My ways are not your ways, nor my thoughts your thoughts
said the Lord to Isaiah. Here, Habakkuk
complains of the injustice within the nation itself and asks how the Lord can
countenance such things. The prophet
cries out on behalf of those who suffer injustice, oppression and violence at
the hands of their fellow Israelites.
His complaint is that he, a mere man, cannot stand to look on this
situation and yet the Lord is allowing it to continue. The Lord's answer is that He is raising up
the Chaldeans, the Babylonians, to come and execute His judgment against the
nation and it will be a terrible thing to behold. Habakkuk's response is that the solution is
worse than the problem, the unrighteousness and rapaciousness of the Chaldeans
is truly terrible. He will stand at his
post and wait for God's answer to this complaint.
Jesus sounds like a prophet of old in speaking to and about
the leaders of the nation. They are no
leaders at all, they are self-serving and self-glorifying. They make proselytes but these converts are
not catechized, the same failure as the church in the last season of its
existence, we get people to confess once that Jesus is Lord and then we fail to
disciple them. They have a false assurance
of eternal salvation that has nothing to say about the rest of their lives here
on earth. The leaders have majored in
the minors. Jesus here absolutely
affirms tithing, not only of income but also of assets, saying that these are
to be observed but they are the smaller things in the law. They have neglected to do those things like
mercy, justice and faithfulness that are more important. Habakkuk would agree with that estimation.
Paul calls the Philippians to be like him, forgetting the
past and moving forward towards the ultimate goal. He wants them to recognize their true home is
in heaven with Jesus and lay aside everything else, even today. A disciple is one who is becoming something
different, breaking old patterns of thought and action and making new
ones. Disciples know the true goal is to
become like their teacher or rabbi and keep that one thing in their sights at
all times. We are to become like Jesus. We will never get there in this life but that
isn't rationale for not trying. We can't
just complain that God isn't doing anything to make this world better, we can't
do as John Mayer sang, wait on the world to change, we have to work towards
change but inwardly and outwardly. By
the way, ranting on email and facebook isn't the answer.
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