Well, this morning we're going to pick up in Habakkuk chapter 1, as we've just read. And this is the second message out of Habakkuk. And so we're going to cover verse 12 through chapter 2, verse 1. But before we get there, I'd like to just give a quick refresher of what we've learned from the first message since it's been a couple of months. So Habakkuk had been crying out to God for a period of time, we learned, prior to the writing of this book. We're not sure how long, but certainly it was something that he had been doing. And his complaint in the beginning of chapter 1 was basically around the fact that he didn't think God was hearing him, or at least so it seemed. And he was complaining about the violence that filled the land, and national sin, and the strife and the contentions that were just really rampant at the time. And then he went on to highlight four different problems in verse four. He said, one, that the law is powerless. Two, that justice never goes forth. And three, the wicked surround the righteous. And four, perverted judgment seems to be the rule of thumb of the day. So Habakkuk is painting a very dismal picture of the state of Judah, and he's really troubled by it. But God does finally break his silence with Habakkuk, and he answers him. And he lets the prophet know, he said, I do have a plan, and this is what I'm going to do. I'm going to use the Chaldeans as a means of correction and discipline for the nation of Israel, or for Judah, excuse me. And so God paints a very accurate picture of the Chaldeans, and we will see in today's message that they are a more evil people than the people of Judah. And so a quick and brief review of the applications we drew out from that message in October. The first thing we learned is that people who pray and pray continually for the church, these are the kind of folks that we need to be. We also see what society will look like and does look like when they lose the fear of God. We also discovered that God is long-suffering and he's a very patient redeemer. And then finally, we're reminded of the power of intercessory prayer. So with that very quick review in mind, let's go ahead and move forward from verse 11 and begin looking at Habakkuk's second complaint. So the first section we want to look at is verses 12 through 14. 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 pure eyes and to behold evil and cannot look on wickedness. Why do you look on those who deal treacherously and hold your tongue when the wicked devour us? A person more righteous than he, why do you make them like fish of the sea, like creeping things that have no ruler over them? So Habakkuk begins this second complaint by describing God in three ways, and he's pointing the reader to God's character. So the first thing we notice is that he describes God as everlasting or eternal. And he points out that God has been and is active in the world in the past, in the present, and in the future. God is in total control of history. And we certainly know that in Scripture by various other references that we can look at, particularly Psalm 90, verse 2. The second way he describes God in his character is, my Holy One, or that God is pure. God is incomparably holy and pure, as Leviticus 19.2 will point out. The prophet then personalizes this thought by using the word, my. And Habakkuk knows that he belongs to God, and he knows that God is eternal and holy. And so this enables him to avoid this total despair with the picture that he has painted, while at the same time dealing with reconciling God's holiness with God's justice. with the existence of evil. Then the third characteristic we find is he refers to God as the rock or a foundation. And that God is a firm foundation. He cannot be moved. God provides security. God provides the protection and stability. But Habakkuk doesn't really stop there. He also goes on to use a few different words for God in verse 12. And the first word is this word Lord, or Jehovah. This means the existing one, or self-existent, or the eternal one. This is the proper name for the one true God. The second word is God, or Elohim, which basically is the supreme God. And then finally he describes him as holy, and I'm not even going to attempt to pronounce the Hebrew word for that one. But we'll just say it means sacred, holy one, or set apart. So now we can get a better understanding of who God is and how the prophet understands who God is through the words that he has used here. And this understanding should shape how we view and how we respond to our circumstances, our trials, and our difficulties. But we also notice in this beginning part of verse 12, he also adds this little part that says, we shall not die. And it is best to not separate this part from the question that the prophet asks. If so, if it's taken separately, it could lead to a misunderstanding of the text. What the prophet is attempting to do here is he's drawing the reader's attention to God's covenant with Abraham to preserve his chosen people. which we know of from Genesis chapter 12 and Genesis chapter 17. The prophet knows that God has a covenant with his chosen people, Israel. And even though there will be judgment and correction by a fierce and obstinate people, the nation is still under God's protection. They will not be completely wiped out. God will always have a remnant. He will never not have one. And then in Genesis chapter 17, 1 through 8, as referenced earlier, God speaks to Abraham and he reaffirms his covenant. And verse 8 is significant here. And it states, Also I give to you and your descendants after you the land in which you