Friday, September 1, 2006
Habakkuk 2:4 The just shall live by his faith.
LIVING BY FAITH
The message of the prophet Habakkuk is also well worth studying
because he asks those fundamental questions which people of all
generations have been asking: First Habakkuk asks the LORD, "Why do
You show me iniquity, And cause me to see trouble? For plundering and
violence are before me; There is strife, and contention arises" (1:3).
Why punish believers and allow wickedness to go unpunished? The LORD's
answer: "I am raising up the Chaldeans, A bitter and hasty nation
Which marches through the breadth of the earth, To possess dwelling
places that are not theirs" (1:6). The wicked will be punished
because of their sin and unbelief.
Habakkuk understood what the LORD was going to do and why. He
confessed, "O LORD, You have appointed them for judgment; O Rock, You
have marked them for correction" (1:12).
But that raised another question for Habakkuk. Although his people
were wicked and had rejected the LORD, he didn't understand why the
LORD would use the heathen to punish those who had the truth: "Why do
You look on those who deal treacherously, And hold Your tongue when
the wicked devours A person more righteous than he?" (1:13).
In reply the LORD tells Habakkuk that the proud may look like they
are succeeding, but there is a problem: "Behold the proud, His soul
is not upright in him; But the just shall live by his faith" (2:4).
The LORD continues by announcing five woes -- On the greedy (2:6-8),
on the covetous (2:9-11), on the violent (2:12-14), on the cruel
(2:15-17), and on the idolatrous (2:18-20) -- a reminder that the
wicked will not prosper forever.
As we see the wickedness of our own time, let us not questions the
wisdom or power of the LORD, but like Habakkuk, trust in the LORD,
and live by faith in the LORD our Savior who works all things for our
good; who has conquered sin and brings about our eternal deliverance!
