The book of Habakkuk - a word of the Lord for our day

 

The book of Habakkuk – a word of the Lord for our day

[Hab 1:1 NLT] This is the message that the prophet Habakkuk received in a vision.

Habakkuk was written between about 612 B.C. when Babylon conquered Nineveh and 587 B.C. when Babylon conquered Jerusalem. Habakkuk lived through a period of national revival followed by a period of great spiritual decline and a falling away from God. During a time of trouble, violence, and just plain evil deeds Habakkuk cries out to the LORD for help.

This prophetic book has several partial fulfillments before the final and complete fulfillment yet to come. In Habakkuk’s day, the prophecy dealt with the coming Babylonian army and its destruction of Judah. Israel went through several of these cycles of revival followed by a time of falling away from the LORD and great troubles. These cycles are reflected in the time of the Medes and Persians in the book of Esther, in the times of the Grecian empires with Alexander the Great, and later with the Antiochus the IV when he persecuted the Jews and desecrated the Temple. Then came the Romans ending with the destruction of Jerusalem and the Second Temple, the dispersion of the Jews into all the world, and the holocaust. But then came the regathering beginning in 1917 with the Belfour Declaration and the reestablishment of the nation of Israel in 1948. The final fulfillment of Habakkuk’s prophecy awaits Daniel’s last week of years to finish their rebellion, to put an end to their sin, to atone for their guilt, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to confirm the prophetic vision, and to anoint the Most Holy Place (Dan 9:24). These seven years are the great tribulation that end with the return of Jesus to the earth of King of kings and Lord of Lords.

In our studies, we look not only to the historical and prophetic fulfillment concerning Israel, but we also look for the principles presented, the hints that can be found, and finally to the mysteries that these scriptures contain, mysteries that can only be known by revelation from the Holy Spirit. Specifically, we want to look to see the relevance of Habakkuk’s prophecy to our day.

The First Complaint

[Hab 1:2 NLT] How long, O LORD, must I call for help? But you do not listen! "Violence is everywhere!" I cry, but you do not come to save.

[Hab 1:3 NLT] Must I forever see these evil deeds? Why must I watch all this misery? Wherever I look, I see destruction and violence. I am surrounded by people who love to argue and fight.

[Hab 1:4 NLT] The law has become paralyzed, and there is no justice in the courts. The wicked far outnumber the righteous, so that justice has become perverted.

The lament presented here is the lament of God’s people crying out for justice in a world filled with trouble, violence, evil, and sin everywhere. The question to God is why is He allowing this and when will judgment be rendered. When lawlessness and injustice are seen in all areas of life it sometimes seems that God is not listening when the righteous cry out and they do not see God moving to bring judgment and justice.

In our world today we are seeing the same conditions as Habakkuk saw in his day. Lawlessness, injustice, sin, and evil are evident everywhere. Proverbs 6 tells us that God hates haughty eyes, a lying tongue, hands that kill the innocent, a heart that plots evil, feet that race to do wrong, a false witness who pours out lies, and a person who sows discord in a family. All of these things are prevalent in our world today. We are also seeing a passiveness and lukewarmness in some of the church and even a falling away from God. So, what is the LORD doing about it?

 

The LORD’s Reply

[Hab 1:5 NLT] The LORD replied, "Look around at the nations; look and be amazed! For I am doing something in your own day, something you wouldn't believe even if someone told you about it.

[Hab 1:6 NLT] I am raising up the Babylonians, a cruel and violent people. They will march across the world and conquer other lands.

1.    The LORD replies to Habakkuk and actually to all who are crying out in circumstances like these. The LORD tells us that He is doing something astounding to deal with the sin and rebellion in the world and in His people. Something so amazing that it will be hard to believe when told about it and even as it is happening. This judgment will be "too bad to be true," a work of judgment so astounding that it will be hard to believe it.

