You are listening to a message from Southwood Presbyterian Church in Huntsville, Alabama.
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If you have Bibles with you, you can open them to Habakkuk.
If you need directions on how to get there, you can turn to Zephaniah.
And it's one more back.
No, honestly, just turn to Matthew and make a left and go five books.
And Habakkuk is a part of that group of minor prophets, which sadly, we don't read very often.
But this is one of the jewels in that group.
We're going to look at today, chapter 2, beginning at verse 2, and read down through verse 20.
So if you would, follow with me as I read this portion of God's inspired word of truth.
And the Lord answered me, write the vision, make it plain on tablets, so that he may run who reads it.
For still the vision awaits its appointed 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.
Behold, his soul is puffed up.
It is not upright within him, but the righteous shall live by his faith.
Moreover, wine is a traitor, an arrogant man who is never at rest.
His greed is as wide as Sheol, like death he has never enough.
He gathers for himself all nations and collects as his own all peoples.
Shall not all these take up their taunt against him with scoffing and riddles for him and say,
Woe to him who heaps up what is not his own?
For how long?
And loads himself with pledges.
Will not your debtors suddenly arise and those awake who will make you tremble?
Then you will be spoiled for them.
Because you have plundered many nations, all the remnant of the people shall plunder you.
For the blood of man and violence to the earth, to cities and all who dwell in them.
Woe to him who gets evil gain for his house, to set his nest on high, to be safe from the reach of harm.
You have divided shame for your house by cutting off many peoples.
You have forfeited your life.
For the stone will cry out from the wall and the beam from the woodwork respond.
Woe to him who builds a town with blood and founds a city on iniquity.
Behold, is it not from the Lord of hosts that people's labor merely for fire and nations weary themselves for nothing?
For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord as the waters cover the sea.
Woe to him who makes his neighbors drink.
You pour out your wrath and make them drunk in order to gaze at their nakedness.
You will have your fill of shame instead of glory.
Drink yourself and show your uncircumcision.
The cup in the Lord's right hand will come around to you and utter shame will come upon your glory.
The violence done to Lebanon will overwhelm you as will the destruction of the beasts that terrified them.
For the blood of man and violence to the earth, to cities and all who dwell in them.
What profit is an idol when its maker has shaped it?
A metal image, a teacher of lies?
For its maker trusts in his own creation when he makes speechless idols.
Woe to him who says to a wooden thing,
Awake!
To a silent stone, arise!
Can these teach?
Behold, it is overlaid with gold and silver,
and there is no breath at all in it.
But the Lord is in his holy temple.
Let all the earth keep silence before him.
Let's pray together as we enter into the study of this portion of God's word.
Father, we thank you for your word and how you reveal yourself.
We also thank you for how you reveal us to ourselves.
Your word is powerful and effective and cuts to the quick, to the very core of who we are.
As it reveals your glory and greatness, it shows the corruption that remains.
And we, as we come to study, need to see both.
We need to see ourselves.
We need to see all that we are.
But then we need to see you.
We need to see you in all that you have done for us.
So draw us deeper into the knowledge of ourselves and of you.
Father, pour out your spirits.
Use me and all the weakness of my words,
so that when all is said and done,
we will know that by your spirit we have heard from you.
And we pray in Jesus' name.
Amen.
You know, this is the second of a three-week study through this prophecy.
It's a little-known book by most of us in the Old Testament,
but it is quite appropriate for us,
especially if you are personally going through struggles and hard times,
or, you know, those hard times could be on a personal level,
but they can also be on a much broader social level.
Regardless, Habakkuk is in a similar place,
and he's going through some very difficult times,
and he's wrestling with who God is in the midst of all of this.
But he also leads us and teaches us of how we ourselves
can better face these times.
This week, as we looked last week,
we saw the beginning of this conversation,
that there's a dialogue going on here between Habakkuk,
who offers his complaints before God,
then God comes and answers him,
but answers him in ways that are totally outside of anything
Habakkuk could have expected,
and caused Habakkuk some really great turmoil.
And he goes back to God again and complains even more.
But the last time we saw him,
he enters into the ramparts,
that high place on the wall of Jerusalem,
where he is now waiting,
waiting for God to respond to him.
He wants, by faith,
he has gone to God,
and he is determined to hear from God.
And so he's waiting.
And this is the response.
This is the response that God gives to him
in light of all of his complaints
in his previous prayers.
And I think one of the things that tells us
this whole book
is that we need to beware
when there are these very obvious villains
in our lives.
And those villains,
and when we get into hard places,
when we get into
these great struggles in life,
very, very often,
and I think by far more times than not,
there are villains involved.
There is someone,
either on a broad scale,
like on a public stage,
or somebody maybe in your family,
there's someone
that we turn to
and we can see
is a true villain
and what they've done is wrong
and maybe
are really demonstrating
some evil things.
But there's a real danger
for us to have people like that.
And it's not because of the evil
that they bring upon us,
but it's the way they hide
who we really are.
Because when I have a villain,
and that villain is evil,
then my focus is there
on the villain.
That's the evil.
That's the problem.
I am the innocent victim.
They are bad
and what happens is
I then fail
to see
the real nature
of who I am.
And in many ways,
this is where Habakkuk is.
He has gone to God
and made his complaints
and in verse 13,
this is what he said.
He says,
why do you idly look
at traitors
and remains silent
while the wicked
swallows up the man
more righteous than he?
And so here's the villain.
It's the Chaldeans
and they are villains.
No doubt about it.
They are a brutal,
violent group
of people here.
And Israel,
I mean,
obviously they're more righteous.
They're God's people.
evil.
But now there's a problem.
When we begin to see
that they are the evil
and we end up
taking the eyes off
of our own hearts,
we are in danger.
So how are we to live?
How are we to live
even in light of
these villains?
I mean,
where's the difference
between them and us
if they are,
in a sense,
if we are,
well,
we could say this,
you know,
their evil
may not be expressed
so graphically,
but at the same time,
we all
have Chaldean roots.
And if that's the case,
if we are all similar,
if we all have
these same roots,
what's the difference?
Where does the difference
come in between us
and them?
Well,
the difference
is faith.
We live by faith.
Not our righteousness,
not our goodness.
We live with the knowledge
of who we are.
And we live by faith.
Faith is the antidote
to arrogance.
To arrogance.
And so,
what does faith
look like?
Well,
what we're going to do here
is in these verses,
as God responds
from verse 5
down through
verse 19,
we get a good picture
of what arrogance is
as we see this description
of the Chaldeans.
So,
what God is doing here
in his response
to Habakkuk
is he's pointing to
this,
yes,
the Chaldeans
are going to come,
yes,
they're going to carry out
my work,
but there will come
an end to them as well.
And this is what
I'm going to do.
But he describes
a people
that are
puffed up
as verse 4
describes them.
and it's some things
that we can learn
about our own hearts.
The first thing,
when we look at
arrogance,
an arrogant person
is not just someone
who boasts
about their accomplishments
or who's
openly proud
and loves
to bring attention
so much
to themselves.
An arrogant person
may also be
a wallflower,
may live in hiding
because they don't want
attention to themselves,
they don't necessarily
want to be seen,
but an arrogant person
is somebody
whose focus,
whose whole world
is on them.
They are the center.
They are
why life
exists.
They are a god
to themselves.
The arrogant man,
the arrogant woman
is one who is
self-sufficient.
They're sufficient
unto themselves,
they have the resources,
they do the work
themselves,
they are necessarily
their own savior,
they live for themselves.
And so this is
the picture
of arrogance here
that we see
in these verses.
But we have
three things
particularly
that describes
the arrogant heart.
The first one
is greed.
We see that
in verse 5
where he says,
moreover,
wine is a traitor,
an arrogant man
who is never at rest.
His greed is wide
as sheol,
like death.
He has never enough.
He gathers for himself
all nations
and collects
as his own
all peoples.
There is a hunger
in them
that is insatiable,
that they continue
to collect
more and more.
It says,
how much is enough?
Well,
always a little bit more.
Now,
one thing I want you to,
I want to point out
to you just textually here
where he says,
wine is a traitor.
Well,
some other manuscripts
and I think
are accurate
actually say,
wealth is a traitor.
If you look at
the Dead Sea Scroll
manuscripts,
that's what they say.
And it fits
the context here
much better.
Wealth is a traitor.
A traitor.
It promises things.
It promises security,
goodness,
and all these things,
but yet it will not
fulfill those promises.
Wealth is a traitor.
And I think this is
an interesting place
for, you know,
God to begin with here
in describing
the heart of the Chaldeans.
You know,
when a man determines
to live life
on his own terms
and to supply life's needs
through his own means
and methods,
that is the arrogant man.
And what we see here
is just then
an unending quest,
an insatiable hunger
to have enough.
And one of the reasons
they build up
this wealth
is to give them
this sense of security
because in the next verses
he talks about
how they want to build
their nest high
to where it's basically
unapproachable.
they used to say
back in the time
of Babylon
that the defenses
of that city
were so high
and so strong
it was impenetrable.
That there was
absolutely no risk
of invasion
by anyone
because those defenses
were so good.
But that's what wealth does.
wealth builds
security.
It builds status.
It builds
so many things
but it helps us,
it gives us
the illusion
that we can make
ourselves safe
from any threat,
any danger,
anything out there
that may cause us
harm.
but it's a terrible
illusion
because even
Babylon fell
and there is no
safe place
that's that secure.
You know,
the second pursuit
is not just greed
but it's a pursuit
of glory.
We don't see
that term glory
used as that
they're pursuing glory
but there's another term
that's repeated
and that's the word
shame.
That they are going
to,
they heap shame
on other people
but that they
are going to
experience
that same shame
even to a much
greater degree
than they brought
on others.
So,
what is that
base,
what is the meaning
of that word glory?
glory.
What glory is
is substance.
At the root
of the word
in Hebrew
the word is
weighty,
substantive.
It's something
as significance,
as value.
It's not some
trivial thing
but it's
weighty,
important.
And so there's
this hunger.
The Chaldeans
are attempting
to build
this sense
of being
important,
being
substantive
through conquering
and through
invading
all of these
nations.
And one of the
things that
you'll see here
as he goes
through and
describes
their pursuit
of glory
is how they
use other
people in
that way.
They bring
other people
to shame,
utter shame
so that
they themselves
will look
more important,
more glorious.
One of the
terms there
they'll use
particularly in
verse 15
where it talks
about them
getting other
nations drunk
so then they
can look on
their nakedness.
Basically what
that is describing
is getting
people drunk
so they can
sexually have
their way
with them
and humiliate
them in the
process.
that's what
these arrogant
Chaldeans
are doing.
The third
thing
that they're
doing and
this is really
kind of the
culmination
is idolatry
and we see
that in verse
18 and 19
it's a sad
picture.
I mean it's
kind of funny
too where
somebody,
a man,
will create
this object
and then
declare to
it,
this is come
alive.
Or they'll
take this
lifeless
rock
and say
arise
and maybe
even decorate
it up with
gold and
silver and
then they bow
down to it
as if that
thing which
they've made
in their
hands
is somehow
going to
save them.
So in
that
idolatry
one of the
things of
arrogance
is foolishness
but it's
worship.
where does
the arrogant
go to
worship?
He
worships
his own
creation,
his own
doing,
things of
his own
making,
things that
come from
himself.
That's what
he worships.
Now,
this is a
picture of
the Chaldean
villains.
the problem
comes,
those
descriptions
really apply
to more
people than
just the
Chaldeans.
And I
have a hard
time reading
those.
Let's take
them one at
a time.
Greed,
do I use
wealth to
build walls
of protection
for myself?
Yeah,
I do.
You know,
it used to
be,
and in
some ways
it still
is,
when it
came to
bill-paying
day,
Gail would
pretty much
figure that
I was going
to be in
a bad
mood.
Because
of all
the money
that went
out,
and the
little bit
of money
that remained,
happened,
and I
would think
through all
of the
contingencies,
all the
things that
might happen,
all the
things that
I would
need,
and it's
like it
didn't add
up.
And now
I'm living
in anxiety
and fear
because my
fortress is
not high
enough.
So how
much would
I need
for it to
be enough?
Well,
a little bit
more.
What
about glory?
Am I
hungry for glory?
Hungry for glory?
glory?
I have been
so convicted
by this
lately.
In fact,
just a couple
minutes ago.
I am
willing,
in order to
be seen
by you
as clever,
smart,
and funny,
I am
willing to
throw friends
under the
bus.
in front
of all
of you,
I referred
to Derek
as strange
because I
knew it
would get
a little
bit of a
laugh.
