The Truth About Questioning God Series

Amanda Blackburn was home with her 14-month-old child early Tuesday morning. Her husband had left early in the morning from their home in Indianapolis for the gym. It was a normal Tuesday in just about every way. But the young pastor would not speak to his wife again as a home invader broke into the couple’s home while he was away. He discovered she had been shot upon his return home. Amanda passed away the next day at Indiana University Method Hospital. The couple had announced to their church family the week before that she was pregnant. Thankfully, the burglar left their 14-month-old child unharmed.

Few things are as certain in life as suffering. All around us people suffer from disease, death, disaster, and deep disappointment. When you suffer, it is so natural to ask the question … Why? I have never met Amanda Blackburn but we have mutual friends. I have thought about this young lady much of this week.

Few places will assist us more in answering our questions about suffering, as does the little book called Habakkuk. Habakkuk’s contribution to the Bible is unique. His book is not a series of messages to the people of God, as is the custom of the other prophets.

No, Habakkuk doesn’t speak to the people for God, but he speaks to God for the people. Instead, we discover a dialogue between Habakkuk and God.

1. What He Saw

“Why do you make me see iniquity,

and why do you idly look at wrong?

Or cry to you “Violence!”

and you will not save?” (Habakkuk 1:3)

He sees that evil isn’t being punished. He asks, no he cries out to God, “Why does wickedness go unpunished for so long?” And he complains specifically about violence toward the end of verse three. Habakkuk knows God cannot tolerate evil nor does He tolerate violence as this was the specific sin that caused God to send the flood in Noah’s day (Genesis 6:11, 13). We see violence in our day that gives rise to questions of injustice.

“So the law is paralyzed,

and justice never goes forth.

For the wicked surround the righteous;

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

Note his words, “the law is paralyzed” in verse four. The prophet is weary – weary with the world as it is. Habakkuk sees open robbery go unpunished and the poor being oppressed. And he sees those in authority do nothing to protect them.

Vincent Bugliosi, spent eight years as a prosecutor for the Los Angeles District Attorney's Office where he won 105 out of 106 felony jury trials. In his book, entitled The Five Reasons That O.J. Simpson Got Away With Murder, he writes these words:

When tragedies like the murders of Nicole [Brown-Simpson] and Ron [Goldman] occur they get one to thinking about the notion of God. Nicole was only thirty-five, Ron was just twenty-five, both outgoing, friendly, well liked young people who had a zest for life. Their lives were brutally extinguished by a cold-blooded murderer. How does God, if there is a God, permit such a horrendous and terrible act to occur along with the countless other unspeakable atrocities committed by man against his fellow man throughout history? And how could God - all-good and all-just, according to Christian theology, permit the person who murdered Ron and Nicole to go free... When Judge Ito’s clerk, Deidre Roberson, read the jury's not-guilty verdict Nicole's mother whispered, “God where are you?”

1. What He Saw

2. What He Said

Habakkuk knew God but he also knew his times. He didn’t stick his head in the proverbial sand. Habakkuk knew that what he saw was not consistent with what He knew. He didn’t see God do anything about it. So Habakkuk responded in two ways.

2.1 He was Honest

Habakkuk questioned God. You may think that you cannot do that. But Habakkuk stood in a long line of godly people who did just that, question God. Men like Moses, Jeremiah, Job – all them questioned God at one time or another. See, Habakkuk knew God was righteous. He knew God wouldn’t tolerate evil. And this caused his questions.

Benjamin and Celia Vial are a French couple who were attending a concert in Paris this weekend. Terrorists took the lives of more than 100 in coordinated attacks. They told reporters the only thing that saw them was hiding among the dead bodies Celia, the mother of two girls, called the concert “an ocean of blood” around them.

You see, the problem arises because of what we, as Christians, believe about God and about evil. We believe in five tenets:

? God exists

? God is all-good

? God is all-powerful

? God is all-wise

? Evil exists

Repeat these five tenets.

Habakkuk was an honest doubter. He dared to talk to God rather than about him. He wasn’t a fault-finding critic but an honest searcher. He raised his protests because he thought so much of God. He raised his questions to God because he had such confidence in God.