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The Harvester Podcast is brought to you by the Florida School of Preaching. Listen weekly to take a dive into biblical topics and thoughtful studies on things that matter to our eternal souls.
Welcome to the Harvester podcast.
We are glad that you are joining us for this fifth season, majoring in the minors, the
minor profits that is.
And this is episode nine and we're going to cover the small book of Habakkuk.
And I'm one of your hosts, Brian Kenyon, and with me are
Forest Antemesaris
Steven Ford
And we're happy to bring you this powerful message in Habakkuk.
And when we think about the book of Habakkuk, there are some New Testament verses that
come to mind.
But Forrest is going to guide us in this study today.
And so we hope if you're not in the car driving, you'll be able to sit down and open up
your Bible with us.
If not, trust us, we're reading it from the Bible.
So we got Habakkuk here Habakkuk chapter 1 verse 1 just tells us the oracle or the burden
that Habakkuk the prophet saw and uh This book is usually dated to around 640 to 615 BC
kind of depends, you know on what book you read So it's kind of but it's before the fall
of Assyria and the rise of Babylon ah but it's looking forward to
really the judgment that God will enact on his own people through Babylon, who of course
is not only going to destroy Assyria, but to grow and kind of expand that empire, and
eventually going to be an instrument of God's judgment upon his own people, especially the
Southern Kingdom and Judah, as Jerusalem is destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar in 586 and Israel,
or sorry, Judah goes into captivity.
But it really is set up kind of as a conversation between the prophet and God.
And there's a kind of like a spiral.
I used to call it a cycle, but it never restarts.
So it's more of like a spiral where you see Habakkuk, he starts with despair over the
wickedness of his own people.
And he asks God, you know, when are you going to act?
God tells him, I'm going to use the Chaldeans.
So then the despair leads to anger.
And Habakkuk says, how can you use a people more wicked than us, right?
To enact judgment on us.
And God essentially tells him, hey, you got to live by faith, right?
And then that leads to faith, and then the faith leads to praise.
So you go from despair to anger to faith to praise.
And you kind of see that break out in Habakkuk um as he has this conversation with God,
this dialogue.
I think Habakkuk, you know, in a way stands for the people of God when they go through
this kind of wrestling with how God is using in his providence the things around us to
make everything right in the end.
And we're not going to see the beginning to the end.
Like it requires us to have some faith and to live by faith.
which is Habakkuk 2-4, kind that famous verse that comes up a lot in the New Testament.
But that's our responsibility.
We see kind of Habakkuk learn that throughout this book.
So the first complaint that Habakkuk has is in verses 2-4 of Habakkuk 1.
And he essentially is asking, when will God deal with the sinfulness of Judah, his own
people?
And he says, how long shall I cry for help?
And you will not hear, O Lord, or cry to your violence, and you will not save.
Why do you make me see iniquity?
Why do you oddly look at wrong?
Destruction and violence are before me, strife and contention arise.
The law is paralyzed, justice never goes forth.
The wicked surround the righteous, justice is perverted." So, Habakkuk's essentially
complaining about the wickedness that he sees around him.
I think anytime you have a godly person in a wicked place, this is kind of what it's going
to be like, right?
Like, think about Lot and Sodom, where the Bible tells us his soul was tormented, right?
Just looking around.
And eventually God acts, right?
But here, Habakkuk, you don't get to choose how God deals with what you see as the problem
of wickedness, you know?
And think Paul had that same reaction in Athens when he saw the idolatry there.
um But I'd like to point out here that, you know, I think of Job and think of Habakkuk as
two men, righteous men, who question God.
Now when you question God, there's two aspects of questioning God.
The one is definitely not a place for it when you challenge God as to why he's doing what
he's doing.
I don't think Habakkuk's doing that.
I think he is
asking sincerely from a heart like job what's going on here right and to ask god for
explanation maybe amount of the Vanessa right were the so kate uh...
ash questions as long as we have the right edges long as we're willing to accept what god
has to say and accept that answer which course of a kick does ram but to challenge god
call his hand as it were
no place at all for that but that's not what he is doing
Yeah, it's a good point.
It's a good distinction.
So like God allows various people to question his actions, but not his attributes maybe.
So God, why is this happening?
Why is that happening?
Even with Jonah, God had like a dialogue with Jonah.
But Jonah remembered God is holy and just.
wasn't like Jonah was like, hey God, you're unfair, you're unholy.
