Yet I Will Rejoice in the Lord

A prayer of Habakkuk the prophet, according to Shigionoth. O Lord , I have heard the report of you, and your work, O Lord , do I fear. In the midst of the years revive it; in the midst of the years make it known; in wrath remember mercy. God came from Teman, and the Holy One from Mount Paran. Selah His splendor covered the heavens, and the earth was full of his praise. His brightness was like the light; rays flashed from his hand; and there he veiled his power. Before him went pestilence, and plague followed at his heels. He stood and measured the earth; he looked and shook the nations; then the eternal mountains were scattered; the everlasting hills sank low. His were the everlasting ways. I saw the tents of Cushan in affliction; the curtains of the land of Midian did tremble. Was your wrath against the rivers, O Lord ? Was your anger against the rivers, or your indignation against the sea, when you rode on your horses, on your chariot of salvation? You stripped the sheath from your bow, calling for many arrows. Selah You split the earth with rivers. The mountains saw you and writhed; the raging waters swept on; the deep gave forth its voice; it lifted its hands on high. The sun and moon stood still in their place at the light of your arrows as they sped, at the flash of your glittering spear. You marched through the earth in fury; you threshed the nations in anger. You went out for the salvation of your people, for the salvation of your anointed. You crushed the head of the house of the wicked, laying him bare from thigh to neck. Selah You pierced with his own arrows the heads of his warriors, who came like a whirlwind to scatter me, rejoicing as if to devour the poor in secret. You trampled the sea with your horses, the surging of mighty waters. I hear, and my body trembles; my lips quiver at the sound; rottenness enters into my bones; my legs tremble beneath me. Yet I will quietly wait for the day of trouble to come upon people who invade us. Though the fig tree should not blossom, nor fruit be on the vines, the produce of the olive fail and the fields yield no food, the flock be cut off from the fold and there be no herd in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the Lord ; I will take joy in the God of my salvation.  God , the Lord, is my strength; he makes my feet like the deer's; he makes me tread on my high places. To the choirmaster: with stringed instruments. - Habakkuk 3:1‭-‬19 ESV

Rev. Charles Han

A prayer of Transcendent joy

No crops means no seeds for the next year. No oil, no food. No herds mean no meat or milk. This is not just a Monday or a bad day. This is a catastrophic disaster. Utter desolation. The coming invasion will bring all these things to pass. So what does this joy have to do with anything? It is a joy not rooted in the things of this world. It is a joy that is not displaced by suffering. It does not make light of suffering nor does it make us immune. This joy remains in the midst of suffering and pain.

A prayer of Big Picture Faith

Rejoicing in God in the midst of suffering does not come naturally. It comes from exercising our faith. How can we rejoice in the Lord during life's trials and pain? By faith. Regardless of the troubles of the next generation or the circumstances of this life, the repentant will be saved and the unrepentant enemies of God will be judged. Come famine, slavery, oppression... God will still save and judge. The final outcome is already set.

A prayer of Unconditional Commitment

Have you found your deepest joy in God himself? This will keep us during those tough times. We go to God for material provision and health. But how about times of adversity, tribulation, and trouble? This is how we know we love God. It is a promise of faithfulness during times of trouble and times of plenty.

Job 13:15
Daniel 3:16-18
Romans 5:3-4

The Lord is in His Temple

Shall not all these take up their taunt against him, with scoffing and riddles for him, and say, "Woe to him who heaps up what is not his own— for how long?— and loads himself with pledges!" Will not your debtors suddenly arise, and those awake who will make you tremble? Then you will be spoil for them. Because you have plundered many nations, all the remnant of the peoples shall plunder you, for the blood of man and violence to the earth, to cities and all who dwell in them. "Woe to him who gets evil gain for his house, to set his nest on high, to be safe from the reach of harm! You have devised shame for your house by cutting off many peoples; you have forfeited your life. For the stone will cry out from the wall, and the beam from the woodwork respond. "Woe to him who builds a town with blood and founds a city on iniquity! Behold, is it not from the Lord of hosts that peoples labor merely for fire, and nations weary themselves for nothing? For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord as the waters cover the sea. "Woe to him who makes his neighbors drink— you pour out your wrath and make them drunk, in order to gaze at their nakedness! You will have your fill of shame instead of glory. Drink, yourself, and show your uncircumcision! The cup in the Lord 's right hand will come around to you, and utter shame will come upon your glory! The violence done to Lebanon will overwhelm you, as will the destruction of the beasts that terrified them, for the blood of man and violence to the earth, to cities and all who dwell in them. "What profit is an idol when its maker has shaped it, a metal image, a teacher of lies? For its maker trusts in his own creation when he makes speechless idols! Woe to him who says to a wooden thing, Awake; to a silent stone, Arise! Can this teach? Behold, it is overlaid with gold and silver, and there is no breath at all in it. But the Lord is in his holy temple; let all the earth keep silence before him." - Habakkuk 2:6‭-‬20 ESV

