[0:00] well read and it's in the Old Testament. It's a minor prophet. It's the book of Habakkuk. And so it's about the fourth book from the end. And I got interested in reading Habakkuk this fall when Ellie and I were doing devotions. And, you know, we read through it and it just didn't, you know, if you read one chapter a night, it just doesn't flow. And then we hit the last two verses and it just, it really caught me because it just, it just spoke right when we're doing harvest. It just spoke. So I thought, I'm going to reread through Habakkuk and study it. And it really, wow, does it ever hit. It's an interesting book because it's, it's a, it's a dialogue between God and Habakkuk. He makes a, he does, he makes some verses. God does some verses. Habakkuk makes some verses. God talks to him and then Habakkuk finishes off. So if we, if you want to look, look at your, in your book. So the, just before Zephaniah and just after Nahum. So the book is written in the timeframe is about 626 BC. So it's just, yeah, about 626 years before Christ.
[1:39] Nahum, Zephaniah and Jeremiah were all contemporaries. So the book was written about the same time as those other books. And the Assyrians, you know, they had been the big player in the field and they were, they're now off the field. And Babylon is the mighty power. Like Babylon is the great power.
[2:02] Babylon had just defeated the Egyptians. They kind of went past Israel and defeated Egypt. And then, and then Jeremiah in his book announced that Babylon would invade Judah, destroying Jerusalem and destroy the temple, sending Israel into exile. And this happened between 606 and 586.
[2:29] So if we open our, open our book, cause I'm going to read the whole chapter or the whole book. It's only three chapters. Habakkuk was very distressed. The oracle that Habakkuk, the prophesied, prophet received, how long, O Lord, must I call for help? But you do not listen or cry out to you violence, but you do not save. Why do you make me look at injustice? Why do you tolerate wrong?
[3:03] Destruction and violence are before me. There is strife and conflict abounds. Therefore, the law is paralyzed and justice never prevails. The wicked hem in the righteous so that justice is perverted.
[3:22] Habakkuk was very distressed. He points out that violence, injustice, wrong, destruction, strife, and conflict abound. This is a picture of Israel. This is a, they were spiraling downward, ever so away from God, more and more, since David was king in 1015 BC. So almost 400 years.
[3:51] There was, there was a real mixture of religious ideas. Solomon's temple mixed with idolatry. God's law, the Ten Commandments, the book of Leviticus, Deuteronomy, they were ignored.
[4:11] You know, you can think of the horribleness. Children were being sacrificed to the god of Molech. Like they had a, they built a statue, a metal statue. They get a fire burning in this thing that was red hot.
[4:30] And then they put their kids on it. That's the kind of depravity that these people had. They would burn up, barbecue their own children. So this is, this is what, this is what, that Habakkuk was, he was, he was just really distraught. These were terrible times.
[4:51] You know, the temple prostitutes at the high places, you know, and it just, they had gone totally away from God. They had just ignored God. And, but we look at that, we read this, but then it hits me.
[5:09] Look at Habakkuk's attitude to God. Let's reread those verses. So we look at that.
[5:44] Look at Habakkuk's attitude. He is blaming God for being inept, uncaring. It's as if it's God's fault that the law is being ignored.
[5:58] Israel felt this after, you know, Israel felt this after the Holocaust. It was this, this kind of the same attitude. You know, they were, yeah, we're God's people, but you allowed the Germans, you allowed Hitler to kill us.
[6:12] So it's very much the same attitude, and it's kind of prevalent in Israel today. We're often, personally, we're often like Habakkuk.
[6:24] We often accuse God of ignoring what has happened. You know, how many times do we say, God, if only you would do this, but you're not doing anything. And God is.
[6:37] How often does it feel like the ceiling is lead-lined, and God does not hear our prayers? Ah, God, why don't you answer me? You're just, you're just not doing anything.
[6:50] God's rebuttal. The Lord's answer, verses 5 to 11. Look at the nations and watch.
[7:02] Be utterly amazed, for I'm going to do something in your days that you would not believe, even if it were told. I'm raising up the Babylonians, that ruthless and impetuous people who sweep across the whole earth to seize dwelling places not their own.
[7:21] They're a feared and dreaded people. They're feared and dreaded. They are a law to themselves and promote their own honor.
