Habakkuk Ch2v4-20

Habakkuk. Now, you've probably heard that Habakkuk is one of the minor prophets. Just a reminder that that is a minor because of its size, not because of the importance of its message.

And Sam will be preaching a little while from Habakkuk chapter 2. So I'm going to read from verse 4 right to the end of the chapter.

Habakkuk 2 · chapter mention

If you have a church-read Bible, it's on page 941. It's one of those books in the Bible where I have to use the index myself.

It doesn't come very quickly when I'm leafing it through. So index, it's there for a good reason.

But 941 if you're reading from the church Bible. So I'm going to read from verse 4.

See, the enemy is puffed up. His desires are not upright, but the righteous person will live by his 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 captives all the peoples.

Verse 6.

Will not all of them taunt him with ridicule and scorn, saying,

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.

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.

Woe to him who builds a city with bloodshed and establishes a town by injustice.

Has not the Lord determined that the people's labour is only fuel for the fire,

that the nations exhaust themselves for nothing?

For the earth is filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord, as the waters covers the sea.

Woe to him who gives drink to his neighbours, pouring it from the wineskin till they are drunk,

so that he can gaze on their naked bodies.

You will be filled with shame instead of glory.

Now 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 carved by the craftsman,

or an image that teaches lies?

For the one who makes a trust in his own creation,

he makes idols that cannot speak.

Woe to him who says to the wood,

Come to life, or to the 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.

Let me just pray for Sam before he comes up.

Father, as we have just read this passage,

there is much that we have read,

and we wonder what does that mean.

But I thank you that you have raised up people like Sam

to study your word, to be a student of your word,

to bring the message from this passage to us.

We thank you indeed that we do not look at these verses by ourselves.

You have given us your Holy Spirit to help and to guide us.

You have given your spirit to Sam.

And I thank you that he desires to be a workman,

approved unto you, correctly handling the word of truth.

I pray indeed as he preaches,

that he too would be excited at the hope that there is in this passage,

and the desire that, thank you for the desire he has to teach, to share.

And I pray indeed that our hearts would be open to understanding,

to discipline, to encouragement, to learning,

that we would be changed by your word for the very word of God.

In Jesus' name.

Amen.

Amen.

Thank you, Sam.

Thank you very much, Jonathan.

And good morning, everybody.

Let me just pray as we begin.

Thank you.

Our Heavenly Father, help us this morning

to heed your warning where we need to heed it,

to take encouragement where we lack it.

Help us to hear what you want us to hear

from your eternal word this day.

Amen.

Back in June, a group of us lads from church

went on a walk

in Kerry.

It was on the old road to Kinmare.

Some of you may know that one.

And it's pretty remote out there.

Okay.

It's on the hills between Killarney and Kinmare.

It's completely uninhabited, this area.

And there are a few points in this trail

where you're walking through these deep, dark valleys,

and you can get discouraged.

You can begin to wonder

if you're ever going to make it to the end of the path.

You're in the middle of nowhere.

And you're down in these steep gullies.

But then way in the distance,

just in the horizon,

you see the top of Torque Mountain.

And you remember

that at the bottom of that mountain

is the car park.

And your car is there.

And whenever you get there,

you'll be able to take off

your soaking wet hiking boots.

And you'll be able to collapse

into that comfortable,

air-conditioned vehicle

and drive home.

The end of the journey is in sight

when you see that mountain.

Fixing your gaze on that

gives you hope to carry on

through the valley of darkness.

Now, last week, if you were here,

we read about the pain and injustice

that surrounded Habakkuk

on every side.

Okay?

It was like he was walking

through this steep, dark valley.

And in chapter 1,

we noticed that he didn't see

any hope at all.

And the main question raised was,

where is God

in the valley of injustice and pain?

And how can he be sovereign

over all of this evil?

And then we read

in chapter 2, verse 5,

God's ultimate answer

to that question.

It was this.

The righteous will live

by faith.

Now, if that was all

that God had to say,

it might seem too simple

an answer or too vague.

I mean, faith in what?

We might ask.

Live by faith in

my innate strength

to somehow push

through this pain?

Or faith in the latest

mindfulness techniques

to stay positive

when everything around us

is crumbling?

Well, in today's passage,

we read the rest of God's answer.

And he tells us

that our faith

is to be placed

in him alone.

