1207-22A
THE ANSWER NOBODY’S EMBRACING (2)
(Habakkuk 2:5-20)
SUBJECT: Faith—waiting on the Lord.
F.C.F: Why doesn’t God do something?
PROPOSITION: Since the Lord will accomplish his own agenda, we must find
our place in him.
INTRODUCTION:
A. Suppose you go to a garage sale and in the
giveaway box you find a one thousand-piece jigsaw
puzzle. Only it’s in the wrong box—there is no right
picture, so you have no idea what it’s supposed to
look like when it’s completed. And suppose, when
you get it home, you find that each piece is precisely
the same shape and fits together the same way with
every other piece. This would be a most challenging
puzzle. Under these circumstances, you may never
get it together. You may never discover what it was
supposed to be in the first place.
B. The Lord God challenges us to put our
faith in him while we live our lives in a world gone
wild. He offers wonderful promises, and then bids us
trust him and wait until he brings it all to pass. He
pledges that he will make all things right in the end.
Ah, but here is the question: what will it look like in
the end? And will it be worth waiting for?
And you know that the vast majority of our
race refuses to believe God and to take him up on his
offer. “Why wait for some promise when I can have
what I want now? A bird in the hand is worth two in
the bush, right?” And this was the beginning of the
end for our race, seeking to make our own hope and
happiness apart from our Maker, and finding
ourselves in wretched misery and death as a result.
But now a question: Just what will it look like
when God does indeed set all things right? What was
it supposed to be like? What is God’s agenda, and
where do we fit into it?
C. Our spiritual forefathers were solid
students of the Scriptures. When they pondered what
it all was about and the reason why God made us, our
“chief end,” they gave the biblical answer that
“Man’s chief end is to glorify God and to enjoy him
forever.” God made us for his own glory, and gave us
the great privilege to know him and find true
enjoyment and satisfaction in him. And this is what
we are waiting for. This is what it will look like when
the Lord restores all things. We will find our true
purpose and dignity when we glorify God and enjoy
him forever.
The prophet Habakkuk feared that God’s plan
had somehow stalled. How could God let his people
1
get away with such rebellion and idolatry? But when
the Lord announced that he was sending the cruel
Babylonians to chasten his people, Habakkuk was
beside himself. How could God allow a less righteous
people to overthrow a more righteous people?
And God’s answer was, “Wait for it!” The
end has not yet been written. God is accomplishing
his plan, his agenda, and it will surely come to pass.
And if we would be wise, we would drop whatever
plans we’ve been making, and come and surrender to
God’s plan.
Here’s God’s plan, or at least the main part of
it: “14 For the earth will be filled with the knowledge
of the glory of the LORD as the waters cover the
sea.” God is glorifying himself in all the earth, and
he invites us to come and enjoy his glory. And first,
I. WE MUST ENJOY THE LORD’S PLEASURE.
A. When people reject the Lord and the pure
pleasure of knowing him, they are left somehow to
find their own pleasure, their own joy and happiness,
and that’s a pretty empty and frustrating pursuit. The
first thing and the main thing people turn to is stuff.
People figure if they can amass enough stuff, they
will be happy, satisfied, and fulfilled. But the Lord
pronounces a “Woe” upon all who seek their
happiness through stuff. “6 Shall not all these take up
their taunt against him, with scoffing and riddles for
him, and say, “Woe to him who heaps up what is not
his own— for how long?— and loads himself with
pledges!”
The prophet is writing about the conquering
Babylonian army. Like an avalanche or a flood, they
would sweep through a land overrunning everything
in their path, scooping up any treasures, anything of
value they could find. But the fatal flaw in their
wicked strategy is revealed in the question nestled in
verse 6: “for how long?” In this instance, the
conquered people would eventually regroup and
conquer their tormentors: “7 Will not your debtors
suddenly arise, and those awake who will make you
tremble? Then you will be spoil for them. 8 Because
you have plundered many nations, all the remnant of
the peoples shall plunder you, for the blood of man
and violence to the earth, to cities and all who dwell
in them.”
