Habakkuk 3.17-18-Habakkuk Will Rejoice Because of the Lord God in the Midst of the Adversity (Doctrinal Bible Church in Huntsville, Alabama)

Doctrinal Bible Church

Pastor-Teacher Bill Wenstrom

Sunday February 25, 2024

Habakkuk: Habakkuk 3:17-18-Habakkuk Will Rejoice Because of the Lord God in the Midst of the Adversity Caused by the Babylonian Invasions of His Nation

Lesson # 57

Habakkuk 3:17 When the fig tree does not blossom, and there are no fruit on the vines, when the yield produced by the olive tree fails, and the fields do not produce a crop, when the sheep are removed from the pen, and there are no cattle in the stalls, 18 I will simultaneously greatly rejoice because of the Lord. I will rejoice exceedingly because of God who delivers me. (Pastor’s translation)

Habakkuk 3:17-18 form a temporal clause with verse 17 functioning as the protasis and verse 18 the apodosis.

Verse 17 describes the devastation and destruction of the agricultural and pastoral economy of the southern kingdom of Judah as a result of being attacked on three different occasions by the Babylonian Empire under Nebuchadnezzar in 605, 597 and 586 B.C.

On the other hand, verse 18 describes the prophet Habakkuk’s response to these adverse circumstances.

Habakkuk 3:17 contains six statements.

The first asserts that the fig tree does not blossom while the second asserts that there is no fruit on the vines.

The third asserts that the yield produced by the olive tree fails while the fourth asserts that the fields do not produce a crop.

The fifth asserts that the sheep are removed from the pen and the sixth asserts that there are no cattle in the stalls.

The first four of these statements describe the devastating effects of these three Babylonian invasions on the agricultural economy of the southern kingdom of Judah while the last two describe the devastating effects of these invasions on the pastoral economy of Judah.

Now, here in Habakkuk 3:18, we have the prophet Habakkuk’s response to these adverse circumstances in the southern kingdom of Judah in his day.

In this response the prophet expresses his faith in the Lord God of Israel to deliver him out of and in the midst of this great adversity, which was the result of the Babylonian invasions.

Habakkuk 3:18 contains two statements with the first asserting that he will greatly rejoice because of the Lord while the second elaborates on the first and asserts that he will rejoice exceedingly because of God who delivers him.

There are at least three reasons why the prophet Habakkuk will rejoice greatly because of the Lord God of Israel and both reasons are given in the contents of the book of Habakkuk.

The first is found in the Lord’s statements in Habakkuk 2:2-20.

In these verses, the Lord promised Habakkuk and the faithful remnant of Judah that He would judge the Babylonian Empire after using it to discipline the unrepentant apostate citizens in the southern kingdom of Judah at the end of the seventh century B.C. and at the beginning of the sixth century B.C.

The second reason appears in the Lord’s statement in Habakkuk 2:4.

Habakkuk 2:4 Look! He is characterized as being proud and arrogant. His soul within him is by no means characterized as being upright. However, in contrast to him, a righteous person will live by means of their faith. (Pastor’s translation)

Habakkuk’s faith in God’s Word would appropriate the omnipotence of God which in turn would enable him to endure such tremendous adversity as the three Babylonian invasions of his country in 605, 597 and 586 B.C.

The expression of the prophet Habakkuk’s faith in the Lord God of Israel in Habakkuk 3:17-18 echoes his fifth and final statement recorded in Habakkuk 3:16.

Habakkuk 3:16 I listened with the result that my stomach is upset. As a result of the sound of His words, my lips quiver. Degeneration enters into my bones. Consequently, that which is beneath me trembles while I wait patiently for the period of time characterized by distress to be experienced for the detriment of the people who will attack us. (Pastor’s translation)

The prophet Habakkuk’s fifth and final statement in Habakkuk 3:16 and his statement here in Habakkuk 3:17-18 indicate that he was already obeying the Lord’s command in Habakkuk 2:4 that the righteous person must live by faith.

The third assertion in Habakkuk 2:4 presents an emphatic contrast with the first two statements in the verse and asserts that the righteous person will live by means of their faith.

This is a description of the faithful remnant in Judah in Habakkuk’s day who possessed a covenant relationship through faith in the Lord and were thus declared justified by the Lord (cf. Gen. 15:6).

