Northern Kingdom already in Assyrian exile 1 Est Year BC Prophet From To Period Address Obadiah 848 841 PreExile Edom Joel 835 835 PreExile Judah Jonah 782 753 PreExile Assyria ID: 754065
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35 Habakkuk
HABAKKUK
Judah
(Northern Kingdom already in Assyrian exile)
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1Slide2
Est. Year BC
Prophet From / To Period Address
Obadiah 848 / 841 Pre-Exile Edom Joel 835 / 835 Pre-Exile Judah Jonah 782 / 753 Pre-Exile Assyria
Amos 760 / 753 Pre-Exile Israel
Hosea 755 / 715 Pre-Exile Israel lsaiah 740 / 680 Pre-Exile Judah Micah 735 / 700 Pre-Exile Judah, Israel in Exile Judah Nahum 664 / 654 Pre-Exile Judah, Israel in Exile Assyria Zephaniah 632 / 628 Pre-Exile Judah, Israel in Exile Judah Jeremiah 627 / 580 Pre-Exile Judah, Israel in Exile Judah Habakkuk 609 / 605 Pre-Exile Judah, Israel in Exile Judah Daniel 605 / 535 Judah also In Exile Judah Ezekiel 593 / 571 Judah also In Exile Judah Haggai 520 / 520 Post-Exile Returned Jew Zechariah 520 / 480 Post-Exile Returned Jew Malachi 432 / 424 Post-Exile Returned Jew
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The Prophets:
The pre-exilic prophets are simply those that were given to these nations before the children of Israel were taken into captivity into the land of Babylon - before it, 'pre-'.
The exilic prophets are those that were written by the children of Israel, and to the children of Israel, in the land of Babylon during their captivity.
Then the post-exilic prophets are written after that, when the children of Israel have been delivered and have come out of their captivity in Babylon. Slide4
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OT Prophets
There were many nations, many empires, in the days of the minor prophets.
In the time of the prophets, Major and Minor, the Israelites had three main enemies.
The Edomites, The Assyrians, and The Chaldeans (who were the Babylonians). Slide5
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OT Prophets
Habakkuk
delivers a pre-exile message concerning Babylon and ultimately of their judgment and their doom.
The Hosea and Amos were written to the northern Kingdom of Israel. Lamentations, Micah, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Joel, Zephaniah, and Habakkuk were written to the southern Kingdom of Judah. Jonah and Nahum were written to Assyria ; Obadiah was written to Edom, Israel's enemy. During the exile from Babylon, Daniel and Ezekiel were written. After Judah came out of exile in the land of Babylon, Haggai, Zechariah, and
Malachi
were written to the city of Jerusalem.
The Assyrian Empire and the Babylonian Empire are the two main empires that we think about as we study the book of Habakkuk.Slide6
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Pre Exile:
To Israel (Ephraim)
Hosea, Amos
To JudahLamentations, Micah, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Joel,Zephaniah, HabakkukTo AssyriaJonah, NahumTo EdomObadiahIn Exile from BabylonEzekiel, DanielPost Exile to JerusalemHaggai, Zechariah, MalachiOT Prophets Slide7
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The Kingdoms of
Israel and JudahSlide8Slide9
Habakkuk 1:1 - ESV
(1:1) The oracle that Habakkuk the prophet saw.
(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.Slide10
Habakkuk 1:5 - ESV
(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.
(7) They are dreaded and fearsome; their justice and dignity go forth from themselves.(8) Their horses are swifter than leopards, more fierce than the evening wolves; their horsemen press proudly on.
Their horsemen come from afar;
they fly like an eagle swift to devour.(9) They all come for violence, all their faces forward. They gather captives like sand.(10) At kings they scoff, and at rulers they laugh. They laugh at every fortress, for they pile up earth and take it.(11) Then they sweep by like the wind and go on, guilty men, whose own might is their god!“Slide11
Habakkuk 1:12 - ESV
(12) Are you not from everlasting, O LORD my God, my Holy One?
We shall not die. O LORD, you have ordained them as a judgment, and you, O Rock, have established them for reproof.(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?(14) You make mankind like the fish of the sea, like crawling things that have no ruler.(15) He brings all of them up with a hook;
he drags them out with his net;
he gathers them in his dragnet; so he rejoices and is glad.(16) Therefore he sacrifices to his net and makes offerings to his dragnet; for by them he lives in luxury, and his food is rich.(17) Is he then to keep on emptying his net and mercilessly killing nations forever?Slide12
Habakkuk 2:1 - ESV
(2:1) I will take my stand at my
watchpost and station myself on the tower, and look out to see what he will say to me, and what I will answer concerning my complaint.(2) And the LORD answered me: "Write the vision; make it plain on tablets, so he may run who reads it.
(3) For still the vision awaits its appointed time; it hastens to the end -- it will not lie. If it seems slow, wait for it; it will surely come;
it will not delay.
(4) "Behold, his soul is puffed up; it is not upright within him, but the righteous shall live by his faith.Slide13
Habakkuk 2:5 - ESV
(5) "Moreover, wine is a traitor, an arrogant man who is never at rest.
His greed is as wide as Sheol; like death he has never enough.
He gathers for himself all nations and collects as his own all peoples.“(6) Shall not all these take up their taunt against him, with scoffing and riddles for him, and say,
"Woe to him who heaps up what is not his own-- for how long?-- and loads himself with pledges!“
(7) Will not your debtors suddenly arise, and those awake who will make you tremble? Then you will be spoil for them.(8) Because you have plundered many nations, all the remnant of the peoples shall plunder you, for the blood of man and violence to the earth, to cities and all who dwell in them.Slide14
Habakkuk 2:9 - ESV
(9) "Woe to him who gets evil gain for his house,
to set his nest on high, to be safe from the reach of harm!(10) You have devised shame for your house by cutting off many peoples; you have forfeited your life.
(11) For the stone will cry out from the wall, and the beam from the woodwork respond.(12) "Woe to him who builds a town with blood and founds a city on iniquity!
(13) Behold, is it not from the LORD of hosts that peoples labor merely for fire,
and nations weary themselves for nothing?(14) For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD as the waters cover the sea.Slide15
Habakkuk 2:15 - ESV
(15) "Woe to him who makes his neighbors drink
-- you pour out your wrath and make them drunk, in order to gaze at their nakedness!(16) You will have your fill of shame instead of glory.
Drink, yourself, and show your uncircumcision! The cup in the LORD's right hand will come around to you, and utter shame will come upon your glory!
(17) The violence done to Lebanon will overwhelm you,
as will the destruction of the beasts that terrified them, for the blood of man and violence to the earth, to cities and all who dwell in them.Slide16
Habakkuk 2:18 - ESV
(18) "What profit is an idol when its maker has shaped it,
a metal image, a teacher of lies? For its maker trusts in his own creation when he makes speechless idols!
(19) Woe to him who says to a wooden thing, Awake; to a silent stone, Arise! Can this teach? Behold, it is overlaid with gold and silver,
and there is no breath at all in it.
(20) But the LORD is in his holy temple; let all the earth keep silence before him.“Slide17
Habakkuk 3:1 - ESV
(3:1) A prayer of Habakkuk the prophet, according to
Shigionoth.(2) O LORD, I have heard the report of you, and your work, O LORD, do I fear.
In the midst of the years revive it; in the midst of the years make it known; in wrath remember mercy.(3) God came from
Teman
, and the Holy One from Mount Paran.His splendor covered the heavens,and the earth was full of his praise. SelahSlide18
Habakkuk 3:4 - ESV
(4) His brightness was like the light;
rays flashed from his hand; and there he veiled his power.(5) Before him went pestilence, and
plague followed at his heels.(6) He stood and measured the earth; he looked and shook the nations; then the eternal mountains were scattered;
the everlasting hills sank low.
His were the everlasting ways.Slide19
Habakkuk 3:7 - ESV
(7) I saw the tents of
Cushan in affliction; the curtains of the land of Midian did tremble.
(8) Was your wrath against the rivers, O LORD? Was your anger against the rivers, or your indignation against the sea, when you rode on your horses,
on your chariot of salvation?
(9) You stripped the sheath from your bow, calling for many arrows. SelahYou split the earth with rivers.(10) The mountains saw you and writhed; the raging waters swept on; the deep gave forth its voice; it lifted its hands on high.(11) The sun and moon stood still in their place at the light of your arrows as they sped, at the flash of your glittering spear.Slide20
Habakkuk 3:12 - ESV
(12) You marched through the earth in fury;
you threshed the nations in anger.(13) You went out for the salvation of your people, for the salvation of your anointed.
You crushed the head of the house of the wicked, laying him bare from thigh to neck. Selah(14) You pierced with his own arrows the heads of his warriors, who came like a whirlwind to scatter me,
rejoicing as if to devour the poor in secret.
(15) You trampled the sea with your horses, the surging of mighty waters.Slide21
Habakkuk 3:16 - ESV
(16) I hear, and my body trembles;
my lips quiver at the sound; rottenness enters into my bones; my legs tremble beneath me.
Yet I will quietly wait for the day of trouble to come upon people who invade us.(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.(19) GOD, the Lord, is my strength; he makes my feet like the deer's; he makes me tread on my high places. To the choirmaster: with stringed instruments.Slide22
Habakkuk
Introduction
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Habakkuk is among the last of the “minor” prophets to preach in Judah before the Babylonian captivity. NT quotes:
Hab 1:5 Acts 13:40-41 Hab 2:4 Rom 1:17; Gal 3:11; Heb 10:38 Hab 3:17-19 Phil 4:4, 10-19 Habakkuk probably lived about the 12th or 13th year of the reign of Josiah. The book was probably written about 609 b.c., during the reign of Jehoiakim.Those were dark, troubling times. Babylon formed an axis with the Medes to overthrow the Assyrians; would continue to rise under the generalship (and later kingship) of Nebuchadnezzar.Slide23
12/21/2016
Assyrian Captivity
Jehoram
8
Ahaziah
1Athaliah 6Joash 40Amaziah 29Uzziah 52
Jotham
16
Ahaz
16
Hezekiah 29
Manasseh 55
Amon
2
Josiah 31
Jehoahaz
(3
mos
)
Jehoiakim
11
Jehoiakin
(3
mos
)
Zedekiah 11
Jehoram 12
Jehu 28
Jehoahaz 17
Jehoash 16
Jeroboam II 41
Zechariah
½
Shallum (1 mo)
Menahem 10
Pekahiah 2
Pekah 20
Hoshea 9
Babylonian Captivity
2
nd
Kings & 2 Chronicles
2
nd
Kings
Joel
Isaiah
Micah
Zephaniah
Jeremiah
Habakkuk
Obadiah
Jonah
Nahum
Elisha
Hosea
Amos
Nineveh
Post-Exile
Ezra
Nehemiah
Esther
Zerubabel
The Southern Kingdom
The Northern Kingdom
Assyria falls to Babylon
Hosea
Joel
Amos
Obadiah
Jonah
Micah
Nahum
Habakkuk
Zephaniah
Haggai
Zechariah
Malachi
Minor
Prophets
Haggai
Zechariah
Malachi
Daniel
Ezekiel
(400 “Silent Years”) &
The
New Testament
Northern Kingdom
Hosea
Amos
Gentiles
Obadiah
Jonah
Nahum
Southern Kingdom
Joel
Micah
Zephaniah
Habakkuk
Post-Exile
Haggal
Zechariah
MalachiSlide24
1
st
Siege
“Servitude of the Nation”
“Desolations of Jerusalem”
Decree of
Artaxerxes
2
nd
Chronicles
Ezra
Nehemiah
2
nd
Siege
3
rd
Siege
Babylon
Persian Empire
Decree of
Cyrus
Triggers the 70 Weeks of Daniel
Daniel
Ezekiel
Haggai
Zechariah
Malachi
Jeremiah
Zephaniah
Habakkuk
EstherSlide25
Habakkuk a Priest and a Prophet ?
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Habakkuk was probably a priest before he was called as a prophet. (“my stringed instruments...” cf. Hab 3:19
) , as was also Jeremiah, and at about the same time.
Habakkuk’s book is not being initiated by God into the ministry of a Prophet, but rather Habakkuk is initiating a dialogue with God about the ministry. Habakkuk is the initiator and God is the responder. Habakkuk’s little book indicates that he knew the Scriptures well, was a competent theologian, and had great faith in God. Because chapter 3 is a psalm some scholars think he may have been a priest who led worship in the temple. If so, then like Jeremiah and Ezekiel, he was a priest called to be a prophet — a more difficult ministry.Slide26
Habakkuk
Introduction
# 26
Habakkuk means “to embrace” or “to wrestle”. He does both.
He wrestles with God concerning the problem of how a holy God could use a wicked nation like Babylon to chasten the people of Judah.
Then by faith, he embraces God and clings to His promises. Habakkuk wrestles with the spiritual decline of the nation and why God wasn’t doing something about it. Habakkuk wanted to see the people revived (3:2), but God wasn’t answering his prayers.Habakkuk’s main theme (like Ps 37, 49, 73, Job, et al.) is God’s consistency with Himself in view of permitted evil; the affliction of the godly and the prosperity of the ungodly. Why do bad things happen to good people? “theodicy”: a defense of God’s goodness and omnipotence in view of evil.Slide27
Habakkuk 1 The Prophet’s Questions
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When you trust Jesus Christ, you don’t get rid of all your problems.Your basic spiritual problem — your relationship with God — has been solved, but with that solution comes a whole new set of problems and questions:“Why do good people suffer and evil people prosper?” or
“Why isn’t God answering my prayer?” or
“When I’m doing my best for the Lord, why do I experience the worst from others?”Christians who claim to be without problems or questions are either not telling the truth or just not growing and experiencing real life. Slide28
Habakkuk 1
The Prophet’s Questions
# 28
Like Job’s uncomfortable comforters, we often mistake shallow optimism for the peace of God and “the good life” for the blessing of God. Habakkuk wasn’t that kind of a believer. Even David and Jesus asked,
“My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?”
(Ps. 22:1; Matt. 27:46).Paul often expressed his concerns for his countrymen and fellow believers and felt deep despair himself.As Habakkuk surveyed the land of Judah and then watched the international scene, he found himself struggling with some serious problems. But he did the right thing: he took his problems to the Lord.Slide29
Habakkuk in His Time
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Habakkuk was a contemporary of Nahum, Zephaniah, and Jeremiah, during the reigns of Josiah (640–609 BC) and Jehoiakim (609–598).Assyria was off the scene;
Babylon (“the Chaldeans”) was in power.
Shortly before King Nebuchadnezzar came and ravaged the cities of Assyria, he went through Nineveh as Jonah had warned them. By this time Nebuchadnezzar had defeated Egypt in 605 and was about to attack Judah. Jeremiah had announced that Babylon would invade Judah. Nebuchadnezzar destroyed the temple and the city and carried many of the people of Judah into the land of Babylon where they remained for 70 years in captivity. Slide30
Habakkuk
Historical ContextKing Josiah
#
30Josiah was one of the better kings of Judah: He began to reign at age 8;
Sought the Lord at age 16 (
2 Chr 34:3). At 26, he ordered the temple to be remodeled;A copy of the law was found by Hilkiah the priest in a corner of the Temple. Apparently there was not another known copy in the land. Josiah had it read aloud to the people who were amazed. Josiah realized how far they had drifted from God’s commands.He wept before the Lord and called the people to seek the Lord and institute the festivals and feasts of Israel once again.Slide31
Habakkuk
Historical ContextKing Josiah
#
31After the death of Josiah (in a battle with Pharaoh Necho
of Egypt on the plain of Megiddo in 609
b.c.), disillusionment with the reforms set in.Judah reverted to its former ways. Jeremiah and Ezekiel describe this period in detail.The reign of Josiah (640-609 b.c.) had allowed the people to enjoy a greater degree of prosperity than had been possible in previous years. Ignoring the spiritual dimensions, they thought the new era would last indefinitely. The realities that faced them, however, could not have been anticipated by either the political liberals or the religiously minded conservatives.Slide32
Habakkuk
Historical Context
# 32
By this time, the power of Assyria had collapsed. Political supremacy belonged to Egypt. Strong political ties, however, had been established with the emerging kingdom of Babylon.
Judah being a vassal of Egypt and a friend of Babylon seemed to be secure with no serious threat to their prosperity.
As in most times of relative peace and prosperity, the leaders and the people ignored the spiritual reasons for their material prosperity.Then (as now):The rich exploit the poor. Greed and avarice characterize the times.Perversions of all kinds are openly promoted and protected by law. Real power is increasingly concentrated among an elite few... Then Habakkuk, Zephaniah, and Jeremiah were on the scene — calling the people to true spirituality.Slide33
Habakkuk
Historical Context King Jehoikim
#
33After Josiah came Jehoikim (609-598
b.c
.), an evil king. Between was Jehoahaz, who only lasted three months. Jehoikim’s reign was characterized by injustice and bloodshed. He burned an initial scroll by Jeremiah; Jeremiah then prophesied an even bleaker future for Judah (Jer 36:29).Habakkuk wonders: “Lord, why don’t you judge your people?” Jer 22:3, 13-17; also Jer 12:1; 20:8; and Job 19:7. Habakkuk starts out wrestling with God and ends up worshiping Him.Slide34
Habakkuk Chapter 1 Outline
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I. THE PROPHET WONDERING AND WORRYINGA. God is indifferent — 1:2–4 God’s reply: I am working —
1:5–11
B. God is inconsistent — 1:12–17Slide35
Habakkuk Chapter 2 Outline
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II. THE PROPHET WATCHING AND WAITINGA. Write God’s vision — 2:1–3B. Trust God’s world —
2:4–5
“The just shall live by faith” 2:4C. Declare God’s judgment — 2:6–201. Woe to the selfish — 2:6–82. Woe to the covetous — 2:9–113. Woe to the exploiters — 2:12–14“God’s glory will fill the earth” — 2:144. Woe to the drunkards — 2:15–175. Woe to the idolaters — 2:18–20“God is still on His throne” — 2:20Slide36
Habakkuk Chapter 3 Outline
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III. THE PROPHET WORSHIPPING AND WITNESSINGA. He prays to God — 3:1–2B. He ponders God’s ways —
3:3–15
C. He praises God — 3:16–19Slide37
The Book of Habakkuk
A Burden: An agony of perplexity
The ostensible silence, inactivity, and apparent unconcern of GodWhy would God use a people far more wicked than Judah themselves?A Vision“The Just Shall Live By Faith” 2:4
A Prayer“Rest in the day of tribulation” 3:16
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Habakkuk
The first chapter deals with a burden: sighing,
Chapter 1: faith - this man's faith, and our faith, grappling with problems
The second chapter deals with a vision: seeing, Chapter 2 we find: faith grasping at the solution,The third chapter deals with a prayer: singing. Chapter 3: faith glorifying in its assurance.Slide39
Key verse / The Theme:
Habakkuk 2:4
The Just Shall Live By Faith Romans 1:17
The Just Shall Live By Faith Galatians 3:11The Just Shall Live
By Faith
Hebrews 10:38It takes three New Testament books to explain and apply this one verse!# 39Slide40
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Habakkuk
Habakkuk is a lament,
especially chapter 3 is a Psalm,
it is a weeping Psalm it's not a public address, it's not specifically a message of preaching that was given by this prophet Habakkuk to the nation of Judah, This little book is a discourse, it's a dialogue, a speech, a debate between this man and God. It seems that there was no one else speaking within the book. Slide41
Habakkuk Assurance amidst Woe
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41
God’s statements are the assurances that God gave to Habakkuk in the midst of the “woes.” They remind us that, no matter how difficult life may become:God’s promises can be trusted (
v. 4
), His glory will one day prevail (v. 14), and He is on His holy throne in complete control of people and events (v. 20). When Habakkuk realized this, he broke out into singing (chp 3)Slide42
Habakkuk
#
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The God-Bound Man Of Burden
Watching And Waiting
Doing It God's Way The Welcome Woes Revive Thy Work When God Works Slide43
Habakkuk 1
BEWARE THE LAMB
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12/21/2016Slide44
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Habakkuk 1:1-5
1 The burden which Habakkuk the prophet did see.
2 O LORD, how long shall I cry, and thou wilt not hear! even cry out unto thee of violence, and thou wilt not save!
3 Why dost thou shew me iniquity, and cause me to behold grievance? for spoiling and violence are before me: and there are that raise up strife and contention.4 Therefore the law is slacked, and judgment doth never go forth: for the wicked doth compass about the righteous; therefore wrong judgment proceedeth.5 Behold ye among the heathen, and regard, and wonder marvelously: for I will work a work in your days, which ye will not believe, though it be told you.Three things to notice from the five verses of the first chapter. 1st : a man, the embracer of God. 2nd : a burden. That burden is the silence of God. 3rd : a hope, the promise of God. Slide45
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45
Habakkuk 1:1 The Embracer Of God
1:1 The oracle which Habakkuk the prophet saw.
Habakkuk's closeness to God was the reason why he was burdened.
Such closeness is not always without its questions and always brings its burdens.Being a perceptive man, Habakkuk knew the kingdom of Judah was rapidly deteriorating. Since the death of King Josiah in 609 BC, his religious reforms had been forgotten and his son and successor Jehoiakim had been leading the nation closer to disaster. If you want to know what God thought about Jehoiakim, read Jer. 22:13–19.Slide46
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Habakkuk 1:1 The Burden
1 The burden which Habakkuk the prophet did see.
We don't know much about Habakkuk.
We don't know who his family was.We don't really know what tribe he was from.We don't know where he was born, or where he lived.The people of his day may have known him very well which may be why he didn't need to give any info about who he was.We do know that the name Habakkuk means: 'The embracer of God‘He hugged God tight, He clung onto God, He was one who held onto God staying close to Him. Slide47
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Habakkuk 1:1 The Burden
1 The burden which Habakkuk the prophet did see.
Habakkuk was burdened because he was so close to God,
It's almost as if he felt in some small way what God was feeling.God was imparted to him His feelings, His convictions, His viewpoint of the nation of Judah at that particular time. To be an embracer of God, to hold onto God no matter what.What burdens God, will burden you. What saddens God, will sadden you. What angers God, will anger you.What pleases God, will please you.Slide48
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Habakkuk 1:1 The Burden
The burden which Habakkuk the prophet did see.
Every Old Testament book within the Hebrew Bible begins and is titled with the first few words of the book.
In the Hebrew Bible the book of Habakkuk is actually entitled: 'The Burden Of Habakkuk‘Which is the first few words of the book.“...burden”: massah, a load to be lifted; heavy judgmentsSlide49
#
49
Habakkuk 1:1 The Burden
1 The burden
H4853
which Habakkuk the prophet did see. KJV1 The oracle H4853 which Habakkuk the prophet saw. NASBH4853 משּׂא maśśâ‘ = “burden”1) load, bearing, tribute, burden, lifting (noun masculine)1a) load, burden1b) lifting, uplifting, that to which the soul lifts itself up1c) bearing, carrying1d) tribute, that which is carried or brought or borne2) utterance, oracle, burden (noun masculine)3) a son of Ishmael (noun proper masculine)It's used of the Levites when they carried the Ark of the CovenantDeu
1:12, Job 7:20
, use this word as a burden of the soul
As if the burden that they bear is something that they have been given, not to chide, not to harm, but as a responsibility given for them to steward and for them to use - they are responsible for it. Slide50
#
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Habakkuk 1:1 The Burden
1 The burden
H4853
which Habakkuk the prophet did see. KJV The oracle H4853 which Habakkuk the prophet saw. NASBThe idea here is that it's not something to be hidden Mat 5:15-16 [Mar 4:21; Luk 11:33]15 nor does anyone light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house.16 "Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven. When Paul testified to Festus, he said to him: Act 26:26 “....I am persuaded that none of these things escape his notice; for this has not been done in a corner. The burden, the message, the oracle of the Gospel that we have for souls (or ought to have), we have been given by the Lord Jesus Christ is not something to be kept within
oursleves
.
It's something to be lifted up that the world may see it and fear, and that many may trust in the Lord! Slide51
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Habakkuk 1:1 The Burden
1 The burden
H4853
which Habakkuk the prophet did see. KJVIn Habakkuk's day the people were ignorant of the real situation they were in - but Habakkuk wasn't. The people were willing to be quiet within that situation - but Habakkuk wouldn't - he couldn't - the burden of God was burning in his soul.To know the truth, to hold the truth in unrighteousness and not share it, in the God’s eyes, is to have a burden – the message and responsibility to share it and not do something about it. Rom 1:16-1916 For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. 17 For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, "BUT THE RIGHTEOUS man SHALL LIVE BY FAITH.“ 18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress [who hold] the truth in unrighteousness, 19 because that which is known about God is evident within them; for God made it evident to them.Slide52
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Habakkuk 1:1 What the Prophet saw
1 The burden which Habakkuk the prophet did see.
God in His love, in His Shekinah cloud of glory, came upon this man and God also embraced and overshadowed Habakkuk.
If we seek God, to embrace Him, to cling onto Him by faith and in prayer, God will embrace us. God will cling to you, God will hold you, God will come close to you: Jas 4:8 Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded. Slide53
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Habakkuk 1:1 What the Prophet saw
The oracle
H4853
which Habakkuk the prophet saw.This burden was an oracle, a vision that was given by God. The message – the oracle / burden from God - will be given to those who look, who open their eyes, who see the lost, who see those that are dying in their sins, who see the judgment that is to come in the future if people do not repent, who see the sinfulness of our nation individually and nationally. Mat 7:7 Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: Luk 11:9 You can receive God’s message, a burden tonight if you look, if you open your eyes like Habakkuk. Slide54
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Habakkuk 1:2-4 The Silence Of God
2 How long, O LORD, will I call for help, And You will not hear? I cry out to You, "Violence!" Yet You do not save.
3 Why do You make me see iniquity, And cause me to look on wickedness? Yes, destruction and violence are before me; Strife exists and contention arises.
4 Therefore the law is ignored And justice is never upheld. For the wicked surround the righteous; Therefore justice comes out perverted.God's silence to Habakkuk's prayers in the face of such wickedness was confusing and frustrating for the prophet and this was a burden. Slide55
Habakkuk 1:2-3 The prophet’s concern
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Habakkuk’s vocabulary in this chapter indicates that times were difficult and dangerous. He uses words like: violence,
iniquity,
grievance (misery), spoiling (destruction), strife, contention (disputes), and injustice.Habakkuk prayed that God would do something about the violence, strife, and injustice in the land, But, God didn’t seem to hear. Slide56
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Habakkuk 1:2 Can you hear me now?
2 How long, O LORD, will I
call
H7768 for help, And You will not hear? I cry H2199 out to You, "Violence!" Yet You do not save. Verse 2 twice says that Habakkuk cried out to God. The first word translated “cry” simply means “to call for help”The second word translated “cry” means “to scream, to cry with a loud voice, to cry with a disturbed heart.” H7768 שׁוע shâva‛1) (Piel
) to cry out to for help, to scream, to shout
H2199
זעק
za
̂‛
aq
1) to cry, cry out at, call, call for help
1a) (
Qal
)
1a1) to call (to one’s aid)
1a2) to cry, cry out at (in need)
1b) (
Niphal
) to be assembled, be joined together, to call out to come together
1c) (
Hiphil
)
1c1) to call, call out, call together, summon
1c2) to make a crying, proclaim
1c3) to have a proclamation made
1c4) to call out, call out atSlide57
Habakkuk 1:2 I call and scream…
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2] O LORD, how long shall I cry, and thou wilt not hear! even cry out unto thee of violence, and thou wilt not save!
“...
violence” = hamas, an adverbial accusative: violence, cruelty, injustice, oppressor; Same name as the Palestinian terrorist group today. Habakkuk saw the wickedness of the political system, the religious system and he turns to God. Habakkuk sees all of the violence and he doesn't ask for help any more from God, but he screams to God! As he prayed about the wickedness in the land, Habakkuk became more and more burdened and wondered why God seemed so indifferent.But God still doesn't answer.Slide58
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Habakkuk 1:2 The silence of God
O LORD, how long shall I cry, and thou wilt not hear! even cry out unto thee of violence, and thou wilt not save!
Habakkuk was the Lord's prophet,
If the Lord's prophet can't get a word from the Lord,If God won't even answer him, What does that mean? What’s going on? Why is God silent?Slide59
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Habakkuk 1:2 The silence of God
O LORD, how long shall I cry, and thou wilt not hear! even cry out unto thee of violence, and thou wilt not save!
Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and Daniel, and Zephaniah all lived at the same time as Habakkuk.
They prophesied into the same situations.They were burdened as was Habakkuk was burdened, because of the people's wickedness.Jeremiah was the weeping prophet - he wept for the sins of the nation. He wrote the whole book, Lamentations, crying over the sinfulness of his people. Yet, for Habakkuk, God was silent…Slide60
Habakkuk 1:3 How long? Why!
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3] Why dost thou shew me iniquity, and cause me to behold grievance? for spoiling and violence are before me: and there are that raise up strife and contention.
Look around the United States today.
We see violence and contention everywhere about everything. Why aren’t you doing something about this, Lord? Sounds like our own nightly news broadcasts, doesn’t it? Slide61
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Habakkuk 1:3 How long? Why!
3 Why dost thou
shew
me iniquity, and cause me to behold grievance? for spoiling and violence are before me: and there are that raise up strife and contention.Have you ever felt like God doesn't listen, that the heavens are brass, that God's not hearing, that your prayers are bouncing off the very throne of glory and not getting to the Son of God? Habakkuk shouts: 'How long?' - 'How long?,' 'Why?'. How long will this go on, why do you keep showing this wickedness to me while You let it go on and not answer? Slide62
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Habakkuk 1:3-4 Sins of the people
3
Why dost thou
shew me iniquity, and cause me to behold grievance? for spoiling and violence are before me: and there are that raise up strife and contention.Therefore the law is slacked, and judgment doth never go forth: for the wicked doth compass about the righteous; therefore wrong judgment proceedeth.Habakkuk is a man embraced of God, a man burdened by God and by the very burden of God Himself. He turns to God in his despair and says? 'God, what are You giving me a burden like this for if You're not even going to answer my prayer?'. He talked to God, not in an irreverent way, not in a familiar way, but Because he was so close to God, Because he had the promises of God and the faith in God, They could come to God and say: 'Lord, vindicate Thy name!'. Slide63
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Habakkuk 1:4 Sins of the people
Therefore the law is slacked, and judgment doth never go forth: for the wicked doth compass about the righteous; therefore wrong judgment
proceedeth
.They had abusive leaders that filled their pockets with ill-gotten gain of the people, they robbed them, they fleeced them, they extorted the poor. Hab 2:6-8 tells us that they built cities at the price of human lives. They used drink to coerce lasciviousness and sexual immorality. They raped people after they got them drunk, Hab 2:15-17. There was idolatry within the nation, Hab 2:18-20. Hab 2:9-11 tells us there were social sins, there were religious sins, there were political sins, there were evils in Judah that you could not conceive. Slide64
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Habakkuk The good old days
Josiah had brought in reforms.
There had been many evil kings before him, but he brought in religious reforms
He took Baal worship and shattered it. He went through all the cities, and the towns, and the countryside, knocked down and destroyed their idols and their groves and their worshipping places upon the hills. He took the prophets of Baal, he put them on their own altars and he burnt them to death, and then he sprinkled their ashes on the graves of their worshippers. Josiah began to repair and rebuild the temple.Slide65
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Habakkuk The good old days
As Josiah repaired the temple,
Hilkiah
, the man in the temple, found a book - the Old Testament Scriptures, the Pentateuch. He opened it and he read it to King Josiah. Josiah was gloriously converted. Then Josiah tried to convert everybody else. He brought in reforms and urged the people of his day to turn to God and to worship God, Sadly Josiah died at the hands of Pharaoh Neco. They thought God was moving, God was reviving, God was restoring His truth to the nation – and suddenly it was finished! Pharaoh Neco rose up and took one of Josiah's sons - Eliakim, (his name is later changed to Jehoiakim) and set him on the throne in Jerusalem. He is the king during Habakkuk’s prophecy. Slide66
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Habakkuk The good old days
He was a godless dictator, he stole the people of their wealth, he built a huge palace.
He paneled its walls with the most expensive cedar wood,
He painted with vermilion, He studded with jewels.He proceeded to systematically and devilishly turn and reverse all the godly reforms of his father. Religiously, Jehoiakim brought in the gods and the religion of Egypt, into the very holy place of Jerusalem in the sight of God. Jeremiah had written to him of the judgments of God that would come upon the nation if they continued in their sin, He ripped it up into little bits and he burned it! Slide67
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Habakkuk The good old days
Jeremiah warned
Jehoiakim
what would happen if this continued.Jer 22:19-2219 "He will be buried with a donkey's burial, Dragged off and thrown out beyond the gates of Jerusalem. 20 "Go up to Lebanon and cry out, And lift up your voice in Bashan; Cry out also from Abarim, For all your lovers have been crushed. 21 "I spoke to you in your prosperity; But you said, 'I will not listen!' This has been your practice from your youth, That you have not obeyed My voice. 22 "The wind will sweep away all your shepherds, And your lovers will go into captivity; Then you will surely be ashamed and humiliated Because of all your wickedness.It is exactly what happened. He died and no man, or woman, or child wailed for him. He died, was taken and dragged into the street and pulled into bits. He was thrown on the rubbish heap of Jerusalem because he dared to bring sin back into Judah and filled the streets of Jerusalem with innocent blood! Slide68
Habakkuk 1:4 The basic cause
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4 Therefore the law is slacked, and judgment doth never go forth: for the wicked doth compass about the righteous; therefore wrong judgment proceedeth.The nation’s problems were caused by leaders who wouldn’t obey the law.
