Habakkuk - Part 9

Thank you for listening to this message from the ministry of Morse Corner Church in Leverett, Massachusetts.

Morse Corner is a non -denominational church that is committed to the preaching and teaching of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Our church was founded in 1896 by two students of the famous evangelist

D .L. Moody. We seek to encourage and edify the body of Christ through the proclamation of God's word through the ministries of the local church.

If you'd like more information, visit our website, morsecornerchurch .com. We hope you enjoy the message.

When Habakkuk was walking by sight, when he was looking around on a horizontal level of everything that was going on around him, what did he do?

He had questions for God. He didn't understand. He had doubts. But as soon as he got his eyes off himself, off his situation, and looked up, that doubt turned to faith.

And not only that, his gloom turned to praise. He says of the

Lord in verse 9, Your bow was made quite ready. Oaths were sworn over your arrows.

Selah, you divided the earth with rivers. The mountains saw you and trembled.

The overflowing of the water passed by. The deep uttered its voice and lifted its hands on high.

The sun and moon stood still in their habitation.

Remember that. At the light of your arrows, they went at the shining of your glittering spear.

So what is Habakkuk doing? He is praising God for all his wondrous works in time past.

And this is, he's talking about time past. What did I tell you to remember? The sun and the moon standing still in their habitation.

That is almost certainly a reference to Joshua in that battle where they got victory over the

Amorites in Joshua chapter 10. That was one of the greatest miracles in all of the

Bible. I just want to read this one verse from Joshua 10, 14, where the sun stood still in the sky.

I mean, it's one thing for God to raise the dead. That's a piece of cake. Can you think of the physics and whatever with having the sun stand still?

Joshua 10, 14. And there has been no day like that before it or after it, that the

Lord heeded the voice of a man. For the Lord fought for Israel and the sun stood still.

But what did the Lord do? He fought for Israel. He did it then. He's going to do it again.

And you know what? What's Habakkuk saying? Lord, revive your work, revive your work in his day.

But you know what? He's going to revive that work again in the future. Verse 12, you marched through the land in indignation.

You trampled the nations in anger. God is going to do that again. Verse 13, you went forth for the salvation of your people.

Now, in the New Testament, he talks about the children of God, your people.

Who's he speaking of? He's talking about New Testament Christians. When Paul's writing to the church, he's talking about New Testament Christians.

When he's talking about this in Habakkuk, who's your people? He's talking about the

Jewish people. You went forth for the salvation of your people for salvation with your anointed.

You struck the head from the house of the wicked by laying bare from foundation to neck.

You thrust through with his own arrows the head of his villages.

They came out like a whirlwind to scatter me. Their rejoicing was like feasting on the poor in secret.

You walked through the sea with your horses. Through the heap of great waters,

I think that's a reference to Israel's deliverance at the Red Sea.

Verse 16, when I heard my body trembled, my lips quivered at the voice.

Rottenness entered my bones and I trembled in myself that I might rest in the day of trouble.

When he comes up to the people, he will invade them with his troops.

So Habakkuk in this poetic prayer, in this psalm, he is making reference to what?

I believe he's talking about the Exodus. Verse 15, making reference to God's intervention on behalf of Israel at the

Red Sea. You walk through the sea with your horses.

In verse 13, notice what he says. Speaking to the Lord, you went forth for the salvation of your people, for salvation with your anointed.

Now, in context, when he's speaking about the anointed of God here, who would he be referring to?

Based on the context, if he is speaking of the Red Sea, then the anointed of God here would have been

Moses. Moses certainly was the anointed of God. He was

God's man. He was the deliverer of the people. So Moses was the anointed, but who is the anointed of God?

What does anointed mean? The anointed one? In Hebrew, that's

Messiah, the anointed one. In Greek, the term anointed one is what?

Christ. It is Christ. So, yes, Habakkuk does seem to speak of God's mighty works of how he used

Moses to defeat Pharaoh and gain victory over Egypt. But that story, even that story itself, whether Habakkuk knew it or not, it foreshadowed the future deliverance of Christ going forth to acquire salvation for his people.

You say, well, how so? Well, what's Egypt a symbol of? You tell me,

I'm asking you, tell me, what is Egypt a picture of the bad guys?

That's good. Slave labor. Well, typically good answers, but typically it's bonded.

It's the world. Egypt is a picture of the world. And the Israelites were in bondage.

So it's a picture of the world bondage. And we think of sin. Sin is bondage.

OK, so Moses, mediator of the old covenant, delivered God's people from bondage from the world and in sin and bondage to bring them where?

