Through the Bible - Habakkuk

Hello God, we do thank You for Your word now. Lord, we thank You for the opportunity to be able to sit at Your feet, to worship You, and now to look into Your word. We ask that You would speak to us, God. Give us insight from this book. Lord, would You draw us closer to You? We know that as we draw near to You, You draw near to us, and the enemy flees. We are so thankful for the fact that we don't have to be anywhere around him, Lord. We ask that You would, in this place tonight, draw us closer. Teach us about Your nature, Your character, who You are, and what Your will is for us. As we look into Your word, we ask in Jesus' name, amen.

All right, the book of Habakkuk. How many of you read it this last week? Oh, man, that's more of you, a lot more of you. It’s only three chapters. Next week, we'll be in Zephaniah, which is also only three chapters. We are in the smaller books of the Bible. In just a few weeks, we will be into the New Testament, starting with Matthew, which has 28 chapters. So, you might need to pick up the pace.

Tonight, we will start with Habakkuk chapter 1 and go through the whole book together. This book is really interesting. We don't know a lot about Habakkuk; we don't know where he came from. We have a rough idea about the time of the writing of this book. It was just before the children of Israel were destroyed by the Babylonians, specifically the nation of Judah, which consists of the southern tribes. Remember, the nation had been split into two different nations. The northern ten tribes had already been destroyed at this point by the Assyrians, whose capital city was Nineveh.

Last week, we read about the burden against Nineveh from Nahum the prophet and how God would destroy those people. He would use the Babylonians to destroy the people of Assyria, including the city of Nineveh. However, He would also use the Babylonians to come down and destroy and take away captive the people of Judah and Jerusalem because the people had departed from the Lord. Habakkuk was living during a time when he watched the downward decline of his nation.

Just before the Babylonians would come in and destroy, any man of God watching his nation decline would begin to cry out to the Lord. He would cry out and pray on behalf of his nation, as I'm sure many of you are doing as you watch the slide in our own nation here in the United States.

We read in Habakkuk chapter 1, verse 1, "The burden which Habakkuk, the prophet, did see." He had a vision—a vision of what was coming from the hand of the Lord, like Isaiah did, like Nahum did. God revealed to these men something of what He was going to do through a vision. They would actually see it somehow, and we don't know exactly what that would mean. But Habakkuk expresses that he has a burden against a certain group of people; he had a burden from the Lord against his own people.

In verses 2 through 4, we see the prophet speaking out to the Lord. He cries out to the Lord, and here is the prayer of Habakkuk: "How long will I cry unto you and you will not hear?" How many of you, in just the first few words of Habakkuk chapter 1, verse 2, can already identify with this prophet? There are a lot of people who have been crying out to the Lord, feeling like the Lord doesn't hear them because He has not answered their prayers.

All the time, we are instructed in the Scriptures to pray without ceasing, as we see in the New Testament. It was the continual practice of the priests in the Old Testament to cry out to the Lord. The prophets were those who cried out to the Lord, and God has called you and me as priests in this nation, in this new covenant. We are to cry out to the Lord.

However, there are many times when we feel like the Lord is not listening because He is not answering. It's not always that God is not answering; typically, it's just that God is not answering the way we want Him to. Can you agree with that? A lot of times, we hope for a "yes" to our prayers, yet the Lord may be silently saying, "Wait," which is often the answer we seem to get. When God is silent, it's typically Him saying, "The time is not yet."

Keep praying, but the time is not yet. Unless God clearly tells you "yes" or "no," keep praying. God does tell us "no," and like children with their parents, we don't often like it when God tells us "no." But He does.

Here is Habakkuk crying out to the Lord, feeling as though God is not hearing him because God is not answering, at least not in the way that he expected. He continues to cry out to the Lord and pray because his own people in the nation of Judah and the city of Jerusalem were a violent people.

They were a people who had rebelled against the Lord. They had departed from Him, and yet these people were still called God's people. They believed themselves to be God's people, but in their hearts and minds, they had turned away from God. They worshiped the Lord with their lips, as the prophet Isaiah says, yet their hearts were far from Him. Their actions and works revealed that they had nothing to do with the one true God.

Although they still had the temple, the priesthood, and the feast days where they offered sacrifices, they were not following the Lord. Here was a man of God, Habakkuk, who saw this and cried out to the Lord, "This is not right; this is not the way it's supposed to be." It was as if the Lord was not hearing him. He said, "Lord, consider the violence of what’s going on, and yet You’re not saving; You’re not doing anything. Why do You show me iniquity and cause me to behold grievance?"

Have you ever felt like that, Lord? Why do I even see all the woes and horrible things happening around me? It would be almost better if I were blind and didn’t see the iniquity of my people, the woe of these people, and how they turn against You. Why do You show me iniquity, Lord? Why do You cause me to behold grievance? For spoiling and violence are before me, and there are those who raise up strife and contention. All I see around me and my countrymen is spoiling, violence, strife, and contention.

