I invite you to turn with me to the book of Habakkuk. Now some of you might be thinking to yourself, is there actually a book in the Bible named that? There is. It's only three chapters long and so it's very easy to miss it, but it's in the section of the Minor Prophets. So this is where page numbers are really, really helpful, right? Page 1081 to 1082, basically go towards the end of the Old Testament and as you're towards the end and are working through those books there, you'll find it. Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk and then you have Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah and Malachi. halfway through the Minor Prophets. Don't turn too fast or you will miss it. And Lord willing, we'll be looking in this book for the next few weeks. And as we do, one of the benefits will be that by the end of it, you'll know where to find Habakkuk in the Old Testament. But there are a lot more things that we're going to be able to learn from here as well. We'll read through the first chapter into chapter 2, verse 1. And then our sermon text this morning will actually be the first 11 verses. So let's listen carefully to God's holy inspired word. Habakkuk writes, "...the burden which the prophet Habakkuk saw. O Lord, how long shall I cry and you will not hear? Even cry out to you violence and you will not save. Why do you show me iniquity and cause me to see trouble? For plundering and violence are before me. There is strife and contention arises. Therefore, the law is powerless and justice never goes forth. For the wicked surround the righteous. Therefore, perverse judgment proceeds. Look among the nations and watch. Be utterly astounded. For I will work a work in your days which you would not believe though it were told you. For indeed, I am raising up the Chaldeans, a bitter and hasty nation which marches through the breadth of the earth to possess dwelling places that are not theirs. They are terrible and dreadful. Their judgment and their dignity proceed from themselves. Their horses also are swifter than leopards and more fierce than evening wolves. Their chargers charge ahead. Their cavalry comes from afar. They fly as the eagle that hastened to eat. They all come for violence. Their faces are set like the east wind. They gather captives like sand. They scoff at kings and princes are scorned by them. They deride every stronghold, for they heap up earth in mounds and seize it. then his mind changes and he transgresses, he commits offense, ascribing this power to his God. Are you not from everlasting, O Lord my God, my Holy One? We shall not die. O Lord, You have appointed them for judgment. O Rock, You have marked them for correction. You are of purer eyes than to behold evil and cannot look on wickedness. Why do You look on those who deal treacherously and hold Your tongue when the wicked devours a person more righteous than he? Why do you make men like fish of the sea, like creeping things that have no ruler over them? They take up all of them with a hook. They catch them in their net and gather them in their dragnet. Therefore they rejoice and are glad. Therefore they sacrifice to their net and burn incense to their dragnet. Because by them their share is sumptuous and their food plentiful. Shall they therefore empty their net and continue to slay nations without pity? I will stand my watch and set myself on the rampart, and watch to see what He will say to me, and what I will answer when I am corrected." Thus far, the reading of God's Holy Word. May He add His richest blessing to the reading and hearing of it this morning. Although there's not a sermon title in the bulletin, the title this morning is, When God is Silent. When God is silent. This whole idea of silence is something that Habakkuk brings out here in the first 11 verses of chapter 1. And it's even something that many of us may wonder about today. Just this sense of silence. Sometimes people may ask, where is God when various things happen? There can even be times in which some may ask you, where is God when they cite various events that occur within things that are taking place today? For example, how often are people wondering about God and the church when they see some of the various scandals that have been plaguing us recently? For example, What about the various financial scandals that exist within the church? There was a pastor who was down in Greenville, South Carolina, who had to give an apology and a defense for why it was okay for him to buy his wife a $200,000 Lamborghini. And your eyes are like, whoa. And you hear then of various individuals in the church in positions where they have salaries that are huge and they have access to huge houses and private jets and just all sorts of benefits and perks. And yet we see struggles that exist from church to church regarding finances and concerns, and from that then the reputation that the church garners within the world when the world looks at the Scriptures and asks questions such as, didn't Christ call the believer to a life of humility and simplicity? There are other moral failings that we've observed recently. You can see, for example, the Roman Church, all of the abuse that is prevalent there. Just in the state of Illinois alone, there are some 400 clergy that have been called up on charges regarding their abuse of children and youth. This past February, the Southern Baptist Convention had a challenge in the city of Houston because there was a 20-year sexual abuse going on where there were 200 offenders and over 700 survivors. Some at the time were as young as 3 years old. And it's very easy for us to ask, where's God? After all, these are supposed to be His people. This is supposed to be His church. Surely he would want to stand up for that, right? And yet even some of these abusers were able to take pleas and work right back into their positions and continue on in their practice. This question of silence can even be observed as it pertains to events going on in the world outside of the church. struggles in terms of North Korea, who just recently test fired a nuclear weapon, and the chaos that's always been in the Middle East, and the turmoil in