1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:06,847 Dear friends in Christ, in the name of 2 00:00:06,889 --> 00:00:13,600 Jesus, amen. Who is your hero? The New 3 00:00:13,600 --> 00:00:16,241 York Times asked that question back in 4 00:00:16,283 --> 00:00:19,033 February in its student opinion section. 5 00:00:19,200 --> 00:00:23,878 It invited students to reply by 6 00:00:23,920 --> 00:00:29,966 describing who their hero is. A hero, the 7 00:00:29,966 --> 00:00:33,809 hero who guides you, who encourages you, who 8 00:00:33,851 --> 00:00:37,733 brings out the best in you, who lifts you up. 9 00:00:39,866 --> 00:00:41,553 Now the responses, there were actually 10 00:00:41,595 --> 00:00:43,366 hundreds of responses that students gave 11 00:00:43,366 --> 00:00:45,261 to this question, who is your hero? Quite 12 00:00:45,303 --> 00:00:47,100 a few actually, I was kind of surprised 13 00:00:47,100 --> 00:00:49,698 and mentioned their parents. Moms 14 00:00:49,740 --> 00:00:52,766 sacrificed a great deal, dads supported 15 00:00:52,766 --> 00:00:56,106 unconditionally and they said my parents 16 00:00:56,148 --> 00:00:59,033 are my hero. And then predictably I 17 00:00:59,033 --> 00:01:00,681 suppose there were a number of 18 00:01:00,723 --> 00:01:02,466 professional athletes, Cristiano 19 00:01:03,766 --> 00:01:07,852 Ronaldo, Jackie Robinson, Mike Tyson 20 00:01:07,894 --> 00:01:12,466 even got a shot out. Then there were some 21 00:01:12,466 --> 00:01:14,766 random, who is your hero? There was the 22 00:01:14,808 --> 00:01:17,266 math teacher, there was Taylor Swift, even 23 00:01:17,266 --> 00:01:20,742 a couple people said Jesus. And then 24 00:01:20,784 --> 00:01:24,300 there was Jason, Jason from Maine, he 25 00:01:24,466 --> 00:01:27,907 didn't give us his last name, but Jason's 26 00:01:27,949 --> 00:01:30,933 hero was a guy named Donald Mustard. 27 00:01:31,133 --> 00:01:35,602 Does anybody know who Donald Mustard is? 28 00:01:35,644 --> 00:01:39,933 He's the creator of Fortnite. It didn't 29 00:01:39,933 --> 00:01:43,591 say if the student was a seminary 30 00:01:43,633 --> 00:01:47,766 student. How would you have responded? 31 00:01:49,933 --> 00:01:54,705 Who is your hero? Think about that for 32 00:01:54,747 --> 00:01:59,066 a moment, one who inspires you, who 33 00:01:59,066 --> 00:02:08,722 encourages you, who brings out the best 34 00:02:08,764 --> 00:02:17,733 in you, who lifts you up. Do you have 35 00:02:17,733 --> 00:02:21,192 any questions? Alright, I'd like to get a 36 00:02:21,234 --> 00:02:24,566 show of hands now, okay. How many of you 37 00:02:24,566 --> 00:02:34,089 named as your hero Habakkuk? Really? Huh, 38 00:02:34,131 --> 00:02:43,466 I guess it's just me. Okay, I'll admit if 39 00:02:43,700 --> 00:02:46,196 you'd asked me last week who my hero was, 40 00:02:46,238 --> 00:02:48,533 I probably would not have put Habakkuk 41 00:02:48,533 --> 00:02:50,492 near the top of the list. But a funny 42 00:02:50,534 --> 00:02:52,533 thing happens when you get assigned to 43 00:02:52,533 --> 00:02:55,089 preach on the 8th of the Minor Prophets. 