I think some difficulty people have when learning the message of the prophets is the key themes and ways in which each book points to Christ. Thus, I would like to focus on the twelve minor prophets and provide a summary statement along with Scriptures of how each book points to and finds its fulfillment in Christ.

Chad runs an excellent blog with articles focused around the theme of Biblical Theology, or as Chad describes it: “the unfolding revelation of Scripture as it finds its fulfillment and consummation in the person and work of Jesus Christ (Luke 24:1ff).”

Related articles:

• Reading the Prophets (1)
• Reading the Prophets (2)
• Reading the Prophets (3)
• Blogging with Habakkuk series

I am not familiar with International Sunday School Lessons and could not find a home page for it anywhere on the web. I am assuming it is similar to a lectionary, except for Sunday School lessons instead of for Sunday morning preaching. Is anyone else familiar with this organization? Is it related to the Standard Lesson Commentary series? If you have any information, please feel free to share it with us in the comments section. Thanks!

Resources on the book of Habakkuk:

And, if you happen to be looking for Habakkuk resources, you can either check out the Blogging with Habakkuk series from earlier this year, or you can access the following messages on Habakkuk found on the Sermons page.

Message series: Habakkuk – The Journey from Doubt to Faith

• Introduction to the book of Habakkuk
• Does God Care? – Habakkuk 1:1-11
• Is God Fair? – Habakkuk 1:12-2:5
• How to Lose It All – Habakkuk 2:6-20
• Is God There? – Habakkuk 3:1-15
• Trusting God No Matter What – Habakkuk 3:16-19

We have reached the end of our journey together through the book of Habakkuk. In many ways Habakkuk’s journey mirrors our own journey through life. We saw that Habakkuk began his journey with a lot of questions. “Does God care? Is God fair? Is God there?” But instead of running away from God with his questions, Habakkuk kept bringing his questions to God, and finding the answers that he needed. Habakkuk began his journey in the valley of doubt and fear, and ended his journey scaling the heights with God in freedom and faith.

It is a beautiful journey, and one that is open to all who will come honestly to God with their questions, and seek him with all of their heart. God promises in Jeremiah 29:13: “You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.” So wherever you may be in your own personal journey from doubt to faith, let me encourage you, keep seeking God. Keep coming to him with your doubts and with your questions.

And I pray that God will also lead you to a place where you will learn to trust him no matter what, where you may run along the heights in God’s presence with the feet of a deer. May God help us to learn the beautiful lessons that he has recorded for us in the book of Habakkuk.

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I hope you have enjoyed this blogging series through the book of Habakkuk. I have posted the accompanying sermon series under the Sermons page if you would like access to the complete messages.

I would also be interested in your feedback on this series. What have you learned from the book of Habakkuk, and how has studying this book helped you in your life? Was it helpful to blog through the book a little bit at a time? Would it have been more helpful just to have the sermons posted and to read through them? Which would you have been more likely to read – the sermons off the sermons page or the daily blog installments? Did you read the posts regularly, or did you find that these were ones you tended to skip over? Thanks for your comments in advance! It will help me as I plan future series for the blog.

Here are the links to the whole Blogging with Habakkuk series: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25.

Habakkuk 3:19

How do you exercise faith in God even in the worst of times?

1) Wait patiently for God even when you are afraid. (verse 16)

2) Choose to rejoice in God even when everything in life goes wrong. (verses 17-18)

3) Find strength in God to scale the heights even when you are down. (verse 19)

Look at verse 19: “The Sovereign LORD is my strength; he makes my feet like the feet of a deer, he enables me to go on the heights.” Habakkuk had learned to find his strength in God, not in his own resources or ability. Habakkuk was about to go through some rough times. The thought of it scared him so much that his heart pounded and his legs trembled beneath him. Yet as he rejoiced in God in the midst of difficult circumstances, he found new strength from God to deal with the trial ahead.

What is this strength like that God gives you? Habakkuk said, “God makes my feet like the feet of a deer; he enables me to go on the heights.” Habakkuk paints the picture of a female deer running on the heights of the mountains, steady and surefooted, uninhibited and unafraid, full of freedom and confidence as she scales the heights. Do you long to enter the higher places with God? Then find your strength in him alone. Trust God to lift you up when you are down.