Therefore, the law is slack, and judgment does not go forth. I look around and do not see justice; I do not see righteousness. This is exactly what God spoke through the prophet Isaiah. God said He was looking for justice in the city of Jerusalem, but He found none, as stated in Isaiah chapter 3. Habakkuk agrees with God, saying, "I don’t see any judgment. I don’t see any justice going forth."

The wicked compass the righteous; therefore, wrong judgment proceeds. When we look at our nation, we see it being led by unjust, unlawful judges. There are many activist judges in our nation today, and we witness wrong judgment proceeding, don’t we? This should bother us as Christians. The latest incident that occurred a couple of months ago with the California Supreme Court ruling against marriage as God has ordained it, in favor of homosexual marriage, is a clear example of wrong judgment proceeding, just as Habakkuk experienced.

But I want you to note what the cause of wrong judgment is. The wicked do encompass the righteous, and therefore wrong judgment proceeds. It is as if wickedness has risen up around the righteous, and the righteous have done nothing about it. The scriptures tell us in the Psalms that righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a reproach to any people. Our nation is a sinful nation; it has largely turned away from God, even within the church.

That's why we see the divorce rate in the church is equally as high as the divorce rate in the rest of the world. We also see more and more liberal Christians—those who would call themselves Christians—yet they live a very liberal lifestyle. They claim they are allowed to partake in drugs, consume alcohol, and be drunk, which mirrors the behavior of the people in Judah during that time. They believe they can cohabitate, living with someone they are not married to, and engage in homosexuality. There are Christians who say these things are acceptable, even though it is clearly outlined in Scripture that they are not. As a result, the righteous are surrounded by the wicked, and wrong judgment proceeds.

If you can imagine for a moment, put yourself in the sandals of Habakkuk. There he is, about 2,600 years ago, looking around at his nation, which is in a downward spiral toward wickedness. He observes that even the leaders in his nation have turned toward wickedness. Those who should be the judges, the princes, the leaders, and the elders of the nation are perverting judgment. This situation is an indication that the people had already gone that way.

When you consider our nation, it has elected individuals who have placed judges in powerful positions, judges who have departed from the Lord. It is the people who elected those who put them in positions of power. This reflects that the nation as a whole has drifted from the Lord, just as it was during the time of Habakkuk.

Habakkuk cries out as a righteous man of God who sees his nation in decay. He prays and intercedes on behalf of his people, saying, "Lord, would you please move? Would you do a work? Would you revive the nation again?" There are many God-honoring, God-fearing Christians—many of you in this room right now—who weekly and daily pray on behalf of the nation. You stand in the gap, seeking that God would do a work, and it seems as though He is not working. It seems as though things are getting worse.

And continually progressing on this downward slide towards absolute chaos, God is still working. In Habakkuk chapter 1, verse 5, God says, "Behold, ye among the heathen, or around the nations, and regard a wonder marvelously. For I will work a work in your days which you would not have believed, though it were told to you."

Habakkuk, in Habakkuk chapter 1, verses 1 through 4, cries out to God, but God answers in verse 5. He says, "Behold, Habakkuk, I want you to stand up and look around the nations, because I am going to work a work in your days that you would not believe, though it were told to you." He indicates that He is going to do something that will completely blow Habakkuk's mind.

You know the old saying, "It's too good to be true"? Well, God is kind of saying that, but in the inverse. He is saying, "It's too bad to be true." What I am going to tell you is going to blow your socks off. You are not even going to want to hear what I have to say. God replies to him and says, "Here is what I'm working. Here is what I'm doing."

He states, "For lo, I raise up the Chaldeans," which is another name for the Babylonians in modern-day Iraq. God raises up the Chaldeans, the Babylonians, that bitter and hasty nation, which shall march through the breadth of the land to possess the dwelling places that are not theirs. They are terrible and dreadful. Their judgment and their dignity shall precede themselves. Their horses are swifter than leopards and more fierce than the evening wolves.

Now, I don't know what the difference is between an evening and a morning wolf, but obviously, an evening wolf is more fierce. So, God says, "Their horses are swifter than leopards and more fierce than evening wolves." Their horsemen shall spread themselves, and they shall come from afar. They shall fly as the eagle that hastes to eat or hastes to its prey. They shall come all for violence. Their faces shall sup up as the east wind, and they shall gather the captivity as the sand.

They are going to take captives as much as the sand. They shall scoff at the kings, and the princes shall be a scorn unto them. They shall deride the stronghold, or they shall laugh at the fortresses, the walled cities. They shall heap dust and take it. Then, his mind shall change, and he shall pass over and offend, imputing this, his power unto his God.