The LORD says that He is going to use another “nation” to be His instrument of judgment. In Habakkuk’s day, this was the Babylonians. The hint here is that God often uses nations like the Babylonians, or a cruel, violent, terrible, Babylonian system of rule and government, to deal with the rebellion and sin of His people.

There is another hint in these verses that tells us that in the fulfillment of this prophecy, the “Babylonian system” will involve the world and will involve many lands or nations.

[Hab 1:7 NLT] They are notorious for their cruelty and do whatever they like.

[Hab 1:8 NLT] Their horses are swifter than cheetahs and fiercer than wolves at dusk. Their charioteers charge from far away. Like eagles, they swoop down to devour their prey.

[Hab 1:9 NLT] "On they come, all bent on violence. Their hordes advance like a desert wind, sweeping captives ahead of them like sand.

[Hab 1:10 NLT] They scoff at kings and princes and scorn all their fortresses. They simply pile ramps of earth against their walls and capture them!

[Hab 1:11 NLT] They sweep past like the wind and are gone. But they are deeply guilty, for their own strength is their god."

These verses give us a general description of the “Babylonians or Babylonian system” that He uses as His rod of judgment. They are cruel, unconstrained by any laws, legal or moral. They attack swiftly and fiercely. There are hints that they use “chariots” which could be armed vehicles or tanks and “swooping eagles” which could be aircraft these days. They take captives and their pride and arrogance are unlimited. This is consistent with the conditions that will exist in the final days of tribulation.

As we look at the enemies of righteousness and the righteous today, it is easy to see many of these elements. This could describe certain nations, or forms of government like communism, extreme socialism, or globalism. What we are seeing today is the rise of extreme socialism leading to Communism, and eventually to globalism and a one world government. The final fulfillment of Habakkuk’s prophecy will be the ten-nation coalition of nations that make up the Antichrist kingdom (Dan 7:23-24; Rev 17:12).

 

The Second Complaint

[Hab 1:12 NLT] O LORD my God, my Holy One, you who are eternal--surely you do not plan to wipe us out? O LORD, our Rock, you have sent these Babylonians to correct us, to punish us for our many sins.

[Hab 1:13 NLT] But you are pure and cannot stand the sight of evil. Will you wink at their treachery? Should you be silent while the wicked swallow up people more righteous than they?

[Hab 1:14 NLT] Are we only fish to be caught and killed? Are we only sea creatures that have no leader?

[Hab 1:15 NLT] Must we be strung up on their hooks and caught in their nets while they rejoice and celebrate?

[Hab 1:16 NLT] Then they will worship their nets and burn incense in front of them. "These nets are the gods who have made us rich!" they will claim.

[Hab 1:17 NLT] Will you let them get away with this forever? Will they succeed forever in their heartless conquests?

The surprise is that the LORD uses a “nation” more wicked than those He is bringing correction to as His tool of judgment. The righteous ask, because you are righteous God, will you not deal with the treachery of the “Babylonians”? Will they succeed forever in their heartless conquests?

[Hab 2:1 NLT] I will climb up to my watchtower and stand at my guardpost. There I will wait to see what the LORD says and how he will answer my complaint.

It is at this point that God’s watchmen need to take their post and resolutely wait for God’s reply. Though it seems strange to us that God would use an evil nation or system to deal with the sin and corruption in God’s people, God’s ways are higher than our ways and His thoughts higher than our thoughts (Isa 55:9). In our day, we must remember this as He uses evil people and systems to accomplish His higher goals and purposes than our short-term desires and goals.

 

The LORD’s Second Reply

[Hab 2:2 NLT] Then the LORD said to me, "Write my answer plainly on tablets, so that a runner can carry the correct message to others.

[Hab 2:3 NLT] This vision is for a future time. It describes the end, and it will be fulfilled. If it seems slow in coming, wait patiently, for it will surely take place. It will not be delayed.

