Habakkuk is the author of a shorter book in the Hebrew Scriptures that is provokingly applicable to our current moment in America, from which I draw great strength. Habakkuk is described by scholars as a minor prophet. The description, however, has been applied not because he is less significant than other prophets. It’s been applied solely because his book is shorter than Isaiah’s, Jeremiah’s, and Ezekiel’s.
Habakkuk ministered to the southern kingdom of Judah, starting at about 612 B.C. This is about seven years prior to the Babylonian siege, conquest, and exile of Judah starting at about 605 B.C. As such, he was a contemporary of Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and Daniel. Their lifetimes overlapped at different points. The context also reveals that Habakkuk witnessed the moral and spiritual decline in Judah that precipitated the Babylonian conquest.
His book begins in Habakkuk 1:2-4 with him crying out to YHWH saying,
How long, O LORD, will I call for help, And You will not hear? I cry out to You, "Violence!" Yet You do not save. Why do You make me see iniquity, and cause me to look on wickedness? Yes, destruction and violence are before me; Strife exists and contention arises. Therefore the law is ignored And justice is never upheld. For the wicked surround the righteous; therefore justice comes out perverted.
Habakkuk was overwhelmed by the ascending and unimpeded wickedness that Judah had embraced. He saw it clearly. He grieved to his core! And, He asked God whether He saw it too.
YHWH then replies to Habakkuk. Yes! He does see it. He too is grieved by it. And just as He promised in Deuteronomy 28, Judah’s sin has beckoned His judgment and the “Chaldeans” (another descriptor for “Babylonians”) would be the instrument of His judgment:
Look among the nations! Observe! Be astonished! Wonder! Because [I am] doing something in your days You would not believe if you were told. "For behold, I am raising up the Chaldeans, that fierce and impetuous people who march throughout the earth To seize dwelling places which are not theirs (Habakkuk 1:5-6).
Astonished! Yes, Habakkuk was astonished at this notion. The Chaldeans? They were more wicked than Judah. Why would you use them to judge us, Habakkuk says to YHWH,
Are You not from everlasting, O LORD, my God, my Holy One? We will not die. You, O LORD, have appointed them to judge; and You, O Rock, have established them to correct. Your eyes are too pure to approve evil, and You can not look on wickedness with favor. Why do You look with favor On those who deal treacherously? Why are You silent when the wicked swallow up those more righteous than they? (Habakkuk 1:12-13).
YHWH assures Habakkuk that He knows the Babylonians are more wicked than Judah, but that doesn’t prohibit them from serving as an instrument of His judgment. He also explains, in verse 11, that He will deal with Babylon too,
Then they will sweep through like the wind and pass on. But they will be held guilty, They whose strength is their god.
Still unsettled, Habakkuk continued to express his astonishment that God would use Babylon as an instrument of His judgment. He goes on in verses 15-17 of this first chapter to explain the depths of Babylonian wickedness. Yet, he remained humbled by the fact that he was engaged in dialogue with the Creator of heaven and earth. As perplexed as he was about the situation, he knew and trusted that YHWH’s way is best. He even anticipated that his zealous appeal warranted rebuke. Habakkuk concludes his second appeal by saying,
I will stand on my guard post and station myself on the rampart; and I will keep watch to see what He will speak to me, and how I may reply when I am reproved (Habakkuk 2:1).
YHWH then invited Habakkuk to not only witness what was about to happen but participate. He reveals, similar to what he’d said through others like Jeremiah—recorded in Jeremiah 29:1-13, that His judgment of Judah wasn’t intended to be a cataclysmic decimation. He could have Sodom and Gomorrahed (yes, I’ve made it a verb) Judah (see Genesis 19:1-29), had He chosen to do so. Instead, this judgment via the Babylonians was a repentance provocation.
YHWH starts His second reply to Habakkuk by saying,
Record the vision and inscribe it on tablets, That the one who reads it may run. For the vision is yet for the appointed time; it hastens toward the goal and it will not fail. Though it tarries, wait for it; for it will certainly come, it will not delay (Habakkuk 2:2-3).
YHWH tells Habakkuk to document what He was revealing so those who read the record would be able to respond appropriately. The purpose was to stir repentance so that Judah would return to “seek Him with all of their hearts” (Jeremiah 29:13). Even in judgment, YHWH ministered to His people and guided them to His heart. Wow!
In response to this exhibition of YHWH’s grace, mercy, and lovingkindness Habakkuk said,
For the earth will be filled With the knowledge of the glory of the LORD, As the waters cover the sea (Habakkuk 2:14).
There is no doubt that America is currently on a path similar to the one Judah was on in Habakkuk’s day. Our penchant for the slaughter of the innocent would make Hitler’s Germany blush. Though Monkeypox is raging among men who have sex with men, our society rushes headlong to continue its rebellion and celebrate it. But we did shut schools down for COVID-19. Hospitals and doctors who take an oath to “first do no harm,” are now being exposed for their willingness to mutilate children’s bodies because it will “make money for the hospital,” under the banner of trans-insanity. Same-sex marriage is so yesterday.
