Weird Stuff in the Bible

God’s Methods are Weird to Us | Enoch 9 & Habakkuk 1
Habakkuk 1-2

Introduction
Do you ever get an answer that just leads to more questions?
I think a lot of us have had that experience. Sometimes we’re searching for the answer to some weird thing in the Bible, and when we finally find it, we find ourselves saying, “Well wait, what about this?” Or “I don’t know, this challenges the view I had of spiritual reality or what God is like.”
Honestly, our preconceptions of how God operates are probably our biggest hindrance to understanding some parts of the Bible. And if that’s you, don’t feel bad; it was Habakkuk’s problem as well.
Habakkuk, a prophet of God, one of the men selected to write a book of the Bible, certainly had his view of God challenged. Habakkuk had some issues with how God was running the world, he asked God about it, God actually answered Habakkuk, and Habakkuk wasn’t too satisfied with the answer.
Today, we’re going to read how that conversation between God and Habakkuk went down, and it’s going to help us understand how to process it when God’s actions don’t meet our expectations.
Then we’ll look at a similar conversation that was recorded amongst a group of angels in the Book of Enoch. And that discussion is going too help us understand what we should DO when God’s doesn’t do what we think He should.
Habakkuk argued with God. And when he didn’t like what God said, he argued some more.
I find that to be gutsy, and pretty weird, and I’d like to explore why it’s in the Bible.
Turn to Habakkuk 1, and let’s get weird.
[theme music]

Habakkuk’s Complaint
Welcome to Weird Stuff in the Bible, where we explore scripture passages that are bizarre, perplexing or just plain weird. This is Luke Taylor, and today we’re going to be continuing our journey through the Book of Enoch. And today is my favorite chapter of Enoch, as we’ll cover a conversation amongst angels in its ninth chapter.
But first, we’re going to look at this dialogue in the little minor prophet of Habakkuk. Have you ever argued with God? Most of us would say, “absolutely not, God is God. God is perfect. God is always right. If God says something, I would not dare to question it.”
OK, let me ask the question another way: Do you ever complain? Do you ever whine? Do you become disagreeable over how much money you make, or difficult life circumstances, or even what the weather is doing?
Because when you do, you might not be outright rebelling against God, but you are expressing your dissatisfaction with how He’s running the world- whether you take those complaints straight to Him or not.
And you’re not the only one who’s done this. In fact, this is what the prophet Habakkuk is doing as he opens up his book. Habakkuk is believed to have been written within a few decades before the Babylonian invasion of Israel, which started in 609 BC. Israel had been behaving very badly with idolatry and more and more immorality. So here’s what Habakkuk says to God
In chapter 1, verses 2 through 4:
2 O Lord, how long shall I cry for help,
    and you will not hear?
Or cry to you “Violence!”
    and you will not save?
3 Why do you make me see iniquity,
    and why do you idly look at wrong?
Destruction and violence are before me;
    strife and contention arise.
4 So the law is paralyzed,
    and justice never goes forth.
For the wicked surround the righteous;
    so justice goes forth perverted.
Habakkuk doesn’t hold back. He sees problems all around him, he knows God has said He’ll punish sin, and Habakkuk is wondering whether God’s going to make good on those promises.
Here’s how my ESV Study Bible describes this time period:
“…Judah had radically turned away from God under the leadership of the extremely wicked kings Manasseh and Amon, and the nation was ripe for punishment (2 Kings 23:26-27). Judah was morally and spiritually corrupt, worshiping Baal on the high places, offering its children to Molech, dedicating horses to the sun god, and allowing the temple to fall into ruin.” (Page 1719).
And so Habakkuk looks around at all this evil in his society and he’s wondering: Where are you, God? How much longer are you gonna let this go on? What’s the plan here? Are you even paying attention?
And it’s a question we can relate to, I think. I think there are times that we wonder the same thing as we look at our society. Or maybe we even look at problems in our own lives and we think: God, how much longer until you do something about this? How much longer will you let these things slide? Why did you let Rian Johnson direct a Star Wars movie?
And so Habakkuk is relatable. And he’s honest. And he takes that honesty before God. And he gets an honest answer- but it’s not the answer he was expecting.
God replies in verses 5 and 6
5 “Look among the nations, and see;
    wonder and be astounded.
For I am doing a work in your days
    that you would not believe if told.
6 For behold, I am raising up the Chaldeans,
    that bitter and hasty nation,
who march through the breadth of the earth,
    to seize dwellings not their own.