So, God says, "All right, Habakkuk, I hear your prayer. You're right. Your people have drifted. They've turned away from me. There is violence in your nation. There are those that have completely departed."

And here is the work that I'm going to do. You want me to work? All right, I'm going to work. But the work that I'm about to do is going to completely blow your mind, and you're not going to like it. I am calling an enemy of yours to come and destroy your nation. I’m raising up against you the Babylonians, the Chaldeans. They are going to come swift as leopards. They’re going to come like fierce evening wolves. All of their horsemen are going to come and consume. All of your walled cities are going to be nothing to them. When they come and see your fortresses, they’re going to laugh and say, "What is this? This is nothing to us." All of your princes and kings are not going to be able to stand before them, is what God says to this prophet who cries out on behalf of his people.

Now, I want to bring this up into modern terms for you and me. It would be as if God heard our prayer tonight as we call out on behalf of our nation, saying, "Lord, behold our nation that has gone towards wickedness. The judges pervert judgment. Our leadership is not following after You. Even the churches are falling apart. God, do something." And God says, "All right, here, I want you to stand up and look around, because I'm going to work a work that's going to blow your mind. I'm going to raise up Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in Iran, and they're going to destroy your nation."

What might you say to that? Imagine if the Lord spoke that to you and me. It says, if God speaks to us clear as day tonight and says, "Here’s what I’m going to do. The Iranians are going to completely destroy you. They’re going to come in and consume you." Now, I imagine if the Lord spoke that to us, we’d do the same thing that Habakkuk does here. At first, we’d stop in amazement, pause for a second, and try to take that in. "Wait, what? Hold on a second, Lord. I don’t quite know that I got that. Could you say that again? You’re going to do what? You’re going to consume us with our enemies, the Babylonians, the Chaldeans? You’re going to come and overrun our nation?"

So, Habakkuk begins to speak a second time to the Lord in Habakkuk 1, verse 12. This is important because something troubling is now facing him—a circumstance, a situation that he would have never thought of. Remember, God told him in verse 5, "I’m going to do something in your day that you wouldn’t believe if it were told to you." God basically tells him, "You can’t even imagine what I’m going to do."

Here, Habakkuk is trying to take all this in, and now he’s struggling. "Wait a minute, this doesn’t make any sense. You are going to come and destroy Judah, Jerusalem, Your own chosen people, with an enemy that follows after false gods?"

This enemy, when they come, will even attribute their win and their mighty power to their false gods. Remember what it says in verse 11: "And they shall offend, imputing his power to their god, to their false gods." They will not give God glory, even though it is God who is doing the work. These Chaldeans, these Babylonians, will attribute their success to their god.

It would be the same today if Mahmoud Ahmadinejad were used by God to come and destroy the United States. He might say that Allah is the one who caused him to do it, attributing it to his own god, even though it is the one true God who is using him as a tool in His hand. Our minds have a hard time grasping this, but I encourage you to read through the prophets and examine how God did this at various times in the Old Testament. He also did this to the northern ten tribes in the book of Isaiah. He said to them, "I am going to use the Assyrians as a tool, as a rod of correction in my hand."

In Isaiah chapter 10, you will see that God took the Assyrian nation, led by Sennacherib, the king at that time, and said, "You are a rod of correction in my hand." Even though he does not think so, he is still the tool in my hand to execute judgment. God says the same thing here through Habakkuk: the Babylonians are a tool, a rod of correction in my hand, to execute judgment upon my own people.

In the face of troubling situations and circumstances, there are four things we need to do, and we learn this from Habakkuk in this passage. The first thing we need to do, if you're taking notes, is to stop and think. Don't react emotionally; stop and think. Consider for a moment what is going on here and what it is that God has just spoken. That is what Habakkuk did. He stopped for a moment and then thought about it.

The second thing you need to do is restate and consider the things you already know about God. What do we know about God's character? Here, God reveals something troubling to Habakkuk, and he stops to think about it. That is the first step. The second step is to back up and think about who our God is. How does He work? What are His character traits and nature?

After we have considered God's nature, the third thing we need to do is apply His nature and character to our current situation. We must apply what we know about God to what we are currently going through and what we are currently facing. When God speaks something troubling, Habakkuk stops and thinks about it. He does not want to react emotionally; instead, he wants to consider whether this is in line with the character of God.

We've already considered this many times before. In Exodus chapter 34, God says, "The Lord, the Lord God," and what's the first thing He defines His name with? Merciful. Merciful and slow to anger, abounding in goodness and truth, showing mercy to thousands, forgiving iniquity, transgression, and sin. But what's the next thing it says? "By no means clearing the guilty." It continues, "Visiting the iniquity upon the children, the children's children, to the third and fourth generation." God says, "I will not clear over guilt."

