“Holding God to account”
By Rev. Michael Stonhouse
Meditation – Tuesday, December 21, 2021
Habakkuk 2:1-4 (Forward, p. 53) CEV p. 954
In Canada, we have a television program called ‘the Fifth Estate’, which refers back to a medieval social system that designated various ‘levels’ within society. While this varied from country to country, the idea of five estates worked out as follows:
The first estate was the church (the clergy), the second was the nobles (the upper class), the third was the urban based commoners (the middle class to use today’s terms) and the fourth estate were the rural commoners (the peasants, more or less). In Britain, this became solidified into the House of Lords, which encompassed the first two estates, and the House of Commons, which involved the third and fourth estates.
So, where does the idea of the Fifth Estate come from? This grew up as the idea of a separate body, a body independent of the other estates that would hold them to account for their behaviour, for their actions or inaction. This has morphed into the idea of the press performing this function. Now, whether it actually does this, and is not unduly biased in a particular direction or towards a particular political or ethical viewpoint, is an open and unresolved question. Some would argue that it is now in league with one or other of the other estates.
Well, in today’s passage from Habakkuk, the prophet Habakkuk stands in the position of the Fifth Estate. And, who is he holding to account? It is none other than God, which may seem to us to be very odd. A mere mortal, presuming to hold God, of all people, to account? The whole idea sounds preposterous.
Habakkuk is standing like a sentry on the ramparts of a watch tower, observing what is taking place below him, what is taking place within his society. He is like a modern news reporter or commentator.
And, what does he observe? Widespread violence, corruption, cruelty, lawlessness, and crime seem to be everywhere, and God appears to be doing absolutely nothing about it. To the prophet, this does not seem right, as being contrary to God’s essential character. Surely a God who values justice would not turn a blind eye to all this depravity.
God answers that He will indeed visit the sins of the Judeans and bring them to justice and will use the Babylonians to do this. But, Habakkuk protests, these people are even worse, even more violent and unjust! How can you do this, he asks.
God’s answer is less than satisfying to Habakkuk—or to us. He basically says, in today’s passage: ‘Just hold tight. Just hold on. I’m not finished yet. I still have some other things to take care of and I will let you in on it when the time is right. In the meantime, hold off on insisting on knowing all the answers and just trust me instead.’
To me, this is a powerful message for us today. We are faced with medical and political uncertainties, and with uncertainty within the business world and even within the church. We beg for definitive answers, for certainty, but we get none, none at all. The best we get are ‘guesses’, answers that are only as good as the data and information that we have at that moment. We are told to trust, and that is hard. But, even more in this time of flux and uncertainty, we need to trust God. He knows what He is doing and continues to work in His own sweet time and in His own sweet way. It simply isn’t yet the time for His answers to be forthcoming, or for His justice to be seen, but those will come. In the meantime, we are simply to trust, to hold on to Him, and let Him take care of us—and everything else! Amen.
Forward notes: “I will stand at my watchpost, and station myself on the rampart; I will keep watch to see what he will say to me, and what he will answer concerning my complaint” (verse 1).
“On the right side of my desk, a mountain of books threatens to tumble over, along with strewn pieces of scrap paper, each filled with some bit of writing inspiration I don’t want to forget. In the middle lies a desk calendar and my laptop, among a handful of other items, but on the left, tiny seeds are starting to reach toward the sun.
“We don’t have a greenhouse or a bounty of extra space to grow seeds for the next planting season, but it doesn’t matter: varieties of tomatoes and sweet peppers, kale and spinach, basil and chives have already started shooting upward. When I feel stuck in my writing, I often stare at the tiny buds, letting myself be reminded of the miracle of seed and soil and water.
“As I stare, I can’t help but imagine the back-and-forth conversation between Habakkuk and the Lord when Habakkuk promised to stand watch, looking and waiting for God’s reply. Perhaps it’s not so different in my own life, as I stare at the seeds, as I wait for words to come.”
Moving Forward: “What do you find yourself keeping watch over today?”
