03 | Advent 2025 | Habakkuk 1:12-2:4, 3:17-19 - A Living Hope & Faith

Scripture Reading

Habakkuk 1:12-2:4

3:00

INTRODUCTION

The Advent Series | Waiting as Watchmen

Amos | The Kingdom Restored

Micah | The King is Coming

now … but … therefore …

until … = waiting

What do we do between announcement and consummation?

Habakkuk | The Time Between

Achtemeier Habakkuk is a book for all faithful people, of whatever era, who find themselves living “in the meantime”—in the time between the revelation of the promises of God and the fulfillment of those promises—in the time between their redemption, when God made his purposes clear, and the final time when that divine purpose will be realized in all the earth. As such, Habakkuk is a book from faith for faith.

Habakkuk is written for a people who still cry out in faith …

… your kingdom come, your will be on earth as it is in heaven.

We know that there is an unshakable and abundant kingdom coming.

We know that there is a strong and majestic king who is coming.

We also know that Jesus, the King, has come proclaiming the gospel of God; that the kingdom of God is at hand.

What do we do today, between the announcement of his kingdom and the king’s final coming?

Jesus, in Mark 1:15, says that we are to repent and believe the gospel.

Jesus is saying the same thing that he, by his Spirit, declared to the prophet Habakkuk: the righteous shall live by his faith.

Faith is the posture of those waiting for the kingdom, for the security and peace of the King, in the meantime.

PRAY

7:00

HABAKKUK’S COMPLAINTS AND THE LORD’S ANSWERS

At the beginning of Habakkuk’s prophecy he offers two complaints to the Lord …

… which the Lord himself answers.

HABAKKUK’S FIRST COMPLAINT:

WHY IS THERE NO JUSTICE?

Habakkuk 1:2–3 ESV

O Lord, how long shall I cry for help, and you will not hear? … Why do you make me see iniquity, and why do you idly look at wrong?

The Lord’s First Answer:

Habakkuk 1:5–6 ESV

“Look among the nations, and see; wonder and be astounded. … 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.

Look! Justice by the Babylonians!

So, God is going to bring judgement upon the evildoers in Judah …

… though as we will see in Habakkuk’s second complaint

… Habakkuk is shocked by how the Lord will bring about his judgement.

7:30

But one thing is sure …

The wrath of God is coming

We considered this a couple years ago in our study of Romans 1.

Romans 1:18 ESV

For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth.

Right now we know and experience trials and sufferings of many kinds.

These afflictions entered the world on account of sin.

Though no particular sickness or trial is necessarily associated with one particular sin.

Just because you develop of cough on Saturday or stub your toe in the morning …

… that doesn’t necessarily mean you sinned on Friday

… and are suffering "God’s wrath” on Saturday morning.

But our sufferings do remind us that sin and its consequence, death, are a reality.

For the wrath of God is revealed.

And yet, there is more than momentary sufferings in this life that are at play here

The wrath of God is already revealed …

… as evidenced by these sufferings

… but there is a day of final judgment yet coming.

Romans 1:16 speaks of “salvation for everyone who believes”

But we must come to understand and believe that there is wrath revealed, judgement that will be executed for all who have sinned.

Romans 1:18 says God's wrath is revealed.

There is a righteous judgment for all who have sinned.

But the issue gets worse! Romans 3:10 (ESV) None is righteous, no, not one;

There is no one righteous!

13:00

This ought to cause us to DESPAIR!

The wrath of God is revealed on account of the sin that all of us have participated in.

Yes, sin entered on account of the sin of our first parents, Adam and Eve.

But we have shown ourselves to be justly counted their children …

… with our own participation in sin and rebellion against God.

And so, God is just to judge.

His wrath is righteous.

And none will escape on their own judgement.

That is the application point of Romans 1:18 and Romans 3:10.

It is to cause us to ask, is there anyone who can escape judgement when the wrath of God is revealed?

Habakkuk 1:8 ESV

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.

The point is this: judgement is coming, swift and sure …

… and there are none who can escape its coming.

15:30

HABAKKUK’S SECOND COMPLAINT:

JUSTICE? BUT, THE WICKED SWALLOWS UP THE MAN MORE RIGHTEOUS THAN HE?

Habakkuk 1:13 ESV

You who are of purer eyes than to see evil and cannot look at wrong, why do you idly look at traitors and remain silent when the wicked swallows up the man more righteous than he?

