HABAKKUK: THE HONEST PROPHET

by Jerry Vines

Habakkuk: The Honest Prophet

Jerry Vines

Now when you study the prophets of God in the Old Testament you will discover God
used men with different personalities to be the channel through whom he gave his
message to the people. For instance, there is Jeremiah. Jeremiah was very sensitive
person. By personality he was very sensitive. Even though there were times when
Jeremiah would thunder out the judgment of God. He had a heart that caused him to weep
and grieve because of the sins of the people. Then there was old Jonah. Old Jonah was
the reluctant prophet. He knew what the Lord wanted him to do he just didn't want to do
it. And so he rebelled against the Lord and had a very strong will. God had to break his
will and get him willing to do what he wanted him to do. But Habakkuk when you study
him is a man who would qualify as the honest prophet. He was not going to say he
understood something when he didn't understand it.

And he was not going to say he agreed with what god was doing when he didn't agree. He
was transparently honest with God. Someone said Habakkuk is the doubting Thomas in
the Old Testament. Habakkuk had a question mark for a brain. He just seemed to be
always questioning and wondering what God was doing. Now the name Habakkuk means
embrace.

So when we look at this man Habakkuk we get the picture of a man who had perplexing
questions. He had tremendous doubts in his heart yet he brought those doubts to the Lord.
Embraced the Lord, held on to God until God gave him the answer. Now the book of
Habakkuk is primarily the account of a man of God dealing with a problem rather than
delivering a message. In one sense of the word we are getting in on a dialogue between
this man and God. Habakkuk is faced with some perplexing problems. There are some
things about life he doesn't understand. There are some things about the dealings of God
and the work of God that are not clear to him. So Habakkuk faces those problems, he
admits they are there. Then he ...

DEBATING GOD (2 OF 3)
by James Merritt
This content is part of a series.
Debating God (2 of 3)
Series: On the Ropes
James Merritt
Habakkuk 1:13; 2:1-20

Introduction

1. Even though we know we can't do it we all have tried at one time or another. Even
though we know it won't work we've all taken our shot at it. Even though we know deep
down it really doesn't do any good we do it anyway. I am talking about bargaining with
God. We've all done it. We've all tried to bargain with God to get God to meet us on our
terms: ''God, if you'll do this I'll do that'' or ''God if you will just come through this one
time I promise I'll do this or do that.'' That desire goes all the way back to the first man
whoever lived.

2. Adam was walking around the Garden of Eden moping and pouting and God said,
''What is wrong with you Adam?'' He said, ''I am lonely. I don't have anybody to talk to.'' 

3. God said, ''Adam, I've got good news for you. I am going to make a companion for you
and you are going to call it a ''woman''. This person will gather food for you, cook for you
and when you discover clothing she will wash it for you. She will agree with every
decision you make. She will bear your children and never ask you to get up in the middle
of the night to take care of them. She will never nag you and she will always be the first
one to admit she was wrong when you've had a disagreement. She will never have a
headache and she will freely give you love and passion whenever you want and need it.''
Adam said, ''What will this woman cost?'' God said, ''An arm and a leg.'' Adam thought
for a moment and said, ''What can I get for a rib?''

4. Have you ever noticed that when you bargain with God and He doesn't deal that then
you start debating God and you start giving God all kinds of reasons why He should have
done things your way? That is exactly where we find Habakkuk. To remind you of the
story, Habakkuk is living in what is known as the ''Southern Kingdom.'' Israel, at one
time, was a united kingdom, but after Solomon died there was a civil ...

IN GOD WE TRUST: THE BOOK OF

HABAKKUK
by Jonathan McLeod
In God We Trust: The Book of Habakkuk
Jonathan McLeod

FRUSTRATION

Have you ever played the game Frustration? (There is a more popular version of the
game called Trouble.) Frustration can be a frustrating game. In order to move your pieces
out of the start position, you need to ''pop'' a one or a two. Sometimes you can pop the
dice over and over again and never get a one or a two. Meanwhile, everyone else's pieces
are quickly moving around the board. In frustration you cry out, ''How much longer until
I get a one or a two!'' Then sometimes when you finally do get a one or a two, another
player's piece lands on yours sending you back to start. And you complain, ''That's not
fair!''

Habakkuk the prophet was a man filled with frustration. In the first two chapters of
Habakkuk, the prophet brings two complaints to God (1:2-4; 1:12-2:1). Each time, God
answers Habakkuk's complaint (1:5-11; 2:2-20).

• Habakkuk's first complaint: How much LONGER?

O LORD, how long shall I cry for help, and you will not hear? Or cry to you ''Violence!''
and you will not save? (1:2).