God’s wisdom that He gives to Habakkuk and us is to be made very plain and straight forward so that it can be conveyed correctly to the people around us. God tells us that this prophecy or vision is for a future time. It is ultimately a prophecy of the final chapter of the Bible when the Lord will come to end a seven-year time of trial and testing for the people of the earth and for His people Israel. He will come to judge the living and the dead (Acts 10:42, 2 Tim 4:1, 1 Pe 4:5). In the end, the Lord will deal harshly with all of the evil in the world and establish His Kingdom on the earth.

 But, as we have seen in history, God moves in precursor events and situations to deal with those that He has used to discipline His people. The Babylonians, Persians, Greeks, Romans, and even modern-day nations and people that have persecuted and treated God’s people harshly have well learned this lesson.

In our world, today evil and evil people are rising, attempting to establish their evil kingdom over the earth, and right now especially over the United States of America. Could it be that this current attack against America could be God using these new “Babylonians” to discipline His people, causing them to return to Him with a new resolve and zeal?  And as God’s people repent and return to Him, could it be that the LORD might just move to deal harshly with all this evil in the days to come?

 

 

[Hab 2:4 NLT] "Look at the proud! They trust in themselves, and their lives are crooked. But the righteous will live by their faithfulness to God.

[Hab 2:5 NLT] Wealth is treacherous, and the arrogant are never at rest. They open their mouths as wide as the grave, and like death, they are never satisfied. In their greed they have gathered up many nations and swallowed many peoples.

[Hab 2:6 NLT] "But soon their captives will taunt them. They will mock them, saying, 'What sorrow awaits you thieves! Now you will get what you deserve! You've become rich by extortion, but how much longer can this go on?'

[Hab 2:7 NLT] Suddenly, your debtors will take action. They will turn on you and take all you have, while you stand trembling and helpless.

[Hab 2:8 NLT] Because you have plundered many nations, now all the survivors will plunder you. You committed murder throughout the countryside and filled the towns with violence.

God knows how to deal with evil and the people that serve evil. Their trust is in themselves. Their god is mammon, wealth, and power. Their arrogance and greed are never-ending. But God promises that soon the victims will taunt and mock them. Suddenly they will get what they deserve and they will lose all of their wealth and power becoming fearful and helpless. The Babylonians were perfect examples of the proud who set themselves against those who are declared just by faith - and Habakkuk could (and we can) take comfort in the fact that God would, and will in our day, deal with them.

Days of judgment have come and gone in times past but what about today? Have we in America been living in days of judgment for the past several years as discipline and warning to God’s people to repent, turn from our wicked ways, and return to Him with a new zeal and love? Are more days of judgment coming in our world today? Will this coming judgment be against God’s people to bring them to repentance and a return to God? Or is this judgment coming against God’s enemies, those that are persecuting God’s people and wreaking havoc upon the earth these days? Because these current enemies of God are working to establish a one-world government, a global government controlled by a super-rich elitist group of people, could we even be seeing the beginnings of the rise of the final world empire of Satan, the evil in the world that will be destroyed by our Lord at His coming?

For this writer, I do see the past few years under unrighteous government leaders and much evil in our world as chastisement and discipline for a lukewarmness that had fallen upon the church (Rev 3:14-22). But then in His mercy, we saw God move and bring a period of good leadership and blessings in our nation. Recently we have and are seeing, a new spirit of repentance, return, and a new zeal and love for our Lord even as our enemies are mounting a vicious attack against all that is good in our nation and indeed, even in the entire world. In response, I see the Lord ready to come against our enemies, restraining them for a season to enable the church to complete the great commission, the final gleaning of the wheat fields before the great and terrible Day of the Lord and the day of His wrath comes upon the earth.  But I believe that time is short. The Day of the Lord is coming quickly (Joel 2:1) and we are to be found doing God’s work for the night is coming when no one can work (Jhn 9:4).

 

Three Woes for God’s enemies

[Hab 2:9 NLT] "What sorrow awaits you who build big houses with money gained dishonestly! You believe your wealth will buy security, putting your family's nest beyond the reach of danger.