The rich exploited the poor and escaped punishment by bribing the officials.
Life and property were insecure. The law was either ignored or twisted, and nobody seemed to care. The law was set at nought.The courts were crooked, officials were interested only in money, overseen by corrupt, unrighteous judgesThe admonition in Exo 23:6–8 was completely unheeded.Slide69
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Habakkuk 1:4
the law is slacked
4 Therefore the law is slacked
H6313 , and judgment doth never go forth: for the wicked doth compass about the righteous; therefore wrong judgment proceedeth.“...the law is slacked” = paralyzed; chilled, numb H6313 פּוּג pûg1) to grow numb, be feeble, be benumbedThe law of God had seemingly lost its power. The society had rewritten the laws of God in their hearts and God did not react or respond – yet !!!Is God silent in our society? Is He ignoring the events of our world? Is God silent individually in your home, or nationally within our families and circle of friends? Slide70
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Habakkuk 1:4
the law is slacked
4 Therefore the law is slacked
H6313 , and judgment doth never go forth: for the wicked doth compass about the righteous; therefore wrong judgment proceedeth.We witness the laws of common decency and morality thrown up and rejected. Do you suppose that God does not see the evil that abounds in our nation and world? We're seeing living before us what Habakkuk saw. We are seeing lawlessness and sinfulness of the deepest darkest sorts.Are we crying to God?God hears our cries to Him - but there is seemingly no answer! Why? Slide71
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Pastor Joe Wright was asked to open the new session of the Kansas Senate with prayer:
'Heavenly Father, we come before You today to ask Your forgiveness and to seek Your direction and Your guidance.
We know Your word says: 'Woe to those that call evil good', but that's exactly what we've done.
We've lost our spiritual equilibrium. We have inverted our values. We confess that we have ridiculed the absolute truth of Your word and called it moral pluralism. We have worshipped other gods and called it multiculturalism. We have endorsed perversion and called it an alternative lifestyle. We have exploited the poor and called it the lottery. We have neglected the needy and called it self-preservation.We have rewarded laziness and called it welfare. Slide72
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Pastor Joe Wright was asked to open the new session of the Kansas Senate with prayer:
We have killed our unborn and called it choice.
We have shot abortionists and called it justifiable.
We have neglected to discipline our children and called it building self-esteem. We have abused power and called it political savvy. We have coveted our neighbor's possessions and called it ambition. We have polluted the air with profanity and pornography and called it freedom of expression. We have ridiculed the time-honored values of our forefathers and called it enlightenment. Search us, oh God, know our hearts today. Try us and see if there be some wicked way in us. Cleanse us from every sin and set us free'. Slide73
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Habakkuk 1:4 Quiet from God…
4 Therefore the law is slacked
H6313
, and judgment doth never go forth: for the wicked doth compass about the righteous; therefore wrong judgment proceedeth.Because of the silence of God that burden of Habakkuk's got heavier. If John the Baptist had gone into ministry without that time in the wilderness the fire wouldn't have been in him.David needed it during those years being overlooked as a shepherd.Elijah and Elisha both had a time of quiet silence, contemplation. Paul needed it in Arabia, where he went for three years.Moses needed it as a shepherd in Midian for 40 years.Gideon needed it as he was behind the winepress. Our Lord Jesus Christ needed it. He was about 30 years of age before He began His public ministry.The burden over the people’s sin and the evil of their day, the burden for the souls that were dying on their way to hell weighed heavily.During that time, as they drew close to God, the burden was perfected. Slide74
Habakkuk today in the USA
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Today, most of our social changes are brought about by court decisions, not laws that we have voted on: bussing, affirmative action, elevation and promotion of sexual perversion, etc.Most new dictators create external crises to consolidate their internal powers.
Governments always seem to tend toward corruption.
Governments have always loved crises: they provide the rationale for:increasing budgets and bureaucracies, and subjugating the liberties of the population. In our country, political leaders long ago learned, that social crises serve as well as military ones. Immorality results in social crises. Slide75
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Social Crises
Government
ImmoralityBudgetsIf an organism — or a country — cannot deal with its “infections” quickly and effectively, it will die of the spreading disease.
In Jerusalem, they did not deal justly and with equity - and it brought about immorality and God’s judgment.Slide76
Habakkuk 1:5 Look at the heathen…
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5] Behold ye among the heathen, and regard, and wonder marvellously: for I will work a work in your days, which ye will not believe, though it be told you.“
Behold ye among the heathen
”: God answered His servant and assured him that He was at work among the nations even though Habakkuk couldn’t see it.Paul quoted this verse at the close of his message in the synagogue in Antioch of Pisidia (Acts 13:41; and see also Isa. 29:14). It was a warning to the people not to treat the gospel lightly and thereby reject it. Anticipates the dispersion “among the heathen” (Deu 28:64-67)While Israel as a nation was dispersed, YHWH would “work a work” which Israel “will not believe.” Slide77
Habakkuk 1:5 The Lord’s counsel
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5] Behold ye among the heathen, and regard, and wonder marvellously: for I will work a work in your days, which ye will not believe, though it be told you.What we need in times of doubt is a new view of God.
God gave Habakkuk a revelation, not an explanation,
We don’t live on explanations, we live on promises, and the promises of God are based on the character of God. The Lord doesn’t owe us any explanations, He does graciously reveal Himself and His work to those who seek Him.Slide78
Prophetic Perspectives
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God bypasses our puny understanding…
Antitype
Type
Time Gap
Early event
Later eventSlide79
Habakkuk 1:5 The Lord’s counsel
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5] Behold ye among the heathen, and regard, and wonder marvellously: for I will work a work in your days, which ye will not believe, though it be told you.There’s nothing like a fresh view of the glory of God to give you strength for the journey!
What God was doing was so amazing, incredible, and unheard of that even His prophet would be shocked!
What Habakkuk suffered in a small way, Job suffered in a great way.God’s answer to Job’s many questions was simply to reveal Himself to Job. The turning point in Job’s experience came when he put his hand on his mouth, stopped arguing with the Lord, and began to worship the Lord (Job 40:1–5; 42:1–6). Habakkuk had a similar experience. Slide80
Habakkuk 1:5
Prophetic Perspectives
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5] Behold ye among the heathen, and regard, and wonder marvellously: for I will work a work in your days, which ye will not believe, though it be told you.
God tells Habakkuk, “Try me”... Don’t count Me out. Stand back and watch.
God deals with the worldwide dispersion (v.5) and the impending captivity by Babylon (v.6). At this point in time, Babylon was probably still friendly (2Kg 20:12-19). But, three sieges will follow, during Jehoiakim, Jehoiachin, and Zedekiah (Isa 55:8-9; Phil 4:7). Slide81
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Habakkuk 1:5 Watch this…
Behold ye among the heathen, and regard, and wonder
marvellously
: for I will work a work in your days, which ye will not believe, though it be told you.There's a man, the embracer of God; There’s a burden, the silence of God; Now we read, there’s a hope, the promise of God. At last, a promise from God! 'Behold ye among the heathen' - 'Look around you at these people, and regard‘, ‘pay close attention and consider well what I am doing – you won’t believe it unless you see it ….Habakkuk is crying for his own nation Judah, God says don't look at yourself and your situation only, but look at the world around you, behold it, perceive it, regard it.Slide82
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Habakkuk 1:5 regard and wonder
5 Behold ye among the heathen, and regard, and wonder
marvellously
: for I will work a work in your days, which ye will not believe, though it be told you.'regard' simply means 'weigh it up well‘; consider what is happening… Look around you Habakkuk, look at what I am doing in the whole of My world, among the nations, look at the big picture, look at the world view. Look at what I am doing across the whole world – not just your home and nation.Slide83
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Habakkuk 1:5 regard and wonder
Behold ye among the heathen, and regard, and wonder
marvellously
: for I will work a work in your days, which ye will not believe, though it be told you.God tells us to take note and understand that He is God and there is none beside Him, He is sovereign, He is omnipotent, and He rules in the kingdoms of men. Look around you in the world, weigh it up well, God is not indifferent to sin, He is not inactive, He is not unjust! If He has intervened in the affairs of other kingdoms and of other men's lives, do you suppose He will not do it among His own people? Do we look at our own situations, in our own lives, or our own communities, in our own state and nation and forget that there is a whole world around us that is God's.Slide84
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Habakkuk 1:5
Wonder
marvellouslyBehold ye among the heathen, and regard, and wonder marvellously: for I will work a work in your days, which ye will not believe, though it be told you.5 "Look among the nations! Observe! Be astonished! Wonder! Because I am doing something in your days-- You would not believe if you were told. 'Wonder marvellously': 'Be amazed, be amazed, for I am working a work in your day, and when you see it come to fruition, you'll not believe it'. This promise caused another problem for the questioning prophet - because God has said that He's going to bring the Babylonians, an even less godly people than the Judeans themselves, and He was going to them to judge Judah. 'How can You possibly judge an ungodly nation using an even more ungodly nation?'Slide85
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Habakkuk 1:5-11
God was silent but not inactive…
To Habakkuk, God seemed to be unconcerned, uncaring…
There was violence abounding in society, There was absolute lawlessness. There were blatant evils that were everywhere.In God's temple, In government, In society,In personal lives. The prophets of God seemed to be ignored.God was doing nothing, as far as Habakkuk was concerned. Does our world seem like that today? Vs 5-11 give us God's first reply, God's first answer to His prophet Habakkuk. Slide86
Habakkuk 1:6-11 NASB
6 "For behold, I am raising up the Chaldeans, That fierce and impetuous people Who march throughout the earth To seize dwelling places which are not theirs.
7 "They are dreaded and feared; Their justice and authority originate with themselves.8 "Their horses are swifter than leopards And keener than wolves in the evening. Their horsemen come galloping, Their horsemen come from afar; They fly like an eagle swooping down to devour.
9 "All of them come for violence. Their horde of faces moves forward. They collect captives like sand.10 "They mock at kings And rulers are a laughing matter to them. They laugh at every fortress And heap up rubble to capture it.11 "Then they will sweep through like the wind and pass on. But they will be held guilty, They whose strength is their god.”
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Habakkuk 1:5-11
chutzpah
Yiddish is a concoction of languages between Hebrew and German. It was a slang spoke in Europe.There is a word within the Yiddish language - chutz·pah chutzpah: shameless audacity; gall; impudence; cheekiness; guts; nerve; boldness; temerity; presumptionThere's no direct English equivalent to this word. 'The classic example of chutzpah:A young man murders his parents and then asks the court to show him mercy because he's an orphan'.It is extreme presumptuousness, extreme gall and pride, causing us to think we can get away with anything! And then we look to God, and ask: 'Lord, why? What are You doing? Why are You silent? Why don't You do something?’Slide88
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Habakkuk 1:5-11 God is not asleep
Psa
121:1-8
1 I will lift up my eyes to the mountains; From where shall my help come?2 My help comes from the LORD, Who made heaven and earth.3 He will not allow your foot to slip; He who keeps you will not slumber. 4 Behold, He who keeps Israel Will neither slumber nor sleep.5 The LORD is your keeper; The LORD is your shade on your right hand. 6 The sun will not smite you by day, Nor the moon by night.7 The LORD will protect you from all evil; He will keep your soul.The LORD will guard your going out and your coming in From this time forth and forever.God is active and engaged in our affairs. It doesn't matter whether we are ignorant to it, or whether we know it or not. He is there and He always answers somehow - but He may not answer the way we think. Slide89
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Habakkuk 1:5-11
An Answer, Yes! But Not That One!!
Habakkuk was crying to God for an answer, but he had certain expectations for his answer.
The answer that he got wasn't the one that he wanted. Answer me any way Lord, every way possible, but just not this one! Have you ever been there? I'll do anything, I'll go through anything, I'll deal with anything, I'll say anything, I will give up anything, but just not this one – anything, but not this one! Slide90
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Habakkuk 1:5-6 Surprise !!
The Chaldeans! -- really ???
5 Behold ye among the heathen, and regard, and wonder
marvellously: for I will work a work in your days, which ye will not believe, though it be told you."For behold, I am raising up the Chaldeans, That fierce and impetuous people Who march throughout the earth To seize dwelling places which are not theirs.Perhaps as Habakkuk began to hear God's answer, it brought hope, 'God's going to do something, God's going to answer my prayers, He's going to come, He's going to revive the people of Judah, He's going to bring them back to Himself'. True, God was going to bring Judah back to Himself, but not when and certainly not how Habakkuk thought or expected. God said, 'I'm going to do a work and I am setting it into motion now. It's not revival, but it's judgment. God is full of surprises for His people.Slide91
Habakkuk 1:6-11 The Lord’s counsel
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Habakkuk learned that God was not indifferent to the sins of the people of Judah. The Lord was planning to chasten Judah by allowing the Babylonians to invade the land and take them into exile.Jeremiah would fill in the details and explain that the people would be in exile for seventy years.
After that, a remnant would return to Judah, rebuild the temple, and establish the nation.
Jeremiah 25 and 29.This wasn’t the answer Habakkuk was expecting. He was hoping God would send a revival to His people (v 3:2), judge the evil leaders, and establish righteousness in the land.Then the nation would escape punishment and the people and cities would be spared.Slide92
Habakkuk 1:6-11 The Lord’s counsel
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God had warned His people time and time again, but they wouldn’t listen. Prophet after prophet had declared the Word (2 Chr
36:14–21
), only to be rejectedGod had sent natural calamities like droughts and plagues, and various military defeats, but the people wouldn’t listen. Instead of repenting, the people hardened their hearts even more and turned for help to the gods of the nations around them. They had tried God’s longsuffering long enough and it was time for God to act.Slide93
Habakkuk 1:6 The Lord’s counsel
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6 "For behold, I am raising up the Chaldeans, That fierce and impetuous people Who march throughout the earth To seize dwelling places which are not theirs.God was planning to punish the Jews by using the godless Babylonians! They were a
“ruthless and impetuous people” (
v. 6 niv), “a feared and dreaded people” who were a law unto themselves and afraid of nobody (v. 7 niv). The Babylonians only purpose was to promote themselves and conquer and enslave other peoples.Slide94
Habakkuk 1:6 The Chaldeans are coming!
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6] For, lo, I raise up the Chaldeans, that bitter and hasty nation, which shall march through the breadth of the land, to possess the dwelling places that are not theirs.Chaldeans were inhabitants of Babylonia, of Semitic origin from Kesed, son of
Nahor
, brother of Abraham (Gen 22:22-23) who settled the area called Shinar establishing Babylon as their capital.In 626 BC Nabopolassar came to the throne. In 606 BC, his son, Nebuchadnezzar defeated Pharaoh Necho in the Battle of Carchemish and established the Neo-Babylonian Empire of Dan 2.The prophecy that Habakkuk received was fulfilled, they came into Jerusalem and they destroyed the temple. Babyon is an actual place, but from the book of Genesis to the book of Revelation it also is a symbol, It is a symbol of society ignoring God and trying to live independently of God. Slide95
Habakkuk 1:6-11 The Lord’s counsel
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The Lord uses a number of pictures from nature to describe the Babylonians and how they treated people.Their horses had the speed of leopards and they had the ferocity of wolves, and their troops swooped down on their prey like vultures.
Their army swept across the desert like the wind and gathered and deported prisoners the way a man digs sand and ships it to a foreign land.
The Babylonians had no respect for authority, whether kings or generals. One of their practices was to put captured kings in cages and exhibit them like animals.They laughed at gates and walls as they built their siege ramps and captured fortified cities. They worshipped the god of their own power and depended wholly on their own strength.Nothing human could hinder their progress. God could stop them, but He was the one who was enlisting their aid! Slide96
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Habakkuk 1:6 A Work of God
Act 13:38-41
38 "Therefore let it be known to you, brethren, that through Him forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you, 39 and through Him everyone who believes is freed from all things, from which you could not be freed through the Law of Moses. 40 "Therefore take heed, so that the thing spoken of in the Prophets may not come upon you:
'BEHOLD, YOU SCOFFERS, AND MARVEL, AND PERISH; FOR I AM ACCOMPLISHING A WORK IN YOUR DAYS, A WORK WHICH YOU WILL NEVER BELIEVE, THOUGH SOMEONE SHOULD DESCRIBE IT TO YOU.'“Paul says that the great work that Habakkuk spoke of, ultimately and prophetically speaking, in our generation, our circumstance and in context today was a more marvelous work than any could conceive - The work of the crossThat our Savior's soul and spirit was made an offering for sin at Calvary, and God brought all the judgment of unrighteousness upon Him. Slide97
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Habakkuk 1:6 Behold
"For behold, I am raising up the Chaldeans, That fierce and impetuous people Who march throughout the earth To seize dwelling places which are not theirs.
Perhaps God's not moving in the way that we long Him to move and we keep on praying thinking He is not working at all, but God is moving in His world!
God is at work at this very moment, saving men and women, boys and girls, across the face of this planet. God's planet is active.God is in control. Are you a Christian with a world view? Or are you a Christian that just looks to yourself? Are you seeing God’s view or just looking ar what you can see in a mirror?Slide98
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Habakkuk 1:6 Behold
"For behold, I am raising up the Chaldeans, That fierce and impetuous people Who march throughout the earth To seize dwelling places which are not theirs.
God reminds Habakkuk,
'Look I am the God who raises up nations, I am the God who casts them down, and although the wheels of My justice may move slow, as they move they keep on grinding - and one day they will catch up with all nations'. God says? 'I am doing something, My machine of justice is slow because of my grace and mercy – not wishing that any should perish, but there will come a time when the cup of iniquity of the nations is filled up, and when it is, then I will move and I will judge the world – individuals and nations….Num 32:23 “…behold, you have sinned against the LORD, and be sure your sin will find you out. Slide99
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Habakkuk 1:6 Behold
"For behold, I am raising up the Chaldeans, That fierce and impetuous people Who march throughout the earth To seize dwelling places which are not theirs.
Amo
3:6 Shall a trumpet be blown in the city, and the people not be afraid? shall there be evil in a city, and the LORD hath not done it? When law breaks down, when there is injustice in the government and the legal system of a nation, disaster and chaos breaks out. When disaster breaks out, God has allowed it. He removes His hand of protection.If the people choose evil, God’s restraint of evil is removed.If lawlessness breaks out, do you think God will just come in and save the people in spite of their attitude towards Him? Do not think that God will just permit lawlessness and let it happen, ignoring it, without ultimately judging it? Slide100
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Habak
1:5-6 Behold, wonder marvelously
5 Behold ye among the heathen, and regard, and wonder marvelously: for I will work a work in your days, which ye will not believe, though it be told you.
"For behold, I am raising up the Chaldeans, That fierce and impetuous people Who march throughout the earth To seize dwelling places which are not theirs.If God’s judgment is delayed, He is acting with His world view in sight, He knows what His sovereign plan is. In all the nations of the world, whether their politicians believe it or not, God has them where they are and He can take them away in a stroke. God says to Habakkuk, 'You're to look at God's planet; at God’s power‘.Slide101
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Habakkuk Can You Hear Me Now?
Remember Noah
He preached for years and years, and he never saw one convert - not one convert. No one believed him, they laughed him to scorn,
It was only when the rain came down and the floods went up, that the people realized that God was true to His word and it would come to pass. Lot had faith, at least certain amount of it, in that the evil around him, vexed and troubled him greatly. But he was sitting in the seat of Sodom and it wasn't until the fire and brimstone was coming from heaven that he realized, that what God says is absolutely true, what God requires is absolute. What about the ten northern tribes of Israel? It wasn't until the Assyrians came and invaded them that they realized that God's word must come to pass, 'Heaven and earth will pass away, but My word will stand forever'! Slide102
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Habak
1:5-6 Behold, wonder marvelously
5 Behold ye among the heathen, and regard, and wonder
H8539 marvelously H8539 : for I will work a work in your days, which ye will not believe, though it be told you."For behold, I am raising up the Chaldeans, That fierce and impetuous people Who march throughout the earth To seize dwelling places which are not theirs.‘Be amazed’ H8539 תּמהּ tâmahhto be astounded, be stunned, be amazed, be dumbfoundedSlide103
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Habakkuk 1:6 What do we ‘behold’?
"For behold, I am raising up the Chaldeans, That fierce and impetuous people Who march throughout the earth To seize dwelling places which are not theirs.
Are we there?
One evidence is what is being shown on television. What do we see and hear?It portrays a lifestyle independent of God. There's no thought of God unless it’s mocking, No mention of God, unless swearing or in blasphemy, or in sacrilegious terms, or as a joke – It depicts Babylonian thought, life without God! Slide104
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Habakkuk 1:6
"For behold, I am raising up the Chaldeans, That fierce and impetuous people Who march throughout the earth To seize dwelling places which are not theirs.
Babylon twice became a great power in the ancient world.
The first time it was about 2000BC. Note it is about 2000AD when it raises its head again. Life without God then - Life without God today. The first empire, in 2000 BC, (today’s Southern Iraq), many events that took place as detailed in the book of Genesis that were especially connected with the Abraham and his family.What was (is) God doing? Elevating an evil, sinful people, a people that had been cursed from the very start of time?Slide105
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Habakkuk 1:6
"For behold, I am raising up the Chaldeans, That fierce and impetuous people Who march throughout the earth To seize dwelling places which are not theirs.
God was saying,
'I am God and I can do what I like. I have no obligations to humanity or to a spiritual world'. As God spoke to Job [Job 38-42], you will not find a reason or explanation given to Job for his suffering - no reason is given. Slide106
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Habakkuk 1:6
"For behold, I am raising up the Chaldeans, That fierce and impetuous people Who march throughout the earth To seize dwelling places which are not theirs.
In
Romans 9-11 God said that He's letting go of His people Israel,BUT… He'll come back to them in a day that's still to come. His reason is this: I am God. I will not, cannot, ignore sins and evil but I am not willing that any should perish. I will keep My word and promises, but I will do it My way in My time, not yours… I have the whole world in view.Rom 11:32-36 32 For God hath concluded them all in unbelief, that he might have mercy upon all. 33 O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out! 34 For who hath known the mind of the Lord? or who hath been his counsellor? 35 Or who hath first given to him, and it shall be recompensed unto him again? 36 For of him, and through him, and to him, are all things: to whom be glory for ever. Amen.Slide107
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Habakkuk 1:6
"For behold, I am raising up the Chaldeans, That fierce and impetuous people Who march throughout the earth To seize dwelling places which are not theirs.
God says,
'My ways aren't yours'. Isaiah 55:8-9. 'For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts'. I am God, and I have no obligation to do things your way, My ways are not your ways, andSlide108
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Habakkuk 1:6
"For behold, I am raising up the Chaldeans, That fierce and impetuous people Who march throughout the earth To seize dwelling places which are not theirs.
God said
Behold ye among the heathen, and regard, and wonder marvellously: for I will work a work in your days, which ye will not believe, though it be told you.Jesus saidJoh 3:12 If I have told you earthly things, and ye believe not, how shall ye believe, if I tell you of heavenly things? I am God, My ways are not your ways, and if you knew what I was going to do you wouldn't believe it. Slide109
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Habakkuk 1:6
6 "For behold, I am raising up the Chaldeans, That fierce and impetuous people Who march throughout the earth To seize dwelling places which are not theirs.
As Christians we often think that we need to have answers, reasons for everything that happens but, we are not God,
We do not have the mind of God, We are to trust Him…There are things in your life and my life, there are things in this world that we cannot understand or explain. Life on this planet and indeed this universe dwells within God, It's like a large picture show, we only see frame by frame. Deu 29:29 'The secret things belong unto our God', God is sovereign, and God is in control. As the body of Jesus Christ today, we need to look to God, because God is in control, God is sovereign, God is powerful! Slide110
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1:7-11 Chaldeans described
7 "They are dreaded and feared; Their justice and authority originate with themselves.
8 "Their horses are swifter than leopards And keener than wolves in the evening. Their horsemen come galloping, Their horsemen come from afar; They fly like an eagle swooping down to devour.9 "All of them come for violence. Their horde of faces moves forward. They collect captives like sand.10 "They mock at kings And rulers are a laughing matter to them. They laugh at every fortress And heap up rubble to capture it."Then they will sweep through like the wind and pass on. But they will be held guilty, They whose strength is their god.”Slide111
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Habakkuk 1:7-11
"Answer, Yes! But, That One? No!"
This is a classic passage for the characteristics of the Chaldeans (as
Isaiah 5:26-30 is for the Assyrians). God is already preparing the Chaldeans to be His rod of punishment...The brutality and viciousness of God's chosen vessel, the Babylonians, is outlined in verses 7-11. It is not surprising that this pronouncement caused such wonder and paralyzing fear within Judah. Habakkuk did not know the answer to many questions, but at least he found out one very important international spiritual law: Nations will be judged by God for their iniquity. Slide112
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Habakkuk 1:7 Chaldeans described
"They are dreaded and feared; Their justice and authority originate with themselves.
They became God's savage and sordid instrument.
'...they are terrible and dreadful...‘ savage characters. They became devoid of mercy, devoid of compassion. When they conquered a city, they would make up pyramids of heads - decapitated heads - to mark their path through it. They captured a city, they plundered it, they pillaged it, then they burnt it down, and then they made the ashes - and the trees around, and the forest, they chopped down. Children would often be burnt alive and some that were less fortunate would be kept for other worse fates. Men were impaled, flayed alive, They were blinded, they were sometimes deprived of their hands, their feet, their ears, their nosesWomen and children were sent into slavery. Slide113
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Habakkuk 1:7 Chaldeans described
"They are dreaded and feared; Their justice and authority originate with themselves.
Their judgment and dignity proceeded from themselves
They were a law unto themselves. They recognized no authority, no power, but themselves Like Nebuchadnezzer, they recognized no god but me. That is the evil nation, the Chaldeans, the Babylonians. That's our world today, too!We are our own godWe are our own bossSlide114
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Habakkuk 1:8
8 "Their horses are swifter than leopards And keener than wolves in the evening. Their horsemen come galloping, Their horsemen come from afar; They fly like an eagle swooping down to devour.
The swiftness of these Chaldeans is described in animalistic terms,
They are swifter than leopards or panthers. A panther is an animal that is so swift, that its feet hardly touch the ground, that's how quickly it came upon the people of God. They were more fierce than evening wolves. Evening wolves are wolves that couldn't get anything to eat all day, so they're out at night, bloodthirsty, hungry, ready for the attack.Slide115
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Habakkuk 1:8
"Their horses are swifter than leopards And keener than wolves in the evening. Their horsemen come galloping, Their horsemen come from afar; They fly like an eagle swooping down to devour.
They'd come from afar, and they fly, in their swiftness, like the eagle.
An eagle here is simply a big vulture, looking for the dead prey and when the moment comes that it circles over them - and as the Chaldeans circled over the little nation of Judah, ready to swoop down and devour their meal… Can you imagine what it felt like for the people of God to stand, and look, and see this? Slide116
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Habakkuk 1:9
9 "All of them come for violence. Their horde of faces moves forward. They collect captives like sand.
God says that their forces resemble the east wind (
v11), indicating their ferocity in their attacks. They move forward with unstoppable force like the wind, they pick up the sand and dust as they move.It literally means, where it mentions violence - that they come simply for violence. Bloodthirsty, cold-blooded men. Slide117
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Habakkuk 1:10
"They mock at kings And rulers are a laughing matter to them. They laugh at every fortress And heap up rubble to capture it.
'They shall scoff at the kings, and the princes shall be a scorn unto them: they shall deride every strong hold; for they shall heap dust, and take it'
They have absolute scorn for all authority but their own. They captured the princes, the kings of the small nations around, they used them like pawns in their massive chess game to take over their part of the world. They were the bulldozer of an empire, that nothing would stop, and nothing did stop. “...heap dust”: exploiting bulwarks to capture walled cities…Slide118
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Habakkuk 1:11
"Then they will sweep through like the wind and pass on. But they will be held guilty, They whose strength is their god.” NASB
11 Then shall his mind change, and he shall pass over, and offend, imputing this his power unto his god. KJV
11 Then they sweep past like the wind and go on— guilty men, whose own strength is their god.“ NIV'Then shall his mind change', literally it means 'a wind storm will pass through', 'and he shall pass over, and offend, imputing this his power unto his god'literally is translated - 'who make their own strength their god'. They look to themselves as doing everything,They pattern today's nation, today's human, today's self-sufficient, today's self-adulation. Slide119
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Habakkuk 1:11
"Then they will sweep through like the wind and pass on. But they will be held guilty, They whose strength is their god.” NASB
Daniel 4:30-33,
'The king spake, and said, Is not this great Babylon, that I have built for the house of the kingdom by the might of my power, and for the honour of my majesty? While the word was in the king's mouth, there fell a voice from heaven, saying, O king Nebuchadnezzar, to thee it is spoken; The kingdom is departed from thee. And they shall drive thee from men, and thy dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field: they shall make thee to eat grass as oxen, and seven times', or years, 'shall pass over thee, until thou know that the most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will'. These people are described as animals God turns the chief of them all to an animal, eating grass in a field. Slide120
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11] Then shall his mind change, and he shall pass over, and offend, imputing this his power unto his god.This is a fulfillment of Moses’ warning in Deut 28:49.
The purpose of the invaders is to perpetrate violence in the land.
This was Israel’s sin (vv. 2 & 3) and it will be her punishment (Dan 4:16, 30-34). For one to make his own strength his god is to commit suicide of the soul. — FeinbergSlide121
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Habakkuk 1:7-11
Look at our nation.
We cry for an answer, we ask God to come, make
Thine arm bare either in salvation or judgment, right the wrongs that are here, do something Lord, anything! Do not be surprised at what He does? God's judgment is not very far off.It'll pour like a hot cauldron right over this land. But there's an exception clause, 2 Chr 7:14, 'If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land'. May we heed God's voice in those words and trust Him for all that is to come, for His sake and our own... Slide122
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Habakkuk 1:12-2:1 Watching and Waiting
'How can God use the Babylonians to judge Judah?‘
How does Habakkuk react to this unbelievable news?
1. He Encourages Himself In The Lord (1:12) Habakkuk reminded himself and God of the Almighty's attributes, especially His holiness. 2. He Links Himself With The Lord (1:12) Habakkuk takes assurance that there is an unbreakable covenant promise between God and His people. 3. He Questions The Actions Of The Lord (1:13-17) Has God forgotten His people and left them to the savagery of the Babylonians? Habakkuk argues with God concerning his many questions. 4. He Awaits The Answer Of The Lord (2:1) Habakkuk sets himself as a 'watchman' to wait in prayer for an answer from God to his arguments and objections. No matter how long it takes, Habakkuk will wait until God answers.Slide123
Habakkuk 1:12-2:1 NASB
12 Are You not from everlasting, O LORD, my God, my Holy One? We will not die. You, O LORD, have appointed them to judge; And You, O Rock, have established them to correct.
13 Your eyes are too pure to approve evil, And You can not look on wickedness with favor. Why do You look with favor On those who deal treacherously? Why are You silent when the wicked swallow up Those more righteous than they?14 Why have You made men like the fish of the sea, Like creeping things without a ruler over them?
15 The Chaldeans bring all of them up with a hook, Drag them away with their net, And gather them together in their fishing net. Therefore they rejoice and are glad.16 Therefore they offer a sacrifice to their net And burn incense to their fishing net; Because through these things their catch is large, And their food is plentiful.Will they therefore empty their net And continually slay nations without sparing?
2:1 I will stand on my guard post And station myself on the rampart; And I will keep watch to see what He will speak to me, And how I may reply when I am reproved.
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How Could God Do This?
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As far as Habakkuk was concerned, God’s first answer hadn’t been an answer at all. It only created a new problem that was even more puzzling: inconsistency on the part of God.
How could a holy God use a wicked nation to punish His own special people?
Facing this new question, Habakkuk turned his focus on the character of God, As Jonah had done when he disagreed with what God was doing (Jonah 4:2).If you believe in God, you sometimes wonder why He allows certain things to happen. Then you have to trust Him…Slide125
Habakkuk 1:12 The holiness of God
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Unbelief is rebellion against God, a refusal to accept what He says and does. Unbelief is an act of the will. It is a choice we make!Habakkuk’s argument with God is a short course in theology.
He started with the fact of the holiness of God.