And it
may not
sound like
much to
you,
but what
I did
there was
I was
pursuing
my own
glory,
and his
did not
matter one
ounce to
me.
just like
the Chaldeans,
I am
willing to
use other
people to
give me a
sense of
status,
of weightiness,
of importance
and significance.
I've done
it time
and time
again.
I think
the theme
of my life
over the
years has
been this
hunger
to be
significant,
to be
weighty,
to be
important.
And I'll
use you
to that
end.
And that's
grief.
Which
brings me
to
idolatry.
You know,
it's just the
culmination of
all these
other two
things.
You know,
I don't
have little
statues
around my
house.
You can
come over
and look.
They're not
there.
You may
find some
Marshall stuff.
That's about
as close as
you'll get.
But what is
it that will
truly make me
happy?
How do you
fill out
this sentence?
I will be
a happy
person if...
And far
too often,
it's either
what I
accomplish,
what I
acquire,
what I
achieve?
And how
foolish is
that?
Something that
I think I
create in my
own efforts,
in my own
strength,
that I bow
down to it
and say,
give me
life.
That's what
the arrogant
person does.
It
worships.
It
worships the
work of
our hands.
It
worships
created
things that
have no
life and we
have no
power to
give them
life.
I
am
far too
much like
the Chaldeans.
And if
God's
fierce
judgment
was
deserved
by that
evil
people,
then I
cannot
remove
myself
from
deserving
that
judgment.
So
what's
the answer?
It's
faith.
It is
faith.
Faith is
not just
some
mental
acknowledgement
of certain
truths or
doctrines or
principles.
Faith is
what is the
opposite of
faith?
The opposite
of faith is
self-sufficiency.
So faith
is dependence.
Faith is
just
dependence
on another,
humble
dependence.
it is a
sense of
helplessness
and a
reaching out
of hands
to one
who can
supply
need.
Instead of
being a
life that
depends on
me and
what I
do,
it's
trusting
somebody
else.
It's
looking
outside of
my life
to find
life.
Instead
of life
being that
which centers
around me,
it's centered
around
someone else.
it's centered
around a
covenant
God in
particular.
In God's
revelation to
Habakkuk points
there's two
core aspects
of faith
that he brings
out here
that actually
give us,
that help us
learn what
faith is,
but gives us
hope.
even as we
face these
really tough
hard
circumstances.
In the
first one,
I'm going to
take them in
reverse order.
So I'm going
to start with
verse 20.
And there we
see God's
sovereign rule
where he says,
but the Lord is
in his holy
temple, let all
the earth keep
silence before
him.
keep
silent.
This is in
light of
complaining.
To keep
silent is
now coming
to that
place where
it says,
I have
nothing to
say.
This is not
me.
This is all
about you.
And what
faith is here
in the
sovereign God,
it's simply
the acknowledgement
that I
am not
God.
Of course,
you knew
that.
But why is
it so hard
for me to
figure that
out?
Faith,
you know,
I cannot
build enough
security to
bring me
peace.
I cannot
provide for
myself
adequately.
I cannot
protect
myself
from evils
in this
world.
I cannot
determine what
happens
tomorrow.
I cannot
undo what
happened
yesterday.
I am
not God.
I'm not
God for me.
I'm not
God for
anybody else.
God for
us.
And that
statement
alone takes
me out of
the center
of things.
It takes
me out
because if
I'm not
God,
then the
world does
not revolve
around me
and my
needs and
my wants
and my
agenda and
my plans.
I don't
determine.
Somebody
else does.
And that
in itself
in some
ways may
be comforting.
It may
not be.
Because if
there is a
king, if
there's somebody
else making
these
determinations,
what if
he's not
good?
Well, see, we
have hope
here because
if you see
in this
verse, it's
not just
anybody who's
in his holy
temple.
It's the
Lord.
It is the
covenant
God of
Israel.
It is the
God who
brought them
out of
slavery, out
of the land
of Egypt.
It is the
God who
carried them
through the
wilderness.
It is the
God who
planted them
in Canaan.
It is the
God who
declared that
he would be
their God,
they would
be his
people, and
he would
dwell right
in their
midst.
