Title: Resurrection (Hab 03:1-19)
Content We try not to believe in a God who makes us prosperous and who blesses us, and we do not believe in a God who destroys us. The Korean church now believes in a God who blesses and increases the number of members. But such a God is a God that is far from the Bible. In today's text, the God that Prophet Habakkuk understands and praises through the Word and is satisfied with the God of salvation is the God who destroys Israel.
When Judah did not live according to the covenant, but was filled with blood and violence, the prophet Habakkuk was troubled and asked God, and God said that he would destroy Jerusalem through Babylon. The prophet Habakkuk was even more amazed and worried. In the meantime, what did he discover? The kingdom of God cannot be perfected by the law. We discover that only God's righteousness must come. That is, through the Messiah, the sinner's corrupt heart must be changed.
After all, just because the number of churches increases and many people go to church does not mean that they are all God's people. It seems to us that there are many people of God. Also, I think we should have more church members. But that's not what God sees. Rather, God wants to make Jerusalem a ruin and build a new community of the Lord on it. Prophet Habakkuk, who only came to know through what God said, has no choice but to pray and praise God. This is Habakkuk chapter 3.
So, Habakkuk's prayer begins with the shock he received after he realized God's will. The prophet Habakkuk first said, “O LORD, I am astonished to hear about you. O LORD, restore your works within these years. Show them within these years. Do not forget your mercy, even in your wrath” (verse 2).
Usually, only part of this verse, especially the phrase 'Lord, may thy work revive within a few years' is used as the church's motto for the year. It seems as if the 'work of the Lord' in this verse means that everything the church wants to do is the work of the Lord. Not only that, but it makes it seem like the revival of the church is the revival God wants. So, I think that the church must achieve revival, growth, and development.
The words, 'Lord, may your work revive within these few years' is not a phrase that supports the numerical revival of the church today or supports its justification. The word 'report of the Lord' means 'what the Lord has spoken'. Also, 'the work of the Lord' here is the work of the Lord to take up Babylon and destroy Jerusalem. In other words, when we consider what God has said so far, the prophet Habakkuk asks that the Lord's work of lifting up Babylon and destroying Jerusalem, as God has already revealed and said, may be accomplished within a few years. In other words, the supplication that says, 'May your work revive within a few years' is a supplication to bring about the destruction of Jerusalem as soon as God planned.
Then, why is the prophet Habakkuk asking God like this now? Because now the prophet Habakkuk knew that God would destroy this Judah and build upon it God's new people. In the second half of verse 2, he prays, 'Even in your wrath, do not forget your mercy'. Habakkuk knew that in the midst of God's wrath, He would leave those who were merciful, and that his people would make his kingdom. This is not a request to restore the existing Judah (Israel).
Because they sing, 'From Teman the Holy One is from Mount Paran' (verse 3). 'Teman' is Mount Seir, where Edom is located. According to Deuteronomy 33:2, 'The Lord came from Sinai, and rose from Mount Seir, and shone from Mount Paran, and came down from among ten thousand saints, and in his right hand is a fiery law.'
It's the words that remind me of this scene. Rather than breaking the covenant by calling the Gentiles to destroy Judah, God reveals who He is among the Gentiles and seeks His people.
In verse 8, the words, 'You, O LORD, ride on horses and bring chariots of salvation', which means that God Himself will work out salvation. So, all the expressions mentioned from verse 8 onwards are reminiscent of the Exodus. In particular, verse 11 is a verse that indicates that the sun and moon stayed on Gibeon and Aijalon while Joshua fought in the land of Canaan (see Joshua 10:12 and below). It means that God will accomplish salvation like the exodus from Egypt anew again. This is a greater and more wonderful salvation than the Exodus.
What does this mean? This means that he will fulfill the covenant by calling the remnant of Israel anew, but ultimately, it is the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. The prophet Habakkuk saw this. “You have come out to save your people, to save the anointed; you strike the head of the house of the wicked, and you have uncovered its foundations” (verse 13). In other words, it exposes the sinfulness of mankind until Christ comes. The reason is to show that salvation is possible only through Jesus Christ.
Habakkuk knew that the Babylonian invasion was terrifying, and that this war would result in the loss of all the crops of trees and even the loss of livestock. So when I heard it, I was like, 'My intestines trembled, my lips trembled, and suddenly there was a fear of rotting bones.
However, the prophet Habakkuk could not fear the invasion of Babylon because he saw that God would surely preserve His own new life through the salvation of the Messiah. Rather, Judah, who can no longer withstand the law due to the invasion of Barelon, will soon be destroyed, and they pray for the fulfillment of the covenant quickly, expecting the Messiah who will complete the law.
For this reason, for the prophet Habakkuk, this God of salvation has no choice but to become his strength. Only God, who accomplishes salvation according to God's own covenant, can make us walk freely like deer in this difficult world. Only the cross of the Lord who set us free from sin can set us free from the harsh place of sin.
An abundance of figs, vines, and olive trees, or of field plants, cattle or sheep, is a symbol of wealth. The conditions for eating and living are perfect. However, even if you lose all those things, you cannot lose your mind to it. Rather, even if God takes away everything that is a symbol of worldly abundance or wealth, those who are satisfied with the God of salvation who destroys us are not attached to worldly things. What do we consider important? Is it our sheep? Is it a cow from a stall? Is it our produce? Is it my job? Is it my pride? What is? When the Lord destroys what we value, if the cross of the Lord is remembered again and we can kneel before it, then that person is a believer now.