Turn to Christ in Times of Need
Habakkuk 3:1-19
May 29, 2022
Peter Yoo
Sermon Script
Prolegomena
Good morning everyone. This morning, we’ll be continuing our short series through the book of Habakkuk, so please turn in your Bibles to Habakkuk 3. But it’s been a while since I last spoke on Habakkuk, so I’ll try to give a brief reminder of what happened in Habakkuk 1-2. in Habakkuk 1, Habakkuk cries out to God because God’s people are indifferent towards God and unrepentant of their sins. More than this, it looks like God isn’t doing anything about it. But then God tells Habakkuk what he’s about to do. God is going to raise the Babylonians to exile his people. And Habakkuk is even more confused. “God, why would do something like this?” In Habakkuk 2, Habakkuk demands that God answer him; and he does. God gives five woes to the Babylonians: woe to the plunderer, the empire builder, the oppressor, the debaucher, and the idolater. Basically, God says to each of these kinds of people that he’s going to judge them for their sin against him and against his people. Judgment eventually always comes to the wicked.
Which brings us to Habakkuk 3, where Habakkuk hears of God’s judgment against the Babylonians, and he gives a prayer song. He sings a prayer to the Lord. And we get to listen to this entire conversation.
Introduction
Review: Prayer Journal Illustration
If you remember my sermon on Habakkuk 1, I mentioned something called a prayer journal. Basically, a prayer journal is when people write down their prayers in a journal. And there are different kinds of prayers that you can write. You can write down prayers of thanks to God. “God, thank you for my family, thank you for my husband, my wife, my kids, thank you for my friends, thank you for my job, thank you for my school.” You can write down prayers of adoration to God. “God, you are holy, righteous, pure, all that’s good, all that’s beautiful.” You can write down prayers of confession of your sins. “God, I know I’m forgiven in Christ, but I sin so much; forgive me of my many sins.”
But you can also write down prayers of supplication to God. “God, please help my family member who’s struggling with depression, please help our church member who’s struggling financially, please help our neighbor come to know Jesus.” And in one sense, we’re reading Habakkuk’s prayer journal to God. And his prayer journal reads like a journal of supplications with a lot of prayer requests. One thing I hope Highland will grow in, as a church, is learning to ask others for prayer.
And we’ve come to a point in Habakkuk where God has told Habakkuk what he’s going to do. Basically, God’s going to discipline his people, but he’s going to judge his enemies. God’s going to chastise and discipline his people like a father disciplines his child, but God’s going to judge his enemies who mistreated his people. The wicked will be judged, and they’ll be judged perfectly by the perfect, righteous Judge.
Preview: Habakkuk’s Prayer-Song
So what’s Habakkuk’s response? Habakkuk is so tired of seeing all this evil around him, from both God’s people and God’s enemies. And what’s his response? He sings to God in worship. His prayer journal has become a songbook. And if you look at the bottom of verse 19, it says, “To the choirmaster: with stringed instruments.” This was supposed to be sung by the congregation. Can you imagine people reading your prayer journal, and then singing it? Well, they had good reason to sing Habakkuk’s prayer, because this chapter is all about God and how he saves his people.
Theme and Points
And so this morning, I’d like for us to remember one simple truth. One basic, fundamental truth that we might often forget. That even in the most difficult times of your life, our powerful God is always with you. Even when you feel like God isn’t there for you, trust and believe that our powerful God is always with you. And my sermon has two points to help us trust in God, even in difficult times. First, look back, and second, look up.
Look Back
3:2, Summary of Habakkuk’s Prayer-Song
So first, to help you remember that God is always with you is to look back. What do I mean by this? Basically, look back at all the times that God has been faithful to you. Look back at all the times that God has been merciful and gracious towards you. Look back at all the times that God has taken care of you. That’s what Habakkuk is doing. He looks back and remembers all that God has done in the past, and how good he was, how powerful he was, and how amazing he was. Verse 2 is basically a summary of his prayer-song. Look at verse 2. O Lord, I have heard the report of you, and your work, O Lord, do I fear. In the midst of the years revive it; in the midst of the years make it known; in wrath remember mercy. Habakkuk has heard and he fears what God has done in the past. And he asks God to do it again. Habakkuk asks God to let his people live, to make his salvation known, and to be merciful when God exiles them.
