Desolation Vs. Inward Joy.

Opening:

It is a beautiful thing to have the sacred honor to open the very Word of God on the Lord’s Day. Let us humbly go now to the Word.

Introduction of the Passage:

This morning we are wrapping up the book of Habakkuk. We have spent the last few weeks diving into this beautiful book, and this week we will be in the final verses. Habakkuk 3:17-19.

A little bit of context to keep in mind as we dive in. This is the very close of Habakkuk’s song. Habakkuk opened by complaining and asking God how long Judah will be allowed to be so evil. When will God act and purify His people. God responds by saying He is raising up the Babylonians to come in and crush and enslave Judah. Habakkuk did not expect this to be how God would act. So he complains again and asks God how He can use the more wicked Babylonians to crush the less wicked Judah. God then responds again saying that in His own perfect timing He will judge Babylon. so Habakkuk closes with a song. He sings a song recounting the history of God saving Israel.

Now we are in the closing of Habakkuk’s song. So with this in mind, stand with me for the reading of God’s Word.

Reading of the Passage:

Habakkuk 3:17–19.

17  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,

18  yet I will rejoice in the LORD;

I will take joy in the God of my salvation.

19  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.

Behold, the Word of God. Let’s Pray.

Prayer:

Our Gracious Heavenly Father, we commit this time to you. May you be honored and glorified as we study your Word together. Please apply it to our hearts that we may live all the more for your glory. We ask this in Jesus name, amen.

Introduction:

This is the close of this book. And the central theme of this book is that the righteous shall live by faith. Habakkuk began this book in confusion. He ends it in fear of what is coming, but in joyful trust and faith in God.

Need:

I have made many allusions to the fact that we are in a similar place as Habakkuk throughout our series. We are living in an age where God is judging the church in our culture. But in this book there is hope for the righteous. We must live by faith.

Text Idea:

If I were to summarize our passage this morning, it would be really to quote Calvin in his commentary on this passage. I really cannot put it any better. Calvin says this, “Hence, on one side Habakkuk sets the desolation of the land; and on the other, the inward joy which the faithful never fail to possess, for they are upheld by the perpetual favour of God.”

That is what Habakkuk is doing. He is contrasting the desolation of what is coming against the inward joy found in Christ.

Sermon Idea:

That is why I have titled this message, Desolation verses inward joy. You see, the big idea here is that even though God is judging our nation and churches, there is still deep joy to be found in Christ.

Habakkuk ends this book with this joy. He is staring down the barrel of a loaded gun, but even there he finds joy in the Lord. I pray we all can find this same joy, even in the midst of pain and suffering.

Transition:

So let’s begin as Habakkuk begins. With desolation.

Desolation.

Habakkuk 3:17 “17 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,”

Explanation:

Habakkuk opens with a picture of ruin. It is no wonder he ended the last verse with saying he was afraid. He said in verse 16 “I hear, and my body trembles; my lips quiver at the sound; rottenness enters into my bones; my legs tremble beneath me.” And with what he says here, this response makes sense. Who among us could see coming what Habakkuk sees and not tremble? Habakkuk here gives a picture of utter economic destruction. He gives a picture of failed crops. Failed figs, grapes, olives, grain, and even livestock.

Failed Crops: Figs, Grapes, Olives, Grain, Livestock.

And this is really a picture of the entire Jewish economy of the day. They made their living off of these plants and animals. Figs were a primary food source. They made cakes and foods for celebrating out of figs. Grapes were their source of drink. The wine of grapes was their source of joy and feasting. Olives gave food and oil. The oil used in all cooking was olive oil. Grain was what made bread. This is a picture of almost the entire food source of the people. And Habakkuk is saying here that it will all be destroyed. It will fail. No more figs. No more grapes or olives. No more oil. No more bread. But he expounds. Even the livestock will fail.

This was almost the entire source of meat for the people. Cattle and sheep were the livestock of the people. They were the source of meat. This means the entire food supply of the people was going to fail. The Babylonians were going to come in and crush Judah and all of Judah’s food sources.

But it was more than just a food source. Each of these things have a spiritual component.

Argumentation:

You see, the crops were a sign of God’s blessing on the people of Israel. We see this throughout the Old Testament. I will give just a sample.

Symbols of God’s blessing.