Venezuela, and maybe even questions as it pertains to what's happening at our own southern border. And we then began to ask questions about life, and who's in charge, and who's in control, and what just simply is going on. Stories of death and famine and disease and suffering and sorrow. And how do we reconcile this with a God who is supposed to be there and who is supposed to be active, even supposed to be loving and caring for His people? At least working in their lives? And so this prophet here, Habakkuk, unknown in some respects, This small book has some very relevant points for us today. He basically can help us this morning to figure out how do we deal with the idea that we see things happening in this world, and yet God remains silent. Is God even really there? Some of you may be asking that question this morning. based on the things that I see, is God really in charge? Is He really there? Is He working? Is He acting? If the world is in such a mess, where is this God who made it and is supposed to be taking care of it? Habakkuk answers that for us. A couple of unique things in relation to Habakkuk. Firstly, this book is unique because he basically does not really speak to the people on behalf of God. Rather, we see that Habakkuk speaks to God on behalf of the struggles he observes in people. He also has been given the name of Embracer or Wrestler. And it's interesting that he has this name in light of the things that he's trying to work through, because here we see various intellectual questions being fought through. Here's even one, as he's thinking through this, who comes to the end of his epistle, can recognize that as I've been embraced by God and fought through these concerns, I can now lovingly embrace others and comfort them with the comfort with which God has comforted me. The tone of the book, as it were, really shifts. Because Habakkuk starts at the beginning and he asks questions. What's going on God? Where are you? What's happening? How can these things take place in light of who you are and who you've promised to be? And yet God then responds and Habakkuk gives his rebuttal. And then God basically just lays out, here's where it's at, here's what's going on, here's the principles and here's the judgment. So by the time you come to chapter 3, Habakkuk has shown a radical change from challenge and protest to basically just saying, okay Lord, I'm going to pray and I'm going to praise you. Habakkuk writes at an interesting time in the life of Israel, he probably lived during the time of Josiah and his son Jehoiakim. He had opportunity to see all sorts of reform and all sorts of movement that Josiah made in terms of improvement in the life of the southern kingdom. And yet, he saw his son arise and all of that Gone. Forgotten. Changed. Undone. And so you can understand then why Habakkuk at this point is beginning to ask questions and ultimately wonder, is God there? How do I deal with a God who is silent? And so as we work through this, we want to look through the first few verses and we just want to see how silence plays out. Firstly, just simply the things that happens when we start dealing with God being silent. And then what does that mean? Notice what happens in Habakkuk's life, starting again with chapter 1 verse 2 to verse 4. O Lord, how long shall I cry and You will not hear? Even cry out to You violence and You will not save. Why do You show me iniquity and cause me to see trouble? For plundering and violence are before me. There is strife and contention arises. Therefore, the law is powerless and justice never goes forth. For the wicked surround the righteous. Therefore, perverse judgment proceeds." Habakkuk's doing stuff that we do. He's looking at where he's at, he's seeing the things that are happening in Israel, and he's saying, God, what is going on? He's asking this because he remembers that Israel is God's covenant people. He notes that God has always promised to be with them, that He would ever be present, that the promise of the covenant was that I will be your God and you will be my people and you will be set forth as a shining light. He would have known the promises made, not only to Abraham, but also to David, that there would be one who would sit on the throne, who would reign until finally the coming of Jesus would occur. And yet as he's looking at Israel, God's people, he's basically saying, these people don't look like God's people. And so God, where are you? especially as they just came out of reform under Josiah. And you could even see a sense of sorrow and grief with that. After all, great reformation, great revival, great restoration of practice occurred under Josiah, and he then was taken out early. He came to the throne when he was only a boy of maybe seven to nine years of age. He reigned for thirty years. killed in battle by Egypt. And here is this great shining light of opportunity lost so that there isn't then righteousness and there isn't love for God and there isn't the upholding and affirming of God's Word. Instead, you see the sense of national decay and godlessness. Even to the point where among God's people murder, political and social upheaval, violence, scandal, all occurring. Blatant immorality. And Habakkuk is sitting here going, Lord, you sure are quiet. Are you still here? Are you observing this? Are you noting this? Are you going to tolerate this? I mean, after all, the least you could do is like what you did during the time of the judges, right? Stuff happens, eventually the people sorrow, they repent, God brings a deliverer, a restorer, and off they go back again. Where is that time of reformation? Where is that time of impact? The observation that God is silent and nowhere to be found. Habakkuk cries out, and God responds. Notice what we hear. Look among the nations and watch, be utterly astounded, for I will work a work in your days which you would not believe though it were told you. Now initially, you might read verse 5 and go, alright, work a work that you're not going to believe. This is a surprise. This is going to be a big one. And it's going to be a great one. But what is God showing here? Silence does not mean uninvolvement. Isn't