[7:33] Their horses are swifter than leopards, fiercer than wolves at dusk. Their cavalry gallops headlong. Their horsemen come from afar. They fly like vultures, swooping to devour.
[7:45] They all come bent on violence. Their hordes advance like a desert wind and gather prisoners like sand. They deride kings, scoff at rulers. They laugh at all fortified cities.
[7:56] They build earthen ramps and capture them. Then they sweep past like the winds and go on. Guilty men whose own strength is their God.
[8:09] Babylonians. Ruthless, impetuous people. If you read through the Bible, right from Genesis to Revelation, there is nothing ever positive described in Babylonians.
[8:26] The Babylonians started out with the Tower of Babel. That they came, they had this idea that we're going to be this, we're going to do our own thing.
[8:38] We're going to build this tower. Ignore God. We're going to be our own people. And, you know, Nebuchadnezzar was, you know, he was the king destroying.
[8:53] He was the one that took out the Israelites. And then to the fall of Babylon in Revelation 18. I'm going to read Revelation 18. And this describes what's going to happen.
[9:06] Or what the Babylonians are like. Revelation 18, verses 1 to 8.
[9:18] After this, I saw another angel come down from heaven. He had great authority and the earth was illuminated by his splendor. With a mighty voice he shouted, Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great.
[9:33] She has become a house of demons. And a haunt for every evil spirit. A haunt for every unclean and undetestable bird. For all the nations have drunk maddening wine of her adulteries.
[9:44] The kings of the earth committed adultery with her. And the merchants of her earth grew rich from her excessive luxuries. Then I heard another voice from heaven.
[9:55] I'll just go that far. But, yeah, this is, you know, Babylon at the end times, which could be coming very soon.
[10:06] Babylon is just, you know, she is described as, as a, you know, a home. She has become a home for demons. A haunt for every evil spirit.
[10:19] A haunt for every unclean and detestable birds. So she, Babylon is always described as a horrible place. Because it's, it's always been against God.
[10:32] Right from the, right from the Tower of Babel. So, it's interesting. Abraham was from the Ur of the Chaldeans.
[10:43] Chaldeans and Babylonians are an interchangeable name. So, Abraham came from that people. He, he originated. And then they left and then became the nation of Israel.
[10:55] But that was quite a few hundred years before, thousands of years before this. So, let's go back to, you know, we read, we read how God is foretelling how, how the, how the armies are even going to invade.
[11:15] They come, like, it's, it's like the German Blitzkrieg. They don't just come in like a slow marking. They come with, oh, armies, horses, fast.
[11:25] They take over. They wipe out. They destroy. They, they use earthen ramps. And, you know, like they, you know, you have your fortified cities. Well, they, they have shields.
[11:37] They build the earthen ramp under the shields. You can't stop them. You can't stop the Babylonians. They come in and they destroy. And they take everyone as captives. And that's what happened.
[11:48] Later on, when, uh, you think of Daniel and Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. They were kids when this happened. They got taken down to Babylon.
[12:05] So let's, um, next part. Oh, Lord, are you not from everlasting? My God, my Holy One, we will not die.
[12:17] Oh, Lord, you have appointed them to execute judgment. Oh, Rock, you have ordained them to punish. Your eyes are too pure to look on evil. You cannot tolerate wrong.
[12:28] Why, then, do you tolerate the treacherous? Why are you silent? Why, the wicked swallow up those more righteous than themselves. You have made them like fish in the sea, like sea creatures that have no ruler.
[12:43] The wicked foe pulls all them up with hooks, catches them in his net. He gathers them up in his dragnet, and so he rejoices and is glad. Therefore, he sacrifices to his net, and burns incense to his dragnet.
[12:59] And by his net, he lives in luxury and enjoys the tracest food. And he is kept on emptying his net, destroying nations without mercy.
[13:09] So this is just Habakkuk's, God, why are you allowing this people to come? We're Israelite, as bad as we are.
[13:22] We're a whole lot better than the Babylonians. Like, unbelievable. Like, we're not going out there destroying. And then he describes how the Babylonians, you know, they pull them up with hooks, catches them in his net, gathers them in his dragnet.