3:3-15, Structure of Habakkuk’s Prayer-Song
Then, from verses 3 to 15, Habakkuk gives us his prayer-song. And he divides his prayer-song into three sections, all marked by the word selah. People usually think that selah marks the end of a section, but here Habakkuk marks three titles of his prayer-song. So for example, the title of section 1 is God came from Teman, and the Holy One from Mount Paran (3:3a); the title of section 2 is You stripped the sheath from your bow, calling for many arrows (3:9a); and the title of section 3 is You crushed the head of the house of the wicked, laying him bare from thigh to neck (3:13a). Having titles for verses is probably a foreign concept to us, but that’s how Habakkuk structures his prayer-song for us.
3:3-8, Section One
But the main point of these three sections of his prayer-song is that Habakkuk looks back at all that God has done, and specifically he’s remembering the exodus event. Starting with verse 3, God came from Teman, and the Holy One from Mount Paran. Habakkuk here is remembering how God saved his people from Egypt and brought them to Mount Sinai. And when God gave Moses the law on Mount Sinai, God’s splendor covered the heavens, and the earth was full of his praise. His brightness was like the light; rays flashed from his hand; and there he veiled his power. Habakkuk then remembers the plagues and God’s power to save his people. Verses 5 and 6 look at his power in Egypt and verse 7 looks at his power in places like Numbers 31 and Judges 3. This is when God’s people were oppressed, but God saved his people. And because God went with his people, he caused affliction and distress to the Cushites and Midianites. And then Habakkuk asks rhetorical questions, asking was God angry at the waters themselves? When God split the Red Sea to save his people from Egypt, or when God split the Jordan River, was he mad at the rivers? No, he was saving his people with great power! God here is described as a mighty warrior, who saves his people with power!
A problem that many Christians have today is that they don’t have a big enough view of God. Many Christians don’t view God as powerful. Christians might view God as somewhat powerful, but not as omnipotent as the Bible says he is. If this is you this morning, I urge you to repent, for believing something that non-Christians believe. God is described as a warrior, not as a weakling. And all of creation is described as his arsenal, his weaponry. God has changed the natural order of creation to save his people. Let us not view God as weak.
3:9-13a, Section Two
Then in verses 9-13, God is described as a powerful bowman. He removes the sheath from [his] bow, calling for many arrows. God readies his arrows towards his enemies. And all of creation responds to God. The mountains see God and writhes in pain. The word here is used to describe women in labor. The raging waters, the deep, the sun, the moon in verses 10 and 11 are all worshiping God. This is very similar to Psalm 19, when David writes, The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork. Day to day pours out speech, and night to night reveals knowledge. There is no speech, nor are there words, whose voice is not heard. Isn’t that fascinating? All of creation still worships and responds to God. Every day gives speech and every night gives knowledge, and all the voices of creation are heard. Verse 10, the deep gave forth its voice; it lifted its hands on high.
The problem is not that creation isn’t worshiping God; the problem is that we lack eyes of faith to recognize that God’s creation responds to him in the right way. The heavens declare the glory of God, but we’re too busy with our lives to notice. The sky above proclaims his handiwork, but we’re too focused on more important things. I encourage us this morning to have a different view of creation, a biblical view of creation, a creation that praises its Creator. And I hope we can join with creation in responding in worship to God. It’s going to be warm today, and it’s not a bad idea to go outside and look at God’s creation and praise God with his creation! And in verses 12 and 13, God continues to be described as a bowman, but as a wrathful bowman, furious that his people were oppressed, and saves them with a powerful hand, and he saves God’s anointed and specially chosen one.