Nevertheless, over the course of a 10-day period this summer, God reminded the world that He rules and reigns in the affairs of men, including American affairs. He, by His sovereign grace, allowed monumental cases to be decided at the U.S. Supreme Court (SCOTUS) that many had only dreamed they’d see happen. These cases moved me to exclaim along with Habakkuk,
For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD, As the waters cover the sea.
After years of seeing our inalienable right to freely exercise our commitment to Christ in every aspect of life, including in the public square, whittled away in our nation, SCOTUS struck a new course. On June 21, 2022, it issued its decision in Carson v. Makin, 596 U.S. ___ (2022). The state of Maine instituted a state taxpayer-funded voucher system that allowed parents to obtain a voucher from the state government to enroll their children in private schools. The catch, however, was that the voucher could only be used at “non-sectarian” schools. Justice Stephen Breyer defined “non-sectarian” on page 10 of his dissent. He said,
Under Maine law, an “approved” private school must be “nonsectarian.” §2951(2). A school fails to meet that requirement (and is deemed “sectarian”) only if it is both (1) “associated with a particular faith or belief system” and also (2) “promotes the faith or belief system with which it is associated and/or presents the academic material taught through the lens of this faith.” (quoting Maine’s then-education commissioner). To determine whether a school is sectarian, the “focus is on what the school teaches through its curriculum and related activities, and how the material is presented.” Ibid. “Affiliation or association with a church or religious institution is not dispositive” of sectarian status. Ibid.
Justice Breyer explained quite plainly why he believed religious instruction, you may call it paideia, should be verboten from an American governmental standpoint. He continued,
The two private religious schools at issue here satisfy both of these criteria. They are affiliated with a church or religious organization. And they also teach students to accept particular religious beliefs and to engage in particular religious practices.
Breyer Dissenting, pp. 10-11. In his view, this means these schools should be prohibited from receiving public funds. But he didn’t stop there. He continues his religious bigotry screed by saying,
The first school, Bangor Christian, has “educational objectives” that include ‘leading each unsaved student to trust Christ as his/her personal savior and then to follow Christ as Lord of his/her life,’ and ‘developing within each student a Christian world view and Christian philosophy of life.’ Bangor Christian “does not believe there is any way to separate the religious instruction from the academic instruction.” Academic instruction and religious instruction are thus “completely intertwined.” Bangor Christian teaches in its social studies class, for example, ‘that God has ordained evangelism.’ And in science class, students learn that atmospheric layers ‘are evidence of God’s good design.’ The second school, Temple Academy, similarly promotes religion through academics. Its educational philosophy ‘is based on a thoroughly Christian and Biblical world view.’ The school’s “objectives” include ‘fostering within each student an attitude of love and reverence of the Bible as the infallible, inerrant, and authoritative Word of God.’ And the school’s “academic growth objectives” include “providing a sound academic education in which the subject areas are taught from a Christian point of view,” and “helping every student develop a truly Christian worldview by integrating studies with the truths of Scripture.” Like Bangor Christian, Temple “provides a ‘biblically-integrated education,’ which means that the Bible is used in every subject that is taught.” In mathematics classes, for example, students learn that “a creator designed the universe such that ‘one plus one is always going to be two.’ The differences between this kind of education and a purely civic, public education are important. The religious education and formation of students is the very reason for the existence of most private religious schools. Educating young people in their faith, inculcating its teachings, and training them to live their faith, we have said, ‘are responsibilities that lie at the very core of the mission of a private religious school.’ Indeed, we have recognized that the 'connection that religious institutions draw between their central purpose and educating the young in the faith is so close that teachers employed at such schools act as ‘ministers' for purposes of the First Amendment. Breyer Dissenting, pp. 11-12.
Again, this is why he thinks the public must be protected from these types of schools.
He then goes on to laud godless instruction in our public schools and identifies it as the primary values transmission mechanism to preserve our current godless society. He said,
By contrast, public schools, including those in Maine, seek first and foremost to provide a primarily civic education. We have said that, in doing so, they comprise a most vital civic institution for the preservation of a democratic system of government, and the primary vehicle for transmitting the values on which our society rests. Breyer Dissenting, p. 12.
Silly us. While most Americans think the educational system exists to teach reading, writing, and arithmetic here’s a SCOTUS Justice informing you that you thought incorrectly. You see, values transmission is the order of the day. Public schools exist to transmit values and it is the primary vehicle employed to create our current way of life.
The ultimate legal question presented in the case was, does Maine’s “nonsectarian” requirement violate the Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution? SCOTUS concluded,
Maine’s “nonsectarian” requirement for its otherwise generally available tuition assistance payments violates the Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment. Regardless of how the benefit and restriction are described, the program operates to identify and exclude otherwise eligible schools on the basis of their religious exercise. The judgment of the Court of Appeals is reversed, and the case is remanded for further proceedings consistent with this opinion. Carson v. Makin, 596 U.S. ___ (2022), p.18.