More specifically,

in what he is going to do

in the future.

He gives us

three amazing realities

on which to fix

the eyes of our faith.

It's as if God points out

three mountains of hope

on the horizon

as we walk through

that valley

of injustice and pain.

And those three future realities

are as follows.

God's justice

will be done.

God's glory

will be restored.

And God's name

will be revered.

By looking forward

in faith

to those future realities,

we can keep walking

through the valley

of injustice

and pain.

So let's begin

with that first

mountain of hope.

God's justice

will be done.

And this is the main

emphasis

of this passage.

God pronounces,

I'm counting six judgments

over the nation

of Babylon.

Okay,

they were going to come

and conquer

Israel and Judah.

And God says,

well,

you are also

going to be judged.

But we also need

to take this

into account ourselves.

God is not just

pronouncing judgment

on Babylon.

it's also for anybody

anywhere

who lives

in these waves.

So we need

to listen up.

And I think

these six judgments

could be categorized

in two ways.

The first kind

are natural

consequences

for our sinful

choices

in the present.

And then the latter

kind

are all about

God's future

judgments,

his direct

intervention,

putting all

injustice

and sin

to a stop.

So we're going

to run through

these fairly quickly.

And first,

let's take the judgments

that are happening

in the here

and now.

And I phrase

these as questions

to kind of

help us

think about them

for ourselves

more so

rather than just,

oh, that was for Babylon

back then.

So number one,

are you greedy?

Well,

the natural judgment

is this.

You will never

be satisfied.

Look at verse

four and five.

See,

the enemy

is puffed up.

His desires

are not upright.

And look at verse five.

Indeed,

wine betrays him.

He is arrogant

and never arrest

because he is as greedy

as the grave

and like death

is never satisfied.

Now,

greed is one of those

acceptable sins

in our society,

is it not?

We may not need

a new car.

But we like

the look of that one.

Whether it's

a luxurious

holiday

or that latest phone

or an unnecessary

item of clothing,

we slip into greed

so easily,

don't we?

Be warned.

The greedy

will never

be satisfied.

All those things

will

betray us.

Here's a second judgment.

Do you steal?

Well,

the natural judgment

for that is this.

You will face

the consequences.

Look at verse six.

Woe to him

who piles up

stolen goods

and makes himself

wealthy

by extortion.

How long

must this go on?

Well,

here's the warning.

Verse seven.

Will not your creditors

suddenly arise?

Will not they wake up

and make you tremble?

Then you

will become

their prey.

Stop

stealing.

There will

be painful

consequences.

You will

be found out

sooner

than later.

and have to

face the full

penalty

of that.

Listen

to God's

warning.

Here's a third one.

Do you get

rich

by cheating

others?

Well,

the natural

judgment is this.

You will be

shamed

and ruined.

Look at verse nine.

Woe to him

who builds

his house

by unjust

gain,

setting his

nest on high

to escape

the clutches

of ruin.

cheating at work

or in school

is really

common today.

It's almost

accepted

that you're

going to

act in that

way to

get ahead.

Hear God's

warning of

judgment in

verse 10.

He says,

you have

plotted the

ruin of

many peoples,

shaming

your own

house and

forfeiting

your life.

Be warned.

Because every

time you

look at

your wealth

or your

achievements

you've gained

at the

expense of

others,

you will

feel shame

for all

the people

you exploited

to get

there.

Here's the

fourth judgment.

Do you

look to

idols

for life

or for

guidance?

You will

not find

it.

Verse 19.

Have a look

down at

that.

Woe to

him who

says to

wood,

come to

life,

or to

lifeless

stone,

wake up.

Can it

give

guidance?

You know,

we are all

guilty of

giving created

things God

status in

our lives.

gods of

money,

family,

romance,

comfort,

whatever it

is that you

set up as

that ultimate

thing,

rely on it

for life

and happiness.

Hear God's

warning in

verse 19.

It is

covered with

gold and

silver.

There is

no breath

in it.

God's

love.

Those idols

we have

will always

betray us.

They'll never

give us what

we're truly

looking for.

Now the

last two

judgments,

and these

involve God's

direct intervention

at the end

of time.

Number five.

Are you

building an

empire through

injustice?

God will

destroy it.

look with

me at

verse 12.

