Habakkuk 1 COMPLAINT

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• Habakkuk 1 COMPLAINT 1
• The prophecy that Habakkuk the prophet received.
  How long, LORD, must I call for help, but you do
  not listen? Or cry out to you, "Violence!" but
  you do not save? Why do you make me look at
  injustice? Why do you tolerate wrongdoing?
  Destruction and violence are before me there is
  strife, and conflict abounds. Therefore the law
  is paralyzed, and justice never prevails. The
  wicked hem in the righteous, so that justice is
  perverted.

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• God Answers Complaint 1
• "Look at the nations and watch and be utterly
  amazed. For I am going to do something in your
  days that you would not believe, even if you were
  told. I am raising up the Babylonians, that
  ruthless and impetuous people, who sweep across
  the whole earth to seize dwellings not their own.
  They are a feared and dreaded people they are a
  law to themselves and promote their own honor.

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• Their horses are swifter than leopards, fiercer
  than wolves at dusk. Their cavalry gallops
  headlong their horsemen come from afar. They fly
  like a vulture swooping to devour they all come
  bent on violence. Their hordes advance like a
  desert wind and gather prisoners like sand. They
  mock kings and scoff at rulers. They laugh at all
  fortified cities by building earthen ramps they
  capture them. Then they sweep past like the wind
  and go on guilty people, whose own strength is
  their god."

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• Complaint 2
• LORD, are you not from everlasting? My God, my
  Holy One, you will never die. You, LORD, have
  appointed them to execute judgment you, my Rock,
  have ordained them to punish. Your eyes are too
  pure to look on evil you cannot tolerate
  wrongdoing. Why then do you tolerate the
  treacherous? Why are you silent while the wicked
  swallow up those more righteous than themselves?
  You have made people like the fish in the sea,
  like the sea creatures that have no ruler. The
  wicked foe pulls all of them up with hooks, he
  catches them in his net, he gathers them up in
  his dragnet and so he rejoices and is glad.

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• Therefore he sacrifices to his net and burns
  incense to his dragnet, for by his net he lives
  in luxury and enjoys the choicest food. 7 Is he
  to keep on emptying his net, destroying nations
  without mercy?
• Habakkuk 2
• I will stand at my watch and station myself on
  the ramparts I will look to see what he will
  say to me, and what answer I am to give to this
  complaint.

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• God Answers Complaint 2
• 2 Then the LORD replied "Write down the
  revelation and make it plain on tablets so that
  a herald may run with it. For the revelation
  awaits an appointed time it speaks of the end
  and will not prove false. Though it linger, wait
  for it it will certainly come and will not
  delay.

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• 4 "See, he is puffed up his desires are not
  upright but the righteous will live by their
  faithfulness indeed, wine betrays him he is
  arrogant and never at rest. Because he is as
  greedy as the grave and like death is never
  satisfied, he gathers to himself all the nations
  and takes captive all the peoples. "Will not all
  of them taunt him with ridicule and scorn,
  saying,

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• " 'Woe to him who piles up stolen goods and makes
  himself wealthy by extortion! How long must this
  go on?' Will not your creditors suddenly arise?
  Will they not wake up and make you tremble? Then
  you will become their prey. Because you have
  plundered many nations, the peoples who are left
  will plunder you. For you have shed human blood
  you have destroyed lands and cities and everyone
  in them.

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• 9 "Woe to him who builds his house by unjust
  gain, setting his nest on high to escape the
  clutches of ruin! You have plotted the ruin of
  many peoples, shaming your own house and
  forfeiting your life. The stones of the wall will
  cry out, and the beams of the woodwork will echo
  it.

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• 12 "Woe to him who builds a city with bloodshed
  and establishes a town by injustice! Has not the
  LORD Almighty determined that the people's labor
  is only fuel for the fire, that the nations
  exhaust themselves for nothing? For the earth
  will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of
  the LORD as the waters cover the sea.