And even Habakkuk, he acknowledges God, you're from everlasting, you all these things,
you're holy.
And there's never like a questioning of the nature of.
He's never disparaging God
struggling with what's going on.
I'm wrestling with what I'm seeing and how you may carry it out, but it's never like a
question of the holiness of God.
And like to Brian's point, know, God allows us and perhaps even invites us to bring our
frustrations and bring our questions and our disappointments that we struggle with and
grapple with, but as long as we keep God in his place, acknowledging that he's always God,
he is always just, he's always holy.
Yeah, absolutely.
And so, you know, that first complaint, okay, how are you going to deal with all this
wickedness around me in Judah?
So the Lord answers beginning of verse five and he tells him, God says, I'm going to use
the Babylonians to punish Judah.
He says, look among the nations and see wonder and be astounded for I'm doing a work in
your days that you would not believe if told.
For behold, I'm rising up the Chaldeans, that bitter and hasty nation who marched through
the breadth of the earth to seize dwellings not their own.
They're dreaded, they're fearsome.
They get justice and needily going out from themselves.
Verse 8, their horses are swifter than leopards.
They're fierce.
They're like an eagle devouring.
They all come for violence.
Their faces are forward.
They gather captives.
They scoff at kings.
They laugh at rulers.
They laugh at fortresses.
They sweep up like the wind and go on.
And their might is their God.
So that probably is not the answer Habakkuk was looking for, right?
yet which also i think tremendous lesson here as well this you know our thoughts are not
his thoughts exactly i mean he he knows we would have acted would not even if had a clue
about this except i'd reveal it to him and it's like what and there is a bowl another
series of questions
Yeah, exactly.
uh
why I love that God tells us, vengeance is mine, I'll repay.
There's no way in the world that we would know how to mete out justice appropriately.
God is like, I'll handle that part.
You do the loving, you do the forgiving, you do the accepting, you do the teaching, you do
the helping and all that kind of stuff, I worry about justice.
And it can seem far outside the realm of our ability to process it.
Well, wait a minute, God, why would you do it that way?
It's a crazy thing, because he literally asks,
God, I need you to do something.
He's like, here's what I'm gonna do.
Wait, why are you gonna do that?
Not that way, you know, that's not what I would do.
But that's why God is who he is.
And it's our job not to necessarily worry about the why, but just the who.
The being is the only thing we need to worry about.
Is it God is in control?
All I'm good.
Imagine like thinking about a problem and the solution is something you couldn't even
think of like how would you solve that problem?
It's like it's like one of those old game shows like and behind door number three like
there's this mystery item You know what it means like I said back X thinking about how is
God gonna fix this problem?
Never in his mind is always gonna use the Babylonians to come and carry his people
captive, you know, and I think that just shows us like you were saying
We don't know all the variables.
don't know the best option.
We don't know, you know, other than what God has told us, we're really, I mean, kind of in
the dark on some stuff, you know?
And we can't be, we don't know the future.
We don't know people's hearts.
There's just so much we don't know.
And you could drive yourself crazy trying to do God's job.
God is omniscient, infinite, we are finite and very limited.
There you go, absolutely.
So this just leads to a second complaint, right?
The first complaint is, God, deal with Judah, they're sinful.
Second complaint is, how are we going to use a more wicked nation to punish Judah?
So, you know, Hebeket comes to God and again not questioning his attributes.
Like Steven mentioned, he says, Are you not from everlasting?
O Lord, my God, my Holy One, we shall not die.
O Lord, you have ordained them as a judgment, and you, O Rock, have established them for
reproof.
For you who are of purer eyes than to see evil and cannot look at wrong, why do you idly
look at traitors and remain silent when the wicked swallows up the man more righteous than
he?" And I think this actually is a good question, right?
Like, God is holy, how can he use evil without endorsing it?
And I think that for us, this might not be big question, but I think there's a lot of
people who like wonder that, like, how is it that God stays holy, but can use evil for his
purposes?
Yeah, that's an awesome point, uh actually question, that is intriguing.
Back later on it says, are of so great character you cannot even look upon wickedness.
it's like, but yet he uses that.
Jesus, when he was on the earth, know, he interacted with wicked people uh and used them
as a teaching thing.
But I mean, yeah, that's a tremendous thing.
and that's maybe one of those things we cannot fully understand the after the god god does
that and it's amazing how he does
And it kind of goes back to, I think it's just Joseph with his brothers, he meant it for
evil and God meant it for good, right?
