Habakkuk 3

The prophet worshipping and witness-

When Habakkuk started his book, he was “down in the valley,” wrestling with the will of God. Then he climbed higher and stood on the watchtower, waiting for God to reply. After hearing God’s Word and seeing God’s glory, he became like a deer bounding confidently on the mountain heights (3:19)! His circumstances hadn’t changed, but he had changed, and now he was walking by faith instead of sight. He was living by promises, not explanations.

It isn’t easy to climb higher in the life of faith, but who wants to live in the valley? Like Habakkuk, we must honestly talk to God about our difficulties, we must pray, we must meditate on God’s Word, and we must be willing to experience fear and trembling as the Lord reveals Himself to us (v. 16). But it will be worth it as we reach new summits of faith and discover new opportunities for growth and service.

What took Habakkuk from the valley to the summit? The same spiritual disciplines that can take us there: prayer, vision, and faith. Habakkuk interceded for God’s work (vv. 1–2), pondered God’s ways (vv. 3–15), and affirmed God’s will (vv. 16–19).

This chapter is a “prayer psalm” that may have been used in the temple worship in Jerusalem. (For the other “prayer psalms,” see Ps. 17; 86; 90; 102; and 142.) The prophet was now praying to the Lord and not arguing with the Lord, and his prayer soon became praise and worship.

He prayed because he had heard God speak. The word speech means “report” and refers to what God had told him earlier (Hab. 2:2–3). Knowing the will of God should motivate us to pray “Thy will be done.” The same God who ordains the end also ordains the means to the end, and prayer is an important part of that means. “You do not have because you do not ask” (James 4: nkjv).

Also, hearing God’s Word generates faith in the heart of the child of God (Rom. 10:17), and without faith, we can’t pray effectively (Mark 11:22–24). The Word of God and prayer must always go together (Acts 6:4; John 15:7) lest our praying become zeal without knowledge. “I used to think I should close my Bible and pray for faith,” said D. L. Moody, “but I came to see that it was in studying the Word that I was to get faith.”

Habakkuk prayed because he was overwhelmed by God’s splendor. “I stand in awe of your deeds” (Hab. 3: niv). He had seen a vision of the greatness of God, recorded for us in verses 3–15, and this vision left him weak and helpless (v. 16). All he could do was cry out to God.

Many people have the idea that it’s always an enjoyable experience getting to know God in a deeper way, but that’s not what the saints of God in the Bible would say. Moses trembled at Mount Sinai when God gave the law (Heb. 12:18–21). Joshua fell on his face before the Lord (Josh. 5:13–15), as did David (1 Chron. 21:16). Daniel became exhausted and ill after seeing the visions God gave him (Dan. 8:27; 10:11). The vision of Christ’s glory on the Mount of Transfiguration left Peter, James, and John facedown on the ground and filled with terror (Matt. 17:6). When John saw the glorified Christ, he fell at His feet as though dead (Rev. 1:17).

A plaque hanging in my study carries this quotation from A.W. Tozer: “To know God is at once the easiest and the most difficult thing in the world.” God certainly has the ability to reveal Himself to us, for He can do anything; but it’s a problem for God to find somebody who is ready to meet Him. God doesn’t reveal Himself to superficial saints who are only looking for “a new experience” they can brag about, or to curious Christians who want to “sample” deeper fellowship with God but not at too great a price.

We are the ones who make it difficult to get to know God better. “Draw near to God and He will draw near to you” (James 4: nkjv). “But on this one will I look,” says the Lord, “on him who is poor and of a contrite spirit, and who trembles at My word” (Isa. 66: nkjv). “My flesh trembles in fear of you,” wrote the psalmist; “I stand in awe of your laws” (Ps. 119:120).

Habakkuk prayed because he wanted God’s work to succeed. God had told him that He was “working a work” in the world (Hab. 1:5), and now the prophet prayed that God would keep that work alive and cause it to prosper. What God was doing wasn’t the work Habakkuk would have chosen, but he accepted God’s plan and prayed, “Thy will be done.” When God revealed that work to Habakkuk, he cried out, “We shall not die” (v. 12). Then in 2:4, God told him that the only way to live was by faith. So, when Habakkuk prayed for God’s work to stay alive, he was also praying that his own faith might grow.

