Discovering Jesus in Habakkuk

This episode of "Aliens on Earth" dives into the Old Testament book of Habakkuk, framing him as the "Complaining Prophet" who speaks to God on behalf of the people, crying out, "How long, O Lord?" The host explores Habakkuk's stunning realization that God's terrifying answer to his plea for justice was to raise up the Babylonians. The core discovery focuses on Habakkuk 2:4, "The righteous shall live by his faith," establishing Jesus as the object of that faith and the fulfillment of the "unbelievable" work of God. The episode concludes by highlighting Chapter 3's prayer, which is identified as a song about "Jesus the Messiah" and an anthem of faith, declaring joy in "God my Savior" even when all material comfort is lost.

Transcript

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On the eve of his crucifixion, Jesus prays to his father, I have given them your word, and the world hated them because they are not of the world. Just as I am not of the world, I do not ask that you take them from the world, but you keep them from the evil one. Hey everyone, welcome back to Aliens on Earth. This is season two, episode 32, in our series Discovering Jesus in the Old Testament. And I want to just say to our global listeners and people that are been coming back episode after episode, those of you tuning in from your car, from your kitchen while you cook, or just in your quiet time when you have some time to yourself, thank you for being part of this journey. We're here to find Jesus in the ancient, dusty corners of the Old Testament and really proving that he has always been there. In our last episode, we wrestled with the heavy burden of Nahom. We saw God as the stronghold on the day of trouble, the one who eventually says, Enough is enough to the cruelty of these empires. We also looked and discovered that Jesus is the administrator of God's justice. He's not only the one who extends mercy or compassion, but he's also the one who administers the justice of God. He's when the whirlwinds of history blow, he looks out for the weak, the broken, the vulnerable. Today we enter a book that it feels like it was written for the 21st century. We're diving into the book of Habakkuk. And most prophets that we've seen prior to and that we'll discover, they often speak to the people on behalf of God. But what we see a little bit different here is Habakkuk does the opposite. He looks at a world that's full of violence, full of corruption, and where we could see like well the bad guys are winning. And he doesn't start with a sermon, he starts with a scream. He starts with this gut-wrenching cry. He says, How long, O Lord? And just like Habakkuk was an advocate for the people in that time who would scream out to God on behalf of them, today we also find Jesus right there in that frustrated man's prayer. So grab your notebook and get your coffee and let's let's jump right into it. Hey guys, real quick, before we jump in, if you've been blessed by this podcast or find it impactful, I'd like you to hit the follow button. Be a partaker of spreading God's truth by sharing this with your friends, coworkers, family, or even strangers. Let's spread the truth of Christ together. Now, back to this episode. So in Habakkuk chapter 1, verse 2, this verse is something that many of us have probably experienced in one way or another. We've asked that, how long, Lord, must I call for help? But you don't listen. And I'm sure you can resonate with that. Habakkuk is looking at the social decay of Judah. He sees the law being paralyzed and justice being perverted. And he hears this answer. God answers him, but the answer is terrifying. It's it's not what you would expect from a cry for help. God says this, listen to this. He says, I am raising up the Babylonians, a ruthless and impetus people. Imagine the look on Habakkuk's face when he hears this message from God. You know, can you just, you know, surely he's mistaken, right? And maybe he's starting to rebuke this message. Like, okay, that can't be from God. That's the enemy speaking, right? But Habakkuk is stunned. It's the ultimate out of the frying pan and into the fire type of situation. It's like he asked God to fix his neighborhood, and God told him, Yeah, he's just gonna send a hurricane and flatten the whole city out. Imagine that. And here's where we find the link to the gospel. Habakkuk is told in chapter one, verse five, to look at the nations and watch and be utterly amazed. He says, For I am going to do something in your days that you would not believe, even if you were told. When Jesus arrives, he was the something that no one believed. The religious leaders expected a political conqueror, but God gave them a crucified carpenter. Just as God used the evil Babylonians to bring about a necessary judgment and Habakkuk's day, God used the evil of the cross to bring about the ultimate salvation of the world. Jesus is the unbelievable work of