You may turn in your Bibles to the prophet Habakkuk, if you will. We're going to look specifically at verses 17 to 19 in chapter three. But in order to appreciate what the prophet says in verses 17 to 19, we need to understand something about specifically chapter one and the entirety of chapter three. The book breaks down into three major sections corresponding to the three chapters.
The first is a dialogue between the prophet and God. The prophet asks questions of the Lord, and then God the Lord answers him. And then in chapter two, we see that God will, in fact, bring judgment to bear upon Babylon. And then chapter three takes up the psalm of the prophet. the psalm of the prophet, his reflection, if you will, his meditation upon what he has learned and his response to our great God.
So I'll just pick up reading in chapter three at verse one, a prayer of Habakkuk, the prophet on Shigionoth. Oh, Lord, I have heard your speech and was afraid. Oh, Lord, revive your work in the midst of the years. In the midst of the years, make it known.
In wrath, remember mercy. God came from Teman, the Holy One from Mount Paran, Selah. His glory covered the heavens, and the earth was full of His praise. His brightness was like the light.
He had rays flashing from His hand, and there His power was hidden. Before Him went pestilence, and fever followed at His feet. He stood and measured the earth. He looked and startled the nations. and the everlasting mountains were scattered.
The perpetual hills bowed. His ways are everlasting. I saw the tents of Kushan in affliction. The curtains of the land of Midian trembled.
O Lord, you were displeased, or were you displeased with the rivers? Was your anger against the rivers? Was your wrath against the sea that you rode on your horses, your chariots of salvation? Your bow was made quite ready.
Oaths were sworn over your arrows, Selah. You divided the earth with rivers. The mountains saw you and trembled. The overflowing of the water passed by.
The deep uttered its voice and lifted its hands on high. The sun and moon stood still in their habitation. At the light of your arrows they went. At the shining of your glittering spear.
You marched through the land in indignation. You trampled the nations in anger. You went forth for the salvation of your people, for salvation with your anointed. You struck the head from the house of the wicked by laying bare from foundation to neck, Selah.
You thrust through with his own arrows the head of his villages. They came out like a whirlwind to scatter me. Their rejoicing was like feasting on the poor in secret. You walked through the sea with your horses, through the heap of great waters.
When I heard, my body trembled. My lips quivered at the voice. Rottenness entered my bones and I trembled in myself that I might rest in the day of trouble. When he comes up to the people, he will invade them with his troops.
Though the fig tree may not blossom, nor fruit beyond the vines, though the labor of the olive may fail and the fields yield no food, Though the flock may be cut off from the fold, and there be no herd in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the Lord. I will joy in the God of my salvation. The Lord God is my strength. He will make my feet like deer's feet, and he will make me walk on my high hills to the chief musician with my strained instruments.
Amen. Well, let us pray. Our Father in heaven, we thank you for your holy word. We thank you for this great testimony of the prophet.
We just ask now that you would guide us by your spirit and help us to understand the lessons of the text, help us to understand the circumstances that this brother faced, to realize that in the midst of perplexity and trial and difficulty, nevertheless, the saint of Christ can joy in his salvation. We just praise you, God in heaven. We thank you, Lord most high. And we pray now that you would direct our study and we pray through Jesus Christ, our Lord.
Amen.
Introduction to Habakkuk
Well, the only thing we know about this particular prophet, the personal piece of information, is his name. The reference to Chaldeans in chapter one, verse six, indicates that it's the Babylonian. And more than likely, the prophet prophesied just prior to the destruction of Jerusalem, which would occur via Babylon under the leadership of Nebuchadnezzar. Very specifically, the scholars, the commentators, date him, date Habakkuk the prophet from about 608 BC to about 605 BC.
He is ministering to the southern tribes of Judah. By this time, the northern tribes had already been taken away into Assyria, so all that is left is the southern kingdom. And so it is a very difficult situation in which he lives. Now, on the throne at this particular time was the king Jehoiakim.