There is an old devotional book based on this final verse in Habakkuk written by Hannah Hurnard called Hinds’ Feet on High Places. The word “hind” is an old English word for a female deer, so it refers to the feet of the deer on the heights. Hinds’ Feet on High Places is written as an allegory, similar to John Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progess. It tells the story of a girl named Much-Afraid and her own journey from doubt to faith. Her story begins as she leaves the Valley of Fear. It is all she has ever known, but in faith she embarks on a new journey. Her path is marked by much sorrow and suffering along the way, but through it all she learns to depend on God and to find her strength in him alone. And as she learns to trust God no matter what, he leads her to the higher places of fellowship with him that she has always longed for.

How do you exercise faith during the worst of times? Wait patiently for the Lord even when you are afraid. Choose to rejoice in God even when everything in life goes wrong. Find strength in God to scale the heights even when you are down.

(Looking ahead: Tomorrow we will wrap up the Blogging with Habakkuk series with one final post.)

Here are the links to the whole Blogging with Habakkuk series: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25.

Habakkuk 3:17-18

How do you exercise faith in God even during the worst of times? The first thing you can do is wait patiently for God even when you are afraid. (verse 16) Secondly, you can choose to rejoice in God even when everything in life goes wrong. Look at verses 17-18:

Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will be joyful in God my Savior. (Habakkuk 3:17-18)

These verses represent one of the strongest expressions of faith you will find in the whole Bible, as Habakkuk determines to rejoice in God even when everything else in life goes wrong. Habakkuk paints three scenarios here. Each scenario contains a matching couplet of images.

The first scenario is this: “Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines.” The blossoms on the fig tree and the grapes forming on the vine refer to those things you are trusting for in days to come. They are a symbol of your hopes for the future. It is just a blossom, just a flower, and yet it is a tangible sign that the figs and the grapes are coming. But in this scenario there are no signs for the future. The fig tree does not bud. There are no grapes on the vine. There is no visible sign that these things will ever come to be.

Do you have hopes and dreams for the future, but no visible signs that they will ever come to fruition? Do you ever feel like saying, “God, please just give me a little sign, some type of hope that things are going to change, something to hold on to?” Then you know how Habakkuk felt. And Habakkuk would tell you, when you have nothing to hold on to for the future, hold on to God, and that will be enough. Habakkuk says, trust God no matter what. “Though I have no visible sign of hope for the future, nothing tangible that I can see or touch or grasp, yet I will rejoice in the Lord. I will be joyful in God my Savior.”

The second scenario is this: “Though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food.” The olive crop and the fields refer to those things you are trusting in the present. They are a symbol of your present means. But in this scenario, what you are trusting lets you down. The olive crop fails. The fields produce no food. They disappoint you. In fact the word “fails” in the Hebrew is a word that means “to deceive, to disappoint or to fail.”

The idea is this. You have planted and cultivated the fields, you have worked the land, tended the crops and now it is finally time for harvest, and the crops fail. The fields produce no food. It was all a deception. All that hard work, all that effort, and it all comes to nothing. You get laid off after years of faithful service to the company. You lose your job and have no current source of income. You invest all your money in what looks like a killer portfolio and the market goes bust. You put years into a relationship with another person and now the relationship breaks apart.

What do you do when all that you are counting on in the present suddenly falls apart? What do you do when you suffer bitter disappointments in life? Habakkuk says, trust God no matter what. “Though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, yet I will rejoice in the Lord. I will be joyful in God my Savior.”

The third scenario is this: “Though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls.” The sheep and cattle refer to those things you are trusting from the past. They are a symbol of your reserves. But in this scenario you have no reserves to fall back on. There are no sheep in the pen. There are no cattle in the stalls. Or, to put it in today’s terms, there is no money in the bank. There is no more equity in the house. Your friends and family have helped you all they can. Your credit cards are maxed out. Your physical strength is tapped. Your reserves are all used up.

What do you do when you have nothing to fall back on? Habakkuk would tell you, fall back on God, and he will hold you up. “Though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will be joyful in God my Savior.”

It is easy to trust in God when the fig tree is budding and there are grapes on the vines, when the olive crop succeeds and the fields are producing food, when you have plenty of sheep and cattle in reserve. But are you really trusting in God at those times? Or are you trusting in the things that you have?

