That Which Will Sustain Us
Habakkuk 2:1-4
1 I will stand upon my watch, and set me upon the tower, and will watch to see what he will say unto me, and what I shall answer when I am reproved.
2 And the Lord answered me, and said, Write the vision, and make it plain upon tables, that he may run that readeth it.
3 For the vision is yet for an appointed time, but at the end it shall speak, and not lie: though it tarry, wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not tarry.
4 Behold, his soul which is lifted up is not upright in him: but the just shall live by his faith.
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Habakkuk wrote the book in 607 B.C.
**The Ryrie Study Bible states in its introduction:
“Prophesying just before Nebuchadnezzar first invaded Judah in 605 (and took Daniel and others as captives to Babylon), Habakkuk was commissioned to announce the Lord’s intention to punish Judah by this coming deportation into Babylon. The reigning king in Judah, Jehoiakim, is described by the prophet Jeremiah this way: ‘thine eyes and thine heart are not but for thy covetousness, and for to shed innocent blood, and for oppression, and for violence, to do it,’ Jeremiah 22:17”
Clearly these are difficult times for God’s people. The Government under Jehoiakim (as well as others in positions of power and authority) is gravely taking advantage of its power to subjugate its citizenship for its own ends.
To counter this, along with the wickedness of the people in general, God is going to use the Chaldeans to bring judgement upon his people by means of the coming captivity. This is the message Habakkuk has been commissioned by God to deliver to the people.
Habakkuk questions God about this in 2:1. To which God gives His response in the rest of the chapter. Stuck in the midst of all God has to say, is the well-known statement (v. 4): “But the just shall live by his faith.”
Much has been written about this verse. History has been greatly impacted because of this verse. This verse is a hallmark in the Apostle Paul’s writings.
But in its context, what is this hopeful promise endeavoring to convey to us?
**Matthew Henry has an insightful note on verse four.
“This vision, the accomplishment of which is so long waited for, will be such an exercise of faith and patience as will try and discover men what they are, v. 4.
“(1.) There are some who will proudly disdain this vision, whose hearts are so lifted up that they scorn to take notice of it; if God will work for them immediately, they will thank him, but they will not give him credit; their hearts are lifted up towards vanity, and, since God puts them off, they will shift for themselves and not be beholden to him; they think their own hands sufficient for them, and God’s promise is to them an insignificant thing. That man’s soul, that is thus lifted up, is not upright in him; it is not right with God, is not as it should be. Those that either distrust or despise God’s all-sufficiency will not walk uprightly with him, Gen. 17:1.
“But, (2.) Those who are truly good, and whose hearts are upright with God, will value the promise, and venture their all upon it; and, in confidence of the truth of it, will keep close to God and duty in the most difficult trying times, and will then live comfortably in communion with God, dependence on him, and expectation of him.
“The just shall live by faith; during the captivity good people shall support themselves, and live comfortably, by faith in these precious promises, while the performance of them is deferred. The just shall live by his faith, by that faith which he acts upon the word of God. This is quoted in the New Testament (Rom. 1:17; Gal. 3:11; Heb. 10:38), for the proof of the great doctrine of justification by faith only and of the influence which the grace of faith has upon the Christian life. Those that are made just by faith shall live, shall be happy here and for ever; while they are here, they live by it; when they come to heaven, faith shall be swallowed up in vision.”
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The Prophets have been such a blessing the last several months. Although, I can see why these books aren’t as emphasized from the pulpits as perhaps they could be. Reading them places you in the reality that everything has its time and runs its course: even humanity.
God’s has finally had it with His people and so authorizes Habakkuk to tell them to prepare for the worst. The Chaldeans will be coming and it is going to be horrific. But the message didn’t seem to sit too well with the people.
The people assumed (because they were under covenant with The Almighty) that everything would be fine and life would continue on as it had. Sure, they thought, there may be a few bumps in the road … but after all, we always come through.
But Hezekiah says differently. The only ones that will make it through what is coming (either unto life or unto death) will be the just that have a personal living faith.
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I want to share a thought that’s been floating around in my gray matter.
One day God is going to judge this earth. And, perhaps, we should realign our focus to entertain the possibility that the prophets might be speaking to us in our time.
God is a just judge. As Judge He has to make judgments based upon factual evidence done by those upon whom judgment will fall.
In order for God to judge the whole world, the whole world will have to be collectively, alive, aware, and … interconnected. The whole world has to know that it is involved and culpable.