Rev. Dan Whang

The woes against evil

The first set of verses about woe are a taunting song. It is a song sung to enemies who have fallen. The Chaldeans were greedy. They stole, plundered, and enslaved people for their own desires. God promises that the people they plundered will themselves be plundered by those very people. No concern for the lowly poor or those who were struggling. They built houses far from others on high. Places with gigantic gates. Financial security and personal ambition can do horrendous things to the human heart. We forget that what we have is grace from God.

The Chaldeans killed people to control them. They have hearts filled with violence. We may not kill people but we all may find that we have violent hearts. We desire to bully, control, take advantage of or oppress others. We can yell or lecture those who disturb or impose on us. We are not innocent.

Sexual immorality will only bring shame. The wrong person, at the wrong time, outside the desire of God... It brings shame to the person on that screen. It feels sex trafficking.

Idolitry is serving something other than God. Looking for hope in created things rather than the Creator. Whether it be wealth, talent, comfort or any other variety of things... We depend on it save or teach us. Idolitry can lead into all these kinds of sin that the Chaldeans practiced.

Silence before the temple of God sounds so nice. But really it is the judgement of God. He will bring justice. He's fed up with injustice and suffering as well.

Promises of hope

God's plan to save is coming. The earth will be filled with the glory of God. Jesus will come and will restore all things. Justice will come. The glory will submerge all things.

Spreading His glory

Practice gentleness and compassion. Give kindness in return for evil. We leave vengeance for God. Seek accountability in battling sin. Find time to pray and keep a right perspective.

Habakkuk's Cry Against Evil

The oracle that Habakkuk the prophet saw. O Lord , how long shall I cry for help, and you will not hear? Or cry to you "Violence!" and you will not save? Why do you make me see iniquity, and why do you idly look at wrong? Destruction and violence are before me; strife and contention arise. So the law is paralyzed, and justice never goes forth. For the wicked surround the righteous; so justice goes forth perverted. "Look among the nations, and see; wonder and be astounded. For I am doing a work in your days that you would not believe if told. For behold, I am raising up the Chaldeans, that bitter and hasty nation, who march through the breadth of the earth, to seize dwellings not their own. They are dreaded and fearsome; their justice and dignity go forth from themselves. Their horses are swifter than leopards, more fierce than the evening wolves; their horsemen press proudly on. Their horsemen come from afar; they fly like an eagle swift to devour. They all come for violence, all their faces forward. They gather captives like sand. At kings they scoff, and at rulers they laugh. They laugh at every fortress, for they pile up earth and take it. Then they sweep by like the wind and go on, guilty men, whose own might is their god!" - Habakkuk 1:2‭-‬11 ESV

Rev. Dan Whang

How do we reconcile all the evil around us with the idea of a good God?

Cry against evil

The prophet cries to God. He is speaking to God about all the brokenness around him. Strife, perverted justice, and violence were all around. The prophet asked how long? Why does God not hear Habakkuk? If God is in charge, why then is would filled with such evil? How can a good God allow this?

This is an act of faith. The prophet goes to God with his complaints. Why go to God, if you don't believe God cares or God can do anything about it?

God's answer to evil

God's response is strange. It doesn't make much sense. God says that the prophet would not understand the answer. God replies that he has been raising up the bigger and badder people. The nation of Israel was turning from God and His commandments. So God says that He's bringing more trouble from outside the nation. The Chaldeans, Babylonians, would take the Israelites captive. But this was not an act of anger, it was how God was saving people. He was preparing the way for Jesus so that the good news could spread more easily through the gentiles. This was because there would be synagogues and Jews amount these other nations. There would be a place for the future disciples to go and share the news of salvation through faith in Christ. But this only makes sense in hindsight. The prophet, Habakkuk, could not have understood why God responded with more seemingly bad news when the prophet was crying of injustice... So then what? We must trust that God's plan for us is for our good, even when it doesn't appear to be so.