God's Glorious Salvation in the Midst of Judgment
Habakkuk • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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This final chapter is introduced as a prayer to the Lord but it is interesting that it is described as Shigionoth. The only other time that this word is used in the Old Testament is in the title of Psalm 7. It is because of that and the fact that the end of chapter 2, God reminds the prophet and His people that He is in His holy temple that we can draw the conclusion that this prayer, in poetry form, was written with intentions of being sung in the temple.
The prayer begins in verse 2 where Habakkuk plainly states that He has heard the report of the Lord and believes it and fears it. There is a great deal of value in the importance of responding to the Lord in worship, even if the immediate future does look bleak.
Habakkuk goes on in verse 2 to make a request of God regarding His work that he fears. The request is simply that God would revive His work among His people, that He would reveal it by making it known, and that God would remember mercy in dealing with His people.
This ought to be a prayer that we pray for our body of believers in the midst of difficulty. God, bring to life the work that you began in us and complete it. Reveal to us your will. And exercise your great mercy toward us, for we know that we are deserving of the fullest extent of your punishment.
We are only covering this chapter through verse 15 this morning and it is broken up into three sections. First, we read Habakkuk tell of
The Glory of God’s Coming
The Glory of God’s Coming
It is fitting that we are on the doorstep of the Christmas season where we will often think of the first coming of Christ, God in the flesh.
In verse 3, it is interesting that Habakkuk describes the method by which God will come by using the past tense and describing how God came to the Israelites during their enslavement to the Egyptians. It is in this description in the beginning of the verse that we must remember that God comes when His people are in deep need. It is often that we have been brought to a point where we must rely on God that He comes to our rescue because we rely on ourselves first.
In the same way, it is Jesus Christ who came to this earth to serve as the atonement of our sins because He was the only one who could save us. When mankind could turn to no other, the Lord came.
Once the manner in which he comes is described, the extent of His glory is described. It simply is all encompassing. What is left after the heavens and the earth have been covered? Nothing. Is there anything else left when the earth is full of the Lord’s praise? Certainly not!
His glory covers all when He comes and then verse 4 points out the intensity with which he comes. His glory is described as rays and light that shine with brightness and flash. King David described this same coming of the Lord in a similar way in 2 Samuel 22:13: “Out of the brightness before him coals of fire flamed forth.”
Paul describes this light in 1 Timothy 6:16 as “unapproachable light, who no one has ever seen or can see…”
One particular word stands out to me here when describing the intensity and moment of the Lord’s interaction. There.
Listen to a couple of other verses that use this emphatic word in a similar way to grab the attention of the reader.
Psalm 14:5 - “There they are in great terror, for God is with the generation of the righteous.”
Hosea 6:7 - But like Adam they transgressed the covenant; there they dealt faithlessly with me.
It is from the hand of God that His power that has been unseen up to this point is revealed in a mighty way.
Finally, we see the effects of this glorious coming. Again, Habakkuk points back to the events of the freedom from Egyptian enslavement and the plagues that freed His people. His justice is overwhelming just as His plagues were to the Egyptians. And their effects are felt long after the events have taken place.
The nations will be shaken and the mountains that have never been moved are scattered about. While it might seem as though the rolling hills will never be moved, they are not everlasting like our God. This is the power of God, described in a beautiful yet terrifying way.
The past judgment of Cush and Midian put them to ruin. In the same way, God promises here that He will judge the people of Judah for their unfaithfulness as well as the Babylonians for their evil deeds to the nations. Past judgment points to future promised judgment.
But we should notice in all this discussion of God’s judgment, Habakkuk no longer voices any concern. His trust is in the everlasting God. His hope rests in the restoration of God’s people, which is consistent throughout all of time.
We ought to rest in that same hope. We can trust that the Lord’s ultimate return will be in the same glorious way that is described here but it is not something that His people ought to fear. Instead, it provides us with much needed hope in uncertain times!