Where God didn't make his brothers sell them into slavery and all that stuff, but he knew
they were going to.
And he, through his providence, is able to orchestrate this, really the salvation of the
people of God, right?
Through Joseph being sold into slavery.
It also points to the fact that with God, there are certain questions that think God wants
us to ask and there will be answers for.
And there are certain questions that we just have to trust him for.
ah So you think about why and how would God use these wicked people and well the question,
to me that's kind of a moot point.
The question isn't why would God use them.
The question is, was Israel being wicked at this time?
The answer is yes.
Is God one who's just is gonna punish evil?
Yes.
So then the answer is God will do it how he desires and how he sees fit.
And then you think about, well, what about Babylon?
They're terrible.
Keep reading.
Just keep reading.
Just wait a little while.
They're going to experience the same exact thing.
Like we mentioned in a previous episode about Assyria, Assyria's not gonna get away with
it.
And neither will Babylon.
And neither will Israel.
They're being told, hey look, Habakkuk's crying out.
God's like, no, I got it.
I got it.
They're going to get what's coming to them and so will every other nation.
And this whole, like none of this is an indictment of God.
It's an indictment of sin.
You know, like whether it's Judah, whether it's Babylon, whoever it is, that's the issue
here.
It's not God.
um So Habakkuk keeps going in chapter one and he uses the example of like a fisherman in a
drag net where he just takes all the fish and kills them and then sacrifices to the net
and then keeps on emptying his net.
And essentially he's asking, verse 17, is he then to keep on emptying his net and
mercilessly killing nations forever?
In other words,
I'm gonna let Babylon just go and go and go and kill everybody and you know take over the
earth and Hebechic says in chapter 2 verse 1 I'll stand at my watchposts station myself on
the tower look out to see what he will say to me and what I will answer concerning my
complaint so he's eager to get this answer like he really it's almost like you can't sleep
until you hear word back you know to me like he's like I'm gonna watch and wait for God to
respond to me and and God does
And his answer essentially is, hey, I'll deal with the Babylonians in my own time.
Your responsibility is to live by faith, right?
And at end of the day, that's really what it comes down to is God, let God be God, right?
And you have faith in Him and do what you can do.
And that's what he's going to tell Habakkuk essentially.
He says the vision is going to be plain on tablets so he may run, can read it.
He says, uh vision awaits, verse 3, chapter 2, it's a point in time, it hastens to the
end, it will not lie, if it seems slow, wait for it, it will surely come, it will not
delay.
In other words, God is not slack concerning His promise, right?
He's going to make it right in His timing.
He says, behold, His soul is puffed up, it is not upright within Him, but the righteous
shall live by faith.
And that's really the lesson for Habakkuk, is to have that faith in God.
then, beginning in verse number 6,
through nineteen you've got five woes to Babylon or woes to the Chaldeans.
The first in verse six, woe to him who heaps up what is not his own for how long and loads
himself with pledges.
Verse nine, woe to him who gets evil gain for his house to set his nest on high to be safe
from the reach of harm.
Verse twelve, woe to him who builds a town with blood and founds a city on iniquity.
Verse fifteen, woe to him who makes his neighbors drink.
You pour out your wrath and make them drunk in order to gaze at their nakedness.
Verse 19, woe to him who says to a wooden thing, awake to a silent stone arise, can this
teach?
Behold, it is overlaid with gold and silver, and there is no breath in it.
So there in Habakkuk 2, you got these woes to the Chaldeans.
So that's God telling Habakkuk, I'm going to deal with the Babylonians, right?
Like, you don't have to worry about it.
God says, I'm going to deal with the Babylonians.
And then verse 20, right after this discussion of idolatry, it says, the Lord is in his
holy temple.
Let all the earth keep silence before him.
And I think that's so important for Habakkuk because
And it's not like God is telling Habakkuk, you know, like to be quiet, but there's a
reverence and awe that God deserves and God is not like idols, right?
Idols are silent before the earth, but the earth is silent before God.
And that's a huge difference that just when you're in the presence of God, when you
realize who he is, you are humbled and you accept what he's saying and what he's doing.
and that's it's right into the context here with a back because it's like don't worry god
does take care of this just give him on respect is go back to your business you be you and
let god be god right and i will take care of these things
That's why that verse, I kind of tie all these together in my mind at least, verse four,
chapter two, where he says, listen, the soul is lifted up, it's not right with any them,
but the just shall live by his faith.