God reveals this troubling circumstance, this situation where He is going to destroy His own people and judge them with an enemy of theirs. Habakkuk stops for a moment; he thinks about this and considers who God is and what His character is. Then he applies it to this situation. The fourth thing that we will see as we go through this passage is that if you haven't come to an answer, if you haven't figured out what's going on here, leave the rest with God by faith. If it doesn't seem to make sense, then we just leave it in the hands of the Lord by faith.

First, we stop and think; we don't react emotionally. Secondly, we consider God's attributes, His nature, and His character. Thirdly, we apply it to the situation in front of us. If it still doesn't make sense, we simply say, "Lord, it's in Your hands. I don't get it, but You've got to explain it to me."

Notice what Habakkuk does. He starts to consider who God is. In verse 12, he asks, "Are You not from everlasting, O Lord, my God, my Holy One?" He stops to reflect, and now he begins to consider God. "You are from everlasting. You are my God, my Holy One." In light of all this, notice what he says: "We shall not die." As he considers everything that's going on, he remembers that God is the everlasting one. He is eternal, the unchanging one.

He says, "O Lord, my God." The word "Lord" there is the same word that was used when God revealed Himself to Moses as the "I Am," the all-existing one, the ever-existing one who does not change. Yet he says, "You are my God, and You're my Holy One." We need to remember that God is holy, and He has called all those who follow Him to be holy as well. Through the Apostle Peter, we read this in his letters. We also see Jesus Himself say it in Matthew chapter 5, verse 48, during the Sermon on the Mount: "As your Father in heaven is perfect or holy, so also you must be."

God is holy. He is perfect. And yet, in the midst of all these things,

God has spoken judgment to His people. Habakkuk remembers God's characteristics and concludes that they are not going to die. Why? Well, remember, Habakkuk was of the nation of Israel, which came from Abraham, their father. God had ordained an everlasting covenant with Abraham back in Genesis chapter 12, stating that they would be His people, that He would bless them, and that He would use them to be a blessing to all nations.

Habakkuk concludes that, yes, they are going to be judged, but they are not going to be completely consumed. It is not in the character or nature of God to do so. However, he does recognize that God is going to judge them. Notice what he goes on to say. Habakkuk chapter 2, verse 12 states that Habakkuk stops, thinks about what is going on, and considers who God is, what His attributes are. He applies God's attributes, character, nature, and will to the situation he is facing. He concludes that they will not be completely consumed, but that God will judge them because they have been wicked.

Yet, there is still something that does not make sense to him. In verses 13 through 17, there is something that bothers Habakkuk. I want to read it to you in another translation, the New Living Translation. It renders verses 13 through 17 of Habakkuk chapter 1 like this: "But you are pure and cannot stand the sight of evil. Will you wink at their treachery, speaking of the Babylonians? Should you be silent while the wicked swallow up a people more righteous than they? Are we only fish to be caught and killed? Are we only sea creatures that have no leader? Must we be strung up on their hooks and caught in their nets while they rejoice and celebrate? Then they will worship their nets and burn incense in front of them. Their nets are their gods who have made us rich. The nets are the gods who have made us rich, they will claim. Will you let them get away with this forever? Will they succeed forever in their heartless conquests?"

Habakkuk now calls out to God a second time. He says, "Okay, Lord, I recognize that You are going to use our enemies to judge us, but there is still a problem I have. I realize that we, Judah, are wicked, but the Babylonians are really wicked. Why would You use them to judge us?" It would be as if God said, "I'm going to use the people of Las Vegas to judge the people of Los Angeles."

We recognize that the people of Los Angeles are wicked, but Las Vegas is really bad. So why would you do that, Lord? It just doesn't make sense. It didn't seem to fit in Habakkuk's mind with the character of God. How can you use somebody doubly wicked to murder, kill, and destroy a people that are only kind of wicked? Just a few minutes ago, he was crying out to God, saying, "Lord, look how wicked my people are. They're horrible. They're wretched." And now he's saying, "Well, they're not that bad."

We do the same thing oftentimes. We say, "Lord, judge them." Then, when the Lord reveals what He is going to do, we go, "Oh, wait a minute. No, it's not that bad." We think about those people in Iran; they're really bad. They follow Allah. They follow Islam. We wonder, "Lord, you couldn't use them to come and destroy us, could you?" It just doesn't seem to make sense, Lord. You're going to let them? Are you going to be silent while the wicked swallow up the people more righteous than they?

One of the first things we need to recognize in this whole statement that Habakkuk gives to the Lord at the end of verse 13 is that God is not a respecter of persons. God looks at sin and beholds it from heaven as the same across the board. He will judge sin.

Now, for Habakkuk, it just doesn't make sense, as he shows us in verses 14 through 17. He says it's as if these Babylonians are going to come, catch us like fish, and kill us. They will string us up on their hooks and catch us in their nets. They will celebrate the whole time, worship their nets, and bow down to them, saying, "Look at this great booty that we have caught." He just goes, "It doesn't make sense, Lord."