Yes, His people deserved punishment, but couldn’t God find a better instrument? Would this mean the end of the nation? No, for “we shall not die” (Hab. 1:12). God had purposes to fulfill through the Jewish nation and He would preserve His people, but they would experience painful trials.Slide126
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Habakkuk 1:12
Are You not from everlasting, O LORD, my God, my Holy One? We will not die. Y
ou
, O LORD, have appointed them to judge; And You, O Rock, have established them to correct.This questioning prophet was perplexed, 'How can God tolerate, even, the very habitation of the Chaldeans upon the earth. But let alone tolerating their presence, He is actually using them to discipline, to abuse the people of God'. That led Habakkuk into more questions 'I wonder have I misunderstood God's message to me?' He had not misunderstood it - God had said, 'For, lo, I raise up the Chaldeans’God said He was going to do it, and He is going to do it’Slide127
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Habakkuk 1:12
Are You not from everlasting, O LORD, my God, my Holy One? We will not die. Y
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, O LORD, have appointed them to judge; And You, O Rock, have established them to correct.To Habakkuk it was as if Israel’s Shepherd was smiting the sheep. It was as if the Father, their Heavenly Father, their God had turned, in all His anger, all His displeasure and wrath and was about to just pour it and exhaust it over His own children. To Habakkuk it seemed that God was abusing them. Slide128
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Habakkuk 1:12
Are You not from everlasting, O LORD, my God, my Holy One? We will not die. You, O LORD, have appointed them to judge; And You, O Rock, have established them to correct.
Have you ever done that?
You begin to question God, and you ask yourself, Do I really know who this God is? Do I really know whether He loves me? Do I really know how much He cares, if He's concerned about my life, if He is actually directing the steps of my way?Slide129
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Habakkuk 1:12
Are You not from everlasting, O LORD, my God, my Holy One? We will not die. Y
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, O LORD, have appointed them to judge; And You, O Rock, have established them to correct.All this frustration and confusion leads Habakkuk to explore his God. Do you know your God? Do you really understand Him? Do you know how He works? Do you have you any idea of His principles, of His characteristics, of His attributes, the things that He has, the things that He says? Do you know how - in some measure - God thinks, how God moves? We have been given the things that He said, and few of us even know what He said much less the way that He is. Slide130
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Habakkuk 1:12
Are You not from everlasting, O LORD, my God, my Holy One? We will not die. Y
ou
, O LORD, have appointed them to judge; And You, O Rock, have established them to correct.Study all the religions of the world we’ll find that men never transcend their idea of God. If you're Islamic, you picture a philosophical god A god that is cruel, A god that makes women dress in black, only their eyes showing, that denies them the pleasures of marital relationships A god that puts restrictions and laws and petty indulgences [necessities] upon a personPeople become like the god that they worship. Because they have a god like that you find that the Islamic nations are some of the most wicked and cruel in the world. A society or religion will never excel its picture of their god. Slide131
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Habakkuk 1:12
12 Are You not from everlasting, O LORD, my God, my Holy One? We will not die. You, O LORD, have appointed them to judge; And You, O Rock, have established them to correct.
If we were ever to strive to be like our God, would we know enough about Him to become like Him?
If you know your God you'll be strong! If you're bound to your God like Habakkuk, you will do great exploits for God - you will move, you will shake, like the apostles, you will turn the world upside-down for God! The mightiest thought that a human being can entertain are the thoughts of God. Slide132
Habakkuk 1:12 The holiness of God
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The prophet needed to remember two facts:God had used other tools to chasten His people— war, natural calamities, the preaching of the prophets and yet the people wouldn’t listen;
The greater the light, the greater the responsibility.
The Babylonians were wicked sinners, but they were idolaters who didn’t know the true and living God. This didn’t excuse their sins (Rom. 1:18ff.), but it did explain their conduct. The Jews claimed to know the Lord, and yet they were sinning against the very law they claimed to believe! Slide133
Habakkuk 1:12 The holiness of God
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12 Are You not from everlasting, O LORD, my God, my Holy One? We will not die. Y ou, O LORD, have appointed them to judge; And You, O Rock, have established them to correct.When God’s people deliberately disobey Him, they sin against a flood of light and an ocean of love.
Habakkuk reminded himself that God was eternal,
Being eternal, He knew the end from the beginning and couldn’t be caught by surprise. He was the Mighty God (“Rock” niv) who had all power and never changed.Slide134
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Habakkuk 1:12
Are You not from everlasting, O LORD, my God, my Holy One? We will not die. You, O LORD, have appointed them to judge; And You, O Rock, have established them to correct.
Habakkuk faces this problem by encouraging himself in the Lord.
'Art thou not from everlasting, O Lord my God?' This God, I know, is an eternal God'. God is eternal. Psa 90:2 Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever thou hadst formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, thou art God. [Read the whole Psalm]Everlasting to everlasting means from the vanishing-point to the vanishing-point Thou art GodThe vanishing-point is the part that you can't see beyond - the horizon. From horizon to horizon God is God and He's God beyond it. Slide135
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Habakkuk 1:12
Are You not from everlasting, O LORD, my God, my Holy One? We will not die. You, O LORD, have appointed them to judge; And You, O Rock, have established them to correct.
We dwell within Him, He is bigger than all of us, He is beyond us.
Act 17:28 For in him we live, and move, and have our being; as certain also of your own poets have said, For we are also his offspring. It also means that everything was created by Him, and there was nothing created that was not created by Him, and there was nothing created before HimCol 1:16-17 16 For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him: 17 And he is before all things, and by him all things consist.Slide136
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Habakkuk 1:12
Are You not from everlasting, O LORD, my God, my Holy One? We will not die. You, O LORD, have appointed them to judge; And You, O Rock, have established them to correct.
Time was created by Him.
Isa 57:15 For thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy; ….Gen 1:1-2In the beginning [time] God created the heaven [space] and the earth. [matter] 2 And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved [energy] upon the face of the waters.Slide137
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Habakkuk 1:12
Are You not from everlasting, O LORD, my God, my Holy One? We will not die. You, O LORD, have appointed them to judge; And You, O Rock, have established them to correct.
Time was created by Him.
From your birth to death God has been there the whole time, Psa 139:13 For thou hast possessed my reins: thou hast covered me in my mother's womb. 14 I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvellous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well. 15 My substance was not hid from thee, when I was made in secret, and curiously wrought in the lowest parts of the earth. 16 Thine eyes did see my substance, yet being unperfect; and in thy book all my members were written, which in continuance were fashioned, when as yet there was none of them. 17 How precious also are thy thoughts unto me, O God! how great is the sum of them!Slide138
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Habakkuk 1:12
Are You not from everlasting, O LORD, my God, my Holy One? We will not die. You, O LORD, have appointed them to judge; And You, O Rock, have established them to correct.
God is in an eternal now!
He's there before time began and He’s there after it ends. Before the garden of Eden, when all creation was made, God was there before it and He will be there after it - and the whole timeline of the history of the universe dwells within God. God dwells in an 'eternal now'. For the God that dwells in eternity, beyond the limits of time, which He created, every moment is now.Slide139
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Habakkuk 1:12
Are You not from everlasting, O LORD, my God, my Holy One? We will not die. You, O LORD, have appointed them to judge; And You, O Rock, have established them to correct.
Are You not … my God, my Holy One
Not only does Habakkuk know He's an eternal God, but he thinks, ‘Yes, God is eternal, but God is also holy. He is of purer eyes than to behold iniquity!‘Holiness just means total, absolute separateness from anything that is sin – He is set apart from all else…Slide140
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Habakkuk 1:12
Are You not from everlasting, O LORD, my God, my Holy One? We will not die. You, O LORD, have appointed them to judge; And You, O Rock, have established them to correct.
O LORD, my God, my Holy One
The Israelites had this drummed into them from day one through the Levitical law, They were told what was clean to eat, what was unclean to eat, what was clean to touch, what was unclean to touch. They were shown through these object lessons within everyday life that God was holy, that God could not abide, or look upon sin, but He abhorred sin itself. They saw it through the priesthood, They saw it through the sacrificial system,They saw it through the purity laws, They saw it through the Tabernacle, They saw it through the feast days, They saw that God was pure, that God was holy. They came to believe because He was, they were too…Slide141
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Habakkuk 1:12
12 Art thou not from everlasting, O LORD my God, mine Holy One? we shall not die. O LORD, thou hast ordained them for judgment; and, O mighty God, thou hast established them for correction.
KJV
O mighty God - that literally means in the Hebrew that God is a rock [as the NASB and NIV have it] It speaks of immutability Deu 32:3-4 “For I proclaim the name of the LORD; Ascribe greatness to our God! 4 "The Rock! His work is perfect, For all His ways are just; A God of faithfulness and without injustice, Righteous and upright is He.He is sinless, He cannot do wrong, He is just, He is righteous, He is pure, He is perfect, He is immutableSlide142
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Are You not from everlasting, O LORD, my God, my Holy One? We will not die. You, O LORD, have appointed them to judge; And You, O Rock, have established them to correct.
You, O Rock
Immutable means He is unchangeableHe is the same yesterday and today and forever! Our God is the same as He was when He did the miraculous things, He is the same as He will be as we stand before Him in judgment. He never changes, He is a sure foundation, He is stable,He is a rock of refuge. Slide143
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Habakkuk 1:12
Are You not from everlasting, O LORD, my God, my Holy One? We will not die. You, O LORD, have appointed them to judge; And You, O Rock, have established them to correct.
The Lord Jesus in the parable about the wise and the foolish man, said that God - the Lord Jesus Christ - God in flesh and His word is the Rock on which we can build our lives.
Mat 7:24 Paul describes Him as the Rock that followed the children of Israel in the wilderness - the Lord Jesus was the Rock of refuge who protected them. Rom 9:33; 1Co 10:4; 1Pe 2:8 Can you see what Habakkuk's thinking? 'You're the cleft of the rock, yet You're going to murder us!' 'How could God do this? How could God who is in relationship with us smite us in such a way - His own children? Slide144
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Are You not from everlasting, O LORD, my God, my Holy One? We will not die. You, O LORD, have appointed them to judge; And You, O Rock, have established them to correct.
'Oh Lord, mine Holy One‘
Habakkuk links himself with 'God, Jehovah, the Holy One is mine - we shall not die!' Habakkuk realized that God had ordained the Chaldeans for judgment. 'Thou hast ordained them for judgment; and, O mighty God, thou hast established them for correction'. Habakkuk knew that God was righteous and that one day He would judge the Chaldeans - they would get their just desertsSlide145
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Are You not from everlasting, O LORD, my God, my Holy One? We will not die. You, O LORD, have appointed them to judge; And You, O Rock, have established them to correct.
And You, O Rock, have established them to correct.
Habakkuk also knew that God's people - the Judeans - were in for correction. Habakkuk knew, among all the sinfulness, among all the wrath of God, among all the threats of the Babylonians and their filthy, sordid, savage ways and brutalities, that he was God's! Habakkuk also knew that God's people - the Judeans - were in for correction. Habakkuk knew, among all the sinfulness, among all the wrath of God, among all the threats of the Babylonians and their filthy, sordid, savage ways and brutalities, that the Hebrews were God's! Slide146
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Are You not from everlasting, O LORD, my God, my Holy One? We will not die. You, O LORD, have appointed them to judge; And You, O Rock, have established them to correct.
And You, O Rock, have established them to correct.
Habakkuk knew that Judah and Israel were the chosen of God - that God had revealed to them in Exodus that they were a special, a peculiar people, they were a jewel to Him, they were bound with Himself. They were a people whom with God had made an unconditional covenant, He had given them His word that He would never leave them, that He would never forsake them – If they wandered away, He would bring them back to Himself.Slide147
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Are You not from everlasting, O LORD, my God, my Holy One? We will not die. You, O LORD, have appointed them to judge; And You, O Rock, have established them to correct.
Whether you're doubting yourself or you're doubting the God that you serve, whatever you do,
Never lose the sense that you're God's. Never lose the sense that you're the apple of His eye, and No-one can touch you, no-one can do anything to you, unless God says - you're God's children! Slide148
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Are You not from everlasting, O LORD, my God, my Holy One? We will not die. You, O LORD, have appointed them to judge; And You, O Rock, have established them to correct.
Heb 12:5-8
5 and you have forgotten the exhortation which is addressed to you as sons, "MY SON, DO NOT REGARD LIGHTLY THE DISCIPLINE OF THE LORD, NOR FAINT WHEN YOU ARE REPROVED BY HIM; 6 FOR THOSE WHOM THE LORD LOVES HE DISCIPLINES, AND HE SCOURGES EVERY SON WHOM HE RECEIVES.“ 7 It is for discipline that you endure; God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom his father does not discipline? 8 But if you are without discipline, of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate children and not sons.Slide149
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Are You not from everlasting, O LORD, my God, my Holy One? We will not die. You, O LORD, have appointed them to judge; And You, O Rock, have established them to correct.
We have had earthly who corrected us, and we gave them reverence:
They corrected us for a few days after their own pleasure; Shouldn’t we much more be subject to the Father of spirits, and live? God corrects us for our profit, so we can be partakers of his holiness. While it is occurring, no chastening seems pleasant or joyous, but it feels grievous: Later however, it bings the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who receive and are exercised by it.Slide150
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Rom 8:28-39
28 And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.
29 For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren; 30 and these whom He predestined, He also called; and these whom He called, He also justified; and these whom He justified, He also glorified.31 What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who is against us?32 He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him over for us all, how will He not also with Him freely give us all things?33 Who will bring a charge against God's elect? God is the one who justifies; 34 who is the one who condemns? Christ Jesus is He who died, yes, rather who was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who also intercedes for us.Slide151
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Rom 8:28-39
35 Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?
36 Just as it is written, "FOR YOUR SAKE WE ARE BEING PUT TO DEATH ALL DAY LONG; WE WERE CONSIDERED AS SHEEP TO BE SLAUGHTERED."37 But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us.38 For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.This is mine (and yours, if you are His child) by covenant, forever. Mine by oath and sealed by blood. A bond with God that time, place, situation not enemy can sever. Mine as unchanging as GodSlide152
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Rom 8:28-39
Downhearted? Encourage yourself in your God.
Discouraged? Link yourself with the Lord and remember that He died for you, His blood's shed for you and you're His. Habakkuk – and perhaps you or I – even with all that knowledge of who God was, of what God had done and is doing for us, still asks the question: 'Why?'. Even though you're saved and you know the gospel, Even though you may have a knowledge about who your God is and what He is like,It still does not eliminate the big questions of life: Why ?!? Why me? Why now?What are you doing, Lord?Slide153
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12 Are You not from everlasting, O LORD, my God, my Holy One? We will not die. You, O LORD, have appointed them to judge; And You, O Rock, have established them to correct.
As people's faith gets greater and we come to know the Lord more and more, in a more deep way,
We end up with more questions and often with fewer answers. You would think as you came nearer the Lord, and you knew Him deeper you would get more answers Everybody runs to the one they think knows the Lord most for answers, What can happen though, is that the more we know Him, we understand how much we still don’t understand about Him. And, the greater our faith grows – the less we need to know because we trust Him and who He is and what He is doing more and more.Slide154
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The only way we really can understand these verses is from
Romans 11:33 'O the depth, the depth of the riches of both the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his ways, and his judgments past finding out!' As we are perplexed and frustrated - torn apart by circumstances, troubled in mind by thoughts of health, of family relations, of national / world events, the religious situation or the political situation – remember that Habakkuk didn't despair. He didn't panic, He was not impatient with God, He did not become assertive with God, of He did not demand God, but praised God – He knew that he had and depended on his faithful God! Slide155
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FOR THOSE
WHO BELIEVE,
NO EXPLANATION
IS NECESSARYFOR THOSE WHO DO NOT BELIEVE,NO EXPLANATION IS SUFFICIENTSlide156
Habakkuk 1:13 The holiness of God
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13 Your eyes are too pure to approve evil, And You can not look on wickedness with favor. Why do You look with favor On those who deal treacherously? Why are You silent when the wicked swallow up Those more righteous than they?What about His covenants with the Jews? What about His special promises to the Hebrews?
As a holy God, He couldn’t look with approval on sin
Yet He was “tolerant” of sin in the land of Judah and “silent” as the Babylonians prepared to swallow up His people!Habakkuk wanted God to say something and do something, but God was silent and seemingly inactive.Slide157
Habakkuk 1:13 The holiness of God
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Your eyes are too pure to approve evil, And You can not look on wickedness with favor. Why do You look with favor On those who deal treacherously? Why are You silent when the wicked swallow up Those more righteous than they?This wasn’t simply a national problem to Habakkuk, or a theological problem; it was a personal problem.
He cried out, “
My God, my Holy One” (v. 12 niv). National and international events were affecting his personal walk with God, and this concerned him greatly. But wrestling with these challenges is the only way for our “faith muscles” to grow.To avoid tough questions, or to settle for half-truths and superficial pat answers it to remain immature. To face questions honestly and talk them through with the Lord is to grow in grace and in the knowledge of Christ (2 Ptr 3:18).Slide158
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Why are you silent
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Your eyes are too pure to approve evil, And You can not look on wickedness with favor. Why do You look with favor On those who deal treacherously? Why are You silent when the wicked swallow up Those more righteous than they?“
Why are you silent
?” (v. 13 niv) has been asked by both saints and sinners for centuries. God speaks through His Word to those who have ears to hear. He spoke the loudest at Calvary when His beloved Son died on the cross for the atonement is God’s final and complete answer to the sins of the world. God is both “just and justifier” (Rom. 3:26). He has both upheld His holy law and shown His loving heart. Sin has been judged and the way has been opened for sinners to become the children of God.Slide159
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13 Your eyes are too pure to approve evil, And You can not look on wickedness with favor. Why do You look with favor On those who deal treacherously? Why are You silent when the wicked swallow up Those more righteous than they?
It was fresh in Habakkuk's mind, that the Northern Kingdom of Israel had been destroyed by the Assyrians,
He thought if the Northern Kingdom of Israel was destroyed by the Assyrians and if the Chaldeans [Babylonians] destroyed the Southern Kingdom of Judah - where would God's people be? What would God's role in history and upon the face of the earth be?What would be His plan for His covenant people? Slide160
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Your eyes are too pure to approve evil, And You can not look on wickedness with favor. Why do You look with favor On those who deal treacherously? Why are You silent when the wicked swallow up Those more righteous than they?
'
Thou art of purer eyes than to behold iniquity'. God can never look upon, with approval, any form of sin - never! His eyes cannot behold sin in an approving way, He cannot legislate or put His stamp upon something that is classed as iniquity. If God can never be implicated in a sinful act, Habakkuk concludes: You're an eternal God so You know what's going to happen if these people come down from the North. You're a holy God and they are more sinful than we are, so what are You doing using them?' You can't look, or legislate, or be implicated within a sinful act, how can You let them come down and murder us!Slide161
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Your eyes are too pure to approve evil, And You can not look on wickedness with favor. Why do You look with favor On those who deal treacherously? Why are You silent when the wicked swallow up Those more righteous than they?
Habakkuk was asking the wrong question: He was asking, 'Why?'
He was a comparing the evil of Judah with the evil of Babylon:'Who was more righteous?', 'There is none righteous, not one'. Ro 3:9-18; Psa 14:1-3, 53:1-3In God's eyes what mattered was that there was any sin in the camp at all, not who sinned less and who sinned more.There was none more righteous than another. Isa 64:6 Sin is sin and sinning is sinning.God compares us to His standard (Holiness) not to each other.Slide162
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Your eyes are too pure to approve evil, And You can not look on wickedness with favor. Why do You look with favor On those who deal treacherously? Why are You silent when the wicked swallow up Those more righteous than they?
And when God deals with men and women, who is more righteous than another is not on His mind.
Ro 3:23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, In God's sight it wasn't one nation over another, Judah vs Babylon. Both were sinners in His eyes - all that God was interested in was repentance. 2Pe 3:9 The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.God wants to know how sorry we are for the sin in our soul, how mournful we are for our sinfulness. Slide163
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13 Your eyes are too pure to approve evil, And You can not look on wickedness with favor. Why do You look with favor On those who deal treacherously? Why are You silent when the wicked swallow up Those more righteous than they?
God was bringing upon them something that He had Himself forbidden.
Habakkuk 1:13, 'Look, God is not to look upon perverseness' He has 'Purer eyes than to behold iniquity'. 'You're not allowed to look at perverseness' In Hab 1:3 Habakkuk asked, 'Why dost Thou show me inquity?' 'Lord, You're not meant to look at it, yet You're letting, forcing me look at it'. Slide164
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13 Your eyes are too pure to approve evil, And You can not look on wickedness with favor. Why do You look with favor On those who deal treacherously? Why are You silent when the wicked swallow up Those more righteous than they?
The Lord had declared that a witness, if he was to see a sin and was to keep silent. he was breaking the law.
Lev 5:1 "If someone sins because he has fails to testify after receiving notice to testify as a witness regarding what he has observed or learned, he is to be held responsible. Yet God was letting this prophet see the sin, and when the prophet shouted out against it, God was silent. Slide165
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Your eyes are too pure to approve evil, And You can not look on wickedness with favor. Why do You look with favor On those who deal treacherously? Why are You silent when the wicked swallow up Those more righteous than they?
'thy tongue when the wicked
devoureth' 'devoureth' literally means 'swallow up'. Going down the annals of Old Testament history remember:The Red Sea, where Pharaoh and his armies were swallowed up by the seaThe ground opened and swallowed up Dathan and Abiram because they offered false fire to the Lord To Habakkuk's awesome despair - God was swallowing His own people up! He almost accuses God of maltreatment, maltreatment. Slide166
Habakkuk 1:14-15
The helplessness of the people
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Why have You made men like the fish of the sea, Like creeping things without a ruler over them?The Chaldeans bring all of them up with a hook, Drag them away with their net, And gather them together in their fishing net. Therefore they rejoice and are glad.
After presenting his case on the basis of the holiness of God, Habakkuk argued from the viewpoint of the helplessness of the people.
Judah could never survive an attack from the savage Babylonians. To the Babylonians, life was cheap, and prisoners of war were expendable. People were like fish to be hooked or sea creatures to be trapped.Slide167
Habakkuk 1:14-15
The helplessness of the people
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Why have You made men like the fish of the sea, Like creeping things without a ruler over them?The Chaldeans bring all of them up with a hook, Drag them away with their net, And gather them together in their fishing net. Therefore they rejoice and are glad.
How could God allow His weak people to be invaded by such a heartless and ruthless nation?
Of course, the false prophets in Judah were saying, “It can’t happen here” (see Jer. 6:14; 8:11; 14:13), but their blind optimism would soon be exposed as lies. For 40 years, the prophet Jeremiah warned the people of Judah and begged them to turn back to God, but they refused to listen. What Judah needed wasn’t great military strength but obedient faith in God.Slide168
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Habakkuk 1:14
Why have You made men like the fish of the sea, Like creeping things without a ruler over them?
'Have You suspended the laws of Your providential care? Lord, have You let go of us to treat us like fish or bugs?
The fish of the sea that are left to the accidents of nature. I don't know how many bugs that you'll kill this summer or that you find crawling around your house - but you'll kill some. To a certain extent that's an accident of nature – the bug was there and you sere there and….The fish is eaten by a predator or is caught in a net or on a hook… Habakkuk is saying, 'Lord, You're treating Your own people like the fish of the sea!'Slide169
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Habakkuk 1:15
The Chaldeans bring all of them up with a hook, Drag them away with their net, And gather them together in their fishing net. Therefore they rejoice and are glad.
'The Chaldeans are going to come and they're going to take a fishing net and they're going to catch us all'.
Jer 16:16 "Behold, I am going to send for many fishermen," declares the LORD, "and they will fish for them; and afterwards I will send for many hunters, and they will hunt them from every mountain and every hill and from the clefts of the rocks. 'You see the ones that aren’t caught with the fishing net - I'm going to send hunters out and they're going to go to the crevices, the rocks, the clefts and the caves and they're going to hunt out every single one that gets through the net'. Slide170
Habakkuk 1:16-17
The haughtiness of the enemy
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Therefore they offer a sacrifice to their net And burn incense to their fishing net; Because through these things their catch is large, And their food is plentiful.
Shall they therefore empty their net, and not spare continually to slay the nations?
The prophet’s third approach was to point out the way the Babylonians lived and worshipped. They trusted in their mighty military machine (“their net”) and worshipped the gods of power (v. 11) and violence.The Babylonians were “puffed up” (2:4 niv) with arrogance and self-confidence. How could God honor them by giving them a victory over Judah? God was filling their net with victims, and the Chaldeans were emptying the net by destroying one nation after another.Slide171
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The haughtiness of the enemy
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Therefore they offer a sacrifice to their net And burn incense to their fishing net; Because through these things their catch is large, And their food is plentiful.
Shall they therefore empty their net, and not spare continually to slay the nations?
The Babylonians believed in a multitude of gods and goddesses, Bel was the head of their pantheon. Anu was the god of the sky, Nebo the god of literature and wisdom, and Nergal was the sun god. Sorcery was an important part of their religion, including honoring Ea, the god of magic. Their priests practiced divination and consulted omens, all of which was prohibited by the law of Moses.It seemed unreasonable that the Lord would allow such spiritually ignorant people to conquer Judah, the land that housed His own temple.Slide172
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Therefore they offer a sacrifice to their net And burn incense to their fishing net; Because through these things their catch is large, And their food is plentiful.
Recognize how bad this picture was in Habakkuk’s eyes.
He cries out:Lord, how can You let Your people be swept aside like insects, like fish?The Babylonians will sacrifice to their net, and burn incense unto their drag; because by them their portion is fat, and their meat plenteous'. How can You let this happen Lord? Slide173
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17] Shall they therefore empty their net, and not spare continually to slay the nations?Now Habakkuk is really struggling! “God, you can’t be serious! You can’t use them!
They are even worse than we are...”
Yet he knows the nature of the covenant-keeping God who will not allow His people to be wiped out [cf. The Magog Invasion; Ezek 36, 38, et al.]. Slide174
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Will they therefore empty their net And continually slay nations without sparing?
These heathen people are sweeping the nations away from before them and they're attributing it to themselves.
Not even their own god, much less to Israel's God, They're burning incense and sacrificing to their netTheir own strength and ability. --- Pride in themselvesA fisherman typically accredits himself for pulling the fish in. He accredits himself, his own wisdom about where the shoals are, and where he takes the boat and casts the net. The Chaldeans were praising themselves for what they were doing, but little did they know that they were pawns in the hands of an Almighty God. They brought themselves up as a god, they were self-deifying and they worshipped their own achievements. Slide175
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The haughtiness of the enemy
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Therefore they offer a sacrifice to their net And burn incense to their fishing net; Because through these things their catch is large, And their food is plentiful.
Shall they therefore empty their net, and not spare continually to slay the nations?
Habakkuk finished his defense and waited for God to speak. Like a servant, he stood waiting and watching (2:1), wondering how God would respond to his “complaint.”The answer God gave is recorded in chapter 2.Are we fully yielded to God and willing for Him to have His way with us and with those whom we love? There’s nothing wrong with wrestling with the problems of life and seeking a better understanding of God’s will, But, we must beware lest we start debating with God and trying to change His mind.Slide176
Habakkuk 1:16-17
The haughtiness of the enemy
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We admire Habakkuk for being an honest man and wanting God to spare the people he loved. We want to imitate him in his openness and sincerity and in his willingness to wait for God’s answer.
Remember what Paul wrote to the believers in Rome:
Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and His ways past finding out! For who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has become His counselor? Or who has first given to Him and it shall be repaid to him? For of Him and through Him and to Him are all things, to whom be glory forever. Amen. ROM. 11:33–36 nkjvSlide177
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BEWARE THE LAMB
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12/21/2016Slide178
Habakkuk 2:1-4 NASB
1 I will stand on my guard post And station myself on the rampart; And I will keep watch to see what He will speak to me, And how I may reply when I am reproved.
2 Then the LORD answered me and said, "Record the vision And inscribe it on tablets, That the one who reads it may run.3 "For the vision is yet for the appointed time; It hastens toward the goal and it will not fail. Though it tarries, wait for it; For it will certainly come, it will not delay.
4 "Behold, as for the proud one, His soul is not right within him; But the righteous will live by his faith.
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Habakkuk has a similar experience to the one recorded by Asaph in Psalm 73
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Like Habakkuk, Asaph was bewildered at the providential working of God in this world: He was disturbed because the wicked seemed to be prospering, while the righteous were suffering. Like Habakkuk, he reasoned with God, and Then, like Habakkuk, he gave God the opportunity to reply.“When I thought to know this, it was too painful for me, until I went into the sanctuary of God” (Ps. 73:16–17). There in the sanctuary he found God’s answer to his problem, and his sighing was turning into singing.Slide180
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1] I will stand upon my watch, and set me upon the tower, and will watch to see what he will say unto me, and what I shall answer when I am reproved.Key Components for a Watchman mentality
Determination
: He didn’t say, maybe next week; when it’s convenient; when I can find time (Jer 29:13).2) Isolation: Away from all distractions: radio, TV, telephone. We often can’t hear the voice of God because so many other voices are constantly ringing in our ears... a quiet time, a quiet place, a quiet heart...3) Expectation: “I will see what the Lord will say to me” not might, hope, wish, but will...There are many ways to please God, but none apart from faith (Hebrews 11:6). Slide181
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1] I will stand upon my watch, and set me upon the tower, and will watch to see what he will say unto me, and what I shall answer when I am reproved.“...tower”: Not necessarily a literal tower, but an attitude of mind.
Prophets are compared to watchmen (
Isa 21:8, 11; Jer 6:17; Ezek 3:17; 33:2,3).Slide182
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Write God’s Vision
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The prophet saw himself as a watchman on the walls of Jerusalem, waiting for a message from God that he could share with the people. In ancient days, the watchmen were responsible to warn the city of approaching danger,
If they weren’t faithful, their hands would be stained with the blood of the people who died.
It was a serious responsibility.Ezekiel 3:17-21 and again in Ezekiel 33:1-7 – If the watchman didn't warn about the enemies coming and people were slaughtered, their blood would be on his hands.Slide183
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2:1 I will stand on my guard post And station myself on the rampart; And I will keep watch to see what He will speak to me, And how I may reply when I am reproved.
A watchman was to be responsible,
A watchman was to be vigilant, he was to spot imminent danger. A watchman needed to have nerves of steel, because as he saw the enemy coming he had to stand and not move, and cry that they were coming. The watchman had to be trusted, The watchman had to not love sleep, otherwise it could be the death of the whole town, The watchman had to be faithful to his commission. Slide184
Habakkuk 2:1-3
Write God’s Vision
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The image of the watchman carries a spiritual lesson for us today. As God’s people, we know that danger is approaching, and it’s our responsibility to warn people to “flee from the wrath to come” (
Matt. 3:7
). If we don’t share the gospel with lost sinners, then their blood may be on our hands. We want to be able to say with Paul, “Therefore I testify to you this day that I am innocent of the blood of all men” (Acts 20:26 nkjv).You get the impression that Habakkuk was fearful of what the Lord might say to him because of His servant’s “complaint.” But the Lord graciously gave Habakkuk the vision he needed to turn his worrying into worshipping. This vision included not only the words in Habakkuk 2, but also the revelation of God’s glory recorded in 3:3–15. When you behold the glory of God and believe the Word of God, it gives you faith to accept the will of God.Slide185
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2:1 I will stand on my guard post And station myself on the rampart; And I will keep watch to see what He will speak to me, And how I may reply when I am reproved.
The watchman ought to miss nothing. Habakkuk says:
I've questioned God, I've asked Him, I've argued with Him and do you know what I'm going to do? I'm going to sit here and I'm going to wait, and whether God reproves me or whether God answers me, I'm going to watch and wait 'till He answers!I’m going to do what God has commissioned me to do whether I understand or agree with it or not…Slide186
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2:1 I will stand on my guard post And station myself on the rampart; And I will keep watch to see what He will speak to me, And how I may reply when I am reproved.
Isaiah 40:31
'They that wait upon the Lord will renew their strength….' Habakkuk didn't become an atheist, he didn't become an agnostic, not did he become cold-hearted! No matter how many questions he had in his faith, - his faith was being tried, - his faith was being tested, - his faith was having to grapple with the problems of contemporary life in his day, as we have to do today He remained on fire for his God! That's what mattered. Slide187
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Habakkuk 2:1
2:1 I will stand on my guard post And station myself on the rampart; And I will keep watch to see what He will speak to me, And how I may reply when I am reproved.
Moses, was told to hide in the cleft of the rock and wait, 'till he saw the glory of God parade by him in all His majesty.
Ex 33:21-23It says of Balaam that he went aside to stand waiting for the revelation that God would bring to him in Nu 23:3. Elijah was commanded to go to the mount and stand in waiting for the revelation that God would come. 1Ki 19:11-21Do we lean on our own understanding or do we wait on the Lord? Pro 3:5-6 5 Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. 6 In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.Slide188
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2:1 I will stand on my guard post And station myself on the rampart; And I will keep watch to see what He will speak to me, And how I may reply when I am reproved.