So look, again, it's not about figuring out all the dotted I's and crossed T's for us.
I'm just gonna trust God.
God says, hey, I got it.
You sit back, you worry about trusting me.
I'll deal with the what, when, where, why, how.
And then verse 14, he says,
The earth should be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord.
Then verse 20 again, the Lord's in his holy temple.
Everybody just be quiet.
And it's like, okay, my job isn't to fret, worry, fight, contend.
My job is to just trust whatever God says.
When he says move, I move.
When he says be still, I be still.
And that's all my job is.
And that makes it lot easier when I just let God be God, as y'all were saying.
It's not the place of the child of God.
to presume to know what God should or shouldn't do.
It's our job to just say, God, I trust you.
uh
Like, he's gonna do his thing.
He's gonna do what's right, you know?
And that's why our job, we do have a job to live by faith.
Yeah, and I think that plays into in the New Testament where Paul talks about that peace
that passes understanding that when that's how that's attainable just letting letting go
and letting God right and and he'll do what's right.
Yeah
Definitely.
So chapter three all is a prayer from Habakkuk and then like a kind of a song at the end
um But it says in verse two, I'm just gonna kind of do the the highlight reel But this is
essentially Habakkuk's response, right?
We went from despair to anger We're gonna see faith here and then at the end we're gonna
see praise But Habakkuk says he will wait for God's justice He will trust him and he will
praise him in the meantime, right?
It's not all gonna wait for you to destroy Babylon.
Then I'll praise you
I'm gonna praise you even now when my people are still gonna go into captivity and Babylon
still gonna have their their moment of fame, you know uh Chapter 3 verse 2 he says Lord
I've heard the report of you and your work Lord Do I fear in the midst of the years revive
it in the midst of the years make it known and wrath remember mercy in other words God we
know you're gonna fulfill your word just he's praying that when God is pouring out his
wrath on his people that he will remember the mercy
And then if you jump all the way to verse 16, he says, speaking of Babylon coming to
Judah, says, hear my body trembles, my lips quiver at the sound, rottenness enters into my
bones, my legs tremble beneath me, yet I will quietly wait for the day of trouble to come
upon people who invade us.
So again, that's that statement of faith where I know Babylon's going to deal with Judah,
but I trust that God will deal with Babylon.
And that leads us to the praise section right here in verses 17 through 19, where he,
Habakkuk doesn't just go from complaining against God, but he goes all the way to praising
God.
And he says, Though the fig trees should not blossom, nor fruit be on the vines, the
produce of the olive fail, the fields yield no food, the flock be cut off, from the fall
there be no herd in the stalls.
Yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will take joy in the God of my salvation.
God the Lord is my strength.
makes my feet like the deers.
He makes me tread on my hide places.
So Habakkuk goes all the way to the point where he says I'm going to find joy through the
difficult times and I'm going to find the joy in God, right?
In his promises, in his character, in his ability, not in the condition of Judah, not in
Babylon or whatever, but in what God has said, what God is capable of, what God is going
to do.
of the endings of just about all the minor prophets.
uh The end of Habakkuk and the end of Zephaniah are probably among my favorites.
Just how they are worded.
When Habakkuk ends, it's like you look to one side and he's like, look, everything is
gonna be.
potentially miserable and terrible.
The fig tree won't blossom, the fruit's not gonna be in the vines.
So you're not gonna turn to one side, see, man, look at all these potential things that
could happen.
Then he turns to the other side, but I'm rejoicing the Lord.
I'm gonna join the God of my salvation.
I love that he says he's not gonna rejoice in what God gives.
uh I'm not gonna rejoice in the fact that God, you're gonna give me back money and land
and property and all this kind of stuff, no.
I'm enjoy this in the Lord and my joy will be in the God that brings salvation.
It's not the salvation that God gives, but the one who gives the salvation.
And it's just like there's this kind of like a consolation that he kinda comes to.
He's like, look, I don't get it all maybe.
I don't know the whole rhyme and reason for it all.
I'm gonna just put my faith in God and trust God and.
God, whatever you have, I'm gonna rejoice in it.
This is like coming to like a, this is kind of a final thought in his mind about just
trusting the Lord.
