2 O Lord, how long shall I cry for help, and you will not hear? Or cry to you “Violence!” and you will not save? 3 Why do you make me see iniquity, and why do you idly look at wrong? Destruction and violence are before me; strife and contention arise. 4 So the law is paralyzed, and justice never goes forth. For the wicked surround the righteous; so justice goes forth perverted.
(Habbakuk 1:2-4)
These words of perplexity and anguish come from the soul of the prophet Habakkuk, as he surveys the contemporary scene in Israel.
Historically, the nation is being invaded by the Babylonians. The time is somewhere between 609 – 598 BC - the verge of the fall of Jerusalem and the Southern Kingdom.
Habakkuk is disturbed by the fact that his nation is godless. God seems to be doing nothing in Israel, and that fact is seen primarily in the absence of law and order … “the law is paralyzed and justice never goes forth …”
 |
| Pastor Nsenduluka Kapambwe - Pastor of the Grace Reformed Baptist Church |
Last week my colleague and fellow pastor, Nsenduluka Kapambwe, pastor of the Grace Reformed Baptist Church was brutally assaulted by thieves in his home at night. In that same week my neighbors in Windhoek West had the same experience! I know far too many people from all areas of Windhoek who have had the same experience.
The words of the prophet Habakkuk are haunting us: “The wicked hem in the righteous, so that justice is perverted’.
By now it is clear that the police and the law courts are not coping with criminals. The prisons are overcrowded.
The problem is not necessarily the police. I know that many police officers are professional and committed people. It is not necessarily the law system that has gone wrong, although the law struggles to mete out effective punishments that would deter criminals from pursuing their vices.
The problem is that the average citizen in Namibia is becoming more and more godless!
HOW LONG O LORD?
God’s response to the prophet Habakkuk is very sobering. He tells Habakkuk that He will send the Babylonians as His instrument of punishment upon the godless nation of Israel.
You read it right! You might struggle to believe it. Habakkuk certainly struggled to believe it but that is what God said, and this is what God did! In 587 BC the Babylonians finally took the city of Jerusalem and carried its prominent citizens into exile.
The heart of our problem here in Windhoek is that the average citizen has become apathetic to truth. When commitment to biblical truth dies, evil easily flourishes.
And it did in Jerusalem!
And it does in Windhoek.
What might we expect?
I don’t know, but I and our congregation – the Eastside Baptist Church do pray with Habakkuk in Chapter 3:2 “ Lord … in your wrath remember mercy!”
2 comments:
I have no answer to the 'why' question, no comfort to offer my compatriot, but the most powerful reminder I have heard in the recent past of our heavenly hope; http://www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=92910939391
May the love of God sustain you, brother Nsenduluka. Sykes (Lusaka Baptist Church)
Brother, I was shocked when Kapambwe sent me the SMS about the assault and the theft. I was even more shocked when I learnt the details from one of our elders upon my return to Lusaka. I thought those things just happen in South Africa!!!
Although many will say that this is because of poverty, ultimately it is due to sin in the heart. Why should I forcefully take from my innocent neighbour which he has worked for? Sin in the heart fails to respect the eighth commandment that forbids theft of any kind, and even the sixth commandment that forbids personal injury and murder.
In the light of the above, the solution is the gospel. So, while we look to the state to protect us, they can only medicate symptoms. Jesus alone can heal the heart!
Post a Comment