44 00:02:55,131 --> 00:02:57,600 You end up spending seven straight days 45 00:02:57,600 --> 00:03:02,144 pouring over 56 verses in the Hebrew 46 00:03:02,186 --> 00:03:07,266 Bible. And when you do that, I think it's 47 00:03:07,400 --> 00:03:11,688 hard pressed not to put Habakkuk near 48 00:03:11,730 --> 00:03:16,400 the top of your list of who is your hero. 49 00:03:18,133 --> 00:03:22,327 Earlier we read, thank you Matthew, four 50 00:03:22,369 --> 00:03:26,500 verses of those 56 verses. And there are 51 00:03:26,500 --> 00:03:29,502 four good ones, don't get me wrong 52 00:03:29,544 --> 00:03:32,933 here, but there were only four. And you 53 00:03:32,933 --> 00:03:34,609 guys, even first years, know by now that 54 00:03:34,651 --> 00:03:36,200 if you're gonna read four verses well 55 00:03:36,200 --> 00:03:38,292 you got to read them in context. And so it 56 00:03:38,334 --> 00:03:40,366 would do us well to spend a little bit of 57 00:03:40,366 --> 00:03:42,349 time looking at the other 52. Now some 58 00:03:42,391 --> 00:03:44,466 of you are already ahead of me. You know 59 00:03:44,466 --> 00:03:47,108 that there are pew Bibles. And so today 60 00:03:47,150 --> 00:03:49,900 I'm gonna invite you to open them up. Now 61 00:03:49,900 --> 00:03:51,410 you may not be used to navigating the 62 00:03:51,452 --> 00:03:53,166 Minor Prophets, and that's understandable, 63 00:03:54,100 --> 00:03:58,381 but if you aren't, page 785 might be a 64 00:03:58,423 --> 00:04:02,966 good place to start. Now it's interesting 65 00:04:02,966 --> 00:04:05,098 when you spend some time reflecting on 66 00:04:05,140 --> 00:04:07,200 Habakkuk and pouring over his verses, 67 00:04:07,200 --> 00:04:10,268 what you discover is that Habakkuk is 68 00:04:10,310 --> 00:04:13,500 not really a traditional prophet in the 69 00:04:13,500 --> 00:04:16,361 sense of God saying, okay prophet I'm 70 00:04:16,403 --> 00:04:19,533 giving you my words, now go preach to the 71 00:04:19,533 --> 00:04:25,924 to the nations. Instead the book of 72 00:04:25,966 --> 00:04:32,933 Habakkuk is really a conversation. It's 73 00:04:32,933 --> 00:04:38,738 about God and Yahweh. And the conversation 74 00:04:38,780 --> 00:04:43,266 begins with a complaint. Verse 2. 75 00:04:48,400 --> 00:04:52,518 O Lord, how long shall I cry for help 76 00:04:52,560 --> 00:04:56,500 and you will not hear or cry to you, 77 00:04:56,500 --> 00:05:00,176 violence and you will not save. Why do 78 00:05:00,218 --> 00:05:03,933 you make me see iniquity and why do you 79 00:05:03,933 --> 00:05:06,858 look idly at wrong? Destruction and 80 00:05:06,900 --> 00:05:09,700 violence are before me, strife and 81 00:05:09,700 --> 00:05:13,337 contention arise. And what's the result of 82 00:05:13,379 --> 00:05:16,800 this? Verse 4. So the law, the Torah, is 83 00:05:16,800 --> 00:05:20,874 paralyzed and justice never goes forth. 84 00:05:20,916 --> 00:05:25,133 For the wicked surround the righteous, so 85 00:05:25,133 --> 00:05:29,735 justice goes forth perverted. Habakkuk 86 00:05:29,777 --> 00:05:34,300 begins with this complaint, O Lord how 87 00:05:34,300 --> 00:05:39,059 long. Now it helps to remember when 88 00:05:39,101 --> 00:05:43,766 Habakkuk was living. Habakkuk right 89 00:05:43,766 --> 00:05:46,935 before the Babylonian exile. And you 90 00:05:46,977 --> 00:05:50,100 remember what things were like right 91 00:05:50,100 --> 00:05:53,151 before the Babylonian exile for the 92 00:05:53,193 --> 00:05:56,800 people of God right? They had turned away. 93 00:05:58,466 --> 00:06:02,641 They had rejected God. They did not 94 00:06:02,683 --> 00:06:07,366 repent, they did not trust, they did not 95 00:06:07,366 --> 00:06:12,859 obey and as a result the Torah was 96 00:06:12,901 --> 00:06:19,066 paralyzed. Justice did not happen. Only 97 00:06:19,066 --> 00:06:24,648 injustice and violence among God's own 98 00:06:24,690 --> 00:06:30,600 people. So Habakkuk cries out, O Lord how 99 00:06:30,600 --> 00:06:34,091 long? And what was God's response? 