King James Bible Study – [Mark 8:34 And when he had called the people unto him with his disciples also, he said unto them, Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.]
Date: Friday, August 20, 2021
Chapters: The Book of Habakkuk
Message: Praise God Anyway
Hello My Friend,
This has been a week, my mother and I had closed our house, or so we thought. We had to rush on the only day that we both had off work this week to bring two cashiers checks and a whopping five dollar money order only to discover that the previous owners were not out of the house yet and we had to wait until Thursday to get the keys. Well, Wednesday night we get a message that we have to be at the property Thursday morning for yet another inspection, at the exact same time I had to start work, only to discover that the previous owners are still not out and we have to wait for the inspection to clear, which could be next week before we get the keys. On top of that, work has been stressful, we had to pass a certification to keep our job, which I did, thank God, but to miss one hour of work might as well been a month. Needless to say, reading today’s chapters brought tears to my eyes as God reminds me to trust Him.
[Luke 12:29-32 And seek not ye what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink, neither be ye of doubtful mind. 30 For all these things do the nations of the world seek after: and your Father knoweth that ye have need of these things. 31 But rather seek ye the kingdom of God; and all these things shall be added unto you. 32 Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.]
The Book of Habakkuk contains three chapters, the author is Habakkuk and it was written to the people of Judah. The timeline for these events took place approximately between 608BC and 590BC. The purpose of the book was to awaken Judah to their spiritual needs and remind them that God is merciful to the just. What we are to learn from the book is that the just shall live by faith alone, [Habakkuk 2:4 Behold, his soul which is lifted up is not upright in him: but the just shall live by his faith.] Habakkuk prophesied during the time that the Chaldean’s attacked Jerusalem, during Jehoiakim’s reign. This was also about the time that Jeremiah was either in the dungeon or just released and got stuck with the rebels as they were fleeing to Egypt and captured him. Habakkuk does what all us faithful Christians do when we are facing wrongful persecution, he forms a complaint with God, and wants to know why He is judging His faithful.
[Habakkuk 1:1-4 The burden which Habakkuk the prophet did see. 2 O LORD, how long shall I cry, and thou wilt not hear! even cry out unto thee of violence, and thou wilt not save! 3 Why dost thou shew me iniquity, and cause me to behold grievance? for spoiling and violence are before me: and there are that raise up strife and contention. 4 Therefore the law is slacked, and judgment doth never go forth: for the wicked doth compass about the righteous; therefore wrong judgment proceedeth.]
[for the wicked doth compass about the righteous;] [Compass; To stretch round; to extend so as to embrace the whole; to enclose, encircle, grasp or seize; To purpose; to intend; to imagine; to plot; to contrive;] Habakkuk feels a little displaced, no matter where he turns or what he does, he cannot see the light at the end of the tunnel, so to speak. He wants to know why he has to suffer the judgment that God has placed on them. Then God answers him, but it was really not something that Habakkuk really wanted to hear.
[Habakkuk 1:5-6,8,10-11 Behold ye among the heathen, and regard, and wonder marvellously: for I will work a work in your days, which ye will not believe, though it be told you. 6 For, lo, I raise up the Chaldeans, that bitter and hasty nation, which shall march through the breadth of the land, to possess the dwellingplaces that are not theirs. 8 Their horses also are swifter than the leopards, and are more fierce than the evening wolves: and their horsemen shall spread themselves, and their horsemen shall come from far; they shall fly as the eagle that hasteth to eat. 10 And they shall scoff at the kings, and the princes shall be a scorn unto them: they shall deride every strong hold; for they shall heap dust, and take it. 11 Then shall his mind change, and he shall pass over, and offend, imputing this his power unto his god.]
[For, lo, I raise up the Chaldeans,] God is telling Habakkuk that He is the one who sent them, who made them that way to send judgment on His people. We really do not want to understand that while God does have His vessels of honor, He also has His vessels of dishonor, the ones who He uses to place judgment on the people. And here is the thing, the judgment is not on His faithful, the judgment is placed on those who are rebellious and too proud to repent or their sin, let alone admit they have sinned. And yes, we do have to face some discomfort during this time, but, as God had told Jeremiah, there will be an expected end, and only His faithful who endure until the end will see it, [Romans 9:21-23 Hath not the potter power over the clay, of the same lump to make one vessel unto honour, and another unto dishonour? 22 What if God, willing to shew his wrath, and to make his power known, endured with much longsuffering the vessels of wrath fitted to destruction: 23 And that he might make known the riches of his glory on the vessels of mercy, which he had afore prepared unto glory,]
Well, Habakkuk did understand that God did create some vessels of dishonor to bring correction, but he still felt a little displaced, and brings another complaint before God, [Habakkuk 1:12-15 Art thou not from everlasting, O LORD my God, mine Holy One? we shall not die. O LORD, thou hast ordained them for judgment; and, O mighty God, thou hast established them for correction. 13 Thou art of purer eyes than to behold evil, and canst not look on iniquity: wherefore lookest thou upon them that deal treacherously, and holdest thy tongue when the wicked devoureth the man that is more righteous than he? 14 And makest men as the fishes of the sea, as the creeping things, that have no ruler over them? 15 They take up all of them with the angle, they catch them in their net, and gather them in their drag: therefore they rejoice and are glad.]
[we shall not die. O LORD,] Sometimes it does not matter that we know we are going to heaven, that we will not have to suffer what is worse to come, and that all of this will be over one day, we just want this life to be a little less chaotic. This reminds me of what we are to do when we do not understand things that are too wonderful for us to understand, praise God anyway, [Psalms 139:4-10 For there is not a word in my tongue, but, lo, O LORD, thou knowest it altogether. 5 Thou hast beset me behind and before, and laid thine hand upon me. 6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high, I cannot attain unto it. 7 Whither shall I go from thy spirit? or whither shall I flee from thy presence? 8 If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there: if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there. 9 If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea; 10 Even there shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me.]