[13:43] So he just uses metaphors to show that this is what the people, this is what the Babylonians do. They just drag the people, haul them home, sacrifice to their gods, thanking the Babylonian gods for allowing them to have more, take over more countries, take over more people.
[14:07] Because that was their engine. You know, they used slaves. Where we have tractors, they had slaves. When a slave dies, you need another slave.
[14:18] Where do you get another slave? Take over another country. So it kind of, it becomes, they're expanding their kingdom to keep expanding so that they can live in the lap of luxury.
[14:31] And they're, the Babylonians, sacrifice to their gods so that they can, you know, they enjoy the choices through Babylonia was the big kingdom.
[14:47] And remember, Nebuchadnezzar, and Daniel, this is, this was, he was, that was his kingdom. Verse chapter 2, 1 and 2.
[15:03] I will stand at my watch and station myself on the rampart. I will look to see what he has says to me and what, and what answers I am to give to this complaint. You know, so, um, Habakkuk is just, I am standing here, tell me what, you know, I don't see any good happening.
[15:23] I'm frustrated. I'm mad. Then the Lord's answer. Chapter 2. Then the Lord replied, write down the revelation and make a plane on tablets so that a herald may run with it.
[15:37] For the revelation awaits an appointed time. It speaks of the end and will not be proved false. Though it lingers, wait for it. It will certainly come and will not delay.
[15:49] The Lord's answer. So he wants the Israelites to see what is going to happen. Like, this is a prophecy happening in short term.
[16:04] Like, they, you know, they already knew that the Babylonians took out the Egyptians. So they knew well what these people were capable of. And they, you know, some of the other false prophets were saying, don't worry about it.
[16:18] They're not going to bother you. Good things are going to happen. And God is using Habakkuk, Jeremiah, Zephaniah, all these guys to say, whoa, change your ways or this will happen.
[16:34] And, you know, write down the revelation. Make it plain. Verse 3 is really interesting. For the revelation awaits an appointed time. It speaks of the end.
[16:45] It speaks of the end. And it will not be proved false. Though it linger, wait for it. It will certainly come and will not delay. This speaks.
[16:58] This is one of these prophecies that's relevant for five years from that time. Or ten years, whatever time frame he wrote in. It also speaks of what happens to Israel in the end days.
[17:13] Many of the same things, you know, like talked about will happen to Israel. Like it's, you know, as we're studying, going through David Hawkins' study in Revelation, it talks about the destruction that's doomed for Israel because of their, just because they're God's chosen people.
[17:32] And Satan wants to take them out because if he can take them out and take Jerusalem out, God can't come back to that land.
[17:43] So it's, you know, there's a whole lot more to this story than what I can talk about, but it's here. And then talks about the leader of Babylon.
[18:07] See, he is puffed up. His delights are not upright. Right? Important verse. But the righteous will live by his faith. Indeed, wine betrays him.
[18:18] He is arrogant and never at rest because he is greedy as the grave. Unlike death is never satisfied. He gathers to himself all the nations and take captive all people. Yeah.
[18:30] Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Habakkuk is shocked that God would choose an evil empire to decimate or to discipline Israel.
[18:45] And, yeah. In this next section, the Lord answers and describes the Babylonian leaders.
[18:58] It also contains four lows that are extreme warnings to those who do sins. They apply to us equally today. They're not just dusty old warnings.
[19:09] They're relevant to us. Nebuchadnezzar, the king, was a hyper-narcissist. Remember, he had a 90-foot golden statue built.
[19:24] All government officials were to worship him. Not just, you know, all the people, but all the government officials were to come together, worship his image, or be thrown into the fiery furnace.
[19:34] And if you remember the story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, they did not. They honored God, and he saved them. But right in the middle of that is the very important phrase, but the righteous will live by his faith.
[19:54] So those who are still righteous, those who are righteous in God, those who believe in him, will live by their faith.
[20:07] So it's interesting how that exact phrase is repeated three times in the New Testament.
[20:21] Romans 1, 16 and 17. I am not ashamed of the gospel because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes, first for the Jew, then for the Gentiles.
[20:35] For in the gospel, a righteousness from God is revealed, a righteousness that is by faith from first to last. Just as it is written, the righteous will live by faith.
[20:48] Next, Galatians. Chapter 3, 6 to 11. Consider Abraham. He believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.