Think about Job. This was exactly the question Satan asked God about Job. “Does Job trust you because he trusts you, or because you have blessed the work of his hands?” Job showed his true colors when God removed the blessing, and Job continued to trust him no matter what. Habakkuk challenges us with the same question. Do you really trust God, or do you only trust him when you know his blessing on your life?

Here’s another way of phrasing the question. Which would make you feel more financially secure – having a million dollars in the bank or having a God who promises to meet your daily needs? Stop and think about that one for a moment. Be brutally honest with yourself. If the answer is the million dollars in the bank, then you are not trusting God. And you know what? That million dollars could be gone tomorrow anyways. But if the answer is having a God who promises to meet your daily needs, then no matter what your situation, you can feel more secure than the person who has the million dollars in the bank! That’s pretty good! That is trusting in God no matter what.

Habakkuk determined to rejoice in God despite visible circumstances, even if he did not see any visible signs of God’s presence or favor. F.F. Bruce writes: “It is right and proper to voice appreciation of God’s goodness when he bestows all that is necessary for life, health and prosperity. But when these things are lacking, to rejoice in God for his own sake is evidence of pure faith.”

Habakkuk says, “Though you have no visible hope for the future, and what you were trusting in the present has let you down, and you have no reserves from the past to fall back on – still rejoice in the Lord, still be joyful in God.” Why? Because he is God your Savior who will deliver you in his time and will not let the righteous fall. We find a similar instruction in the New Testament in 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 which says, “Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18)

How do you exercise faith during the worst of times? Choose to rejoice in God even when everything in life goes wrong.

(Looking ahead: Tomorrow we will look at the third thing Habakkuk did to exercise faith in God in verse 19.)

Here are the links to the whole Blogging with Habakkuk series: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25.

Habakkuk 3:16

Yesterday we asked the question: how do you exercise faith in God even during the worst of times? The first thing you can do is wait patiently for God even when you are afraid. Look at verse 16. Habakkuk writes: “I heard and my heart pounded, my lips quivered at the sound; decay crept into my bones, and my legs trembled.” (Habakkuk 3:16a)

God had told Habakkuk about the coming invasion by the Babylonians. God had described the arrogance, violence, and cruelty of these invaders in chilling detail. God also told Habakkuk about the great and awesome judgments he would bring upon Babylon and indeed upon all the nations of the earth that refuse to submit to God. Habakkuk may even have seen all this in a vision. And Habakkuk is terrified at what will soon take place. He is afraid. His heart pounds in his chest, his lips quiver, he feels physically weak and hardly able to stand. This is Fear Factor multiplied by a hundred and ten.

How do you react when you see pictures of the terrorist attacks that took place on 9/11/2001? Sometimes I just need to hear the words, and that horrible mixture of emotions that hit me on that first 9/11 starts to rise again to the surface. The purpose of terrorism is not just to cause damage and harm but to cause fear. And sadly it works. In the weeks following 9/11, every time I turned on the news I braced myself just in case there had been another attack on our country. Five and half years later, I still brace myself sometimes before turning on the news.

Habakkuk wasn’t just dealing with the possibility of an attack on his country but with the certainty of attack. He was deathly afraid, and his fear affected him on a deep and even physical level.

How do you deal with extreme fear? What do you do when fear grips you in such a way that your heart is pounding and your legs give way? Do you try positive thinking? Deep breathing? Just try and push it out of your mind? How do you exercise faith in God during the worst of times?

Habakkuk teaches us to wait patiently for God even when you are afraid. Look at the second half of verse 16: “Yet I will wait patiently for the day of calamity to come on the nation invading us.” God had told Habakkuk the Babylonians were going to invade. There was no stopping that. It was going to happen. But God had also assured Habakkuk that he would judge the Babylonians for their sin, and that he would ultimately deliver his people. And so in the midst of his fears, Habakkuk chose to wait patiently for God.

The phrase “wait patiently” comes from a Hebrew word meaning “to rest, or to settle down and remain.” It is the same word we find in the Ten Commandments where God tells us to rest on the Sabbath Day. It is the same word we find in the narratives about the Promised Land where God promised to give the Israelites rest from their enemies in the land. Here Habakkuk determines to wait patiently during this time of trial, to rest himself in the Lord.