Ok, so judgement is coming, but aren’t the unrighteous Babylonians going to swallow up even the righteous among Judah?

The Lord’s Second Answer:

Hmmm … the man more righteous, huh?

Who is righteous?

The LORD: You are correct, Habakkuk, the Babylonian is puffed up, but …

… there is no one who is going to live because they are righteous.

Habakkuk 2:4 — The righteous shall live by his faith.

The only ones who will live will not live by their righteousness.

That is not the contrast between the Babylonians and those who will survive judgement.

The contrast is not between righteous and unrighteous …

… but between pride and faith.

18:00

What is sin, AGAIN?

The sin of man is rebellion.

But sin does not begin merely at the moment of lawlessness …

… but in the heart’s vain and idolatrous insistence that he can make a life for himself, that he can live, apart from the Lord and his good way.

It is to claim in the face of the righteous judgement of God that we can save ourselves — that we can establish a defense and stronghold for ourselves against judgement:

1) Either that we are righteous in and of ourselves, by our works, so God’s judgement will surely not fall on me.

I can avoid judgement by my own self-righteousness.

2) Or that even though God’s judgement is coming, I can create some refuge,, form some army, use some technology …

… somehow mount a defense against God’s sweeping judgement.

Surely Jerusalem could have done this …

… by calling up the military in defense of the city against the coming onslaught of the Chaldeans.

But, we also do this by pursuing prosperity or fame or relationships …

… that we somehow think will give us meaning or purpose or satisfaction in this world without God.

Sure, maybe God’s judgement is coming, but we can make a way for ourselves though we ignore God’s wrath revealed against all ungodliness.

On my own I can live! …

… either in self-righteousness or self-reliance.

22:00

But what of faith?

Faith says, “There is one who is righteous. He is the Lord.”

“On my own I will be swept away by the righteous wrath of the Holy God.”

Only if he would extend his arm not only in judgement, but also in mercy …

… only then would escape the horse and its rider.

Our one hope is that when his wrath is revealed …

… if also he will extend mercy.

Only if the Lord himself rescues those who call out to him in repentance is there any hope of rescue.

Essentially the cry is, “Lord, rescue me from your own righteous decree!”

And it is this cry that the Lord hears … the cry of faith.

It is only these that the Lord counts as righteous in the day of wrath upon the wicked.

FAITH is the only way anyone is counted righteous and THEREFORE not consumed by the judgment.

This reality opens up many of the Psalms and Prophets.

This is how sinners take refuge in a holy God.

This is why Romans later says:

Romans 4:5 ESV

And to the one who does not work but believes in him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness,

It is not him who works his own self-righteousness nor his own self-reliant rescue mission.

It is him who trusts in the Lord’s mercy who will be counted righteous on the day of judgement.

26:00

APPLY

Judgement is coming.

Habakkuk 2:3 ESV

If it seems slow, wait for it; it will surely come; it will not delay.

27:00

HOW DO THE RIGHTEOUS LIVE?

Read Habakkuk 2:4.

FALSE INTERPRETATION: The faithful will live because he is righteous.

We are prone to twist the scriptures into a man-centered, self-righteous righteousness.

How do you prove that you’re faithful?

How do you prove that you ought to survive when judgement come?

What will you tell Saint Peter when you arrive at the gates of heaven?

How do you earn the spot of refuge in the Lord?

You prove you’re faithful by your efforts righteousness, compared to your occasional failings.

29:00

LOOK AGAIN: Who are the righteous?

The righteous are those who live.

Who are those who live?

Who are those who the Lord will both bless AND keep.

Who will the Lord preserve in the day of trouble?

Who will the Lord pass over on the day of judgement?

… when the horse and its rider crash into the city?

Is it not those who trust in the Lord for their rescue?

It is the Babylonians who are puffed up.

It is the Babylonians whose soul is upside down.

And the Babylonians are sent to bring God’s judgement on the unrighteousness rampant in Judah.

But who are the righteous?

The righteous are those who live by faith not by their own strength or even their own righteousness!

The Lord has pronounced his assessment, his judgement.

There are none who are righteous.

And the Lord has counted righteous, those who live by faith.

Who are the righteous?

There are none who are righteous in and of themselves.

They are counted righteous who remember not only the covenant promise of blessing …

… but also God’s righteous covenant of curse for disobedience

… and count themselves as justly condemned.

But these also remember the covenant of redemption …

… for all who turn to the Lord in faith

… seeking his mercy

… and finding his grace.