This is a monumental course correction. This case represents SCOTUS’ return to the recognition that Americans have the right to worship God in every area of life, including education, which is given to us by God, thus making it inalienable. The First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution exists to protect that inalienable right.
Next, you may be aware of Coach Joe Kennedy’s protracted legal fight. This is the Oregon high school football coach who was disciplined for having the audacity to say silent 30-second prayers on the field after a football game. His case made its way to SCOTUS. The legal issue presented in his case, Kennedy v. Bremerton School District, 597 U.S. ____ (2022), was whether the Free Exercise and Free Speech Clauses of the First Amendment protect an individual engaging in a personal religious observance from government reprisal.
On June 27, 2022, SCOTUS ruled,
Respect for religious expressions is indispensable to life in a free and diverse Republic—whether those expressions take place in a sanctuary or on a field, and whether they manifest through the spoken word or a bowed head. Here, a government entity sought to punish an individual for engaging in a brief, quiet, personal religious observance doubly protected by the Free Exercise and Free Speech Clauses of the First Amendment. And the only meaningful justification the government offered for its reprisal rested on a mistaken view that it had a duty to ferret out and suppress religious observances even as it allows comparable secular speech. The Constitution neither mandates nor tolerates that kind of discrimination. Mr. Kennedy is entitled to summary judgment on his First Amendment claims. The judgment of the Court of Appeals is Reversed. Kennedy v. Bremerton School District, 597 U.S. ____ (2022), pp. 31-32.
The Court again affirmed its commitment to protect the God-given, inalienable right to speak freely, which includes the Gospel witness and worship freely.
Additionally, as cited above, over 63 million babies have been slaughtered in America since the infamous Roe decision was made by SCOTUS in 1973. This abomination allowed the lie that it was okay to slaughter innocent children in the womb, or outside of the womb according to former Virginia Governor Ralph Northam, the California legislature, and their Governor Gavin Nussolini, to be perpetuated as law. Nevertheless, God said enough! Finally, SCOTUS confronted the lie perpetrated as law (thank you Meeke Addison for that phrasing).
On June 24, 2022, SCOTUS rendered its decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, 597 U.S. ____ (2022). The legal questions presented in Dobbs were, does the U.S. Constitution confer a right to abortion, and do the people and their elected representatives have the authority to regulate abortion? To those questions, the Court began by stating, “Roe was egregiously wrong from the start. Its reasoning was exceptionally weak, and the decision has had damaging consequences." Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, 597 U.S. ____ (2022), pp. 5-6.
The Court continued,
An erroneous interpretation of the Constitution is always important, but some are more damaging than others. The infamous decision in Plessy v. Ferguson was one such decision. It betrayed our commitment to “equality before the law.” It was “egregiously wrong” on the day it was decided… Roe was also egregiously wrong and deeply damaging. Roe’s constitutional analysis was far outside the bounds of any reasonable interpretation of the various constitutional provisions to which it vaguely pointed. Id. at pp.43-44.
As he concurred in the Court’s decision, Justice Clarence Thomas argued,
That 50 years have passed since Roe and abortion advocates still cannot coherently articulate the right (or rights) at stake proves the obvious: The right to abortion is ultimately a policy goal in desperate search of a constitutional justification. Thomas Concurring, p. 5.
Finally, the Court ruled in Dobbs,
We do not pretend to know how our political system or society will respond to today’s decision overruling Roe and Casey. And even if we could foresee what will happen, we would have no authority to let that knowledge influence our decision. We can only do our job, which is to interpret the law, apply longstanding principles of stare decisis, and decide this case accordingly. We therefore hold that the Constitution does not confer a right to abortion. Roe and Casey must be overruled, and the authority to regulate abortion must be returned to the people and their elected representatives. Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, 597 U.S. ____ (2022), p. 69.
Just like that, Roe is no more! The Court has recognized that in order to enjoy liberty and pursue happiness one must first have life. God has fashioned mankind in His image. He is the Giver of Life! As such, innocent human life is sacred and must be protected.
I had the privilege of conversing with several brothers and sisters who’d been fighting on the front lines for the sanctity of the Imago Dei starting with the most vulnerable and innocent among us, unborn children. All of them said, they’d hoped for it, prayed for it, and worked for it but they never thought they’d see Roe overturned in their lifetimes. This case and the others I mentioned above show that God alone reigns! He reigns over the earth! He reigns over America. He has presided over something no individual could have.
He’s not done with our nation yet. My prayer is that we heed His message, recognize His providence and that repentance would sweep our nation as a rushing mighty wind while we have time. Let us celebrate what God has done and understand that he has extended a reprieve to our land to allow repentance. Now is the time for His ambassadors to passionately execute His commission. Evangelism and disciple-making are the most desperate need in our nation now. May we heed what the LORD is saying to us by His Spirit.