And that's true joy, that's true peace, like Brian was talking about, the peace that
passes all understanding, that only comes through faith.
oh
comes in.
now I like the way the ESV read the one verse where where Habakkuk says I will quietly
wait on the Lord Yeah, and that quietly is a big contrast to chapter one verse one and
that first complaint, right?
Because there he was all it sound like he was all anxious and yeah, and all worrying about
stuff But now he said I will quietly yeah, which I think also goes back to the point we
made earlier about You know, he was questioning God and beginning
but he accepted the answer because of who God is.
Right.
And so again, it's not wrong to have questions as long as we're willing to go to God's
word or God himself in Habakkuk's case and accept the answers.
Right.
Unlike, you know, the Pharisees and stuff that would ask Jesus questions to try to trap
them, you know, or whatever.
And so
The intention of the question matters.
Well, we'll go back through and hit some of the positivity here, the hope, the
restoration.
We've already touched on, I think, all these.
The first kind of obvious one is in Habakkuk chapter two, verse number four, where it
says, the righteous shall live by faith.
And that's repeated in Romans 1.17.
Talking about the gospel, right?
And how it's from faith for faith, the righteous shall live by faith.
And how, you know, you're made just.
That's really one of Paul's whole points in the book of Romans.
You're made just or made righteous through your faith in Jesus Christ, not through keeping
the law.
And then it's also quoted in Galatians 311 in Hebrews chapter 10, verse 38.
And I had a teacher, Fried Hardeman.
I don't know how to confirm this.
Like, I believe him, you know, but he said that in like the ancient.
I don't know if you guys have ever heard this, like.
And the ancient scrolls, like the scroll that Paul probably would have had of the Minor
Prophets, what we know as Habakkuk 2-4 was like in the opening between the two pieces, it
would be the Hebrew you always saw.
So like, know, because the scroll closes, but doesn't close all the way, there's a gap
between the two rolls.
And in that gap is Habakkuk 2-4.
So it's almost like the center of the collection of the Minor Prophets was Habakkuk 2-4.
It was a verse that was well known and people would have known, obviously.
But it is fulfilled in the New Testament age, right?
This idea of the righteous living by faith is a verse that Paul alludes to a couple
different times in the Hebrews author to show um the superiority of the New Covenant over
the Old Covenant and the law.
And it was always God's goal.
It was always God's intention for people.
If you're going to be righteous, it's not through keeping the law.
It's living by faith, right?
Abraham.
same thing.
And of course the Jews of Jesus' day and Paul's day, they were dependent upon themselves
and their ability to be circumcised and all this other different kind of stuff.
But in Christ we really see the fulfillment of this, the righteous are led by faith.
And that's what Habakkuk needed to do, that's what the people of Judah needed to do,
that's what we need to do.
Yeah.
It's always been the exact same.
God has always wanted us to put, though the system of law has changed, the response that
man has has always been the same.
God always wants man to put their complete, unyielding faith and trust in him.
And that is what's going to save mankind from the days of Adam, Noah, Moses on through to
today.
our faith in him.
Abraham, you know, that's, get thee out of thy country and from thy kindred and from thy
father's house.
that required faith, and that's why Abraham is the father of the faith, But we see that
throughout, as Steven just mentioned, that's just a thread that runs throughout scripture,
both old and new, and we see it right here in Habakkuk.
I love how the Hebrews writer picks up on it again.
He quotes it virtually, know, verses three and four.
Yeah, where he's like, listen, this is how it is.
like you just mentioned, if this would have been a kind of a famous or well-known passage
for them, he cites it and then he kind of adds a little bit of commentary when he says, we
are not of them who draw back unto perdition, but we're of them that believe that saving
the soul.
So we're not going to
draw back away from God, draw back away from what he offers, but we're going to believe,
have faith in him, to what end?
The saving of the soul.
And it's the same thing that Habakkuk is trying to convey, that when we put our faith in
trusting God, salvation comes.
God's gonna take care of it.
We just gotta trust him.
And I think that there's, mean, people used to talk like this.
haven't, people don't really talk like this anymore, but like faith is a virtue.
You know what I mean?
And it does enable you and empower you to live a virtuous life.
And if you don't have faith, like if you don't trust God, if you don't, your life is going
to go a certain trajectory.
You know what I mean?
Like you're going to, and you're going to be miserable and cynical and all this different
kind of stuff.
And you're not going to be able to overcome.
And like you were saying, like the Hebrews author says in Hebrews 10 verse 38,
We don't draw back.
We persevere onto the saving of our souls, right?
Like that's what faith really is that like Habakkuk, even when times are tough and you
don't get it, you're still holding on.
You're still trusting God and that is what gets you through.
Yeah, you think of the connection with the Hebrews, know, the structure of Jerusalem kind
of looming on the horizon, and yet Habakkuk is living through that same type of thing with
the wickedness and all of that, and so there's a great connection between Habakkuk and,
which I didn't realize until now, with the Hebrews writer over there, just in the context,
cultural, historical.
Yeah, I never thought about that either.
Yeah, that's a good point.
Your faith always affects your life.
Whether, on any front, if your financial advisor says, hey man, you better stop spending,
you better do this, if you really trust, okay, if I can do these things, I can retire with
this, I'll be alright.
If the doctor says, hey man, you gotta stop eating this, start taking this pill, if you
really have faith in what he's saying, it'll cause you to live a certain way.
I cut out the fast food, I gotta do this.
If you really believe the plan, and the same with God, if you really believe the plan.
then you'll work the plan.
The plan has benefits.
It will enhance your life, it'll enrich your life, it'll bring you peace.
And it's not like that prosperity stuff, if you put your faith in God, then the bank
account tomorrow's gonna be great, and then you'll have health.
No, you'll still be subject to some of the same things that everybody else is subject to.
You'll be subject to sickness, you'll be subject to poverty or whatever else could come,
but it will change your life and that those things will be in their proper place.
So they will matter.
but not as much.
Going back to what Brian mentioned earlier, you'll be able to have, instead of the anxiety
because of those things, you'll be able have the peace and pass understanding.
Because you'll know, this is only for a short while anyway.
I'm a pilgrim, I'm going home.
So whatever issues come, they'll still be real.
However, your mind is completely captivated, going back to Colossians 3, not back to, but
to Colossians 3.
My mind, my heart, my affection, my focus is all in heaven in all heavenly things.
So whatever happens down here, you know, it's temporary.
Yeah, there's still storms, but you can sleep in the bow of the ship like Jesus did, you
know, because you know where the power is at Yeah Another I think limber of hope and also
kind of pointing toward the New Covenant Habakkuk chapter 2 verse 14 Talking about when
he's in the middle of the woes to the Babylonians He says for the earth will be filled
with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord as the waters cover the sea and there's some
you know, like
pre-millennialists and others who kind of like apply this to the future, like after Jesus
comes back and all that different kind of stuff.
But I think this really is pointing toward the new covenant age.
know, like if you think about the Great Commission where Jesus says in Matthew 28, 18
through 20, go and make disciples of all the nations.
Right.
And if you think about it, there, I mean, there are members of Christ's church throughout
the whole world, right?
Like the knowledge of the glory of the Lord is covering the world.
Now, maybe
There's going be an extent to that when Jesus comes back for sure because every eye will
see him every knee will bow every time will confess about Paul even talks about Colossians
1 5 through 6 that You know the gospel has been preached to every nation under heaven
there in Colossians chapter 1 so this idea Really is fulfilled that God God is gonna make
his glory known right and he doesn't he he allows us to be co-workers But he doesn't he's
not dependent upon us for that right he gives us that commission But God's gonna do what
he can to make make his glory known in the world
Yeah, fact that God's glory, says the earth shall be filled.
with the knowledge of the glory of Lord.
That's just, it's not gonna be these pockets, know, but these people over here and those
people over there, you know, it will be to the brim with the knowledge of his glory, which
is just an awesome concept is, you like you just mentioned this great commission repeated
in, you know, Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, and Acts.
Go to everybody.
You're in Jerusalem, yeah, but I want you to go to Judea and Samaria, the uttermost parts
of world.
Go everywhere.
and tell everybody the good news about the kingdom of God.
eh And from that point, they've gone out to share that message and we do the same thing.
Right and for a backache, you know, you might think well What is gonna do for God's glory
if his own people are carried off in captivity, right?
But fast forward maybe can add is eating grass from the ground like a like an animal
talking about there's only one God So like yeah, God's gonna use Babylon Babylon is gonna
get huge guess what God's gonna do in Babylon Humble them right and they're gonna glorify
God.
So it's like there's no
possibility there's no equation where God doesn't receive the glory and God doesn't win
and it's like our responsibility is to have faith, right?
But God is even glorified even in those things too.