This
God
is the
sovereign ruler
of all
things.
And so
faith
begins
with this
humble
place
that, yes,
God rules,
but the
God who
rules
is good.
he is
for me,
his rule
is for
me.
He is
the God
of the
covenant,
a covenant
that was
fulfilled
and satisfied
through the
sacrifice
of the
Lamb of
God.
God
God.
And if
he would
do that
for me,
I think
I can
trust him.
The
second
thing
here
is God's
ultimate
glory.
Look at
verse 14.
For the
earth will
be filled
with the
knowledge
of the
glory of
the Lord
as the
waters
cover the
sea.
That
statement
says so
much.
And it
indeed
is,
it is a
huge
comfort
because
I'm made
for glory.
I was
created
for it.
I was
created by
the one
who is the
king of
glory.
I was
created in
his image.
And so
I'm made
for
significance.
I carry
the image
of my
maker.
I'm not
weighty
in myself.
I will
never be
in what I
do.
I will
never create
significance or
value than
any achievement
or any
purchase or
any position
that I
would hold.
I am
valued because
I belong to
one who
is glorious.
you know,
Habakkuk,
as he
wrote this,
he had no
idea what
was coming.
Maybe just
a glimpse,
but we can
look back.
We look back
to John
chapter 1
verse 14
where he
wrote,
and the
word became
flesh and
dwelt among
us.
And we
have seen
his glory,
glory as
of the only
son of
the father,
full of
grace and
truth.
What
Habakkuk
probably could
not realize
fully is
when the
glory would
fill the
earth,
the glory
would not
just be
the light
of glory,
it would
be the
glorious one
himself,
that God
would come,
not in a
cloud,
not in
fire that
the nation
of Israel
had known
in the
past,
but he
would come
in a
man,
they would
see him
face to
face,
not just
his backside
like Moses
saw in the
wilderness,
but his
face,
that the
God of
glory would
come.
And
incredibly,
the way he
came was
just the
opposite of
the way that
we seek
glory.
We want
to build
it up and
cling to
position.
He laid
aside his
position.
He laid
aside his
right to
be at the
right hand of
the Father,
to be in
that glorious
place, and
he took the
form of a
servant.
He came
to the
arrogance
to serve
glory.
And die
and die
so that we
could once
again know
real glory.
And that's
not all.
We look at
John 17
verses 22
and 23.
The glory
that you have
given me,
this is the
prayer of Jesus
right before he
was to die.
The glory you
have given me,
I have given
to them,
that they may
be one even
as we are
one.
I in them,
you in me,
that they may
become perfectly
one.
You see that?
You know what
glory is waiting
for us?
We are now
in Christ.
We have been
given his
glory.
The Father is
in him.
He is in us.
We are in
them.
And now this
fellowship,
unlike any
we could have
ever dreamed,
that we would
be one
with God
himself.
And then one
day we would
stand before
his face
and see
his glory
and realize
we will be
just like
him.
We are
promised
real glory.
We will be
like the
sun.
For all
that we were
made to know,
living by
faith,
rest in
those promises
so that we
don't have to
create these
things by
ourselves.
But living
by faith
means we
rest in the
one who
controls all
things and
the one who
is taking
us to
glory.
We rest.
trust.
We trust.
In your
struggles,
in your
trials,
beware the
villains.
Beware your
self-sufficient
efforts to
make things
right.
Beware your
self-righteousness
that's always in
your eyes you
look better than
they do.
Remember
that we have a
God that has
come already
as a servant.
Remember
that he has
now called us
to be that
servant.
He has paid
the ultimate
price and all
to bring us
into his
glory.
Wait.
Trust him.
and you
will be
satisfied.
Let's pray
together.
Father, we
have such a
hard time
conceiving of
these things.
We have such
a fainting
vision of what
glory it really
is.
But it's
coming.
It's coming.
Father, we
resist so
much letting
you control
things because
we're not sure
you're really
good.
But you
are.
Would you
empower us by
your spirit to
walk by faith?
Would you
empower us to
rest?
Would you
empower us to
trust you?
Father, bring
us to glory.
bring us near
that we may
know you.
And we pray
in Jesus' name.
Amen.
For more
information,
visit us
online at
southwood.org.
God bless you.
Todd-
God bless you.
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