3:13b-15, Section Three
And in verses 13-15, God is described as the Victorious One. He crushed the head of the leader of the wicked, he struck the heads of the warriors with their own arrows, [he] trampled the sea underfoot with [his] horses. God’s enemies tried to go against him, like a whirlwind tries to scatter things. And they were arrogant, like someone who takes advantage of the poor. But God is just and rightly judges every wrongdoer. The leader and his warriors are completely defeated. God has saved his people from their oppressors.
So, to sum up the first point, if you want to know that God’s always with you, join Habakkuk in looking back. Look back. Remember and reflect on what God has done to save his people. If you need help in remembering what he’s done, read the Bible. Even if it feels like God has abandoned us, even if it feels like God has left us alone, look back. When Habakkuk looked back, he remembered that God has always saved his people, because that’s who he is. He’s a mighty warrior who’s always with them and will save them. And when we look back at how God has powerfully saved his people in the past, it gives us hope that God is still with us now, and that God will save his people in the future.
Look Up
3:16, Habakkuk’s Anxiety
Which leads me to my second point. To help remind you that your powerful God is always with you, the first point was to look back, the second point is to look up. It’s one thing to look back at all that God has done, but it’s another thing to look up at God. Look at verse 16. Habakkuk hears about the Babylonians, he knows they’re coming, and he knows they’re going to do some horrible things to them. I’ll spare you details, but it’s pretty bad. And so, Habakkuk, a very honest prophet, says, I hear, and my body trembles; my lips quiver at the sound; rottenness enters into my bones; my legs tremble beneath me. Habakkuk is physically having an anxiety attack. His movements are uncontrollable. And when he says his body trembles and his legs tremble, the word used describes an uncontrollable movement that’s never at rest. But at the end of verse 16, Habakkuk says something almost no one would say today. Despite the anxiety and trepidation he’s experiencing, he says, Yet I will quietly wait for the day of trouble to come upon people who invade us. He’s saying that he will obediently and patiently and quietly and restfully wait for God to judge his enemies. Habakkuk knows that the exile is happening because of Israel’s sin, Habakkuk knows that Israel deserves God’s Fatherly discipline. But he also knows that Babylon is going to be judged. He knows that God who lovingly disciplines his people also judges the unrepentant oppressors of his people. They are answerable for their deeds. And so Habakkuk, with faith, endures the invasion and the exile.
On a side note, I find it interesting to hear some Christians who desperately want to know the hidden will of God. They desperately want to know what’s going to happen in the future. Really? Habakkuk found out what was going to happen and his body could barely handle it. And honestly, if I knew what was going to happen to me in the future, I wouldn’t have as mature of a faith as Habakkuk’s. God is being merciful by not revealing every little detail in our lives. He knows we can’t handle it, but he can. He’s given us all that we need to know in his Word, and it’s more than enough. So I encourage us to mediate on his Word day and night, so that we might mature in our faith for when difficult times come.
3:17-19a, Habakkuk’s Trust
Then in verses 17-19, Habakkuk gives us some of the most beautiful words in all of Scripture. There really aren’t many passages that compare to how beautiful these two verses are. I’ll read verses 17-19. Though the fig tree should not blossom, nor fruit be on the vines, the produce of the olive fail and the fields yield no food, the flock be cut off from the fold and there be no herd in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the Lord; I will take joy in the God of my salvation. God, the Lord, is my strength; he makes my feet like the deer’s; he makes me tread on my high places. I almost don’t feel the need to further elaborate on this. But what’s Habakkuk saying here? He’s listed any and every possible source of food in the ancient world, any and every possible source of basic necessity. And he’s saying, “God, even if I have no more food left, even if I work hard to produce food and nothing comes, even if I can’t provide for my family, even if my source of income be cut off, even if life can’t get any lower, even if everything I have is taken away from me, like Job I will say, ‘Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return. The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord’” (Job 1:21). Amazing. Habakkuk says no matter what, he will rejoice in the Lord and [he] will take joy in the God of [his] salvation.