Therefore, the emphatic contrast is between unrighteous Babylonians who live unrighteous lives and the righteous faithful remnant in Judah in Habakkuk’s day who live by means of their faith which produces righteousness in their lives.

Therefore, we can see that the Lord is telling the prophet Habakkuk yes the Babylonians were unrighteous implying that He would judge them eventually, but in contrast to the Babylonians, the faithful remnant in Judah must live by means of their faith in Him.

They must do this mind you in light of the imminent Babylonian invasion.

This is exactly what the prophet Habakkuk says he was doing in the fifth and final statement recorded in Habakkuk 3:16 and in Habakkuk 3:17-18.

The third reason why the prophet Habakkuk asserts in Habakkuk 3:18 that he will rejoice greatly because of the Lord God of Israel is found here in this verse because in it he asserts that God is his Savior or Deliverer.

When the prophet asserts God delivers him, he means that not only in a physical sense but also in a spiritual sense.

He not only will rejoice because he has faith that the Lord God of Israel will deliver from the adversity he will experience due to the Babylonian invasions but also he will rejoice because of his eternal salvation which is the result of his faith in the Lord at justification.

So therefore, the prophet Habakkuk asserts in Habakkuk 3:17-18 that when his country, the southern kingdom of Judah, is attacked by Babylon and suffers the destruction of her pastoral and agricultural economy, he will rejoice because of the Lord God who will deliver him from this adversity.

In other words, he is saying I will rejoice regardless how bad the circumstances are because the Lord God will deliver me in and out of this adversity.

The church age believer is also commanded by the Lord to rejoice regardless of their circumstances.

1 Thessalonians 5:16 Each one of you begin to make it your habit of rejoicing always and continue doing so. (Pastor’s translation)

The Holy Spirit produces this joy in the child of God as a result of the latter experiencing fellowship with the Trinity as a result of obeying the Father’s will, which is revealed by the Spirit through the communication of the Word of God.

Although Paul does not mention explicitly in 1 Thessalonians 5:16 why the Thessalonians must obey this command to begin to rejoice always, the contents of First Thessalonians does provide reasons why they should.

The Thessalonians were to obey this command to rejoice because Paul asserts in 1 Thessalonians 1:7-8 that the Thessalonians’ were faithful to the gospel in spite of severe persecution was serving to encourage the Christians in the Roman province of Achaia and Macedonia.

Also, they were to obey this command because Paul asserts in 1 Thessalonians 1:10 that the Thessalonians would be delivered from the wrath which will be experienced by the inhabitants of planet earth during the last three and a half years of the seventieth week of Daniel and subsequent Second Advent of Jesus Christ.

The Thessalonians should obey the command to rejoice in 1 Thessalonians 5:16 because Paul asserts in 1 Thessalonians 2:13-16 that the gospel was working mightily in their lives.

They should rejoice because 1 Thessalonians 2:17-3:10 reveals that the Thessalonians’ were faithful to the gospel causing Paul, Silvanus and Timothy to rejoice.

They were to rejoice because Paul affirms in 1 Thessalonians 4:1-8 that the Thessalonians were experiencing their sanctification and in 1 Thessalonians 4:9-12 they were practicing the love of God when interacting with each other and those in the non-Christian community.

The Thessalonians should rejoice because Paul assures them in 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 that the dead in Christ will be raised first at the rapture and then those Christians who are alive at the time of rapture will receive their resurrection bodies.

Consequently, both groups would be with the Lord forever.

Lastly, they should rejoice because Paul asserts in 1 Thessalonians 5:1-11 that the Thessalonians were not destined to experience the Lord’s wrath during the last three and a half years of the seventieth week and His Second Advent but rather they were destined to experience the perfection of their salvation at the rapture.

1 Thessalonians 5:16 is not only place in Paul’s writings that he issues a command to rejoice to a Christian community in the Roman Empire since he issues this same command to the Roman, Philippian and Colossian Christian communities.

Romans 12:12 Concerning your confident expectation, all of you continue to make it your habit to rejoice. Concerning adversity, all of you continue to make it your habit to persevere. Concerning prayer, all of you continue to make it your habit to be persistent. (Pastors’ translation)

Romans 12:15 Continue to make it your habit to rejoice together with those who are rejoicing. Continue to make it your habit to weep together with those who are weeping. (Pastor’s translation)