Not Our Ways

The following was taken from the tape from Bible class that I happened to listen to during this morning's jog. It was from a class on Acts quite a while back. I wonder if Pastor meant that this had something to do with us, and not just the captives that went to Babylon. Like as if it might have to do with walking by faith and not by sight.


When Judah was carted off to Babylon, the temptation for many of them was to believe that God's promises were a lie, that they would not come to pass. So in Paul's sermon (Acts 13), "I will work a work in your days, a work which you will by no means believe," that in effect says that it will be through the destruction of you -- through the Babylonian captivity -- that I will work my work, my salvation.

That is what you have in the cross. God says, "I'm gonna do something in you. You won't believe it even if you're told. I'm going to save the whole world through the death of a Jew." People think, "Man, I just can't accept that!" But God says, "I'm going to work a work in your days that, even when you hear it, you won't accept it."

For the prophet Habakkuk, he prays, "Will You not DO something? Look at this rebellious, impenitent people." Then the Lord says, "Yeah, I'm gonna do something. I told you this before. I'm going to raise up the Babylonians. They're going to come and conquer you and carry off your people." "WHAT?" Habakkuk responds, "That's NOT what I had in mind!"

Then the Lord tells Habakkuk to write the promise made to Abraham and put it on a placard. "In you and in your Seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed" would be written on a signboard for the people to read as they were being carried off in chains to Babylon. They see the promise, but it now looks to be completely empty, gutted. Then the Lord adds, "The just shall live by faith." Faith in the promise. Those who are justified live by faith in the promise. That was their comfort to take with them. So Habakkuk's walking around with a sign -- what an idiot he looked to be. But this was God's plan.