B. Their grave mistake was to seek their hope
and happiness in the fleeting treasures of this world,
instead of in the One who made all these good things.
____________________________________________________________________________________________
1207-22A
And, of course, this is the epidemic of our time.
Those who have, trust in what they have, and those
who do not have, trust in what they hope to have.
This explains why gambling is such a reliable source
of revenue for states and casino owners. The vast
majority of all people hope and trust in wealth, and
believe that if they could only strike it big, their lives
would be complete.
C. But our wonderful privilege as the people
of God is to bypass the middleman. The reason why
there are glorious treasures and pleasures in the world
is because God is all glorious and he has made these
things. In fact, he has made them for our enjoyment,
so that we might know how truly wonderful he is.
“Oh taste and see that the Lord is good!”
Every pleasure is given by God to instruct us
as to his goodness. Every pleasure is an invitation, an
opportunity to enjoy the Lord himself, the Designer,
Maker, and Giver of all these good gifts. Yes, we
should enjoy a competent share of the good things
that God has given us. Yes, we should enjoy a cool
morning, sweet cherries in season, sizzling grilled
pork, and a walk with a friend. But there is something
so incomplete, so disappointingly empty about
enjoying a pleasure just for its own sake. It is a
colossal blunder to enjoy a good meal or a good book
or a beautiful sunset or a refreshing breeze without
recognizing the astonishing goodness of the Lord
who not only gave those gifts but also created us with
the receptors, the senses to be able to enjoy them. It is
the height of follow to merely enjoy the gift when the
Giver is so much better, the God “from whom all
blessings flow.”
D. Sadly, those who make a god of their own
pleasure will find that their god has failed them
always, always, always…always! But the Lord is
filling the earth with the knowledge of his glory as
the waters cover the sea, if we will only connect the
dots and reach out to enjoy him.
II. WE MUST ENJOY THE LORD’S
PROTECTION.
A. And the Lord will be our protector. He will
be our shield against the foe and our strong tower in
the time of trouble. Listen to what I stumbled across
in my morning devotions this week, from Psalm 112:
2
His offspring will be mighty in the land; the
generation of the upright will be blessed. 3 Wealth
and riches are in his house, and his righteousness
endures forever. 4 Light dawns in the darkness for
the upright; he is gracious, merciful, and righteous. 5
It is well with the man who deals generously and
lends; who conducts his affairs with justice.”
And here is the hope of the Lord’s protection:
“6 For the righteous will never be moved; he will be
remembered forever. 7 He is not afraid of bad news;
his heart is firm, trusting in the LORD.” Isn’t that
remarkable? “He is not afraid of bad news.” This
doesn’t promise that bad news will never come, just
that he won’t be afraid of it. Why not? Because he
knows his God, and his God is his protector, and so
he can enjoy confidence and a light heart: he enjoys
the Lord’s protection.
B. But alas! those who reject the Lord must
somehow seek their own protection in the world. And
this also is the folly of the conquering Babylonian
army, for which God pronounces a second “Woe!”
9 “Woe to him who gets evil gain for his house, to set
his nest on high, to be safe from the reach of harm!”
By seeking to ensure his own protection, he has
forfeited the Lord’s protection. And this will not
stand. “10 You have devised shame for your house by
cutting off many peoples; you have forfeited your life.
11 For the stone will cry out from the wall, and the
beam from the woodwork respond.” This wonderful,
safe and secure fortress that you have constructed for
yourself will not protect you in the time of trouble.
On the day of judgment it will rise up to testify
against you. You trusted your own devising to keep
yourself safe, when you should have trusted the Lord
himself, who made and rules all things.
C. Does trusting the Lord mean that we
should not lock our doors at night? Does it mean that
we should not seek out medicine when we are sick?
What did our Lord Jesus say when he was tempted to
do something foolish like this? “You shall not put the
Lord your God to the foolish test.” (Matthew 4:7)
God made locks, and he made medicine. But just as
we saw with pleasure, we must look beyond these
devices to see that it is the Lord himself who is our
protector.