are a stranger, all the land of Canaan, as an everlasting possession, and I will be their God. So we see here this eternal view here that this land is never not going to be their possession. Even though at times they may have been scattered, as far as God is concerned, that land belonged to His people because He had a covenant with Abraham to make that so. So God has obligated Himself to preserve His people. And he will be faithful to fulfill that promise. And so Habakkuk is remembering this, and he's actually reminding God of this. And though there will soon be judgment for Judah and for their sin, they are still chosen by God. They still remain under his protection. And that remnant will continue for the nation of Israel. And John Calvin, kind of in his quote here, has a good understanding that we need to see. And he says, we now perceive why the prophet joins together these two things. Thou art God and we shall not die. Nor can indeed the one be separated from the other. For when we are under the protection of God, we must necessarily continue safe and safe forever. Not that we shall be free from evils, but that the Lord will deliver us from a thousand deaths and preserve our life in safety." So after reaffirming and reassuring himself of God's character and protection, Habakkuk now acknowledges that God is also going to be the one who judges, and he's going to use the Chaldeans as a means for that judgment. So in this last part of verse 12, it says, Oh Lord, you have appointed them, them being Judah, for judgment. Oh Rock, you have marked them, again Judah, for correction. So Habakkuk makes a point saying that it is by God's providence that the Chaldeans are going to be raised up to judge. And it's a critical point to understand. Sometimes we get perplexed by our circumstances, and it seems to contradict what we know of God from His Word. However, in those times, we have to remind ourselves, just as the Prophet does here, of God's providence in our circumstances. And there's a hymn that comes to mind when I was thinking through this, and it's a hymn called, God Moves in a Mysterious Way. And these are the words to that song, so let's consider them this morning. God moves in a mysterious way his wonders to perform. He plants his footsteps in the sea and rides upon the storm. Deep in his dark and hidden minds with never failing skill, he fashions all his bright designs and works his sovereign will. O fearful saints, new courage take the clouds that you now dread. Our bid with mercy and will break in blessings on your head. Judge not the Lord by feeble sense, but trust him for his grace. Behind a frowning providence he hides a smiling face. God's purposes will ripen fast, unfolding every hour. The bud may have a bitter taste, but sweet will be the flower. Blind unbelief is sure to err and scan his work in vain. God is his own interpreter and he will make it plain." So God is using adversity to root out the sins of the people of Judah in order to restore them as a people and the people that are the apple of his eye. God's means of restoration are vast and sometimes painful and difficult, but in the end, as the song states, the bud may have a bitter taste, but sweet will be the flower. God is going to carry out His plan of correcting and disciplining His people. We know this because He says, you have marked them for correction. And the King James Version uses the word ordained in place of marked. And this is a Hebrew word sum, which is S-U-W-M, meaning to put or to lay upon or lay violent hands on. And this seems to be the best understanding of the word because God has decreed to put or laid upon his chosen people through a violent enemy and discipline and correction. But I also like the use of the word march because it indicates this need to revisit. And see, God had already declared that His judgment was going to be on Judah in 2 Kings 34. Of course, we looked at that in the first message when we were kind of walking through all the kings and reminding ourselves and remembering that with the exception of one king, they all were doing evil in the sight of the Lord. But the one bright spot was King Josiah. And so he restored true and proper worship in the nation of Judah. And so by doing that, God had a reprieve from the judgment that he had already proclaimed on Judah. But that was only for a time. Of course, as we know, that when Josiah was killed, the next king did evil in the sight of the Lord, and so they were right back where they were. And so God is still going to carry out the judgment against them. This is the point and goal of discipline. To correct, to refine, and to restore his children as a holy people. The means of correction may be harsh, but God's faithfulness, His grace and His mercy will still be present. I love the last line of verse 2 of chapter 3 of Habakkuk. The verse reads, if you want to look across the page, Oh Lord, I have heard your speech and was afraid. Oh Lord, revive your work in the midst of years. In the midst of the years make it known, and I just love this line, in wrath remember mercy. Now in verse 13 we see that it states, you are of pure eyes and behold evil and you cannot look on wickedness. Again Habakkuk is reminding himself and the reader of the character of God. God is pure and he is clean both morally and ethically. He also directs us to the fact that God is perfectly holy and as a result he cannot behold evil. In A.W. Tozer, in his book, The Attributes of God, he points out that we have evil in our lives that permeates every aspect of our hearts, of our memories, and of any unconfessed sin, and so on. The