Now, Jehoiakim engaged in vicious wickedness. He was an ungodly man. to the core. It wasn't just that he was a spineless wimp, but rather he was actively opposed to God, the God of Israel. He made treaties with other nations that were just unrighteous and unholy and ungodly.
So this is the historical setting in which the prophet lived. He understood that Babylon was going to come. In fact, just look for a moment at chapter 3. Those verses I said we're going to focus on primarily.
Specifically, let's look at verses 18 and 19. He says, Yet I will rejoice in the Lord. I will joy in the God of my salvation. The Lord God is my strength.
He will make my feet like deer's feet, and He will make me walk on my high hills. And if you met a man, or you met a woman, or you talked to somebody in the back of the church, and this was their testimony, and this was their report, it would be quite admirable. Hopefully you would say, wow, this brother, this sister is a person of faith. They believe God.
They trust God. The justified by faith is living by faith. And that's an encouraging thing. But then if you press further and you started to talk to them and they said, you know, five years ago, I was diagnosed with cancer and ten years ago, my husband was a terrible human being.
They just had a life of woe and trial and travail. And nevertheless, they were able to say what they were saying in terms of their faith commitment to the Lord God. It makes you appreciate it that much more. And I think it's important for us not to just focus on chapter three, verses 17 to 19. and this great expression of faith on the part of the prophet.
But to see the historical circumstances, to see how this man was pressed, to see how he questioned God in a righteous way, it wasn't ungodly, but how he was struggling with the prophesied events that were going to occur to his people, to his nation.
Habakkuk's Two Questions
You go back for just a moment to chapter one. He asks two primary questions. The first is an ethical issue. The second is a theological one.
You notice in chapter one, verse two, he says, Oh, Lord, How long shall I cry and you will not hear? Even cry out to you violence and you will not say. Why do you show me iniquity and cause me to see trouble for plundering and violence are before me? There is strife and contention arises.
Therefore, the law is powerless and justice never goes forth for the wicked surround the righteous. Therefore, perverse judgment proceeds. You see what he is saying? He is saying that I've looked out at society and I am not pleased at what I'm seeing.
I've looked out at Judah, the covenant community of God Most High, and we are living in a wretched state. He's essentially saying, God, how is it the case That your people, that we, have come to the place where we are in utter rejection of you and in utter rebellion against you. He is speaking about the conditions that was going on at the time under the wicked leadership of Jehoiakim that was rampant in society. And so then the Lord says how he's going to deal with this situation.
This is when he introduces the Chaldeans. He introduces the Babylonians. He says, I am raising up a bitter and a hasty nation, and I am going to send them into Judah, and they are going to devastate your covenant community. Probably not the answer Habakkuk wanted, is it?
Just imagine for a moment, you look out at the scene in Canada or in the United States and you say, Lord God, it's horrible, it's wretched, they're murdering babies, they're murdering the elderly, they're murdering the terminally ill, they're engaged in all manner of lawlessness and wickedness. What are we hoping in that prayer? We're hoping that God will snap his fingers and just cause everybody to repent and society to smooth out and get all better. That's probably what the prophet had in mind.
So what does God say? I'm going to send Nebuchadnezzar. I'm going to send Babylon and they're going to utterly desecrate the land. Wait a minute.
The solution is worse than the problem. The answer is more difficult than the original question that then leads to his question in verse 12. Are you not from everlasting? Oh, Lord, my God, my holy one.
We shall not die. Oh, Lord, you have appointed them for judgment. Oh, rock, you have marked them for correction. You are of pure eyes than to behold evil and cannot look on wickedness.
Why do you look on those who deal treacherously and hold your tongue when the wicked devours a person more righteous than he? Why do you make men like fish of the sea, like creeping things that have no ruler over them? The idea here is that corrective justice, the prophet desired, but not destruction from the hand of Babylon. You see his perplexity.
You see his issue. Some people have looked at this and said, Habakkuk here is having a crisis of faith. He's not having a crisis of faith. Robertson says, not a weak faith, but a perplexed faith torments Habakkuk.