Again, he kind of stops and rethinks this. He doesn't react completely emotionally but considers who God is. He applies what he knows about God to the situation. However, if we haven't come to an answer and it doesn't seem to make sense, we must leave the rest with God by faith.

Notice what Habakkuk does in Chapter 2, verse 1. He looks at this whole situation and what God is saying to him, and he concludes, "It just doesn't make sense." He has considered this in the light of God's character and who He is.

And it still doesn't make sense to me. He decides that he's just going to leave it in the hands of the Lord by faith. He says, "Lord, it is for you to answer. It doesn't make sense to me. I know who you are. I know who I am. There's nothing wrong with you, so there must be something wrong with the way that I'm seeing this. There must be something wrong with me. I am going to wait to hear from you on this whole situation."

It just didn't fit in his mind with the character and nature of God. There was something here that God is doing that Habakkuk, when he looks at it, just goes, "This doesn't seem to make sense to me." And yet this is the word of the Lord. So God, I'm going to set myself on the watch. I'm going to set myself on the tower, and I'm going to wait there until you speak. I'm going to wait until you reveal to me what it is that you're doing because I don't understand.

This is a man who is teachable. He did not demand that God give him an answer; he just left it in the hands of the Lord. "Lord, this doesn't make sense, but I am going to wait until you answer me." He is trying to figure out what he will say when God rebukes him. He recognizes that God is doing a work that just doesn't make sense to him, but it's still God who is working. So he leaves it in the hands of the Lord.

I would submit to you that this is the best thing that you and I could do in any situation. When it doesn't make sense, when it doesn't seem to fit, and we just can't seem to piece it together in light of the nature and character of God, we leave it in His hands and say, "Lord, you've got to speak. You've got to reveal it to me." And you know what? God answers. Amen? If we will wait, God will answer.

He tells Jeremiah in Jeremiah 33:3, "Call to me and I will answer you, and I will show you great and mighty things that you do not know." There are many things that I don't know; I confess I'm not all that smart. But if we call to the Lord and say, "God, show me, speak to me, help me to understand this because it doesn't make sense," God will reveal it to us.

We all go through troubling situations and difficult times. We were never promised by Jesus that we would just experience glorious heaven on earth after we were saved. In fact, He told us the opposite. He said, "In the world, you shall have much tribulation." We are going to have difficulty, trial, tribulation, and persecution here on this earth. He says, "Be of good cheer. I have overcome the world." But He also says, "In this world, you're going to have much tribulation."

So here is Habakkuk, looking at the difficulty, the tribulation, and the trial that is facing him and his own people.

He cries out to the Lord and says, "It just doesn't make sense, but you've got to reveal to me." And the Lord answered him. In Habakkuk chapter 2, verse 2, the Lord said, "Write the vision and make it plain on tablets, that he may run who reads it. For the vision is yet for an appointed time, but at the end it shall speak and not lie. Though it tarries, wait for it, because it will surely come. It will not tarry."

God says to Habakkuk here, "I know this doesn't make sense to you. I know it doesn't seem to fit within my character and my nature, but write it anyway. Write the vision and make it plain." Notice what He says: "that he may run who reads it." It doesn't say that he who is running can still read it. No, He says that he may run who reads it, so that it makes sense and they can press on and continue in what the Lord is doing.

The vision is yet for an appointed time. God says it is going to come to pass. Even though it didn't make sense to Habakkuk, God says to still write it down. "I'm going to work this work in your days. It shall speak and it will not lie. Though it tarries, wait for it, because it shall surely come; it will not tarry."

Now God speaks to Habakkuk and clears things up for him. He says, basically, over the next several verses, through the end of chapter 2, "I realize that the Babylonians are wicked. I realize that they are a proud people, a greedy people, a violent people, a people that are filled with drunkenness, a people that are filled with idolatry. Yes, I am going to use them to judge your people, the children of Israel, there in the city of Jerusalem in the region of Judah. I will use them to judge you, but I will also judge them."

In verses 5 through 8 of Habakkuk chapter 2, God speaks woe to the proud of Babylon. "Woe" means certain destruction or that destruction is coming. Even though God was going to use the Babylonians to judge the people of Judah, He would ultimately judge the Babylonians with the Medo-Persian Empire, as revealed through the prophet Daniel. So God says, "woe" or certain destruction to the proud in verses 5 through 8 of chapter 2.

Then, down in verses 9 through 11, God again says, "woe to the greedy of those in Babylon." He continues on in verses 12 through 14, where God says, "woe to the violent men of Babylon."

In verses 15 through 17, God says, "Woe to the drunkards of Babylon." Then, in verses 18 through 20, God addresses the people of Babylon, saying, "Woe to the idolaters." What He reveals to Habakkuk is that, yes, Habakkuk, He is going to judge your people with a people more wicked than you. However, rest assured, He will judge them also.