God says, “I am doing something about the sins of Israel. I am doing something about the wickedness amongst this people. I’m going to raise up the Chaldeans- AKA the Babylonians- to wipe out Israel.”
But wait a minute. This doesn’t make sense to Habakkuk. The Chaldeans are worse than Israel. These are pagans and monsters. There’s nothing redeemable about the Babylonians at all.
Like, the Israelites might be 70 or 80 or maybe even 90 percent bad- but the Babylonians are 100 percent bad. At least Israel was good at one time, but Babylon has never been good. Why punish Israel and reward Babylon?
Israel needs a spanking; it doesn’t need destroyed. That doesn’t help anyone. This is like when your kid’s room is a mess and it needs cleaned up. You have the kid clean their room. You don’t set it on fire and walk away. Unless Rian Johnson is in there.
So this solution doesn’t make sense to Habakkuk’s mind. It’s an answer that just invites more questions. And I don’t know about you, but I’m not always satisfied with answers that just open the door to more questions. But that’s how God sometimes responds.
So Habakkuk launches into a rebuttal.
Chapter 1, verse 13
13 You who are of purer eyes than to see evil
    and cannot look at wrong,
why do you idly look at traitors
    and remain silent when the wicked swallows up
    the man more righteous than he?
Habakkuk is like, “God, you can’t look at evil. Your eyes are so pure, you can’t even look at wrongdoing. How could you possibly use these wrongdoers? We aren’t as bad as Babylon; there’s nothing just about Babylon; how could you use Babylon as your instrument of justice?
And that’s where Habakkuk’s perception of God leads Him to misunderstand God’s ways. Where’s the Bible verse that says God can’t look at evil? That since God is so pure, that means He’s effectively blind to all the things that are going on in the world? That’s not good theology. God can use anyone to accomplish His purposes, even if they don’t want to cooperate with it. That’s how powerful God is.
But when we have incorrect theology- when we have misconceptions about God- we’re going to misunderstand God’s character sometimes. And by the way, we all have misunderstandings about God, because He’s just so much more complex than we are.
When my son was 3 or 4, I noticed him carrying a Bible that I didn’t recognize. I said, “Zech, where did that Bible come from?” He shook his head, “Daddy, God made the Bible. God made everything. God made trees. God made dinosaurs.” I picked his least favorite food that we could never get him to touch at the dinner table and I said, “Did God make lettuce?” He said, “noooooooooo…..”
So he had pretty good theology for a four-year-old. But He did have one misconception: God made lettuce, too. And while we should always try to know God better, no matter how good your theology is, there will always be aspects about God that are hard- or impossible- to wrap our minds around.
Isaiah 55:8 and 9 tell us
8 For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
    neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord.
9 For as the heavens are higher than the earth,
    so are my ways higher than your ways
    and my thoughts than your thoughts.
We’re never going to totally understand what God is doing. That’s what makes God God. And so the challenge for us is: can we trust Him? That is why God comes back in
Habakkuk 2:4 and says
Behold, his soul is puffed up; it is not upright within him,
    but the righteous shall live by his faith.
Or as some translations put it: the just shall live by faith. This is quoted three times in the New Testament: in Romans, in Galatians, and in Hebrews. The just shall live by faith. We may not always understand what God is doing, but whether we understand or not, the question before us is: can we trust Him in the meantime?
And “in the meantime” is key, because that’s where the trust comes in. In the waiting. When it seems like things may never change. When it seems like God has checked out. The meantime can be a mean time.
If you knew how long the waiting would be, it wouldn’t be so bad. But waiting on God usually means not knowing how long the wait is gonna last. It’s lasting longer than you ever thought it would. Your faith is being tested. The testing of your faith produces endurance, patience and perseverance. If you can trust Him in the meantime.

Enoch 9 and the Angels
And there are some angels in the book of Enoch who find themselves in a similar predicament to Habakkuk. The Book of Enoch has been telling us what the world was like in the pre-flood world. It has jived with Scripture pretty well, while also giving us a lot of details that expand our understanding of what was going on at that time.
We learned about the 200 rebellious Watchers/Sons of God who came down to the earth and created the giants. They also taught mankind forbidden practices and knowledge relating to sorcery, potions and astrology- as well as upgrading humanity’s weapons, making it easier for human beings to kill each other.