Habakkuk asks the questions that perplex many believers. How can a righteous and holy God not just snap his fingers and make things right. Well, the righteous and holy God, according to his sovereign plan and purposes, oftentimes uses things that seem severe to us to bring glory to his name and to bring good to his people. Spending a little bit of time here in chapter one, just so you can appreciate Habakkuk's situation.
He is not lamenting. He is not whining. He is not crying that the air conditioning on his SUV went out. Lord, how do you expect me to drive to church an hour and a half when there's no air conditioning?
That's not his issue. That's not his problem. He is not a whiner. He is not a grumbler.
Mark Dever says it this way. In short, Habakkuk is puzzled exactly because he knows and believes that God is both powerful and good. His prayer is not merely an example of cosmic whining that somehow made it into the Bible. It is an inquiring prayer of a believer in anguish who knows he can approach this good and sovereign God with honesty.
So they're facing a crisis. They're facing a sanction. They are facing the very judgment of God most high. He asks the question.
The Lord answers the question.
The Just Shall Live by Faith
The underlying theme is in chapter 2, verse 4, behold the proud. His soul is not upright in him, but the just shall live by his faith. Robertson translates this way. The justified by faith shall live by his steadfast trust in the living God.
So in the midst of calamity, in the midst of Nebuchadnezzar, in the midst of the Babylonian armies, in the midst of the destruction of Jerusalem, in the midst of the sacking of the city, in the midst of exile, in the midst of woe, in the midst of trial, in the midst of travail, this holds true. The justified by faith shall live by his steadfast trust. So that's the historical occasion.
Structure of the Psalm
Chapter one, a couple of questions offered up by the prophet, answered by God. Chapter two, basically God is going to bring judgment upon Babylon after he finishes with them. And then chapter three, as I mentioned, is his prayer. It is his psalm, and it breaks down into three sections. his prayer, secondly, his remembrance of God, and thirdly, his refuge in the Lord Most High.
The Prophet's Prayer
Notice his prayer. Verse 2, O Lord, I have heard your speech and was afraid. That's a good response when we are confronted with the holiness of God. That is a good response when we are confronted with the sovereignty of God.
That is a good response when we come face to face with the impending judgment of God. I have heard your speech and was afraid. It promoted in his heart that righteous response to God. You see, sometimes people ask the Lord questions and sometimes they do it in a bad way.
They ask God questions, and if he doesn't respond the way they think he should, well, then they're going to be bitter, they're going to be angry, they're going to take their marbles and go home, or they're not going to serve him anymore. Not so with the prophet. You see, there's nothing wrong with asking these particular questions. What is necessary is that you are content with his answer.
And we see the evidence that Habakkuk was, in fact, as he says, O Lord, I have heard your speech and was afraid.
The Petition: Revive Your Work
Notice his particular petition. He says, O Lord, revive your work in the midst of the years. In the midst of the years, make it known. Lord God, let it not come to an end, though there may be destruction.
Though Babylon does come upon us, there is a day coming of restoration. And Lord God, I pray that you will revive... Notice how he calls it here. He calls it your work.
You see, the prophet isn't bent on his own comfort, upon his own creature habits, or upon his own creature comforts. He is bent on the glory and the majesty and the name and the honor of God Most High. You see, you can always tell a bad question to God. There's selfish ends in view.
Good questions promote the fear of God, a trust in him, a confidence in his government, and a desire that his work would be exalted in the land. Robertson says, by this petition, the prophet asks that the Lord will make known to the believing the program and plan that he has designed. He says, even as the prophet had agonized in coming to an understanding of the mysterious ways of God and finally had rested his case in the light of the revelation provided him, so he intercedes on behalf of others that the Lord will make plain to them the understanding necessary for survival in the midst of calamity. Revive your work in the midst of the years.
God bless the faithful, cause them to realize these lessons, cause them to find their refuge and their confidence in you, Lord, promote the good of Zion. That is the essence of this prayer. And then notice his argument.