As Habakkuk stood waiting for an answer from God, there wasn't a word uttered from his lips; because for a long time there was no word uttered from God.
As Habakkuk sat there in the silence, the stillness of God entered into his heart. In the depths of his soul there was an assurance and an awareness in the silence that the answer was coming. As we wait on the Lord, we will either break down or break through.We don't wait on the Lord just until we get tired, or our knees get sore, or until we get weary, or hungry, or until we get thirsty. When we get cold, when it's uncomfortable we quit…Daniel waited and fasted 21 days and was prepared to do so longer if necessary.Slide189
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Habakkuk 2:1-4 Doing It God's Way
God did not remain silent for too long,
Remember God had said:
Hab 1:5-65 "Look among the nations! Observe! Be astonished! Wonder! Because I am doing something in your days-- You would not believe if you were told."For behold, I am raising up the Chaldeans, That fierce and impetuous people Who march throughout the earth To seize dwelling places which are not theirs.And it's actually happening now, God has begun to act.The Babylonians would come from the North and they would be God's instrument of judgment upon His own people. Slide190
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2:1 I will stand on my guard post And station myself on the rampart; And I will keep watch to see what He will speak to me, And how I may reply when I am reproved.
Habakkuk got so confused, so frustrated, so perplexed that he did the only thing any of us can do in such a situation:
He got on his knees, He put his face in the dust before God and He cried upon the living God. He argued with God, He wrestled with God, But then, he went into his watchtower and said: 'I'm going to sit here and I'm going to wait 'til God answers me! Even if it means that I am reproved, I will wait'. Slide191
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2:2-4 Doing It God's Way
• Publish It
2 Then the LORD answered me and said, "Record the vision And inscribe it on tablets, That the one who reads it may run.Habakkuk had to ensure that God's message was clear, plain and understandable for all to see. • Patiently Wait For It For the vision is yet for the appointed time; It hastens toward the goal and it will not fail. Though it tarries, wait for it; For it will certainly come, it will not delay.Habakkuk was told to wait under the assurance that God’s answer would come in the future. • Positively Live By It 4 Behold, as for the proud one, His soul is not right within him; But the righteous will live by his faith.Habakkuk receives a partial answer in the present. He is not to live like the Chaldeans, as his own god, but rather to live by faith. Slide192
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2] And the LORD answered me, and said, Write the vision, and make it plain upon tables, that he may run that readeth it.
When God did speak to His servant, He gave him three responsibilities to fulfill.
Habakkuk, you’re ready to do business; take a memo... i.e. as a messenger of the “vision” (Cf. Zech 2:4, 5).Are you really serious about Him? Do you seek the Lord with pencil and paper in hand? Does an executive secretary ever enter her boss’s office without a steno pad in her hand?Slide193
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2] And the LORD answered me, and said, Write the vision, and make it plain upon tables, that he may run that readeth it.
We wouldn’t be studying this book today had Habakkuk not obeyed God’s orders and written down what God had told him and shown him.
This writing was to be permanent so that generation after generation could read it. It was also to be plain, written so that anybody could read it. It was to be public so that even somebody running past the tablets on display could get the message immediately.Slide194
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Then the LORD answered me and said, "Record the vision And inscribe it on tablets, That the one who reads it may run.
'Patience is a virtue, possess it if you can,
seldom found in women and never in a man' Patience = consistent enduranceWe have McDonald's and Kentucky Fried Chicken, meant to be fast food outlets all you can see is impatient people! Go to a bank or the post office often there's queues at it, and there are still people pulling their hair out in impatienceTraffic jams - 'Road rage', we have faster cars, highways and roads than ever we have had, yet still people are impatient! Slide195
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Then the LORD answered me and said, "Record the vision And inscribe it on tablets, That the one who reads it may run.
Modern advertising has created an expectation gap within people so that they expect instant solutions'.
'You need this! – NOWYou can have this! – Don’t have the money, borrow it…This will make you lose weight! 50 lbs in 20 weeks just with a pill.Reach the top at one single leap. People want everything now! People want success now! Christians want spiritual maturity right now, without investing the time and effort true growth requires. Slide196
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Then the LORD answered me and said, "Record the vision And inscribe it on tablets, That the one who reads it may run.
As Christians
We expect the world to be transformed and changed instantly? We expect instant answers to our prayers, We expect instant life changing salvation for our loved ones, We expect instant healing of illness, We expect instant guidance to every obstacle, every situation and every decision that we have to make. When we ask God for patience we say: 'God, give me patience and do it now!'. Slide197
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Then the LORD answered me and said, "Record the vision And inscribe it on tablets, That the one who reads it may run.
Habakkuk was prepared to wait however long it took.
He brought to God real questions, he wasn't point-scoring, he wasn't trying to call God's bluff.He got onto the watchtower and eagerly, earnestly, and expectantly waited for an answer from his God! And his patience paid off God said: 'Habakkuk, lift your pen', Write the vision, and make it plain upon tables, that he may run that readeth it'. Slide198
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Then the LORD answered me and said, "Record the vision And inscribe it on tablets, That the one who reads it may run.
Habakkuk was told to publish it.
'Habakkuk, here's your answer. Have you got a pen and a paper? Are you ready to take what God is going to say to you? Are you ready for the answer to your prayers, for everything that you have longed for?'. God's message, at last, was coming to Habakkuk! When you go into the quiet place with God do you take a pen and a piece of paper? If God was to tell you what God told Habakkuk, could you remember it half an hour after your quiet time? Do you have a pen and a paper? Do you know what God's going to say or when He’ll say it? Slide199
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Then the LORD answered me and said, "Record the vision And inscribe it on tablets, That the one who reads it may run.
Are you so earnest to expect something from God that you're ready to write it down?
Habakkuk was, and the message came in a vision. God told him to, 'write the vision'? Same as He instructed John during the Revelation…We can’t remember a new phone number or address. We write them down.We can’t remember a 4 item shopping list. We write it down.But, we’ll sit hearing a Bible reference, teaching lesson or message from God’s messenger and not make a note.Slide200
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Then the LORD answered me and said, "Record the vision And inscribe it on tablets, That the one who reads it may run.
The message given to Habakkuk wasn't a military message, it wasn't a social message, it wasn't a political message, it wasn't a philosophical, educational message
It was a spiritual message, it was a message that men needed to hear. Men don't need an educational message, they don't need politics. They don't need psychology.They need Christ! They need God, They need a spiritual message, a spiritual vision That's what Habakkuk got and wrote down…Slide201
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2 Then the LORD answered me and said, "Record the vision And inscribe it on tablets, That the one who reads it may run.
God said: 'when you write the vision, make it plain upon tables' - write it upon tablets, it make it clear and plain!
It wasn't a complicated message, It wasn't a message with extravagant language so you needed a dictionary to interpret it.It wasn’t in code It didn't have a vocabulary of its own. Habakkuk in essence was told: 'Preach to the simplest person in your pew'. Slide202
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Then the LORD answered me and said, "Record the vision And inscribe it on tablets, That the one who reads it may run.
Is our message plain?
Christ died for and welcomes sinful men' Is it plain? Can everyone understand it? Do we bring it in a way that is palatable for our society today? We don’t change the message, We don’t water it down, We don’t add to it or take away from it. We keep it clear and plain, understandable and acceptable!Slide203
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Then the LORD answered me and said, "Record the vision And inscribe it on tablets, That the one who reads it may run.
'Take a pen, write it down, make it plain and clear' –
Write it out so it is something that you can hold and something that other people could read Write to keep it simple and because God wants his message to be permanent. For the same reason businesses insist on so much to be written in black-and-white. God’s message to us must be recorded, written down for us to use as our business plan for life.Slide204
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Then the LORD answered me and said, "Record the vision And inscribe it on tablets, That the one who reads it may run.
God wants us to hold Him to His word.
He wants His written word to be a bond. God’s word is permanent! If it hadn't been permanent, everybody under the sun, every religionist, every cultist, every humanist and pagan would have been changing it all down [through] history Pro 30:5 Every word of God is tested; He is a shield to those who take refuge in Him. 1Pe 1:23-25; Mat 24:35; Joh 6:63; Heb 4:12;God wrote it down so we would know what His message wasSlide205
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Then the LORD answered me and said, "Record the vision And inscribe it on tablets, That the one who reads it may run.
It was to be written and read and then it was to be run with.
It was a message that, when read, it was to be run with, it was to be acted upon.Is that not what the Lord intends us to do with the Gospel? Do you publish it? Do you gossip the Gospel? Do you preach the Gospel? Is the Gospel part of your life, through your words, through your very person? Do others around see that you're Christ's and that Christ lives within you? Slide206
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Then the LORD answered me and said, "Record the vision And inscribe it on tablets, That the one who reads it may run.
The apostle Paul wrote about the Lord's Supper, about
headcovering, about eldership within the assembly, that forbade women to have leadership within an assembly or to speak within an assembly. 1Co 9:19-23 For though I am free from all men, I have made myself a slave to all, so that I may win more. 20 To the Jews I became as a Jew, so that I might win Jews; to those who are under the Law, as under the Law though not being myself under the Law, so that I might win those who are under the Law; 21 to those who are without law, as without law, though not being without the law of God but under the law of Christ, so that I might win those who are without law. 22 To the weak I became weak, that I might win the weak; I have become all things to all men, so that I may by all means save some. 23 I do all things for the sake of the gospel, so that I may become a fellow partaker of it.Do we by all means and by any means bring people to Christ? Or is it by no means? Or do we use every means possible? Slide207
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3 "For the vision is yet for the appointed time; It hastens toward the goal and it will not fail. Though it tarries, wait for it; For it will certainly come, it will not delay.
Habakkuk was told to wait for it until the appointed time.
Although God was giving him the substance of the message, it was something that would have its fulfillment, its culmination at an appointed time in the future. There is a time for all things and God has a time for everything. Ecc 3:1-8We are impatient creatures. We can't wait on our own time let alone God's time. To wait on things that God is bringing in time, seems to be to us as time that is wasted. Slide208
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"For the vision is yet for the appointed time; It hastens toward the goal and it will not fail. Though it tarries, wait for it; For it will certainly come, it will not delay.
Habakkuk was willing to stand, to sit, to kneel on that watchtower for whatever time it took until God answered him
Such an attitude was necessary for the soul on a watchtower. On the watchtower he was above the world and its cares.He wasn't weighed down with the affairs of this life. He was away from the sniping of the world, the influences of the world, the thinking of the worldOn the watchtower he could get close to God, away from the thoughts of men, away from the psychology and sociology and the liberal theology and ideas of man and society.There he was willing to waitSlide209
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"For the vision is yet for the appointed time; It hastens toward the goal and it will not fail. Though it tarries, wait for it; For it will certainly come, it will not delay.
Getting close to God being willing to wait on His timing assures God will answer.
Have you ever waited upon God in an attitude that says, 'I don't care whether I die on my knees here, I will stay until God answers me, until I have the assurance in my heart that God has answered me‘ God gives Habakkuk the assurance of answered prayer, 'Yes, this promise, is for an appointed time'. God was speaking to him of a definite time when, as He had promised and prophesied, the Chaldeans themselves were going to be judged by God and by another nation.Slide210
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"For the vision is yet for the appointed time; It hastens toward the goal and it will not fail. Though it tarries, wait for it; For it will certainly come, it will not delay.
Daniel 5:25
and on detail the destruction of the Babylonian Empire. The Medo-Persians, another empire, was to rise up.They diverted the river Euphrates that ran underneath the walls of the city of Babylon, and when it had dried up they came into Babylon on the dry river bed in the middle of the night defeating it.The date was October the 13th 539BCHabakkuk didn't know about these events or when they would come about. All Habakkuk knew was the promise of God. Because God promised it was going to come to pass for an appointed time. Slide211
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"For the vision is yet for the appointed time;
It
hastens toward the goal and it will not fail. Though it tarries, wait for it; For it will certainly come, it will not delay.The Lord Jesus Christ is concealed in the Old Testament and revealed in the New Testament. Heb 10:35-3935 Therefore, do not throw away your confidence, which has a great reward. 36 For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God, you may receive what was promised. 37 FOR YET IN A VERY LITTLE WHILE, HE WHO IS COMING WILL COME, AND WILL NOT DELAY. 38 BUT MY RIGHTEOUS ONE SHALL LIVE BY FAITH; AND IF HE SHRINKS BACK, MY SOUL HAS NO PLEASURE IN HIM. 39 But we are not of those who shrink back to destruction, but of those who have faith to the preserving of the soul.Slide212
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"For the vision is yet for the appointed time; It hastens toward the goal and it will not fail. Though it tarries, wait for it; For it will certainly come, it will not delay.
See how the writer to the Hebrews 10:37 applies Habakkuk 2:3
'For yet a little while, and he that shall come will come, and will not tarry'. 'For the vision is yet for an appointed time, but at the end it shall speak, and not lie: Habakkuk says 'it', the writer to the Hebrews says 'he shall come' The writer to the Hebrews takes Habakkuk 2:3 and he applies it to the Lord Jesus Christ! He applies it to Jews that didn't know whether to go back into their Judaism or whether to go forward into Christianity and trust the promises of God and Christ.Slide213
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"For the vision is yet for the appointed time; It hastens toward the goal and it will not fail. Though it tarries, wait for it; For it will certainly come, it will not delay.
God was saying through His word:
'Choose you this day whom you will serve' He takes an Old Testament promise to the Jews and says: 'He will come'. Christ is coming again, He will not tarry – when it is God’s time, He will comeAnd though He tarries now, He won't tarry then.He will come! Be patient. He's coming again! Slide214
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"For the vision is yet for the appointed time; It hastens toward the goal and it will not fail. Though it tarries, wait for it; For it will certainly come, it will not delay.
Just as surely as the
Medo-Persian empire came and destroyed Babylon, Jesus will return and destroy it againBabylon will arise again as a power in the world Revelation 17:3-18 Babylon was a prideful power that looked to themselves, their own achievements politically and religiously, and worshiped themselves just like our world today. That world system Babylon will rise again, will begin to conquer the world as it has done before.The church of Jesus Christ is not appointed unto wrath - they'll be raptured to glory to be with Christ 1Th 1:10; 5:9Slide215
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"For the vision is yet for the appointed time; It hastens toward the goal and it will not fail. Though it tarries, wait for it; For it will certainly come, it will not delay.
Christ will return again to this earth, and when He comes He will be the rock that will destroy Babylon.
He will be the one that it will be testified of Him: 'Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen!' – Rev 14:8; 18:2 it's Jesus Christ that'll do it! ‘though it tarry' - We're sitting in this awful world, full of sin and sickness and disease and debauchery and all abominations imaginable and God is saying: 'Look, look up, though it tarry, it will not tarry, He will come - wait for it!'. That's how the writer to the Hebrews applied it.So what do we say to ourselves today? ‘Don't be discouraged at the delay of the Lord Jesus Christ'. Slide216
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For the vision is yet for an appointed time, but at the end it shall speak
H6315
, and not lie: though it tarry, wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not tarry. KJVH6315 פּוּח pûachto breathe, blowto speak, to utter, to blast to exhale, to puff, snort, to excite, inflame, to puff, pant for it'it will speak‘ : the word in Hebrew is 'breathe', 'it will pant, it will hasten' - it's the idea of an animal, like a greyhound panting around the stadium, panting to get to the finishing line. As the writer of Hebrews puts it the promise of Christ's coming will come, the promise of deliverance, it will come - He is panting, He is hastening to come and take us to be with Himself. Slide217
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3] For the vision is yet for an appointed time, but at the end it shall speak, and not lie: though it tarry, wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not tarry.Be patient. Don’t panic. God has set a bound to all which displeases Him.
The revelation God gave was for a future time and about a future time.
While the immediate application was to the end of the Babylonian captivity, the writer of Hebrews, under the Holy Spirit’s direction, interpreted it to refer also to the return of Jesus Christ. He changed “it” to “he” and applied it to our Lord. “For yet a little while, and he that shall come will come, and will not tarry” (Hb 10:37)Scoffers ask, “Where is the promise of his coming?” (2 Peter 3:3) God’s reply is, “Wait for it! It will surely come!”Slide218
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"For the vision is yet for the appointed time; It hastens toward the goal and it will not fail. Though it tarries, wait for it; For it will certainly come, it will not delay.
2 Peter 3:2-4
That ye may be mindful of the words which were spoken before by the holy prophets, and of the commandment of us the apostles of the Lord and Saviour: 3 Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts, 4 And saying, Where is the promise of his coming? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation.Men today ask accusingly, 'Where's Jesus Christ? It's 2000 years since He was born, almost 2000 years since He died and you Christians are shouting on about the coming of the Lord Jesus - where is He? Everything is going on as normal, nothing's changed in history'. Slide219
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"For the vision is yet for the appointed time; It hastens toward the goal and it will not fail. Though it tarries, wait for it; For it will certainly come, it will not delay.
2 Peter 3:5-8
5 For this they willingly are ignorant of, that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of the water and in the water: 6 Whereby the world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished: 7 But the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men. 8 But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.'For this they willingly are ignorant …. beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. Slide220
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"For the vision is yet for the appointed time; It hastens toward the goal and it will not fail. Though it tarries, wait for it; For it will certainly come, it will not delay.
2 Peter 9
9 The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. Slide221
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"For the vision is yet for the appointed time; It hastens toward the goal and it will not fail. Though it tarries, wait for it; For it will certainly come, it will not delay.
2 Peter 10
But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up. But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up. Slide222
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"For the vision is yet for the appointed time; It hastens toward the goal and it will not fail. Though it tarries, wait for it; For it will certainly come, it will not delay.
2 Peter 11-12
Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness, 12 Looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat?Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness'. He is coming, and it doesn't matter what the world says, it doesn't matter what the church says, it doesn't matter what an angel from heaven might say - for Christ has said: 'I will come again'. Slide223
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3 "For the vision is yet for the appointed time; It hastens toward the goal and it will not fail. Though it tarries, wait for it; For it will certainly come, it will not delay.
There are two things God said to Habakkuk and thus to us to as to why we need to patiently wait for Him:
We need to rest on God's word – to trust Him to carry out His promises to us. The Lord Jesus Christ said His [God’s] words are greater than His works, His very creation, everything around us and even ourselves! Mat 5:18 For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled. God's word is sure, it remains as the ages roll. When this earth is gone and burnt in the smoke it will still remain! Slide224
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"For the vision is yet for the appointed time; It hastens toward the goal and it will not fail. Though it tarries, wait for it; For it will certainly come, it will not delay.
Psa
138:2 I will worship toward thy holy temple, and praise thy name for thy lovingkindness and for thy truth: for thou hast magnified thy word above all thy name. God's name, Jehovah, means He has been, He is and He ever shall be. God is eternal, from eternity past to eternity future, He's always been here; He is holy, He cannot look upon iniquity, He is everywhere, He knows, He sees our mind, He knows all things Yet God Himself has placed His word above His name! Slide225
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"For the vision is yet for the appointed time; It hastens toward the goal and it will not fail. Though it tarries, wait for it; For it will certainly come, it will not delay.
Do we take nourishment from God's word?
That's why it's there! It's our food!Job 23:12 "I have not departed from the command of His lips; I have treasured the words of His mouth more than my necessary food. Deu 8:3; Mat 4:4 But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God. God’s Word is our meat and drink.How often do you eat in a day? Slide226
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"For the vision is yet for the appointed time; It hastens toward the goal and it will not fail. Though it tarries, wait for it; For it will certainly come, it will not delay.
The second reason we need to patiently wait for Him:
God's timing is His, not ours. Genesis18:14 - it was an appointed day for Sarah to bear Isaac, the promised child. Genesis 24:14 - there was an appointed day for Isaac to see his wife, and to get his wife Rebekah. Job 7:1 - there was appointed time for the events in Job's life, There is an appointed time for everything but we creatures of clay are so impatient. We never want to wait for God's timing. Slide227
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"For the vision is yet for the appointed time; It hastens toward the goal and it will not fail. Though it tarries, wait for it; For it will certainly come, it will not delay.
The second reason we need to patiently wait for Him:
God's timing is His, not ours. Abraham, , the friend of God, he had to wait 25 years for the promise of a son Joseph was sold into slavery but it wasn't until near the end of his life that he knew why God had allowed it to happen. Moses was 40 years in the Midian desert being prepared for God - God made him wait 40 years.Christ waited 30 years to begin His earthly ministry and waited for God’s timing to conclude it My hour has not yet come. Joh 2:4; 7:30; 8:20; 16:32Slide228
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"For the vision is yet for the appointed time; It hastens toward the goal and it will not fail. Though it tarries, wait for it; For it will certainly come, it will not delay.
God's disappointments are God's appointments.
God's delays are not God's denials. You've been praying for something, You've been asking God for something,Wait for it! Tarry and wait for it! Watch for it for it will come! Slide229
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"Behold, as for the proud one, His soul is not right within him; But the righteous will live by his faith.
Habakkuk was told to published it,
He was told to patiently wait for it Finally, he was told to positively live by it. This was the blueprint to the answer that God would give in the future. There are two types of people that the verse speaks of. The first section: Behold, his soul, him which his soul within him is lifted up is not upright in him – Then there's a second person: the just who live by their faith. Two types of people thousands of years ago and there are still only two types of people today.Slide230
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"Behold, as for the proud one, His soul is not right within him; But the righteous will live by his faith.
Sinners are described as being lifted up within themselves, puffed up, but they're not upright.
The people that are proud are the people who are rebellious, they are the people that reject Christ and God, and everything that is of God, His word, His wisdom, His witness, absolutely everything. In Habakkuk’s day it describes the Chaldeans. They were puffed up within themselves.They worshipped their own net as the achievement of their own hands, they worshipped everything they did - andNebuchadnezzar was the epitome of being puffed up. Slide231
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4 "Behold, as for the proud one, His soul is not right within him; But the righteous will live by his faith.The contrast here is between people of faith and people who arrogantly trust themselves and leave God out of their lives. The Babylonians were “puffed up” with pride over their military might and their great achievements.
They had built an impressive empire, which they were sure was invincible.
In the words of Nebuchadnezzar: “Is not this great Babylon, that I have built for a royal dwelling by my mighty power for the honor of my majesty?” (Dan. 4:30 nkjv).Slide232
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"Behold, as for the proud one, His soul is not right within him; But the righteous will live by his faith.Nebuchadnezzar and the Babylonians aren’t the only ones puffed up with pride and self-sufficiency.This is the condition of most of the people in today’s society who belong to the world and live for the world.
1Jn 2:15-17
15 Do not love the world nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.16 For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world.17 The world is passing away, and also its lusts; but the one who does the will of God lives forever.Slide233
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"Behold, as for the proud one, His soul is not right within him; But the righteous will live by his faith.Pride puffs up like yeast - leaven.It twists them inwardly, the soul of the unbeliever is “not upright.”
His inner appetites are crooked and sinful.
He delights in the things that God abhors, the things God condemns in the five “woes” in this chapter. Slide234
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"Behold, as for the proud one, His soul is not right within him; But the righteous will live by his faith.One of the chief causes of the corruption in this world is what Peter calls “lust
”, which simply means “selfish, evil desires and passionate longing.”
2Pe 1:4 For by these He has granted to us His precious and magnificent promises, so that by them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world by lust. Were it not for the base appetites of people, longing to be satisfied but never satisfied, the “sin industries” would never prosper.Slide235
Habakkuk 2:5 The sinner.
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5 "Furthermore, wine betrays the haughty man, So that he does not stay at home. He enlarges his appetite like Sheol, And he is like death, never satisfied. He also gathers to himself all nations And collects to himself all peoples.
Pride also makes people restless: they’re never satisfied
So they give themselves over to wine, never at rest, never satisfied, constantly seeking for some new experience to thrill them or some new achievement to make them important. Slide236
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Habakkuk 2:4
"Behold, as for the proud one, His soul is not right within him; But the righteous will live by his faith.
And then there are the righteous
'The just shall live by his faith' Rom 1:17; Gal 3:11-12The word 'just' is the word 'righteous'. God’s word >> there is none righteous, no not one – Rom 3:10-27Isa 64:6 But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away. If there none of us is a righteous person on our own merit, the righteousness that a “righteous” person has must be given to him, 2Co 5:21 He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.We become righteous when we live according to what we have been declared to be by God, who gave it to us…Slide237
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4] Behold, his soul which is lifted up is not upright in him: but the just shall live by his faith.• The Just shall live by Faith Rom 1:17• The Just shall live by Faith
Gal 3:11
• The Just shall live by Faith Heb 10:38 (just before Heb 11)Slide238
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Habakkuk 2:4
"Behold, as for the proud one, His soul is not right within him; But the righteous will live by his faith.
A righteous person is a person that acknowledges their sin, seeing themselves as they are,
A person who repents from their sin, turns to God and trusts Him, Trusts the blood of Christ and His sacrifice of the cross and turns to God believing in Jesus Christ! What's God saying to the Judeans.? 'Listen Habakkuk, you're crying to Me for this people - but look at the way this people is living. If you want them to live they must live by demonstrating their faithfulness to Me, by their firmness to My covenant. They have to be, they have to live in a manner faithful to My word'. Lu 6:46Slide239
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Habakkuk 2:4
Behold, as for the proud one, His soul is not right within him; But the righteous
H6662
will live by his faith H530.H6662 צדּיק tsaddı̂yqjust, lawful, righteous, correctNote, God through Habakkuk does not say we are made righteous by faith, - it is not a moment, it is a process The people that are righteous live by faith. People who live by faith are people that have been declared righteous before God and live their lives demonstrating their confidence in Him. Pride will lead to death and, ultimately, to hell and judgment of GodFaith leads to righteousness, it leads to life, it leads to peaceSlide240
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Habakkuk 2:4
Behold, as for the proud one, His soul is not right within him; But the righteous
H6662
will live by his faith H530.For any Old Testament saint to be saved they have to be justifiedThere is no Hebrew word for faith in the Old Testament, H530 אמנה / אמוּנה 'ĕmûnâhmeans firmness, fidelity, steadfastness, steadinessGen 15:6 Then he [Abraham] believed H539 in the LORD; and He reckoned it to him as righteousness H6666.
H539
אמן
'
âman
to support, confirm, be faithful, uphold, nourish,
to be established, be faithful, be carried, make firm
to stand firm, to trust, to be certain, to believe in
H6666
צדקה
tsedâqâh
justice, righteousness, justification, salvation, right actsSlide241
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Habakkuk 2:4
Behold, as for the proud one, His soul is not right within him; But the righteous
H6662
will live by his faith H530.Rom 1:17 For in it the righteousness G1343 of God is revealed from faith G4102 to faith G4102; as it is written, "BUT THE RIGHTEOUS G1342 man SHALL LIVE BY FAITH G4102.“Gal 3:11 Now that no one is justified G1344 by the Law before God is evident; for, "THE RIGHTEOUS
G1342
MAN SHALL LIVE BY FAITH
G4102
."
G4102
πίστις
pistis
“Confidence in God”
in the NT a conviction or belief respecting man’s relationship to God and the truth of divine things, including the idea of trust and holy
fervour
born of the conviction that God exists and is the creator and ruler of all things, the provider and
bestower
of eternal salvation through Christ;
a strong conviction and belief that Jesus is the Messiah, through whom we obtain eternal salvation in the kingdom of God;
belief with the predominate idea of trust (or confidence) whether in God or in Christ, springing from faith in the same;
fidelity, faithfulness - the character of one who can be relied onSlide242
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Habakkuk 2:4
Behold, as for the proud one, His soul is not right within him; But the righteous
H6662
will live by his faith H530.Rom 1:17 For in it the righteousness G1343 of God is revealed from faith G4102 to faith G4102; as it is written, "BUT THE RIGHTEOUS G1342 man SHALL LIVE BY FAITH G4102.“Gal 3:11 Now that no one is justified G1344 by the Law before God is evident; for, "THE RIGHTEOUS
G1342
MAN SHALL LIVE BY FAITH
G4102
."
G1342
δίκαιος
dikaios
observing divine laws; upright, virtuous, keeping the commands of God; innocent, faultless, guiltless; used of him whose way of thinking, feeling, and acting is wholly conformed to the will of God
G1343
δικαιοσύνη
dikaiosune
̄
The state of him who is as he ought to be, the condition acceptable to God, the doctrine concerning the way in which man may attain a state approved of God, integrity, virtue, purity of life, rightness, correctness of thinking feeling, and acting;
G1344
δικαιόω
dikaioo
̄
to show, exhibit, evince, one to be righteous, to declare or pronounce one to be just, righteous, or such as he ought to beSlide243
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Habakkuk 2:4
4 Behold, as for the proud one, His soul is not right within him; But the righteous
H6662
will live by his faith H530.Romans 1:17 - 'For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith'. Paul, in this context, is emphasizing ‘the just'. It's only people that are just and righteous that are being enabled to live by faith.It's only someone who has been justified by God, someone who has been declared righteous that can actually be and have the righteousness of God revealed in their lives.Slide244
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4] Behold, his soul which is lifted up is not upright in him: but the just shall live by his faith.Two groups: Those whose soul is lifted up;
The just who life by faith.
Whose soul is “not upright”? The Babylonian’s. Look at their leader, Nebuchanezzar (Dan 4; Prv 16:18). Pride leads to death because it will not receive the grace of God by faith as His gift.The Talmud declares that all 613 precepts given by God to Moses on Mt. Sinai are summarized in living by faith in God….Slide245
Habakkuk 2:4 The “Vision”
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4] Behold, his soul which is lifted up is not upright in him: but the just shall live by his faith.To the watching prophet comes the “vision” with three elements:1) The moral judgment of YHWH upon the evils of dispersed Israel (
vv.5-13, 15
-19).2) The future purpose of God that “the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea” — the Kingdom! (v.14).3) Meanwhile, in between, “the just shall life by faith” (v.4).Slide246
Habakkuk The Just
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2:4] …but the just shall live by his faith.(Rom. 1:17; Gal. 3:11; Heb. 10:38).
This is the first of three assurances that God gives in this chapter to encourage His people.
Habakkuk 2:4 emphasizes God’s grace, because grace and faith always go together. Habakkuk 2:14 emphasizes God’s glory and assures us that, though this world is now filled with violence and corruption (Gen. 6:5, 11–13), it shall one day be filled with God’s glory. Habakkuk 2:20 and emphasizes God’s government. Empires may rise and fall, but God is on His holy throne, and He is King of Kings and Lord of Lords.Slide247
Habakkuk The Just
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2:4] …but the just shall live by his faith.“...the just”: tsaddiyq
;
just, lawful, righteous: – just, righteous (in government); – just, right (in one’s cause); – just, righteous (in conduct and character); – righteous (as justified and vindicated by God); – right, correct, lawful.Slide248
Habakkuk Shall Live
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2:4] …but the just shall live by his faith.“...shall live”: chayah
; to live, have life, remain alive, sustain life, live prosperously, live for ever, be quickened, be alive, be restored to life or health
– to cause to grow; – to restore; to revive; to preserve alive, let live; – to quicken, revive; to restore (to health); – to revive; to restore to life.Slide249
Habakkuk By Faith
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2:4] …but the just shall live by his faith.“...by faith”: emunah
; firmness, fidelity, steadfastness, steadiness.
By faith; not by intellect, sight, feelings, touch... Faith is the currency of eternity. God wants us to be rich people in eternity’s currency. But, we need to be weaned.Slide250
Habakkuk 2:4 An Impact on History
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4] Behold, his soul which is lifted up is not upright in him: but the just shall live by his faith.In 1483 in Eisleben, Saxony, a baby boy was year born to a poor coal miner.
He decided to become a lawyer and, in 1501, entered the University of Erfurt, where he excelled in his studies.
At the end of his schooling in 1504, a forceful storm caused him make a vow to enter the priesthood if he survived; He entered an Augustinian monastery and earned a Doctorate of Theology degree. The more he studied, the more he became distressed over sin. He indulged in extreme pious self-punishment and still could not find peace. Slide251
Habakkuk 2:4 An Impact on History
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Finally, in 1509, he decided to make a pilgrimage to Rome by crossing the Alps. Almost dying of a high fever, a monastery nursed him back to health. While there, a wise monk insisted that he read the Book of Habakkuk.
One verse captured Martin’s imagination
— Hab 2:4 The just shall live by faith. He couldn’t get it out of his mind. Slide252
Habakkuk 2:4 An Impact on History
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Disillusioned with his experience in Rome, he returned to the University of Wittenberg, and went on to explore the revolutionary idea of “justification by faith.”He ultimately nailed his famous 95 theses to the door of the Wittenberg Castle Church, and started the movement known today as the Reformation — one of the most important events in modern history.
At the Diet (council) of Worms (a town) they excommunicated Martin Luther as a heretic.Slide253
Habakkuk 2:4 An Impact on History
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He went on to write commentaries that are classics today; hymns like, “A Mighty Fortress is our God”; and translated the entire Bible into German,
a classic which remains a literary masterpiece in the Germanic tongue.