Not to mention the cannibalistic, demonic giants who were starting to dominate planet earth with their bloodline. As Genesis sums it up: “Now the earth was corrupt in God's sight, and the earth was filled with violence.” Enoch’s book paints the picture of what this violence consisted of, and you can go back to my first episode in this series back in January if you want to know why I give the Book of Enoch so much credibility, even if it’s not within the canon of the Bible. I explain why I believe Enoch was a legitimate prophet of God, and why I believe this book contains his genuine writings.
And those notes might be helpful to remember as we look at his ninth chapter today, which is quite unique as it contains a conversation between some angels as they survey the carnage that has spread throughout the world prior to the flood. It’s a surprising chapter for a couple of reasons: one, because we see that angels do not seem to know much more than people do as to God’s future plans; and two, because they have questions quite similar to Habakkuk’s about the dark and dire state of the world.
Enoch 9 says: 1. And then Michael, Uriel, Raphael, and Gabriel looked down from heaven and saw much blood being shed upon the earth, and all lawlessness being wrought upon the earth. 2. And they said one to another: 'The earth made †without inhabitant cries the voice of their crying† up to the gates of heaven. 3 ⌈⌈And now to you, the holy ones of heaven⌉⌉, the souls of men make their suit, saying, "Bring our cause before the Most High.".' 4. And they said to the Lord of the ages: 'Lord of lords, God of gods, King of kings, 〈and God of the ages〉, the throne of Thy glory (standeth) unto all the generations of the ages, and Thy name holy and glorious and blessed unto all the ages!
So first note here: we’ve a had a slight time jump here from what we talked about in the past few episodes. In chapters 6, 7 and 8, we were talking about the Days of Jared- when the Watchers came down to earth and started all this stuff. Now chapter 9 is taking place after this corruption has been taking place for several years; now we’re in the Days of Enoch. Only this chapter is not something Enoch is present for; its taking place in the spiritual realm, up in heaven.
Four angels are puzzling over why God has allowed this evil to spread for so long. It doesn’t make sense to them. They know God, so they know God is aware of the problem. But He doesn’t seem to be doing anything about it.
Enoch 9 continued: 5. Thou hast made all things, and power over all things hast Thou: and all things are naked and open in Thy sight, and Thou seest all things, and nothing can hide itself from Thee. 6. Thou seest what Azâzêl hath done, who hath taught all unrighteousness on earth and revealed the eternal secrets which were (preserved) in heaven, which men were striving to learn: 7. And Semjâzâ, to whom Thou hast given authority to bear rule over his associates. 8. And they have gone to the daughters of men upon the earth, and have slept with the women, and have defiled themselves, and revealed to them all kinds of sins. 9. And the women have borne giants, and the whole earth has thereby been filled with blood and unrighteousness.
This is what Enoch 6-8 were all about, so they’re recapping all the stuff that’s been going on for decades at this point. And the chapter is almost over but these last few comments are super interesting:
10. And now, behold, the souls of those who have died are crying and making their suit to the gates of heaven, and their lamentations have ascended: and cannot cease because of the lawless deeds which are wrought on the earth.
Souls of those who have died…where are they now? How are they making suit- in other words, pleading their case- to heaven? This could possibly mean that their blood spilled on the ground is crying out for justice, much like Abel’s in Genesis 4. And I did a couple episodes recently talking about how that all works.
But also, these souls could be in Sheol, in Abraham’s Bosom, waiting for justice. This is where souls waited in Old Testament times until Jesus died on the cross and made a way to heaven.
But it’s interesting; the angels hear these prayers going up. They question why God isn’t responding to them. The angels affirm some basic facts about God that the Bible supports: God sees all and knows all. Nothing escapes His attention. God’s not caught off guard by what’s happened. In fact, they’ll even affirm next that God knew what was going to happen before it happened, so they puzzle over why God allowed it. It’s interesting because these are the very same questions that humans wonder about, and the angels question these things right here.
11. And Thou knowest all things before they come to pass, and Thou seest these things and Thou dost suffer them, and Thou dost not say to us what we are to do to them in regard to these.'
They have faith in God, but they still have questions. Even angels aren’t in on the whole plan.
If that sounds far-fetched, let me just remind you: Jesus even says in Matthew 24 that God the Father can even withhold certain information from God the Son, such as when the end times will kick off. Jesus said in
Matthew 24:36
But concerning that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only.
So there you have it right there: even Jesus didn’t know all things that God the Father was keeping track of back then. Now, Jesus sits at the right hand of the Father; maybe Jesus knows these things. Maybe He doesn’t. But the angels don’t know, and even that fact is interesting to me.