Deuteronomy 8:8“8 a land of wheat and barley, of vines and fig trees and pomegranates, a land of olive trees and honey,”

Numbers 13:23“23 And they came to the Valley of Eshcol and cut down from there a branch with a single cluster of grapes, and they carried it on a pole between two of them; they also brought some pomegranates and figs.”

You see, when Israel came into the promised land, it was seen as a land of plenty. Over and over again it was pictured as being a land where figs, grapes, olives, and grain grew in abundance. This was a sign of God’s blessing. God was bringing them into a land bursting with provision. I mean, just listen to the song of Moses recorded in Deut 32:9-14

9  But the LORD’s portion is his people,

Jacob his allotted heritage.

10  “He found him in a desert land,

and in the howling waste of the wilderness;

he encircled him, he cared for him,

he kept him as the apple of his eye.

11  Like an eagle that stirs up its nest,

that flutters over its young,

spreading out its wings, catching them,

bearing them on its pinions,

12  the LORD alone guided him,

no foreign god was with him.

13  He made him ride on the high places of the land,

and he ate the produce of the field,

and he suckled him with honey out of the rock,

and oil out of the flinty rock.

14  Curds from the herd, and milk from the flock,

with fat of lambs,

rams of Bashan and goats,

with the very finest of the wheat—

and you drank foaming wine made from the blood of the grape.

God again and again used this picture. God’s favor is evidenced on the people in the form of fig trees. Wine that runs like water, oil and olives, and the finest grain. And this sign continues. God often used the language of abundance in these crops to signify that His blessing was on the people.

1 Kings 4:25 “25 And Judah and Israel lived in safety, from Dan even to Beersheba, every man under his vine and under his fig tree, all the days of Solomon.”

Zechariah 3:10“10 In that day, declares the Lord of hosts, every one of you will invite his neighbor to come under his vine and under his fig tree.””

The abundance of these crops was a sign of God’s blessing. Because of this, when the prophets make statements like the wine drying up, the fruit not yielding, the grain failing, it is language of God’s judgement. Habakkuk is saying that not only will the physical crops fail, but he is saying that this is a sign of God’s judgement on the people. No figs. No wine. No oil. No bread. God is judging the people.

But what of the animals. That is really where the heaviness of this passage comes. You see, the crops failing are signs of God’s wrath and judgement because those crops are specifically signs of God’s blessing. The wine cup being empty is a sign of God’s wrath. But think of the animals. Animals were a source of food and provision yes. But Habakkuk specifically calls out the flocks and herds. The sheep and cattle. He does not lament chickens not laying eggs. It is sheep and cattle that are failing.

So what else were sheep and cattle used for? Habakkuk is here saying that there will be no more sacrifices. No sacrifices for the sins of the people. No sheep to sacrifice. No cattle to sacrifice. In prophetic language, Habakkuk is here saying that people are to remain in their sins.

As one pastor I love says, “Often the judgement of God on sin, is more sin.” Douglas Wilson. You see, sin itself is a form of judgement. And often, the judgement of God is to fall further into the clutches of sin. To remain in sin is to be under the judgement of God. And God’s judgement on the people of Judah is to be trapped in their sin. They blasphemed God by sacrificing to Ba’al and other demon gods. They corrupted the worship of God in the Temple. So God is now removing even their ability to sacrifice. In essence, God is saying, “You do not wish to properly worship me in the sacrifice. So be it. You shall no longer be able to sacrifice to me.” This is a horrifying thought. This is God accepting the rejection of His people.

May we take this warning to heart. To reject God and His proper worship is to be utterly abandoned into sin.

Transition:

But Habakkuk is making a contrast here. This is a dark passage. But it is one filled with much hope as well. See Habakkuk is contrasting utter desolation with true inward Joy. So let us look at the joy of Habakkuk. Let us look at the inward joy.

Inward Joy.

Habakkuk 3:18–19“18 yet I will rejoice in the Lord; I will take joy in the God of my salvation. 19 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.”

Explanation:

We must remember that this is a contrast. Habakkuk is setting the joy of the Lord against all the horrors coming. This is to say that as horrific as the coming desolation will be, the joy and strength of the Lord is even greater. This is almost the exact same thought as Paul when he said in Romans 8:18 “18 For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us.” No matter how dark the trials of this life are, they are nothing compared to the glory we have in Christ.

