Thayer Thursday – Crying stones and Minor Prophets
Sermon Passage: Luke 19:28-44
Habakkuk is a short (only 3 chapters!) book in the Old Testament.
It’s among those books referred to as the “Minor Prophets.” The word “Minor” doesn’t mean that it is unimportant compared with the “Major Prophets,” but rather that it is relatively short in length when compared with the writings of a book like Jeremiah or Isaiah.
Like most of the writings of the prophets in the Old Testament, this book is little-known and largely ignored. This is sad regarding any of these writings, but especially of Habakkuk because he asks some of the most poignant questions that we wrestle with today – namely, “Where is God in the midst of suffering and pain?” and “Why does He seem to allow the wicked to destroy the righteous?”
One of the main reasons Habakkuk is largely ignored is because it doesn’t make much sense without an understanding of its historical context. After all, it was written over two and a half millennia ago!
Habakkuk was written right before Jerusalem was destroyed in 586 BC. It was a time of political and religious turmoil. The Southern Kingdom of Israel (usually referred to as Judah as you read through the Old Testament) had continued in a downward spiral. It was an especially dark time in their history, which consisted of worshiping other gods, child sacrifices, witchcraft, and desecration of the temple (see 2 Kings 21:1-6).
Assyria, the super power nation of the day, was on the decline while Babylon, who would become the next super power, was rising.
During this time there was much jostling for political power and one of the kings who came to rule in Israel was unjust and cruel.
So Habakkuk cries out to God, asking Him why He wasn’t doing anything about it.
God answers Habakkuk, telling Him that He was raising up the Babylonians for the very purpose of punishing Jerusalem for how wicked she had been.
Habakkuk then asks the next logical question: Why would God tolerate the wicked Babylonians who don’t serve Him and who “swallow up those more righteous than themselves” (Habakkuk 1:13)?
The Lord responds to this question by declaring that the Babylonians are not going to escape punishment themselves for their wickedness either (notice here that God is not directing the wicked actions of the Babylonians – otherwise how could they be held responsible for what they did– but is instead redeeming their wickedness by using it as His agent for justice). The calamity that they have brought the people around them will circle back around and devour them as well.
So what does this have to do with Luke 19:28-44?
In Luke 19:40, Jesus tells the Pharisees that if His disciples don’t Praise God and welcome Jesus as King, that the rocks would cry out in their place.
This seems to be an allusion to Habakkuk 2:11. Habakkuk 2:11 is part of God’s response to Habakkuk’s second question to God about the Babylonians. God says: “The stones of the wall will cry out [about their injustice] and the beams of the woodwork will echo it.”
In other words, Jesus’ comments were not only about nature praising God and welcoming Jesus as King if nobody else did – but it was also a not-so-subtle indication of what Jesus would make explicit in Luke 19:41-44.
At this point in Luke’s narrative, Jerusalem on a whole is failing to recognize Jesus as the true King. They are going to be no better off than Babylon was for their injustice.
The praise of Jesus’ disciples is condemning Jerusalem, whose leaders failed to recognize their King Jesus…just as the stones of the walls during the time of Babylon were crying out in condemnation of Babylon.
This is why Jesus weeps over the city.
He knows that Jerusalem’s destruction is coming because she didn’t recognize that God had come to her in the person of Jesus.
Chris Thayer
Sermon: “Crying Stones”PS: If readers would like to see what the destruction predicted by Jesus looked like from an eyewitness account at the time, see the following:
Jesus’ prediction of the Temple’s destruction…from an eyewitness account (part 1)
Jesus’ prediction of the Temple’s destruction…from an eyewitness account (part 2)
Jesus’ prediction of the Temple’s destruction…from an eyewitness account (part 3)
Categories: Biblical Theology, Blog, New Testament