This morning, if you would turn to the book of Habakkuk, one of the minor prophets.

And I want to look at Habakkuk and some of the parallels.

I think it will be pretty easy to pick up the world we're living in today

and how the Lord was dealing with Judah at the time.

I'll read a few verses, and then we're going to jump around, actually, quite a bit.

It's only three chapters, but it's very,

very insightful. It's like you're reading today's newspaper in a way. But Habakkuk chapter one,

the burden, which the prophet Habakkuk had or saw. Oh Lord, how long shall I cry and you will not hear?

Even cry unto you violence and you will not say.

Why do you show me iniquity and cause me to see trouble for plundering and violence are before me?

There is strife and contention arises. Therefore the law is powerless. Justice never goes forth.

The wicked surround the righteous. Therefore, perverse judgment

proceeds. We'll jump back into it. We'll get in, but let's pray. Lord, we thank you for your word.

Lord, that's what we need more than ever, more than ever, Lord, in our world today. We need it

individually. We need it as a body. We need it as a country. And Lord, we ask that as we

just look at this book written so long ago, Lord, that it's almost like the paper today. We ask that

you would open it up to us. And Lord, your message that you gave to have a God, Lord, give it to us. It's never changed.

We ask it in Jesus' name. Amen. Well, here as we look at this little book, but it's quite insightful, as I already kind of suggested there already. We have the children of Israel at this point.

They'd actually had a very good king for a while, King Josiah, up until around 609 BC,

and they'd done quite well.

But his son took over and completely reversed course, and very rapidly, they went down and

were right at the door of disaster by the time

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