We must enjoy the Lord’s pleasure. We must
enjoy the Lord’s protection. And…
“Praise the LORD! Blessed is the man who fears the
LORD, who greatly delights in his commandments! 2
____________________________________________________________________________________________
1207-22A
III. WE MUST ENJOY THE LORD’S
PRESTIGE.
3
to look beyond the creation, and adore our Creator.
We are to see past the gifts, and thank the Giver. We
peer behind his saving and sustaining acts and praise
the Actor.
We get to enjoy the Lord’s glory. We have
the privilege of becoming “lost in wonder, love and
praise.” It is only in true worship that we can escape
the shackles of self. Self will consume us 24/7. Self
demands to be respected, esteemed, and adored. And
the only thing that can set us free from self is the
glory of another so incomparably magnificent that
self pales by comparison.
A. What people won’t do for fame and glory!
There is also an enjoyment that comes from pride.
We like it when people praise us. We may say, “Oh,
go on.” But what we mean is, “Oh, please, go on!”
And the reason for this pride is quite simple: we’ve
never truly met the One who is worthy of all glory.
So we do what we think is best and seek to glorify
ourselves. That’s what the prophet says as he
pronounces a third woe on these wicked conquerors:
“12 “Woe to him who builds a town with blood and
founds a city on iniquity! 13 Behold, is it not from the
CONCLUSION
LORD of hosts that peoples labor merely for fire, and
nations weary themselves for nothing?” Why build a
What can strip the seeming beauty
town or why found a city, if not to create a lasting
From the idols of the earth?
monument to yourself? But all of this self-promotion
Not a sense of right or duty,
is folly as well, laboring “merely for fire,” the fire of
But the sight of peerless worth.
God’s judgment that will burn to ashes all these
prideful monuments to self.
Captivated by his beauty
B. Instead, we are to enjoy the pleasure of the
Worthy tribute haste to bring
Lord’s prestige. We are to marvel in wonder and lose
Let his peerless love constrain thee
ourselves in the surpassing greatness of our God. God
Crown him now unrivaled King.
is glorious. God alone is truly glorious.
Again, there is something incomplete if we
The Apostle Paul explains it this way. “26
merely wonder at this creation or at the things people
For consider your calling, brothers: not many of you
have made. All of these are to point us beyond to the
were wise according to worldly standards, not many
true wonder of the One who made all these things.
were powerful, not many were of noble birth. 27 But
Otherwise the wonder will soon fade, and we will
God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the
miss the meaning they contain.
wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame
You go to a zoo and walk around and marvel
the strong; 28 God chose what is low and despised in
at the simulated rain forest, or the underground
the world, even things that are not, to bring to
aquarium, not to mention the great variety of
nothing things that are, 29 so that no human being
creatures on display, and it is remarkable. But did
might boast in the presence of God. 30 He is the
you ever notice that if you lean in close, it kinda
source of your life in Christ Jesus, whom God made
stinks? Or you go to a fine restaurant where they wait
our wisdom and our righteousness and sanctification
on you hand and foot, where the meals are true works
and redemption. 31 Therefore, as it is written, “Let
of art. But go back in the kitchen where there’s this
the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.”
guy sweating over a hot stove. And go back into the
alley where there’s a dumpster sweltering in the heat.
We must glory in the Lord, for he is all
It’s not really so glorious. Or these movie stars, so
glorious. We must boast in the Lord, for only the
famous, larger than life: did you notice that when the
Lord is worth boasting about. And it is in the Lord
pictures on the screens got sharper, high definition,
that we find our true life. And here’s the Lord’s
you could see the blemishes and the wrinkles? It’s
agenda: “14 For the earth will be filled with the
not so glorious any more. And it doesn’t last; none of
knowledge of the glory of the LORD as the waters
it.
cover the sea.” And he invites us to enjoy his glory:
C. God is glorious. And if we will look
his pleasure, protection, and prestige.
beyond the things he had made, we will be captivated

by true wonder. That’s the point of worship. We are
____________________________________________________________________________________________