Introduction Lessons From Habakkuk For Today In our nation, we see turmoil, injustice, greed, violence (including over 50 million abortions) and rebellion against God We may wonder and pray for the Lord to help His people in this situation Habakkuk lived at such a time and prayed for the Lord to help His people God answered by telling Him the nation would be judged 2 Introduction Brief Background To Habakkuk The Lord does not reveal to us His specific judgments against the nations today We pray our nation turns back to God but we also pray for justice But whatever occurs, we learn from Habakkuk that the righteous must live by faith trusting God for salvation, daily provisions and protection during judgments 3 Name means Embrace Date 612-606 BC? Date is unknown but most likely between Babylon s ascendancy to power over Assyria 612-609 BC and its first invasion of Jerusalem in 605 BC His personal background is unknown Main message is the righteous shall live by his faith 4 How Long Will God Take To Save His People From Violence and Injustice? Hab 1:1 The oracle which Habakkuk the prophet saw. Hab 1:2 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. How Long Will God Take To Save His People From Violence and Injustice? Hab 1:3 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. Hab 1:4 Therefore the law is ignored And justice is never upheld. For the wicked surround the righteous; Therefore justice comes out perverted. 5 6
God s Answer He Is Raising Up The Chaldeans To Judge Judah Hab 1:5 "Look among the nations! Observe! Be astonished! Wonder! Because I am doing something in your days-- You would not believe if you were told. Hab 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 s Answer He Is Raising Up The Chaldeans To Judge Judah Hab 1:7 "They are dreaded and feared; Their justice and authority originate with themselves. Hab 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. 7 8 God s Answer He Is Raising Up The Chaldeans To Judge Judah Hab 1:9 "All of them come for violence. Their horde of faces moves forward. They collect captives like sand. Hab 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. Hab 1:11 "Then they will sweep through like the wind and pass on. But they will be held How Can A Holy God Use The Wicked Chaldeans To Judge Judah? Hab 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. guilty, They whose strength is their god." 9 10 How Can A Holy God Use The Wicked Chaldeans To Judge Judah? Hab 1:13 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? Hab 1:14 Why have You made men like the fish of the sea, Like creeping things without a ruler over them? 11 How Can A Holy God Use The Wicked Chaldeans To Judge Judah? Hab 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. Hab 1:16 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. 12
How Can A Holy God Use The Wicked Chaldeans To Judge Judah? Hab 1:17 Will they therefore empty their net And continually slay nations without sparing? Hab 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. Hab 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." Hab 2:2 Then the LORD answered me and said, "Record the vision And inscribe it on tablets, That the one who reads it may run. 13 14 Hab 2:3 "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. Hab 2:4 "Behold, as for the proud one, His soul is not right within him; But the righteous will live by his faith. Hab 2:5 "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. 15 16 Hab 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?' 17 Hab 2:7 "Will not your creditors rise up suddenly, And those who collect from you awaken? Indeed, you will become plunder for them. Hab 2:8 "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. 18
Hab 2:9 "Woe to him who gets evil gain for his house To put his nest on high, To be delivered from the hand of calamity! Hab 2:10 "You have devised a shameful thing for your house By cutting off many peoples; So you are sinning against yourself. Hab 2:12 "Woe to him who builds a city with bloodshed And founds a town with violence! 19 Hab 2:19 "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. Hab 2:20 "But the LORD is in His holy temple. Let all the earth be silent before Him." 20 Fearing The Lord He Pleads For Mercy In Wrath Hab 3:1 A prayer of Habakkuk the prophet, according to Shigionoth. Hab 3:2 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. 21 He Praises The Glorious God In His Judgments Hab 3:3 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. Hab 3:4 His radiance is like the sunlight; He has rays flashing from His hand, And there is the hiding of His power. Hab 3:5 Before Him goes pestilence, And plague comes after Him. 22 He Praises The Glorious God In His Judgments Hab 3:6 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. Hab 3:7 I saw the tents of Cushan under distress, The tent curtains of the land of Midian were trembling. God s Judgments Are To Punish The Wicked and Save His People Hab 3:12 In indignation You marched through the earth; In anger You trampled the nations. Hab 3:13 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. 23 24
