Let's imagine for a moment
that there was a tyrant nation in the world who desired to destroy
and control every other nation. What would that be like? What would
we think of them? This is the argument that Habakkuk has been using
with God as he tries to understand why God would use such a horrible
nation to bring judgment against his people. Habakkuk's ways are not
God's ways, and God's ways are beyond his finding out. Although God
told him that he would not believe Him, even if He told Habakkuk that
He was going to bring judgment against the wicked in Habakkuk's
nation, Habakkuk is now overwhelmed at God's choice for justice.
Habakkuk continues his argument against the Chaldeans in the last
verse of the first chapter of this book with one final question for
God. He wrote in verse seventeen:
Habakkuk wonders, “shall
they therefore empty their net”. The
idea is to fill, empty, and refill their nets or conquer, regroup,
and conquer again. The Chaldeans were known for destroying nation
after nation that was in their path. Their reputation was that as
soon as they conquered one place, they would move on to the next.
Habakkuk wonders why God would allow such a thing. Habakkuk knows
that his nation is bad, but these Chaldeans are obviously much worse
and they never stop their destroying.
In addition to emptying
their nets and conquering again, Habakkuk questions, “and not
spare continually to slay the nations?” This barbaric nation of
the Chaldeans has no mercy, no compassion, and they have little
regard for human life. There is no sparing with them, and the
perpetuity of their conquests of nations continues one nation after
another. They seem to Habakkuk as unbridled evil that never has their
thirst for conquering satisfied. This is almost too much for Habakkuk
to reconcile in his mind.
Have we ever questioned
God's ways? Have we wondered how God could use this group of people
or that person to do His will? Have we ever been amazed that God
would carry out His justice against the wicked with more wicked folks
than those originally presented? Then we have a sense of what
Habakkuk is feeling and wondering at this time. He has tried argument
after argument and persuasion after persuasion to convince God that
He is making a mistake, and although God knew Habakkuk would not
believe His justifying work, God is still in control.
Once again we are brought to
the idea of faith in God in our own lives. The question is, “Can we
trust God even when we do not know what He is doing?” Habakkuk
struggled with this, and perhaps we do too. As we continue to
discover what Habakkuk finds as he searches this question in his own
heart, maybe we have areas which we must simply trust God in our own
lives. As we identify with Habakkuk and learn more from his book, may
the Lord Jesus bless us all with the ability to trust in Him no
matter what we do or do not understand.
Next time we will see
Habakkuk's decision as he tries to reconcile all of his thoughts
about God, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.
Until tomorrow...there is
more...
Look
for the new devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From
Generation to Generation” in all major bookstore sites,
www.amazon.com
; www.barnesandnobles.com
; download
to e-books, and find it locally at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore
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