If we think of this from a practical perspective, not all of the angels and heavenly beings would stay loyal to God. There’s kind of a palace intrigue aspect to the heavenly court, or Divine Council. So it makes logical sense that God would withhold information from His own beings, much like how the high-ups in military organizations don’t tell every last detail to the lower level soldiers. They just expect your obedience, even if you don’t know the whole plan.
It works a similar way in God’s Kingdom, right down to you and I. We’re meant to exercise our faith.

FAITH
Faith that God is sovereign and God has a plan, even when we don’t know what it is.
There is a lot of weird stuff in the Bible that doesn’t make sense to us. That’s why I do this whole podcast; there are a lot of answers out there, if you’re willing to dig. I do this show to share some of the treasures I find as I explore God’s Word and its original historical context. It makes sense of a lot of these confusing elements.
But then there are always going to be times that I don’t find all the answers. There are decisions God makes that I don’t quite get. There are commands He gives that I don’t see a reason for. Sometimes I can put some pieces together and start to understand the reason, but not 100% of the time.
But my understanding is not the question God is most interested in. The question God is interested in is: will I obey?
Think about it: if I withheld my obedience until I understood, I wouldn’t be living by faith. If every time God told me something, I asked why, and then He had to explain why His command was really the best way to live for purposes of holiness or human flourishing or whatever, then of course I would do it. But I wouldn’t be obeying at that point. I would just be agreeing. I’d be saying, “Oh, OK God, now that you’ve explained the logical basis for this command, I’ll comply with this request.” Well duh, of course I’ll comply when I understand all things. But again, God’s not interested in my understanding. God actually cares a lot more about this question: will Luke still comply even when He doesn’t understand why? And that’s where faith is put into action.
And this is a question God asks of all of us, even for things outside the Bible. When you don’t understand what’s going on in your own life. Will you trust that God still has a plan? Will you continue to live for God even when it seems like you aren’t getting any benefit out of it? Even when it seems like it’s hurting you more than it’s helping you?
To be honest, this is a question I’ve struggled with lots of times in life, even many times this past year. I’ve looked up to heaven and said, “God, I don’t understand what’s going on. I’ve tried to do right and it seems like life has only gotten worse.” And in those moments, our faith is being tested. Sometimes I’ve made the right decision and sometimes I haven’t. Those moments show us what we’re truly made of. And the question God is interested in in those moments is: will you obey, even when you don’t see a personal benefit? Can you trust that God has a plan?
James 1:2-4 say
2 Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, 3 for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. 4 And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.
I haven’t counted it all joy in various trials, if I’m being completely honest. It’s hard to rejoice when you’re going through some kind of testing period.
Malachi 3:3 says
…he [God] is like a refiner's fire and like fullers' soap.
The refiner’s fire is not fun. It shows you what you’re made of. These testings are not fun.
But my sufferings and my trials have not lasted forever. I got through them. I came out stronger. And God showed Himself faithful when I remained faithful to Him.
And so I share these things today to encourage you who are listening, if you’re going through a test of some kind and it seems like God is silent and it seems like God isn’t paying attention and it seems like God is never going to come through: your trust in God is being tested. These tests are part of our faith walk. I can promise you: God sees everything you’re going through. God understands the situation, even if you don’t.
But the question God is interested in is not whether you will understand, too. Maybe you will someday, maybe you won’t. The question God is interested in is will you continue to obey Him, even if you don’t understand why?
And I love the question the angels ask here, because I think it’s a question we should ask, too. Enoch’s ninth chapter ends with the angels saying: Thou knowest all things before they come to pass, and Thou seest these things and Thou dost suffer them, and Thou dost not say to us what we are to do to them in regard to these.
Translation: “God, we don’t understand what’s going on and why you seem to just let all these terrible things happen. But we know you do understand. So what are we supposed to be doing in the meantime?”
And I love that question. To say, God, even if I don’t know what’s going on, just please: show me my place in the story you’re telling. Waiting is the hard part. But please show me what I should be doing while I’m waiting.
And I know the book of Enoch isn’t Scripture, so I’m not preaching this as a Scriptural command. But I think the angels in Enoch 9 present a great example for us of how we can respond in moments of confusion like these.

Closing Thoughts
And God will respond to the words of these angels in Enoch chapter 10, which is what we’ll look into next week. So make sure you’re subscribed so you can get that episode.