Even in low moments of humanity.
Like we talked about, I think when we were uh discussing Nahum, when judgment comes to any
nation, it just demonstrates God's holiness against evil, period, no matter who it is.
And so God is magnified even in the judgment of his people.
Because what is he saying?
I'm holy and sin.
won't be tolerated.
And so he's magnified and glorified even if he's meeting out judgment.
It's not that God is glorified like how we would do it today.
You I got the new job, God is glorified.
You know, I'm healthy now, God is glorified.
I know he's glorified.
Like Paul would say, look, if I live or die, I'm a magnified God in my body.
It doesn't matter what happens.
And so God is glorified all the time, no matter.
Yeah, I think we said in Habakkuk and Job was mentioned already like I think the lesson
part of the lesson there is God is as good on your worst day as he is on your best day.
Amen.
And sometimes we don't think about it that way.
it takes faith on our part to know that that's cuz sometimes we get caught up in the
things going wrong right now we have to get that uh the same god has always been
absolutely will be and he can help us out
sure And then of course is this hope here and we already read about Habakkuk 3 17 through
19 right where you can have you can rejoice in the Lord and that's what Paul says right in
Philippians rejoice in the Lord always You won't always be able to rejoice in your
circumstances or in your bank account or in your whatever But if you're in the Lord,
there's always a reason to rejoice in the Lord regardless of what's going on around you
And we see that with a backache, you know
The fig tree's not working, there's no fruit on the vines.
Imagine going to the grocery store and the shelves are bare.
And you're praising God.
You know what mean?
That is what we see Habakkuk doing here.
I will rejoice in God.
Why?
He's the God of my salvation.
And He will let me be like the deer to tread on these high places or these slippery places
where through faith in Him, I can go through it.
Now, going through it might be, I perish.
But this isn't the end of the story, right?
Like when Paul talks about in 2nd Timothy, the Lord will deliver me from every evil work
and usher me into his kingdom.
Sometimes that looks like Nero decapitating you, but what's next?
You get to be with the Lord, right?
So, Habakkuk, I think that's the mindset.
I love Habakkuk because you get to, sometimes we talk about these heroes of the faith or
whatever and it's like...
from day one they just have perfect faith.
You see Habakkuk grow into a place of trust and rejoicing and praise and I think that's
realistic, that's all of us, Where we kind of have these things that happen to us and
maybe we're in similar dialogue with God, what is going on, you know?
And God through His Word is able to get us to a place of perspective and peace and joy
that really can only come through faith in Him.
One of things I just thought about is I love that we get records like this and there's
things that we're kind of discussing and we don't just get to see God's people enjoying
the fat of the land.
We get to see God's people endure hardship and lean times.
It just made me think about this woman that's mentioned in scripture who's in despair
saying, listen, I got enough food to feed me and my kid, then we're go die.
And the prophet says, well, I want you to pour this oil.
And it's like, whoa, wait, this oil just kind of never ends and never ends.
She's got all this oil and it's like, God was good when the oil was empty.
He was good when it was full.
And God is good in lean years.
He's good in, and so I think we in our culture, myself included, sometimes can be so
material driven that we look at the positives and see God in those.
only or exclusively and God is as present when my cabinets are full as he is when my
cabinets are empty.
He doesn't change, his love for me doesn't change, his provision doesn't change.
The way he may provide might be different but my job is to say God I trust you like you
mentioned.
Worst case scenario in the physical world is I die but then what happens to believers is
they die.
Oh yeah, we get eternal life and peace with God.
the perspective has to really change.
has to go to like 2 Corinthians 4, you know.
I'm looking at the carnal, temporary stuff.
I need to be looking up at heavenly things, because this stuff's gonna pass away one day.
And even if this body passes away, I have a building of God, not made with hands, eternal
in the heavens.
And so, there is literally, and this is, like, you people say literally all time.
My daughters say the word literally all time.
I'm like, that's not what literally means.
But there is literally no losing for Christians.
There's nothing that defeats the faithful believer.
Now, I want to preface this, I the faithful believer, I'm not, know, for those that are
truly faithful to Christ, there is absolutely no loss.
Yeah.
Amen.
alright great discussion we've had on a back it can we appreciate your being with us again
if you have any questions comments if whatever you have a please contact us we'd be happy
to talk with you and that we thank you for listening we will look at the book of zephaniah
in our next episode and we hope you can join us then