God promises to give us his peace when we give our worries and fears to him. Philippians 4:6-7 says: “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:6-7)

How do you exercise faith during the worst of times? Wait patiently for the Lord even when you are afraid. Rest yourself in God.

(Looking ahead: Tomorrow we will look at the second thing Habakkuk did to exercise faith in God in verses 17-18.)

Here are the links to the whole Blogging with Habakkuk series: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25.

Habakkuk 3:16-19

This is the final week in our Blogging with Habakkuk series. Throughout this series of posts, we have been tracing Habakkuk’s journey from doubt to faith. In these final verses Habakkuk makes one of the strongest statements of faith you will find in all of Scripture. This statement makes a fitting climax to the whole book, and in many ways we have saved the best for last with these verses.

When we started this series back in April, we began by first looking at the prophetic books in general, and we asked the question, “Why are the prophetic books important for us to read and study today?” One of the reasons we gave was this:

The prophets deal with the weighty issues of life – things like God’s character, God’s uniqueness, God’s sovereignty over the nations, God’s requirements for his people, the importance of justice and righteousness. Without the prophets our faith can grow shallow and weak, unable to stand up to the rigors and challenges of life. (Reading the Prophets 3)

This is certainly true with the book of Habakkuk. The book of Habakkuk is all about faith in God. In fact we saw that the key verse of the whole book was Habakkuk 2:4: “The righteous will live by faith.”

We live in a day and age where the best-selling Christian books seem to be the ones that tell you how to prosper, succeed and live the good life. And I would guess that most of us would probably find it easy to exercise faith in God when we are prospering, when life is going well and according to our plans.

But the book of Habakkuk challenges us to put our faith in God even during the worst of times. When Habakkuk reached the end of his journey, he had moved from a place of doubting God to a place of trusting God no matter what. And that “no matter what” was a serious issue for Habakkuk, far more serious than most of the issues we deal with on a daily basis.

God revealed to Habakkuk that his country was about to be invaded, pillaged and ransacked. Habakkuk and his people would lose everything that they had built up over the years, everything they had worked for. It would all be gone. That is a whole different matter than trusting God even though you got a traffic ticket, or even though you had a bad day at work or at school. The book of Habakkuk challenges you to learn to trust God no matter what.

Let’s put the question in the same terms Habakkuk faced. If the United States was invaded and conquered by a foreign power in your lifetime, how would that affect your faith in God? Is your faith strong enough to stand up to that kind of a trial? Could you still rejoice in the Lord if you lost everything – your job, your home, your family? Is your faith strong enough to trust God no matter what?

That is the place to which the book of Habakkuk has brought us by the end of chapter three. How do you exercise faith in God during the worst of times? Habakkuk shares with us three things that he did, even when he was facing the worst calamity of his lifetime. We will look at the first of those tomorrow.

(Looking ahead: Tomorrow we will look at Habakkuk 3:16)

Here are the links to the whole Blogging with Habakkuk series: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25.

Habakkuk 3:2b

When you are wondering, “Is God there?” how can you be assured of God’s presence? First, approach God in an attitude of worship (Habakkuk 3:1-2a). Secondly, remember God’s mighty deeds of the past, when he defeated his enemies and delivered his people (Habakkuk 3:3-15). And then, thirdly, ask God to renew his deeds in the present. Look back at verse 2 once again.

LORD, I have heard of your fame; I stand in awe of your deeds, O LORD. Renew them in our day, in our time make them known; in wrath remember mercy. (Habakkuk 3:2)

“O Lord, renew your deeds in our day.” I believe this means praying for both personal and corporate revival. Pray for revival in your own heart first. Pray that God would give you an ever increasing faith in him and love for him. Pray that God would give you a burning desire for holiness and to see God glorified in all areas of your life. Pray for revival in the church and in the community. I pray every week for revival to come to the town of Agawam where I live and to the surrounding communities. One of our nation’s greatest revivals began not far from here in the city of Northhampton. God has brought revival in the past. God can bring revival again. Pray that God would renew his deeds in the present.

