Habbakkuk
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The Joy of Christmas
The Joy of Christmas
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.
Habakkuk wrote during the reign of King Jehoiakim, a puppet king of Pharoah who encouraged oppression, false worship, and drafted slaves from his people.
Habakkuk was written during a time when Jehoiakim led the people back into idolatry.
As a result, God is preparing to judge the nation.
Habakkuk is having trouble understanding why God would use a heathen nation like Babylon to punish His people.
Habakkuk is having trouble understanding why God would use a heathen nation like Babylon to punish His people.
Habakkuk lamented the corruption of Judah and responded with a prayer conversation that he wrote for us.
It includes a revelation from God that he was bringing the long-foretold captivity by the Babylonians. After receiving a vision of how to survive and a woe song reminding that God will still bring justice, Habakkuk wrote his own song that models the central vision of the book—how to live by faith.
Habakkuk realizes that God is not to be worshiped merely because of the temporal, material and physical blessings of life, but for simply Who He is.
In chapter 3, Habakkuk’s song is for the community as they wait to be conquered.
Their circumstances will go from bad to worse, and yet, together they sing a song of thanksgiving and of trust for who God is and for the unchanging benefits that belong to those who know Him!
Habakkuk had reason to fret, but HE CHOSE TO BE THANKFUL INSTEAD!
He focuses on the God who saves, who opposes the enemies of his people, and who will ultimately deliver through his anointed one (3:13).
13 Thou wentest forth for the salvation of thy people,
Even for salvation with thine anointed;
Thou woundedst the head out of the house of the wicked,
By discovering the foundation unto the neck. Selah.
It’s a liturgy of faith while they wait for God to work.
The final verses are famous ones that we’ve quoted but perhaps not taught in the context of the entire chapter. In the loss that rises to the level of famine conditions, the prophet leads God’s people into words of intentional faith. “I will rejoice in the Lord” is a choice (and emphasized in the cohortative).
How does one choose joy when losses have piled high?
Or
When things have spiraled out of control to the depths?
How do we celebrate Christmas when we’ve had years of loss?
Habakkuk says you can have joy when one knows the God of their salvation.
Just like David knew the God who would deliver him from Saul, for he quotes David next (Ps. 18:33; 2 Sam. 22:34).
The prophet instructs through his lyrics that joy mingles with the grief, for in the loss of every physical comfort, we do not lose the God who saves.
The song has already painted vivid pictures of God’s power to save, and today we know that the God of salvation entered human history in the womb of Mary. We read Mary’s song and see her use similar words. “My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior” (Luke 1:26-47).
Mary sings as if the salvation that God’s people had been looking for had come in the Baby about to be born.
Today, we know it’s true. We can rejoice in the God of our salvation when life has lost an unimaginable amount, because of the coming of Christ.
There are people before you whose losses have mounted beyond words in the last couple of years.
Finances have run out when they never expected to lose stability.
Loved ones have died.
Mental health for them and their family members has felt out of grasp.
Is it possible to celebrate with joy at Christmas when grief looms large?
Habakkuk never denies the traumatic impact of loss; he shakes with emotion, what some would describe as panic (3:16).
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.
Yet, he’d still say that because of the God of salvation, there’s room for joy even in the loss.
Christmas is about God’s Sovereignty
Christmas is about God’s Sovereignty
Habakkuk 3:17–18 (KJV 1900)
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.
Notice the words, “Although” and “Yet I”
Circumstances change, God never Changes.
6 For I am the Lord, I change not;
Therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed.
8 Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever.
17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.
Think about Egypt where God promised 7 years of plenty and 7 years of famine.
I cannot always rejoice in my situation, but I can always rejoice in my Sovereign!
Habakkuk is staring at a poor future, but he chooses to look to a God Who is always the same!
God said He is the I AM, the Lord, Jehovah, the Self-Existent, eternal, changeless, covenant keeping God.
He is the One we can DEPEND on in desperate times, troublesome times.
We can BELIEVE Him during the unbelievable times.
We can LEAN on Him at all times.!
If we can grasp the Sovereignty of God this Christmas Season, then we can find the possibility of fulfillment of
16 Rejoice evermore. 17 Pray without ceasing. 18 In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.
But Habakkuk doesn’t stop there, he continues,
Christmas is about God’s Salvation
Christmas is about God’s Salvation
Habakkuk 3:18 (KJV 1900)
18 Yet I will rejoice in the Lord,
I will joy in the God of my salvation.
Just like God’s Sovereignty never Changes, God’s Salvation never Ceases.
Things might get bad in this life, but things do not affect my salvation!
Salvation does not depend on things going well. Salvation rests solely on the grace and power of God!
Life is uncertain at best, (Ill. One phone call or doctor’s visit can change everything), salvation is eternal in nature.
The word “salvation” applies to more than just the soul. The word also means “deliverance and rescue”. That reminds me that this world is not my home. He is coming to rescue and deliver His children on that day!
Things may get bad here, but this world is not our home, Phil. 3:20!
20 For our conversation is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ:
We are headed to a better land, Rev. 21–22!
Praise God, the Lord has been good here, but the best is yet to come, 1 Pet. 1:3–4!
3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 To an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you,
Things may get bad here, but things cannot take away my salvation—John 10:28; Heb. 13:5.
28 And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.
5 Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.
God’s children are saved “to the uttermost”, Heb. 7:25.
25 Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them.
—That is as saved as you can get!
Ill. God’s salvation ever ceases; therefore we can be thankful anyhow!
Christmas is about God’s Strength
Christmas is about God’s Strength
Habakkuk 3:19 (KJV 1900)
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.
“strength” = “ability”—Our strength does not lie within us. The Lord is our strength—Psa. 27:1; Isa. 40:31; Phil. 4:13.
1 The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear?
The Lord is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?
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.
13 I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.
When we are unable to stand, He enables us. When we can’t go on, He helps us. When we are in the deep valley; He leads us to higher ground.
“Hind’s feet”—speaks of grace, agility and swiftness.
“High places” speaks of the mountain tops where the deer is free from the dangers found below.
Habakkuk is telling us that God enables him to rise above his circumstances and that God gives him the strength to stand above the battle and to enjoy precious freedom in the Lord!
In other words, he is saying, “God turns my doubts to shouts! And He gives me peace in midst of my problems!”
That is what God did for Job—Job 1:20–21;
20 Then Job arose, and rent his mantle, and shaved his head, and fell down upon the ground, and worshipped, 21 And said,
Naked came I out of my mother’s womb,
And naked shall I return thither:
The Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away;
Blessed be the name of the Lord.
and Paul—2 Cor. 12:9.
9 And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.
and that is what He can and will do for you!
God enables His children to stand when their own strength fails; therefore we can be thankful anyhow!
Habakkuk learned a valuable lesson. He learned a lesson that all of God’s children need to learn.
He learned that God is both our salvation and our song. (Ill. Isa. 12:1–2; Ex. 15:2; Psa. 118:4)
1 And in that day thou shalt say,
O Lord, I will praise thee: though thou wast angry with me,
Thine anger is turned away, and thou comfortedst me.
2 Behold, God is my salvation;
I will trust, and not be afraid:
For the Lord JEHOVAH is my strength and my song;
He also is become my salvation.
He learned that he had nothing to fear from life, but that he had a real reason to be thankful anyhow!
Christmas is the fulfillment of this Salvation.
11 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.
If you are saved, you possess every reason to be thankful that Habakkuk possessed.
This is the joy of Christmas.
So, regardless of what you might be facing today, look to God, lean on God and be thankful anyhow!