32:00

APPLY

Two weeks ago, we saw how Amos warns that the covenant curse of judgment is inescapable and restoration is only on account of grace.

Habakkuk presents sin as the prideful insistence that “on my own I can live” (by either self-righteousness or self-rescue).

But the Lord insists that the righteous will only live by faith in the Lord’s rescue.

Salvation is by grace alone through faith alone.

Faith is a helpless flight to mercy.

33:00

What does faith look like? STRENGTH AND JOY!

Read Habakkuk 3:17–19.

What does faith look like?

Faith is the unshakable posture of those waiting for the kingdom, for the security and peace of the King, in the meantime.

Why unshakable?

Because …

The Lord is my strength.

As there deer is known for her sure footedness, even on the precarious rocky heights:

O. Palmer Robertson Surefooted, untiring, bounding with energy, the Lord’s people may expect to ascend the heights of victory despite their many severe setbacks. The heights of the earth, the places of conquest and domain, shall be the ultimate possession of God’s people.

36:00

Rejoice

This is the posture of faith, now, in the midst of judgement all around, in light of the Sovereign Lord God, our Savior.

I will rejoice, take joy …

The ground of our faith isn’t cause for mere survival.

It is cause for rejoicing.

… in the Lord, in the God of my salvation

APPLY

Where Amos presents an unshakable kingdom …

… and Micah presents an unshakable king

… Habakkuk presents an unshakable joy.

To the choirmaster: Faith is why we sing.

We sing to remember the kingdom that is coming.

We sing to remember the king who is coming.

Singing is faith made audible.

Our weekly gathering is called by the Lord as a grace to us …

… that by his grace to gather his people

… he would make visible the faith by which we will stand in the day of judgement.

39:00

APPLY

FIVE IMPLICATIONS:

Five implications for Advent waiting as faith “in the meantime”.

1. The prophets help us to wait with final judgement in view.

We’ve spoken a good deal about judgement in this Advent series.

With advent’s call to wait for what is coming …

… we first have to recognize and come to terms with the fact that judgement is coming.

A major error of the people of Israel was the presumption that judgement would never come.

That they were somehow safe because they were somehow special in and of themselves.

But the prophets explode this vain presumption.

You have no strength in yourself or your circumstances.

The Lord alone is the hope of every people of every generation.

40:30

2. Faith rejects self-reliance, self-preservation.

We are reliant upon the rescue of the king and preserved by grace alone.

If you are a believer in Jesus Christ, no trial in this life is God’s wrath against you.

You are only loved in the Beloved.

But it may well be the Lord’s discipline.

Consider if you find yourself fitting and raging over some trial.

Is what is being stripped away something that is actually a hindrance to your active joy in the Lord alone?

If all I have is Christ is true, then you can give thanks in every circumstance, because your trust, your hope, remains.

(Remember Habakkuk 3.)

42:00

3. The Lord calls us to repent and believe.

Between the announcement of judgement and the final consumation …

… is the the Lord’s own call to repentance and faith.

Today, is the day to trust in the Lord.

To lay down self-righteousness and self-reliance.

To confess your sin, and trust in the Lord alone for forgiveness of sin by the righteous sacrifice of Jesus on the cross.

And you will be saved

43:30

4. The Lord is your strength.

… by which you remain steadfast

Remember and reread James.

It is all about remaining steadfast by faith.

We serve the Lord …

1 Peter 4:11 ESV

… as one who serves by the strength that God supplies—in order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ. To him belong glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.

I hear the word “anxiety” all the time.

Behind this word is often (not always, but often) is two faithless responses to trials of many kinds.

Fear and Control

Anxiety can be the fear of loss of things that are fleeting (even our own lives) …

… but a failure to sing with Habakkuk Though the fig tree should not blossom, nor fruit be on the vines, … yet I will rejoice in the LORD.

Anxiety can be a fretting to control the circumstances of our own lives.

GOD, the Lord, is my strength;

I am neither counted righteous by my works, nor do I live the my life by my fretting effort to control and preserve fleeting things.

46:00

5. The Lord is your joy.

Again, remember James.

Count it all joy, my brothers

1 Peter 4:13 ESV

But rejoice insofar as you share Christ’s sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed.

47:00

The title of this Advent series is “Waiting as Watchmen.”

Faith is the posture of those waiting for the kingdom, the security and peace of the King in the meantime.

Amos — Week 1: What we’re waiting for (restored kingdom). 

Micah — