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I’m going to invite you to turn to the book of Habakkuk, that is five books previous to the book of Matthew. So if you find the New Testament first book of Matthew, go back five books. Habakkuk chapter two is where we’re going to be today. And I’ve got one goal for us and what the desire is for us to accomplish. And that is, I would like for our our hearts to sing before the Lord today. We want your soul to rejoice in God. And so we’re going to take the time to build that case today. If you’ve, uh, are just joining us for the first time, you haven’t been in this series with us together in the book of Habakkuk, I’m going to give a little backdrop to our understanding of where we’re picking up in this in this, uh, series. And the reason is we like to contextualize in in passages of Scripture, the contextualization of Scripture helps us understand why the Bible was written and what God’s desire is to accomplish in portions of Scripture. And so that’s important for us. In chapter one of Habakkuk, we recognize that most of this chapter is a lament that Habakkuk writes before God. This is a prophet writing before God, trying to understand the adversity he’s facing as an individual and as a nation. Uh, he’s he’s recognizing that his people, the Israel, Israel people, have become wicked. And so he comes before God and he sings this song of lament of where his people are.
God responds, says he’s taken his people into captivity. At this point, Habakkuk wants to understand how then God can be a loving God because the people of Israel are going into captivity. History tells us that Israel is laid siege against by the Babylonians in 606 and 595 to 596, and again in 586. The Babylonians come in and lay siege against Israel, taking them into captivity. At this point in history, the northern tribes of Israel have already been taken into captivity. The ten tribes of the North taken captivity by the Assyrians. In 722. There’s remaining the tribe of Benjamin, the tribe of Judah in the south, and God’s going to allow Israel to be taken into captivity from the Babylonians. And Habakkuk begins to ask the question, God, do you love us? Do you care about us? Help me understand. And in chapter two, verse one, it tells us he waits on the Lord. He wants to hear from God. In fact, the idea behind the book of Habakkuk, if I just gave you one phrase to think about when you when you look through this book and you consider its verses, it’s this waiting on God. Godly people when they don’t understand the circumstances around them. And it and it happens. We have an opportunity to come before our creator, seeking after his face and wanting to understand how God is working in that moment.
Chapter two, verse one. Habakkuk does that. God shows up and it responds to Habakkuk chapter three, God or chapter two. God continues to display his love to Habakkuk, so much so that it inspires him for what he’s going to write in the content of chapter three. But this is where we pick up in chapter two. We’re going to start in verse six. God has responded to Habakkuk. We saw in verse four, especially last week, but God is about to now pronounce judgment on the Babylonians in which he he is going to utilize to come in and take Israel captive. And as he prepares to take Israel captive, he then reminds Habakkuk that he will also judge the Babylonians for for the destruction they bring on Israel. And when you look at the content of a passage like this, I want to say this, this passage for us this morning is a very much of a doomsday type passage. It’s a it’s a judgment. God’s pronouncing on a people group. And that brings us to a, a very important tension. That we all have to wrestle with. Why? Because we as people are called. To hate evil, but love people. However, it’s hard to love people when they do evil, especially when they hate what you love. And sometimes ourselves, we end up hating people in return. Let me ask you. When Christians are persecuted.
What’s your reaction? Your natural reaction towards their persecutors? Or when I bring up popular political statements like ISIS. What sort of reaction happens within your heart? Well, for some of us we think, you know, I hate them or but but when you consider just the emotions, the way that we respond to things like this, knowing God calls us to hate evil, love people, it creates this tension in our lives to, to to gather a biblical perspective of what God desires to accomplish in us and through us, in the midst of adversity, in the midst of persecution. And the problem with with hatred is there is no Bible verse that tells us to hate others. In fact, the New Testament speaks amply towards the reaction to those who persecute us. I mean, Jesus plainly said, you will be persecuted for your faith in him. In fact, in Matthew chapter five and verse 44, Christ speaking here, he says this, but I say to you, not hate your enemies. Love your enemies. And pray for those who persecute you. And one of the popular things that’s happened recently is we’ve seen the release of a of a prisoner from Iraq who was named Saeed. He was a pastor taken prisoner in Iraq. And you see it all over Facebook. Pray for us, Saeed. Pray for Saeed, pray for Saeed. But let me let me just propose the thought or the question in the midst of praying for sight.
If you were ever following that for the two years he was in jail, at what point did we stop and pray for the persecutor? Not just the persecuted. And Jesus says, love your enemies. Pray for your enemies. In fact, at the cross Jesus said, father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do. I think in the context of the verses, Jesus is hanging on the cross. He’s thinking specifically about the individuals who are who are nailing him to the cross. They’re, uh, shouting against Jesus. But but in a larger, broader context, the Bible plainly tells us that we are all enemies of the cross of Christ at some point in our lives. The truth is. With hate and hatred towards people, we devalue humanity. And that’s what persecutors do. If you think of the atrocity against people groups throughout history, maybe within American culture, Native Americans, African Americans. Before the violence begins against someone. It starts with a devaluing of the human being. Nazi Germany. The argumentation that someone is less than me. The fuel of that hatred then sparks reaction. If if you were to look at the at the New Testament in Romans chapter 12, Paul writes Romans chapter 12, beginning in verse nine, he begins to explain how to react to both the persecuted and the persecutor. Verses 9 to 13 he explains the response the church is to to have towards those who are are persecuted.
But then in verse 14, he starts to respond towards the reaction that we are to have to those who persecute. And and in verse 19 he begins this argument that that vengeance belongs to the Lord, not to his people. And in fact, for us to carry hatred in our heart towards the individual, it’s a it’s a it’s a large burden to bear, but allow that to, to be bore by the Lord. God is a holy God. And and in verse 21 or 14, excuse me. And then into 21 it says this bless those who persecute you, bless and do not curse. Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. Here’s how Paul’s concluding this thought. When those who hate persecute you. And you respond with hatred towards them. You become exactly what you dislike about your enemy. You’re reflecting the same nature back to them. You’ve taken on their image. I hate you or you hate me so I hate you, right? What Paul says at the end of this verse, in relationship to our response to those who hate, is to recognize the importance of not devaluing humanity. God certainly calls us to hate evil. God certainly calls us to protect the widow and orphan. God certainly calls us to stand for justice. But what God doesn’t desire is in that for us to devalue the value of all of humanity.
We we saw this in Ezekiel last week in chapter 33 and verse 11. It tells us that God does not delight even in the death of the wicked. Why? All life is sacred. Even if a nation may rise up to protect the innocent and some place. In that process of life is taken for the protection of someone else. It’s still sacred. And Titus chapter three. Paul’s writing to Titus and how to, as a pastor, share with people who are in adversity. And one of the things he begins to recognize for Titus and for the people that he’s writing to, is that you will never reach people the way God has called you to reach people in this world. If you begin to look at people as if they’re beneath you. Because what Jesus teaches us within the Bible is this idea of servant leadership. The way that Christ came into our world to meet us where we were wasn’t by coming in and lording over us as king, but becoming a servant in the form of flesh getting beneath us and in his death, serving us to the greatest degree of our need. Where where we lacked Christ was strong. Where we were completely depraved. Jesus gave it all, and through his servant leadership, our our lives are transformed. And Paul is wrestling with this, with Titus telling us there is this tension in our lives in in despising evil, but still loving the sacredness of life.
To remember. Where you came from. So I can tell us one truth for certain. For all of us this morning. None of us in this room today want what we deserve before a holy God. And so Paul says this remind talking to the church. Remind them to be subject to rulers and to authorities, and be obedient and be ready for every good deed to malign no one, to be peaceable, gentle, showing every consideration for all men. For we also once were, were foolish ourselves, disobedient, deceived, enslaved to various loathsome pleasures, spending our life in malice and envy and hateful, hating one another. But when the kindness of God, our Savior, and His love for mankind appeared, he saved us not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to his mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out upon us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that being justified by his grace, we would be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life. What’s Paul saying there? Remember where you came from? Because before a holy God. We all need his grace. We’re not better than anyone else. All of life. Sacred. In our American context and culture and the and the thought of persecution. This may be extreme to something that you encounter within your life, but but you do face adversity, and people don’t always agree with you.
And sometimes when people don’t agree with you, they may express hatred towards you because you don’t value what they value, and because you don’t value what they value. Then they see that your value is less than them. And so in retaliation, because you don’t value what they value and you see, they see your value as less than them, than you value them less than God values them because you you don’t see their image within their creator. And so as they breed hatred, we breed hatred. God’s desire. Just for us to see all life as sacred. Why is that important to this text? Habakkuk chapter two is where we are. Why does this have to do with Habakkuk chapter two? God’s about to pronounce judgment on the Babylonians. And I’m. I don’t want to read this passage and say to myself, yeah, God got him and they got what they deserved, and they’re beneath me. I want to read this passage recognizing something important about all of us. How much everyone needs the Lord. The truth is, God is using Babylon as an example to Israel. And I think his Babylon’s about to be judged. Israel was no different than Babylon in this passage. I think the one thing that sets Babylon apart from Israel is that that Babylon. The reason, the reason Babylon looks greater in extent of of violence and hatred and negative actions in this passage is simply because they had more power to do so.
Israel reflected the same heart Babylon reflects in this passage. It’s just Israel lacked the power to carry it out. Let me let me give you an example. You see, maybe in television entertainment today in the spotlight, you’ll see a young person, famous person all of a sudden get get an identity on television. Lots of money coming their way. And it seems like at that moment life becomes a train wreck. You see, professional sports, uh, entertainers, whatever. All of a sudden, life becomes a train wreck and you get to watch it play out on TV. Can’t tell you. Sometimes I just wonder though. I don’t think the moment that person became famous, or at least I contemplate at the moment this person became famous. Is that really where the downhill spiral started? I don’t think so. I think once power and fame and more money came into their lives. It simply gave them a platform to express in a larger way what was already reflected in their hearts. And so as they as they gain more responsibility. Not having what what it is in character to walk with God in it. It reflects in their lives. Like, for instance, you as a parent, when you’re raising a child, it’s very important to nurture them in life and character. Understanding what it means to be humble, walk with the Lord and have a relationship with him.
Why? Because, you know, as your kid gets gets older, the decisions that they make carry much more weight and responsibility and the outcome of what they do. For instance, my two year old and five year old are good at punching each other in the face at two and five. You get in trouble by Mom and dad. At 35, you’re going to jail. The older you get, the larger the decisions and responsibility are carried in that, and the more there is in consequences that play out. The only difference I see in Israel and Babylon, and looking at the history of Israel at this point, particular point and Babylon at this current point, is that Babylon has more strength to act out on what they value within their hearts, no different than Israel except in the magnitude of the reactions. To read a passage like this. Not reading such a passage to put someone beneath me. Or to finally give them what they deserve. Read a passage like this seeing God respond, recognizing that God is a God who sees life as sacred. He doesn’t delight in the death of the wicked. And he is a good, loving, just God. Verse six to verse 20 of chapter two of Habakkuk. He describes these woes. Five woes against the Babylonian people. The word woe means you’re a dead man. Essentially, you’re a guy looking at destruction.
Your your life is at risk here. Jesus pronounced woes to the Pharisees in Matthew chapter 23, which is a pretty powerful statement. God in Habakkuk chapter two and verse six is pronouncing these, these woes against the Babylonians. And it happens every three verses, chapter two, verse 6 to 8, 9 to 11, 12 to 14, 15 to 17, 18 to 20. These five woes God, God lists against these Babylonians. Whoa one. It’s woe to him! Who increases what is not his. God’s describing the attitude of where their heart is. It’s in this, the selfish ambition. I’ll tell you in if you read these passages of Scripture, I think one of the the best, uh, uh, translations of the Bible that does justice to Habakkuk chapter two is the ESV. You’ll see in the ESV, if you have an ESV, verse six, it starts with a woe. Verse nine, it starts with a woe. The reason that they do that is because when you take Hebrew poetry in the English language, it doesn’t always translate well. But but in the other translations you’ll see the woe is somewhere within verse 6 to 8. Uh, according to the way it falls in the Hebrew text. But the point is, in the ESV, it expresses it’s about these woes. And so the first word that he says is this these selfish ambitions, the desire to, to to be ambitious but not just be ambitious.
I think ambition can be a godly thing rooted in him. But to focus that ambition on self, it says, woe to him who increases what is not his. I’m just going to skip through these woes real quickly. But in verse nine it says this woe to him who gets evil gain for his house to put his nest on high. It’s not only this selfish ambition, it’s this coveting of the things in life. And so it’s seeking whatever you can do to get to that, to the high point of the mountain, so you can look down on everyone else, you you covet these things. There was a man who said once about the coveting of people. He said, anything you have that you cannot give away. You do not really own, but instead it owns you. As it continues with the thought of the Babylonians. In verse 12, he says, woe to him who builds a city with bloodshed and found founds a town with violence. They begin then to exploit people. You see what I said in the beginning? That the moment you elevate yourself above others, you will begin to put people down. And so you see that he’s seeking in himself and desiring for himself to the extent that he will put others down just to get it. He devalues humanity. Then verse 15. Woe to you! We’ll make your neighbors drink. Who mix in your venom.
Bringing people to their destruction and violence. For whatever it’s worth, their violence becomes so strong that in verse 17 it tells us that they even kill animals for no reason. When when God creates us in the Garden of Eden, he tells us to be fruitful, multiply, and take care of the earth. Bless the earth. His desiring for the family was as the family strengthened in him, it would be a blessing to the world. It would give to the world, not take away. Here you see in this passage, once, once people begin to be devalued, they begin to take from the earth rather than be a blessing to it in their violence. And then you get to the fifth woe. When you read the fifth woe, you can’t help but. Ask the question, why did God just give five loaves? I mean, I’m sure when he’s talking to the people of Babylon and considering their sins, he could have. Set a list of things in which he would bring destruction upon them. For why five woes and why, in these five woes, does he choose to use this woe as the fifth woe? If he could have rearranged these woes, that means there are any particular reason for which he uses this woe as the last woe. And I think, I think the reason. Is yes in verse 20 gives us an understanding why. But in verse 19 he says this. Woe to him who says to a piece of wood, awake! To a mute stone.
Arise. And that is your teacher. Behold, it is overlaid with gold and silver, and there is no breath at all inside of it. God in this passage deals with idolatry. In verse 18 and 19, he’s dealing with false religion. We’ve talked about how religion has affected not only the Babylonians, but the nation of Israel, and that they they sacrificed children to to these gods, these idols they built, they would they would warm these idols up and lay them in the hands of children. These idols would be built with their arms extended out in some cases. And and Israel would lay their children on there, and so would Babylon. They would sacrifice, uh, kids upon these, these idols as if it was worshiped. But honestly. It was masked behind selfishness. Because they thought in the end that if they gave their children over in the sacrifices that that they would be blessed, they would receive more money, they would receive more crops. And so the motivation behind pleasing these gods were really all about selfishness. Verse 19. I think when you look at these people, God’s recognizing for us that we as individuals tend to take our garbage and hide it behind religion. Maybe you would encounter one of these individuals who would worship in this way and talk to them about their faith, and they could give you the the popular phrase as well.
As long as you believe in God, that’s all that matters, right? Or I’m a spiritual person. Or as long as you try. Good. That’s that’s what counts, right? I mean, verse 19 says that we we, we’re following a god. I mean, it doesn’t really matter what God. God, just God just wants you to follow a God. He’ll just kind of work it out. But when you read the context of the beginning of this chapter, in chapter two, verse one, or chapter to to to verse four, it reaches this climax in the book. The the most important phrase that’s written in all of Habakkuk tells us, the justified will live by faith. The righteous will live by faith. And when you flip that passage into the New Testament where it’s quoted, especially in Galatians chapter three, beginning in verse 12, if you read the rest of the chapter, it tells us in verse 12 that the just will live by faith. But what happens in the rest of Galatians? It tells us that people mistake the purpose of religious law with the law of the Old Testament. It wasn’t to show us how great we were or how righteous we were. Just to show us how much we have a need in our depravity for God to rescue us. Because we’re no different. The same brokenness and the same wicked heart that rests in whatever person you’re most frustrated by.
Wrestled us to. God brings Israel to this point in chapter two and verse 19 to reflect on the brokenness of Babylon, as if to say to them, there is brokenness in what you’re experiencing in your own worship apart from God. Because remember in this chapter, Israel has has left their king and has pursued false idols. Not not for anything other than selfish ambition and desire to get what they want. If you look at these five woes that are mentioned, it’s not this, this idea that oh well, well, selfish ambition is wrong. So don’t be selfish ambition. Coveting is wrong. So don’t covet. All exploiting people is wrong. So don’t exploit a drunken violence is wrong. So don’t do that either. Oh, and building violence is wrong or building idols is wrong, so don’t do that. So the root of all of these things isn’t just to stop doing this behavior. The root of all of these things. Itself. It’s too much of self. It’s putting self above everything. To the extent that when it isn’t harnessed. It begins to devalue other people, to elevate you as Lord. God drives it to this fifth woe. Because it’s God who is the one who speaks to the heart to recognize that what we need isn’t more of self, but less of self and more of God. Which is why he positions verse 19 against verse 20. In fact, if if you were to look at the what? The way God peppers his statements about himself throughout chapter two, he says in verse four, the just live by faith in verse 14 and talking about himself, he says, the earth will be filled with the knowledge of his glory.