Prophet, in this second complaint, is reminding himself, as well as us, of the fact that God is also just. God has no other option but to exercise His justice. The justice of God cannot be separated from Him because it's part of His very nature. And so this phrase, you are of pure eyes and to behold evil, and cannot look on wickedness, might be restated this way. You, O Lord, are just because you are God, and God because you are just. But we have a problem to deal with here in the text. And this is a problem that Habakkuk is dealing with. And it's reconciling God's holiness and God's justice. Now, I will tell you right up front, we are not going to answer that completely this morning. But here we go. How can we make sense of God intentionally using a more evil people to discipline and to correct His people, the ones that He has chosen, and bring them back to repentance and restoration? We can probably rephrase this question like this. God, if you are holy and pure and just, how can you justify using a wicked nation like Babylon to judge and take captive your chosen people? What comes to my mind is actually Genesis chapters 1 through 2 and 3. Very familiar chapters to us. It's the account of God creating this world and everything that we see, and it records the account of the fall of Adam and Eve. And if you remember in the first message that I spoke in Habakkuk, we realized that God has the authority specifically over creation. And so we see this idea again here. It's important to remember who owns the deed and the title to this world and all that is in it. And Genesis 1-1 makes that very clear to us. In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. So he owns it all. And then the remainder of chapters 1 and 2 describe all that God created, and He called it good. And then in chapter 3 we have the account of the fall of Adam and Eve, and the results that follow. So God had to intervene all the way back then. with Adam and Eve. And it's actually the first time in Scripture where we see redemption being brought out in Genesis chapter 3 verse 15. And so ever since then, God has continually been at work to engineer circumstances that will redeem, correct, and restore His people. And over the millennia, God has proved to be quite creative in how He goes about accomplishing this. So we are God's creation and it's not the other way around. And so God created all there is, does he not have the right not to mention the authority to utilize his creation as he sees fit? Well, Isaiah chapter 29 verse 16 shed some light on this. Surely you have things turned around. Shall the potter be esteemed as the clay? For shall the thing made say of him who made it, he did not make me? Or shall the thing formed say of him who formed it, he has no understanding? Let me kind of illustrate it to you like this. If I construct a workbench for my shop, then I will have a design in my mind and I'm going to go ahead and build it according to my design. What say does the wood and the materials that I use have in creating that workbench? It has no say. I can build it any way I see fit. And then if I see that it needs some adjustment or an addition to it, I can do it. Again, the workbench has nothing to say about it. But I build it the way I want to build it so I can use its fullest capacity. You see, and that's what God is trying to do with His people. He wants to redeem them and bring them back so He can use them and use us at our fullest capacity. So God is justified in his choice to use people more evil than another to discipline incorrect. God's purposes is to establish and use his people at the greatest potential for his glory, for our good, and to accomplish his will in the world. And the most important point to remember here is this, that God is concerned with protecting His glory. Notice what Zechariah chapter 2 verse 7 and 8 tells us. It says, Up, up, flee from the land of the north, says the Lord, for I have spread you abroad like the four winds of heaven, says the Lord. Up, Zion, escape you who dwell with the daughter of Babylon. For thus says the Lord of hosts, he sent me after glory to the nations which plunder you, for he who touches you touches the apple of his eye." So he's concerned for his glory. And there are many other scriptures that we could reference communicating the same thing. The problem of reconciling God's justice with His holiness will always be an issue we grapple with. We will never fully grasp the wisdom of God in this. And so it's always good for us to remember again from Isaiah what he had to say in chapter 55, a very familiar passage. For my thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways my ways, says the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so my ways are higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts." So what then should be our response? I believe George Hudsonson provides an excellent application to this, and it's actually in blue in the bottom of your bulletin if you want to follow along. It is the duty and will be the care of all the godly to justify God and to clear him from any imputation, though their weakness cannot see through all the deep mysteries of his providence about his church and her enemies. And for that end, they should prevent the language of misbelief and temptation with something of faith. Therefore, the prophet, in the midst of the dark mists, begins with this as an unalterable ground. Whatever his heart may say, God is of pure eyes and to behold evil and cannot look upon iniquity. But we can't forget that God would eventually deal with the Babylonians. They didn't escape his wrath. And so it is today. The wicked seem to prosper while the church appears to barely tread water at times. But God is still on the throne, and he will one day avenge his bride. In the meantime, however, God is working to have a pure and spotless people. And as we move on to the second part of Habakkuk's complaint, he uses a metaphor of the fishermen. And that's number two in your bulletin. And that's verses 14 through 17. Why do you make men like the fish in 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. They 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?" So Habakkuk provides this metaphor. And it's really not hard to piece the things together. King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon is the fisherman. And the fish, they're all the nations that King Nebuchadnezzar has been capturing and taking captive during his reign of terror. And of course Judah, at some point in the future from this writing, will be one of those fish, if you will. And the illustration shows us of a skilled fisherman, one that is able to locate fish and capture them in his nets. And so Habakkuk is using this metaphor to show how prolific the king of Babylon was and how efficient he and his army are at defeating and capturing those he wishes to conquer. And Nebuchadnezzar does so without any conscience whatsoever, but totally out of pride. Habakkuk also tells us in this text that the Babylonian army, they're just happy about it too. They're happy about it because of their great success. You and I would be much the same if we were winning, quote-unquote, at everything we seem to touch. However, this so-called success is only a temporary thing as God has already determined Babylon's ultimate destiny. So in verse 16 we see what we're just describing, that the Babylonians are giving praise and sacrifice to their nets. It's interesting to me that the Babylonians, in this text and looking over the course of time in history, how man just gives glory and praise to objects that really have no ability to accomplish anything on their own. And so basically what we see here is the Babylonians have made their nets an idol. And what value do we have in idols? Well Habakkuk also answers that question in chapter 2 verses 18 and 19, which gives us a very clear picture of the prophet of an idol. What profit is the image that its maker should carve it, the molded image, a teacher of lies, that the maker of its mold should trust in it to make new idols? Woe to him who says, wood, awake, to silent stone, arise, it shall teach. Behold, it is overlaid with gold and silver, yet in it there is no breath at all." So we see here that idols are just useless objects. And think about it. Nets need to be thrown and spread into the sea by someone. Nets need to be retrieved and brought back into the boat by someone. Nets need to be emptied of their contents by someone. And nets need to be cleaned by someone. So tell me, what can a net do on its own? Well, the answer is really obvious, but clearly we're also seeing that the Babylonians are convinced that there is a spiritual and godlike characteristic to their nets. But lest we be too critical, we today have our own idols, and many times we do not even see them or realize it, or maybe we just choose not to. So notice the reason the Babylonians are worshiping their nets. And it says in the verse, because by them their share is sumptuous and their food is plentiful. That word sumptuous is just like saying it's large, it's great, and it's lavish. They believe their nets are responsible for the catch. But really a good fisherman knows where the fish are. Well, I want to try to make a connection here with a passage from Luke chapter 5, verse 4 through 11, when Jesus told Peter to cast his nets out for a catch. Now, we don't have time to turn there and read the whole passage, so let me just summarize it here. Jesus had just finished teaching by the lake of Gethsemane when he instructed Peter to launch out in the deep and to drop his nets. Well, Peter answered him and just kind of, I don't want to say protested, but he just said, look, we fished all night. We haven't caught a thing. We didn't even get a nibble. However, Peter still did as instructed, and he caught so much fish, he ended up having to get people on the shore to help him get the fish in. And so after all that was done, and Jesus told his disciples, his astonished disciples, to not be afraid, because going forward they would now be fishers of men. And so this connection that I'm trying to make here is between God raising up the Babylonians and granting them success to teach Judah a lesson, and Jesus giving Peter and the disciples success, to teach them a lesson. So notice, God is the one who provides. God is the one who withholds to accomplish his purposes. In both these text passage and the Luke passage, we see the redemptive nature of God. In Habakkuk, God is using the success of a pagan nation to bring his chosen people back to himself. And in the Luke passage, God is going to use his disciples to bring many to faith and repentance. And then in verse 17, we kind of see this wash, rinse, repeat process going on. God allows this evil pagan nation to ravage the land and conquer people after people. And it will just continue until God accomplishes His plan. And so verse 17 shows us, they shall therefore empty their net and continue to slay nations without pity. So let's not lose sight of verse 6 of chapter 1, where God had answered Habakkuk in his first complaint to say, for indeed I am raising up the Chaldeans. God is responsible for Nebuchadnezzar's and Babylon's success, not