The Argument: Remember Mercy
He has a fear. He has a petition. And then he offers up an argument at the end of verse two. He says in the midst of the years, make it known in wrath, remember mercy.
What a beautiful argument. He doesn't say, remember our good works. In your wrath, remember that we don't deserve it. In your wrath, remember how good we are.
No, he has no good works to offer up. He has nothing in terms of covenant community faithfulness to argue before the Lord. No, he says and recognizes that God is wrathful and righteously so because of the sinfulness and rebellion of the people. What he casts himself upon is mercy.
In wrath, remember mercy. Brethren, we ought to pray that way. When we look around the nations, when we see the turmoil, when we see the issues, when we see the calamity, when we see the trial, what is our argument? Bless them because America is a righteous nation?
Bless them because Canada is faithful and upright? No, God, in your wrath, remember mercy.
The Prophet Remembers God
And notice, secondly, the prophet remembers God. This is important. You will never be a Habakkuk 3, 17 to 19, guy or girl, without what precedes. You see, he does what Asaph did.
What happens when Babylon is coming? What happens when Jehoiakim is on the throne? What happens when your life is in shambles? What is the potential danger or the tendency?
It is to forget the goodness of God, right? Oh, no, not me, Pastor. I'm just always thinking about how good God is. Okay, well, there's some of us in here that probably need to be reminded from the prophet here.
Asaph does this in Psalm 77. Asaph does this in Psalm 79. Asaph does this in Psalm 74. You know what Asaph's complaint is?
The nations are destroying your people. What could he possibly encourage himself with in the midst of that? History. God's faithfulness in the past.
What God's done before. You see, what God has been, God has promised to be. And while currently we may be suffering his wrath, While currently we may be suffering His displeasure, while currently we may be suffering at the hands of Babylon and Nebuchadnezzar, we have a certain steady confidence that the God of the Exodus is the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who will do great and wondrous things in the future. That's what the prophet does in verses 3 to 15.
A Theological Collage
He recalls the mighty works of God. You see, brethren, when you're tried, when you're perplexed, when you're having difficulty, when it seems that everything is falling down all around you, you need to look to God. You need to consider His promises. You need to look at history.
You need to remember. This is Moses' repeated exhortation on the plains of Moab in the book of Deuteronomy. It is to recall the mighty works of God that is fuel for current steadiness, that is fuel for current refuge-seeking in the Lord. While there are trials, we trust in the rock-solid God of heaven and earth.
That's the point of verses 3 to 15. Just several things that he does here. He rehearses the glory of God. It's like he puts together a collage.
You know what a collage is? At least the children do. You're probably going to make them in school. A collage.
You cut out a lot of pictures and you put it on the paper, right? There might be a theme. How good your life is. You cut out a picture of an apple.
You cut out a picture of your dog. You cut out a picture of your mom and dad. Got a picture of your Hot Wheels and all that stuff. It's a collage that testifies to how good your life is.
That's what 3 to 15 is. It is a theological collage upon which the prophet, in the midst of trial, in the midst of difficulty, in the midst of chaos, is nevertheless going to buoy himself and find his confidence in God the Lord. This is primarily one of the problems why Christians falter. Because if things aren't going swimmingly, we get discouraged, we get depressed, and we get downcast, forgetting the glory, the power, and the majesty of God.
He may not be acting right now to bless you with everything you think you ought to have, but that doesn't mean He's forgotten you. That doesn't mean he's done with you. That doesn't mean that he has stopped being God for you. So he constructs or he puts together this theological collage.
A similar thing is found in the book of Exodus. The Song of Moses is a theological collage. In Judges 5, the Song of Deborah, theological collage. And also the Psalter, Psalm 68, again is a collage of what God has done.
Upon that is where we gain our confidence. Is everybody with me? Everybody following? I think there's great new covenant application to this.
Yeah, you're going to face trials in this world. You're going to face difficulties in this world. You may be bypassed for a promotion in this world because you're a Christian. You may not get the best jobs.