Woe to

him who

builds a

city with

bloodshed and

establishes a

town by

injustice.

And it's

acceptable in

our society

to build our

own comfortable

little kingdoms

where we live

in luxury.

We don't

really have to

care about

anybody else.

be warned.

If that's

what we

live for,

we're

building up

treasure that

will ultimately

be destroyed.

Look at

verse 13.

Has not

the Lord

Almighty

determined that

the people's

labor is only

fuel for the

fire, that

the nations

exhaust themselves

for nothing?

And here's

the final

judgment to

come.

Are you

shaming

others to

increase your

glory?

God will

bring shame

and destruction

on you.

we get this

terrible picture

in verse 15

of a nation

who gets

their neighbors

drunk in

order to

strip them

of their

clothing,

to bring

shame on

them and

boost their

own glory.

Now you

might say

that is

repulsive.

I would

never do

that.

Yet how

quick are we

to drag

up the

failings of

others behind

their backs?

Shaming

them to

our friends,

all the

while boosting

our own

glory in

comparison.

Listen to

God's warning

in verse 16.

You will

be filled

with shame

instead of

glory.

Now it's

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.

And as I

look up at

that list

there, I'm

convicted.

I'm guilty.

It's not

just something

for Babylon

two and a

half thousand

years ago.

No.

This is a

picture of

my heart and

this is a

picture of

your heart

at its

very worst.

And that's

frightening.

God's

judgment is

coming and

we won't

have any

defense.

But that is

not the end

of the story.

because 600

years after

Habakkuk

wrote of

these

judgments,

Jesus,

the righteous

judge himself

entered into

our world

and he

suffered the

judgment that

we deserved

on the

cross.

And now

anybody who

sees the

ugliness of

their sin,

repents of

it and looks

in faith to

Christ,

can know

full forgiveness

and pardon.

And that's

how God's

future judgment

can be a

source of

hope for

us and

something that

we no longer

dread.

Because on

that day,

every wrong

will be put

right.

Injustice and

suffering has

an end

date.

And that is

the first

mountain of

hope that we

fix our gaze

on as we

walk through

the valley of

injustice.

Now here's

the second.

God's glory

will be

restored.

Tucked away

in the middle

of all these

judgments,

we find

another

incredible

reason to

hope.

Now we

did look at

verses 12 to

13 earlier

and we saw

that God

was condemning

those who

build their

own glory

through

injustice.

I'm not

sure how many

of you watched

the opening

ceremony of

the Olympics

in Paris.

It was a

long night.

It was a

bit of a

commitment to

get to the

end of it.

But during

the ceremony

ten golden

statues of

influential

French women

were elevated

above the

River Seine

as hundreds

of millions

of people

around the

globe

watched on.

One of

them was a

statue of a

French government

minister who

legalized

abortion in

1974.

Her efforts

paved the

way for the

killing of

one million

innocent babies

in the womb

in the 50

years since

then in

France.

Hers is a

glory built

through

injustice.

Jesus.

And it's

not just

extreme

examples like

that.

Everywhere you

look around

you, you

see people

building their

own glory,

not God's.

love.

It simply

comes natural

to us,

doesn't it?

Listen to

how the

apostle Paul

describes this

in Romans

Romans 1 · chapter mention

chapter 1.

You can read

on the

screen.

For since

the creation

of the

world,

God's

invisible

qualities,

his eternal

power and

divine nature

have been

clearly seen,

being understood

from what

has been

made.

So the

people are

without

excuse.

There's no

excuse for

us.

We know

that God

must exist.

Verse 21,

for although

they knew

God,

they neither

gave glory

to him as

God,

nor gave

thanks to

him.

But their

thinking became

futile,

and their

foolish

hearts were

darkened.

That's a

description of

our society

today.

We look

around and

see all the

amazing evidences

of God in

each other,

in his

creation,

but we

fail to give

him glory.

Instead,

we build up

our own.

We make

much of

ourselves,

and not

much of

God.

Don't

you long

to live

in a

world where

everyone,

everywhere

gives glory

to God

alone for

who he

is.

And what's

amazing is

that God

actually promises

this very

thing in

verse 14.

Have a look

at it with

me.

Instead of

the false

glory of

people,

look at this,

verse 14,

the earth

will be

filled with

the knowledge

of the

glory of

the Lord

as the

waters

cover the

sea.