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• "Woe to him who gives drink to his neighbors,
  pouring it from the wineskin till they are drunk,
  so that he can gaze on their naked bodies! 16 You
  will be filled with shame instead of glory. Now
  it is your turn! Drink and let your nakedness be
  exposed The cup from the LORD's right hand is
  coming around to you, and disgrace will cover
  your glory. The violence you have done to Lebanon
  will overwhelm you, and your destruction of
  animals will terrify you. For you have shed human
  blood you have destroyed lands and cities and
  everyone in them. "Of what value is an idol that
  someone has carved? Or an image that teaches
  lies? For those who make them trust in their own
  creations they make idols that cannot speak.

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• Woe to him who says to wood, 'Come to life!' Or
  to lifeless stone, 'Wake up!' Can it give
  guidance? It is covered with gold and silver
  there is no breath in it." The LORD is in his
  holy temple let all the earth be silent before
  him.

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• Habakkuk 3
• A prayer of Habakkuk the prophet. On shigionoth.
  LORD, I have heard of your fame I stand in awe
  of your deeds, LORD. Renew them in our day, in
  our time make them known in wrath remember
  mercy. 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. 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 but he marches on
  forever. I saw the tents of Cushan in distress,
  the dwellings of Midian in anguish. Were you
  angry with the rivers, LORD? Was your wrath
  against the streams? Did you rage against the sea
  when you rode your horses and your chariots to
  victory?

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• You uncovered your bow, you called for many
  arrows. 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. 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.

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• I heard and my heart pounded, my lips quivered at
  the sound decay crept into my bones, and my legs
  trembled. Yet I will wait patiently for the day
  of calamity to come on the nation invading us.
  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. The Sovereign LORD is my
  strength he makes my feet like the feet of a
  deer, he enables me to tread on the heights. For
  the director of music. On my stringed
  instruments.

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• 3 Lessons
• 1. We are better off NOT KNOWING the answers to
  all of our questions.
• Isaiah 40 12 Who has measured the waters in the
  hollow of his hand, or with the breadth of his
  hand marked off the heavens? Who has held the
  dust of the earth in a basket, or weighed the
  mountains on the scales and the hills in a
  balance? Who has understood the mind of the LORD,
  or instructed him as his counselor? Whom did the
  LORD consult to enlighten him, and who taught him
  the right way?
• Who was it that taught him knowledge or showed
  him the path of understanding? Do you not know?
  Have you not heard? The LORD is the everlasting
  God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He
  will not grow tired or weary, and his
  understanding no one can fathom.

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• Job 375 God's voice thunders in marvelous ways
  he does great things beyond our understanding.
• Psalm 1475 Great is our Lord and mighty in
  power his understanding has no limit.
• Proverbs 35 Trust in the LORD with all your
  heart and lean not on your own understanding In
  all your ways acknowledge him and he will direct
  your steps.

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• 2 .WAITING IS GOOD. I will stand at my watch
  and station myself on the ramparts.
• Psalm 2713 I remain confident of this I will
  see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the
  living. Wait for the LORD be strong and take
  heart and wait for the LORD.
• Psalm 33 20 We wait in hope for the LORD he is
  our help and our shield. In him our hearts
  rejoice, for we trust in his holy name. May your
  unfailing love be with us, LORD, even as we put
  our hope in you.

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• Psalm 371 Do not fret because of those who are
  evil or be envious of those who do wrong for
  like the grass they will soon wither, like green
  plants they will soon die away. Trust in the LORD
  and do good dwell in the land and enjoy safe
  pasture. Take delight in the LORD and he will
  give you the desires of your heart. Commit your
  way to the LORD trust in him and he will do
  this He will make your righteous reward shine
  like the dawn, your vindication like the noonday
  sun. Be still before the LORD and wait patiently
  for him do not fret when people succeed in their
  ways, when they carry out their wicked schemes.

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• 3. The bottom line of faith is NOT TO ANSWER ALL
  OF OUR DOUBTS, but to MAKE US SURE OF GOD.
• Hab. 24 the righteous will live by their
  faith.
• Galatians 311 Clearly no one is justified before
  God by the law, because "the righteous will live
  by faith."