Trembling, He Waits Quietly For God s Judgment Upon Judah Hab 3:16 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. He Rejoices In The God of His Salvation Even In This Judgment Hab 3:17 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, 25 26 He Rejoices In The God of His Salvation Even In This Judgment Hab 3:18 Yet I will exult in the LORD, I will rejoice in the God of my salvation. Hab 3:19 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. Lessons From Habakkuk For Today 1. God was and now Jesus is ruler of all the nations 2. The righteous shall live by faith trusting in God for salvation, daily physical needs and protection in all trials including judgments against nations 27 28 Nations cannot act independently of God s purpose God uses the nations, overruling their plans, to execute His own purpose judging the wicked and preserving His people God is in absolute control of the nations and His purpose will not be defeated Therefore, in all circumstances, we should live by faith in God to save us 29 Dan 4:30 "The king reflected and said, 'Is this not Babylon the great, which I myself have built as a royal residence by the might of my power and for the glory of my majesty?' Dan 4:31 "While the word was in the king's mouth, a voice came from heaven, saying, 'King Nebuchadnezzar, to you it is declared: sovereignty has been removed from you, 30
Dan 4:32 and you will be driven away from mankind, and your dwelling place will be with the beasts of the field. You will be given grass to eat like cattle, and seven periods of time will pass over you until you recognize that the Most High is ruler over the realm of mankind and bestows it on whomever He wishes.' Dan 4:33 "Immediately the word concerning Nebuchadnezzar was fulfilled; and he was driven away from mankind and began eating grass like cattle, and his body was drenched with the dew of heaven until his hair had grown like eagles' feathers and his nails like birds' claws. 31 32 Dan 4:34 "But at the end of that period, I, Nebuchadnezzar, raised my eyes toward heaven and my reason returned to me, and I blessed the Most High and praised and honored Him who lives forever; For His dominion is an everlasting dominion, And His kingdom endures from generation to generation. Jer 25:8 "Therefore thus says the LORD of hosts, 'Because you have not obeyed My words, 33 34 Jer 25:9 behold, I will send and take all the families of the north,' declares the LORD, 'and I will send to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, My servant, and will bring them against this land and against its inhabitants and against all these nations round about; and I will utterly destroy them and make them a horror and a hissing, and an everlasting desolation. 35 Jer 25:10 'Moreover, I will take from them the voice of joy and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride, the sound of the millstones and the light of the lamp. Jer 25:11 'This whole land will be a desolation and a horror, and these nations will serve the king of Babylon seventy years. 36
Jer 25:12 'Then it will be when seventy years are completed I will punish the king of Babylon and that nation,' declares the LORD, 'for their iniquity, and the land of the Chaldeans; and I will make it an everlasting desolation. Jer 25:13 'I will bring upon that land all My words which I have pronounced against it, all that is written in this book which Jeremiah Jer 25:14 '(For many nations and great kings will make slaves of them, even them; and I will recompense them according to their deeds and according to the work of their hands.)'" has prophesied against all the nations. 37 38 Jesus Is Now Ruler of All The Nations Jesus now rules at the right hand of God ruling over and judging all the nations Although we are not told specific current judgments He is making, we believe He is in control of all nations for the punishment of the wicked and the salvation of His people, His church 39 Jesus Is Now Ruler of All The Nations 1Pe 3:22 who is at the right hand of God, having gone into heaven, after angels and authorities and powers had been subjected to Him. Rev 1:5 and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. To Him who loves us and released us from our sins by His blood-- 40 Jesus Is Now Ruler of All The Nations Mat 24:1 Jesus came out from the temple and was going away when His disciples came up to point out the temple buildings to Him. Mat 24:2 And He said to them, "Do you not see all these things? Truly I say to you, not one stone here will be left upon another, which will not be torn down." Jesus Is Now Ruler of All The Nations Luk 21:20 "But when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then recognize that her desolation is near. 41 42