What a

magnificent

picture.

Almost too

beautiful to

even imagine.

God

describes his

glory in

Exodus 33

as his

eternal

goodness.

It is

God in

all his

majestic

perfections

being seen,

being savored

on every

square inch

of that

new

heavens

and earth

to come.

Revelation

21 says

that that

future city

does not

need the

sun or

the moon

to shine

on it

for the

glory of

God

gives it

life and

the Lamb

is its

lamp.

All of

God's

resplendent

glory,

praised and

enjoyed

forever by

all of the

redeemed

from every

nation.

There will

be no

one in

that new

heavens and

earth who

does not

give glory

to God

for who

he is.

And we

don't have

the words

to do this

heavenly

picture any

justice,

but what I

will ask you

is this,

don't you

long to be

there.

where God's

glory fills

up everyone

and everything.

Or have

we become

so numb

to its

absence in

our society

that we

don't even

care?

You know,

earlier we

sang some

amazing words

in one of

the songs

called All

My Days,

and here

they are,

I long

to be

where the

praise is

never ending,

yearn to

dwell where

the glory

never fades,

where countless

worshippers

will share

one song

and cries

of worthy

will honour

the Lamb.

Don't you

long for

that too?

we say

come quickly,

Lord Jesus,

right every

wrong,

restore God's

glory again.

It's a glory

that we lost

sight of

in Eden,

but it's

coming back.

The earth

will be

filled with

the knowledge

of the

glory of

the Lord.

and here's

the thing,

it's a

glory

that's

actually

reflected

in us,

in the

lives of

every

spirit-led

believer.

Listen to

what the

Apostle Paul

says in

2 Corinthians

3.18,

it's on

the screen,

and we

all who

with unveiled

faces reflect

the Lord's

glory are

being transformed

into his

image with

ever-increasing

glory.

So here's

the deal,

if you are

in Christ

today,

you are a

mirror,

reflecting

God's

glory to

others.

And yes,

a cloudy

reflection it

may be,

but as you

walk with

the Spirit,

it gets

clearer and

clearer.

You are

being transformed

into God's

likeness with

ever-increasing

glory.

You are

part of

the promise

of the

knowledge of

God's

glory filling

the earth

again.

And that

means that

the choices

that we make,

the words

we say,

they really

matter.

Because God's

glory is

ultimately at

stake in the

way we live

our lives.

Do our

lives make

much of

him or

do they

make much

of us?

When your

family,

your colleagues,

your classmates

are looking

at you,

do they get

a glimpse

of the

goodness of

God?

Do they

see his

glory?

The closer

we walk

with him,

the more

we're

transformed

into his

likeness,

the more

others see

God's

glory in

us.

That's an

awesome

privilege and

a responsibility,

isn't it?

So let us

be diligent,

both in our

hope for that

new heavens

and earth,

where the

knowledge of

God's glory

will fill

everyone,

everywhere,

but also in

the here and

now.

Let's be

diligent in

our desire

to reflect

God's

glory.

And that's

the second

hope that we

fix our

eyes on,

in that

valley of

injustice.

God's

glory is

going to

be restored.

What a

wonderful

hope.

And there

is one

last

mountain of

hope I

believe that

we are

given in

this passage

and it

is this.

God's

name will

be revered.

we read

in verse

19 earlier

that God

proclaims

judgment on

those who

worship idols

of their

own making.

The people

on earth

might spend

all their

days worshipping

at the

idols of

power,

sex,

money,

comfort,

but verse

20,

look at

this,

the Lord

is in

his holy

temple.

Let all

the earth

be silent

before him.

Here is

the hope,

friends.

One day

when King

Jesus returns,

there will

be universal

silence

before him.

In a

moment,

every person

from every

nation

will see

God

exactly

for who

he is.

every

mouth

that

mocked

him

and

cursed

him

will

be

silenced.

Every

tongue

that

denied

his

existence

will

be

hushed.

On

that

day,

we will

see

everything

in this

world

exactly

for what

it is.

He

will

show up

all the

false

idols

that we

ever ran

after.

we

will

be

rendered

utterly

speechless

by his

perfect

judgments.

In a

split

second,

we will

know

that he

was

right

about

everything

all

along.