Specifically, Habakkuk is saying that even though the judgement of God will come on them, it cannot take his joy in God away. That is why He begins verse 17 with the word “though.” Even though all this happens, yet I will rejoice in the Lord. And Habakkuk highlights three things. Joy, strength, and overcoming.

Joy, Strength, Overcoming.

Habakkuk says that even though God’s judgement will fall. Yet he will rejoice in the Lord. Even in the midst of judgement, Habakkuk rejoiced. He gives glory to God. He stops, and rejoices. I long for this kind of faith. The faith that even in the midst of pain and destruction from God, stops and praises God. This man is a righteous man. I long for us to have this kind of faith.

He will take Joy in the God of his salvation. Think of the impact of this. I mentioned last week that we have no indication of what happened to Habakkuk. We do not know. He could have been taken captive. He could have been killed. But honestly, the most likely in my opinion is that he died. He is never mentioned again in Scripture. There is no mention of him in Daniel. There is not mention of him in any of the history books of the Bible that recount Judah in captivity. Now true, he could have survived. But it is equally likely that he died in the capture of Judah. And to me, this seems more likely.

So what does he mean by saying he will take joy in the God of his salvation? What salvation? Habakkuk is about to either die or become a slave. He is about to be destroyed along with Judah. What on earth is he talking about “salvation?” God is not saving Judah. He is crushing Judah. Habakkuk is speaking of an even deeper salvation.

Habakkuk knows something we so often miss. Our salvation is not dependent on our earthly circumstances. Our salvation is eternal. Our salvation is not bound to what happens in our earthly life. God has saved Habakkuk’s soul. His sins are forgiven. He will go to be with the Lord upon his death. He has no need to fear. His world is about to collapse. But even there, God is his savior. Though his body be slain by Babylonian swords. Though he be left behind to starve and die of thirst, God is still his savior. And this is a central point. As one commentator says; “We may hence gather a most useful doctrine,—That whenever signs of God’s wrath meet us in outward things, this remedy remains to us—to consider what God is to us inwardly; for the inward joy, which faith brings to us, can overcome all fears, terrors, sorrows and anxieties.” Calvin.

No matter what comes, God is our salvation. No matter what this life brings us, the Lord is our salvation and strength. And Habakkuk acknowledges this. He says God is his strength. Even though Babylon is on the way, he knows that God will give him strength.

Argumentation:

But what of overcoming? God is our salvation and strength. But Habakkuk also speaks of God making his feet like the deer’s. The KJV calls this animal the hind. This is where the famous poetic story of “Hind’s Feet on High Places” comes from. Habakkuk says this in Habakkuk 3:19“19 God, the Lord, is my strength; he makes my feet like the deer’s; he makes me tread on my high places.” What does this mean? Well it’s a common biblical picture.

Psalm 18:33“33 He made my feet like the feet of a deer and set me secure on the heights.”

2 Samuel 22:34“34 He made my feet like the feet of a deer and set me secure on the heights.”

So what does this mean? Many commentators take this as God’s promise to make the faithful fast like a deer, able to flee from the coming persecution. But I reject this. The faithful were captured just like the wicked. Daniel and his friends did not escape this. And they were the paragon's of faithfulness to God. No, the righteous are not promised to be swift and escape God’s wrath on nations.

No, I take this as a picture of overcoming difficulty. And this is because of the reference to the high places. We must remember Judah was a mountainous region. Now, I come from the mountains. I grew up climbing mountains and high hills. And one thing I can tell you is that climbing mountains is hard. Mountains are difficult. This is why Bunyan pictured difficulty as an actual mountain in “Pilgrim’s Progress.” But there is one animal that traverses even the most steep mountain cliff with ease.

The mountain goat, the hind, what the bible calls the deer. This was a mountainous deer that lived in that area and was very similar to our mountain goats. These animals can traverse the most perilous cliff face with ease. Their split hooves allow them to cling to rock faces that the most skilled rock climber struggles to find. So Habakkuk is saying this in order to say God will enable the righteous to endure the most difficult of times. God will literally equip and sustain them to go through and over the difficulty.

This is the promise, God will sustain the righteous. We will suffer, but He will carry us through. No, we won’t outrun the difficulties of our days. We will not be spared pain or suffering. But God will carry us through them. You and I will suffer. We will find life to be far more than we can bear. But our God will be right there with us, equipping us to carry on in faithfulness.