Finally, Habakkuk prayed because he wanted God to show mercy. The prophet agreed that the people of Judah deserved to be chastened, and that God’s chastening would work out for their good, but he asked that God’s heart of love would reveal itself in mercy. He was like Moses when he interceded for the nation at Mount Sinai (Ex. 32) and at Kadesh Barnea (Num. 14). Perhaps Habakkuk had the promise of Isaiah 54:7–8 in mind as he prayed (and see Jer. 10:23–24.). Certainly the Lord did show mercy to the Jews, for He preserved them in Babylon and then permitted a remnant to return to their land and establish the nation.

If, like Habakkuk, you ever become discouraged about the condition of the church, the state of the world, or your own spiritual life, take time to pray and seek God’s mercy. Charles Spurgeon said, “Whether we like it or not, asking is the rule of the kingdom.” The greatest need today is for intercessors. “And he saw that there was no man, and wondered that there was no intercessor” (Isa. 59:16).

The Lord isn’t likely to give us today a vision such as Habakkuk saw, but because it’s recorded in the Word, we can ponder it and let the Spirit teach us from it. God reveals His greatness in creation, in Scripture, and in history, and if we have eyes to see, we can behold His glory.

God came in splendor (vv. 3–5). According to some scholars, Mount Paran is another name for the entire Sinai Peninsula, or for Mount Sinai itself (Deut. 33:2). Teman is usually identified with Edom. In this song, Habakkuk seems to be retracing the march of Israel from Sinai to the Promised Land.

Everything about this stanza reveals the glory of God. He is called “the Holy One” (Hab. 3:3; and see 1:12), a name used in Isaiah at least thirty times. “His glory covered the heavens” (3:3) is an anticipation of the time when His glory will cover all the earth (2:14). God’s appearance was like the lightning that plays across the heavens before the storm breaks. All of creation joined in praising Him as “the earth was full of his praise.” God’s brightness was like the sunrise only to a greater degree (see Matt. 17:2). “Horns” means “rays”: “rays flashed from his hand” (Hab. 3: niv) where His power was hidden.

Verse 5 takes us to Egypt, where God revealed His power and glory in the plagues and pestilences that devastated the land and took the lives of the firstborn (Ex. 7—12). Those ten plagues were not only punishment because of Pharaoh’s hardness of heart; they also revealed the vanity of Egypt’s gods. “Against all the gods of Egypt will I execute judgment: I am the Lord” (Ex. 12:12; Ps. 78:50). But this verse might also include the various judgments God sent to Israel when they disobeyed Him from time to time during their wilderness march.

In Old Testament times, God often revealed His glory through such judgments, but in this present dispensation, He reveals His glory through Jesus Christ. “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth” (John 1: nkjv). Pharaoh wouldn’t acknowledge the truth, so he couldn’t experience the grace. The first plague of Moses in Egypt was the turning of water into blood (Ex. 7:14–25), while our Lord’s first recorded miracle was the turning of water into wine.

The Lord stood in power (vv. 6–7). Invading generals either push forward to gain ground or they fall back in retreat, but the Lord simply stood and faced the enemy unafraid. In fact, He calmly measured the earth as a sign that He possessed it. To measure something is an indication that it’s yours and you can do with it what you please. It’s also a preliminary step to action, as though the Lord were surveying the situation and estimating how much power it would take to execute His wrath on the nations. The Lord revealed His power when He shook the earth at Sinai before He delivered His law to Israel (Ex. 19:18; Heb. 12:18–21).

The nations that lay between Egypt and Canaan are typified by Cushan and Midian, two peoples living near Edom. As the news of the exodus from Egypt spread quickly through the nations, the people were terribly frightened and wondered what would happen to them when Israel arrived on the scene (Ex. 15:14–16; 23:27; Deut. 2:25; Josh. 2:8–11).

God marched in victory (vv. 8–15). Habakkuk uses dynamic poetic imagery to describe Israel’s march through the wilderness as they followed the Lord to the Promised Land and then claimed their inheritance. The Red Sea opened to let Israel out of Egypt, and the Jordan opened to let Israel into Canaan. The Egyptian chariots sank into the mud and their occupants were drowned, but God’s chariots were chariots of salvation. Verse 9 pictures the various battles that the Israelites fought en route to Canaan, battles that the Lord won for them as they trusted Him and obeyed His commands.

In verse 10, we move into the Promised Land and see Israel conquering the enemy. God was in complete control of land and water and used His creation to defeat the Canaanites. Verse 10 describes the victory of Deborah and Barak over Sisera (Judg. 4—5), when a sudden rainstorm turned their battlefield into a swamp and left the enemy’s chariots completely useless. In Habakkuk 3:11, we have the famous miracle of Joshua when the day was prolonged so Joshua would have more time for a total victory (Josh. 10:12–13). Leading His army, God marched through Canaan like a farmer threshing grain, and His people claimed their inheritance (Hab. 3:12).