When God brings His final judgment upon the world, as Revelation lays out, no nation of people will be exempt. None will be able to justly say: “Why is this happening to us, we’re not like China, Russia, Turkey … those other wicked people?“ Everybody will be so interconnected in wickedness that all will admit their culpability. And this universal culpability will stand representative of all the wickedness of all humanity for all time.
Without belaboring this, here’s my point. God’s people will endure difficult times of hardship.
Revelation 6
9 And when he had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held:
10 And they cried with a loud voice, saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth?
11 And white robes were given unto every one of them; and it was said unto them, that they should rest yet for a little season, until their fellowservants also and their brethren, that should be killed as they were, should be fulfilled. ——
Whether then or now, God’s people need to be able to dig deep within and stay strong. How can they do that? What will it look like?
Personally: “The just shall live by his faith.” That is … a living, vibrant and personal faith that entrusts its life or death into the hands of God.
Practically:
Habakkuk informs us as to how he will “live by his faith” in chapter three. I don’t think we normally see these verses in the light of the whole context of the book. What’s the context:
“Judgment is coming: Is my faith such that it will persevere through whatever befalls?”
With this I close:
Notice how Habakkuk, after having laid everything out in the preceding chapters, predetermines That Which Will Sustain Him. His words are for us at this time and in our coming future.
1 A prayer of Habakkuk the prophet upon Shigionoth.
2 O Lord, I have heard thy speech, and was afraid: O Lord, revive thy work in the midst of the years, in the midst of the years make known; in wrath remember mercy.
3 God came from Teman, and the Holy One from mount Paran. Selah. His glory covered the heavens, and the earth was full of his praise.
4 And his brightness was as the light; he had horns coming out of his hand: and there was the hiding of his power.
5 Before him went the pestilence, and burning coals went forth at his feet.
6 He stood, and measured the earth: he beheld, and drove asunder the nations; and the everlasting mountains were scattered, the perpetual hills did bow: his ways are everlasting.
7 I saw the tents of Cushan in affliction: and the curtains of the land of Midian did tremble.
8 Was the Lord displeased against the rivers? was thine anger against the rivers? was thy wrath against the sea, that thou didst ride upon thine horses and thy chariots of salvation?
9 Thy bow was made quite naked, according to the oaths of the tribes, even thy word. Selah. Thou didst cleave the earth with rivers.
10 The mountains saw thee, and they trembled: the overflowing of the water passed by: the deep uttered his voice, and lifted up his hands on high.
11 The sun and moon stood still in their habitation: at the light of thine arrows they went, and at the shining of thy glittering spear.
12 Thou didst march through the land in indignation, thou didst thresh the heathen in anger.
13 Thou wentest forth for the salvation of thy people, even for salvation with thine anointed; thou woundedst the head out of the house of the wicked, by discovering the foundation unto the neck. Selah.
14 Thou didst strike through with his staves the head of his villages: they came out as a whirlwind to scatter me: their rejoicing was as to devour the poor secretly.
15 Thou didst walk through the sea with thine horses, through the heap of great waters.
16 When I heard, my belly trembled; my lips quivered at the voice: rottenness entered into my bones, and I trembled in myself, that I might rest in the day of trouble: when he cometh up unto the people, he will invade them with his troops.
17 Although the fig tree shall not blossom, neither shall fruit be in the vines; the labour of the olive shall fail, and the fields shall yield no meat; the flock shall be cut off from the fold, and there shall be no herd in the stalls:
18 Yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation.
19 The Lord God is my strength, and he will make my feet like hinds' feet, and he will make me to walk upon mine high places. To the chief singer on my stringed instruments.
Matthew Henry 3:16 note:
“Note, When we see a day of trouble approaching it concerns us to provide accordingly, and to lay up something in store, by the help of which we may rest in that day; and the best way to make sure rest for ourselves in the day of trouble is to tremble within ourselves at the word of God and the threatenings of that word. He that has joy in store for those that sow in tears has rest in store for those that tremble before him. Good hope through grace is founded in a holy fear. Noah, who was moved with fear, trembled within himself at the warning given him of the deluge coming, had the ark for his resting place in the day of that trouble. The prophet tells us what he said in his trembling. His fear is that, when he comes up to the people, when the Chaldean comes up to the people of Israel, he will invade them, will surround them, will break in upon them, nay, He will cut them in pieces with his troops; he cried out, We are all undone; the whole nation of the Jews is lost and gone. Note, When things look bad we are too apt to aggravate them, and make the worst of them.”