[21:00] Understand then that those who believe are children of Abraham. The Spirit foresaw that God would justify the Gentiles by faith and announce the gospel in advance to Abraham.
[21:11] All nations will be blessed through you so that those who have faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith. All who rely on observing the law are under a curse, for it is written, Cursed is everyone who does not continue to do everything written in the book of the law.
[21:32] Clearly, no one is justified before God by the law because the righteous will live by faith. And then third, Hebrews.
[21:49] Chapter 10, 35 to 39. Do not throw away your confidence. They will be richly rewarded. You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what has been promised.
[22:05] For in just a little while, he who is coming will delay. Well, he who is coming will come and not delay. But my righteous one will live by faith.
[22:16] And if he shrinks back, I will not be pleased with him. But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who believe and are saved. Three times the verse is quoted in the New Testament and always an encouragement to us to live courageously.
[22:50] Yeah, four and five describes the arrogant attitude, a very sharp contrast to the righteous will live by faith.
[23:04] So, you know, Habakkuk is describing, he's encouraging the people that if you live by faith, you know, the righteous will live by faith.
[23:17] The Babylonians, they're worshiping other things. Their God is their stomach. They're, you know, they live for the immediate. They live for the gratification.
[23:32] Verse six. So it's just stolen goods written to everyone, not just Babylon.
[23:54] This is a warning to those who feel ill-gotten gain gives prosperity. You know, that's today. You know, there's lots of people that would just as soon rip you off.
[24:08] If they could get ahead of you in a business deal, all the better. And the laws about land ownership are being ignored, causing great inequity in Israel.
[24:18] 7 and 8. Will your debtors suddenly arise? Will they not wake up and make you tremble? Then you will become their victim, because you have plundered many nations.
[24:31] The people who are left will plunder you, for you have shed men's blood. You have destroyed lands and cities and everyone in them. And that describes Babylon.
[24:43] The Medes and Persians overtook Babylon after seven years, remember? The writing on the wall. That was the story of the last, the Babylonian doofus having a party, and he takes the fine cutlery and stuff from Israel, the Israelite stuff, and he's having a big party, and all of a sudden this hand is writing on the wall.
[25:20] And he's done. An hour later, he's gone. The Medes and Persians take over. Verse 9. Woe. Woe to him who builds his realm by unjust gain, sets his nest on high to escape the clutches of ruin.
[25:38] Unjust gain. Illegal business dealings. Covetousness. Now we, God had set up ways for equality among the Jews.
[25:52] Like there was, like it says, there will always be poor among you. Some people are better businessmen, some people are better workers, some people are widows. God had a plan in the nation Israel to take care of those.
[26:07] It wasn't a welfare state, but it was a way of doing things. And there was a way that you could use your land as equity, borrow against it, and then get it back.
[26:20] And it's written in Deuteronomy chapter 15. At the end of every seven years, you must cancel debts. This is how it is to be done.
[26:31] Every creditor must cancel the loan he has made to his fellow Israelite. He shall not require payment from his fellow Israelites or brothers because the Lord's time for canceling debts has been proclaimed.
[26:42] You may require payment from a foreigner, but you must cancel any debt your brother owes you. However, there should be no poor among you.
[26:55] For in the land the Lord your God has given you to possess as your inheritance, he will richly bless you. If, big if, God's promises, if, if only you fully obey the Lord your God and are careful to follow all his commands I am giving you today.
[27:17] For the Lord your God will bless you as he has promised. You will lend to many nations, but will borrow from none. You will rule over many nations, but none will rule over you.
[27:29] So he's, he's promised these things to happen. If someone, one of your fellow Israelites puts up the land to get money and then you're to give it back to them.
[27:41] Even if it's one year out to give them the money and then give them back. You will prosper. This was God's promise. If, you follow his commands.
[27:52] They weren't following his commands. And, over and over they, he, you know, he sent prophets, he sent disasters, he sent Assyrians, he sent many things.
[28:06] You know, they, they, they did not want to listen. Um, 10 and 11. You applauded the ruin of many people, shaming your own house, forfeiting your life.
[28:21] The stones of the walls will cry out and the beams of the woodwork will echo it. So, the lands, the people, the cities that were conquered, taken over, never fully at peace.