There really are a lot of things which we go through that we do not understand. Yesterday at work, I just swore I had gotten a bogus phone call that was used to set me up to see if I was going to ask the right questions and give the right responses, fearing I would lose my job. And who knows? It might have well been and I might sign on this morning for work only to discover that I failed and lost my job. I actually was a bit angry after that phone call because it was not fair for me to have to have such a critical call placed on me after only taking calls for a total of five hours the entire week. Well, Habakkuk just knew that God was so angry with him for forming his complaints that he was going to send judgment on him and actually waited for it.
[Habakkuk 2:1-5 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. 5 Yea also, because he transgresseth by wine, he is a proud man, neither keepeth at home, who enlargeth his desire as hell, and is as death, and cannot be satisfied, but gathereth unto him all nations, and heapeth unto him all people:]
[and what I shall answer when I am reproved.] Let me tell you just how many times I said to God, “I just know that you are going to punish me for this.” when I start complaining about something. I even asked Him, a couple of weeks ago why He allowed me to do what I had done, (this was something over a year ago) when He intervenes on everything else. Of course, God reminded me that if I had not gone through what He allowed me to do, then I would not have trusted Him to see me through. You see, sometimes God does allow us to take the fall so that we understand that the only way to get back up is with Him, [2 Corinthians 7:11 For behold this selfsame thing, that ye sorrowed after a godly sort, what carefulness it wrought in you, yea, what clearing of yourselves, yea, what indignation, yea, what fear, yea, what vehement desire, yea, what zeal, yea, what revenge! In all things ye have approved yourselves to be clear in this matter.]
[but the just shall live by his faith.] Well, God was not angry at Habakkuk’s complaints, He is angry at these fools who were trusting in the fake man made gods that were nothing, but wood covered in gold. God goes on to explain that they are the ones causing all this, all on their own.
[Habakkuk 2:8-10,13-14,19-20 Because thou hast spoiled many nations, all the remnant of the people shall spoil thee; because of men’s blood, and for the violence of the land, of the city, and of all that dwell therein. 9 Woe to him that coveteth an evil covetousness to his house, that he may set his nest on high, that he may be delivered from the power of evil! 10 Thou hast consulted shame to thy house by cutting off many people, and hast sinned against thy soul. 13 Behold, is it not of the LORD of hosts that the people shall labour in the very fire, and the people shall weary themselves for very vanity? 14 For the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea. 19 Woe unto him that saith to the wood, Awake; to the dumb stone, Arise, it shall teach! Behold, it is laid over with gold and silver, and there is no breath at all in the midst of it. 20 But the LORD is in his holy temple: let all the earth keep silence before him.]
[Woe unto him that saith to the wood, Awake;] Let me tell you, we are going to trip and fall and get back up more times than we care to admit, but each and every time, that makes us much more stronger to endure what is yet to come. The reason why we can fall and get back up so quickly is not in our own ability, it comes from the very foundation upon which we do stand, and that is Jesus Christ, and we are going to lose a lot of things while we are here. That house I am buying, I cannot take it with me, it will be gone or belong to someone else, hopefully forty years from now. However, what I can take with me is Christ, which I do need, and any of us. [1 Corinthians 3:11-15 For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ. 12 Now if any man build upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble; 13 Every man’s work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man’s work of what sort it is. 14 If any man’s work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward. 15 If any man’s work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire.]
[let all the earth keep silence before him.] This is another way of God saying that He is the one and only living God, and the only thing we need to be fearing is Him. Fearing God is not the same thing as being afraid to approach him for fear that He will strike you down if you do not agree with His judgments. Fearing God is trusting Him at all times, being faithful to Him, and yes, confessing our sins when they are made known to us. After hearing God tell him, [but the just shall live by his faith.], Habakkuk finally did feel that peace that passes all understanding. He sends a prayer up to God.
[Habakkuk 3:2,16-19 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. 12 Thou didst march through the land in indignation, thou didst thresh the heathen in anger. 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.]
[the flock shall be cut off from the fold,] And this is why Jesus said, [Matthew 10:22 And ye shall be hated of all men for my name’s sake: but he that endureth to the end shall be saved.] No matter what we go through, no matter what we put ourselves through, we belong to Jesus, if we are saved. We can fuss at God all we want for all the chaos that is going on, but God is standing on the sidelines here, He does not have to do anything Himself because the people are destroying themselves. Only those whom have put their faith and trust in Christ and keep it there as they endure all this mess will be saved. And we will be like hinds feet, [Isaiah 40:28-31 Hast thou not known? hast thou not heard, that the everlasting God, the LORD, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary? there is no searching of his understanding. 29 He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might he increaseth strength. 30 Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall: 31 But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.]
Jesus Christ Magnified: [Habakkuk 2:20 But the LORD is in his holy temple: let all the earth keep silence before him. Habakkuk 3:3 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. Habakkuk 3:19 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.]
Today’s Prayer: God, Thank You, for saving a wretch like me the second I trusted Your Son as my Saviour. I know that I am prepared for Your return or You to bring me home. I may not know what tomorrow brings, but I do know that You will be there and You will see me through everything that I go through. Lord, it is not always easy to get through the suffering, but I am going to praise you anyway. With You by my side I know I will get the victory. Lead me and guide me, keep me looking to You, let me not turn to the right or left, just keep my eyes straight on You. Give me Your mercy, grace, power, and strength to endure all the suffering. I will rejoice in You for You are the God of my salvation, I am nothing without You, and I know that I can overcome all things with You. I ask these things in Your name, Jesus. Amen.
God Bless You, I am praying for you,
Christina
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