• God's answer: Trust me. I am working on a plan you can neither SEE nor UNDER-
STAND.

''I am doing a work in your days that you would not believe if told'' (1:5b).

• Habakkuk's second complaint: That's not FAIR!

You who are of purer eyes than to see evil and cannot look at wrong, why do you idly
look at traitors and remain silent when the wicked swallows up the man more righteous
than he? (1:13).

• God's answer: Trust me. I KNOW what I'm DOING.

''But the LORD is in his holy temple; let all the earth keep silence before him'' (2:20).

Habakkuk's complaints are childish complaints. Children often complain to their parents:
''How much longer?'' and ''That's not fair!'' But good parents usually know best. And
certainly God our Father knows best. We need to ...
HOW TO GET UP WHEN YOU'RE DOWN (5 OF
5)
by Jeff Schreve

This content is part of a series.

How to Get up When You're Down (5 of 5)
Series: Got Trouble? - What to do When You Don't Know What to Do
Jeff Schreve
Habakkuk 3:16-19

If you have your Bible, please turn to the Book of Habakkuk. Habakkuk's toward the end
of the Old Testament. If you start at the end, Malachi, and just keeping taking a left,
you'll finally hit Habakkuk. Habakkuk has a great word for us today.

Some of you may remember that in the late 80s, early 90s, there was a company that had
a commercial on television. The company was called Life Call. It was a medical alarm
company. And they produced a product, and they had the commercial to promote the
product, but the product was very, very good. It was a little pendant that elderly people
who lived alone and disabled people who lived alone could wear this thing. It was a
medical alert, a pendant. And if they fell, or they got in trouble or something happened
and they needed help, they could just press that button and it would immediately call this
network. And people would be there to help them and call doctors and ambulances and
things like that. They didn't spend a lot of money on the commercial. And the
commercial, it's kind of a reenactment. And it showed an elderly woman and her walker
was knocked over and she was on the ground. And she presses the button and they say,
''What can we do to help you?'' And she says, ''I've fallen and I can't get up.'' Does
anybody remember, ''I've fallen and I can't get up?'' It became a catch phrase in American
culture, ''I've fallen; I cannot get up.'' Now when you fall down physically and you can't
get up, it's good to have Life Call. And you press the button and somebody can come and
help you get up.

But what do you do when you've fallen and you can't get up because life has mowed you
down? It's not a physical fall; it's an emotional fall, a spiritual fall, a mental fall, you have
been blindsided by life. How do you get up when you're down? It's a good question
because life does that to us ...
WRESTLING WITH GOD (16 OF 20)
by Roger Thomas

This content is part of a series.

Habakkuk: Wrestling with God (16 of 20)
Roger Thomas
Habakkuk 2:1-4; 3:17-19

Introduction: Some think God wants meek little believers who quietly accept whatever he
sends their way without any doubts, any questions, and certainly without any complaints.
I think they are wrong! God wants believers all right! But he is especially pleased with
men and women who have enough gumption to be honest. He is looking for people who
know him so well or want to get so close to him that they are willing to risk voicing their
doubts and raising hard questions. God doesn't even mind when we talk back as long as
we are willing to listen when he answers.

Consider the stories of two men who wrestled with God. Wrestling is a good picture of
what God wants us to do when we have a problem with him. Wrestling is intense. There
is nothing casual about grappling flesh on flesh, arm over arm with your opponent. It is
up close and personal. 

Did you hear the one about the American Olympic wrestler who was scheduled to face
the most dreaded Russian wrestler of all time? The Russian was big, strong, fierce, and
the inventor of the infamous ''pretzel hold.'' The Russian won every match by twisting his
opponent inside out, upside down and every which way but loose until the other wrestler
would concede or be pinned. The American was scared to death. Who wouldn't be? His
coach encouraged him by assuring him that there was a doctor waiting nearby. 

The day of the big match arrived. The referee blew the whistle and the two headed for
one another. The American gave it all he had. For the first period, he mostly ran. In the
second period he started on top. He hung on for dear life and managed to keep the
Russian from getting loose. At the end of two periods, a draw! No points! 

In the third and final period, the Russian would start on top. The American feared this
would be the opportunity for the ''pretzel hold.'' Sure enough, within a matter of seconds
the Russian had the American t ...

VICTORY COMES THROUGH THE VALLEYS

by Ernest Easley

Victory Comes through the Valleys 

Series: How To Survive When Your World Unravels
Ernest L. Easley
Habakkuk 1-3

Now take your Bible and open it to the table of contents. You'll find there the books of
Bible listed in alphabetical order. Look down the list to the books beginning with the
letter ''H.'' The first one listed is Habakkuk (sometimes pronounced : Habakkah,
Habakook). 