Habakkuk is saying in this closing that no matter what happens, God is enough. As Matthew Henry put it, “when all is gone his God is not gone.” Beloved, Habakkuk ends this book saying God is enough. Judah will be crushed. Babylon wins for now. But no matter what, God is enough. And nothing can strip the joy from those who trust God. You see, when the righteous live by faith, there is a strength and joy that cannot be removed. This is because God is enough. God was enough for Habakkuk. God is enough for us.

Thus ends the book of Habakkuk.

Transition:

But now I want to wrap up this book with highlighting the central themes of this book. Let us remember the truths contained within. Let us go coram deo.

Coram Deo: Habakkuk.

Explanation:

That phrase “coram deo” is Latin for before the face of God. What it means is this: Let us go before God and live before His face.” So in the final analysis, what is the coram deo of this book? How should this book change how we live? As we stand in God’s presence, how does what we have learned from this book affect our lives?

Argumentation:

In the final analysis:

We Do Not Always Understand God’s Ways.

Habakkuk 1:2 “2 O Lord, how long shall I cry for help, and you will not hear? Or cry to you “Violence!” and you will not save?”

Habakkuk was a righteous man who felt lost. He saw the worship of God bastardized. He saw God’s people pursue wickedness instead of righteousness.

Do we not see the same in our day? Not even talking about the seemingly countless evils of our nation, just look at the church. How many churches and denominations have flown the rainbow flag in our culture? How many have utterly abandoned the Word of God? How many have abandoned the Biblical qualification for elders and pastors to be godly men?

I often find myself discouraged. I look at the state of the church and I can so often feel like Elijah in the wilderness. “Where are the faithful pastors Lord? Where are the men who love your word?” I do not understand what God is doing. His church has embraced sin and wickedness. They have spat on the Bible. And we often can be discouraged, just like Habakkuk was. How long Lord?

But we know that God judges the sin of His people.

God Judges the Sin of His People.

Habakkuk 1:5–6“5 “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. 6 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.”

God does not stand for sin in His people. Remember, the Lord disciplines those He loves. The church is the holy bride of Christ. He will purify her. I look around and see the judgement of God on the church. God is judging His people. He has raised up wicked pastors and preachers as a punishment on the church. And we must repent.

And now even the state is beginning to oppress the church. There are more and more laws being passed that are a direct attack on Christianity and the church. This is God’s judgement. And we must repent. The church of our age and culture must repent and go back to the Bible.

But we must not be discouraged. We must not abandon hope. Let us remember one of the central themes of Habakkuk. Let us remember what Habakkuk acknowledged about God in the midst of his pain.

God is Eternal, Personal, Holy, and The Promise Keeper.

Habakkuk 1:12 “12 Are you not from everlasting, O Lord my God, my Holy One? We shall not die. O Lord, you have ordained them as a judgment, and you, O Rock, have established them for reproof.”

What a cry. What a thing to remember. Our God is eternal. He is not changed by the evils of our day. He is forever. He is our God. We belong to Him and He is our God. Beloved, there is hope. He is holy. He is never changing. He is perfect and glorious. He is holy. And He always keeps His promises. God does not change His mind. We are promise breakers, but He is the great promise Keeper. He will never leave us. He will never abandon us. We can place our faith in Him even in the darkest of times.

Let us never lose faith. Let us live by faith.

The Righteous Live By Faith.

Habakkuk 2:4 “4 “Behold, his soul is puffed up; it is not upright within him, but the righteous shall live by his faith.”

No matter what happens, we can trust Him. We know who our God is. Even in the darkest of times, we must continue to live every aspect of our lives in faith. And this changes everything. We are not swayed by the rulings of a corrupt government. We are not cast aside by the workings of wicked denominations. We are not abandoned by God. And we will live every moment of our lives in faith. Even if Babylon comes upon us and crushes us, our faith is in the Lord our God. And that will never change.

And in the scope of history, God wins.

God Wins.

Habakkuk 2:14 “14 For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord as the waters cover the sea.”

Habakkuk 2:20 “20 But the Lord is in his holy temple; let all the earth keep silence before him.””