God. And think about that for a second. Oftentimes we pray or we plead for God to give us a solution to a problem, or we pray for a healing, or we pray to overcome an obstacle. We're not faced with the answer we want to hear. But God's lens and his perspective, he and really how he deeply knows us goes way far beyond what we're capable of comprehending. What we deem as a solution to our problem may not even begin to scratch the surface of what we actually need. But God knows us and loves us so deeply, so thoroughly, that even though his ways don't make sense to us or we feel like we're headed in the wrong direction, we should trust in his word. Jesus, to the carnal and earthly logical mind, was expected to be the savior of the Jews from a Roman tyranny. Yet the answer to prayer proved to be drastically different than what was expected. Yet it all turned out for good. So moving into that, into our second point in chapter two. So Habakkuk makes a brilliant move. He switches it up. So instead of lamenting to God on behalf of the people, he stops shouting and he just starts to wait. He starts to wait on God. He says, I will stand at my watch and station myself on the ramparts. I will look to see what he will say to me. And then God gives him the heartbeat of the New Testament. Listen to this. He says, The righteous shall live by his faith. Habakkuk chapter 2, verse 4. And honestly, here's the here's how we connect it to Christ. This isn't just some moral rule, it's a messianic promise. The apostle Paul uses this exact verse in Romans to explain that we are justified by faith in Christ. Jesus is the object of our faith. We don't just have faith in faith, some blind, you know, just keep on keeping on type of thing. We have faith in the person of Jesus. And again, we don't just believe, as most western, you know, Christians or spiritualists would say, just keep believing, you know, just have some faith in what? In who our faith is in Jesus. So while Habakkuk stood on a tower waiting for a word, Jesus is the word. He didn't just watch the destruction of our world from a distance, he stepped into the line of fire. He is the one who lived by faith perfectly so that we could be credited with his righteousness. And we see in chapter three, it gets deeper. So chapter three is a prayer, but it reads like a war song. Habakkuk describes God coming in power to save his people. He says, You came out to deliver your people, to save your anointed one. In Hebrew, the word for deliver or save is Yeshua, which is the name of Jesus. And anointed one is Mashiach, the Messiah. So Habakkuk is literally singing about Jesus, Jesus the Messiah, coming to strike the head of the house of the wicked. And the book ends with the most famous alien anthem in the Bible. Habakkuk says that even if the fig tree doesn't bud, even if the stalls are empty and the crops fail, yet I will rejoice in the Lord. I will be joyful in my God, my savior. And that's Habakkuk 318. Just think about that praise for a second. He says, God, my savior, even if the outcome doesn't look like what I expect, even if I pray and the answer isn't what my flesh or what my mind or what my common sense tells me it should be, I will be joyful in God, my savior. And that is a lesson for us, honestly, to think and to wait on God, regardless of whether the outcome looks like what we want it to look like, what we're expecting it to look like, or if there's another thing, another way that God is moving, even if it's mysterious to us. He says, In God my savior. And honestly, in Hebrew, it's Elohei Yishi, the God of my Jesus. So Habakkuk realized that his joy wasn't tied to his harvest, it was tied to the person of the Redeemer. Even when us Christians lose everything, we have everything because we have him. And Habakkuk shows us that you don't need a perfect world to have a perfect peace. You just need a faithful God. If you're standing on a watchtower today, if you're waiting and wondering why God is silent, just remember the vision has an appointed time. The silence is an absence, preparation. And sometimes when the answer comes and it isn't what you expect to hear or how you expect it to unfold, have faith in the savior, in the person of Jesus. So what happens when the waiting is over? What happens when the day of the Lord actually breaks through the clouds? Is it just fire and gloom? Or is there really a light at the end of the tunnel? So next week we move into the book of Zephaniah. We're gonna talk about the great day of the Lord, and we'll discover Jesus as the King who is in our midst, singing a song of love over us. So I want to encourage you this week, stand on the watchtower, keep the faith, and remember his ways are higher than ours, his plans are much better. We're limited in every way, but he's limitless. So rejoice in the God of your salvation. We'll see you next week on the next episode. Until then, this is Aliens on Earth, and I'm your host, Nate Gazau. Peace.