100 00:06:34,133 --> 00:06:37,966 Well for a while like it was with Job, 101 00:06:38,266 --> 00:06:42,985 nothing. Silence. But then also like Job, 102 00:06:43,027 --> 00:06:47,333 God broke the silence and what he said 103 00:06:47,333 --> 00:06:52,102 was even worse than the silence. Verse 104 00:06:52,144 --> 00:06:57,200 5. Look among the nations and see. Wonder 105 00:06:57,200 --> 00:07:00,892 and be astounded for I am doing a work 106 00:07:00,934 --> 00:07:04,666 in your days that you would not believe 107 00:07:04,666 --> 00:07:08,669 if told. Now we got to step back. We know 108 00:07:08,711 --> 00:07:12,466 what happened next. We have the benefit 109 00:07:12,466 --> 00:07:17,097 of hindsight. We know the awfulness 110 00:07:17,139 --> 00:07:22,200 that happened next. What happened next? 111 00:07:22,366 --> 00:07:25,784 Well Babylon, the Chaldeans, Habakkuk 112 00:07:25,826 --> 00:07:29,466 describes them as. And he didn't need to 113 00:07:29,466 --> 00:07:31,029 actually say these next couple verses. 114 00:07:31,071 --> 00:07:32,633 God didn't because people kind of knew 115 00:07:32,633 --> 00:07:34,976 what was what was Babylon. But just in 116 00:07:35,018 --> 00:07:37,400 case Habakkuk needed a refresher. Verse 117 00:07:37,400 --> 00:07:40,151 7. They are dreaded and fearsome, he 118 00:07:40,193 --> 00:07:42,833 reminded Habakkuk. Their horses are 119 00:07:42,833 --> 00:07:46,467 swifter than leopards, more fierce than 120 00:07:46,509 --> 00:07:50,366 the evening wolves. Verse 9. They all come 121 00:07:50,366 --> 00:07:53,197 for violence. They gather captives like 122 00:07:53,239 --> 00:07:55,966 sand. Habakkuk thought it was bad with 123 00:07:56,200 --> 00:08:02,036 lawless Israelites. Just wait for the 124 00:08:02,078 --> 00:08:07,800 godless Babylonians. The heart of the 125 00:08:07,800 --> 00:08:14,516 problem that Habakkuk faced is the 126 00:08:14,558 --> 00:08:21,700 problem of evil. There was evil among 127 00:08:21,700 --> 00:08:26,373 God's people. And there was evil among 128 00:08:26,415 --> 00:08:30,766 the nations. And for a long time the 129 00:08:30,766 --> 00:08:34,661 problem was that God was doing nothing 130 00:08:34,703 --> 00:08:38,033 about it. And then when he did do 131 00:08:38,033 --> 00:08:41,826 something about it, he used an evil 132 00:08:41,868 --> 00:08:45,700 nation to bring even more evil, more 133 00:08:45,700 --> 00:08:49,092 suffering on his own people. And that 134 00:08:49,134 --> 00:08:52,566 raised serious questions for Habakkuk. 135 00:08:54,233 --> 00:08:57,370 And if we'll pay attention it raises 136 00:08:57,412 --> 00:09:00,933 serious questions for us too. The problem 137 00:09:00,933 --> 00:09:07,195 of evil still abounds. Injustice still 138 00:09:07,237 --> 00:09:13,700 goes forth. The wicked get away with it. 139 00:09:13,700 --> 00:09:17,819 The lawless are a law unto themselves. 