Righteousness Exalts A Nation Righteousness Exalts A Nation Pro 14:34 Righteousness exalts a nation, But sin is a disgrace to any people. 43 Eph 5:7 Therefore do not be partakers with them; Eph 5:8 for you were formerly darkness, but now you are Light in the Lord; walk as children of Light Eph 5:9 (for the fruit of the Light consists in all goodness and righteousness and truth), Eph 5:10 trying to learn what is pleasing to the Lord. 44 The Righteous Shall Live By Faith Rom 1:16 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. Rom 1:17 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." The Righteous Shall Live By Faith Rom 6:3 Or do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus have been baptized into His death? Rom 6:4 Therefore we have been buried with Him through baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life. 45 46 The Righteous Shall Live By Faith Rom 6:12 Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its lusts, Rom 6:13 and do not go on presenting the members of your body to sin as instruments of unrighteousness; but present yourselves to God as those alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God. The Righteous Shall Live By Faith Gal 3:6 Even so Abraham BELIEVED GOD, AND IT WAS RECKONED TO HIM AS RIGHTEOUSNESS. Gal 3:7 Therefore, be sure that it is those who are of faith who are sons of Abraham. Gal 3:11 Now that no one is justified by the Law before God is evident; for, "THE RIGHTEOUS MAN SHALL LIVE BY FAITH." 47 48
The Righteous Shall Live By Faith Gal 3:26 For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. Gal 3:27 For all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. The Righteous Shall Live By Faith Gal 3:28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free man, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. Gal 3:29 And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham's descendants, heirs according to promise. 49 50 The Righteous Shall Live By Faith Trusting God To Provide Our Daily Needs Mat 6:25 "For this reason I say to you, do not be worried about your life, as to what you will eat or what you will drink; nor for your body, as to what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? 51 The Righteous Shall Live By Faith Trusting God To Provide Our Daily Needs Mat 6:26 "Look at the birds of the air, that they do not sow, nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth much more than they? Mat 6:27 "And who of you by being worried can add a single hour to his life? Mat 6:33 "But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. 52 The Righteous Shall Live By Faith Trusting God In All Trials Heb 10:35 Therefore, do not throw away your confidence, which has a great reward. Heb 10:36 For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God, you may receive what was promised. Heb 10:37 FOR YET IN A VERY LITTLE WHILE, HE WHO IS COMING WILL COME, AND WILL NOT DELAY. 53 The Righteous Shall Live By Faith Trusting God In All Trials Heb 10:38 BUT MY RIGHTEOUS ONE SHALL LIVE BY FAITH; AND IF HE SHRINKS BACK, MY SOUL HAS NO PLEASURE IN HIM. Heb 10:39 But we are not of those who shrink back to destruction, but of those who have faith to the preserving of the soul. 54
The Righteous Shall Live By Faith Trusting God In All Trials Heb 12:26 And His voice shook the earth then, but now He has promised, saying, "YET ONCE MORE I WILL SHAKE NOT ONLY THE EARTH, BUT ALSO THE HEAVEN." Heb 12:27 This expression, "Yet once more," denotes the removing of those things which can be shaken, as of created things, so that those things which cannot be shaken The Righteous Shall Live By Faith Trusting God In All Trials Heb 12:28 Therefore, since we receive a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us show gratitude, by which we may offer to God an acceptable service with reverence and awe; Heb 12:29 for our God is a consuming fire. may remain. 55 56 The Righteous Shall Live By Faith Trusting God In All Trials Php 4:6 Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. Php 4:7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Php 4:13 I can do all things through Him who strengthens me. 57 Lessons From Habakkuk For Today 1. God was and now Jesus is ruler of all the nations 2. The righteous shall live by faith trusting in God for salvation, daily physical needs and protection in all trials including judgments against nations 58