Why is that? Because the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all unrighteousness and all ungodliness. God will not clear the guilty. He will judge those who have departed from Him—those who are proud, greedy, violent, drunkards, and idolaters—those who have rebelled against the Lord. God will judge.

God's ways of judgment and justice are often different from what we might imagine. Sometimes, it just doesn't seem to fit with our understanding. Yet, God says, "This is the way that I work," even though it may not make sense to us. He instructs us to write the vision and make it plain. Therefore, God will speak woe to the proud, the greedy, the violent, the drunkards, and the idolaters of Babylon.

Notice what it says at the end of chapter 2 when speaking of those who are idolatrous. In verse 19, it states, "Woe unto him that says to the wood, 'Awake!' To the dumb stone, 'Arise! It shall teach!'" Behold, it is laid over with gold and silver, yet there is no breath at all in the midst of it. This passage speaks of the idols that the people of Babylon bowed down to. Idolatry was at the forefront; it was the greatest sin in Babylon. No other nation had idolatry like Babylon.

God pronounces certain judgment on those who speak to a wooden stump and say, "Awake!" or to a dumb stone, "Arise! It will teach us." They cover these idols with gold and silver, but there is no breath in them.

In contrast, verse 20 states, "But the Lord is in His holy temple. Let all the earth keep silent before Him." This presents a great contrast for us. The gods of this world are silver and gold, the works of men's hands. They have eyes, but they do not see; they have hands, but they do not handle; they have mouths, but they do not speak; they have feet, but they do not walk. These are the foolish things that man bows down to, as the Psalms describe. The prophet Isaiah also speaks about this in Isaiah chapter 44.

He says, "It's a foolish man who goes out into the woods and chops down a tree. He uses part of the tree to burn a fire and cook himself a meal. Then he takes the rest of the tree and builds himself an idol. He bows down to the idol and says, 'Thank you for feeding me.' That's foolishness. That's stupidity. These foolish gods that the world bows down to.

You may think, 'Well, there's no idolatry today. We don't have these false gods to bow down to.' Listen, go to the Philippines. You'll see it like you've never seen it before. Go to Rome, and you'll see it like you can't even imagine as you walk through the streets of Rome. But even more so, look around our nation. Idolatry is rampant. It may not be in the form of silver or gold images that man bows down to, but there are many images on TV and on the internet that man worships. There are things driving down the street; you look at them with their 20-inch cool wheels that spin. These are the things that people are worshiping today. Idolatry is still rampant, and yet there's no breath in those things. They cannot save, but the Lord is in His holy temple. The Lord is still alive and still working.

Oftentimes, as you read through the prophetic books, God brings us back to that realization. The world is bowing down to all these things, but God is still alive. He's still there. He reminds us of the fact that He is still powerful.

As we come to Habakkuk chapter 3, here in this passage, we have the praise of Habakkuk as he prays to the Lord for mercy. In the first few verses, we read the prayer of Habakkuk the prophet upon the Shigunoth. "Oh Lord, I have heard Thy speech." After he hears what the Lord is going to do, he says, "And I was afraid, oh Lord." But then notice what he asks for: "Revive Thy works in the midst of the years; in the midst of the years make known. In wrath, remember mercy."

Habakkuk prays for revival. He prays even in the midst of God's prophetic word of judgment; he still prays for revival. He still prays, "God, revive Your work." Not revive my work, but "God, revive the work that You do in the midst of the land." Not only that, "Lord, make known Your wondrous power." He says, "Revive Thy work in the midst of the years; in the midst of the years make known."

"God, show these people that You still are alive, that even though You may not speak the way that they expect You to, even though You don't show mighty works the way they want You to, we still know that You are in Your holy temple. So, God, make Your work known. In wrath, remember mercy." This is an awesome thing about our God. Even as He is pouring out wrath,

He still is mindful of His mercy. Why? Well, that's the first thing that He characterizes Himself with. The Lord, the Lord God, is merciful. God is not up in heaven looking for an opportunity to pour out wrath. Sometimes people think that. They imagine God as if He is watching us on a TV screen, with His finger on the smite button, just ready to go.

Years ago, I remember seeing a comic strip that depicted God in heaven, this white-haired figure looking at a computer screen. There was a little guy walking down the street with a piano hanging over his head, and God had His finger on the button, about ready to push it. Sometimes that's how we think of God: ready to smite, ready to pour out His wrath. But even in the midst of wrath, we must remember mercy.

We don't deserve for God to revive His work in our generation. We don't deserve for God to do great things and show His power. Yet, we still cry out to Him, "Lord, even though we are deserving of Your wrath, we ask that You remember mercy and pour out." This is exactly what Habakkuk does at the beginning of Habakkuk chapter 3.