[Hab 2:10 NLT] But by the murders you committed, you have shamed your name and forfeited your lives.

[Hab 2:11 NLT] The very stones in the walls cry out against you, and the beams in the ceilings echo the complaint.

Only woe and sorrow await the greedy, dishonest, and those that shed innocent blood. They have forfeited their lives! The very stones of the earth cry out against them. The scripture says that it would be better for them to have a large millstone tied around their necks and be drowned in the depths of the sea if they caused even one of God’s little ones to fall into sin (Matt 18:6, Mar 9:42). Think of the atrocities committed by those who have shed innocent blood, especially that of babies and children. Surely only woe, sorrow, and pain await them as God brings His righteous judgments against them.

[Hab 2:12 NLT] "What sorrow awaits you who build cities with money gained through murder and corruption!

[Hab 2:13 NLT] Has not the LORD of Heaven's Armies promised that the wealth of nations will turn to ashes? They work so hard, but all in vain!

[Hab 2:14 NLT] For as the waters fill the sea, the earth will be filled with an awareness of the glory of the LORD.

This woe is directed at those that build empires with money gained through murder and corruption. So much of what we see in our day involves this. For these people, the LORD sends Heaven’s Armies to turn their empires into ashes and they will be replaced with an awareness of the glory of the LORD.

[Hab 2:15 NLT] "What sorrow awaits you who make your neighbors drunk! You force your cup on them so you can gloat over their shameful nakedness.

[Hab 2:16 NLT] But soon it will be your turn to be disgraced. Come, drink and be exposed! Drink from the cup of the LORD's judgment, and all your glory will be turned to shame.

[Hab 2:17 NLT] You cut down the forests of Lebanon. Now you will be cut down. You destroyed the wild animals, so now their terror will be yours. You committed murder throughout the countryside and filled the towns with violence.

These verses deal with promoting the use of substances like alcohol and drugs to manipulate, control, and make people’s lives miserable through substance abuse. To those who use things like this to destroy people’s lives, God promises that they will drink from the cup of the LORD’s judgment. The murderers of the world will be cut down and terror will be their cup to drink.

[Hab 2:18 NLT] "What good is an idol carved by man, or a cast image that deceives you? How foolish to trust in your own creation--a god that can't even talk!

[Hab 2:19 NLT] What sorrow awaits you who say to wooden idols, 'Wake up and save us!' To speechless stone images you say, 'Rise up and teach us!' Can an idol tell you what to do? They may be overlaid with gold and silver, but they are lifeless inside.

[Hab 2:20 NLT] But the LORD is in his holy Temple. Let all the earth be silent before him."

The last woe goes to the idolater, those that trust in their own creations. Anything people worship and give their lives to other than the LORD is an idol. They will all prove to be useless in days of judgment.

 

A plea for revival – a prayer to close the book

[Hab 3:1 NLT] This prayer was sung by the prophet Habakkuk:

[Hab 3:2 NLT] I have heard all about you, LORD. I am filled with awe by your amazing works. In this time of our deep need, help us again as you did in years gone by. And in your anger, remember your mercy.

This is our prayer for our day. It begins with praise. We have heard and believed all that we have heard about you, Lord. We are filled with awe by your amazing works. You truly are our Savior, our Lord, our King, and our Commander of the Armies of heaven. You are the Lion of the tribe of Judah and the Lamb of God who takes away all our sin.

Now we are in trouble once again. In this time of our deep need, help us again as you did in years gone by. We confess that we deserve your wrath, as a nation we have gone astray but amid your wrath remember mercy and restore us and send revival among us. And we pray as David prayed that you would destroy those that seek to destroy us and establish an evil, ungodly kingdom upon this earth.

 

[Hab 3:3 NLT] I see God moving across the deserts from Edom, the Holy One coming from Mount Paran. His brilliant splendor fills the heavens, and the earth is filled with his praise.

