A Preview Of When God Ends Suffering Series

As most of you know, an eighteen-year-old young man took twenty-one lives at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, TX, on Tuesday. Nineteen of these lives were elementary-aged children. This is the deadliest school shooting in Texas history and it’s incomprehensible to me that we have such a category. Some of us have heard and watched reports of parents pleading with the police to enter the building earlier. I have thought about the parents of those elementary-aged children. Not that many years ago, Traci and I were dropping off little ones in public schools. I cannot imagine the heartache and the anger these parents are feeling for this awful, heinous deed. Satan filled this young eighteen-year-old young man in this shooting rampage. We are dealing with mental illness in our country but we are also dealing with an unmitigated evil. We are wondering how we can protect our loved ones? How can we ensure guns do not go into the hands of such hate-filled, evil people? There are so many questions that should be asked of our legislators, community leaders, and also in our homes. But the questions are not just of us but we wonder of God Himself. And we want to know why God is allowing such violence. We are not the first to ask this question as the prophet Habakkuk asked this question 2,600 years ago:

“O Lord, how long shall I cry for help,

and you will not hear?

Or cry to you “Violence!”

and you will not save?

3 Why do you make me see iniquity,

and why do you idly look at wrong?

Destruction and violence are before me;

strife and contention arise.

4 So the law is paralyzed,

and justice never goes forth.

For the wicked surround the righteous;

so justice goes forth perverted” (Habakkuk 1:2-4).

Note his words, “the law is paralyzed,” in verse four. The prophet is weary – weary with the word as it is. Habakkuk sees open robbery go unpunished and the poor being oppressed. And believers of a good and all-controlling God want to know, “Why?” Pollster George Barna was once commissioned to inquire of people what one question they would ask of God if they had the opportunity and know that God would give the answer. By an overwhelming majority, the most urgent question was this – “Why is there so much suffering in the world?” The prophet Habakkuk asked the same question in his day.

Today’s Scripture

“I will take my stand at my watchpost

and station myself on the tower,

and look out to see what he will say to me,

and what I will answer concerning my complaint.

2 And the Lord answered me:

“Write the vision;

make it plain on tablets,

so he may run who reads it.

3 For still the vision awaits its appointed time;

it hastens to the end—it will not lie.

If it seems slow, wait for it;

it will surely come; it will not delay.

4 “Behold, his soul is puffed up; it is not upright within him,

but the righteous shall live by his faith” (Habakkuk 2:1-4).

The Minor Prophets

Christians often divide the “prophets” of the Old Testament into Major and Minor prophets. All these books are a little smaller, while the major prophets are a little bigger. The Minor Prophets were known in the Jewish tradition as the Book of the Twelve because, in ancient times, they circulated on one single scroll. Habakkuk and Malachi are two of the minor prophets. Today, we continue to examine a short book toward the end of the Old Testament that is 2,600 years old, but the questions it asks are highly contemporary. It’s a book that deals with questions of injustice.

Habakkuk is Unique

Habakkuk’s contribution to the Bible is unique. Habakkuk doesn’t speak to the people for God, but he speaks to God for the people. He is more like a priest in some ways than a prophet. He deals with deep, often dark questions of our existence and God’s actions. When you dig into the pages of Habakkuk, you discover a dialogue between Habakkuk and God.

Quick Review

Let’s review last week for just a minute. Habakkuk and other godly people in Judah were struggling with this question, “Why does God Allow Evil People to Prosper while Good People Suffer?” And “Why isn’t God answering our prayers?” (Habakkuk 1:2-4). Then God answered Habakkuk’s prayer and he now had a bigger problem! The Lord said, “You’re not going to believe this, but I’m going to send the Chaldeans to punish Judah’s sins” (Habakkuk 1:5-6). That’s like God saying, “I’m going to have Russian President Vladimir Putin teach first graders how they should line up at the door to go to recess!” Habakkuk thought, “No way! The Babylonians are far more evil than the evildoers in Judah that they’re coming to punish! How can a holy God do such a thing?” If you had laid out on a spreadsheet the bad qualities of Babylon and the bad qualities of Judah and asked, “Who was the better nation?” It would have been no contest. Everyone would think, “Wait a minute, Lord! The cure is far worse than the illness! I call out to you for a fix and this is what you come up with?”