And in verse 20, I call this the shut your pie hole verse. But it says, but the Lord. Is in his holy temple, that all the earth be silent before him. See verse 18 and 19. When the Babylonians came before their false gods, they never shut their mouth. In fact, they created these gods just to tell these gods what they wanted for their lives to be satisfied. God’s response. Israel for just a minute. Could you just shut your mouth? What I want to do in you is better than anything you’re going to do with yourself. Life is sacred. Quiet yourselves before the Lord, and rather than tell him what you want, let him shape you as he has designed you for his purposes and creation. Listen to God. As Habakkuk. Ventures through chapter two. By the time you get to chapter three, he begins to sing a new song. This book starts with a lament before God. It’s a pursuit of selfish dreams that end in bankruptcy. To come to chapter two, to wait on God and in silence before his temple, listening to him, listening to the goodness of who God is.
So that the result then in chapter three is that Habakkuk sings a new song before the Lord. So let me push the the controversial topic of of music for just a moment. This silence taken to praise before God. I think it’s important for every generation to experience because music speaks to generations. I think it’s good for us to sing old songs of what God’s done, to look back at the past and rejoice over God’s hand. But it’s also important to sing new songs. Because what Habakkuk is finding in chapter three is that God is writing a new song in his heart. It’s interesting when you talk about old songs and new songs just to say, you know, every old song at some point was a new song. And sometimes in our lives, we get stuck in this routine with with God and our position before him. And and we’re just saying to ourselves, looking at Habakkuk chapter three, you know, that’s great. That is great for Habakkuk that that God writes a new song within his heart. But what about me? I mean, I see this this happening in the Old Testament, New Testament, God’s writing, a new song for people. But but where do I connect with God in this? Interesting, you should ask. Even though you didn’t ask it for you. When you’re reading the New Testament. Babylon’s continued to be discussed. In fact the book of First Peter and Revelation.
Continues to talk about Babylon. Because Babylon symbolically represented something to the people of Israel. You got to think, when the northern tribes are taken into captivity by the Assyrians, they’re never talked about again. But when the southern tribes are taken into captivity, God will bring them back. But that captivity, that captivity marked them. And so when they were riding into the New Testament, it’s something they continued to reflect upon as a people of Israel. And so when first Peter, when he’s when Peter’s writing his book of first Peter, he reflects on Babylon as, as not just a nation at the time that took them into captivity, but the greater idea of what Babylon represents. When our hearts are left to wander apart from God. Revelation. Revelation. Babylon’s talked to you up until the end of the book. Recognizing there’s still this brokenness and sinful nature within humanity. And sometimes we like to take the book of revelation. I would just win this hat for the American culture and say, man, we have butchered that book. The reality is the book of revelation. Here’s what it is. It’s a worship book. On the beauty of who Christ is. In the midst of Babylon. The story of revelation. God is still redeeming his people. And just like Habakkuk sings a new song before God. The Book of Revelation says to the church. God wants you to continue to sing a new song before him.
In fact, in revelation chapter five and verse nine, it says this. And they sang a new song saying, worthy are you to take the book and break its seals, for you were slain and purchased for God, and with your blood men from every tribe and tongue, and people and nation, tribes and tongues, gathering before God, because his work is not finished. But the new song continues to be written in our hearts as we look at the beauty of who he is in silence, the goodness of our God. Revelation 14 goes on. And in talking about a new song and it says this, they sing a new song before the throne and before the four living creatures and the elders. And no one could learn this new song except for the 144,000 who had been purchased from the Earth. In this worship book, creating the picture of eternity before God. It’s this continuation within our hearts, within our lives, that God gives us the opportunity to continue to rejoice in him and singing new songs as we see the goodness of who he is in our lives. Not because we’re great, not because we’re better than anyone else, but because of the goodness of who he is. And when you follow the theme in chapter two of Habakkuk, that’s what he says in verse four. It’s the faith that we express and the mercy of God that the that we are declared righteous and the glory of God in verse 14 is what fills the earth.
In verse 20, the people of God. What’s that? Silent before their king. And just allow them to pour his goodness into their heart. Verse four. It’s not just salvation as a stopping point. But your salvation is something that God does in you every day. You’re not just saved in Christ, but we’re actively being saved in Christ every moment of every day. You in Christ Jesus blood covers you and every moment of every day that you belong to Jesus. His glory in verse 14 is working through you, and you have the opportunity to come before your King and allow him to magnify that goodness and to write that new song. Statistically, when you study the American church today, let me talk about the younger crowd for a minute. It tells us among believers, the younger generations of parents, especially in 20s and 30s, less than a quarter spend time in God’s Word. In fact, half half of of believers within America say that when they open God’s Word, it’s just four times within a year. What God is pointing out in the book of Habakkuk. Is that he wants to write this new song within your heart, not just once, but you have the opportunity to sing this new song every day, both today and into eternity.