The wicked can try to deny God. They can attempt to deny His Word. They can try to crush His Church. But God is in His holy temple. They are nothing before Him. He threshes them like wheat. His church will never fall. He will sustain us. He will carry us through. You see, God wins. He is the victor. He does not lose. And in Him, we do not lose. We win in Him.

No matter what comes at us, we will trust the Lord, for His is the victory. No matter what denominations fall, we will trust the Lord. No matter what backlash we face for standing on His Word, we will trust the Lord. No matter what God wins. As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord. As for me and our church, we will serve the Lord. Period.

But we also know that we are to cry to God.

Cry Out to God.

Habakkuk 3:2 “2 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.”

This is not a blind faith. This is not a faith that just ignores all the evil of our day. This is not a dumb faith. This faith and knowledge of the victory of the Lord causes us to cry out to Him. We see the evil of our day. And we are to bring it to God.

One thing we learn from this book is that we are to bring our concerns before the God who loves and cares for us. And yes, this includes asking God to crush His enemies. We live in a real world with real pain and real evil. We live in an age of dragons and monsters. There is real evil out there. But take courage. We serve a real God. A real God who hears our cries. We can cry out to Him in confidence. When we are afraid, we can cry out. When we are hurting, we can cry out. When we see the hordes of enemies charging at us, we can cry out. When we see the state and even many churches foaming at the mouth to destroy the righteous, we can cry out to the God who hears us.

“Lord, I have heard what you did to the Egyptians, the Babylonians, the Persians, do it again in our day.” This is a righteous prayer. And then what do we do? We do what Habakkuk did. We rest in the Lord.

Rest in the Lord.

Habakkuk 3:16 “16 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.”

Habakkuk waited. We are not God. We do not get to tell God what to do. We cry out to Him, and then we wait in faith. Beloved, I do not know what will happen to our nation or the churches in our nation. I don’t know. I know we are under judgement. I know the only ways out are to either repent or be crushed by God. Which one will happen, I do not know. I certainly looks like God is going to crush us. But I just don’t know.

So what are we to do? Cry out to the Lord. And then rest. Rest in the arms of a sovereign God. Someday God will crush the evil in our midst. He will not be mocked. So we must rest. Cry out to God, know He hears us, but then rest. God is in control. He is in Heaven. The kings of earth are nothing before Him. The denominational rulers are nothing before Him. Rest in Him. Washington D.C. has no power over heaven. God can thresh them like wheat.

But we do not just rest. We rejoice. We find joy.

Find the True Joy in the Lord.

Habakkuk 3:18 “18 yet I will rejoice in the Lord; I will take joy in the God of my salvation.”

I want to end here, because the Holy Spirit working through the prophet Habakkuk ends here. Beloved, I know it looks bad out there. I know how easily we can be discouraged. But to the Christian, storms are just opportunities to sing Psalms in the rain along side the thunder. Habakkuk ends rejoicing. This man who was just given the death sentence of his nation ends by singing. He found true joy.

So I want us to end with this same lesson. As our world gets darker, let us feast with more joy. As our culture descends into rampant pagan evil, let us find even deeper joy in Christ. As they hate us, let us bless them. As they seek to destroy us, let us lift up a glass in toast to the King who has redeemed us. It is often recounted that as Christians were executed in mass by Nero and his like, the Christians would die singing hymns and Psalms.

There is a joy that cannot be taken away. And that Joy is Jesus Christ our Lord. He has saved us. He has redeemed us. He has blessed us. So no matter how dark it is outside, we will sing with joy. No matter how challenging life becomes, we will praise. We must praise and rejoice, for Christ has purchased us from sin and hell. This is a joy that cannot be removed!

Living in faith means we see the true joy set before us. Christ is King. He is Lord. He is reigning now and forevermore. Let me remind you of something. Babylon is gone. God crushed them. Persia is gone. God crushed them. God wins. We can sing with joy, we can live with joy. Christ has won! Christ is winning! Christ will win!

Let’s pray.

Closing Prayer:

Offering:

So this morning we are going to close by singing a portion of Psalm 119. So let us remember the Joy we have in Christ. Let us sing as those who have the only true joy that cannot be removed! And then as we close, we will sing again of the victory of Christ!

Offertory Prayer:

Benediction:

Romans 8:18“18 For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us.”

No matter what happens in this life, the pain is not worth comparing to the glory we have in Christ. And remember, God wins. Let us now sing with joy of the victory and joy we have in Christ!