[28:33] Like, you're a conquered people, now you're under the rule of the Babylonians and they, they really didn't care about you. So, it was never, never a great peaceful time. It was a horrible time.
[28:45] But, even the, even the stones, archaeology, proves this right. You go back and you look at some of these, uh, cities that were destroyed, the archaeology proves that.
[28:55] chapter, verse 12. Woe to him who builds a city with bloodshed, establishes a town by crime. Warning for nations that want to be, to want to rule the world.
[29:09] Every empire faces this. From Babylonians through the English and the Americans. You know, like, yeah, there's, you know, we think this was, this was something that happened eons ago.
[29:20] Well, you know, you look at, uh, how they treated, uh, South America. Like, Spain with South America, England with Africa, and, and, uh, India and this and that. You know, they have, they had an attitude.
[29:33] And it wasn't honoring to God. This has not the Lord Almighty determined that a person, that people's labor is only fuel for the fire that the lane, that the nations exhaust.
[29:47] What have we really acquired that is not temporary? We think, wow, we've got our maid, we've got this built. it, it, it doesn't last.
[29:58] Like, you know, even the pyramids are falling apart. They're not permanent. Verse 14, prophetic. For the earth will be filled with the knowledge and the glory of the Lord as the waters cover the sea.
[30:17] This is a, this is telling us, this isn't right now. the world the world has the ability to hear, like radio, TV, they have the world, the ability to hear about the glory of God, but they're ignoring it.
[30:33] When, when Christ returns, the world will be covered with his glory. To Habakkuk and, and also us, this is encouraging, knowing that the world does not just end in flames as in Jerusalem.
[30:50] And if we go to Revelation 19, we read 1911 to 16.
[31:04] I saw heaven standing open and there before me was a white horse whose ruler, whose rider is called faithful and true. With justice he judges and makes war. I guess this is the, no, I made a mistake there.
[31:19] I was going to read that later. But that is, that is Christ. that he is, he is coming back. So, the, the world will be covered with his glory.
[31:33] You know, so this is encouraging to know that, that Jesus is coming back and that the world will understand. 15. Final, third, fourth rule, fourth rule.
[31:44] Nasty one. Woe to him who gives drink to his neighbors, pouring it from wineskins till they are drunk, so that he can gaze on their naked bodies. This is a, this is a very relevant warning.
[32:05] Yeah, you're going to get, get somebody drunk so that you can do profane things with them. This is not just something that's, oh, an old dusty. No, this is pertinent.
[32:15] God is warning us this happens. It started with Noah. Noah grew grapes, became drunk, and his son, Ham, and looked upon him.
[32:32] Maybe more than that, according to David Hawkins. And Noah's cursed Ham's descendants, the Canaanites. And we look at the fall of Babylon, and again, I read, read part of that in Revelation 18, and it talks about the drunkenness, like drunken with power.
[32:54] So in the end times, in the final seven years, the, the Babylonian kingdom will be drunk with power. They will be all powerful. They will be, you can't do anything if it isn't allowed.
[33:08] And they are, you know, and then God will judge them. 16 and 17. You will be filled with shame instead of glory.
[33:20] Now it is your turn. Drink and be exposed. The cup from the Lord's right hand is coming around to you, and disgrace will cover your glory. The violence you have done to Babylon will overwhelm you, and your destruction of animals will terrify you.
[33:34] For you have shed man's bloods, and you have destroyed lands and cities and everyone in them. Again, after Babylon conquers Israel, it will be punished.
[33:47] Now, this is a warning for Israel. Of what value is an idol since a man has carved it or an image that teaches lies for he who makes it trust in his own creation.
[34:02] He makes idols that cannot speak. Woe to him who says to would come to life or lifeless stone. Wake up. Can it give guidance? It is covered with gold and silver.
[34:14] There is no breath in it. But the Lord is in his holy temple. Let all the earth be silent before him. Habakkuk is directly talking to Israel about idols.
[34:35] This isn't just for the Babylonians, even though they have their idols. This is focusing on Israel. This is focusing on Israel. And right from the Tower of Babel through the Ten Commandments in Exodus 20, in Exodus 32, the golden calf, remember, Moses was up on the mountain for a month and while he was up there, the people, they threw gold into their fire and out jumped the golden calf.
[35:04] Just jumped out. Anyways, so all along, he has been warning these people that, you know, and then punishment. Remember, Elijah had a contest to build an altar and lightning came down and destroyed it and licked up the water.
[35:26] The Babylonians, they were cutting themselves and dancing and this and that, nothing happened. At the end of it, he said, okay, let's kill them all. So they killed 450 prophets. A little while later, Jehu got all the prophets of Baal to come in to their temple and he was, we're gonna have a big celebration, right?
[35:47] And then he had 80 guards on the outside and says, your life for theirs if any of them escape. So they killed them all. So God has punished these people, these priests, these terrible priests all through history and yet still the Israelites still wanna follow that because it's easier to see something solid than, you know, when you're praying to a God and you don't hear an answer, then you wanna say, well, I'll worship the God of fertility or the God of rain or the God of this or this God will protect me and if I do this, the Egyptians will help me.
[36:31] Again, Zephaniah, one couple pages later, talks in verse 4 to 6. I will stretch out my hand against Judah and against all who live in Jerusalem.
[36:44] I will cut off from her high places every remnant of Baal, the name of the pagans and the idolatrous priests. Those who bow down on the housetops worship the starry skies, those who bow down and swear to the Lord and who also swear by Molech, those who turn back from following the Lord will neither seek the Lord nor inquire of Him.
[37:07] So these are, these are powerful words that he's talking about idols. And, God's zeal never waned.
[37:18] whatever we, today, today, whatever we view as of equal importance to God, jobs, possessions, family, sports, entertainment, anything, anything, is still an abomination.
[37:43] God is still prominent. He is number one. Everything, we have jobs, we can do sports, we can watch entertainment, but to, to put it above God is, is an abomination.
[37:58] And, you know, the day, the day of judgment will be filled with people regretting their choices. Finally, and I'm running out of time, chapter three, the wow chapter.
[38:16] Prayer of Habakkuk, the prophet. Lord, I have heard of your fame. I stood in awe of your deeds, O Lord. Renew them in our day, in our time, make them known.
[38:27] In wrath, remember mercy. This is a different attitude. This is a different guy. After God's revelation to Habakkuk about what will happen to Israel and the punishment of Babylon, plus idolatry, he has a true picture of God.
[38:44] He is seeing God for who he is. Heard of your fame, stand in awe of your deed. This is, you know, we compare that to chapter one.
[38:57] How long, O Lord, must I call? Cry out to you. Why do you make me look? Destruction and violence are before me. Therefore, and he's blaming God.
[39:09] Now, he's praising God. His splendor was like the sunrise. Rays flashed from his hand where his power was hidden.
[39:22] Plagues were before him. Pestilence followed his steps. So again, he's looking at God who forgot who God is. Glory covers the heavens.
[39:33] He sees God as not something that he had a little idol. He sees the whole glory of God. And then he realizes, plagues went before him.
[39:44] This means that God allowed nasty things to happen for the people to wake up. Wake up, people. This is happening. You know, and we, God, you know, like he doesn't just have a sign even though he did have the prophets and all these things and blessings.
[40:04] He still had to wake them up and they didn't wake up. Amen. He stood, shook the earth, looked, and made the nations tremble.
[40:16] The ancient mountains crumbled and the age-old hills collapsed. His ways are eternal. Again, natural disasters are wake-up call.
[40:28] In Revelation, many events will occur. Today, we ignore God and take credit that man, that man isn't responsible for climate change.
[40:40] Okay, interesting fact, La Palma volcano, right? Going off there, Canary Islands just off of Africa. In two months, more sulfur dioxide has been emitted than all the continent of Europe in a year.
[40:57] So, for man to say, well, because we did this, we're changing the climate. Well, how do you climate? There's almost 50 volcanoes going off around the world right now.
[41:08] More than any, like they're ramping up really quickly. And for man to say, well, because I'm burning a little bit too much gasoline, man is in charge.
[41:19] Again, this is kind of like Babylon. That we will make a tower. It's man that's in charge. And this is, this is what's, this is what's happening. Now, were you angry with the rivers?
