of evil people?
- Virtually all of us have such feelings and emotions – though they are usually from a very personal perspective, and we also tend to ignore larger contexts. We may look at poverty and suffering close at hand, but not consider that even worse injustice and poverty and suffering exists elsewhere. We may look at the evils others do to us and disregard the evils we do to others. And so also we may be tempted to “JUDGE GOD’S PROVIDENCE” without taking all matters into consideration – including our own sin and guilt.
- And so we should consider carefully our “judgments” in regard to God’s providence – especially when it comes to our own sins and our reluctance to “forgive your brother” even “if he sins against you seven times in a day, and turns to you seven times, saying, ‘I repent.’” Indeed, often our “judging” calls down the wrath and punishment of God upon ourselves – and yet we are not properly grateful that in His patience and love, His mercy and grace, He does not bring down upon us the “justice” that our sins have merited and deserved.
- So there is need for some humility as we consider the issues in our text, and some self-evaluation of our hearts, and perhaps some reconsideration of our “JUDGING GOD’S PROVIDENCE” – and this is the answer that God gives the prophet Habakkuk as he observes and laments the evils all around him.
- But we are like Habakkuk, and:
I. We Often Observe That God’s Patience And Mercy Seems To Abet Evil And To Frustrate Good
Text: “O LORD, how long shall I cry for help, and You will not hear? Or cry to You “Violence!” and You will not save? Why do You make me see iniquity, and why do You idly look at wrong? Destruction and violence are before me; strife and contention arise. So the law is paralyzed, and justice never goes forth. For the wicked surround the righteous; so justice goes forth perverted.”
Statement: It is good to recognize the state of affairs in the world, this fallen world of sin, evil, and injustice. Many people think that this is just “the way it is,” and that there is nothing particularly deplorable with how things work in the world – except for the things that negatively impact them personally. But the complaint of Habakkuk is general, not just for himself but for all the “righteous,” for humble, decent people who trust in God and yet suffer injustice and evil! And it is good that we see this – the real evil, injustice, and unfairness of life in this fallen world of humanity.
Perhaps it is better yet to see our own involvement in this darkness, the sin we also bring into the world, and the “temptations to sin” that we bring to others – such that might even cause them to “fall away.” Chief among these sins and temptations is our unwillingness to forgive one another, and to live genuinely in mercy toward one another!
Application: Now maybe you think that you can avoid being among those “through whom” such temptations come – after all, none of us would like to have a millstone hung around our neck and to then be cast into the sea. But Jesus said “temptations are sure to come” and if we are honest, acknowledging that we too are sinful human beings, then we will also acknowledge that temptations come through us! And Jesus’ pronouncement of “woe” and the dire threat of eternal damnation should be enough to drive each one of us to utter repentance – and to cling to His gracious mercy and forgiveness. And the recognition of how great His forgiveness is, what we have been delivered from, should put us in the right frame of mind and heart when our brother sins against us and repents – and it is then our time to forgive him!
So that rather than calling down God’s wrath and anger upon another – especially one who is repentant and asks for our forgiveness – we are instead eager to forgive and to grant mercy and clemency! And if we are unwilling, we might want to think again about what Jesus came to do and what He taught about forgiveness and also about our “judging,” that “with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and with the measure you use it will be measured to you.” [Matt. 7:2] How can we even pray the Lord’s prayer – “forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us” – if we are in fact unwilling to forgive one another, especially those who repent and confess to us, pleading for our forgiveness?
Transition: So we find ourselves in God’s dilemma – filled with genuine love for others, eager to forgive others, and yet at the same time staring out at the sins and injustices perpetrated by others. And this is also an affront to our love for others – especially when those whom we love suffer from the sins of others. So we must hear God’s Word – His gentle instruction to Habakkuk, and follow the example of Habakkuk and the apostle Paul, what he encouraged Timothy to do, understanding that:
II. We Must Leave Off Our Harsh Judging, Of God And Of Others, And Simply Take Our Post – Taking Up Our Duties, Hearing His Word, And Trying To Love Others As God Has Loved Us
Text: “I will take my stand at my watch-post and station myself on the tower, and look out to see what He will say to me, and what I will answer concerning my complaint.”
Text: “And the LORD answered me: ‘Write the vision; make it plain on tablets, so he may run who reads it. For still the vision awaits its appointed time; it hastens to the end – it will not lie. If it seems slow, wait for it; it will surely come; it will not delay.”
A. We Are Called To Turn Away From All Arrogance
Text: “Behold, his soul is puffed up; it is not upright within him.”
B. And We Are Called To Continue On In Faith, Especially Faith In God’s Gracious Mercy, Forgiveness, And Love
Text: “but the righteous shall live by his faith.”
C. And We Are Called To Continue Running Our Race As We Read God’s Word – Serving God And Others In Humility, Especially In Forgiving One Another
Text: “Write the vision; make it plain on tablets, so he may run who reads it.”
Gospel: “So you also, when you have done all that you were commanded, say, ‘We are unworthy servants; we have only done what was our duty.’”
Epistle: “Follow the pattern of the sound words that you have heard from me, in the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus.”
D. And We Are Called To Continue In Faith, Knowing That God Will See To All Things In The End
Text: “For still the vision awaits its appointed time; it hastens to the end – it will not lie. If it seems slow, wait for it; it will surely come; it will not delay.”
Epistle: “But I am not ashamed, for I know Whom I have believed, and I am convinced that He is able to guard until that Day what has been entrusted to me.”
Statement: This is the wisdom from God for life in this fallen world of sin – in facing all of the injustices and sins that we see out there beyond us, and all the injustice and sin that is inflicted upon us. “The righteous shall live by his faith” – confessing his own dark and grievous sins, rejoicing in God’s gracious mercy and forgiveness, and forgiving others for all sins, humbly serving God and others in our own station in life, our “post,” and waiting on God for “the Day” and the final renewal of all created things!
Application: This is surely grievous and vexing at times – especially when we have been gored and sinned against. But we do not want any of God’s little children to be lost by our self-righteous and arrogant refusal to forgive them! Jesus’ command is clear: “you must forgive him.” And as we live in genuine repentance and in His wondrous forgiveness, forgiving others becomes more compelling to us!
Conclusion: Again, we must take great caution in our judging, in “JUDGING GOD’S PROVIDENCE” – which includes His gift of redemption and atonement for the sins of the world in Christ Jesus – and also great caution in judging our brothers and sisters, especially those who repent and confess to us and seek our forgiveness. We do not want to appeal to God’s “justice” in such a way as to renounce God’s forgiveness and salvation for ourselves!
May God grant us grace then to continue in His Word, and to indeed live by faith! Amen.
Votum: And the peace of God, which surpasses all human understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds in the true faith, which is in Christ Jesus, even unto life everlasting, Amen.