140 00:09:17,861 --> 00:09:21,700 And it doesn't only happen among the 141 00:09:21,700 --> 00:09:28,458 nations. It even sometimes happens among 142 00:09:28,500 --> 00:09:34,966 the people of God. And what does God do 143 00:09:34,966 --> 00:09:42,732 about it? Well, to riff off of Habakkuk, 144 00:09:42,774 --> 00:09:50,200 He looks idly at wrong. And He does not 145 00:09:50,200 --> 00:09:57,730 save. Habakkuk's willingness to name 146 00:09:57,772 --> 00:10:04,933 the problem of evil and to take his 147 00:10:04,933 --> 00:10:07,882 complaint straight to God makes him an 148 00:10:07,924 --> 00:10:11,066 admirable person. But it's not what makes 149 00:10:11,066 --> 00:10:15,302 him my hero. After God announces that 150 00:10:15,344 --> 00:10:19,733 Babylon will also face judgment, that's 151 00:10:19,733 --> 00:10:22,546 kind of the second half of chapter 2, 152 00:10:22,588 --> 00:10:25,366 then Habakkuk concludes his prophecy, 153 00:10:25,600 --> 00:10:28,950 just three chapters, with a song. It's a 154 00:10:28,992 --> 00:10:32,300 prayer, a psalm. Horace Hummel says it's 155 00:10:32,300 --> 00:10:36,326 one of the most beautiful Psalms in the 156 00:10:36,368 --> 00:10:40,433 entire canon. And the psalm is about how 157 00:10:40,433 --> 00:10:43,288 God rules over everything. He controls 158 00:10:43,330 --> 00:10:46,300 all things. He tramples over his enemies 159 00:10:46,300 --> 00:10:49,996 and he will punish Babylon. The people 160 00:10:50,038 --> 00:10:53,966 of God just have to just have to wait for 161 00:10:53,966 --> 00:10:56,734 it. And so he says in verse 16, if you 162 00:10:56,776 --> 00:10:59,800 look in chapter 3 verse 16, the next page, 163 00:11:02,266 --> 00:11:04,689 here's Habakkuk's response to the 164 00:11:04,731 --> 00:11:07,266 rule and the might of God. He says, 165 00:11:07,500 --> 00:11:10,698 I hear and my body trembles. My lips 166 00:11:10,740 --> 00:11:14,066 quiver at the sound. Rottenness enters 167 00:11:14,066 --> 00:11:18,517 into my bones. My legs tremble beneath 168 00:11:18,559 --> 00:11:23,166 me. He's physically sick at the evil and 169 00:11:23,166 --> 00:11:25,093 the judgment that is coming, the 170 00:11:25,135 --> 00:11:27,400 authority that God has over evildoers. 171 00:11:28,533 --> 00:11:31,569 And then he finishes that verse, yet I 172 00:11:31,611 --> 00:11:34,766 will quietly wait for the day of trouble 173 00:11:34,766 --> 00:11:38,379 to come upon the people who invade us. 174 00:11:38,421 --> 00:11:41,700 There, before Babylon even arrives, 175 00:11:42,666 --> 00:11:46,962 Habakkuk says, oh man, I'm really 176 00:11:47,004 --> 00:11:52,233 hurting here, but I will wait quietly for 177 00:11:52,233 --> 00:11:56,371 God to punish Babylon too. That kind 178 00:11:56,413 --> 00:12:00,366 of quiet waiting is admirable. It's 179 00:12:00,366 --> 00:12:05,556 impressive, but that's still not what 180 00:12:05,598 --> 00:12:10,966 makes Habakkuk my hero. It's what comes 181 00:12:10,966 --> 00:12:14,804 next. The next couple of verses. The 182 00:12:14,846 --> 00:12:18,933 next couple of verses from the mouth of 183 00:12:18,933 --> 00:12:22,454 Habakkuk, the one who sees Babylon coming 184 00:12:22,496 --> 00:12:25,633 on the horizon, and then he says what 185 00:12:25,633 --> 00:12:30,025 perhaps is the most beautiful confession 186 00:12:30,067 --> 00:12:34,066 of faith in the canon. Though the fig 187 00:12:34,066 --> 00:12:37,596 tree should not blossom, nor the fruit 188 00:12:37,638 --> 00:12:40,933 beyond the vines, the produce of the 189 00:12:40,933 --> 00:12:43,881 olive fail and the fields yield no food, 190 00:12:43,923 --> 00:12:46,766 the flock be cut off from the fold, and 191 00:12:46,766 --> 00:12:50,327 there be no herd in the stalls, though 192 00:12:50,369 --> 00:12:53,600 all