that oftentimes the thing that we think? We ask the question. Others ask the question, where is God? What is He doing? What's going on? And they immediately then begin to doubt in the question and to try to poke holes in your position to say, there's no point in what you believe. He's not here because He's not showing Himself. But silence does not mean uninvolvement. God tells Habakkuk, watch and be astounded for I will work a work in your days which you're not going to believe even if it were told you. God is noting that even though you can't see it, I'm already at work. You don't understand what I'm doing. You don't understand my ways. You don't understand the things that are going to be accomplished. And yet, nonetheless, it doesn't mean that I'm not here and that I've left you, that I've abandoned you, that I've forsaken you. But rather, I'm just being hidden and quiet for the moment. But when I unfold my work, watch out. Silence does not mean uninvolvement. What do we learn from this? It means that history is under God's sovereignty. that each nation is under God's hand, that there is no power outside of His control, that He truly is the God of history. That what God began from the beginning of time, He then continues to unfold, He controls, and He will bring it even to the end of its appointed purpose. And He will do it in the manner that He sees fit, in the way that He sees fit, and how He desires, so that all of it ends up being his amazing, awesome work. Silence does not mean uninvolvement. Isn't that an error sometimes that you make? Isn't it an error that sometimes I make? Isn't it something that we all do? The moment we can't quite put our finger on it, the moment we can't understand it, the moment we can't comprehend it, the moment that we can't figure it out or see just where it's going to go or how it's going to end or somehow be able to manipulate it or control it, we then go, oh God, this is your problem. If you would have just left it to me, everything would have been okay. But no. Isn't that how we approach things? Because we're making this same error. We're forgetting that silence does not mean uninvolvement. It means delay. It means working. It means orchestration. It means further things to be accomplished. But it doesn't mean uninvolvement. Children, let me see if I can figure out a way to show you this in your own life. How often do you ask your parents to do something for you, and your mom or dad don't immediately respond? And so as a result, you start doing what? Mom? Dad? Are you there? Can you hear me? I called for you. And then they're delayed a little further. So then you raise your voice more. You might even start searching for them until finally you can find them. And they were busy preparing things or doing things or making things ready. In a similar manner, we do that with the Lord. And we assume that He's not there. But silence doesn't mean that. What do we see secondly? Well, let me finish this other point in terms of uninvolvement. Sometimes God's involvement is a whole lot more than we expect. And that whole lot more can be greater to the good or greater to the immediate challenge. Habakkuk cries out, And God then says, you wonder where I am? Here's what I'm doing. I'm raising up the Chaldeans. For Habakkuk to have heard about the Chaldeans would be like God choosing to use your arch-rival, enemy, and nemesis to the negative max. Now think about that for a moment. We all identify as being reformed Christians. Imagine if we began to see Muslim terrorists arise within our country and begin to then take over and begin to persecute and begin to kill or begin to make slaves and begin then to show their authority and their power in the place in which we live. That was the Chaldeans to Judah in the time of Habakkuk. God is demonstrating that no matter who it is and how it unfolds and the things that occur and take place, it's all under His sovereign control. He notes that He's doing it. He's accomplishing it. And He's making it occur because this is His intention and His purpose in order to accomplish His will. He directs all things from the rise and fall of nations to the rise and fall of little children on sidewalks. And everything in between, the Lord is in control, directing all things in accordance with His purpose. And that's where we then need to see that not only does silence not mean uninvolvement, but silence then also does not mean that we then can lead to insolence or pride. Here God utilizes the Chaldeans in order to overcome Israel, showing great power, great strength, great swiftness, fear among the nations, scared because of this particular nation coming before them. Their reputation and fear is such that basically when the armies would show up, The other army would just simply lay down their arms and plead for mercy, because they didn't want to get into it with the Babylonians. Their methodology was incredible. Part of the allusion is even alluded to this in verse 10. They scoff at kings, princes are scorned. They deride every stronghold, for they heap up earthen mounds and seize it. Basically, what Habakkuk is noting is that a type of approach that they have is they build up a dirt ramp up against the wall so then they can just march up it and drop things over the top and completely capture and surround a city. And yet what happens? The silence of God as He orchestrates things in this world does not mean that one who is used by Him can be led to insolence. Notice verse 11, "...then his mind changes, he transgresses, he commits offense, ascribing this power to his God." What did the Babylonians ultimately do? Basically, they saw their strength. They saw their swiftness. They saw their mobility. They saw the fear of everyone before them. They saw the terror that they could cultivate and the horror that was generated by them. They saw their armies. They saw their horses. They saw their men. They saw their spears. They saw all of their equipment and their chariots and the way in which they conquered Assyria and now Israel and other nations and on and on and on it goes. And what did they say? Look at me. Look at what I have become. Look at my strength. Look