August 10, 2025 Why Doesn't God Act or listen? | Habakkuk 1:1-11

Today, we will reflect on Habakkuk 1:1-11, Why Doesn’t God Act or Listen? Habakkuk sees the oppression and injustice happening in Israel, and he wonders why King Josiah’s reforms and God’s Law aren’t creating a holy people; why God is allowing evil and violence to continue? Habakkuk receives an answer he doesn’t expect. We will reflect on God’s answer to Habakkuk. We will also be celebrating the Profession of Faith of a youth in our church family.

Transcript

Why Doesn’t God Act or Listen?

Habakkuk 1:1-11

A little history; Habakkuk appears late in King Josiah's reign. Josiah becomes king at 8 years old after 57 years of evil kings. Josiah follows God because of his mother's influence. At 18, King Josiah repairs the temple where the book of the Law is discovered. Josiah’s horrified when he realizes that Israel hasn’t lived by God's word for a long time and tells the high priest to ask God for guidance. The prophetess Huldah gives them God's answer in 2 Kings 22, "This is what the Lord says: I am going to bring disaster on this place and its people, according to everything written in the book the king of Judah has read. Because they have forsaken me and burned incense to other gods and aroused my anger by all the idols their hands have made, my anger will burn against this place and will not be quenched." But the prophetess also tells them that because Josiah has repented, this punishment will not happen until after Josiah dies.

King Josiah works hard to bring his people back to God. He renews the covenant with God and has the book of the covenant read aloud to everyone. Josiah tears down all the idol temples and altars and reinstates the worship of God with all the festivals and sacrifices. But it's hard bringing the people back into a faithful relationship with God. For 67 years they haven’t heard the word of God read or taught by the priests and the people are slow to change. Hearing God’s Word, doing the sacrifices and festivals doesn't change the hearts of many of the people or produce holiness. 

Habakkuk has hard questions for God, "How long, Lord, must I call for help, but you do not listen? Or cry out to you, “Violence!” but you do not save? Why do you make me look at injustice? Why do you tolerate wrongdoing? Destruction and violence are before me; there is strife, and conflict abounds. Therefore the law is paralyzed, and justice never prevails. The wicked hem in the righteous, so that justice is perverted." Why isn't God's Law and Book of the Law creating a holy people; why does God allow evil and injustice. The nations around Israel are never going to understand who God is if this continues, so why isn't God doing something to force his people back into a proper God honouring relationship for his glory? 

There’s so much apathy in many Christian churches today, so much bickering and fighting among God's people; Philip Yancy writes about how there’s so little grace and love found in many churches, and those who are trying so hard to follow Jesus seem helpless to change it. God doesn’t force us to follow him, but he does allow the consequences of our choices impact us in order to draw us back to him, as he does here with Israel. If we want to be acceptable to our culture, God’s not going to force us to choose his way over the world’s. He’s patient, but won’t allow our lack of faithfulness to go on forever.

With so many churches around, with the Bible so easy to get our hands on, with so many devotionals available and so many Christian writers, so many Bible studies, why is the church still so messed up? Why is there so much brokenness in so many Christian families? Why does the church so often feel like a social club instead of a place of transformation, of being shaped more into the image of Jesus? Why is the church so quiet about justice issues, all legitimate questions to ask.

The missionary E. Stanley Jones asked Mahatma Gandhi, "Mr. Ghandi, though you quote the words of Christ often, why is that you appear to so adamantly reject becoming his follower?" Ghandi replied, "Oh, I don't reject your Christ. I love your Christ. It's just that so many of you Christians are so unlike your Christ." He went on to tell Jones, “If Christians would really live according to the teachings of Christ, as found in the Bible, all of India would be Christian today.” Ghandi rejected Christianity because when he was a young man practicing law in South Africa, he was seriously exploring becoming a Christian and decided to attend a church service. As he went to enter the church, a white South African elder stopped him, "Where do you think you're going, kaffir?" the man asked Ghandi. Ghandi told him, "I'd like to attend worship here." The church elder snarled at him, "There's no room for kaffirs in this church. Get out of here or I'll have my assistants throw you down the steps." Ghandi decided then to adopt what good he found in Jesus, but never again considered joining a church.

Habakkuk wonders why God seems so quiet and so inactive so often and lets us muddle along, broken, hurt, and not focusing on being a blessing to the nations, instead focusing on our wants and desires? Good questions to bring to God, but we might not always appreciate his response. God responds to Habakkuk, “Look at the nations and watch—and be utterly amazed. For I am going to do something in your days that you would not believe, even if you were told.  I am raising up the Babylonians, that ruthless and impetuous people, who sweep across the whole earth to seize dwellings not their own." 

God’s going to allow outsiders to punish Israel for not being faithful to him. God’s allowing the nations, whom the Jews want to be like, to conquer them and show them exactly what it means to be just like them. This isn't something new, during the time of the Judges God often allowed the nations around Israel to come in and conquer them until the people realized just how good they actually have it when they actually follow God seriously and would turn back to God; God would then send someone to come and rescue Israel from their oppressors. However, Babylon’s much more powerful, vicious, and crueler than any other nation. 

God’s basically telling Israel, if Judah’s not going to fear God, then they’ll fear the enemy he is going to send against them. Judah's violence and injustice to their own poor, widows, orphans, and foreigners will be repaid by a people skilled in violence and injustice. Habakkuk asks God why he isn't doing something, and now he has to deal with the hard answer that God’s getting ready to do something hard and drastic. God’s going to allow the full consequences of Israel's desire to be like the nations to play its full way out and it's not going to be pretty. A lot of innocent people who are working hard at obeying God’s commands and how he’s called them to live and be, are going to suffer along with those who don't really care about God.  

Why are people leaving Christianity, why are churches having less impact in our communities? Why is there so much injustice and evil around today? Is it because the church has tried so hard to become like everyone else, and makes friends with power? The church is called to be God's family focusing on becoming holy like God is holy. We’re all sinners unable to measure up to God; we deserve to be punished. God knows that we’re unable to pay the price, so he sends his own son Jesus to become human to take our punishment on himself. The Jews of Jesus’ time could have asked Habakkuk’s same questions, but with Rome and unfaithful religious leaders who plot the unjust death of Jesus being the focus of why God doesn’t act. I’m afraid what God’s answer might be for us today, looking at our culture and our love of certain governments, who have their own moral issues. In response, Jesus calls us to respond with gratitude and to work with his Spirit to continue establishing the kingdom of heaven here. Our governments are all going to fall, only the kingdom of heaven is forever.

God says, I've chosen you to become people who are like me so that you can show the world who I am. I want you to be holy so you can show the world a more blessed way of living that looks to build others up, to help others become who God calls them to be, to be a people who are sacrificial and generous and grace filled and loving towards others so that God is honoured and glorified.

Jesus tells a parable about bearing fruit, and that if you don't bear fruit, you’ll get pruned. Paul describes the fruit of the spirit as, "love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.  Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit." This fruit we’re called to develop in ourselves, showing others through our lives and words what Jesus taught, and being like Jesus. This begins in each of our homes, supported by the church.

Following rules doesn't change us, just like following the law and doing the festivals and ritual things didn't change the hearts of the people. Jesus, through the Holy Spirit, works to transform us, to become a holy people that imitate Jesus. We’re called to open our hearts to the Holy Spirit to be transformed; having our hearts of stone changed into softer hearts of flesh, walking in the way of Jesus.