God’s warning for Israel is also a warning for America.
Through the Old Testament prophets, the Lord warned Israel and the nations regarding the coming judgments. In this post, I introduce you to a warning for America. The key content in this post is a video of Joel Richardson speaking to an American church, and giving his “warning for America.”
The text he chooses for his warning for America is the opening verses in the Book of Habakkuk. In the opening chapter of that short book, the prophet complains to the Lord. Yes, It is okay to complain to God, but respectfully of course. Habakkuk complains to the Lord, asking for immediate help. He has watched the deterioration of the nation of Israel. And he begs the Lord to intervene. The Lord, responds by saying he has every intention to get involved. But, he tells Habakkuk, you won’t like what I plan to do.
A Warning for America in the Prophets.
God doesn’t work according to our wants and desires. To put it simply, he has a plan and he is sticking to it. When his children go astray, he notices and will act. When Israel went astray, time and again, the Lord acted. But if we look carefully, we see that the prophets gave details and warnings, and even timelines of when the Lord would act. I would say, that is a good reason to acknowledge that the Lord has a plan and he is sticking to it. And very precisely at times.
Anyway, I have written a few articles on the Book of Habakkuk. Like Joel Richardson, I too believe this little drama between the prophet and God is a great warning for America. We see very similar scenarios playing out in the United States. And like Habakkuk, many godly men and women have cried out to God asking for him to intervene.
Well, God will surely intervene. But America likely will not like the way the Lord chooses to fix things.
Some thoughts from Habakkuk
Habakkuk 1:2 The prophet asks God the big question–why?
“O Lord, how long shall I cry, and you will not hear! Even cry out unto you of violence, and you will not save!”
An Open Conversation
I love this opening passage. The prophet beautifully models the relationship we should have with the Lord. The prophet has come to understand that his thoughts, feelings, and even complaints are welcome in his conversations with God. He brings his thoughts and complaints to him in a respectful way. It’s inspiring to see that, especially knowing that God is not a respecter of persons. You and I can come to the Lord in the same way.
Crying out to God about the “Violence.”
In reading this passage we can almost feel the frustration in the words of Habakkuk. He undoubtedly had spent days that led to years looking at the violence and injustice around him. He wondered, as many good people often do, “Where is God in this?” It happened in Habakkuk’s days and it happens today. He looked around as we often do, wondering how much worse can it get.
This is something that I catch myself spending too much time thinking about. The cruel brutality and utter coldness that humanity shows towards each other are astonishing to me. We have always had violence among us, but it’s still hard to understand what turns people toward that dark ugliness to which many more are turning. I will resist the temptation to add links to show you what I mean. We all know about the shocking news stories that make all reasonable people cry out just as the prophet did.
“Why God, why does this continue to happen?”
Since I’ve spent time digging deeper into the Bible than most are willing to go, I find that I have been able to grasp a small sense of the reason why for that question. I’ve learned to be patient with God’s ways in regard to big-picture issues. (Still stumble often on the small things of course.) I think some of the reasons for that is the time I’ve spent reading and studying this little book that most people know very little about. Habakkuk dared to ask God what so many of us just get mad at him about. The prophet’s honest but humble question resulted in an answer that can satisfy those who sincerely seek answers about life’s challenging issues.
And more from Habakkuk.
Habakkuk 1:4 The law is abused, and justice is no longer blind.
“Therefore the law is slacked, and judgment does never go forth; for the wicked does compass about the righteous; therefore wrong judgment proceeds.”
If you’re looking for a verse that applies to our world today, you don’t need to look any further than right here. When corrupt people are in power, everything they touch becomes corrupt. The prophet complained of the unjust justice system that rewarded corruption and penalized those who were “the righteous.” The Bible tells us there is nothing new under the sun. This corruption of the legal system is not new, but in the United States and throughout the world we see rampant corruption. People sit and die in prisons for attempting to speak out against such injustice. But when the judges, lawyers, and politicians are all corrupt, where do the righteous turn? In this context, the word righteous is implying those attempting to follow the law by its written standards, not the ever-changing standards set by corrupted minds.
This was frustrating in the days of Habakkuk, and it is equally so today.
People see through the corruption, but the common man rarely has a loud enough voice to end it. Speak too loud, and you might disappear. Corruption among bad leaders is so predictable but hard to defeat.
And here is the video from Joel Richardson. A Warning for America
Joel says a word for America. I edit that and make it a warning for America.
A a last take from a prior post. And of course, a warning for America.
Habakkuk 1:12 But Lord, how can you allow this?
“Are you not from everlasting, O Lord my God, mine Holy One? We shall not die. O Lord, you have ordained them for judgment; and, O mighty God, you have established them for correction.”
“I cannot believe what I am hearing!” I can imagine that kind of reaction from Habakkuk as God began to detail his plans for solving the problems with Israel. “Really? That’s how you plan to solve these problems?” “But God!”
He does seem to be taken by surprise at the Lord’s response but there is no indication he lowers himself by responding in a disrespectful manner like the above false quotes I applied to the prophet.
He’s shocked, yes, but he understands who is he talking to. That should give every one of us a reason to pause before we answer back to God in prayer. We are rarely going to get the answer from the Lord we hope. His ways are not our ways. His ways of dealing with humanity’s sinful tendencies are not the same ways we would choose.
Let me know what you think.