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.
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.
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.
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?
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Look at Habakkuk's attitude to God. Let's reread those verses.
So we look at that.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
God's rebuttal.
The Lord's answer, verses 5 to 11.
Look at the nations and watch.
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.
They're a feared and dreaded people.
They're feared and dreaded.
They are a law to themselves and promote their own honor.
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.
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.
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.
Babylonians.
Ruthless, impetuous people.
If you read through the Bible, right from Genesis to Revelation, there is nothing ever positive described in Babylonians.
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.
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.
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.
Or what the Babylonians are like.
Revelation 18, verses 1 to 8.
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.
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.
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.
I'll just go that far.
But, yeah, this is, you know, Babylon at the end times,
which could be coming very soon.
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.
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.
Right from the, right from the Tower of Babel.
So, it's interesting.
Abraham was from the Ur of the Chaldeans.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
So let's, um, next part.
Oh, Lord, are you not from everlasting?
My God, my Holy One, we will not die.
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.
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.
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.
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.
So this is just Habakkuk's, God, why are you allowing this people to come?
We're Israelite, as bad as we are.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
And remember, Nebuchadnezzar, and Daniel, this is, this was, he was, that was his kingdom.
Verse chapter 2, 1 and 2.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
And it will not be proved false.
Though it linger, wait for it.
It will certainly come and will not delay.
This speaks.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Habakkuk is shocked that God would choose an evil empire to decimate or to discipline Israel.
And, yeah.
In this next section, the Lord answers and describes the Babylonian leaders.
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.
They're relevant to us.
Nebuchadnezzar, the king, was a hyper-narcissist.
Remember, he had a 90-foot golden statue built.
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.
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.
So those who are still righteous, those who are righteous in God,
those who believe in him, will live by their faith.
So it's interesting how that exact phrase is repeated three times in the New Testament.
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.
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.
Next, Galatians.
Chapter 3, 6 to 11.
Consider Abraham.
He believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.
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.
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.
Clearly, no one is justified before God by the law because the righteous will live by faith.
And then third, Hebrews.
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.
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.
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.
Yeah, four and five describes the arrogant attitude,
a very sharp contrast to the righteous will live by faith.
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.
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.
Verse six.
So it's just stolen goods written to everyone,
not just Babylon.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Unjust gain.
Illegal business dealings.
Covetousness.
Now we,
God had set up ways for equality among the Jews.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
You know,
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Well,
you know,
you look at,
uh,
how they treated,
uh,
South America.
Like,
Spain with South America,
England with Africa,
and,
uh,
India and this and that.
You know,
they have,
they had an attitude.
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.
What have we really acquired
that is not temporary?
We think,
wow,
we've got our maid,
we've got this built.
it,
it doesn't last.
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.
This is a,
this is telling us,
this isn't right now.
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.
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.
And if we go to
Revelation 19,
we read
1911
to
16.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
God is warning us
this happens.
It started with Noah.
Noah
grew grapes,
became drunk,
and his son,
Ham,
and looked upon him.
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.
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.
And they are,
you know,
and then God
will judge them.
16 and 17.
You will be filled
with shame
instead of glory.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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?
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.
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.
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.
So these are,
these are powerful words
that he's talking
about idols.
And,
God's zeal never waned.
whatever we,
today,
whatever we view
as of equal importance
to God,
jobs,
possessions,
family,
sports,
entertainment,
anything,
is still an abomination.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Now,
he's praising God.
His splendor
was like the sunrise.
Rays flashed
from his hand
where his power
was hidden.
Plagues
were before him.
Pestilence
followed his steps.
So again,
he's looking at
God who forgot
who God is.
Glory
covers the heavens.
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.
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.
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.
The ancient mountains
crumbled
and the age-old hills
collapsed.
His ways
are eternal.
Again,
natural disasters
are wake-up call.
In Revelation,
many events
will occur.
Today,
we ignore God
and take credit
that man,
that man
isn't responsible
for climate change.
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.
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.
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.
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?
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.
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
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
God knows these things
he knows
this is going to happen
to the Israelites
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
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 have to
take that
to our heart
who is God
what are we
doing
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
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
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
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