You may not get the best things. You may not get the best in life. Does that mean God has forgotten you? God has abandoned you?
God is done with you? No. And if the prophet here encourages his soul with the Exodus, if the prophet here encourages his soul with the display of God's power at Sinai, if he encourages his soul with the plagues of Egypt, with the power of God over creation, with the vindication of his people, he goes to the book of Judges, victory under Othniel, he goes to the book of Judges, victory under Gideon, He goes to the book of Judges to rehearse God's power and glory in vindicating His people. And it's kind of an interesting connection in that respect, because the book of Judges was not a time when everything was hunky-dory in Israel.
Remember those cycles of sin, oppression, repentance and deliverance? It's kind of an interesting connection the prophet lays hold of there. Judges was a difficult time in Israel's history, but nevertheless God acts. What could the prophet be implicitly suggesting?
These are difficult days we are facing. Nevertheless, God will act. You see, you've got to think theologically. You cannot suppose that theology is for a few guys in the church that like to buy books.
You cannot suppose that theology is for the few guys who have iPads and listen to sermonaudio.com. You're not to suppose that theology is some academic enterprise or exercise. Theology is the lifeblood of your confidence, of your steadfastness, and of your, dare I say it, sanity. If we were facing utter desecration at the hand of Nebuchadnezzar in Babylon, how would we fare?
I mean, we are a soft people, brethren. Come on, we're not the Huguenot marching into battle singing Psalm 68. That's just not where we're at. We're not with William Wallace on horses, painting our faces half blue and laughing as that's just not what we're about.
We're a soft people. So if Nebuchadnezzar and Babylon is coming to town, we are going to fall apart. We're already basket cases and we have everything you could ever imagine. We have, you name it, we live in one of the most affluent societies and the most affluent ages in the universe.
We fall apart at the drop of a pin. What this prophet is doing is he's girding up his soul. He's strengthening his heart. He is seeking fortification.
He is rehearsing the providence. He is rehearsing the power. He is rehearsing the presence of God Most High over his creation. and over his people. In other words, the prophet is doing theology in his own soul, in his own mind, and it's upon that foundation that the prophet's refuge is expressed in verses 16 to 19.
He says in verse 16, When I heard my body tremble, my lips quivered at the voice. Rottenness entered my bones and I trembled in myself that I might rest in the day of trouble. When he comes up to the people, he will invade them with his troops. All of this stuff is somewhat overwhelming to him.
Do you ever feel like this? Do you ever get in a position like this, this quivering, this trembling, this falling apartness? I mean, the thought of Babylon coming, the thought of the glory and majesty of God Most High, he is entertaining a lot of thoughts in the space of a very few chapters.
The Prophet's Refuge
It's on this basis that he then makes this confession in verses 17 to 19.
The Condition: Total Destitution
Notice verse 17, he says, Though the fig tree may not blossom, nor fruit beyond the vines, though the labor of the olive may fail and the fields yield no food, though the flock may be cut off from the fold and there be no herd in the stalls. Let's just exegete that in a modern mindset. You know what he's saying? He's saying if I open my refrigerator and there's nothing there.
I go to my pantry and I'm on my last can of green beans. I get in my car and I've got a gallon of gas left and I make it to Superstore and there's nothing on the shelves. The power grid's about to go down. We are facing utter destitution.
Remember, Babylon is coming. Nebuchadnezzar's coming. They're not coming to play games. They're not coming to trade theory.
They're not coming to theologize. They're certainly not going to come wipe out Jerusalem and then pay Jerusalem reparations for the next several decades. It's the way we fight wars today. We go and bomb people and then we pay them for the rest of their existence.
That's not how Nebuchadnezzar rolled. We are coming in to destroy you. You see what the prophet's envisioning? You see what the prophet is thinking?
He's asked these questions of the Lord. The Lord has responded. The Lord has told him that Nebuchadnezzar or Babylon will, in fact, fall. But not until they finish the job that the Lord has dispatched them on.
