Last week we looked at Habakkuk's question to
God about why God allows so much injustice and
evil to happen among his own people. Habakkuk’s horrified that his holy God
would use the vicious and brutal Babylonians to punish his own people. How can
that be? "Lord, are you not from everlasting? My God, my Holy One, you will
never die. You, Lord, have
appointed them to execute judgment; you, my Rock, have ordained them to punish.
Your eyes are too pure to look on evil; you cannot tolerate
wrongdoing. Why then do you tolerate the treacherous? Why are you silent while
the wicked swallow up those more righteous than themselves?" But
Habakkuk also trusts God’s covenantal faithfulness to his people and waits "to look to see what he, God, will say to me, Habakkuk, and
what answer I am to give to this complaint."
God tells Habakkuk to write his answer down on a tablet so that it won’t get destroyed or forgotten. His message is
one of hope: God’s going to restore his people, but not right away. Israel needs
to learn again that God is God and they’re his people, called to be a blessing
to the nations so the nations can learn who God is through them. Sometimes a
father needs to allow his children to suffer the consequences of their choices,
even though it may be really painful. This doesn't mean that God doesn't love
us, God’s with us always and suffers the pain alongside us since his Spirit
lives within us experiencing our pain and suffering with us. Our God knows our
pain because he walks with us through it all, this is why we can turn to him no
matter what is going on in our lives, because he understands our hurt, but a
loving father also knows that sometimes this is the only way we learn to trust his
teaching.
It's hard knowing that God's going to allow Judah to be under the power of a pagan government that is deliberately
anti-God. Can you image Habakkuk’s questions for God if he knew that once the
Babylonians conquer Israel, that Israel will not truly be free, except for a
brief time under the Maccabees, until 1948 and the re-establishment of Israel
by the United Nations. Habakkuk’s looking for a God win, a Jewish win. He
recognizes that what’s happening here is a battle between the gods, between
Yahweh, Judah’s God and the gods of the Babylonians. God reassures Habakkuk
that Yahweh, Israel’s God is in control and that he wins even if it doesn’t
look like it right now, we say God is omnipotent, all-powerful. Habakkuk
doesn’t know of Jesus and his defeat of death, his resurrection, and future
return to claim all the universe and every knee will bow to him.
God tells Habakkuk that he’ll hold Babylon
accountable, those who live by the sword will die by the
sword. Those whom Babylon oppressed will rise up and overthrow their cruel
yoke. Yet God calls his people to live by a different standard, "the righteous will live by their faithfulness."
As followers of Jesus, we often find ourselves trusting too much in governments
over God's kingdom. We often tolerate the treacherous for our goals, God
doesn’t tolerate the treacherous, he allows them to increase their guilt and
holds then accountable.
God's kingdom’s not like the kingdoms we create here on earth. God's kingdom is something we live out in
relationship with God. God gives them a way of living at Mount Sinai
that focused on Israel’s relationship with God and each other in healthy
life-giving ways. Jesus reveals to us the kingdom of heaven in the Sermon on
the Mount and describes it through numerous parables. Jesus challenges Israel
and us to live God's kingdom, beginning with "repent
and believe," to be kingdom people, living out "your kingdom come, your will be done on earth and it is in
heaven.”
Israel in Habakkuk's time has forgotten or ignored the call to live in God's will. They no longer protected
the widows, orphans, or poor, they were too focused on building their own lives.
Life was all about themselves and what they can get out of it, which is why
they are so drawn to the gods of the nations around them. These gods could be
manipulated through offerings to justify taking or doing what they want. We
create our own gods, because it gives us control on how we live, we choose our
own values. In our culture, we’re the center of our universe and we give
ourselves permission to not see the hurt and brokenness and reach out, or place
the blame for their circumstances on them. For many people, there’s little
concern about injustice until it impacts them personally. God reassures
Habakkuk that he will hold the nations accountable for their actions and
values. The kingdom of heaven is the only eternal kingdom and the time is
coming that “the earth will be filled with the
knowledge of the glory of the Lord.” Jesus comes to defeat evil and
restore the very good of creation, we call this Christus Victorious; Jesus
wins!
Jesus invites us into God's kingdom, to
trust that God’s laws and ways are given to us to help us flourish as his
people, and to be an example to the world of how God has created us to live
with God and each other. God puts our earthly governments in place, but we live
out God's kingdom in each and every community he’s places his church. Believers
are called to be involved in politics as a Christian influence, but we don't
put our faith in politics. We work for the principles of justice, for
protection for the vulnerable, poor, and foreigners among us with compassion
and grace, all the things the prophets were sent to Israel to remind them about.
The center of government is not Edmonton or Ottawa, it's God. Wherever a follower of Jesus is present, God's
kingdom is there. Jesus calls us to give up our agendas and to trust his way of
being God's kingdom people. We don't live how Jesus challenges us to live in
order to get into the kingdom of God, but because we love Jesus and are already
part of God's kingdom.
N.T Wright has reflected deeply on Jesus' description of the kingdom of God. Jesus calls us to be light
and salt in the world, bringing hope and flavour into the world, giving
people a taste of what following Jesus is all about. It's about letting the
light of the world, Jesus, to shine through us into the world. It’s about turning the other cheek, going the extra mile in
serving each other, loving your enemies, offering
forgiveness instead of vengeance. The kingdom of
God is a place of shalom with all that means in terms of healthy relationships
and being a healthy community spiritually, emotionally, and physically for all
people.
We’re easily seduced by the kingdoms of our world. When we choose the world’s way; we lose our way. God allows
Babylon to conquer Israel and take them into exile for 70 years in order to
draw his people back to himself. In the center of
Jerusalem is the temple, "The Lord is in his holy
temple, let all the earth be silent before him." The temple,
not the palace, is the center of the life of God's people. This is the constant
call to God's people, to keep our focus on God, to place God's will above our
own, to be God's presence in our province and country which often sees no value
in God or God's kingdom values. Jesus invites his listeners into God's kingdom;
a way of prayer and worship filled with jubilation and celebration which can be
practiced right here and now.
Earthly governments often create times when we're challenged to choose
and live out God's kingdom values over the
government’s values. In the kingdom of heaven, God's people speak up against
injustice and work towards creating a safe place where everyone’s able to
flourish. This looks like reaching out to support women who can't see any other
option than abortion, opening up our homes and lives to support them so they
can have and raise their child. When people feel death is the only option left
to deal with their pain and suffering, coming alongside them with love,
compassion, fellowship, and grace to help them see the value of life, even life
filled with physical pain and suffering, helping them move towards death in
trust so they’re able to impact those who know and see us. We live out God's
values by loving, supporting and enabling people to choose God’s values given
to shape us in his image. When they choose otherwise, we offer grace and mercy
and understanding and help them see that God loves them and calls them back to
draw close to him.
As Bethel, we keep our eyes and hearts on God, listening closely to Jesus' challenge and vision for living
out God's kingdom right here, beginning in our homes. We’re sinners in need to
God's forgiveness and grace which we receive through Jesus and his willing
sacrifice on the cross in our place. In his death and resurrection, Jesus
establishes his kingdom here. We share in both his death and resurrection by
dying to our old lives and living new kingdom focused lives.
No matter your age or physical circumstances, you can be a powerful part of our church’s ministry by praying for Bethel
and her leaders, showing your support of their leadership as servants of Jesus
as we grow deeper in our love for God and our community, and grow the kingdom
of heaven.
No comments:
Post a Comment