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• James 12 Consider it pure joy, my brothers and
  sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds,
  because you know that the testing of your faith
  produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish
  its work so that you may be mature and complete,
  not lacking anything. If any of you lacks wisdom,
  you should ask God, who gives generously to all
  without finding fault, and it will be given to
  you. But when you ask, you must believe and not
  doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave
  of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. Those
  who doubt should not think they will receive
  anything from the Lord they are double-minded
  and unstable in all they do.

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• Isaiah 4021 Do you not know? Have you not heard?
  Has it not been told you from the beginning? Have
  you not understood since the earth was founded?
  He sits enthroned above the circle of the earth,
  and its people are like grasshoppers. He
  stretches out the heavens like a canopy, and
  spreads them out like a tent to live in. He
  brings princes to naught and reduces the rulers
  of this world to nothing. No sooner are they
  planted, no sooner are they sown, no sooner do
  they take root in the ground, than he blows on
  them and they wither, and a whirlwind sweeps them
  away like chaff.

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• "To whom will you compare me? Or who is my
  equal?" says the Holy One. Lift up your eyes and
  look to the heavens Who created all these? He
  who brings out the starry host one by one, and
  calls them each by name. Because of his great
  power and mighty strength, not one of them is
  missing. Why do you complain, Jacob? Why do you
  say, Israel, "My way is hidden from the LORD my
  cause is disregarded by my God"?

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• Do you not know? Have you not heard? The LORD is
  the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of
  the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and
  his understanding no one can fathom. He gives
  strength to the weary and increases the power of
  the weak. Even youths grow tired and weary, and
  young men stumble and fall but those who wait on
  the LORD will renew their strength. They will
  soar on wings like eagles they will run and not
  grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.

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• God moves in a mysterious way His wonders to
  perform He plants His footsteps in the sea And
  rides upon the storm. Deep in unfathomable mines.
  Of never-failing skill, He treasures up His
  bright designs, And works His sovereign will. Ye
  fearful saints, fresh courage take The clouds ye
  so much dread Are big with mercy and shall break,
  In blessings on your head. Judge not the Lord by
  feeble sense. But trust Him for His grace Behind
  a frowning providence He hides a smiling face.
  His purposes will ripen fast, Unfolding every
  hour The bud may have a bitter taste, But sweet
  will be the flower. Blind unbelief is sure to err
  And scan His work in vain God is His own
  Interpreter, And He will make it plain.

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• There is a fountain filled with blood drawn from
  Emmanuels veins And sinners plunged beneath
  that flood lose all their guilty stains. Lose all
  their guilty stains, lose all their guilty
  stains
• And sinners plunged beneath that flood lose all
  their guilty stains. Dear dying Lamb, Thy
  precious blood shall never lose its power Till
  all the ransomed church of God be saved, to sin
  no more. Be saved, to sin no more, be saved, to
  sin no more Till all the ransomed church of God
  be saved, to sin no more.
• Eer since, by faith, I saw the stream Thy
  flowing wounds supply, Redeeming love has been my
  theme, and shall be till I die. And shall be till
  I die, and shall be till I die Redeeming love
  has been my theme, and shall be till I die.

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• O for a closer walk with God, A calm and heavenly
  frame, A light to shine upon the road That leads
  me to the Lamb! Where is that blessedness I knew
  When first I saw the Lord? Where is the soul
  refreshing view Of Jesus and His Word? What
  peaceful hours I once enjoyed! How sweet their
  memory still! But they have left an aching void
  The world can never fill. Return, O holy Dove!
  return, Sweet messenger of rest! I hate the sins
  that made Thee mourn, And drove Thee from my
  breast. The dearest idol I have known, What e'er
  that idol be, Help me to tear it from Thy throne,
  And worship only Thee. So shall my walk be close
  with God, Serene and calm my frame So purer
  light shall mark the road That leads me to the
  Lamb.