He never questions the sovereignty of God, never says, but you're God and why would you? No, he resolves, he is resolute in the place and purpose of God most high. What he is saying in verse 17 is a reality for him. Have we been pressed this far?
Have we been pushed this far? Though the fig tree may not blossom, nor fruit beyond the vines, though the labor of the olive may fail, and the fields yield no food, though the flock may be cut off from the fold, and there be no herd in the stalls. No food, no power, no grocery stores, no gasoline. You know, there might be a day when we wish we could pay $4 a gallon for gasoline, because that means there's gasoline.
May not always be the way it looks now. We always think it's going to get better. Habakkuk didn't think that. Habakkuk understood the writing on the wall.
He knew things were going to get a whole lot worse. No money, no stability, and you know what? No freedom. They would be exiled to Babylon.
They would be away from their country. They would be away from their homes. They would be away from their businesses. They would be away from everything they held near and dear.
You see the situation. It's pretty bleak. It's pretty difficult. It's pretty harsh, if you will.
Yet I Will Rejoice in the Lord
That's what makes verse 18 amazing. Again, you talk to someone in the back of the church. Oh, I have great joy in my God. brought up, my parents loved me, they cared for me, they disciplined me lovingly, I always had food, I went to the best school. That's good, you should have a good profession of faith.
When that person professes faith like this and says, my life was miserable, it was terrible, it's horrible, they beat me up, I spent time in prison, whatever the case may be, you say, wow, that's pretty amazing, that's an interesting profession of faith. You see, while we took the time to sort of paint the context, I think verse 18 makes more sense and is more appreciable when we consider the vantage point of the prophet, though I have nothing to eat and history would bear this forth. What does Jeremiah say in the book of Lamentations? What does he describe in terms of the siege of Jerusalem?
You see, this isn't theory for the prophet. All you have to do is flip a few pages, probably back because it's not set chronologically, go back a few pages to the Book of Lamentations. What does Jeremiah describe during the siege of Jerusalem? The compassionate ladies, the gentle women, were boiling their children and eating them because they were starving to death.
This isn't a theoretical idea with the prophet Habakkuk. When he says, though the fig tree may not blossom, and nor fruit beyond the vines, though the labor of the olive may fail, the fields yield no food, though the flock may be cut off from the fold, and there be no hurt in the skulls, when he says, yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation, praise God Almighty. Because in the midst of trial, in the midst of difficulty, in the midst of being destitute, in the midst of exile, in the midst of bondage, in the midst of all of that, certain basic biblical truth does not change. I will rejoice in the Lord.
I will, I love the language that he uses, I will joy in the God of my salvation. I will joy in it, whatever my situation is, no matter how hungry I am, no matter where I find myself in Babylon, no matter who's on the throne, no matter what administration is messing things up, I will joy in the God of my salvation. Because Nebuchadnezzar cannot take that away. Famine cannot take that away.
There is nothing that can separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. This is a Romans 8 moment for the prophet of Israel in the 6th century B.C. or the latter part of the 7th century B.C. It's a beautiful and a wonderful statement. Notice the essence of it is we will rejoice in the Lord because of the Lord.
Not in what He gives us. I mean, He gives us salvation. But that's the Lord, right? What is salvation in its essence?
But that God is our God and we are his people. You see, oftentimes our joy, our happiness, our delight, our ability to praise him is dependent upon what he gives us. See, the prophet here isn't a fair weather fan. He's not one that is rooting for Yahweh as long as the thugs, as long as the bad people are put down.
He is rooting for Yahweh even when there's no food. He is rooting for Yahweh even though there is oppression. He is rooting for Yahweh in the midst of all things. He says, I will rejoice in the Lord.
I will joy in the God of my salvation. I think it's hard for us to jump back into this context and realize this is a real man. Though all we know is his name, he probably had a wife. He probably had children.
He was probably actually thinking what's going to happen to them. 587, 586, that's when the city collapsed. So 20 years from the point that he is saying this? How would you be responding if you knew that in 20 years, life as you knew it would end? Well, I'd better work harder.