We not only struggle pronouncing it and locating it, we know very little about it! So ..
let's begin by finding the page number the book of Habakkuk appears in your Bible and
then turn there please. 

Habakkuk is considered a minor prophet but He is anything but minor in meaning! He is

the doubting Thomas of the Old Testament and for good reason! He looked around and
saw his world falling apart and doubted if God cared about him! 

You may be like Habakkuk this morning with your own doubts. I mean, you're world is
falling apart and you've prayed for God's help, you've prayed for God's healing . . .and it
doesn't seem you've received His help or healing! 

Now when that happens, the Devil starts playing with your mind saying to you that ''if
God really cared He would have stepped in and helped you or healed you.'' He'll try to
convince you that not only will God not help you but that He's not powerful enough or
loving enough to help you. 

And Habakkuk reasoned like so many do today that if God is God and if God really cared
that He wouldn't allow sorrow and sickness and disasters and dilemmas! 

Now having spent several months down in the valley, I can tell you that when sickness or
sorrow enters your world and you pray for healing or help and it doesn't seem that God's
doing anything .. you can quickly become like doubting Habakkuk and start wondering if
there is a God and if there is .. does He care and if He does .. why doesn't He step in and
stop all of this! 

Let me tell you something about life's difficulties: it isn't easy to keep it all together when
your worl ...
TRADING YOUR DOUBT FOR A SHOUT (2 OF
4)
by Ken Trivette

This content is part of a series.

Trading Your Doubt for a Shout (2 of 4)
Series: Bible ''Though's'' That Always Have a ''Yet!''
Ken Trivette
Habakkuk 3:17-18 

Outline

1. THE CALL FOR A LIFE OF FAITH

A) Faith Enables Us To Be What We Should Be

B) Faith Energizes Us To Do What We Should Do

2. THE CHALLENGES TO A LIFE OF FAITH

A) He Felt That God Was Indifferent

B) He Felt That God Was Inactive
C) He Felt That God Was Inconsistent

3. THE CONFIDENCE IN A LIFE OF FAITH

A) He Traded His Worry For Shouting

B) He Traded His Weakness For Strength

Have you ever been worried about something? For those who say ''no,'' the rest of us
know that you have a problem with lying. We are all guilty of worrying about things.
There are times when our worry has a foundation to it. I think of the parents who received
a letter from their son who was at summer camp:

Dear Mom and Dad:

We are having a great time here at Lake Typhoid. Scoutmaster Webb is making us all
write our parents in case you saw the flood on TV and was worried. We are OK. Only 1
of our tents and two sleeping bags got washed away. Luckily, none of us got drowned
because we were all upon the mountain looking for Chad when it happened. Oh, yes,
please call Chad's mother and tell her he is okay. He can't write because of the cast. I got
to ride in one of the search and rescue jeeps. It was neat. We never would have found him
in the dark if it had not been for the lightning.

Scoutmaster Webb got mad at Chad for going on a hike alone without telling anyone.
Chad said he did tell him, but it was during the fire so he probably didn't hear him. Did
you know that if you put gas on a fire, the gas can blow up? The wet wood still didn't
burn, but one of our tents did. Also, someone of our clothes. John is going to look weird
until his hair grows back.

We will be home Saturday is Scoutmaster Webb gets his car fixed. It wasn't his fault
about the wreck. The brakes worked okay when we left. Scoutmaster Webb said that a
car th ...

THE OTHER SIDE OF FAITH (11 OF 17)

by Larry Osborne

This content is part of a series.

The Other Side of Faith (11 of 17)
Series: The Unknown Prophets
Larry Osborne
Habakkuk 1-3

Biblical Faith
It's Not What Most People Think It Is
Hebrews 11:6

Faith is not…

- positive thinking 
-the absence of doubt 
- a strong imagination

Faith is…

- trusting God enough to do what he says

- trusting God enough to not quit 

Habakkuk
Two Tough Questions And A Song Of Faith
Question #1: Why are you tolerating wickedness?

God's Answer: I'm not. But I have a plan that will shock you.
Habakkuk 1:1-11/ Daniel 1:1-2/ Jeremiah 1

Question #2: Why would you use them? They're worse than we are! 

God's Answer: I'll deal with them later.

Habakkuk 1:12-2:20

Habakkuk's Song of Faith: I'll trust you no matter what happens.