at my capability. Look at my power. Turn over to the book of Daniel. Daniel would have been a relative contemporary to the time of Habakkuk. What does Nebuchadnezzar say in chapter 4 verse 28 of the book of Daniel? Is not this great Babylon that I have built for a royal dwelling by my mighty power for the honor of my majesty? He transgresses, commits offense, ascribing this power to his God. When we see that God uses other means in order to accomplish His will, even those means that would completely shock us, they nor us may ever ascribe the might, worth, value, and power to them. It must always be ascribed to the Lord. Sometimes that tendency is had based on the ones who are accomplishing things, noting for no explained reason they're in the right place at the right time, gaining all sorts of success. At other times, those who are enduring this struggle don't want to bring about even further problems or difficulties for themselves, and so they then will say, well, look at what you're doing and look at the power that you have. God brings kingdoms up. God brings kingdoms down. God directs the point of every arrow that is ever shot on a battlefield, of every bullet that is shot, of every sword that is drawn and struck, and everything in between, in order to show that it is ultimately in accordance with my plan, my purpose, my will, that all things are being done. Silence should never lead us to pride or arrogance, but ultimately it should lead us to the fact that the one who is silent, even God Himself, may be trusted." God may be trusted. Why? Because all of this is in accordance with His plan and His purpose. God is not acting in some sort of willy-nilly fashion. moving in a reactive manner, drawn off guard by all sorts of surprises and all sorts of events. There's never been a thing that has occurred in this world that God looked at and said, you know, I didn't see that one coming, or I didn't intend for that to occur, or I wasn't mindful of that thing taking place. All things happen in accordance with the timing of His schedule. Isn't that the beauty of what Solomon refers to in Ecclesiastes chapter 3? When he notes in that poem there, in the first eight verses, that to everything there is a season and a time for every purpose under heaven. And then at the end of it, he notes in verse 9, "...what profit has the worker from that in which he labors? I have seen the..." what? "...God-given task with which the sons of men are to be occupied. He has made everything beautiful in its time, and He has put eternity in their hearts." In order for things to be accomplished in God's timing according to His purpose through the hands of men, it must be all as it pertains to His sovereign will. It all is in accordance with His intention. It's all as He has scheduled. And He even reveals that throughout the ages. For example, when it came time for judgment under the time of the flood, God revealed that that was coming. And so then He instructed Noah accordingly. God revealed to Abraham even the plan that would unfold for the children of Israel between his time of living and that in which the time of Moses would come about. God even revealed to Daniel the events that would transpire between the time of Daniel and the time of Christ. In order for God to be a God of revelation, in order for God to not only reveal that which He wants us to know, but those things which are to come, He must also then be a God who ordains, who intends, who purposes, and who has set those things out from the beginning that those things might unfold. And who else would you want to trust? After all, God is the God of all wisdom. After all, God is the One who seeks no one's counsel, who sat down with no one in order to consult with them regarding His intention and His purpose for this world. He is the One who has all power. He is the One who acts in accordance with a righteous manner. He is the overflowing fountain of all good. He is the one who is mindful even of His creation so that He does not work beyond their capabilities and beyond that which He intends. The God who is silent is the one who can be trusted. And therefore, we need not fear. We need not doubt. We simply listen to the call of Habakkuk and believe. Yes, there are times in which we look at things in this world and they are mysterious. God hasn't unfolded. God hasn't pulled back the curtain. God hasn't made it known or manifest yet exactly what He's doing or how He's going about accomplishing His will or making the pieces clear. But nonetheless, He is still at work. We confess that God is sovereign over all things. And things only make sense when God is at the center of them all. For if things are happening by chance, we cannot have assurance as to the events that take place. If things are happening by some other purpose, we cannot understand what is taking place. If things are happening by means of fate, then there is no hand of love at work in the events that are unfolding. If God is impersonal, then we cannot be confident as to the intention that is being unfolded in what is taking place in our lives. And so may we learn then from the God who is silent. And when we have concerns as to the things that He is doing, let us then go before Him, not on a means of grief or a means of doubt, or a means of belittling who God is, but instead as a means of crying out, crying out for patience regarding the situation, crying out for an eye for the glory of God, even if it may hurt, crying out for a desire that ultimately His will would be done, and He would use us however He intends, for the glory of His name and for the good of His people, even the church. It can be tough when God is silent. It's much easier when things are clear. It's much easier when He speaks. It's much easier when things are readily made known. But even when we can't clearly know or clearly understand or clearly see, we still have good confidence in this One who is silent. For He has at least shown us who He is. He's shown us what His intentions are. And He's shown us that as He accomplishes these things, He builds up His people accordingly. May we be assured by what He does. And may we give Him thanks for it.