Expositors aren’t agreed as to what historical event is described in verses 13–15. This could be a picture of the nation’s deliverance from Egypt, but if it is, Habakkuk should have mentioned it earlier. God’s “anointed” would be the nation of Israel, for they were a holy people to the Lord (Ex. 19:5–8). Perhaps the prophet is referring to the various times God had to deliver His people, as recorded in the book of Judges, and the “anointed one” would then be the judges He raised up and used to bring deliverance (Judg. 2:10–19).

However, perhaps Habakkuk was looking ahead and describing the deliverance of God’s people from the Babylonian captivity. God brought the Medes and Persians to crush Babylon and then to permit the Jews to return to their land (Ezra 1:1–4). The image of God stripping Babylon “from head to foot” (Hab. 3: niv) parallels what Jeremiah prophesied in Jeremiah 50— 51. Perhaps Habakkuk was looking both to the past (the exodus) and to the future (deliverance from Babylon) and using the ancient victory to encourage the people to expect a new victory.

In this hymm, Habakkuk describes his God, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. He is the God of glory who reveals His glory in creation and in history. He is the living God who makes the dead idols of the nations look ridiculous. He is the God of power who can command land and sea, heaven, and earth, and therefore, He is the God of victory who leads His people in triumph.

There is no substitute for good theology, whether in our sermons or in our songs. The shallowness of some contemporary sermons, books, and songs may be the major contributing factor to the weakness of the church and the increase in “religious entertainment” in meetings where we ought to be praising God. The thing that lifted Habakkuk to the mountaintop was his understanding of the greatness of God. We need a return to the kind of worship that focuses on the glory of God and seeks to honor Him alone.

This is one of the greatest confessions of faith found anywhere in Scripture. Habakkuk has faced the frightening fact that his nation will be invaded by a merciless enemy. The prophet knows that many of the people will go into exile and many will be slain. The land will be ruined, and Jerusalem and the temple will be destroyed. Yet he tells God that he will trust Him no matter what happens! Listen to his confession of faith.

“I will wait patiently on the Lord” (v. 16). If Habakkuk had depended on his feelings, he would never have made this great confession of faith. If Habakkuk looked ahead, he saw a nation heading for destruction, and that frightened him. When he looked within, he saw himself trembling with fear, and when he looked around, he saw everything in the economy about to fall apart. But when he looked up by faith, he saw God, and all his fears vanished. To walk by faith means to focus on the greatness and glory of God.

One of the marks of faith is a willingness to wait patiently for the Lord to work. “Whoever believes will not act hastily” (Isa. 28: nkjv). When we run ahead of God, we get into trouble. Abraham learned that lesson when he married Hagar and fathered Ishmael (Gen. 16), and so did Moses when he tried to deliver the Jews by his own hand (Ex. 2). “In quietness and confidence shall be your strength” (Isa. 3:15).

Habakkuk could wait quietly because he knew that God was at work in the world (Hab. 1:5), and he had prayed that God’s work would be kept alive and strong (3:2). When you know that God is working in your life, you can afford to wait quietly and let Him have His way. Furthermore, God had commanded him to wait (2:3), and “God’s commandments are God’s enablements.” No matter what we see and no matter how we feel, we must depend on God’s promises and not allow ourselves to “fall apart.” “Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for him” (Ps. 37:7).

Over the years, I’ve often leaned on three verses that have helped me wait patiently on the Lord. “Stand still” (Ex. 14:13), “Sit still” (Ruth 3:18), and “Be still” (Ps. 46:10). Whenever we find ourselves getting “churned up” within, we can be sure that we need to stop, pray, and wait on the Lord before we do some stupid thing.

“I will rejoice in the Lord” (vv. 17–18). By the time Babylon was through with the land of Judah, there wouldn’t be much of value left (2:17). Buildings would be destroyed, treasures would be plundered, and farms and orchards would be devastated. The economy would fall apart and there would be little to sing about. But God would still be on His throne, working out His divine purposes for His people (Rom. 8:28). Habakkuk couldn’t rejoice in his circumstances, but he could rejoice in his God!

The prophet’s testimony here reminds us of Paul’s admonitions to Christians today: “Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you” (1 Thess. 5:16–18 nkjv). Habakkuk discovered that God was his strength (Hab. 3:19) and song as well as his salvation (see Isa. 12:1–2; Ex. 15:2; Ps. 118:14); and therefore he had nothing to fear.