And as you pray for revival, along with Habakkuk, also pray for God in his wrath to remember mercy. Because when you ask God to renew his deeds in the present, you are also asking him to bring judgment on the world for its sins. God cannot be active in a world of sin without judging that sin. And so as you ask God to renew his deeds, as you pray for personal and corporate revival, also ask God in his wrath to remember mercy.

Realize that you don’t have to convince God to do this. You don’t have to somehow persuade God against his will to be merciful. It is God’s nature to show mercy, and so when you pray this prayer, you are praying according to God’s will. The greatest example of God in wrath remembering mercy took place at the cross. There God poured out his wrath against sin upon his own Son in order that he might show mercy to sinners who would put their faith in Christ.

Once again, some of you may be struggling with the same questions as Habakkuk did in this book. “Does God care? Is God fair? Is God there?” If so, you need to capture Habakkuk’s vision of a God who has done great things for his people in the past and will do them again in the present. Yes, God is there. He is the famous one! Approach him in an attitude of worship. Know that God will defeat his enemies and deliver his people. Ask God to renew his deeds in our time.

(Looking ahead: Next week we will finish blogging with Habakkuk. But you can go ahead and read the final four verses now if you like: Habakkuk 3:16-19)

Here are the links to the whole Blogging with Habakkuk series: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25.

Habakkuk 3:3-15

Habakkuk’s third big question was, “Is God there?” How can you be assured of God’s presence? First, approach God in an attitude of worship (verses 1-2a). Secondly, remember God’s mighty deeds of the past (verses 3-15). This is what takes up the bulk of Habakkuk’s prayer in chapter 3. At its heart Habakkuk’s psalm is a song that describes God’s awesome presence and deeds.

As Habakkuk reflects on God’s deeds in the past, he emphasizes two points in particular. First of all, a word of warning: God conquers all enemies in his path. Let’s walk through these verses together and unpack some of the imagery that Habakkuk uses here.

Verses 3-4 say: “God came from Teman, the Holy One from Mount Paran. His glory covered the heavens and his praise filled the earth. His splendor was like the sunrise; rays flashed from his hand, where his power was hidden.” Teman was in the region to the south of Israel in the country of Edom. Mount Paran was located in the wilderness area between Edom and Mount Sinai. God’s coming is compared to a thunderstorm approaching Israel from the south. His brightness lights up the sky. Rays of lightning flash from his hands as from the deep thunderclouds, yet the full extent of God’s power remains hidden.

Verses 5-6 say: “Plague went before him; pestilence followed his steps. He stood, and shook the earth; he looked, and made the nations tremble. The ancient mountains crumbled and the age-old hills collapsed. His ways are eternal.” Plague and pestilence are signs of God’s judgment. The word pestilence can also mean “flame” (from a word meaning “to burn”). And so verse 5 could also be translated as “flames went forth from his feet.” It is a picture of God’s awesome power and holiness as he walks through the land judging the earth for its sins. The nations tremble before him, and even the mountains and the hills crumble and collapse in his presence. The word “collapse” in verse 6 literally means “to bow down.” And so there is the sense of God’s creation bowing down in worship before him. The mountains may be ancient, the hills may have stood since ages-old, but God’s ways are eternal, and so they all fall down before him.

Verse 7 says, “I saw the tents of Cushan in distress, the dwellings of Midian in anguish.” (Habakkuk 3:7) Here Habakkuk pictures the Cushan and Midianite people who live in tents in the desert trembling at God’s appearance as he passes them in the wilderness.

After describing God’s awesome appearance in verses 3-7, in verses 8-15 Habakkuk describes God’s conquest of all his enemies. In verses 8-9 Habakkuk describes God’s conquest over the rivers and the sea. “Were you angry with the rivers, O LORD? Was your wrath against the streams? Did you rage against the sea when you rode with your horses and your victorious chariots? You uncovered your bow, you called for many arrows.” (Habakkuk 3:8-9) There are three different words for God’s anger in these verses: anger, wrath and rage. The word for anger means hot or burning; the word for wrath means breath or nostrils; the word for rage means to pour out or overflow. Taken together they speak of God’s burning anger, the fierce blast of breath from his nostrils, his overflowing judgment poured out on his enemies because of their sin.