[Source: Manuscript by his son, D. Paul Luther, preserved in the library at Rudolstadt,quoted by F.W. Boreham in A Bunch of Everlastings or Texts That Made History, Judson Press, Philadelphia, 1920, p. 20. Also, see Courson, p. 33-38.]It was Romans 1:17 quoting Habakkuk 2:4b, that helped to lead Martin Luther into the truth of justification by faith. “This text,” said Luther, “was to me the true gate of Paradise.”“The just shall live by his faith” was the watchword of the Reformation, and they may well be the seven most important monosyllables in all of church history.Slide254
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Habakkuk 2:4
4 Behold, as for the proud one, His soul is not right within him; But the righteous
H6662
will live by his faith H530.Rom 1:17 - 'For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith'. When we come to Christ by faith, repenting of our sin, we bring to Him ourselves and our sin.Like Abraham, we bring our faith - our confidence - in Him and God takes it and He credits it to our account .He puts it into our lives, the very righteousness of Christ. He puts the holiness of the Lord Jesus Christ into your account, into your life. The just – the people in the world who are declared righteous, the justified - are the only people able to live by faith! Slide255
Habakkuk The just.
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4 Behold, as for the proud one, His soul is not right within him; But the righteous H6662 will live by his faith H530.
Justification is the gracious act of God whereby He
declares the believing sinner righteous and gives that believing sinner a perfect standing in Jesus Christ. The “just” person isn’t someone who has met all of God’s requirements by means of good works, “For by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified” (Gal. 2:19; see Rom. 4:5). “For if righteousness comes through the law, then Christ died in vain” (Gal. 2:21 nkjv).Slide256
Habakkuk The just.
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4 Behold, as for the proud one, His soul is not right within him; But the righteous H6662 will live by his faith H530.
Our Lord’s parable of the Pharisee and the publican makes it clear that no amount of religious effort can save a lost sinner (
Luke 18:9–14). We can’t justify ourselves before God because we stand with the whole world, guilty and condemned before His throne (Rom. 3:19). All we can do is put saving faith in Jesus Christ and His work on the cross, because that is the only way to be saved. “Therefore, being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ” (Rom. 5:1).Slide257
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Habakkuk 2:4
Behold, as for the proud one, His soul is not right within him; But the righteous
H6662
will live by his faith H530.Galatians 3:11 ‘But that no man is justified by the law in the sight of God, it is evident: for, The just shall live by faith'. Here Paul is emphasizing ‘shall live'. Paul is writing in the book of Galatians to a church that has been ravaged by false wolves, ravaged by what were called 'Judiasers' Paul says: 'You must live demonstrating your confidence in God, not keeping man’s rules.’ The same way that you couldn't be saved through the law or through the works, you can't go on, you can't be kept through the law and the works, there's no power in it - but the just shall live by his faith! Slide258
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Habakkuk 2:4
Behold, as for the proud one, His soul is not right within him; But the righteous
H6662
will live by his faith H530.Galatians 3:11 ‘But that no man is justified by the law in the sight of God, it is evident: for, The just shall live by faith'. Pity any Christian that believes that they're saved through the shed blood of Christ but that the blood of Christ can't keep them? That they have to work to keep their salvation That they can be saved today and damned tomorrow – By the very God who shed His blood for them…Praise God for Jesus Heb 7:25 Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them. Slide259
How many times do we need to hear it ?!!?
Let your conduct be without covetousness; be content with such things as you have. For He Himself has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.”
Heb 13:5 Psalm 27:7-14
(7) Hear, O LORD, when I cry with my voice, And be gracious to me and answer me.(8) When You said, "Seek My face," my heart said to You, "Your face, O LORD, I shall seek."(9) Do not hide Your face from me, Do not turn Your servant away in anger; You have been my help; Do not abandon me nor forsake me, O God of my salvation!
(10) For my father and my mother have forsaken me, But the LORD will take me up.
(11) Teach me Your way, O LORD, And lead me in a level path Because of my foes.(12) Do not deliver me over to the desire of my adversaries, For false witnesses have risen against me, And such as breathe out violence.(13) I would have despaired unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of the LORD In the land of the living.Wait for the LORD; Be strong and let your heart take courage; Yes, wait for the LORD.Slide260
How many times do we need to hear it ?!!?
“He will not leave you nor forsake you” (
Deut 31:8).
“I will not leave you nor forsake you” (Joshua 1:5). “Blessed be the LORD, who has not forsaken His kindness to the living”
(
Ruth 2:20). “The LORD will not forsake His people, for His great name’s sake” (1Sa 12:22)“He will not leave you nor forsake you, until you have finished all the work for the service of the house of the LORD” (1 Chronicles 28:20). “God did not forsake us in our bondage” (Ezra 9:9). “You did not forsake them in the wilderness” (Nehemiah 9:19). “When my father and mother forsake me, then the LORD will take care of me” (Psalm 27:10
).
“I have been young, and now am old; yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken” (
Psalm 37:25
).
“We are…persecuted but not forsaken” (
2
Cor
4:8-9
).
Only one person has been utterly forsaken. He cried,
“My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” (
Matt 27:46
)
He was forsaken so we would never have to be… .Slide261
Habakkuk shall live...
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4 Behold, as for the proud one, His soul is not right within him; But the righteous H6662 will live by his faith H530.
We are not only saved by faith, we are instructed to live by faith.
Eph 2:8-10 (8) For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, (9) not of works, lest anyone should boast. (10) For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.“And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith” (1 John 5:4 nkjv). Faith is a lifestyle that is just the opposite of being “puffed up” and depending on your own resources. Habakkuk knew that difficult times were coming to the people of Judah, and their only resource was to trust God’s Word and rest in His will.Slide262
Habakkuk shall live...
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4 Behold, as for the proud one, His soul is not right within him; But the righteous H6662 will live by his faith H530.
Living by faith is the major them of the book of Hebrews.
In Hebrews the phrase “by faith” is found over 20 times. To live by faith means to believe God’s Word and obey it no matter how we feel, what we see, or what the consequences may be. This is illustrated in Hebrews 11, the “by faith” chapter of the Bible. The men and women mentioned in that chapter were ordinary people, but they accomplished extraordinary things because they trusted God and did what He told them to doSlide263
Habakkuk shall live...
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Behold, as for the proud one, His soul is not right within him; But the righteous H6662 will live by his faith H530
.
Faith is not believing in spite of the evidence; It is obeying in spite of the consequences, Placing confidence in and resting on God’s faithfulness.Slide264
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Habakkuk 2:4
Behold, as for the proud one, His soul is not right within him; But the righteous
H6662
will live by his faith H530.Heb 10:37-3837 FOR YET IN A VERY LITTLE WHILE, HE WHO IS COMING WILL COME, AND WILL NOT DELAY. 38 BUT MY RIGHTEOUS ONE SHALL LIVE BY FAITH; AND IF HE SHRINKS BACK, MY SOUL HAS NO PLEASURE IN HIM.The writer to the Hebrews is now emphasising not 'the just', not 'shall live' but he's emphasizing 'by faith'. These believing Jews didn't know whether to go back or whether to go forward they were being tried by their fellow Jews for following Christ, they were being persecuted by the Gentiles for being Jews. Slide265
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Habakkuk 2:4
Behold, as for the proud one, His soul is not right within him; But the righteous
H6662
will live by his faith H530.Heb 10:37-3837 FOR YET IN A VERY LITTLE WHILE, HE WHO IS COMING WILL COME, AND WILL NOT DELAY. 38 BUT MY RIGHTEOUS ONE SHALL LIVE BY FAITH; AND IF HE SHRINKS BACK, MY SOUL HAS NO PLEASURE IN HIM.The writer to the Hebrews was saying that if you walk for God, If any man draws back from faith in God, God will have no pleasure in himIf you walk by faith you'll inherit the blessing God has for those faithful to Him. Martin Luther’s knees were bleeding trying to work for his salvation - and the Holy Spirit of God whispered into his ear: 'The just shall live by faith‘ and his and our lives were changed.Slide266
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Habakkuk 2:4
Behold, as for the proud one, His soul is not right within him; But the righteous will live by his faith.
Moses gave the Israelites 365 prohibitions (and 248 positive commandments).
David, in Psalm 15, reduced them to 11. Isaiah 33:14-15 made them 6. Micah 6:8 reduced them to 3. Habakkuk, by the Holy Ghost, brings them to 1: ‘The just shall live by faith'. It’s not a command, it is a factIt is a necessity…Slide267
Habakkuk 2:5-8 The Welcome Woes
5 "Furthermore, wine betrays the haughty man, So that he does not stay at home. He enlarges his appetite like
Sheol, And he is like death, never satisfied. He also gathers to himself all nations And collects to himself all peoples.6 "Will not all of these take up a taunt-song against him, Even mockery and insinuations against him And say, 'Woe to him who increases what is not his-- For how long-- And makes himself rich with loans?'
7 "Will not your creditors rise up suddenly, And those who collect from you awaken? Indeed, you will become plunder for them.8 "Because you have looted many nations, All the remainder of the peoples will loot you-- Because of human bloodshed and violence done to the land, To the town and all its inhabitants.
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Habakkuk 2:9-15 The Welcome Woes
9 "Woe to him who gets evil gain for his house To put his nest on high, To be delivered from the hand of calamity!
10 "You have devised a shameful thing for your house By cutting off many peoples; So you are sinning against yourself.11 "Surely the stone will cry out from the wall, And the rafter will answer it from the framework.
12 "Woe to him who builds a city with bloodshed And founds a town with violence!13 "Is it not indeed from the LORD of hosts That peoples toil for fire, And nations grow weary for nothing?14 "For the earth will be filled With the knowledge of the glory of the LORD, As the waters cover the sea.
15 "Woe to you who make your neighbors drink, Who mix in your venom even to make them drunk So as to look on their nakedness!
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Habakkuk 2:16-20 The Welcome Woes
16 "You will be filled with disgrace rather than honor. Now you yourself drink and expose your own nakedness. The cup in the LORD'S right hand will come around to you, And utter disgrace will come upon your glory.
17 "For the violence done to Lebanon will overwhelm you, And the devastation of its beasts by which you terrified them, Because of human bloodshed and violence done to the land, To the town and all its inhabitants.
18 "What profit is the idol when its maker has carved it, Or an image, a teacher of falsehood? For its maker trusts in his own handiwork When he fashions speechless idols.19 "Woe to him who says to a piece of wood, 'Awake!' To a mute stone, 'Arise!' And that is your teacher? Behold, it is overlaid with gold and silver, And there is no breath at all inside it.20 "But the LORD is in His holy temple. Let all the earth be silent before Him.”
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Acts 17
Paul the apostle is standing in main street in the city of Athens and he is angry.
This ancient classical city is walled with temples and false gods.
All the gods of Rome, all the gods of Greece, all the gods of Babylon that there have ever been, temples to different deities.Even statues to a god that they didn’t know, just to be on the safe side, Just in case there was one that they hadn't found out about yet.Slide271
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Acts 17:16 What Makes You Angry?
Act 17:16 Now while Paul was waiting for them at Athens, his spirit was being provoked within him as he was observing the city full of idols.
Acts 17:16
says that his spirit was stirred within him. Paul was angry.J.B. Philips: 'While Paul was there, his soul was exasperated beyond belief at the sight of the city completely given to idolatry'. The Amplified Bible: 'Now while Paul was waiting upon them at Athens, his spirit was grieved and roused to anger as he saw a city full of idols'. Slide272
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Acts 17:16 What Makes You Angry?
Act 17:16 Now while Paul was waiting for them at Athens, his spirit was being provoked within him as he was observing the city full of idols.
Paul was angry at the power of false religions to delude people. They deluded men and women sending them to hell
Paul was angry at the reckless devotion to those powerless gods that men, women and children were bowing down to. He was angry at the staggering wealth that was sacrificially given to build these temples, to these fraudulent deities before him. He was so angry that Christ was not given the love and the devotion that He ought to have been given as the God of all eternity. He was angry that men's hearts of flesh were crying out in their need, but they were crying out to gods of stone. Slide273
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Habakkuk 2:5-20 The Welcome Woes
Chapter 2:1-4 deals with the vision that was given to him: he was to write it down, he was to publish it, Habakkuk had to ensure that God's message was clear, plain and understandable for all to see.
it was for an appointed time - he was to be patient, he was to wait on it.
Habakkuk was told to wait under the assurance that God’s answer would come in the future. He was to Positively Live By It Habakkuk receives a partial answer in the present. He is not to live like the Chaldeans but rather to live by faith. the just shall live by faith. Slide274
Habakkuk 2:5
#
274
5 Yea also, because he transgresseth by wine, he is a proud man, neither keepeth at home, who
enlargeth
his desire as hell, and is as death, and cannot be satisfied, but gathereth unto him all nations, and heapeth unto him all people: “...by wine”: Nahum makes it clear that Assyria fell through drunkenness; Amos tells us that the fall of the Northern Kingdom was caused by drunkenness; Habakkuk tells us that Babylon will fall through drunkenness (cf. Dan 5!). Rome also. How about the U.S.?Slide275
Habakkuk 2:5 The sinner.
#
275
"Furthermore, wine betrays the haughty man, So that he does not stay at home. He enlarges his appetite like Sheol, And he is like death, never satisfied. He also gathers to himself all nations And collects to himself all peoples.
Pride makes us greedy.
The Babylonians weren’t satisfied with what they had; They coveted even more land and wealth, and so set their course to conquer every nation that stood in their way. More than one king or dictator in history has followed this resolve, only to discover that it leads to disappointment, ruin, and death.Slide276
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Acts 17:16 What Makes You Angry?
Act 17:16 Now while Paul was waiting for them at Athens, his spirit was being provoked within him as he was observing the city full of idols.
What Makes You Angry?
As God's people, as God's children, when we look at our world that is more and more godless every day, doesn’t it stir us up? Does it make us angry that a lost world will give money and devotion to any god, any pastime, any intellectual belief, and will do anything for some kind of notion of salvation - but they will never bow the knee to Christ! Does that not make you angry? Slide277
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Acts 17:16 What Makes You Angry?
Act 17:16 Now while Paul was waiting for them at Athens, his spirit was being provoked within him as he was observing the city full of idols.
Paul was angry that the atoning blood of Christ was trampled underfoot.
He was angry that the intellectuals mocked at the resurrection, at the ascension of the living Son of God. He was angry that people that were walking around in this city were one heart's beat from an eternal, inconceivable, horrible hell - yet one heartbeat away, they could eat, they could drink, and they could be merry. Paul was angry that the devil had a hold on men and women - that men were captives to fear, to lust, and then the devil himself would take them to the bottomless pit. Slide278
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Acts 17:16 Are You Angry?
Eph 6:12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.
Do you have God’s righteous anger within you?
And if you're not angry, why not? Why is it that the believing church of today, is no longer militant? Why is it that we do not go on the attack? Why is it that we fear? What, Who is it that we fear?What is it that chills our urgency? Have we not got a message? Why is it that we hesitate? Why do we personally tend to keep the one truth in the universe that can save mankind within the four walls of the church building? Why do we feel fear as we come to a loved one, or a stranger and everyone in between, and we try to share the Gospel Why is it that in today's generation we can't find the guts to do what past generations were willing to die to do?Slide279
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1 Sa 17:17-29 Is there not a cause?
David took lunch to his brothers on Israel’s battle line.
Hearing Goliath he asked: ‘What are you going to do about this guy? Are you not going to face him?‘,
They laughed at him. David turned to them and asked: 'Is there not a cause?'. Is there not a cause for us to be angry? We need a holy anger to burn within us! There are many commands in God’s word: A command to be saved, a command to be baptized, a command to be filled with the Holy Spirit, a command to make discliples… There is also a command to “be angry and sin not!”Eph 4:26 Slide280
#
280
Eph 4:26 Is there not a cause?
Be ye angry, and sin not:
let not the sun go down upon your wrath:
Many of us get angry and sin We get angry at the wrong times, at the wrong things, with the wrong motives. But there is an anger of God Almighty, a holy anger.The actual anger of God, by His Spirit, within our beings. Do you have it? Are you angry? Do we preach and teach the anger of God? Do we preach and teach that you must die to live? Do we preach and teach that God is holy, and that in order to follow Him, we must be holy as He is holy But, we cannot be holy because we are sinners andThe only holiness that we can have is the imputed holiness of the righteous, sinless, spotless Lamb of God? Slide281
#
281
The Prophets Pattern
The prophets of God – major and minor - always began with the sin of the people,
How the people had broken God's law,
God's anger towards the people, How God’s wrath was abiding on them at that moment. Hosea 1:2b '...for the land hath committed great whoredom, departing from the Lord'. Joel 1:5, 'Awake, ye drunkards, and weep; and howl, all ye drinkers of wine, because of the new wine, for it is cut off from your mouth'. Slide282
#
282
The Prophets Pattern
Amos 1:3
-'Thus
saith the Lord; For three transgressions of Damascus, and for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof' Amos 1:6 - 'For three transgressions of Gaza' Amos 1:9 - 'For three transgressions of Tyrus' Amos 1:13 - 'For three transgressions of the children of Ammon' - and so on throughout that book, continually Amos presents them with their sin. Obadiah 1:3 - 'The pride of thine heart hath deceived thee, thou that dwellest
in the clefts of the rock, whose habitation is high; that
saith
in his heart, Who shall bring me down to the ground?'. Slide283
#
283
The Prophets Pattern
Jonah 1:2
- Jonah is told by God: 'Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry against it; for their wickedness is come up before me'.
Micah 1:5 - 'For the transgression of Jacob is all this, and for the sins of the house of Israel. What is the transgression of Jacob? Is it not Samaria? And what are the high places of Judah?' - the places where they worshipped false gods - 'Are they not Jerusalem?', Micah 1:7 - 'All the graven images thereof shall be beaten to pieces, and all the hires thereof shall be burned with the fire, and all the idols thereof will I lay desolate: for she gathered it of the hire of an harlot, and they shall return to the hire of an harlot'. Slide284
#
284
The Prophets Pattern
In the all the Old Testament prophets that is the pattern.
They preached the holiness of God,
They preached the failure of men and women, of boys and girls, to reach the holiness of God Today it is not politically correct, to preach sin, To preach the righteousness of God, and the unrighteousness of men. All these preachers preached against sin. Then they preached God’s redeeming promise of salvation.Slide285
Habakkuk 2:6–20
Declare God’s Judgment
# 285
To the faithful Jews in the land, God would be a refuge and strength (Nah. 1:7; Ps. 46),
To the godless Babylonians invading the land, He would be a judge and eventually punish their sins and give them what they deserved.
In this “taunt song,” God pronounces “woe” upon five different sins, all of which are prevalent in the world today.Slide286
Habakkuk 2:5-8 Five-Fold Woe
#
286
Now follows a five-fold woe upon the wicked Chaldean oppressor. Presented symmetrically in 5 stanzas or strophes of 3 verses each:1)
Proud
Ambition Hab 2:5-82) Covetousness Hab 2:9-113) Ruthlessness and Cruelty Hab 2:12-144) Debauchery Hab 2:15-175) Idolatry Hab 2:18-19Slide287
#
287
Habakkuk 2:6-8 The Welcome Woes
Although woes are not pleasant things - Habakkuk welcomed them because they were God's answer to his prayer.
The first woe that God declares is: woe to ill-gotten gain.
6 "Will not all of these take up a taunt-song against him, Even mockery and insinuations against him And say, 'Woe to him who increases what is not his-- For how long-- And makes himself rich with loans?'7 "Will not your creditors rise up suddenly, And those who collect from you awaken? Indeed, you will become plunder for them.8 "Because you have looted many nations, All the remainder of the peoples will loot you-- Because of human bloodshed and violence done to the land, To the town and all its inhabitants.Slide288
#
288
Habakkuk 2:5-20 The Welcome Woes
"The Welcome Woes"
1. Woe To Ill-Gotten Gain (verses 6-8)
2. Woe To Inhumanity (verses 9-11) 3. Woe To Iniquity (verses 12-14) 4. Woe To Intoxication (verses 15-17) 5. Woe To Idolatry (verses 18-20) There are three chapters to the book of Habakkuk.Chapter 1 deals with the problem, the burden, of Habakkuk.Chapter 2 deals with the vision that Habakkuk was given. Chapter 3 deals with the prayer that Habakkuk prays. Slide289
Habakkuk 2:6–8 Selfish ambition
Woe To Ill-Gotten Gain
# 289
“Therefore also we have as our ambition … to be pleasing to Him” (2 Cor. 5:9 nasb
)
“It has always been my ambition to preach the gospel where Christ was not known,” (Rom. 15:20)Ambition can be a good thing, but …it’s a bad thing if it motivates people to be greedy, selfish, and abusive,. The Babylonians were consumed by selfish ambition and they stopped at nothing to acquire wealth and expand their kingdom. They had hoards of stolen goods, plundered from helpless people. God warned them that the owners of this wealth would one day rise up to condemn them and collect what was due.Slide290
#
290
Habakkuk 2:6
"Will not all of these take up a taunt-song against him, Even mockery and insinuations against him And say, 'Woe to him who increases what is not his-- For how long-- And makes himself rich with loans?‘
[NASB]
6 Shall not all these take up a parable against him, and a taunting proverb against him, and say, Woe to him that increaseth that which is not his! how long? and to him that ladeth himself with thick clay! [KJV]'Woe to him that increaseth that which is not his!'. God pictures Babylon as deceptive moneylenders, who are heavy with the debts to the nations that they have conquered. They have conquered so many nations, pillaging and ravaging them of all their wealth, that they have now amassed such a wealth, such a great weight, that God says: 'ladeth himself with thick clay!'It's like pouring mud upon you, the wealth that they have accumulated by taking from others. Slide291
Habakkuk 2:6
#
291
6] Shall not all these take up a parable against him, and a taunting proverb against him, and say, Woe to him that increaseth that which is not his! how long? and to him that ladeth
himself with thick clay!
They have conquered so many nations, pillaging and ravaging them of all their wealth, that they have now amassed such a wealth, such a great weight, that God says: “...to him that ladeth himself with thick clay” or, “…to him that makes himself rich with loans.” The wealth that they had accumulated to themselves by taking from others was like pouring mud upon themseves, Slide292
#
292
Habakkuk 2:7
"Will not your creditors rise up suddenly, And those who collect from you awaken? Indeed, you will become plunder for them.
[NASB]
7 Shall they not rise up suddenly that shall bite thee, and awake that shall vex thee, and thou shalt be for booties unto them? [KJV]God says that a day is coming when the debts will be collected. There will be a nasty bite, and they will be vexed suddenly There is a day coming when all those that they have robbed, and fleeced, and mistreated in ill-gotten gain, will turn like an angry dog upon them and bite them like a serpent. Medo-Persia took over Babylon by drying up the River Euphrates and taking them by surprise…Slide293
#
293
Habakkuk 2:7
"Will not your creditors rise up suddenly, And those who collect from you awaken? Indeed, you will become plunder for them.
[NASB]
Shall they not rise up suddenly that shall bite thee, and awake that shall vex thee, and thou shalt be for booties unto them? [KJV]'vex' means to shake violently, to pick up a man and turn him upside-down and shake the money out of him! God would throw the Chaldeans to the nations - they themselves would become as booties unto them. Slide294
Habakkuk 2:8
#
294
8] Because thou hast spoiled many nations, all the remnant of the people shall spoil thee; because of men’s blood, and for the violence of the land, of the city, and of all that dwell therein.In search of satisfaction, the Babylonians would only experience retribution; the people they devoured would soon devour them
Gal 5:15
But if ye bite and devour one another, take heed that ye be not consumed one of another.God says - that those who have ill-gotten gain, the divine Debt Collector will bring pay day! Slide295
#
295
Habakkuk 2:8
8 "Because you have looted many nations, All the remainder of the peoples will loot you-- Because of human bloodshed and violence done to the land, To the town and all its inhabitants.
[NASB]
Because thou hast spoiled many nations, all the remnant of the people shall spoil thee; because of men's blood, and for the violence of the land, of the city, and of all that dwell therein. [KJV]People may forget, history might forget, but God never forgets. Numbers 32:23 - 'Be sure your sin will find you out'.Gen 4:7, Gen 44:16; Psa 90:8, Psa 139:11, Psa 140:11; Pro 13:21; Isa 3:11; Isa 59:1-2, Isa 59:12; Rom 2:9; 1Co 4:5One day, no matter how unfair it may seem at this moment in time, internationally or individually in your personal life, one day the tables will be turned.Slide296
Five-Fold Woe #2
Covetousness Hab
2:9-11#
296Five-Fold Woe
1)
Proud Ambition Hab 2:5-82) Covetousness Hab 2:9-113) Ruthlessness and Cruelty Hab 2:12-144) Debauchery Hab 2:15-175) Idolatry Hab 2:18-19Slide297
Habakkuk 2:9-11 Woe to covetousness
#
297
9 "Woe to him who gets evil gain for his house To put his nest on high, To be delivered from the hand of calamity!
[NASB]
9 Woe to him that coveteth an evil covetousness to his house, that he may set his nest on high, that he may be delivered from the power of evil! [KJV]10 "You have devised a shameful thing for your house By cutting off many peoples; So you are sinning against yourself. [NASB]10 Thou hast consulted shame to thy house by cutting off many people, and hast sinned against thy soul. [KJV]11 "Surely the stone will cry out from the wall, And the rafter will answer it from the framework. [NASB]11 For the stone shall cry out of the wall, and the beam out of the timber shall answer it. [KJV]
The Chaldeans had become covetous - they were self-exalting, proud people - that usually brings unfairness and inhumanity. Slide298
Habakkuk 2:9
The 2nd Woe -- covetousness and self-aggrandizement.
#
298
9 "Woe to him who gets evil gain for his house To put his nest on high, To be delivered from the hand of calamity!
[NASB]9 Woe to him that coveteth an evil covetousness to his house, that he may set his nest on high, that he may be delivered from the power of evil! [KJV]There are three ways to get wealth: you can work for it, steal it, or receive it as a gift. Eph 4:28 Let him that stole steal no more: but rather let him labour, working
with his hands the thing which is good, that he may have to
give
to him that
needeth
.
Stealing is wrong:
“Thou
shalt
not steal” (
Ex. 20:15
).
The Babylonians took land that wasn’t theirs in order to build an empire that glorified them and assured them safety. Slide299
Habakkuk 2:9
#
299
9 "Woe to him who gets evil gain for his house To put his nest on high, To be delivered from the hand of calamity!
[NASB]
Woe to him that coveteth an evil covetousness to his house, that he may set his nest on high, that he may be delivered from the power of evil! [KJV]God describes them like eagles who set up their nest on a high mountain, because they think their homes will be impregnable to predators. Their goal was security, like the eagle’s nest on the high mountain crags. No individual or nation can build walls high enough to keep God out.Slide300
Habakkuk 2:9
#
300
9 "Woe to him who gets evil gain for his house To put his nest on high, To be delivered from the hand of calamity!
[NASB]
Woe to him that coveteth an evil covetousness to his house, that he may set his nest on high, that he may be delivered from the power of evil! [KJV]Obadiah spoke to another empire, the Edomite empire, and he spoke in the same way - talking about them as eagles. Oba 1:3 The pride of thine heart hath deceived thee, thou that dwellest in the clefts of the rock, whose habitation is high; that saith in his heart, Who shall bring me down to the ground?God said: 'Though you exalt yourself as eagles, from there will I bring thee down'. Slide301
Habakkuk 2:10 Covetousness
#
301
10 "You have devised a shameful thing for your house By cutting off many peoples; So you are sinning against yourself.
[NASB]
10 Thou hast consulted shame to thy house by cutting off many people, and hast sinned against thy soul. [KJV]'Thou hast consulted shame to thy house by cutting off many people'. Nebuchadnezzar made his house of all the plundered remains of the conquered cities that he trampled underfoot? God says to this great empire: 'You may set yourself like an eagle upon a mountain, and think that nobody will touch you, and nobody will get to you. You may make yourself luxurious by the spoil of your enemies and your victims, but God says: 'Woe to inhumanity''. 'Thou hast sinned against thy soul'! Slide302
Habakkuk 2:10–11 Covetousness
#
302
10] Thou hast consulted shame to thy house by cutting off many people, and hast sinned against thy soul.11] For the stone shall cry out of the wall, and the beam out of the timber shall answer it.The things they are devoted to will soon fall apart…
Instead of houses and families that bring honor, they will have disgrace and shame and will eventually lose their lives.
“For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?” (Mark 8:36). The very materials in their expensive houses would testify against them, for they were plundered from helpless people. James used a similar image when he warned the rich that the wages they owed their laborers would witness against them at the judgment (James 5:1–6)Slide303
Habakkuk 2:10–11 Covetousness
#
303
10] Thou hast consulted shame to thy house by cutting off many people, and hast sinned against thy soul.11] For the stone shall cry out of the wall, and the beam out of the timber shall answer it.Some of the covetous Jews may have felt the sting of this rebuke,
They were amassing fortunes by exploiting the poor and using that money to build expensive houses. (
Amos 3:15; 6:11.) The prophets often rebuked the rich because they lived in luxury, while the poor suffered. Jesus warned, “Take heed and beware of covetousness” (Luke 12:15) That warning is valid today. The last of the 10 Commandments is“Thou shalt not covet” (Ex. 20:17), But, if we’re guilty of covetousness, we’re in danger of breaking the other nine!Slide304
Habakkuk 2:11
#
304
11 "Surely the stone will cry out from the wall, And the rafter will answer it from the framework.
[NASB]
11 For the stone shall cry out of the wall, and the beam out of the timber shall answer it. [KJV]You may have carried many people away with you, but the very stones of your habitation - your house - will 'cry out of the wall, and the beam out of the timber shall answer it'. The very masonry, the very timber within your house will testify to what you are doing to those around you. Jesus told the Jewish leaders that the very rocks would cry out in testimony if the people didn’t: Luk 19:40You remember how God summoned Cain and asked him: 'Where is your brother?'. 'Am I my brothers keeper?‘Ge 4:10 'The voice of thy brother's blood crieth unto me from the ground'. Slide305
Habakkuk 2:11
#
305
11 "Surely the stone will cry out from the wall, And the rafter will answer it from the framework.
[NASB]
For the stone shall cry out of the wall, and the beam out of the timber shall answer it. [KJV]Covetousness was the sin of their age, it is the sin of our age, of every empire, of every government, and of every individual that does not follow Christ in their life - it is their sin! 'More, more, more!'? Is the cry all around us.How many preachers, teachers, servant-like attitudes, have been destroyed because of the love of money and things? You know that many of us, even in the church, with the fancy rings, the fancy suits, the fancy hair – have been destroyed because of covetousness. Woe to inhumanity. Slide306
Habakkuk 2:11
#
306
11 "Surely the stone will cry out from the wall, And the rafter will answer it from the framework.
[NASB]
For the stone shall cry out of the wall, and the beam out of the timber shall answer it. [KJV]There is the blood of millions crying out to God, there is the cry of unborn babies, there is the cry of the exploited poor,there is the cry of persecuted Christians, of victims of terrorism, of personal abuse God hears them and God will answer! And woe to all those who partake in inhumanity! Slide307
Habakkuk 2:11
#
307
11 "Surely the stone will cry out from the wall, And the rafter will answer it from the framework.
[NASB]
For the stone shall cry out of the wall, and the beam out of the timber shall answer it. [KJV]People who dabble in sin need to realize that they don't just sin against God, they don't just sin against the people that they're exploiting or harming, but they actually sin against their own eternal soul The end of that sin, the wages of that sinning and harming and mutilating of that soul, will be the second death: eternal separation, isolation, torment - hell! Beware that you do not sin against your soul. Slide308
Five-Fold Woe #3
Ruthlessness and Cruelty Hab
2:12-14
# 308Five-Fold Woe
1)
Proud Ambition Hab 2:5-82) Covetousness Hab 2:9-113) Ruthlessness and Cruelty Hab 2:12-144) Debauchery Hab 2:15-175) Idolatry Hab 2:18-19Slide309
Habakkuk 2:12-14
3rd Woe - murder, pillage, slaughter and violence.
#
30912] Woe to him that
buildeth
a town with blood, and stablisheth a city by iniquity!13] Behold, is it not of the LORD of hosts that the people shall labour in the very fire, and the people shall weary themselves for very vanity?14] For the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea.Slide310
Habakkuk 2:12
Woe to iniquity.
#
310
"Woe to him who builds a city with bloodshed And founds a town with violence!
'Woe to him that buildeth a town with blood, and stablisheth a city by iniquity!' Babylon's cup of iniquity, is swiftly filling because they are building their great empire, their cities, with blood. They are establishing them by iniquity,They have used the riches of plundered cities – ill gotten gain - to build their empire. Slide311
Habakkuk 2:12 Exploitation of people
#
311
12] Woe to him that buildeth a town with blood, and stablisheth a city by iniquity!