I'd better make more money. I'd better fix my plans. I'd better, no, I will rejoice in the Lord, he says. This is the prophet's refuge.
He rejoices in the Lord because of the Lord, not because of what he gives us. We don't follow the Lord because he feeds us. We don't follow the Lord because he keeps the meanies away. We don't follow the Lord because he makes our path always happy and joyful.
We follow the Lord because of the Lord. That's the essence of Habakkuk's statement of faith.
Strength and High Hills
Notice the refuge taken. The Lord God is my strength. Verse 19. He will make my feet like deer's feet. and He will make me walk on my high hills.
He is my strength and He will sustain me. This is a quote from Psalm 18.33, comes from 2 Samuel chapter 22. This idea of Him making my feet like deer's feet, He will make me walk on my high hills. He will exalt me in the midst of trial, in the midst of difficulty, in the midst of all of these things.
The fact that I am in Jesus, The fact that I am clothed with a righteousness not my own, the fact that I enjoy a present current salvation is enough to make me giddy with happiness." That's what he's saying. You come to him and you say, why are you so happy? You just ask God about what's happening. He said, I'm sending a bitter and a hasty nation.
That's God's description of Babylon. God says, I'm sending a bitter and a hasty nation to destroy you. They must have really been bad. And in the midst of this, the prophet finds his refuge, he finds his comfort, he finds his strength, and he finds his joy in the Lord Most High.
Robertson says, a book beginning with complaint and distress ends in joy. Faith triumphs in life despite many calamities. Songs in the night anticipate the glad arrival of the eternal dawn in which the faithful shall receive their ultimate vindication. It's beautiful.
Beautiful. That's the perspective that God's people need to adopt. The resolution of spiritual difficulty in the believer's life is indicated in this chapter.
Application: Resolve Before Calamity
Remember the Lord. Understand theology. It doesn't mean you have to come up, you know, come out at 630 on a Saturday morning. Please read your scriptures.
Listen to sermons. Understand what God is doing. Understand what God has done. We stand in the present, reflecting on the past so that we're ready for the future.
That's what God calls us to think and do. We are told to fill our minds understand, to know our God. The people who know their God engage in mighty exploits. The prophet rehearsed the Scriptures.
He considered God's work in history. It settled his troubled soul. As he rehearses, as he recounts, as he considers God's handiwork in the midst of deliverance, this causes him, it brings him to this place of saying, I will rejoice in the Lord, no matter what the circumstances, no matter what the situation. It doesn't matter how hungry I get.
It doesn't matter if I ultimately die of famine. I will still rejoice in my God. He sounds just like Job. Though he slay me, yet will I trust him.
Brethren, this kind of a mindset is absolutely crucial for the saint of Jesus Christ in the New Covenant. The confidence of the prophet. The confidence of the prophet is expressed in these last few verses. I will rejoice in the Lord.
You notice it has the sound of a resolution. Sometimes we are bantered and tossed about because we have not resolved. You ever thought in your head, what if I went out on the street and somebody took a gun and put it right between my eyes and said, do you believe in the Lord Jesus? You know, the time to decide that question isn't when you're looking down the business end of a 45.
The time to answer that question is now. Resolve. I will not deny my Lord. I will never deny Jesus Christ.
There is a holy resolution that the people of God ought to imbibe. That's what he says. Though these things happen, yet I will rejoice in the Lord. I will joy in the God of my salvation.
I am not going to let circumstances treat me like that. I am not going to be the victim of my surroundings. I am not going to be tossed to and fro based on what happens to me. There's something about that militant Christianity that we've lost something of.
I will rejoice. There is that ethic in the Psalter in Psalm 119. David says, I will not sin against you. Holy resolution.
Godly resolve. Don't wait to decide these things when there is no food. Make the determined effort to rejoice in God. And then finally, verse 4 of chapter 2 is the linchpin of this mindset.