these things happen, yet I will 193 00:12:53,600 --> 00:13:02,295 rejoice in the Lord. I will take joy in the God of 194 00:13:02,337 --> 00:13:10,900 my salvation, even when the wheels are coming off. 195 00:13:10,900 --> 00:13:13,900 Even when lawlessness abounds. Even when 196 00:13:13,900 --> 00:13:16,987 famine and destruction and death are at 197 00:13:17,029 --> 00:13:20,000 the doorstep. Habakkuk rejoices in the 198 00:13:20,000 --> 00:13:22,026 Lord. He takes joy in the God of his 199 00:13:22,068 --> 00:13:24,133 salvation. Now how on earth can he do 200 00:13:24,133 --> 00:13:27,406 that? How can Habakkuk go from lamenting 201 00:13:27,448 --> 00:13:30,600 and crying out to God's lack of action, 202 00:13:30,600 --> 00:13:35,177 to saying I will rejoice in the God of 203 00:13:35,219 --> 00:13:39,600 my salvation. Well now we're ready to 204 00:13:39,600 --> 00:13:45,408 read those few verses we read from 205 00:13:45,450 --> 00:13:51,466 chapter 2. In chapter 2 Habakkuk had 206 00:13:51,466 --> 00:13:54,178 questioned whether it was a good idea 207 00:13:54,220 --> 00:13:56,900 for God to use Babylon to destroy His 208 00:13:56,900 --> 00:14:00,157 people. It's a valid question I guess. 209 00:14:00,199 --> 00:14:03,666 And God responded with these three verses 210 00:14:03,666 --> 00:14:08,342 beginning at chapter 2 verse 2. And the 211 00:14:08,384 --> 00:14:13,100 Lord answered me, write the vision, make 212 00:14:13,100 --> 00:14:16,992 it plain on tablets so he may run who 213 00:14:17,034 --> 00:14:20,966 reads. For still the vision awaits its 214 00:14:20,966 --> 00:14:24,733 appointed time, it hastens to the end, it 215 00:14:24,775 --> 00:14:28,400 will not lie. If it seems slow, wait for 216 00:14:28,400 --> 00:14:32,109 it. It will surely come, it will not 217 00:14:32,151 --> 00:14:35,900 delay. And then the key verse 4 which 218 00:14:35,900 --> 00:14:37,893 contrasts the unrighteous with the 219 00:14:37,935 --> 00:14:40,200 righteous. The first half of verse 4 is 220 00:14:40,200 --> 00:14:43,443 the unrighteous. Behold his soul is 221 00:14:43,485 --> 00:14:47,133 puffed up, it is not upright within him. 222 00:14:47,700 --> 00:14:53,724 But the righteous shall live by his 223 00:14:53,766 --> 00:15:00,166 faith. The righteous shall live by his 224 00:15:00,166 --> 00:15:05,114 faith. It's kind of an important phrase. 225 00:15:05,156 --> 00:15:09,900 Just ask Paul. For that matter just ask 226 00:15:09,900 --> 00:15:13,587 Luther. But as it stands here in 227 00:15:13,629 --> 00:15:18,033 Habakkuk it does raise just a couple of 228 00:15:18,033 --> 00:15:21,292 questions which is why tomes have been 229 00:15:21,334 --> 00:15:24,633 written on this phrase and which is why 230 00:15:24,633 --> 00:15:26,366 I called Dr. Seifried earlier this week. 231 00:15:31,000 --> 00:15:37,066 Who is the his and who is the righteous? 232 00:15:39,766 --> 00:15:46,230 Well the his is God. God is faithful. It 233 00:15:46,272 --> 00:15:52,300 is God's faithfulness. The the the pew 234 00:15:52,300 --> 00:15:54,134 Bibles even have that little footnote 235 00:15:54,176 --> 00:15:56,000 faithfulness that's probably a better 236 00:15:56,000 --> 00:16:00,225 way to go. His faithfulness. The 237 00:16:00,267 --> 00:16:05,566 righteous shall live by His faithfulness. 238 00:16:06,500 --> 00:16:08,629 And that's talking about God's 239 00:16:08,671 --> 00:16:11,400 faithfulness. The faithful one. The one 240 00:16:11,400 --> 00:16:13,942 who is faithful to all of His promises. 