The city was built with slave labor
The soul of one of those slaves meant more to God than all the buildings put together.Babylon was built by bloodshed, the blood of innocent victims. It was built by prisoners of war, slave labor that was exploited to the fullest extent. Babylon was proud of what she had built, but God said it wouldn’t last; it was only fuel for the fire. Slide312
Habakkuk 2:13
#
312
"Is it not indeed from the LORD of hosts That peoples toil for fire, And nations grow weary for nothing?
Isaiah 14
, describes Babylon as the golden city –God is permitting them to build it up for His big bonfire. One day it's all going to go up in smoke, The city of Babylon was an architectural marvel, but their great projects were for nothing. It’s all gone. Today, you have to visit a museum if you want to see what Babylon was like.Historians tell us it was 15 square miles, with 350 foot high walls, 87 feet thick, 6 chariots could go along it at one timeThey were set 35 feet into ground so that no one could tunnel under into the city! There were 250 watchtowers, 53 temples, 180 altars to IshtarSlide313
Habakkuk 2:13
#
313
13 "Is it not indeed from the LORD of hosts That peoples toil for fire, And nations grow weary for nothing?
13: 'Behold, is it not of the Lord of hosts that the people shall
labour in the very fire, and the people shall weary themselves for very vanity?' Think about these Chaldeans, going through cities, plundering all the riches, their temples, their jewels, bringing them back to their home city of Babylon, They're building their city bigger and bigger, the skyscrapers, the institutions, the government, everything they're building bigger and bigger.They're doing it for the fire. Slide314
Habakkuk 2:13-14
#
314
13] Behold, is it not of the LORD of hosts that the people shall labour in the very fire, and the people shall weary themselves for very vanity?14] For the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea.
The Ultimate purpose of God:
the establishment of the “Kingdom (from) Heaven,” when the David’s Righteous Branch sets up His Kingdom Isa 11:9; 2 Sam 7:9; Zech 12:8; Lk 1:31-33; 1 Cor 15:38Slide315
Habakkuk 2:13
#
315
"Is it not indeed from the LORD of hosts That peoples toil for fire, And nations grow weary for nothing?
All the blood, all the sweat, all the tears, of this world, of Babylon, of any world or country, of any man or woman who was without Christ, all of it is in vain'!
Psa 127:1 Except the LORD build the house, they labour in vain that build it: except the LORD keep the city, the watchman waketh but in vain. The sooner we realize that anything we do is nothing without Christ the better off we will be…Slide316
Habakkuk 2:13
#
316
"Is it not indeed from the LORD of hosts That peoples toil for fire, And nations grow weary for nothing?
In scripture, Babylon is a type,
It's a picture of all of the worldly religion, the worldly system that is a living without Christ, a godless power that denies Christ and lifts themselves up as God. Soon it will all perish! Jesus is coming again, Daniel 2:45 indicates that the Lord Jesus Christ, is that great stone that is cut out of the mountain without hands – He will break to pieces the iron, the brass, the clay, the silver, the goldHe'll destroy all of the nations of men, and He will set Himself up as Lord and Master of them all. Hallelujah! Slide317
Habakkuk 2:14
Exploitation of people
# 317
14] For the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea.In contrast to the shame and infamy of Babylon, God promised that His glory would one day cover the earth (v. 14
).
The “glory” of Babylon didn’t last, but the glory of the Lord will abide forever. Certainly, the Lord was glorified when Babylon fell before her enemies in 539 BC (see Jer. 50—51), He will be glorified when the Babylon of the last days is destroyed, that final great world empire that opposes God (Rev. 17—18). Slide318
Habakkuk 2:14
#
318
"For the earth will be filled With the knowledge of the glory of the LORD, As the waters cover the sea.
'Habakkuk, look into the future, you see what's happening now, but look up' –
This was the message of the book of the Revelation. Revelation is a letter to persecuted Christians, What John and the Holy Ghost, and the Lord Jesus Christ through John - was telling these Christians: 'You're being fed to the lions, you're being put to the sword and crucified upside-down - but look up! Look at God's program, look at what's happening up here, and know that in end I will triumph'. That's the message, that's God's message to you. Slide319
Habakkuk 2:14
#
319
"For the earth will be filled With the knowledge of the glory of the LORD, As the waters cover the sea.
If you're going through trial, if you're going through tribulation, if you're going through all sorts of perplexities and temptation, the message is this:
'Look forward, for there is a day coming when there will be no more pain, no more exploitation, there will be no more injustice or cruelty, no more sorrow or sinfulness - but the Lord shall reign!' - and the earth shall be filled with the knowledge, not of sin, but the knowledge of the glory of God. What a day that will be, when the Lord Chief Justice will reign in His earth, and even the animals won't exploit one another! Slide320
Habakkuk 2:14 Exploitation of people
#
320
14] For the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea.When Jesus Christ returns and establishes His kingdom, then God’s glory will indeed cover the whole earth (Isa. 11:1–9).
These mighty revelations of God in history are called “
theophanies,” from two Greek words meaning “an appearance of a god.” Ps 18; 68; 77; Exo 15 and 19; Deu 33 The fall of “Babylon the great” is a reminder to us that what man builds without God can never last. The exploiter will eventually lose everything, and man’s “utopias” will turn out to be disasters. We can’t exploit people made in God’s image and expect to escape God’s judgment. It may take time, but eventually the judgment falls.Slide321
Five-Fold Woe #4
Debauchery Hab
2:15-17
# 321Five-Fold Woe
1)
Proud Ambition Hab 2:5-82) Covetousness Hab 2:9-113) Ruthlessness and Cruelty Hab 2:12-144) Debauchery Hab 2:15-175) Idolatry Hab 2:18-19Slide322
Habakkuk 2:15-17
#
322
15 "Woe to you who make your neighbors drink, Who mix in your venom even to make them drunk So as to look on their nakedness!
16 "You will be filled with disgrace rather than honor. Now you yourself drink and expose your own nakedness. The cup in the LORD'S right hand will come around to you, And utter disgrace will come upon your glory.
17 "For the violence done to Lebanon will overwhelm you, And the devastation of its beasts by which you terrified them, Because of human bloodshed and violence done to the land, To the town and all its inhabitants.Woe to intoxication: Alcohol was used to entice others to sin. Slide323
Habakkuk 2:15 Drunkenness and violence
#
323
"Woe to you who make your neighbors drink, Who mix in your venom even to make them drunk So as to look on their nakedness!15: 'Woe unto him that giveth
his
neighbour drink, that puttest thy bottle to him, and makest him drunken also, that thou mayest look on their nakedness!'. While the Bible doesn’t demand total abstinence, it often warns against the evils of strong drink Pr 20:1; 21:17; 23:20–21, 29–35; Ro 13:13; Ga 5:21; 1Th 5:7Drunkenness and sensual behavior often go together Gen. 9:20–27; 19:30–38; Rom. 13:11–14Slide324
Habakkuk 2:15
4
th Woe - exploitative partying and drunkeness…
#
324
"Woe to you who make your neighbors drink, Who mix in your venom even to make them drunk So as to look on their nakedness!15: 'Woe unto him that giveth his neighbour drink, that puttest thy bottle to him, and makest him drunken also, that thou mayest look on their nakedness!'. Look at
verse 5
, that's how the Babylonians rose to power:
'Yea also, because he
transgresseth
by wine, he is a proud man, neither
keepeth
at home, who
enlargeth
his desire as hell, and is as death, and cannot be satisfied, but
gathereth
unto him all nations, and
heapeth
unto him all people'.
You can see it throughout the word of God, that these men were given totally to wine,
Wine motivated them to their brutish behavior. Slide325
Habakkuk 2:15 Drunkenness and violence
#
325
"Woe to you who make your neighbors drink, Who mix in your venom even to make them drunk So as to look on their nakedness!
This passage says some things to us about overindulgence in alcohol.
It entices sexual sin. It says that they were making people drunken that they may look upon their nakedness. Alcohol, as an intoxicating poison, lowers our personal inhibitions about certain things - and we do things when we are drunk that we would not even consider when we are sober. Noah - had something done to him. He was in his tent because he had made a vineyard to himself and planted it after the flood and he'd got drunken from his own hands. Lot is made drunk by the hands of his very daughters.They wanted to raise up seed from him – incestuously.Slide326
Habakkuk 2:15
#
326
"Woe to you who make your neighbors drink, Who mix in your venom even to make them drunk So as to look on their nakedness!
Their drinking brought squander, because they spent all that they had on their
drunkeness, they wasted the resources that had been delivered and achieved by their conquering of other nations. In the US A alcoholism is the #3 health risk after heart disease and cancer! Every twentieth alcoholic is under the age of 13! 3.3 million teenagers have drink problems! More than 42 million children live in alcoholic-dependant houses, and 50% of them will become alcoholics themselves. 40% of hospital admissions, 50% of car accidents, 55% of arrests, 64% of murders, 60% of child abuse cases, are all alcohol-related Every 23 minutes someone dies because of a drunk driver.Slide327
Habakkuk 2:15
#
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"Woe to you who make your neighbors drink, Who mix in your venom even to make them drunk So as to look on their nakedness!
Proverbs 20:1
'Wine is a mocker, strong drink is raging: and whosoever is deceived thereby is not wise'. God has said what drink brings, and if you're the Christian and you're dabbling in it - you're a fool! Even if by some miracle you might be able to handle it, there is the law of the weaker brother, and you could be causing another weaker Christian - you could be causing them to be a drunk. God pronounces a warning that if you cause one of these little ones of Christ to sin, it were better that a millstone were put around your neck and you were thrown into the sea.Mat 18:6; Mar 9:42; Luk 17:2 Slide328
Habakkuk 2:15
#
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"Woe to you who make your neighbors drink, Who mix in your venom even to make them drunk So as to look on their nakedness!
Secondly: there is shame,
It says that they uncovered their nakedness, a shameful thing to do. That was their motive in doing it - but God was saying: 'What you have done to others, taking advantage of them, that will be done unto you'. Slide329
Habakkuk 2:15 Drunkenness and violence
#
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"Woe to you who make your neighbors drink, Who mix in your venom even to make them drunk So as to look on their nakedness!15: 'Woe unto him that giveth
his
neighbour drink, that puttest thy bottle to him, and makest him drunken also, that thou mayest look on their nakedness!'. The word neighbor could also refer to a neighboring nation that was “intoxicated” by Babylon’s power and made naked before Babylon’s invading armies. In Scripture, drinking a cup of wine can be a picture of judgment (Jer. 25:15ff.), Nakedness sometimes speaks of the devastating effects of military invasion (Isa. 47:1–3).Slide330
Habakkuk 2:16
#
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16 "You will be filled with disgrace rather than honor. Now you yourself drink and expose your own nakedness. The cup in the LORD'S right hand will come around to you, And utter disgrace will come upon your glory.What Babylon did to others, God would do to her. Babylon had been a golden cup in God’s hands (
Jer. 51:7
), He had used her to chasten the nations, but now God will give her a cup to drink that will bring her to ruin (Rv 16:19).She will be ashamed as other nations look on her nakedness.Slide331
Habakkuk 2:16
#
331
16] Thou art filled with shame for glory: drink thou also, and let thy foreskin be uncovered: the cup of the LORD’S right hand shall be turned unto thee, and shameful spewing shall be on thy glory.
Your manipulations will be
retributed on yourselves...your own nakedness will be exposed... “cup of His fury” Jer 25:15,17, 28; Ob 1:16; Rv 15-18.Divine retribution will be hers: the violence she did to others will be done to her; as she shed the blood of others, her blood will be shed; and as she destroyed the lands of other nations, so her land will be devastated.Slide332
Habakkuk 2:16
#
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16 "You will be filled with disgrace rather than honor. Now you yourself drink and expose your own nakedness. The cup in the LORD'S right hand will come around to you, And utter disgrace will come upon your glory.
In
Daniel 5, we see that it went throughout the whole Babylonian empire - and in the end we find that it was the downfall of the very Babylonian empire. Belshazzar, in his debauched drunken orgy, cursed God and mocked God in blasphemy and sacrilege.There was the writing on the wall, “you're weighed in the balance and found wanting.” That very night Belshazzar the king of the Chaldeans slain. Darius the Median took the kingdom, being about threescore and two years old'. Slide333
Habakkuk 2:16
#
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"You will be filled with disgrace rather than honor. Now you yourself drink and expose your own nakedness. The cup in the LORD'S right hand will come around to you, And utter disgrace will come upon your glory.
16 'Thou art filled with shame for glory: drink thou also, and let thy foreskin be uncovered: the cup of the Lord's right hand shall be turned unto thee, and shameful spewing shall be on thy glory'.
Have you ever seen a drunk man being sick? It's a detestable thing. The picture is that of a repulsive drunk vomiting all over himself, and it isn’t a very pretty picture.God's saying: 'You have filled My cup of wrath so much, that you're going to drink it and you're going to spew it - and that will be the glory that you have left'. God doesn't mince His words!Slide334
Habakkuk 2:17
#
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17] For the violence of Lebanon shall cover thee, and the spoil of beasts, which made them afraid, because of men’s blood, and for the violence of the land, of the city, and of all that dwell therein.God mentions the way the Babylonians abused trees and animals (Hab. 2:17
), suggesting that the soldiers wastefully chopped down trees and killed cattle to use both the wood and the meat for their war effort.
God also mentions His concern for animals in Jonah 4:11, so check the references. You wonder how many birds and animals lost either their lives or their homes because of this policy. (Deut. 20:19–20 for Israel’s policy on war supplies.)Slide335
Five-Fold Woe #5
Idolatry Hab
2:18-19
# 335Five-Fold Woe
1)
Proud Ambition Hab 2:5-82) Covetousness Hab 2:9-113) Ruthlessness and Cruelty Hab 2:12-144) Debauchery Hab 2:15-175) Idolatry Hab 2:18-19Slide336
Habakkuk 2:18-20 5
th woe: idolatry.
#
336
18 "What profit is the idol when its maker has carved it, Or an image, a teacher of falsehood? For its maker trusts in his own handiwork When he fashions speechless idols.
19 "Woe to him who says to a piece of wood, 'Awake!' To a mute stone, 'Arise!' And that is your teacher? Behold, it is overlaid with gold and silver, And there is no breath at all inside it.20 "But the LORD is in His holy temple. Let all the earth be silent before Him.”Slide337
Habakkuk 2:18 Idolatry
#
337
"What profit is the idol when its maker has carved it, Or an image, a teacher of falsehood? For its maker trusts in his own handiwork When he fashions speechless idols.
'What
profiteth the graven image that the maker thereof hath graven it; the molten image, and a teacher of lies, that the maker of his work trusteth therein, to make dumb idols? You make something with your own hands, how can it be a god and be better, more powerful than you if you've made it? Sadly, the people of Judah were also guilty of this sin, During the declining years of the kingdom, they worshipped the gods of the other nations. All the prophets cried out against this flagrant violation of the 2nd commandment (Ex. 20:4–6), but the people refused to repent.Slide338
Habakkuk 2:18-20 Idolatry
#
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"What profit is the idol when its maker has carved it, Or an image, a teacher of falsehood? For its maker trusts in his own handiwork When he fashions speechless idols.Idolatry is worshipping and serving the creature instead of the Creator (Rom 1:25
)
It started with Lucifer who said, “I will be like the Most High” (Isa. 14:14), It entered humanity when Satan tempted Eve with, “You will be like God” (Gen. 3:5 nkjv). It’s the popular philosophy of the world that man is the highest thing in the universe and can pull himself up by his own bootstraps to any level he chooses.It is a man putting himself or a thing of his own creation in the place his creator deserves…Slide339
Habakkuk 2:18-20 Idolatry
#
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"What profit is the idol when its maker has carved it, Or an image, a teacher of falsehood? For its maker trusts in his own handiwork When he fashions speechless idols.Of what value is a god made by a man? It’s much more reasonable to worship the God who made the man! (
Rom. 1:18ff
.) Worshipping an idol is uselessIt does definite evil by teaching lies (Hab. 2:18) It is a means of giving people false confidence that the dumb idol can help them. Jeremiah 44.Idols are dead substitutes for the living God (Ps. 115). Slide340
Habakkuk 2:18-20 Idolatry
#
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"What profit is the idol when its maker has carved it, Or an image, a teacher of falsehood? For its maker trusts in his own handiwork When he fashions speechless idols.Jesus used the image of the stones crying out when He cleansed the temple and the children sang His praises (Lu 19:40
)
The idea of stones bearing witness goes back to Joshua 24:27.“the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord” (Is 11:9) cf: Numbers 14:21.When the seraphim before God’s throne look upon the earth, they see it full of God’s glory (Isa. 6:3), When we pray “Thy kingdom come,” we are praying for Habakkuk 2:14 to be fulfilled. “Let the whole earth be filled with his glory” (Ps. 72:19).Slide341
Habakkuk 2:18-19 Idolatry
#
341
18] What profiteth the graven image that the maker thereof hath graven it; the molten image, and a teacher of lies, that the maker of his work trusteth
therein, to make dumb idols?
19] Woe unto him that saith to the wood, Awake; to the dumb stone, Arise, it shall teach! Behold, it is laid over with gold and silver, and there is no breath at all in the midst of it.There are three steps (re: Judges; Isaiah) to a nations downfall:1) Spiritual apostasy;2) Immorality;3) Political anarchy.The primary problem isn’t political anarchy… Even immorality was simply a symptom: It all begins with spiritual apostasy: Turning away from the true and living God.Slide342
Habakkuk 2:18 Idolatry
#
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"What profit is the idol when its maker has carved it, Or an image, a teacher of falsehood? For its maker trusts in his own handiwork When he fashions speechless idols.
There are thousands of people all over our land, millions all over the world, and every week they bow before idols and it does them no good - but it does do them great evil,
The word of God says that behind every idol there is a demon, there is a system of evil. We become like the gods we worship... (Ps 115:8; 135:18)Slide343
Habakkuk 2:19 Idolatry
#
343
19 "Woe to him who says to a piece of wood, 'Awake!' To a mute stone, 'Arise!' And that is your teacher? Behold, it is overlaid with gold and silver, And there is no breath at all inside it.
They are over laden with gold, precious things, to the outward appearance they are so appealing, they're so beautiful - you could almost fall down and worship them - but there's not a breath in them.
It's just like the world, - no matter what sin it is, even self-righteousness 'church-ianity' - it's nice on the outside, but there's not a breath of life in it. Slide344
Habakkuk 2:20 Idolatry
#
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20 "But the LORD is in His holy temple. Let all the earth be silent before Him.”
There may not be a word of exhortation, or encouragement, or direction, or anything from a wooden dead idol
– but there's a God in heaven who knows what is going on, who knows your heartaches, who knows your concerns, your temptations, your tribulations – there is the Lord Jehovah who is in His holy temple, Let all the world keep silence before Him! God is in control. He is on His throne, He in His own time will answer. He says: 'Vengeance is mine, I will repay' – Rom 12:19As Habakkuk was told though it tarry, wait for it. It will come…Slide345
Habakkuk 2:20 Idolatry
#
345
"But the LORD is in His holy temple. Let all the earth be silent before Him.”
Judgment begins in the house of God, with you and me.
It will never happen if we don't deal with our sin!We've got to break up that fallow ground, that ground that hasn't been farmed on for years has to be broken up - break it up, for it's time to seek the Lord until He come and rain righteousness upon us! Slide346
Habakkuk 2:20 Idolatry
#
346
"But the LORD is in His holy temple. Let all the earth be silent before Him.”
Joel 2:12-13
'Turn ye even to me with all your heart, and with fasting, and with weeping, and with mourning: and rend your heart, and not your garments' God's woe has been on their life because of the sin that's in it. God doesn’t want our words, God doesn’t want our prayers, God doesn’t want our sermons, God doesn’t want our books, God doesn’t want our reputations, God wants our heart - 'turn unto the Lord for he is gracious and merciful'. Slide347
Habakkuk 2:20 Idolatry
#
347
20] But the LORD is in his holy temple: let all the earth keep silence before him.God is saying, I know what I am doing. I’m on the throne.
Pipe down.
Trust me.Slide348
Habakkuk 3
BEWARE THE LAMB
348
12/21/2016Slide349
Habakkuk 3:1-6 NASB
1 A prayer of Habakkuk the prophet, according to
Shigionoth.2 LORD, I have heard the report about You and I fear. O LORD, revive Your work in the midst of the years, In the midst of the years make it known; In wrath remember mercy.
3 God comes from Teman, And the Holy One from Mount Paran. Selah. His splendor covers the heavens, And the earth is full of His praise.
4 His radiance is like the sunlight; He has rays flashing from His hand, And there is the hiding of His power.
5 Before Him goes pestilence, And plague comes after Him.6 He stood and surveyed the earth; He looked and startled the nations. Yes, the perpetual mountains were shattered, The ancient hills collapsed. His ways are everlasting.# 349Slide350
Habakkuk 3:4-11 NASB
7 I saw the tents of
Cushan under distress, The tent curtains of the land of Midian were trembling.
8 Did the LORD rage against the rivers, Or was Your anger against the rivers, Or was Your wrath against the sea, That You rode on Your horses, On Your chariots of salvation?9 Your bow was made bare, The rods of chastisement were sworn. Selah. You cleaved the earth with rivers.10 The mountains saw You and quaked; The downpour of waters swept by. The deep uttered forth its voice, It lifted high its hands.
11 Sun and moon stood in their places; They went away at the light of Your arrows, At the radiance of Your gleaming spear.
# 350Slide351
Habakkuk 3:12-15 NASB
12 In indignation You marched through the earth; In anger You trampled the nations.
13 You went forth for the salvation of Your people, For the salvation of Your anointed. You struck the head of the house of the evil To lay him open from thigh to neck. Selah.14 You pierced with his own spears The head of his throngs. They stormed in to scatter us; Their exultation was like those Who devour the oppressed in secret.
15 You trampled on the sea with Your horses, On the surge of many waters.
#
351Slide352
Habakkuk 3:16-19 NASB
16 I heard and my inward parts trembled, At the sound my lips quivered. Decay enters my bones, And in my place I tremble. Because I must wait quietly for the day of distress, For the people to arise who will invade us.
17 Though the fig tree should not blossom And there be no fruit on the vines, Though the yield of the olive should fail And the fields produce no food, Though the flock should be cut off from the fold And there be no cattle in the stalls,
18 Yet I will exult in the LORD, I will rejoice in the God of my salvation.19 The Lord GOD is my strength, And He has made my feet like hinds' feet, And makes me walk on my high places. For the choir director, on my stringed instruments.
#
352Slide353
Habakkuk 3:
THE PROPHET WORSHIPPING
# 353
When Habakkuk started, he was “down in the valley,” wrestling with the will of God. Then he climbed higher and stood on the watchtower, waiting for God to reply. After hearing God’s Word and seeing God’s glory, he became like a deer bounding confidently on the mountain heights (
3:19
)! His circumstances had not changed.He had changed, He was now walking by faith instead of sight. He was living by promises, not explanations.Slide354
For those who believe,
No explanation is necessary.
For those who do not believe,
No explanation is sufficient.Slide355
Habakkuk 3:
THE PROPHET WORSHIPPING
#
355
Habakkuk
1 was the burden of Habakkuk, Habakkuk 2 was the vision of Habakkuk, and Habakkuk 3 is the song of Habakkuk. It's a wild song, it's an enthusiastic song, it's a victorious, a triumphal song - it is a song for the wanderers of God. Habakkuk 3 is a psalm from verses 1 to 19, a psalm of praise, a psalm of assurance toward his God, He knew what his God would do in the world because he was sure that God was in control! Slide356
Habakkuk 3:
THE PROPHET WORSHIPPING
# 356
We need to honestly talk to God about our difficulties, We must pray,
We must meditate on God’s Word, and
We must be willing to experience fear and trembling as the Lord reveals Himself to us (v. 16). It will be worth it as we reach new summits of faith and discover new opportunities for growth and service.The same spiritual disciplines that took Habakkuk from the valley to the summit can take us there:prayer, vision, and faith. Habakkuk interceded for God’s work (vv. 1–2), pondered God’s ways (vv. 3–15), and affirmed God’s will (vv. 16–19).Slide357
Habakkuk
3:1 A prayer of Habakkuk
#
3571] A prayer of Habakkuk the prophet upon Shigionoth
.
A prayer of Habakkuk This chapter is a “prayer psalm” that may have been used in the temple worship in Jerusalem. (Other “prayer psalms”: Ps. 17; 86; 90; 102; and 142.) Habakkuk was praying to the Lord and not arguing with the Lord, His prayer soon became praise and worship.Slide358
Habakkuk 3:1
A prayer of Habakkuk
#
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1] A prayer of Habakkuk the prophet upon
Shigionoth.Habakkuk has been full of questions asking God: God, what are You doing in Your world? Why are You raising the Chaldeans? Why are You picking a more evil people than Your own people to judge them, and to chastise them? Lord, what are You doing?' - questioning His ways and His works. But in chapter 3, we have this rhapsody of faith.Habakkuk, has seen what God is doing in His world, because God has revealed to him that the just shall live by faith. Habakkuk turns and he sings a psalm of faith In the midst of all his sorrow, in the midst of the degradation and impending punishment, he will trust his God. Slide359
Habakkuk 3:1
A prayer of Habakkuk
#
359
1] A prayer of Habakkuk the prophet upon
Shigionoth.Don't be anxious about anything: Philippians 4:6-7 'Be careful for nothing', 'but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God'. [Mat 6:25, 27, 28, 31, 34; 10:19; Mar 13:11]That's the way God wants us to come to Him. He doesn't want us to come in doubting, [Heb 11:6]He doesn't want us to come as double-minded men and women, blown about. [Jas 1:8; 4:8]He doesn't want us coming doubting His power, His ability, His sovereignty in the world - but God loves to inhabit the praises of His people. [Psa 22:3
]
He loves to come into our lives, into our worlds, into our circumstance, because we praise Him, because we know the potential of the God whom we serve. Slide360
Habakkuk 3:1
A prayer of Habakkuk
#
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1] A prayer of Habakkuk the prophet upon
Shigionoth.The only answer in any situation in this life is to turn to God in prayer. Notice, Habakkuk's a changed man? He's no longer questioning God, but he's trusting God. It's not simply because prayer changes things; prayer changes people! Slide361
Habakkuk 3:1
A prayer of Habakkuk
#
361
1] A prayer of Habakkuk the prophet upon
Shigionoth.Genesis 20:7 Abraham travelled into a foreign land, ruled by King Abimelech.Abraham had a beautiful wife, so he thought: ‘I'll say she's my sister, because if he finds out the she's my wife, he'll kill me to marry her'. So Abraham lied and on the basis of that lie Abimilech acted and God brought a curse on all of Abimelech's house and the whole nation because of it. Abimelech turned to God and asked God what He was doingBecause he was in ignorance of the sin that he was committing in going after Abraham's wife – God said to him:‘Go to Abraham, he is a prophet, and he shall pray for thee'. Slide362
Habakkuk 3:1
A prayer of Habakkuk
#
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1] A prayer of Habakkuk the prophet upon
Shigionoth.The Prophets were praying men. They at times prayed for those that they prophesied against. They were men who were stimulated to pray because they knew, in some circumstances, what the future held - therefore they could pray intelligently before God. Because they were men of God, they realized that the proper method of divine ministry is to abase the soul, to humble one’s self in the presence of God and to be drawn out in worship, in adoration and in praise to Him! Slide363
Habakkuk 3:1
A prayer of Habakkuk
#
363
1] A prayer of Habakkuk the prophet upon
Shigionoth.God's word comes to Habakkuk after waiting upon God and he prostrates himself before God in an attitude of praying. Habakkuk's prayer is a prayer of faith. Habakkuk 2:4 'Behold, his soul which is lifted up is not upright in him: but the just shall live by his faith‘ - that was God's answer to prayer to Habakkuk. He was wanting to know how the children of Judah were going to get through this experience.Slide364
Habakkuk 3:1
A prayer of Habakkuk
#
364
1] A prayer of Habakkuk the prophet upon
Shigionoth.'This is the message, this is the vision. Write it down, tell it abroad, that the just shall live by faith' - that was God's promise to Habakkuk. Habakkuk lifted it up. He took it. He took God's word, and he sat upon the top of the watchtower.He had that promise and he was pleading. He was asking in faith for the promise that God has given him..Slide365
Habakkuk 3:1
upon Shigionoth
# 365
1] A prayer of Habakkuk the prophet upon Shigionoth.
The psalm of Chapter 3 is viewed as the most magnificent Hebrew poetry.
“...Shigionoth”: (found, in the singular in Ps 7 also.) We don’t know for certain what the Hebrew word Shigionoth means. Some trace it to a root that means “to reel to and fro” Perhaps Shigionoth was a musical term that told the people how the psalm was to be sung. The kind of music which accompanied the song; implies great excitement; a triumphal style.The Amplified Bible translates this word 'Shigionoth‘ to mean: 'set to wild, enthusiastic, and triumphal music'. Slide366
Habakkuk
3:2I have heard thy speech, and was afraid
#
366
LORD
, I have heard the report about You and I fear. O LORD, revive Your work in the midst of the years, In the midst of the years make it known; In wrath remember mercy.O Lord, I have heard thy speech, and was afraid: • He Prays In Faith (verse 1) • He Knew God's Fame (verse 2) • He Had Great Fear (verse 2) • He Pleaded For Fire (verse 2) Slide367
Habakkuk 3:2
I have heard thy speech and was afraid
#
367
LORD, I have heard the report about You and I fear. O LORD, revive Your work in the midst of the years, In the midst of the years make it known; In wrath remember mercy.
…I have heard thy speech, and was afraid. God judges, He rewards us based upon what He tells us to do. God would have judged Habakkuk if he had not lifted that promise up, if he had not claimed it, if he had not supplicated before his God until God brought the realization of that promise, he would've been judged. Slide368
Habakkuk 3:2
I have heard thy speech and was afraid
# 368
2] O LORD, I have heard thy speech, and was afraid: O LORD, revive thy work in the midst of the years, in the midst of the years make known; in wrath remember mercy.I have heard thy speech
He prayed because he had heard God speak.
The word speech means “report” and refers to what God had told him earlier (Hab. 2:2–3). Knowing the will of God should motivate us to pray “Thy will be done.”The same God who ordains the end also ordains the means to the end, and prayer is an important part of that means. “You do not have because you do not ask” (James 4:2 nkjv).Slide369
Habakkuk 3:2
I have heard thy speech and was afraid
# 369
2] O LORD, I have heard thy speech, and was afraid: O LORD, revive thy work in the midst of the years, in the midst of the years make known; in wrath remember mercy.Habakkuk prayed because he was overwhelmed by God’s splendor.
“I stand in awe of your deeds” (
Hab. 3:2 niv). He had seen a vision of the greatness of God, (vs 3–15).The vision left him weak and helpless (v. 16). All he could do was cry out to God.Slide370
Habakkuk 3:2 and was afraid
#
370
2] O LORD, I have heard thy speech, and was afraid: O LORD, revive thy work in the midst of the years, in the midst of the years make known; in wrath remember mercy.Getting to know God in a deeper way is not always an enjoyable experience
Moses trembled at Mount Sinai when God gave the law (
Hb 12:18–21)Joshua fell on his face before the Lord (Josh. 5:13–15), as did David (1 Chron. 21:16). Daniel became exhausted and ill after seeing the visions God gave him (Dan. 8:27; 10:11).The vision of Christ’s glory on the Mount of Transfiguration left Peter, James, and John facedown on the ground and filled with terror (Mt 17:6)When John saw the glorified Christ, he fell at His feet as though dead (Rev. 1:17).Slide371
Habakkuk 3:2 and was afraid
#
371
2] O LORD, I have heard thy speech, and was afraid: O LORD, revive thy work in the midst of the years, in the midst of the years make known; in wrath remember mercy.To know God is both the easiest and most difficult thing in the world.“Draw near to God and He will draw near to you” (
James 4:8
nkjv). God has the ability to reveal Himself to us; but it’s a problem for God to find somebody who is ready to meet Him. God doesn’t reveal Himself to superficial saints who are only looking for “a new experience” that they can brag about, or to curious Christians who want to “sample” deeper fellowship with God but not at too great a price.“But on this one will I look,” says the Lord, “on him who is poor and of a contrite spirit, and who trembles at My word” (Isa. 66:2 nkjv).“My flesh trembles in fear of you, I stand in awe of your laws” (Ps 119:120)Slide372
Habakkuk
3:2 and was afraid
# 372
2] O LORD, I have heard thy speech, and was afraid: O LORD, revive thy work in the midst of the years, in the midst of the years make known; in wrath remember mercy.Hearing God’s Word generates faith in the heart of the child of God.
Rom 10:17
So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. Without faith, we can’t pray effectively (Mark 11:22–24). The Word of God and prayer must always go together (Acts 6:4; John 15:7) or our praying become zeal without knowledge. Slide373
Habakkuk 3:2
I have heard thy speech and was afraid
#
373
LORD, I have heard the report about You and I fear. O LORD, revive Your work in the midst of the years, In the midst of the years make it known; In wrath remember mercy.