the nation, not the people. Because there is a limit that God will not allow the Babylonian people to cross. He has already established boundaries and they are not going to be changed. So an application I think we can draw from this is that success comes from God, not from us. We need to consider, though, what true success looks like. We, as people, we tend to attribute it to people who have wealth or position, and they travel in the right circles, you know, they're just well-connected. This may be the case, this may be a true thing, but I want to point out that success most often shows up in the lives of people who live their lives in the shadow versus the limelight. Their needs are met. They don't have great wealth, but they're provided for, and they provide for people as they can, even though that provision may be very small. But they honor God with their lives, and He uses them, often quietly, but nonetheless greatly. And another thing to consider with this is when it's all said and done, and we stand before the judgment seat of Christ, our works are going to be tested by fire. And it's the ones that make it through the fire that are going to show success. Everything else is going to be burned up and discarded. So in conclusion this morning, let's take a moment and remind ourselves of where we've come. Habakkuk complains about the condition of Judah and the fact that he's been crying out about this for some time, and about how the land has been filled with violence. And God replied to his complaint, informing Habakkuk of his plan to use the Chaldeans. Then Habakkuk communicates his second complaint, which we've just walked through. And as far as this little book is concerned, this was the last recorded complaint of Habakkuk. It seems he has said his piece almost like he's kind of over it at this point and exasperated. And so the prophet kind of concludes here with being a little bit stoic. He's preparing to be reproved or corrected. I kind of get a sense Habakkuk knows he's maybe come close to crossing the line with God in his complaint. So listen what the prophet concludes with his remarks. Verse 1 of chapter 2, I will stand by 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. So Habakkuk is going to stop talking and he's going to just take up a position, if you will. Notice he's going to stand his watch. And this word means to stop or to be still and to cease. The word watch also indicates that he's doing his duty by guarding and keeping and preserving. So these are both military terms. And he goes on to say he's going to set himself on a rampart. In other words, he's placed himself in a strategic place so he can observe and listen for God to reply. However, Habakkuk just isn't waiting to hear from God again, but contemplating how he's going to respond to God when God corrects him. I find this really kind of interesting, because it almost gives a feel like the prophet preparing his remarks even before God speaks to him to defend himself. It's really kind of an interesting tension in the text at this point. But here's the application. Habakkuk stopped complaining and stopped talking. He prepared and set himself in a place to wait and listen for God to speak to him and instruct him. And so often we are prone to pray and do all the talking. We ask our questions, we complain about stuff, and we have our list of requests, and on and on and on we go. All the while, God can't get a word in edgewise because we just won't stop talking. So when was the last time you sat silently listening for God's instruction or direction? Let me ask you this, how much heartache and frustration would we have avoided if we had just stopped talking and listened? We live in a fast-paced world. Everything's expected to be instantaneous. And this is our world. But God has not changed. He is the same yesterday, today, and forever. And He is not controlled by a clock. Something maybe I should learn, as my wife will tell you. God will work in His time. And He's always going to be on time. He's not going to be early, and He's not going to be late. Now with the new year approaching, we find hope in the fact that God is already in our future. He has already ordered his plans for us and he will accomplish them. Just like here with Habakkuk. God told Habakkuk what he's going to do. That's all future. But even though God was going to carry out this judgment that was going to result in a 70 year captivity, God was still with his people and still going to bring them back. Same with us today as we end 2018 and move into 2019. Let's not go into 2019 with fear. God is already there. Some of our circumstances, we just may carry them into 2019. We may come across new circumstances. Some of them may not be the best. But from God's perspective, they are the best because He only acts in our lives for our good and for His glory and for no other reason. So we have to learn to look at our circumstances from a different perspective, and that is from an eternal perspective. But I want to end our time this morning with a very familiar passage that we read, really, every Christmas. But I think it kind of bridges between our old year and new year, and it's Isaiah chapter 9, verses 6 and 7. For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given, and the government will be upon his shoulder. And his name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and peace there will be no end. Upon the throne of David and over his kingdom to order it and to establish it with judgment and justice from that time forward even forever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this. Let's pray.