His glory has been described well and the next section describes a cosmic battle we Habakkuk explains
Judgment AND Salvation
Judgment AND Salvation
These are not two words that go together easily but you’ll see shortly that verses 8 through 11 provide us with a tie between the two concepts.
It is important to note that God is addressed in the third person in the previous verses but now switches to second person. We move from God’s coming to God’s presence now.
The question here at beginning of this section simply asks God if the subject of His wrath was the earth that certainly sees the effects of His wrath? Obviously the answer here is a strong NO! Instead, it is those who have acted in an evil way.
There is a wonderful connection between this verse and Revelation 16.
Verse four in that chapter states: “The third angel poured out his bowl into the rivers and the springs of water, and they became blood.”
Then verse six: “The sixth angel poured out his bowl on the great river Euphrates, and its water was dried up, to prepare the way for the kings from the east.”
If we consider these verses in the context of Habakkuk’s knowledge, we remember the water of the Nile river being turned to blood and that Babylon rested on the banks of the Euphrates.
But it was not on these creations of God that His wrath is meant to torment. Rather, it was a sinful people who did not fear Him that He is pouring out His judgment on. It is these people that face the Lord, riding in behind horses on His chariot of salvation. I hope you see the connection here. It is through judgment that salvation comes to the righteous.
In verse 9 we see an image of God taken up weapons in His hands in order to overcome the enemy. It is one thing to know that a warrior is carrying a weapon but things change when the weapon is unsheathed. Such an assault has an effect on its recipients but the power of the Lord is such that rivers flow because of it!
This violent justice is felt all over the earth. From the mountains to the waters. Even the depths of the ocean cry out. It is almost as if they raise their hands in surrender when the Lord’s judgment is concerned. But is it possible that when one raises their hands in surrender, it is only then when salvation can be received?
There is even pause on the part of the moon and stars. But such an effect is not foreign to the Almighty God. Listen to Joshua 10:12-14.
At that time Joshua spoke to the Lord in the day when the Lord gave the Amorites over to the sons of Israel, and he said in the sight of Israel,
“Sun, stand still at Gibeon,
and moon, in the Valley of Aijalon.”
And the sun stood still, and the moon stopped,
until the nation took vengeance on their enemies.
Is this not written in the Book of Jashar? The sun stopped in the midst of heaven and did not hurry to set for about a whole day.
All of creation stands in awe at both the judgment of God as well as His salvation! In gazing upon the flash of the spear and light of the arrows, the strongest source of light we have observed stands aside to its creator. Shouldn’t we pause as well and stand and wonder how it is that we are worthy of such mercy?
Finally, in verses 12-15 we see six declarations of God’s victory. What is the battle over anyway? In Ephesians 6:12, Paul reminds the church at Ephesus and us today that “For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.”
The enemy of the Lord is the same as that with which we wrestle: sin and evil.
Listen to these declarations of victory that Habakkuk points out here:
The salvation of the Lord, the true victory, knows no earthly boundary. This includes the longest list of past sins or not knowing the right words!
According to the second half of verse 12, those who oppose His saving will face His anger. These are the ones who grasp so tightly to sin that they are unable to embrace Christ Jesus.
God has gone out for the salvation of His people. In other words, our Lord left the security of heaven and entered this sinful earth so that the world might have the opportunity to be saved!
Salvation has been made possible because the head of the evil one has been crushed. This was what the Lord told the serpent in Genesis 3. “He shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.” On the cross, the feet of Jesus we nailed to that tree but the threat of sin was gone forever for those who confess and believe that Jesus Christ is Lord over all things.
The enemy has been put away by their own weapon of choice in verse 14. It is because of the pride of the evil one that he was banished from heaven and resides in hell forever.
The salvation of the Lord is one of overwhelming proportions. All the earth gazes at His glory. Such a victory has never been in doubt!
Everything said about this victory by Habakkuk is true today when we consider the victory over sin that is available. The battle has already been won when Jesus emerged from the tomb. Now, we must commit ourselves each and every day to live for Him. Living for the Lord is certainly of difficulty but is possible when we trust in Him!