Habakkuk 3:1-19 (especially 3:16-19)

Life Lessons To Take Home

1. How To Complain To God

Habakkuk 1-2/ Psalm 13/ Psalm 22/ Psalm 88

2. How God's Judgment Works

1 Peter 4:17, Hebrews 12:4-13, 1 Timothy 5:20-21 & James 3:1/ Daniel 1:1-2

3. What Real Faith Looks Like

Hebrews 11/ Habakkuk 3:16-19

- Sometimes faith looks like a powerful conqueror

- Sometimes faith looks like a stubborn survivor

TAKING IT HOME
1. What was most helpful to you from this week's sermon or homework in doing what
God says even if it makes no sense, or not quitting even when nothing works out like it's
supposed to?

2. Is there an area of your life you've been complaining to God about? Are there any steps
you need to take to be in a better place to hear him when he responds to your complaint?

Growth Group Homework

QUICK REVIEW
Looking back at your notes from this week's teaching The Other Side Of Faith, was there
anything that particularly caught your attention, challenged or confused you?
MY STORY 
1. Larry listed three things that faith is not. As you look at the list, ...

HOW TO STAY TOGETHER WHILE THE

WORLD FALLS APART
by Adrian Rogers

How to Stay Together While the World Falls Apart

Adrian Rogers
Habakkuk

I want you to take God's Word, please, and find the Book of Habakkuk. I'll give you
about five seconds to do that. I'll give you a hint; it comes right after the Book of Nahum,
so that ought to make it very easy for you to find. Now, we call Habakkuk the minor
prophet. I want to say there's certainly nothing minor about the message about the
prophet Habakkuk. So I want you to turn to this book, and keep it open there in your
hands because we're going to be referring to it. As a matter of fact, there are three
chapters, and we're going to look into all three chapters today.

We're speaking today on this subject, ''How to Stay Together While the World Comes
Apart.'' Now, let me tell you something, Friend. This world is unraveling. This world is
coming apart. This world is winding down. The end of all things is at hand and is going
to end in calamity. I'm talking about this world system, and we live here and we're part of
it.

Now, you know, we know that Jesus is coming again. Amen. And we know that we're
going up in the Rapture. Amen. We know that. And we know that after the Rapture of the
church, there's going to be a period here on earth known as the Great Tribulation. But let
me tell you something. Many of us who live in America have the idea that we are God's
darlings and that because we're Christians and also because we're Americans, we're not
going to know any real trouble, but we're going to just live our lives on out in a certain
degree of tranquility and peace, and then the Rapture is going to come and take us away.
And, therefore, we're not going to know any trouble and any tribulation, but we, as God's
children, are not going through that Great Tribulation which is going to be Hell on earth
when Hell has a holiday and when the Antichrist comes to reign.
But let me tell you something else. The Bible teaches that coming events, many times
cast their shadows ahead of time. ' ...

WHY?
by Terry J. Hallock

Why? 
Terry J. Hallock 
Habakkuk 1:2-4; 2:4 

At moments of crisis one question often becomes dominant. That question is ''Why?'' and
the One of whom it is asked is God. We are now in such a time and we are asking The
Lord that question, ''Why?'' Why did He allow such tragedy to occur on Tuesday,
September 11, 2001? Why did He permit people whose hearts are filled with hate to
cause such death and destruction? Why were innocent men, women and children the
victims that day? ''Why, Lord? Why?''

The Old Testament prophet Habakkuk faced such a time and asked such a question.
''How long, O Lord, must I call for help, but you do not listen? Or cry out to you,
'Violence!' but you do not save? Why do you make me look at injustice? Why do you
tolerate wrong? Destruction and violence are before me; there is strife, and conflict
abounds. Therefore the law is paralyzed, and justice never prevails. The wicked hem in
the righteous, so that justice is perverted'' (Habakkuk 1:2-4). 

Habakkuk shouted that question to God in tears and mourning because his nation was
being torn in two. The Israel of David and Solomon was no more. Habakkuk had seen the
once proud and powerful people of God literally divided in two. Ten of the founding
tribes had separated from the remaining two and formed a new nation in the north whose
capital was Samaria. The other two tribes had become the southern nation of Judah
whose capital was Jerusalem. Habakkuk had then watched in utter horror as the nation of
Assyria had conquered the people of Israel, carrying them off into captivity. To this day
there is little knowledge of what happened to those people who made up ten of the
original twelve tribes. They simply vanished without a trace. 

Then Habakkuk turned his eyes upon Judah, the only remnant remaining of those who
had crossed over Jordan into the Promised Land. What did he see? He saw a weak and
pitiful nation ruled by a endless series of weak and pitiful kings whose only goal was
self-pr ...