To the promised land. What is the promised land a symbol of? Well, the capital of Israel, the promised land, the land of Canaan is what?

Jerusalem and the new heavenly city is called what? Heaven is called the heavenly city is called the new

Jerusalem. And it is Jesus, the mediator of the new covenant, who delivers his people from bondage to give them freedom, eternal life and a hope for the future.

Habakkuk was given a word for his future about his future.

And even though his current situation looked bleak and we could probably say that maybe of our day and age, that things kind of look bleak right now.

But to Habakkuk, things were not looking very good. He knew difficult times were ahead, but because of his faith in God.

See, if he just stayed on that horizontal level, it's doom and gloom.

And there is no hope like there's no hope of any of this turning around. That's the way it looks to us today.

There's no hope of any of this turning around. But once you look up, once you look up now,

Habakkuk was able to rejoice. And chapter three closes with what is known as Habakkuk's hymn of faith.

He says in verse 17, though the fig tree may not blossom nor fruit beyond the vines, though the labor of the olive may fail in the fields, yield no food, though the flock may be cut off from the fold and there be no herd in the stalls.

Yet I will rejoice in the Lord. I will joy in the

God of my salvation. What's he describing here?

He's speaking of famine and economic collapse, full economic collapse.

I mean, that's what the lack of produce and livestock meant in those days. No figs on the trees, no grapes on the vines, no olive oil.

The fields yield no food, no flocks, no herds. The nation of Judah, they were paying, you know, they were reaping what they had sown.

The Lord made a covenant with them. Obey me and I will bless you, disobey and I will curse you.

When a nation turn knowingly turns its back on God, what else do they expect to happen?

And this is the Lord bringing a curse upon the land of Judah. And that's what the prophet is describing here.

And yet, what does he say? No matter what the situation is, yet I will rejoice in the

Lord. I will joy in the God of my salvation.

So let's go back to the original question that we asked at the beginning of the message.

When things are not as they should be, when they're not as we had hoped, what do we do?

How should we respond? What if everything changed? You say everything already has changed.

Sort of. It could change more. Probably will change more. Could be worse.

It's true. It's always true. It's always true. Unless you're an L, it's true.

But Habakkuk, everything was changing and it was going to change. So for him and for us, what if everything changed?

What if everything normal and predictable collapses? What if a time of adversity comes like no one has ever experienced?

What should your response be? God's word has an answer for that.

Even if the worst happened and you lost it all.

As long as you have faith, you can't lose God. Yet I will rejoice in the

Lord. I will joy in the God of my salvation. Amen.

Amen. Verse 19. He says, the Lord God is my strength. He will make my feet like deer's feet.

And don't just gloss over that. And you say, well, what does that mean? You'll make my feet like deer. I don't want,

I don't want cloven hooves. And what is he talking about here? Living in that part of the world.

They were used to deer and goats with their feet the way they are.

The way God designed them. They can navigate treacherous mountain terrain with the surest of footing.

Have you seen these videos? Maybe on the nature channel or whatever animal planet.

These goats, mountain goats, they're like hopping from ledge to ledge. And there's these little ones that just hop along.

How is this even possible? There's one animal, a deer -like animal. Forget the name of it. I saw this video.

It was like climbing up this like lead. It was like straight up. The thing's just climbing straight up it.

How is that even possible? What's he saying here? He's saying of the Lord, he will make me like that.

He will give me sure footing in life. He will give me sure footing in my faith.

And he will make me to walk on my high hills. And why do these animals live in the mountains?

Because up there, it's safe. All their predators live down here.

That's why they're up there. They're safe. And if we live by faith and we walk in God's ways, we'll be safe.

Psalm 18, verse two, the Lord is my rock and my fortress.

God is our strength. He is our reward. He will give us the sure footing that we need.

And he will give his people, give his people what they need, what we need to persevere in the most trying of times.

And let's face it, we're living through them. And like Habakkuk, it might get worse.

I pray that it doesn't, but it might. But if it does, remember, no matter what happens, and likely the worst will not happen to you, but even if it does, you can't lose

God. Walk in his ways. Trust in the Lord with all your heart, the scripture says, and lean not on your own understanding.

In all your ways, acknowledge him and he will direct your path.

Thanks for listening. I'm Pastor Michael Grant from Morris Coronet Church. If you'd like to listen to the complete message, or if you'd like more information about the ministry, visit our website, morriscoronetchurch .com.

And we'd love to have you join us some Sunday morning here in Leverett. Until next time, may the grace of God be with you.