In verses 3 through 15 of Habakkuk chapter 3, Habakkuk reminds himself of God's merciful and powerful works. He recalls how God brought the children of Israel up out of Egypt, how He took care of them and brought them through the Red Sea on dry ground, how He fought for them while they were in the wilderness, and how He brought them into the promised land. Habakkuk goes back to the good things that God has done, and we must always do the same.

When we consider the heavy things—the trials, the tribulations, the difficult circumstances we face—just as Habakkuk does in Habakkuk chapter 3, verses 3 through 15, we need to take a step back and remember what God has done already. How has God worked in your life to bring you to this point on this day, July 5, 2008? What has He done in your life that has been good?

I think if we look back tonight, we could spend all night and maybe a couple of weeks here if we gave everyone an opportunity to share the good things that God has done. It is important to take a step back and consider what God has done. This is what Habakkuk does, and then in verse 16, he says that when he heard about what God was going to do, he trembled in fear and reverence before an almighty and powerful God.

But God does these things in our lives. He brings us to this point. Why? That I might rest in the day of trouble. When we realize who our God is, when we realize how awesome He is, and we look at the trouble that's going to come upon this earth in the form of God's wrath at the end of days, we also know the promise that He has given to us: that we find refuge in Him, that I may rest in the day of trouble.

When He comes up unto the people, He will invade them with His troops. Although the fig tree shall not blossom, neither shall the fruit be in the vines, the labor of the olive shall fail, and the field shall yield no meat; the flock shall be cut off from the fold, and there shall be no herd in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the Lord. I will joy in the God of my salvation. This is honest faith in the face of trouble.

There are those today who teach the health and wealth doctrine. These individuals promote health, wealth, and prosperity, and when cancer or something difficult comes into their lives, they resort to positive thinking, claiming that they don't really have it. No, that is not faith. They say faith is to stand up and declare, "I don't have it; I claim it in the name of Jesus; I'm not sick."

Look at what this man does in the face of trial and tribulation. He honestly considers what is facing him. He sees the problems, but he takes a step back and realizes that those problems are in the light of a great God. Although there is no fruit and everything seems to be falling apart, what was Habakkuk's stand? In verse 18, he declares, "Yet I will rejoice; I will have joy in the God of my salvation," even in the face of adversity, tribulation, trial, and distress.

His great bold proclamation in verse 19 states, "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, he says, "On my stringed instruments." Notice what he says there: when you have this kind of faith that looks at all the troubles, that sees the fruitlessness, that observes everything falling apart, when you have the kind of faith that is able to look beyond those things and see God, you can rejoice in the midst of that because God is your strength and He is your salvation. He says He will make my feet like hinds' feet on high places.

You know, a few months back...

There was that big thing on the Discovery Channel, the Planet Earth documentary, where they filmed a snow leopard chasing after a deer, a hind, on the side of a mountain cliff. This snow leopard was jumping around on the cliff, pouncing from rock to rock as if it had the surest footing, just like running down the street. If you and I were to climb up the side of that cliff, I think I would be shaking like crazy; I would be scared to death. However, this little deer was jumping around as if there were no problems at all.

When we have the kind of faith that looks beyond all the troubles and circumstances we face and sees our God, we can be like that deer, jumping around without worrying about what is going on around us. Why? Because He is the one who makes us walk upon those high places. He gives us that sure footing, and it’s awesome to see how this book begins. Habakkuk looks around, and it just doesn’t make sense. It’s similar to the Psalms, where the psalmist considers everything happening around them. Yet, they take a step back and consider their God.

As they reflect on the craziness around them and then consider God, they recognize, "What is man that you are mindful of him?" They acknowledge, "Lord, you are my strength and my salvation." The Lord is my strength, and He will make my feet like hinds' feet on high places. That is something to sing about.

Habakkuk ends with a message to the chief singer on stringed instruments. He reminds us to remember what God has done and what He is doing, even when it seems to bring us to a place of consternation. We may not understand how He could work in this way, yet we can say, "Lord, I will trust in You. I will set myself upon the tower; I will set myself upon the rampart, and I will watch to see what You will say and what I shall answer when I am reproved."

He acknowledges, "Lord, I might have a wrong understanding of this, so I leave it in Your hands. By faith, it is Yours to work with." Again, in verse 4, he states, "Behold, his soul which is lifted up is not right within him, but the just shall live by faith."

How are we to live in this life? From faith to faith, the just shall live by faith, says Romans 1, verse 17. It's interesting that this verse, "the just shall live by faith," is only three words in Hebrew. There is a word for "the just," a word for "shall live," and a word for "by faith."

When you look at the New Testament and read Romans, Romans 1, verse 17 states that the just shall live by faith, but the whole book of Romans focuses on the just. How are we justified? The entire book of Galatians, specifically Galatians 3, also says the just shall live by faith, but that book focuses on how we shall live. Then, Hebrews 10, verse 38 again quotes "the just shall live by faith," and it emphasizes what? By faith, because Hebrews chapter 11 speaks all about faith.