How can Habakkuk express these beautiful truths in such a time as this? Because he knows who his God is. And he knows that God is always with him. He looks back at what his God has done, but he also looks up at God during difficult times. That’s why he knows that God, the Lord, is [his] strength. This is exactly what the apostle Paul means in Philippians 4:12-13. I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. I can do all things through him who strengthens me. The apostle Paul was imprisoned multiple times, with countless beatings, nearly died multiple times, 39 lashes on his body from the Jews, 3 times beaten with rods, had multiple stones thrown at him, shipwrecked three times. And yet, he too can say, I can do all things through him who strengthens me. He and Habakkuk can both say God, the Lord, is my strength; he makes my feet like the deer’s; he makes me tread on my high places, because they’re both looking up at God, who gives them strength in their time of need. It’s amazing that Habakkuk can express such mature and firm faith, when everything around him seem hopeless.
Christ Our Strength
But the application for us isn’t, try harder, do better. The application of this passage isn’t, try harder to be more like Habakkakuk, try harder to have more faith. If we’re honest with ourselves, how can we? Especially in difficult times, how can we try harder, do better? Can you imagine in times of weakness and severe need, people just say to you, just try harder, do better. No! As much as I’ve talked about Habakkuk’s faith, what’s far more important is God himself. God is not just the warrior who defends Old Testament Israel, but also New Testament Christians, including us. God always defends his people whom he loves, and we’re his people by faith in Christ alone. You didn’t earn your membership into God’s family, you were dead in your sins and trespasses, but God raised you up in Jesus Christ so that you might be his beloved child. All the sins that you were answerable to have been placed on Christ on the cross and he was crucified in your place for all your sins. He was treated as if he was you. So if you struggle in your faith, look at the cross and be assured that when Jesus died on that cross, he died in your place, and there are no more sins for you to pay for! It is finished! And he paid for your sins as a gift! Praise God!
And so, when you hear of what Jesus has done for us, we can confidently say that in God’s wrath, he remembered mercy. When God poured his wrath onto his Son, he was merciful towards us (3:2). On the cross, the serpent has bruised his heel, but in Christ’s resurrection, he has crushed the serpent’s head, he has crushed the head of the house of the wicked (3:13). And the Father did not leave the Son in the grave, but he went out to resurrect his Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, the Anointed One (3:13). And Habakkuk feared for the coming of the exile, but 1 Peter 1-2 says that we’re exiles right now (1 Pet 1:1,17; 2:11). This is because we’re not back home yet. We will be, but not yet. Just as God promised to bring back his people from exile, so too will he bring us from our exile to our home, the new heavens and new earth. We know where we’re going, we know who we’re going to be with, and we know why we’re going there: because Jesus has paid for all my sins and gives me eternal life! So in our time of exile, we can rejoice in the Lord and take joy in him, our salvation, our strength (3:18,19). So when difficulties come your way, I encourage you in the Lord to remember the big picture, as Pastor Abe always says. This place is not your home. Jesus is making all things new, and he’s coming back soon.
Conclusion
So I encourage you to this morning, even when it’s hard to believe in God, trust in him and know that he’s always with you. Know that Christ is the mighty warrior who fights on your behalf (Rev 19:11-16) and he’s powerful and mighty to save his people. So when things don’t go our way, when we’ve hit rock bottom, when we run out of resources, or when life can’t seem to go any more wrong, trust in the Lord. Turn to him. Know that he’s always with you. Boldly go to God on his throne and make all your requests known to him (Heb 4:16). Rejoice in times of difficulty, because Jesus is coming back soon. And we’ll finally be with him, not just spiritually, but also physically. So look back and see God’s faithfulness in the past, and look up to see him and his favor toward you now.
Soli Deo Gloria