[41:36] Oh, Lord, was your wrath against the streams? Did you rage against the sea? Were you, when you rode with your horses in your vicious, a victorious chariots, you uncovered your bow, you called for many arrows, you split the world, earth with rivers, the mountains saw you and rather ride, torrents of water swept by the deep.
[41:55] again time of Noah, great changes while things were happening Noah was on the boat underneath the ocean things were happening sun and moon stood still in the heavens, the glint of your flying arrows, the lightning of your flashing appears, in wrath you stood strode through the earth and in anger you thrashed the nations you came out to deliver your people to save your anointed one, you crushed the leaders of the land of wickedness, you stripped them from head to foot, with your own spear you pierced his head when his warriors stormed out to scatter us, gloating as they were about to devour the wretched who were in hiding you trampled the sea with your horses judgment against Babylon remember Jesus came the first time as a gentle, humble man who was nailed to nailed and who healed and prophesied Jesus will come back as a warrior we read already in Revelation 19 he comes back with riding his horse vengeful now these are the these are the verses that really caught my eye well 16 17 does 16
[43:15] I heard and my heart pounded my lips quivered at the sound decay crept into my bones and my legs trembled yet I wait patiently for the day of calamity to come on the nations invading us Habakkuk was terrified of God's revelation you know he knows that Jerusalem will be destroyed the temple destroyed people killed it was horrible but he will he will wait patiently for for the judgment on Babylon now verse 2nd we've only got two verses left this is the one that caught us we're combining we're out there you know 12 bushel peas we've got nothing though the fig tree does not bud there are no grapes on the vine though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food though there is no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls whoa can you ever describe harvest 2021 except with those words you know we know how are we going to pay our bills how are things going to happen yeah it just it's a wake up call it's just a wake up call
[44:40] God knows these things he knows this is going to happen to the Israelites the most important verse the most important verse 18 yet it's a powerful word yet I will rejoice in the Lord I will be joyful in God my Savior the sovereign Lord is my strength he makes me he makes my feet like the feet of a deer and he enables me to go on the heights yet even though Habakkuk is foreseeing the destruction of Jerusalem he is seeing the destruction of the temple like the beautiful temple that Solomon built he's seeing he's foreseeing all the people getting killed he's foreseeing the destruction of the cropland that they're going to starve though the fig tree does not bud no grapes on the vine though the olive crop fails the field produce no food no sheep in the pen no cattle in the stalls yet
[45:58] I will rejoice in the Lord I will be joyful in God my Savior the sovereign Lord is my strength he makes me makes my feet like the feet of a deer enables me to go on the heights this verse is the climax of the chapter Habakkuk goes from lamenting over God being an inept ignorant you know inept in what he does ignoring Israel's sins to realizing that no matter what happens he will he will find strength and joy in the Lord so Habakkuk's revelation of who God is enabled them to see the power of God and you know we just we just we have to take that to our heart who is God what are we doing are we are we glorifying him are we joyous in the Lord even though you know bad things are happening through the ages many nations have faced invasions and even today we look at say Ukraine
[47:10] Taiwan they face imminent war Israel is fighting battles over Iran you know the picture of death and destruction around the world is real but the promise of God you know God promises to be with us he promises to be our we have salvation if you believe in God you have salvation and I think it hit me no matter what we face we have a God who is not an idol who is not idol but is an active savior Paul's letter to the Philippians sums up all that we can face in verse chapter Philippians chapter 1 19 to 21 for I know that through your prayers and the help given by the spirit of Jesus
[48:13] Christ what has happened to me will turn out for my deliverance I eagerly wait eagerly expect and hope that I will in no way be ashamed but will have courage sufficient courage so that now as always Christ will be exalted in my body whether by life or by death and that famous verse for to me to live is Christ and to die is gain so as as we go through all the turmoil like in this next year things can go we may face stuff that we can never imagine you know like when wars and rumors of wars earthquakes that are happening tsunamis that could happen all these things you know this virus that's going or the coronavirus it could get worse all these things we're looking at man it could get worse we take and we know that to live is Christ to die is gain but I think
[49:22] Habakkuk sums it up best as we live our lives but the righteous will live by his faith so if there's any encouragement you can take from the sermon it's the righteous will live by his faith thank you спасибо to the