In this life, we are to live, walk, and move by faith, trusting in God, not by the circumstances that we see around us, because God is at work behind the scenes. All the events happening in our nation today show that God is working. Let me encourage you with that. He is working.

When you read the Old Testament, you see that the way He works is often different from how we think He should work. That's why He tells Isaiah in Isaiah 55, "My ways are not your ways." He has a plan. If you read the last book of the Bible, you will find out that He wins, and we win with Him. Amen? The just shall live by faith.

An interesting aspect of this verse is that it has inspired the church throughout the ages to great times of reformation. In the 1500s, there was a monk, a Catholic monk by the name of Martin Luther. Some of you may know about him. Sometimes, when we mention Martin Luther, people think of Martin Luther King, but he wasn't the first Martin Luther; he was named after the original Martin Luther.

This Martin Luther lived in Germany and was preparing to travel to Rome, the central location of the Catholic Church, which it still is today. However, going to Rome during the 1500s was not like traveling to Rome today. When I lived in Germany, we drove from northern Germany down to Rome in just a couple of days without any problem. But during that time, they didn't have planes, trains, or cars. He had to walk from northern Germany.

And go through the Alps. While Martin Luther was traveling through the Alps, he stayed at a monastery and became very sick. During this time, as he contemplated the Word of God while near death, the Lord brought this verse to his mind: "The just shall live by faith."

Afterward, he went down to Rome, which was filled with various relics and worship sites for Roman Catholics. One of the places he visited was a church in Rome that I have actually been to. It still exists today and features a set of stairs that the Catholic Church claims are the actual stairs taken from Pilate's place of judgment. These were the stairs that Jesus climbed as he was being judged by Pilate. The Catholic Church supposedly brought these stairs back from Jerusalem and placed them in this church in Rome. They even have spots on them that they say are traces of Jesus' blood, which you can still see today.

At that time, many pilgrims would come to Rome and climb these stairs on their knees. Each time they ascended to the next step, they would pray, either a Hail Mary or Our Father, or whatever it may be. Martin Luther, like many of the pilgrims, began to climb these stairs on his knees. As he prayed, the verse "The just shall live by faith" kept echoing in his mind.

The Catholic Church during that time was focused on works, bowing down to relics, and paying various fees. As he climbed the stairs, the phrase "The just shall live by faith" continued to resonate within him. In an act that was considered inappropriate on those stairs, he stood up in the middle of his ascent, turned around, and walked back down. He returned to Germany, and many scholars say that this moment marked the beginning of the Protestant Reformation.

It is not by works of righteousness that we have done, but by faith in Christ Jesus and the work that He did on our behalf. We are not only saved by faith; we walk by faith. From faith to faith, we live by faith. There will come a day when, by faith, we will take our last breath in this life and enter into eternity.

Let me tell you, the second you step into eternity, all the things of this world will mean absolutely nothing. Who won the presidency in the year 2008 won't matter at all when you step into eternity. Does that mean we don't vote? No. We still follow the Lord and do the things that He has called us to do here on earth, but He is still in control and on the throne.

Let's stand and pray. God, I thank you for...

That reminder tonight is that You are on the throne, in control, and working a work in our days that we wouldn't even believe if it were told to us. Lord, how absolutely, totally blown away we would be tonight if You spoke to us the same sort of things that You spoke to Habakkuk.

But, Lord, we are living in a nation that is in decline. We are living in a nation that has largely rebelled against You and turned from You. Yes, there are still a lot of believers in this nation today. There is still a remnant, a very great remnant, that knows You and loves You and is crying out to You to work a work of revival. So, Lord, we keep asking that You would revive us and that You would make Your work known. In wrath, remember mercy.

But, Lord, should this nation be judged? As it seems in many ways we have experienced over the last several years, when we look at the things that have taken place in our nation over the last twenty or so years and line that up with Your Word, we see that there are many things that reveal You have removed Your hand of protection. Yet, Lord, we ask that in wrath You would remember mercy. Just as You promised through the prophet Joel that You would pour out Your Spirit upon all flesh in these last days and that You would work a great work of revival, may revival start right here, right now, where we are.

Just as I believe it was Martin Lloyd-Jones who said that if you want revival, draw a circle around yourself with chalk and seek the Lord that He would bring revival into that circle. So, Lord, we ask that You would bring revival to each of us individually. The time has come that judgment must begin at the house of the Lord. If it begins with us first, Lord, then You can begin to work in and through Your church.

We, Your people who are called by Your name, cry out to You tonight. We humble ourselves before You and ask that You would move and work in our nation and heal our nation. For we ask it in Jesus' name. Amen.