Habakkuk listened to God's words and he pleads in faith, knowing that God is the Lord who is in His holy temple, that the whole earth keeps silence before Him. His travail produces a song, a psalm of faith, He took his eyes off the surrounding circumstances in his life. He submitted his circumstances to God in prayer and in faith. He patiently waited for the word from God upon his request. When the word was revealed he accepted it, he claimed it - and his perplexity, his anxiety, disappeared. He submitted to God. Slide374
Habakkuk 3:2
I have heard thy speech and was afraid
#
374
LORD, I have heard the report about You and I fear. O LORD, revive Your work in the midst of the years, In the midst of the years make it known; In wrath remember mercy.
Habakkuk knew God's fame. 'O Lord, I have heard thy speech' – Can be translated: 'I have heard thy fame'. The margin it may say: 'report'. It's the same meaning as Isaiah 53 where we read there about the report about the Lord's servant, the Lord Jesus Christ - the testimony of Him, His fame, the story about Him. Habakkuk knew the record of God's eternal mighty deeds, and this record - this testimony of who his God is, what God is like, and what his God has done in the past It fills him with awe and wonder and praise, He believes and has confidence that what God did in former days He is able to do today. Slide375
Habakkuk 3:2
I have heard thy speech and was afraid
#
375
LORD, I have heard the report about You and I fear. O LORD, revive Your work in the midst of the years, In the midst of the years make it known; In wrath remember mercy.
Habakkuk had to get over what seemed to be happening.Hab 1:5 'Look ye among the heathen, because I am working a work now, even though you can't see it, it's going on behind closed doors - in spiritual senses - I am working now' Habakkuk was remembering that his God, the One with whom he would have to do, was the God of power. Slide376
Habakkuk 3:2
I have heard thy speech and was afraid
#
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LORD, I have heard the report about You and I fear. O LORD, revive Your work in the midst of the years, In the midst of the years make it known; In wrath remember mercy.
Habakkuk 3:15 'Thou didst walk through the sea with thine horses, through the heap of great waters'. He's talking about the great exodus from Egypt. He is rejoicing in the fact that, although God has said before the time that the Judeans would go into captivity in Babylon, that the God they had was the same God who had delivered them in the past from Egypt.Slide377
Habakkuk 3:2
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LORD, I have heard the report about You and I fear. O LORD, revive Your work in the midst of the years, In the midst of the years make it known; In wrath remember mercy.
Psalm 44:2 '[Lord] how thou didst drive out the heathen with thy hand, and plantedst them; how thou didst afflict the people, and cast them out', v 10, 'Thou makest us to turn back from the enemy: and they which hate us spoil for themselves', v 12, 'Thou sellest thy people for nought, and dost not increase thy wealth by their price', v 24, 'Wherefore hidest
thou thy face, and
forgettest
our affliction and our oppression?'
These people are saying:
'Look what You did in years gone by, Lord, how You delivered Your people. But we, Thy people in this present age are afflicted by the enemy, and it seems, Lord, that You're [selling us]!'. Slide378
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LORD, I have heard the report about You and I fear. O LORD, revive Your work in the midst of the years, In the midst of the years make it known; In wrath remember mercy.
Psalm 44:1 'We have heard with our ears, O God, our fathers have told us, what work thou didst in their days, in the times of old', v 9, 'But thou hast cast off, and put us to shame; and goest not forth with our armies'. 'Oh God, our help in ages past - but what about our hope for years to come?'. Psalm 89:50 'Remember, Lord, the reproach of thy servants; how I do bear in my bosom the reproach of all the mighty people'? 'The whole world, all the nations, are laughing at Thy children. Lord, where are Thy former loving-kindnesses, which Thou swearest unto David in Thy truth? Lord, what are You doing in Your world? Where is Your former glory? Where is respect and vindication for Thy name?’Slide379
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LORD, I have heard the report about You and I fear. O LORD, revive Your work in the midst of the years, In the midst of the years make it known; In wrath remember mercy.
We know what the Lord can do, what the Lord has done in our land in years gone by, in our nation - how God has moved. We may not have seen it with personally with our own eyes, but we know what God can do We could / should cry like Habakkuk, we could / should cry like the children of Israel, we could / should cry like the man Gideon: 'Oh, Lord, if the Lord be with us, why then is all this befallen us? And where be all His miracles which our fathers told us of?'. The cry of the world to us this evening may be: 'Where is thy God? Where is He?'! Slide380
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LORD, I have heard the report about You and I fear. O LORD, revive Your work in the midst of the years, In the midst of the years make it known; In wrath remember mercy.
Habakkuk had great fear. 'O Lord, I have heard thy fame', Thy speech, 'and was afraid: O Lord'. The word of God filled Habakkuk with fear as he realized the depravity of his own heart Remember, he was a prophet of God! His heart was so filled with his iniquity and transgression and the state of the people at large , he cried out like Isaiah: 'Woe is me, for I am undone! I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips'. Isa 6:5 He realized and we better realize that on the grounds of merit we have nothing to plead, nothing. Slide381
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LORD, I have heard the report about You and I fear. O LORD, revive Your work in the midst of the years, In the midst of the years make it known; In wrath remember mercy.
Habakkuk learned what the boldest of men of old learned - Moses, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Daniel, Elijah – that:When God speaks, you quake. When God speaks, you listen. When you hear, you must fear, you must listen to what God is saying Have we been hearing but not fearing! It's not just the world that needs to repent, it's the church of Jesus Christ. The church of Jesus Christ needs to come back to their God.Judgment must begin in the house of God, We need to begin to hear and fear the word of God again.Slide382
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LORD, I have heard the report about You and I fear. O LORD, revive Your work in the midst of the years, In the midst of the years make it known; In wrath remember mercy.
Hear the word of the Lord…Fear the Lord…Habakkuk's success was that he feared the word of God. Slide383
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LORD, I have heard the report about You and I fear. O LORD, revive Your work in the midst of the years, In the midst of the years make it known; In wrath remember mercy.
revive thy work
Lit.: “Let your work live.” Isa 66:8 Who hath heard such a thing? who hath seen such things? Shall the earth be made to bring forth in one day? or shall a nation be born at once? for as soon as Zion travailed, she brought forth her children. The verse displays a spiritual principle:Only when the people of God travail, when they go through pain and anguish and travail, will they bring forth their children.Can children be born without pain? Of course they can't! Slide384
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Isa 66:8
Who hath heard such a thing? who hath seen such things? Shall the earth be made to bring forth in one day? or shall a nation be born at once? for as soon as Zion travailed, she brought forth her children.
In the natural world childbirth brings pain. Gen 3:16 Unto the woman he [God] said, … in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children…. Without persistence, without hard sweat, work and tears - whether it be in the natural world of childbirth or even in the natural farming world of harvest – without travail there will be no harvest, there will be no fruit, there will be no blessing. Slide385
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Isa 66:8
Who hath heard such a thing? who hath seen such things? Shall the earth be made to bring forth in one day? or shall a nation be born at once? for as soon as Zion travailed, she brought forth her children.
As the body of Christ, the church of Jesus, as children of God, can we not see that it is the same in the spiritual realmThat anything is possible with God but it takes work, travail on our part. Do we travail when we see a starving child or abused pets on television? Do we travail when a loved one dies? Do we travail in physical, mental, emotional, pain in our lives and the lives of those we love? We shed tears, we anguish, we have pain, we have the biblical word 'travail' Yet we can watch as the souls of the world around us perish, eternally and we do not travail. Slide386
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Isa 66:8
Who hath heard such a thing? who hath seen such things? Shall the earth be made to bring forth in one day? or shall a nation be born at once? for as soon as Zion travailed, she brought forth her children.
Jacob travailed until he prevailed with God.Jacob’s name was changed to 'Israel' H3478 ישׂראל yiśrâ'êl Israel = “God prevails”He prevailed with men and with God - but is there any man in our world today that prevails not just with men, but with God? We pray for a few moments each day, we're content to spend a few minutes a day on our knees, focused on GodWorse we pride ourselves because we have given some time to God - then we expect extraordinary things from God, all without extraordinary efforts on our behalf! Slide387
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LORD, I have heard the report about You and I fear. O LORD, revive Your work in the midst of the years, In the midst of the years make it known; In wrath remember mercy.
Gal 6:7
Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. 8 For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting. You can sow for good in your life, or you can sow for bad. You can sow with sin or you can sow with prayers and tears. Slide388
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LORD, I have heard the report about You and I fear. O LORD, revive Your work in the midst of the years, In the midst of the years make it known; In wrath remember mercy.
2Co 9:6
But this I say, He which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he which soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully. It is a spiritual law – if we weep, if we pray, if we shed tears, if we fast, if we supplicate the throne of God in prayer - we will reap a harvest. Gal 6:9 And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not. Slide389
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LORD, I have heard the report about You and I fear. O LORD, revive Your work in the midst of the years, In the midst of the years make it known; In wrath remember mercy.
'Revive Thy Work, O God'.
Revive us again / Send revival LordThe prophets of God generally presented the children of God with their sins before they brought the message from God, The message was how they could be redeemed and brought back from their sins. 'Rend your hearts, and not your garments'. He said: 'I don't want your money, I don't want your pride, I don't want your sacrifices or your incense, I want your broken hearts - I want them before me, for to obey is better than sacrifice'. 1Sa 15:22; Joe 2:13Slide390
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LORD, I have heard the report about You and I fear. O LORD, revive Your work in the midst of the years, In the midst of the years make it known; In wrath remember mercy.
Joel 1:13-14
'Gird yourselves, and lament', cry, 'ye priests: howl, ye ministers of the altar: come, lie all night in sackcloth, ye ministers of my God: for the meat offering and the drink offering is withholden from the house of your God. Sanctify ye a fast, call a solemn assembly, gather the elders and all the inhabitants of the land into the house of the Lord your God, and cry unto the Lord'. Joel 2:15 'Blow the trumpet in Zion, sanctify a fast, call a solemn assembly'. Daniel 9:3-4 'And I set my face unto the Lord God, to seek by prayer and supplications, with fasting, and sackcloth, and ashes: And I prayed unto the Lord my God, and made my confession, and said, O Lord, the great and dreadful God, keeping the covenant and mercy to them that love him, and to them that keep his commandments; We have sinned, and have committed iniquity, and have done wickedly, and have rebelled, even by departing from thy precepts and from thy judgments'. Slide391
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2] O LORD, I have heard thy speech, and was afraid: O LORD, revive thy work in the midst of the years, in the midst of the years make known; in wrath remember mercy.Habakkuk prayed because he wanted God’s work to succeed. God had told him that He was “working a work” in the world (
Hab. 1:5
), and now the prophet prayed that God would keep that work alive and cause it to prosper. What God was doing wasn’t the work Habakkuk would have chosen, but he accepted God’s plan and prayed, “Thy will be done.”Slide392
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LORD, I have heard the report about You and I fear. O LORD, revive Your work in the midst of the years, In the midst of the years make it known; In wrath remember mercy.
Habakkuk was a man with a burden that said:
He was an unhappy man - not for himself, but on account of others. God him given him such a burden for his people and the value of their souls he could not be satisfied if they were not saved.When God revealed that work to Habakkuk, he cried out, “We shall not die” (v. 12). In 2:4, God told him that the only way to live was by faith. Slide393
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LORD, I have heard the report about You and I fear. O LORD, revive Your work in the midst of the years, In the midst of the years make it known; In wrath remember mercy.
Proverbs 28:9,
'He that turneth away his ear from hearing the law, even his prayer shall be an abomination'. God is saying to His people: 'If you hear My word and you disobey it, you are an abomination'. Your iniquities and your sins - and if you hear God but don’t obey then your prayers - separate you and God. Isa 59:1-4 Behold, the LORD'S hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; neither his ear heavy, that it cannot hear: 2 But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear. 3 For your hands are defiled with blood, and your fingers with iniquity; your lips have spoken lies, your tongue hath muttered perverseness. 4 None calleth for justice, nor any pleadeth for truth: they trust in vanity, and speak lies; they conceive mischief, and bring forth iniquity.Slide394
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LORD, I have heard the report about You and I fear. O LORD, revive Your work in the midst of the years, In the midst of the years make it known; In wrath remember mercy.
Not only did he pray in faith, and he knew God's fame, and he had great fear, but he pleaded for fire.
'Revive, revive thy work, in the midst of the years make known; in wrath remember mercy' 'Lord, revive' - means to renew, to revive again, to renew, to regenerate, to put life into once more. It's a word that's used in Genesis 7:3 of the fouls of the air that went into the Ark, so that when they were deposited again upon the earth they would reproduce - produce life - that's one way the word is used. Slide395
Habakkuk 3:2 "Revive Thy Work"
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LORD, I have heard the report about You and I fear. O LORD, revive Your work in the midst of the years, In the midst of the years make it known; In wrath remember mercy.
'Lord, revive
' - means to renew, to revive again, to renew, to regenerate, to put life into once more. It's a word that's used in Genesis 7:3 of the fouls of the air that went into the Ark, so that when they were deposited again upon the earth they would reproduce - produce life - that's one way the word is used. It's used in Psalm 80:19 talking about the renewing of life. It's used in Genesis 12:12, concerning the preserving of life. This means: 'putting life back into dead bones'! Slide396
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LORD, I have heard the report about You and I fear. O LORD, revive Your work in the midst of the years, In the midst of the years make it known; In wrath remember mercy.
'Revive thy work'.
God had promised in Habakkuk 1:5-6 'Behold ye among the heathen, and regard, and wonder marvellously: for I will work a work in your days, which ye will not believe, though it be told you. For, lo, I raise up the Chaldeans' That is the work that is talked about here. Habakkuk has turned from despising what God was going to do, and because of the infusion of faith that was injected into his heart from the very Holy Ghost of God, he could now turn and bless the hand that had smitten him! He was now thanking God for a work that he had once despised. Slide397
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LORD, I have heard the report about You and I fear. O LORD, revive Your work in the midst of the years, In the midst of the years make it known; In wrath remember mercy.
God works in and among His people
The Judeans were sinful! Habakkuk is asking God to revive His name, His reputation, among His people. He's asking Him to do something for His own cause. Psalm 138:7-8 'Revive, even though we walk in the midst of trouble'. Habakkuk is crying: 'Lord, even though Thy people are into the very depths of iniquity and sin and in their blasphemy, even in the midst of their trouble: revive them! Do something for Thy name'. Slide398
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LORD, I have heard the report about You and I fear. O LORD, revive Your work in the midst of the years, In the midst of the years make it known; In wrath remember mercy.
God had brought the Israelites into captivity. God didn't stop it because it was in His will, but what God did do was in
Ezr 9:8 And now for a little space grace hath been shewed from the LORD our God, to leave us a remnant to escape, and to give us a nail in his holy place, that our God may lighten our eyes, and give us a little reviving in our bondage.God revived a small remnant of them. We can even see it in the fiery furnaces of Babylon, the Hebrew children, were in the midst of the trouble.God didn't deliver them from Babylon itself, but in the midst of it He revived.He kept a people for himself.He kept His name clean amongst the remnant. Slide399
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LORD, I have heard the report about You and I fear. O LORD, revive Your work in the midst of the years, In the midst of the years make it known; In wrath remember mercy.
'in the midst of the years'
The promise was that God was going to deal with His people prior to the actual finishing of the implementation of that judgment.If God had completely judged the Hebrew nation, we would not have seen Christ, the seed line would have been cut - Christ's line would have been dead and we would have no Savior. But, there would be a small amount of people that God would revive, who had remained faithful to God. That's why he pleaded: 'Revive thy work in the midst of the 'God, grant us a gracious revival before ever Thy ultimate purpose for history is worked out in its final fulfilment. Lord, revive us before You come'! Slide400
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LORD, I have heard the report about You and I fear. O LORD, revive Your work in the midst of the years, In the midst of the years make it known; In wrath remember mercy.
'in the midst of the years'
God's calendar is final, We cannot slow down the return of the Lord Jesus Christ in one sense. As we look around at an evil world and we look at the disasters and the sin and the iniquity that is growing, we find that the cup of iniquity that is almost full.The world is nearly ready to drink itGod is ready to pour it our and wrap it up like a soiled tablecloth. But we have a warrant to ask Him: 'Lord, before You do it, revive us once more!'. Slide401
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LORD, I have heard the report about You and I fear. O LORD, revive Your work in the midst of the years, In the midst of the years make it known; In wrath remember mercy.
'Make known
' - 'In the midst of the years make known' – Make your works, power and majesty known to all.Whatever happens to the nation of Israel and Judah, let not Israel's God be forgotten! Whatever happens to the church of Jesus Christ today, oh, please God, let Thy name be vindicated. Let the name of Jehovah, the holy, holy, holy One, never be trodden in the dust! Slide402
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LORD, I have heard the report about You and I fear. O LORD, revive Your work in the midst of the years, In the midst of the years make it known; In wrath remember mercy.
'In wrath remember mercy'.
Not just the unsaved sinner but even as a reconciled, regenerate child of God - we can still plead for the mercy of God. As these people were being taken into captivity, the city of Jerusalem was sacked and wrecked, the halls were demolished, and the temple was pulled down. There was starvation and there was hunger.Bodies littered the streets - and it says that the mothers took their very child and boiled them in a pot to eat them, because of the situation. Jeremiah, the weeping prophet, in the midst of it all was crying out to God, yet he could still say: 'It is because of the Lord's mercy that we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not'. Slide403
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LORD, I have heard the report about You and I fear. O LORD, revive Your work in the midst of the years, In the midst of the years make it known; In wrath remember mercy.
In His wrath God remembers His mercy.
Psalm 85:4-6 'Turn us, O God of our salvation, and cause thine anger toward us to cease. Wilt thou not revive us again: that thy people may rejoice in thee?‘There is no revival today as yet - there is no prevailing prayer. Paul said: 'We wrestle not...' - but we don’t wrestle! There is no revival because there is no fear of God, but there is fear of men. The apostle stood and declared before his enemies that there is no other name under heaven given amongst men, there was no fear in that man. Slide404
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LORD, I have heard the report about You and I fear. O LORD, revive Your work in the midst of the years, In the midst of the years make it known; In wrath remember mercy.
Elijah stood before the prophets of Baal and mocked them and laughed at them.
Gideon knocked down the high places, the idolatrous statues; he knocked them down for God! Men of courage, Men of no fear! Men who could used by the Holy Spirit but not indwelt by Him.Slide405
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LORD, I have heard the report about You and I fear. O LORD, revive Your work in the midst of the years, In the midst of the years make it known; In wrath remember mercy.
No men of courage, No men of no fear, today!
'Be ye filled with the Holy Ghost' There's no revival because there's no holiness. True Christians – followers of Christ - are laughed at now because they won't go to certain places, because they won't watch certain films, because they won't hear the name of the Lord Jesus Christ's blasphemed from their television set or wherever. They are seen as eccentric and strange or peculiar, because they seek to live holy lives. Slide406
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LORD, I have heard the report about You and I fear. O LORD, revive Your work in the midst of the years, In the midst of the years make it known; In wrath remember mercy.
We have cheapened the Gospel to a nightclub show!
We take the glory and credit - 'It's my church, my reputation, my books, my achievements, my learning' - it's 'me', 'mine', and not 'Thine'. Why doesn't Christ vomit us up? He spoke to a church in the book of the Revelation, Believers: 'Behold', 'I stand at the door and knock, if any man hear my voice and open the door, I will come in to him, I will sup with him and he with me'. That is a personal revival in your life and in mine. 'Lord, revive Thy work in the midst of the years, in the midst of the years make known. In wrath, O Lord, in our sin, remember Thy mercy'. Slide407
Habakkuk 3:2
“In the midst of the years”
# 407
“in the midst of the years” probably refers to the period between Habakkuk’s time and “the appointed time” when the vision would be fulfilled (
2:3
). Throughout the centuries, God’s people have prayed for quickening power so that God’s great work will prosper. While the word revival as we think of it wasn’t in Habakkuk’s mind, the concept is there. See Psalms 44 and 85.Slide408
Habakkuk 3:2
“In the midst of the years”
# 408
Then the Babylonians will become the victims! This
happened when the Medes and the Persians invaded Babylon and overthrew Belshazzar (
Dan. 5). Babylon plundered other nations, and she herself was plundered. Babylon had shed rivers of blood, and her blood was shed. It’s a basic law of the universe that eventually we reap what we sow.Slide409
Habakkuk 3:2
in wrath remember mercy
# 409
2] O LORD, I have heard thy speech, and was afraid: O LORD, revive thy work in the midst of the years, in the midst of the years make known; in wrath remember mercy.We usually talk of showers of blessing; rather, showers of mercy!
in
wrath remember mercy Habakkuk prayed because he wanted God to show mercy. He agreed that the people of Judah deserved to be chastened, and that God’s chastening would work out for their good, but he asked that God’s heart of love would reveal itself in mercy. He was like Moses when he interceded for the nation at Mount Sinai (Ex. 32) and at Kadesh Barnea (Num. 14). Perhaps Habakkuk had the promise of Isaiah 54:7–8 in mind as he prayed (see Jer. 10:23–24.).Slide410
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in wrath remember mercy
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2] O LORD, I have heard thy speech, and was afraid: O LORD, revive thy work in the midst of the years, in the midst of the years make known; in wrath remember mercy.in wrath
remember
mercy The Lord did show mercy to the Jews,He preserved them in Babylon and then permitted a remnant to return to their land and establish the nation.When you become discouraged about the condition of the church, the state of the world, or your own spiritual life, take time to pray and seek God’s mercy. “Whether we like it or not, asking is the rule of the kingdom.” Charles SpurgeonThe greatest need today is for intercessors. “And he saw that there was no man, and wondered that there was no intercessor” (Isa. 59:16)Slide411
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THEIR GOD
– The Past God Of Israel (
vs 3-7) OUR GOD – The Present God Of Judah (vs 8-15) MY GOD – The Personal God Of Habakkuk (vs 16-19)Slide412
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3] God came from Teman, and the Holy One from mount Paran. Selah. His glory covered the heavens, and the earth was full of his praise.
There are lots of alternative views. Probably focuses on history involving three men:
1) Abraham vv. 3–6 2) Moses vv. 7–10 3) Joshua vv. 11–15Slide413
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God comes from
Teman
, And the Holy One from Mount Paran. Selah. His splendor covers the heavens, And the earth is full of His praise.There is a world of difference between knowing the word of God and knowing the God of the word. The whole word of God is a revelation of God Himself. Who He is – What He is likeWhat pleases and displeases HimThe only way to know God is by faith. Real faith is faith in the knowledge of God's word, Faith in the knowledge of what God wants to do. Faith is taking the promises of God - things that we know God says He will do if we claim them - and not saying: 'Lord, we know You can do it', but rather saying, 'Lord, we know, we believe You will do it'! Slide414
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God comes from
Teman
, And the Holy One from Mount Paran. Selah. His splendor covers the heavens, And the earth is full of His praise.God knows our need. Php 4:19 But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus. God knows what we need - not what we want, When we come to God with God's word, God's promises that He will provide our need, We have no need to say: 'Lord, we know that You can' But, instead can say: ‘Thank you Lord, Praise You Lord, we know that You will'. Slide415
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God comes from
Teman
, And the Holy One from Mount Paran. Selah. His splendor covers the heavens, And the earth is full of His praise.Php 4:13 I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me. We must realize that the word of God teaches about 'All things' 1Co 8:6 But to us there is but one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we in him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we by him. Mar 9:23 Jesus said unto him, If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth. But, Heb 11:6 But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a
rewarder
of them that diligently seek him. Slide416
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God comes from
Teman
, And the Holy One from Mount Paran. Selah. His splendor covers the heavens, And the earth is full of His praise.Today we have a wealth of knowledge about our Lord Jesus Christ, about the word of God – a wealth of knowledge about the things of God, theologically and archaeologically speaking. Yet with all this knowledge, we are probably one of the most poor, sickly church of believers ever! If we know so much about Christ, if we know in our heads so much about God, how can Christ say to us that we are poor, we are blind, we are wretched, we are naked? God does not honor wisdom or personality. God honors faith. And God is honored by it! Slide417
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God comes from
Teman
, And the Holy One from Mount Paran. Selah. His splendor covers the heavens, And the earth is full of His praise.1Co 13:13 And now abideth faith, hope, charity [love], these three; but the greatest of these is charity [love]. Many therefore concentrate on charity but they ignore or lessen the importance of faith and hope. The word of God is clear, we need to have faith if we are to live a victorious Christian life in the Lord Jesus Christ. God is sovereign, but God goes wherever faith invites Him, because God has bound Himself to a covenant, that when we have faith in what He has said, He is covenanted to go. Wherever faith is, God is involved. It links our impotence to His omnipotence. Slide418
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God comes from
Teman
, And the Holy One from Mount Paran. Selah. His splendor covers the heavens, And the earth is full of His praise.God’s Word doesn't say: 'If thou canst explain the Scriptures all things are possible to him that explaineth', It does say: 'If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth' It is all about Who you know and Who knows you, personally, intimatelyIt’s not about what you know, but Who you know! Slide419
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God comes from
Teman
, And the Holy One from Mount Paran. Selah. His splendor covers the heavens, And the earth is full of His praise.2Co 3:6 Who also hath made us able ministers of the new testament; not of the letter, but of the spirit: for the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life. The word of God says that the letter killeth We preach, teach, study, and learn the word of God, buy it's only the word of God absent the work of the Holy Spirit - it condemns us and will bring death! It is not just knowing God’s Word but living it confidently because they knowing their God that matters.Rom 14:23 ….for whatsoever is not of faith is sin. Dan 11:32
And such as do wickedly against the covenant shall he corrupt by flatteries: but the people that
do know their God
shall
be
strong, and
do
exploits.. Slide420
Habakkuk 3:3 "When God Works"
#
420
God comes from
Teman
, And the Holy One from Mount Paran. Selah. His splendor covers the heavens, And the earth is full of His praise.If you know God, The devil will have to beware! The devil will be shaking in his boots, and The devil will know that you're alive and well, And the devil will know, That you're on your knees That when you open your mouth, you are speaking for Him That you're all in, fully committed to your God! Jas 1:5-85 If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him. 6 But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed. 7 For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord. 8 A double minded man is unstable in all his ways.
Habakkuk learned to get through the doubt barrier. Slide421
Habakkuk 3:3 "When God Works"
#
421
God comes from
Teman
, And the Holy One from Mount Paran. Selah. His splendor covers the heavens, And the earth is full of His praise.Right from the very start he was asking questions of God: 'God, why are You not listening to me? Why is there only a silence from heaven? Then when God answered, Habakkuk asked:You've told me that the Chaldeans - the Babylonians - are going to come and destroy Your own people, Lord, how can You do this?‘Lord, how can You use a more wicked people to punish Your people wicked though we are, we're not as bad as they are - how can You do this? You're a righteous God!'. Habakkuk then got on his watchtower and he waited for God to answer him. There, Habakkuk final broke through the doubt barrier. Slide422
Habakkuk 3:3 "When God Works"
#
422
God comes from
Teman
, And the Holy One from Mount Paran. Selah. His splendor covers the heavens, And the earth is full of His praise.Verse 3 is an intense prayer for a revival amongst God's people,In chapter 1:12-13, Habakkuk, in a fit of perplexity and frustration, reminded God: 'Art thou not from everlasting, O Lord my God, mine Holy One?‘ 'Thou art of purer eyes than to behold evil, and canst not look on iniquity...therefore, God, how can You use the Chaldeans an even more evil people?'. It again he says: 'God, the Holy One, ….Slide423
Habakkuk 3:3 "When God Works"
#
423
God comes from
Teman
, And the Holy One from Mount Paran. Selah. His splendor covers the heavens, And the earth is full of His praise.God is showing, bringing to Habakkuk’s memory, a mapHe shows Himself, God Almighty, the Holy One stepping onto the map.'God, the Holy One, came from Teman‘… the Holy One from Mount Paran.Teman, geographically speaking, is in the land of Edom. East of the Arabat, between the Dead Sea and the Gulf of Elat.In this song, Habakkuk seems to be retracing the march of Israel from Sinai to the Promised Land.Slide424
Habakkuk
3:3 God came in splendor
# 424
3 God comes from Teman, And the Holy One from Mount Paran
. Selah. His splendor covers the heavens, And the earth is full of His praise.
Paran is a mountainous desert area west of Edom in the Sinai Peninsula, According to some scholars, Mount Paran is another name for the entire Sinai Peninsula, or for Mount Sinai itself (Deut. 33:2). This was where God delivered the Israelites out of the land of Egypt. Slide425
Habakkuk 3:3 "When God Works"
#
425
God comes from
Teman
, And the Holy One from Mount Paran. Selah. His splendor covers the heavens, And the earth is full of His praise.'God, the Holy One, came from Teman'. Habakkuk is seeing God in all His glory, in all His power, being manifested to the nation of Israel who were delivered from Egypt, and who received the law at Mount Sinai. Right in the middle of the verse there is this word 'Selah‘ “Pause and think about that”God said: 'Remember, Habakkuk, that your God was their God! That your God was the God who came from Teman and Paran, who took you out of Egypt, out of slavery, out of bondage. He was the God, remember, that delivered you...Selah'. The people who were listening or singing this Psalm would stop for a moment and would consider what was said. Slide426
Habakkuk
3:3 God came in splendor
# 426
3 God comes from Teman, And the Holy One from Mount Paran
. Selah. His splendor covers the heavens, And the earth is full of His praise.
Everything about this stanza reveals the glory of God. He is called “the Holy One” (Hab. 3:3; and 1:12), a name used in Isaiah at least thirty times. “His glory covered the heavens” (3:3) is an anticipation of the time when His glory will cover all the earth (2:14).God’s appearance was like the lightning that plays across the heavens before the storm breaks. All of creation joined in praising Him as “the earth was full of his praise.”
God’s
brightness was like the sunrise only to a greater degree
(
Matt
.
17:2
). Slide427
Habakkuk 3:3 "When God Works"
#
427
God comes from
Teman
, And the Holy One from Mount Paran. Selah. His splendor covers the heavens, And the earth is full of His praise.'God, the Holy One, came from Teman'. When the word of God is preached or taught what we ought to do is pause and think about it…We ought not to think of all our other business that we can be occupied in, We ought not to chit- chat about this that and the other things, But just for a few moments after the word of God is preached we ought to sit where we are before God, If He is speaking to us, we need to listenIf He's not speaking to us, we need to be aware that He's speaking to others and act accordingly.Slide428
Habakkuk 3:3-7
#
428
Memory can either be a burden or a blessing.
You can remember bad things in the past and they can trouble your conscience.
You can remember good things in the past, but that can trouble your conscience also, You remember the way that you used to be and you see the way you ought to be now! Memory can be a blessing, You can look back at where God has moved in your life, where God has touched you in a time of need, and you can rejoice over past blessings. You can look back at memories, good and bad, and learn from them today! Slide429
Habakkuk 3:3 "When God Works"
#
429
God comes from
Teman
, And the Holy One from Mount Paran. Selah. His splendor covers the heavens, And the earth is full of His praise.'God, the Holy One, came from Teman'. Three times in this chapter, vs 3, 9, and 13 - they are to stop to consider what God has done. They were reflecting on God's glory and on God’s power. God's glory covered the heavens, and the earth was full of his praise'. God is reminding Habakkuk that at that moment in time, when they received the law, God’s glory covered the heavens. There was a song of praise that came from all the Israelites at Sinai for what God had done. Slide430
Habakkuk
3:3Selah: Ponder the Greatness of God
#
4303 God comes from
Teman
, And the Holy One from Mount Paran. Selah. His splendor covers the heavens, And the earth is full of His praise.“Selah”: A term reserved for the Psalms: “Stop. Look. Listen.”Three times in the psalm you find “Selah” (vv. 3, 9, 13), It is accepted to mean mark a pause in the psalm for the reader (or singer and listeners) to ponder what was said.The Lord isn’t likely to give us a vision such as Habakkuk saw, Because it’s recorded in the Word, we can ponder it and let the Spirit teach us from it.God reveals His greatness in creation, in Scripture, and in history, and if we have eyes to see, we can behold His glory.Slide431
Habakkuk 3:4-7
#
431
4 His radiance is like the sunlight; He has rays flashing from His hand, And there is the hiding of His power.
5 Before Him goes pestilence, And plague comes after Him.
6 He stood and surveyed the earth; He looked and startled the nations. Yes, the perpetual mountains were shattered, The ancient hills collapsed. His ways are everlasting.I saw the tents of Cushan under distress, The tent curtains of the land of Midian were trembling.Habakkuk was confronted by the past and the God of Israel.Memory is a wonderful thing, isn't it? Slide432
Habakkuk
3:4 'And his brightness was as the light
#
432
His radiance is like the sunlight; He has rays flashing from His hand, And there is the hiding of His power.