No

one

will

even

consider

uttering

a

word

in

defense

of

their

own

moral

purity

that

will

crumble

in

comparison

to

his

holiness.

We

will

all

be

silent

before

God

in

his

temple.

For

some,

this

will

be

a

silence

of

terror.

Their

sin

will be

laid

bare

with

no

excuses.

And

that is

tragic

beyond

words.

But

for

those

who are

united

to

Christ,

there

is no

terror.

This

will

be a

silence

of

holy

awe.

Because

our

judgment

has been

taken

by the

judge

himself,

Jesus

Christ.

So

take

heart

because

God's

name

will

be

revered.

All

who

reject

him

now

and

who

seem

to

have

the

upper

hand

will

one

day

bow

the

knee

and

confess

that

Jesus

is

Lord.

And

let us

practice

silence

before

him.

That

holy

reverence

for who

he is.

We

don't have

to wait

until the

day of

judgment

to do

this.

We

have

access

to

his

holy

presence

anywhere,

any

time.

And how

is that

possible?

Here's

how.

We

are

his

temple.

You see,

when Habakkuk

wrote this,

he had to

go to the

physical

temple in

the Jerusalem

building to

meet with

God.

That's where

God dwelt

at that

time.

But God

does not

dwell in

that kind

of temple

anymore.

In the

New Testament,

we learn

that God's

redeemed

people from

every nation

are his

temple.

That means

that God

has chosen

for his

Holy Spirit

to dwell,

not in a

building,

in his

people.

And because

he is at

work in

us,

everywhere we

go,

we have

access to

his glory

at any

moment.

And you

and I,

we desperately

need times

in our day

where we

cut out

the noise.

Laptop,

phone,

work,

family,

and we

practice

silence

before our

God.

A time

to open

up his

word and

let him

speak right

into our

hearts.

To really

meditate on

what he's

saying,

to confess

our sin

and to

worship him

in response.

We need

silence

before God.

We don't

have to

wait.

God's

name

so that's

the third

mountain of

hope that

we fix

our eyes

on.

God's

name will

be revered.

All the

earth will

be silent

before him.

And we

are the

temple of

his Holy

Spirit.

We are

enabled

right now

to live

lives of

holy

reverence

before him.

To finish,

we are

going to

sing a

song in

a few

minutes

called

Living

Hope.

And this

is a

song which

proclaims

Christ's

victory

over death

and our

victory also

in him.

And there's

one line,

whenever we

sing this

song, it

just gets

me every

single time.

And it's

this,

the work

is finished,

the end

is written,

Jesus

Christ,

my living

hope.

You know

we have

such an

unusual

gift as

Christians.

We know

the end

of the

story.

The books

of our

lives may

have many

chapters that

we cannot

read yet,

many surprises,

ups and

downs, but

I'll tell you

one thing, we

can flick any

time we

want to

that last

chapter.

In the

end,

Jesus wins

and we

are united

to him.

His

victory

is ours.

His

story

is our

story.

Here's how

that final

chapter reads.

God's

justice

will be

done

and we

don't need

to fear

it.

God's

glory will

be restored

God's

name will

be

revered by

all.

God's

name will

be revered

by all

and we

will live

in awe

of his

holiness

forever.

forever.

So,

as you

walk through

the valley

of injustice

and suffering,

keep your

eyes firmly

fixed on

those three

mountains of

hope.

They are a

gift from

God to

you to

help you

walk each

day through

that valley

on your

way to

the new

heavens and

earth,

the city

that he

has prepared

for those

who love

him.

Let's

pray.

Lord,

we

confess

we are

so quick

to despair

at the

injustice

and suffering

that surrounds

us.

It's real

and it

hurts.

Lord,

we need

a fresh

vision of

the hope

which you

have laid

up for

us.

Make it

wonderfully

real to

our hearts

this day.

And

together we

say,

come,

Lord Jesus,

bring justice

to the

oppressed,

fill the

earth with

the knowledge

of your

glory,

and silence

every

mouth of

the enemy.

We long

for this

day.

Let us

not be

content

without it.

Help us

to be

ready for

it.

In Jesus'

name we

pray.

Amen.

Amen.

The musicians

come up.

We will sing

that song

together now.

Living hope.

And please use

this as an

opportunity to

respond to

what God

has been

singing to

you today

through

his word.

Thank you.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.