Verses 9-12 continue: “You split the earth with rivers; the mountains saw you and writhed. Torrents of water swept by; the deep roared and lifted its waves on high. Sun and moon stood still in the heavens at the glint of your flying arrows, at the lightning of your flashing spear. In wrath you strode through the earth and in anger you threshed the nations.” (Habakkuk 3:9-12) The fierce wind and earthquake are followed by a downpour. Water floods the earth as in the days of Noah, splitting the earth with rivers. The sea lifts its waves on high, literally “lifts its hands on high.” This is more flood imagery but could also be a sign of submission and praise to the Lord. Even the sun and the moon stand still in fear of God’s awesome power. The flying arrows and flashing spear are more poetic references to lightning. God’s striding through the earth is perhaps another reference to thunder. And so all the forces of nature: the mountains, the rivers and streams, the sea, the sun and the moon all acknowledge God as Lord as he strides through the earth and threshes the nations in judgment.

Hebrew poetry often borrowed imagery from the mythologies of the surrounding nations. For example, there are several passages in the Bible that speak about God conquering Rahab the monster of chaos, and Leviathan the seven-headed dragon from the sea. It’s not that the Biblical writers believed that these creatures were real, any more than they believed that the false god Baal was real when they spoke about God defeating Baal. But it was their way of showing that God was superior to all the false gods of the nations, that he was conqueror over all his enemies.

The section in verses 13-15 picks up on some of this dragon imagery: “You came out to deliver your people, to save your anointed one. You crushed the leader of the land of wickedness, you stripped him from head to foot. With his own spear you pierced his head when his warriors stormed out to scatter us, gloating as though about to devour the wretched who were in hiding. You trampled the sea with your horses, churning the great waters.” (Habakkuk 3:13-15)

“From head to foot” in verse 13 is literally “from neck to tail,” picturing God’s conquest of the great dragon Leviathan. Of course Satan is also called a dragon in Scripture, and so this is also a picture of God’s final conquest of Satan and his forces. Finally verse 15 says that God tramples the sea. In the Bible the sea is a symbol of all the evil forces in the world that stand opposed to God.

Habakkuk wants us to understand that yes, God is there, and God conquers all his enemies. That is the word of warning. But Habakkuk also wants us to understand that God comes to deliver his people. That is a word of comfort. So on one level verses 3-15 give us this dramatic picture of God coming up from the south and completely destroying all the enemies in his path. But on another level, the song is also full of imagery relating to God’s dealing with his people Israel. In many ways this song is a dramatic re-telling of God’s deliverance of his people.

Teman and Paran in verse 3 remind us of God’s presence with his people in the wilderness, where he first revealed himself to Israel and then led them on to the Promised Land. The thunderstorm and earthquake imagery is a reminder of God meeting with his people at Mount Sinai to give them the Ten Commandments. Plague and pestilence recall God’s ten plagues on Egypt resulting in Israel’s deliverance from Egypt. The victory over the rivers and the sea are meant to remind us of Israel’s miraculous crossings of the Red Sea and the Jordan River. The sun and the moon standing still are meant to remind us of Joshua’s victory over the Amorites recorded in Joshua 10. Piercing the head of the enemy with his own spear reminds us of David cutting off the head of Goliath with his own sword. Verse 13 speaks of God coming to deliver his people and to save his anointed one. The “anointed one” in the Hebrew language is literally “the Messiah,” the son of David who would come to deliver God’s people for good.

And so throughout the poem Habakkuk has expertly used imagery that not only details the defeat of God’s enemies, but also recalls God’s great saving acts for his people – their deliverance from Egypt; the Exodus and the crossing of the Red Sea; the giving of the Ten Commandments at Mount Sinai; their wandering in the wilderness and eventual conquest of the promised land; David the anointed king and the coming of Messiah who would bring salvation for his people.

When you are wondering, “Is God there?” how can you be assured of God’s presence? Remember God’s mighty deeds of the past. God conquers all enemies in his path. God comes to deliver his people.

(Looking ahead: You may have noticed that we skipped over verse 2b. We will pick that up next time.)

Here are the links to the whole Blogging with Habakkuk series: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25.