241 00:16:13,984 --> 00:16:16,566 The one who sent His faithful Son who is 242 00:16:16,566 --> 00:16:19,487 faithful even unto death. Who is faithful 243 00:16:19,529 --> 00:16:22,066 through death even unto life. Who is 244 00:16:22,066 --> 00:16:24,023 faithful to the promises that go all 245 00:16:24,065 --> 00:16:25,900 the way back to Abraham to bring a 246 00:16:25,900 --> 00:16:29,842 blessing to all the nations. This one 247 00:16:29,884 --> 00:16:33,866 is faithful. It is His faithfulness by 248 00:16:33,866 --> 00:16:38,503 which the righteous live. And who are the 249 00:16:38,545 --> 00:16:43,000 righteous? Well whoever the Faithful one 250 00:16:43,000 --> 00:16:46,900 says is righteous. That's who's righteous. 251 00:16:46,942 --> 00:16:50,333 In Habakkuk's day it was Habakkuk and 252 00:16:50,533 --> 00:16:58,204 the faithful remnant. In our day the 253 00:16:58,246 --> 00:17:07,000 righteous well that's you. That's you. How 254 00:17:07,000 --> 00:17:13,878 do I know? Because God said it. Because 255 00:17:13,920 --> 00:17:20,666 God said you are right with me. Because 256 00:17:20,666 --> 00:17:23,989 God said it through the word and promise 257 00:17:24,031 --> 00:17:27,066 of his Son Jesus Christ. Said you are 258 00:17:27,066 --> 00:17:31,036 right with me and you shall you shall 259 00:17:31,078 --> 00:17:35,300 live you shall be forgiven you shall you 260 00:17:35,300 --> 00:17:37,194 shall not only live here and now but 261 00:17:37,236 --> 00:17:39,066 you shall live for all eternity you 262 00:17:39,066 --> 00:17:42,359 shall live when the faithful one comes 263 00:17:42,401 --> 00:17:45,733 back and renews and restores all things 264 00:17:45,733 --> 00:17:52,859 especially as he renews and restores for 265 00:17:52,901 --> 00:18:00,066 all time you. And so Peter can write that 266 00:18:00,066 --> 00:18:04,742 after you have suffered a little while, 267 00:18:04,784 --> 00:18:09,500 think Habakkuk, the God of all grace who 268 00:18:09,500 --> 00:18:12,880 has called you to his eternal glory 269 00:18:12,922 --> 00:18:16,533 in Christ will himself restore confirm 270 00:18:16,533 --> 00:18:21,677 strengthen and establish you. The 271 00:18:21,719 --> 00:18:27,666 Faithful one has made you righteous and 272 00:18:27,666 --> 00:18:34,642 He remains faithful to Habakkuk and to 273 00:18:34,684 --> 00:18:41,700 us. Habakkuk lived through probably the 274 00:18:41,700 --> 00:18:44,820 worst time in the history of God's 275 00:18:44,862 --> 00:18:47,660 people. And yet trusting in the 276 00:18:47,660 --> 00:18:59,066 faithfulness of God, he not only endured but he rejoiced. 277 00:18:59,066 --> 00:19:02,740 My prayer for you this morning is that 278 00:19:02,782 --> 00:19:06,400 trusting in God your Father and in the 279 00:19:06,400 --> 00:19:10,338 Lord Jesus Christ you would not only 280 00:19:10,380 --> 00:19:14,466 endure whatever trial the Lord has set 281 00:19:14,466 --> 00:19:22,489 before you but that like my hero Habakkuk 282 00:19:22,531 --> 00:19:28,866 you would rejoice find joy in the 283 00:19:28,866 --> 00:19:33,317 God of your salvation for he the risen 284 00:19:33,359 --> 00:19:37,966 one is coming. He's coming soon. He will 285 00:19:37,966 --> 00:19:45,700 not delay. So wait and rejoice in Jesus 286 00:19:45,742 --> 00:19:52,933 name amen. We continue by singing the 287 00:19:52,933 --> 00:19:53,133 hymn.