It’s one thing to “whistle in the dark” and try to bolster our courage, and quite something else to sing about the eternal God who never fails. Though his lips were trembling and his legs were shaking (Hab. 3: niv), the prophet burst into song and worshipped his God. What an example for us to follow! It reminds us of our Lord before He went to the cross (Mark 14:26), and Paul and Silas in the Philippian dungeon (Acts 16:19–34). God can give us “songs in the night” (Ps. 42:8; 77:6; Job 35:10) if we’ll trust Him and see His greatness.

“I will rely on the Lord” (Hab. 3:19). If my legs were shaking and my heart pounding, I’d find a safe place to sit down and relax, but Habakkuk began to bound up the mountain like a deer! Because of his faith in the Lord, he was able to stand and be as sure-footed as a deer; he was able to run swiftly and go higher than he’d ever gone before. This is one reason why the Lord permits us to go through trials: they can draw us nearer to Him and lift us above the circumstances so that we walk on the heights with Him.

God made us for the heights. If He allows us to go into the valley, it’s so we might wait on Him and mount up with eagles’ wings (Isa. 40:30–31). “He made him to ride on the high places of the earth” (Deut. 32:13). This is what David experienced when he was being chased by his enemies and by Saul: “It is God who arms me with strength, and makes my way perfect. He makes my feet like the feet of deer, and sets me on my high places” (Ps. 18:32–33 nkjv).

The great British expositor G. Campbell Morgan said, “Our joy is in proportion to our trust. Our trust is in proportion to our knowledge of God.” As the hymn paraphrase of this passage puts it, Though vine nor fig-tree neither Their wonted fruit shall bear; Though all the fields should wither, Nor flocks nor herds be there; Yet God the same abiding, His praise shall tune my voice; For while in Him confiding, I cannot but rejoice.

Habakkuk teaches us to face our doubts and questions honestly, take them humbly to the Lord, wait for His Word to teach us, and then worship Him no matter how we feel or what we see.

Z E P H A N I A HGod doesn’t always change the circumstances, but He can change us to meet the circumstances. That’s what it means to live by faith.

A. Pictures of that great day. 1. Like a flood—1:2–6 2. Like a great sacrifice—1:7–13 3. Like a battle—1:15–18

B. Plea to seek the Lord—2:1–3 A. Philistia—2:4–7 B. Moab and Ammon—2:8–11

C. Cush—2:

D. Assyria—2:13–15 A. Jerusalem: God’s jealous anger—3:1–8 B. The Gentiles: graciousness and forgiveness— 3:11–20

C. The remnant: bounteous blessing—3:11–20 1. The sinners removed—3:11–13 2. The believers rejoicing—3:14–17 3. The land restored—3:18–20 E s t h e r J e r e m i a h J o n a h J o b L a m e n t a t i o n s M i c a h P s a l m s E z e k i e l N a h u m P r o v e r b s D a n i e l H a b a k k u k

Zephaniah E c c l e s i a s t e s H o s e a S o n g o f J o e l H a g g a i S o l o m o n A m o s Z e c h a r i a h I s a i a h O b a d i a h M a l a c h i

Zephaniah in His Time If the Hezekiah named in Zephaniah 1: is King Hezekiah (715–686), then the prophet Zephaniah was his great-great-grandson. His name means “Jehovah hides” (i.e., “Jehovah protects”) and describes God’s ministry of protection for His faithful people when the day of His anger arrives (2:3).

Zephaniah’s major theme is the day of the Lord, that period of time when God will judge the nations and usher in His righteous kingdom. This theme is found in almost all the prophets, but it is particularly evident in Joel and Zephaniah. “The great day of the Lord is near” (Zeph. 1: niv).

The Scriptures reveal very little about Zephaniah’s personal life. He ministered in Judah during the time of King Josiah (640–609), who led the nation in a religious reformation triggered by the finding of the book of the law in the temple in the year 622 (2 Chron. 34:14ff.). It’s likely that Zephaniah preached prior to this reformation, or he would have said something about it in his book. Jeremiah and Zephaniah were contemporaries.

Politically, the times were in ferment. Assyria was losing its power, the Scythians were invading from the north, and Babylon had become the leading empire. King Manasseh (697–642) had led the people of Judah deeper and deeper into idolatry and the adoption of foreign ideas and customs, and Josiah had sought to reverse this trend. Alas, King Josiah died on the battlefield before his work was finished, and his successors on the throne allowed the people to return to their sinful ways.