'And his brightness was as the light' The brightness of God, the holiness of God, was so great, His power was so inexplicable, that Moses had to cover his face because of the glory that shone like a mirror, because he had seen God! How can we think of God? It's like comparing a candle with the sun. Slide433
Habakkuk
3:4 rays of light come out of his hand
#
433
His radiance is like the sunlight; He has rays flashing from His hand, And there is the hiding of His power.
'He had rays of light coming out of his hand' Like horns coming out of His hand. “Horns” means “rays”: “rays flashed from his hand” (Hab. 3:4 niv) where His power was hidden.This is an anthropomorphism, 'Anthro' is the Latin name for man - anthropology. 'morphism' is a form of something
anthropomorphism
means ‘speaking of God using the form of man’Slide434
Habakkuk
3:4 rays flashing from His hand
#
434
His radiance is like the sunlight; He has rays flashing from His hand, And there is the hiding of His power.
He has rays flashing from His hand Whenever you're in the Scriptures and you see God described as having hands, having feet, having eyes, having a mouth Recognize that He doesn't have a mouth, He doesn't have hands, he doesn't have feet or eyes or ears, God is a spirit. The anthropomorphisms used are a descriptions of God that we can relate to and so we can understand what He is doing, where He is going, how He is judging. Slide435
Habakkuk
3:4 rays flashing from His hand
#
435
His radiance is like the sunlight; He has rays flashing from His hand, And there is the hiding of His power.
He has rays flashing from His hand – like horns of light…It's interesting that they were horns that came out of God's hand. In the book of Exodus, the Ark of the Covenant is described as having horns on it - do you know what they were for? Holding on to - do you hold onto the glory of God? When you're going through troubles, like the Judeans facing the Babylonians, when there are trials entering your life, when life is shaken by Satan, or your selfish flesh, or circumstances, or illness - when there's a storm that comes in, hold onto the glory of God? Remember, Him in His glory and power expressed as in the past.Hab 2:14 For the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea. Slide436
Habakkuk
3:4 there is the hiding of His power
#
436
His radiance is like the sunlight; He has rays flashing from His hand, And there is the hiding of His power.
He has rays flashing from His hand, And there is the hiding of His power God's power is emitted in all directions. God is powerful everywhere! His power is universal, His power is all-embracing, all-encompassing, all-consuming,God is in control everything 'and there was the hiding of his power‘He was so powerful that when He was showing and revealing His glory to Moses on Mount Sinai, He had to hide the majority of it because Moses couldn't take it! Slide437
Habakkuk 3:4
there is the hiding of His power
#
437
His radiance is like the sunlight; He has rays flashing from His hand, And there is the hiding of His power.
No man can see God and live…When God passed by Moses and He showed him His back in Exodus 33, he had to be hid in the cleft of the rock! If we saw God clearly, uncovered today, we would be destroyed outright, extinguished by the light of His countenance and His holiness. It would happen because it's His nature! But praise God, we're in the cleft of the rock - and that is how we come to God, you can only come to God hidden in Christ!You've got to be in the cleft of the rock, you've got to be sheltered in Christ. Slide438
Habakkuk 3:4
there is the hiding of His power
#
438
His radiance is like the sunlight; He has rays flashing from His hand, And there is the hiding of His power.
As the Israelites were at the bottom of Mount Sinai, God revealed to them something of Himself It's described in the Pentateuch as a devouring fire on the top of the Mount in the eyes of the children of Israel They had seen it, they had been given a glimpse of the glory, the majesty of God. God presented Himself to them in the Holy of Holies in the tabernacle. The people weren't allowed in, but only the High Priest and only once each year to offer the blood of sacrifice for sin…The Shekinah brightness, the glory, the light of God that was so all-encompassing and awful was all consuming…Slide439
Habakkuk 3:4
there is the hiding of His power
#
439
His radiance is like the sunlight; He has rays flashing from His hand, And there is the hiding of His power.
It was God’s glory that filled Solomon's Temple where they fell and worshipped. It was this glory that was revealed to the three disciples as they were on the Mount of Transfiguration, The glory in Christ came out, the glory of God, and was revealed to John on the Isle of Patmos, when he saw the glorified Lord and he fell on his face as dead. Slide440
Habakkuk 3:4
there is the hiding of His power
#
440
His radiance is like the sunlight; He has rays flashing from His hand, And there is the hiding of His power.
Do you want to see God in your life? your marriage, your home, your personality, your walk, your job, your business? See God in Christ! Jesus is God! He is God in flesh He is the express image, the very stamp of God In Him we may see God's glory. If you want to get to know God study the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will know God.'The glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth, is in Christ'. Slide441
Habakkuk
3:5 God came in splendor
# 441
5 Before Him goes pestilence, And plague comes after HimThis takes us to Egypt, where God revealed His power and glory in the plagues and pestilences that devastated the land and took the lives of the firstborn (
Ex. 7—12
). Those ten plagues were not only punishment because of Pharaoh’s hardness of heart; they also revealed the vanity of Egypt’s gods. “Against all the gods of Egypt will I execute judgment: I am the Lord” (Ex. 12:12; Ps. 78:50). But this verse might also include the various judgments God sent to Israel when they disobeyed Him from time to time during their wilderness march.Slide442
Habakkuk
3:5Before him went the pestilence
#
442
Before Him goes pestilence, And plague comes after Him.
'Before him went the pestilence, and burning coals' They saw God's power‘Burning coals’ is better translated 'the burning diseases', 'the burning diseases and pestilence went forth at his feet'. Habakkuk is thinking about Egypt and the plagues. He's thinking about the children of Israel in the wilderness, in the desert, and they murmured against Moses, and they murmured against God. They were struck with a plague! Slide443
Habakkuk
3:5 God came in splendor
# 443
Before Him goes pestilence, And plague comes after HimIn
Old Testament times, God often revealed His glory through
judgments, but in this present day and dispensation, He reveals His glory through Jesus Christ.“And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth” (John 1:14 nkjv).Pharaoh wouldn’t acknowledge the truth, so he couldn’t experience the grace. The first plague of Moses in Egypt was the turning of water into blood (Ex. 7:14–25), while our Lord’s first recorded miracle was the turning of water into wine.Slide444
Habakkuk 3:5
Before him went the pestilence
#
444
Before Him goes pestilence, And plague comes after Him
'Before him went the pestilence, and burning coals' The pestilence, the plagues and the diseases are God's tools. God is in control of even those things.God is saying through Habakkuk to the people of Judah - you're going to see it again.The glory that was shown in the past to the children of Israel in the wilderness, and again in Egypt, and as they entered into the conquest of the promised land in Canaan will happen again.God is painting a picture: God one day will destroy their enemies! Slide445
Habakkuk
3:6He stood and surveyed the earth;
He looked and startled the nations.
#
445
6 He stood and surveyed the earth; He looked and startled the nations. Yes, the perpetual mountains were shattered, The ancient hills collapsed. His ways are everlasting.Habakkuk pictures God standing and measuring the earth. He pictures God measuring the nation He is about to judge, the length of it, the breadth of it, the height of it, all its iniquity and all of its sin, all of its affliction to the people of God.To measure something is an indication that it’s yours and you can do with it what you please. It’s also a preliminary step to action, as though the Lord were surveying the situation and estimating how much power it would take to execute His wrath on the nations.Slide446
Habakkuk 3:6
the perpetual mountains were shatteredthe
ancient hills collapsed.
# 446He
stood and surveyed the earth; He looked and startled the nations. Yes, the perpetual mountains were shattered, The ancient hills collapsed. His ways are
everlasting.The Lord revealed His power when He shook the earth at Sinai before He delivered His law to Israel (Ex. 19:18; Heb. 12:18–21).At one gaze He looked at the nations and He drove them away. He destroyed them with one look. That day when He judges them, He will judge righteous judgment. Slide447
Habakkuk 3:6
His ways are everlasting
#
447
He stood and surveyed the earth; He looked and startled the nations. Yes, the perpetual mountains were shattered, The ancient hills collapsed. His ways are everlasting.
Yes, the perpetual mountains were shattered, The ancient hills collapsed The mountains and the hills trembled, they were scattered, Mountains and hills, they're described as perpetual they go from year to year, from time to time, and they are symbols of everlastingness, they are symbols of stability and permanence. The symbols of men and even of nature that are considered permanent, God will move, God will crumble Nothing can stand before God, whether they be nations or nature! Slide448
Habakkuk
3:6 His ways are everlasting
#
448
He stood and surveyed the earth; He looked and startled the nations. Yes, the perpetual mountains were shattered, The ancient hills collapsed. His ways are everlasting
.While mountains, hills, nations and governments may seem immovable and invincible, it is really the plans of God that cannot be move or cancelled. They are the only truly lasting things….Habakkuk was hearing God say that what He had done in the past, the God of Israel will do again in the future! Throughout this whole passage, Habakkuk puts his verbs in the future tense. Slide449
Habakkuk
3:7 Cushan in
affliction Midian did tremble
# 449
7
] I saw the tents of Cushan in affliction: and the curtains of the land of Midian did tremble.“...Cushan”: Cushan is Ethiopia. Moses’ campaign as Pharaoh’s son (cf. Acts 7:22)?Moses? (vv.7-10).The nations that lay between Egypt and Canaan are typified by Cushan and Midian, two peoples living near Edom.
As
the news of the exodus from Egypt spread quickly through the nations, the people were terribly frightened and wondered what would happen to them when Israel arrived on the scene (
Ex.
15:14–16; 23:27; Deut. 2:25; Josh. 2:8–11
).Slide450
Habakkuk 3:7
Cushan in affliction Midian
did tremble
#
450
7 I saw the tents of Cushan under distress, The tent curtains of the land of Midian were trembling.Even though it's something that happened in the past, v 3 really could read: 'God will, He shall, come' - God's coming! Verse 7 shows us this as God says:'I saw the tents of Cushan in affliction: and the curtains of the land of Midian did tremble'. If the hills and the mountains are symbols of permanence, the tents and the curtains speak of frailty and non-permanence before God All things, whether in heaven, earth, or hell, have been, are, and will be subdued by God. Slide451
Habakkuk 3:8-11
#
451
8] Was the LORD displeased against the rivers? was thine anger against the rivers? was thy wrath against the sea, that thou didst ride upon thine
horses and thy chariots of salvation?
9] Thy bow was made quite naked, according to the oaths of the tribes, even thy word. Selah. Thou didst cleave the earth with rivers.10] The mountains saw thee, and they trembled: the overflowing of the water passed by: the deep uttered his voice, and lifted up his hands on high.11] The sun and moon stood still in their habitation: at the light of thine arrows they went, and at the shining of thy glittering spear.Slide452
Habakkuk 3:8
#
452
Did the LORD rage against the rivers, Or was Your anger against the rivers, Or was Your wrath against the sea, That You rode on Your horses, On Your chariots of salvation?
'Was the Lord displeased against the rivers?
Was your anger against the rivers? Was your wrath against the sea, that you rode upon your horses and your chariots of salvation?'. Habakkuk uses poetic imagery to describe Israel’s march through the wilderness as they followed the Lord to the Promised Land and then claimed their inheritance.The Red Sea opened to let Israel out of Egypt, and the Jordan opened to let Israel into Canaan. The Egyptian chariots sank into the mud and their occupants were drowned, but God’s chariots were chariots of salvation.Slide453
Habakkuk 3:8
#
453
Did the LORD rage against the rivers, Or was Your anger against the rivers, Or was Your wrath against the sea, That You rode on Your horses, On Your chariots of salvation?
The God of the past is alive and well today!
He is our God, and that is why Habakkuk could say, 3:2'Revive thy work in the midst of the years, for I have known thy reputation. God, I know who You are; and God, I know that You've still the power; and God, I know that You can do it; and that You're the God of today'. Slide454
Habakkuk 3:8
#
454
Did the LORD rage against the rivers, Or was Your anger against the rivers, Or was Your wrath against the sea, That You rode on Your horses, On Your chariots of salvation?
Habakkuk asks Him: 'Lord, are You angry against the nature, the rivers? What are You angry at rivers for?'
He's talking about what God did in Egypt to the Nile, the rivers of Egypt and the Red Sea He's been talking about Egypt, and about the conquest into Canaan. Slide455
Habakkuk 3:8
#
455
Did the LORD rage against the rivers, Or was Your anger against the rivers, Or was Your wrath against the sea, That You rode on Your horses, On Your chariots of salvation?
Both
at Egypt, exiting Egypt, and going into Canaan, waters were split, rivers were split, and the children of God walked across on dry ground. God cleaved the earth with rivers Was he talking about creation? Is he talking about after the flood? It's probably referring again to the Red Sea and Jordan RiverGod divided the very earth with impassible rivers and divided the rivers to make a way, a dry path for the children of God to cross.Slide456
Habakkuk 3:8-9
#
456
Did the LORD rage against the rivers, Or was Your anger against the rivers, Or was Your wrath against the sea, That You rode on Your horses, On Your chariots of salvation? Your bow was made bare, The rods of chastisement were sworn. Selah. You cleaved the earth with rivers.
God is on His horse pulling the bow, ready to shoot the arrow of judgment against the Babylonians.
His bow drawn ... to the oaths of the tribes, even thy word. Slide457
Habakkuk 3:9
#
457
Your bow was made bare, The rods of chastisement were sworn. Selah. You cleaved the earth with rivers.
'the oath of the tribes, even thy word‘:
God will defend His people, God will come to their aid and to their rescue, not because of their goodness, not because of their worthiness, but because of His oath with them. He has said it, and therefore we believe it! We count on, rest on the word of God. 'Selah' again - think about it. Slide458
Habakkuk
3:10 God marched in victory
# 458
10 The mountains saw You and quaked; The downpour of waters swept by. The deep uttered forth its voice, It lifted high its hands.God
was in complete control of land and water and used His creation to defeat the Canaanites.
Verse 10 describes the victory of Deborah and Barak over Sisera (Judg. 4—5), when a sudden rainstorm turned their battlefield into a swamp and left the enemy’s chariots completely useless.Slide459
Habakkuk 3:10
#
459
10 The mountains saw You and quaked; The downpour of waters swept by. The deep uttered forth its voice, It lifted high its hands.
The actual earth and nature is personified to show God's great power and judgment.
'The mountains saw thee, and they trembled: the overflowing of the water passed by: the deep uttered his voice, and lifted up his hands on high'. Just as those walls of waves came up like a corridor around people of God, they were lifting their hands in praise to the Almighty that made them. Slide460
Habakkuk 3:11
#
460
Sun and moon stood in their places; They went away at the light of Your arrows, At the radiance of Your gleaming spear.
'The sun and moon stood still in their habitation: at the light of
thine arrows they went, and at the shining of thy glittering spear'. Habakkuk is referring to the Old Testament account of Joshua's long day, when Joshua cried unto God - he prayed for more light, that he would be enabled to defeat the Amorites at Gibeon in Josh 10:12-13. The sun and the moon stood still, that God's man would have the victory. But then it says that there was light, radiance, that lightning shot forth from heaven, That lightning glittering spear was lightning that came from heaven. It's speaking of the storm that came and gave God's people victory over the Amorites! God delivers His people and if it seems impossible - whether by nature, or whether by intellect - God delivers them by miracles. Slide461
Habakkuk 3:12-15
#
461
12] Thou didst march through the land in indignation, thou didst thresh the heathen in anger.13] Thou wentest forth for the salvation of thy people, even for salvation with
thine
anointed; thou woundedst the head out of the house of the wicked, by discovering the foundation unto the neck. Selah.14] Thou didst strike through with his staves the head of his villages: they came out as a whirlwind to scatter me: their rejoicing was as to devour the poor secretly.15] Thou didst walk through the sea with thine horses, through the heap of great waters.Slide462
Habakkuk 3:12-15
#
462
Reminding yourself of the past
Review what God has done for you in the past;
Reveals the futureAnticipate what He will do for you in the future…It will renew you in the present.You will have peace in the present.Slide463
Habakkuk 3:12-15
#
463
Some view this passage historically: the descent of God from Mt. Sinai when the law was given;
the
wandering through Midian, through Teman (v.3), over the mountains, and through the Red Sea on their way to the promised land.Others suggest that it’s prophetic of Jesus Christ: Teman is Edom; Bozra, stained with blood; then moving north to Jerusalem (Isa 63:1-6).Some also imply that the effects of one of the Mars’ near pass-bys may be in view.
[
Patten, Hatch,
Steinhauer
model;
Missler
commentary
on Joshua
.]Slide464
Habakkuk
3:13 God marched in victory
# 464
13] Thou wentest forth for the salvation of thy people, even for salvation with
thine
anointed; thou woundedst the head out of the house of the wicked, by discovering the foundation unto the neck. Selah.Expositors aren’t agreed as to what historical event is described in verses 13–15. It could be a picture of the nation’s deliverance from Egyptif it is, Habakkuk should have mentioned it earlier. Slide465
Habakkuk 3:12
#
465
12 In indignation You marched through the earth; In anger You trampled the nations.
'Thou didst march through the land in indignation, thou didst thresh the heathen in anger'.
Leading His army, God marched through Canaan like a farmer threshing grain, and His people claimed their inheritance.The conquest of Israel - God's battles with Egypt, or whether it was God's battles with Canaan, going into the promised land - whatever it is, God was acting with the sovereign over-awing purpose of one simple word: Salvation! He will deliver His people, He will save His own! Slide466
Habakkuk
3:13 God marched in victory
# 466
13] Thou wentest forth for the salvation of thy people, even for salvation with
thine
anointed; thou woundedst the head out of the house of the wicked, by discovering the foundation unto the neck. Selah.God’s “anointed” would be the nation of Israel, they were a holy people to the Lord (Ex. 19:5–8). Perhaps the prophet is referring to the various times God had to deliver His people, as recorded in the book of Judges, the “anointed one” would then be the judges He raised up and used to bring deliverance (Judg. 2:10–19).Slide467
Habakkuk
3:13 God marched in victory
# 467
13 You went forth for the salvation of Your people, For the salvation of Your anointed. You struck the head of the house of the evil To lay him open from thigh to neck. Selah.
Perhaps
Habakkuk was looking ahead and describing the deliverance of God’s people from the Babylonian captivity. God brought the Medes and Persians to crush Babylon and then to permit the Jews to return to their land (Ezra 1:1–4). The image of God stripping Babylon “from head to foot” (Hab. 3:13 niv) parallels what Jeremiah prophesied in Jer 50—51. Slide468
Habakkuk
3:13 God marched in victory
# 468
You went forth for the salvation of Your people, For the salvation of Your anointed. You struck the head of the house of the evil To lay him open from thigh to neck. Selah.
Perhaps
Habakkuk was looking both to the past (the exodus) and to the future (deliverance from Babylon) and using the ancient victory to encourage the people to expect a new victory.For other poetic descriptions of Israel’s history, see Psalms 44; 68; 74; 78; 80; 83; 89; 105–106; 135; and 136.Slide469
Habakkuk 3:13
#
469
You went forth for the salvation of Your people, For the salvation of Your anointed. You struck the head of the house of the evil To lay him open from thigh to neck. Selah.
'Thou
wentest forth for the salvation of thy people, even for salvation with thine anointed; thou woundedst the head out of the house of the wicked, by discovering the foundation unto the neck'. He saves by His anointed. The Hebrew word for 'anointed' is the word 'Messiah'. The Greek word for 'Messiah' is the word 'Christ'. The word for 'salvation' is mentioned three times in this verse. It's the Hebrew word 'Yeshuah' - which is 'Jesus'! He delivers His people with the anointed Messiah, the Lord Jesus Christ. Slide470
Habakkuk 3:13
#
470
You went forth for the salvation of Your people, For the salvation of Your anointed. You struck the head of the house of the evil To lay him open from thigh to neck. Selah.
He delivers His people with the anointed Messiah, the Lord Jesus Christ.
Literally and historically speaking, it was Cyrus the King of Persia.Cyrus was the king that would come and deliver the children of Judah out of the captivity of Babylon He would take them out and reign over them after that, but he did it as God's anointed. God can even anoint evil for His own purposes and His own will! Slide471
Habakkuk 3:13
#
471
You went forth for the salvation of Your people, For the salvation of Your anointed. You struck the head of the house of the evil To lay him open from thigh to neck. Selah.
One day, as we find in
Daniel 2:44-45, the Lord's ultimate anointed, the pre-eminent one, will come! He will destroy the kingdoms of the world, He will have the victory over the armies of the nations of the He will crush the head out of the house of the wicked one. He will destroy - just as He promised in the Garden of Eden (Gen 3:15), that he would crush Satan's head.He will have the victory, He will come, His glory will reign the earth. Slide472
Habakkuk 3:14-15
#
472
You pierced with his own spears The head of his throngs. They stormed in to scatter us; Their exultation was like those Who devour the oppressed in secret.
You trampled on the sea with Your horses, On the surge of many waters.
'Thou didst strike through with his staves the head of his villages: they came out as a whirlwind to scatter me' Eze 38:21 Gog of Magog from the North comes to inhabit and to surround the children of Israel, God will send confusion among them. God will scatter them. When that day comes and they come down from the northernmost parts and they surround the nation of Israel, then God will turn every man's sword against his brother and they will kill themselves! Just as with Ammon, and Moab, and Edom, and the Midianites – God will have the victory.Not only will He have victory but He'll have victory by their own hand. Nothing, no one, stands in His way. Slide473
Habakkuk 3:16–19
Faith: Affirm the Will of God
# 473
This is one of the greatest confessions of faith found anywhere in Scripture. Habakkuk has faced the frightening fact that his nation will be invaded by a merciless enemy.
The
prophet knows that many of the people will go into exile and many will be slain. The land will be ruined, and Jerusalem and the temple will be destroyed. Yet he tells God that he will trust Him no matter what happens!.Slide474
Habakkuk 3:16
#
474
16] When I heard, my belly trembled; my lips quivered at the voice: rottenness entered into my bones, and I trembled in myself, that I might rest in the day of trouble: when he cometh up unto the people, he will invade them with his troops.If Habakkuk had depended on his feelings, he would never have made this great confession of faith.
If Habakkuk looked ahead, he saw a nation heading for destruction, and that frightened him.
When he looked within, he saw himself trembling with fear, When he looked around, he saw everything in the economy about to fall apart. But when he looked up by faith, he saw God, and all his fears vanished. To walk by faith means to focus on the greatness and glory of God.Earlier he cried out, “Lord, do something”Now he confesses, “I tremble at what you will do...Come quickly, Lord Jesus” But what does that mean for those left behind?Slide475
Habakkuk 3:16
“I will wait patiently on the Lord”
# 475
16 I heard and my inward parts trembled, At the sound my lips quivered. Decay enters my bones, And in my place I tremble. Because I must wait quietly for the day of distress, For the people to arise who will invade us.
One
of the marks of faith is a willingness to wait patiently for the Lord to work. “Whoever believes will not act hastily” (Isa. 28:16 nkjv). When we run ahead of God, we get into trouble. Abraham learned that lesson when he married Hagar and fathered Ishmael (Gen. 16), and so did Moses when he tried to deliver the Jews by his own hand (Ex. 2). Slide476
Habakkuk 3:16
“I will wait patiently on the Lord”
# 476
I heard and my inward parts trembled, At the sound my lips quivered. Decay enters my bones, And in my place I tremble. Because I must wait quietly for the day of distress, For the people to arise who will invade us.
“
In quietness and confidence shall be your strength” (Isa 3:15).Habakkuk could wait quietly because he knew that God was at work in the world (Hab. 1:5), and he had prayed that God’s work would be kept alive and strong (3:2). When you know that God is working in your life, you can afford to wait quietly and let Him have His way. God had commanded him to wait (2:3), and “God’s commandments are God’s enablements.” No matter what we see and no matter how we feel, we must depend on God’s promises and not allow ourselves to “fall apart.”
“
Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for him” (P
s. 37:7
).Slide477
Habakkuk 3:16
“I will wait patiently on the Lord”
# 477
I heard and my inward parts trembled, At the sound my lips quivered. Decay enters my bones, And in my place I tremble. Because I must wait quietly for the day of distress, For the people to arise who will invade us.
Lean
on 3 verses that have help us wait patiently on the Lord. “Stand still” (Ex. 14:13), “Sit still” (Ruth 3:18), and “Be still” (Ps. 46:10). Whenever we find ourselves getting “churned up” within, we can be sure that we need to stop, pray, and wait on the Lord before we do something stupid.Slide478
Habakkuk 3:17-18
“I will rejoice in the Lord”
# 478
17 Though the fig tree should not blossom And there be no fruit on the vines, Though the yield of the olive should fail And the fields produce no food, Though the flock should be cut off from the fold And there be no cattle in the stalls,Yet I will exult in the LORD, I will rejoice in the God of my salvation.
By
the time Babylon was through with the land of Judah, there wouldn’t be much of value left (2:17). Buildings would be destroyed, treasures would be plundered, and farms and orchards would be devastated. The economy would fall apart and there would be little to sing about.But God would still be on His throne, working out His divine purposes for His people (Rom. 8:28).Slide479
Habakkuk 3:17-18
#
479
17 Though the fig tree should not blossom And there be no fruit on the vines, Though the yield of the olive should fail And the fields produce no food, Though the flock should be cut off from the fold And there be no cattle in the stalls,
Yet I will exult in the LORD, I will rejoice in the God of my salvation.
...even though my country will be devastated, the markets will crash, my house will be burned and looted, and there is blood in the streets...'Yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation'. 'I will jump for joy in the Lord. I will spin round for delight in God!'. That's the joy of faith. Slide480
Habakkuk 3:18
#
480
18] Yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will joy in the God of my salvation.“...rejoice”: “to jump up and down.”
“...
joy”: “to spin around.”1 Thessalonians 1:9: “In everything give thanks” In everything, not for everything... I rejoice in the Lord, not the problem...Habakkuk couldn’t rejoice in his circumstances, but he could rejoice in his God!“Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you” (1 Thess. 5:16–18 nkjv). Habakkuk discovered that God was his strength (Hab. 3:19) and song as well as his salvation
(
Isa
. 12:1–2; Ex. 15:2; Ps. 118:14
); and therefore he had nothing to fear
.Slide481
Habakkuk 3:18
“I will rejoice in the Lord”
# 481
Yet I will exult in the LORD, I will rejoice in the God of my salvation.Though
his lips were trembling and his legs were shaking (
Hab. 3:16 niv), the prophet burst into song and worshipped his God. What a great example to follow! It reminds us of our Lord before He went to the cross (Mark 14:26), and Paul and Silas in the Philippian dungeon (Acts 16:19–34). God can give us “songs in the night” (Ps. 42:8; 77:6; Job 35:10) if we’ll trust Him and see His greatness.Slide482
Habakkuk
3:19
#
482
19] The LORD God is my strength, and he will make my feet like hinds’ feet, and he will make me to walk upon mine high places. To the chief singer on my stringed instruments.
Habakkuk saw that this God was his personal God at this time. We know that he saw it in the past with Israel, He saw it as he addressed God in the present in prayer, The God of the past was his God at that moment When he realized that his belly trembled, his lips quivered at the voice, his self-righteousness was realized to him when rottenness entered into his bones, and he trembled within himself. His inner-self was wrecked, yet he could say: 'Even
though I know all this, I might rest in the day of trouble
'.
v16Slide483
Habakkuk 3:18
There Is Praise and then there is PRAISE!
(18)
Yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will joy in the God of my salvation.All praise of God is good.
But there’s
a difference between praising God in the good times and praising Him in the bad times. Praise in the good times—Ps 95:1; 98:4, 6; 100:1—is a good thing. But praise in the difficult times renews our focus on God.The word “yet” in Habakkuk 3:18 suggests a contrast to what has come before. Habakkuk is saying that even though Israel’s crops and livestock fail (verse 17), “Yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will joy in the God of my salvation.”Slide484
Habakkuk 3:19
#
484
19] The LORD God is my strength, and he will make my feet like hinds’ feet, and he will make me to walk upon mine high places. To the chief singer on my stringed instruments
.
“...my stringed instruments”: Habakkuk was probably a priest before he was called as a prophet.Slide485
Habakkuk 3:19
#
485
19] The LORD God is my strength, and he will make my feet like hinds’ feet, and he will make me to walk upon mine high places. To the chief singer on my stringed instruments.
•
Jonah ministered to the Assyrians. – Habakkuk to the Babylonians.• Jonah ran from God when he heard what God was going to do. – Habakkuk ran to God wondering what God would do.• Jonah saw the salvation of God to the Gentiles. – Habakkuk saw the sovereignty of God through the Gentiles.• Jonah’s story ends in foolishness as he worries about the gourd. – Habakkuk’s story ends in faith as he trusts God.• Jonah had to learn inside a fish. – Habakkuk learned in the high tower.Slide486
Habakkuk 3:19
#
486
19] The LORD God is my strength, and he will make my feet like hinds’ feet, and he will make me to walk upon mine high places. To the chief singer on my stringed instruments
.
Where to you want to learn your lessons about faith?Are there always storms? Is there seaweed wrapped around your head? Do you feel cramped, always in the dark? Are you inside a fish or in the tower?The hour is later on God’s clock than any one of us realizes. Prophecy should be studied—not as an idle curiosity—but to ascertain the will of God now for each of our lives, and to enable us to move into the center of that place of blessing (Hab 1:5)Slide487
Habakkuk 3:19
“I will rely on the Lord”
# 487
19] The LORD God is my strength, and he will make my feet like hinds’ feet, and he will make me to walk upon mine high places. To the chief singer on my stringed instruments.• Chapter 1: He was in the valley;• Chapter 2: He was in the tower;
• Chapter 3: He is now on the mountain top.
Habakkuk began to bound up the mountain like a deer! Because of his faith in the Lord, he was able to stand and be as sure-footed as a deer; he was able to run swiftly and go higher than he’d ever gone before. This is one reason why the Lord permits us to go through trials: they can draw us nearer to Him and lift us above the circumstances so that we walk on the heights with Him.Slide488
Habakkuk 3:19
#
488
19 The Lord GOD is my strength, And He has made my feet like hinds' feet, And makes me walk on my high places. For the choir director, on my stringed instruments.
'The Lord God is my strength, and he will make my feet like hinds' feet, and he will make me to walk upon mine high places'.
That's faith: Joy at its best, when circumstances are at their worst.A hind - a deer - doesn't often defend itself, it can't protect itself. The only thing a deer can do in its swiftness is run from all harm and all trouble. Slide489
Habakkuk 3:19
#
489
19 The Lord GOD is my strength, And He has made my feet like hinds' feet, And makes me walk on my high places. For the choir director, on my stringed instruments.
'The Lord God is my strength, and he will make my feet like hinds' feet, and he will make me to walk upon mine high places'.
God is able to give those that wait on Him wings like eagles to soar [Isa 40:31] Often when the eagles soar, that the crows can come and give them trouble and pluck at them? They get rid of those crows by flying higher. God makes our feet like hinds' feet, He takes us on to higher ground. Slide490
Habakkuk 3:19
“I will rely on the Lord”
# 490
19] The LORD God is my strength, and he will make my feet like hinds’ feet, and he will make me to walk upon mine high places. To the chief singer on my stringed instruments.God made us for the heights.
If
He allows us to go into the valley, it’s so we might wait on Him and mount up with eagles’ wings (Isa. 40:30–31). “He made him to ride on the high places of the earth” (Deut. 32:13). This is what David experienced when he was being chased by his enemies and by Saul: “It is God who arms me with strength, and makes my way perfect. He makes my feet like the feet of deer, and sets me on my high places” (Ps. 18:32–33 nkjv).Slide491
Habakkuk 3:19
“I will rely on the Lord”
# 491
19] The LORD God is my strength, and he will make my feet like hinds’ feet, and he will make me to walk upon mine high places. To the chief singer on my stringed instruments.Habakkuk teaches us
to
face our doubts and questions honestly, take them humbly to the Lord, wait for His Word to teach us, and then worship Him no matter how we feel or what we see.God doesn’t always change the circumstances, but He can change us to meet the circumstances. That’s what it means to live by faith.Slide492
Habakkuk 3:19
#
492
The Lord GOD is my strength, And He has made my feet like hinds' feet, And makes me walk on my high places. For the choir director, on my stringed instruments.
Habakkuk did not have a knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Habakkuk did not have revealed to him what the God of the ages was going to do through Christ, through the resurrection, through the second coming. Habakkuk didn't know that, yet he could sing in faith to God But we, as Ephesians 1 says: '[God] having made known unto us the mystery of his will, that in the dispensation of the fulness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in him'. We know it! We have a Great High Priest, we have Christ! Slide493
Habakkuk 3:19
#
493
The Lord GOD is my strength, And He has made my feet like hinds' feet, And makes me walk on my high places. For the choir director, on my stringed instruments.
Habakkuk's journey of faith and blessing is one that we will all go through.
He was honest with God about his doubt. He cried to God with his petition. He broke through in joy from God, because of blessing. In chapter 1 Habakkuk is saying: 'Yes Lord, answer, but not that one!' At the end of the book he's saying: 'Lord, do that work, I surrender to Your will, and Your sovereignty, and Your providence. Lord, do it, and do it quickly'.