[Hab 3:4 NLT] His coming is as brilliant as the sunrise. Rays of light flash from his hands, where his awesome power is hidden.

[Hab 3:5 NLT] Pestilence marches before him; plague follows close behind.

[Hab 3:6 NLT] When he stops, the earth shakes. When he looks, the nations tremble. He shatters the everlasting mountains and levels the eternal hills. He is the Eternal One!

[Hab 3:7 NLT] I see the people of Cushan in distress, and the nation of Midian trembling in terror.

[Hab 3:8 NLT] Was it in anger, LORD, that you struck the rivers and parted the sea? Were you displeased with them? No, you were sending your chariots of salvation!

[Hab 3:9 NLT] You brandished your bow and your quiver of arrows. You split open the earth with flowing rivers.

[Hab 3:10 NLT] The mountains watched and trembled. Onward swept the raging waters. The mighty deep cried out, lifting its hands to the LORD.

[Hab 3:11 NLT] The sun and moon stood still in the sky as your brilliant arrows flew and your glittering spear flashed.

[Hab 3:12 NLT] You marched across the land in anger and trampled the nations in your fury.

[Hab 3:13 NLT] You went out to rescue your chosen people, to save your anointed ones. You crushed the heads of the wicked and stripped their bones from head to toe.

[Hab 3:14 NLT] With his own weapons, you destroyed the chief of those who rushed out like a whirlwind, thinking Israel would be easy prey.

[Hab 3:15 NLT] You trampled the sea with your horses, and the mighty waters piled high.

These scriptures speak of the days of the wrath of God. They are the days of the seven years of tribulation that precede the Lord’s second coming to the earth. Even so, with all the saints of God, we say “come”. They reveal the power of God on behalf of His people.

But as we have seen in the past the LORD has come to His people in times of trouble to rescue them from the plots of evil men. So now in our times of trouble, we can pray that the Lord would come to rescue us today. God is slow to anger and longsuffering, not willing that any should perish (2 Pet 3:9). So, we pray that the Lord will have mercy towards us and give us time to finish the gathering of saints into His kingdom.

The “restrainer” is still restraining, evil and lawlessness is being held back, delaying the coming days of wrath and testing to come upon the earth (2 Thes 2:7-8). This restrainer is most probably the Holy Spirit working in and through the Lord’s church. So, as long as we are still here, we are encouraged and motivated to be busy at the Lord’s work and the Lord will help us by coming against our enemies and the workers of evil in our world.

[Hab 3:16 NLT] I trembled inside when I heard this; my lips quivered with fear. My legs gave way beneath me, and I shook in terror. I will wait quietly for the coming day when disaster will strike the people who invade us.

[Hab 3:17 NLT] Even though the fig trees have no blossoms, and there are no grapes on the vines; even though the olive crop fails, and the fields lie empty and barren; even though the flocks die in the fields, and the cattle barns are empty,

[Hab 3:18 NLT] yet I will rejoice in the LORD! I will be joyful in the God of my salvation!

Knowing God’s strength, we can trust the Lord even in times of crisis. We are to wait quietly and in peace for the Lord to deal with all of the evil around us. We can and should rejoice in the Lord even in these times of trouble and even loss knowing that God is greater than them all and in full control of all of the events going on in our world.

[Hab 3:19 NLT] The Sovereign LORD is my strength! He makes me as surefooted as a deer, able to tread upon the heights. (For the choir director: This prayer is to be accompanied by stringed instruments.)

Knowing God’s mercy, grace, love, and strength, we can fully trust the LORD. Like a deer, we can walk and even dance and leap securely with Him with live and joy, even upon the high, dangerous, and rocky “mountains” in our lives.

It is His strength that He gives to us that we can not only endure but be victorious in these days that we find ourselves in. Victory is ours through our Lord Jesus. We have already won the battles through our faith in our God! (Phi 4:13, Rom 8:37, 1 Jn 4:4, 5:4).