Habakkuk 3:1-2a

1 A prayer of Habakkuk the prophet. On [shigionoth].
2 LORD, I have heard of your fame;
I stand in awe of your deeds, O LORD. (NIV)

How can you be assured of God’s presence? The first thing you need to do is approach God in an attitude of worship. And that’s exactly what Habakkuk does here in chapter 3. Verse 1 provides a title for the whole chapter: “A prayer of Habakkuk the prophet. On shigionoth.”

Chapter three is a prayer from Habakkuk to God. Now when I talk to God in prayer, I usually just talk to him. I don’t craft my words or plan out any long speeches any more than I do when I am talking with a friend or a neighbor. But Habakkuk chapter three is a little different. We are not sure exactly what that word shigionoth means at the end of verse 1, but it seems to be some kind of musical term. The chapter closes with instructions for the director of music and speaks about using stringed instruments. And so Habakkuk 3 is not only a prayer; it is a psalm or a worship song. It is a musical prayer. And musical prayers are a little different from just our regular prayers when we talk to God on a day to day basis.

First of all, a musical prayer is a written prayer. It is not just spoken. The author of a written prayer thinks about what he wants to say and then writes it out. It takes some time to do that. You may go through several drafts, crossing things out, trying to get your words just right. Most of us aren’t used to writing out our prayers, but it is another valid way that we can communicate with God, sort of like writing God a letter. As human beings we write each other letters, not only when we are far away, but sometimes because we feel we can communicate what we want to say better through writing than just a conversation. Writing out prayers can be a valuable way to communicate with God also.

But a musical prayer is not only a written prayer. It is also a poem. Poetry uses condensed and heightened language. It requires composition. Words are carefully chosen not only for their content, but also for their imagery and rhythm and rhyme. Not all of us are gifted with poetic language, but if you are gifted in this way, you may want to consider writing out some prayers to God in poetic form.

And thirdly, a musical prayer is not only a written prayer and a poem. It is also a song. It is a song of worship. Music adds another element to prayer because it engages our emotions in a different way. Also, songs are meant to be sung over and over again. Worship songs are not just one-time prayers, but prayers that can be presented to the Lord repeatedly. And another neat thing about worship songs – songs can be shared, so that a wide range of people can use the words and music of the song together to approach God in worship.

Notice how Habakkuk begins his prayer in verse 2: “LORD, I have heard of your fame; I stand in awe of your deeds, O LORD.” (Habakkuk 3:2a) He begins with worship. Too often we just rush right into prayer with all our requests. That was part of Habakkuk’s problem earlier. His earlier prayers were all complaints to God. Now we have already seen that there is nothing wrong with bringing your questions and complaints to God. God wants you to talk honestly with him. But if you want to know God’s presence, you must begin with worship.

How do you worship God?

1) Adore God for who He is.

First of all, adore God for who he is. Habakkuk says in verse 2, “Lord, I have heard of your fame.” (Habakkuk 3:2) God is “the famous One.” To quote from a recent worship song by Chris Tomlin:

You are the Lord, the famous one, famous one,
Great is your name in all the earth
The heavens declare you’re glorious, glorious
Great is your fame beyond the earth.

God is awesome. He is magnificent. He is perfect. He is beautiful. He is all-powerful, all-loving, all-righteous, all-wise. He is “The King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, [to whom] be honor and glory for ever and ever.” (1 Timothy 1:17) Focus your heart and your mind on God and adore him. Worship him in the beauty of his holiness. Speak to him; lift up your hands to him; fall down before him; worship Almighty God for who he is.

2) Praise God for what he has done.

And then secondly, praise God for what he has done. Habakkuk goes on in verse 2: “I stand in awe of all your deeds.” (Habakkuk 3:2) Praise God for what he has done not only in your own life, but in all of life. Praise him for his wonderful works in creation. Praise him for his awesome deeds in history. Praise him for calling out a people for his very own. Praise him for sending his Son into the world to accomplish our salvation. Praise God for who he is, and praise him for what he has done.

Chris Tomlin’s song “The Famous One” continues with this verse praising God for his deeds:

And for all you’ve done and yet to do
With every breath I’m praising you
Desire of nations and every heart
You alone are God, You alone are God.

If you want to know God’s presence, begin with worship. Worship is one of the key stops that you make again and again on the journey from doubt to faith.

(Looking ahead: Next time we will look at Habakkuk 3:3-15)

Here are the links to the whole Blogging with Habakkuk series: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25.