If you need to get in touch with me in the meantime- if you even desire prayer for a situation you’re going through- maybe you feel one of these tests of life and you’re walking through it right now and wondering if it will ever end- I’d consider it a privilege to pray with you- or for anything you’re dealing with. No judgment on my part. I don’t think I’ve always passed the tests that God has put me through. But I would feel privileged to pray with you and try to encourage you, if that’s where you’re at today. Just send me an email to WeirdStuffInTheBible@gmail.com
One of the most famous books of the Bible regarding suffering is Job. We all know Job’s story. Some try to say that the point of Job’s book is to show us why the righteous suffer. But if that were the case, then Job’s book fails, because it never answers that question.
But God comes in at the end of this book and reveals that He’s in control, even when things look out of control. I like how Pastor Tim Keller sums up the story: Job never saw the answer to his problems. He saw God, and that was enough.
Right now, we see through a glass darkly. But someday, we’ll see face to face. And maybe someday lettuce or Rian Johnson will make sense to me.
One quick story as I wrap things up: a few years ago, at the Christian radio station where I work, we have a generator. Every Monday, that generator kicks on for about 10 minutes just to test and make sure everything is functioning properly, and while it’s running, these flaps will open up and release some of the excess heat. There was a maintenance worker who came by to do some work on our generator, and before he left, he forgot to reinstall a flap on one part of the machine that releases some heat when it gets too hot inside. And when this happened, it was the last week of August. That coming Monday was Labor Day, and nobody was at the station when the generator kicked on. Since that flap wasn’t where it was supposed to be, it released so much heat that it ignited the wood of a deck right above the generator. So the radio station literally caught on fire while there was nobody there.
But one of my coworkers, named Ben, happened to pull into the radio station parking lot just as the fire was starting. On his day off. Ben had to move some files onto a computer that would air later that day. He could have moved the files remotely from home, but his home internet was acting up. So he drove into work to stop by for a couple minutes on his day off and happened to pull into the station right as it caught on fire. He immediately called the fire department; the fire department just happened to be at a relay station less than a mile away at that very moment. They got over to the radio station and put out the fire within minutes. The only thing we lost that day was the deck, which was easily replaceable, especially compared to how bad it could have been.
So think about how intricate God’s hand was in that whole situation. If Ben hadn’t decided to move those files, he never would have had to stop by. If Ben’s internet wasn’t malfunctioning at his house, he wouldn’t have come by the station that day. If Ben had showed up 10 minutes earlier, or 10 minutes later, he wouldn’t have showed up at just the right time to call the fire department, and we could have lost the whole station. If the fire department hadn’t been at that relay station, they wouldn’t have got out to us so fast, and the damage would’ve been so much worse. I might have had no job to come back to when I returned to work the next Tuesday.
It shows just how intricately God was in control of the whole situation. It still blows my mind to think about.
But then it also makes me wonder: Why did there have to be a fire in the first place? If God’s control is so detailed, why did that maintenance worker have to forget to install that flap the week before? And my kid raised a good point: why does lettuce have to taste like that? I’m sure God has an answer to those questions, but maybe the answers would just lead to even more questions. And those answers would probably lead to more questions after that.
Because God is an incredible multitasker. I couldn’t possibly understand all that He’s up to, and I don’t need to. All I need to remember is that He has it under control. He knows what He’s doing.
Habakkuk prayed, “God, what’s going on?” God said, “Habakkuk, you wouldn’t believe me if I told you.” And then He tells Habakkuk He’ll use the Babylonians to punish Israel, and Habakkuk is like, “I can’t believe it, God. How can you use evil to fulfill your goals?” And if you keep reading, God will tell Habakkuk in chapter 2 that He’ll punish Babylon later. And I you read into chapter 3, you’ll see Habakkuk saying this:
17 Though the fig tree should not blossom,
    nor fruit be on the vines,
the produce of the olive fail
    and the fields yield no food,
the flock be cut off from the fold
    and there be no herd in the stalls,
18 yet I will rejoice in the Lord;
    I will take joy in the God of my salvation.
Even when life stinks- and sometimes, life is gonna stink- can we rejoice in the Lord anyway?
Babylon WILL be judged. In God’s time. He doesn’t miss a thing.
And the question we have to ask is not whether God will act; it’s what should I be doing in the meantime?
God is not weird. His ways are just higher than our ways, and His thoughts are higher than our thoughts, and that’s why they seem so weird. Thanks for listening, God bless you for sticking around until the end, and we’ll see you next time on Weird Stuff in the Bible.