Remember, this is the text that the Apostle Paul employs over and over again in his gospel ministry. Remember Romans 1.16, I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God unto salvation for everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. He says, for in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith, that just as it is written, or just as it is written, the just shall live by faith. Habakkuk 2.4.
And here in the context of Habakkuk 2.4, the justified by faith shall live by his steadfast trust in the Lord God Most High. When Christ is our source of joy, comfort, strength, We can only imitate the thought of verses 18 and 19. Do you realize, brethren, if you are in Christ, if you have a righteousness which is not your own, whatever happens to you tomorrow, as bad as it may possibly be, you'll still go to bed a Christian tomorrow night? Do you realize that if the next 30 years of your life is 30 years of misery, and woe and despair and tragedy and travesty.
At the end of that 30 years, you're still a believer in Jesus. You see why Habakkuk can say, yet I will rejoice in the Lord. I will joy in the God of my salvation. Walter Kaiser said this.
He says Habakkuk's faith was not just salvific, redemptive and personal. It was practical and mundane in its implications. The justified by faith shall live by his steadfast trust in God. Yes, we're justified by faith in a redemptive, salvific sense, but as justified by faith believers, how do we live?
We believe God. We trust God. We rest our souls upon God. That's what he is saying.
He says it's not just salvific, redemptive and personal. It is practical and mundane. You know what mundane means? Mundane means the day to day life.
Mundane means the washing diapers or washing rear ends or dealing with noses or going to work and punching the time clock. That is the mundane. How do you get through the mundane? You have a steadfast trust in the God of the mundane.
He says it could stand the test of total crop failure and the destruction of everything one held dear. It did not depend on God's promise that he would always supply health, wealth, and prosperity in order to earn Habakkuk's trust, belief, and respect. That's not being held out here. In fact, it's just the opposite.
The Baptist was the anti-Health, Wealth, and Prosperity preacher. He was the anti-Freddie Price. He was the anti-Benny Hinn. He was not preaching the gospel that if you believe on Jesus, you'll never have troubles in your life.
No, he lived according to the gospel that says, the justified by faith shall live by their steadfast trust in the true and living God, even in the midst of calamities. He says he could still be loved and worshipped in the midst of tragedy. When the lid blew off everything, he was still the sole object of praise and adoration. The reason was simple.
He was warned. He was in charge. He would remain true to His Word even at the end of the historic process when all else had come and gone. Thus, in the face of all the extremities of life, we can go on because He goes on.
Justified people really live, and they live by faith. That's the take-home message this evening. If you want to be able to say Habakkuk 3, 18 and 19, in light of Habakkuk 3, 17, in light of Habakkuk chapter 1, then you need to remember who God is. You need to steady your soul on good theology and you need to believe God who has spoken.
That's it. From perplexity to joy. From fear to faith, the prophet's movement has been theological in nature, reflecting upon the person and character of God. And it's in this that he's able to confess, yet I will rejoice in the Lord.
I will joy in the God of my salvation. You ever realize or you need to realize that if you have Christ, you have everything. I know we say that and we think, oh, yeah, you know, be one of those refrigerator magnets sort of things. No, it really is true.
This is why Habakkuk could face the uncertainty of entering in to the 6th century BC, realizing that everything he knew and held dear to heart would be gone. Didn't change who God was, didn't change his promises, didn't change the reality that Habakkuk was safely folded in the arms of Christ and he had a salvation that would stand the test of time.
Closing Prayer
Well, let us pray. Our Father, we thank you for this confession of the prophet. We ask God in heaven that you would help us to consider these things, help us to consider this book in light of our own situations, help us to find comfort and encouragement, and help us to take seriously Habakkuk 2.4. The justified by faith shall live by a steadfast trust in the living and true God.
We thank you that you have promised. We thank you that you have acted. We thank you that you will never leave us nor forsake us. I pray that we would receive much comfort and encouragement from this passage of Scripture and that we truly would joy in the salvation that you have provided.
Go with us now and watch over us in this coming week. Bless your people with peace. Bless your people with grace and with strength. And we pray in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.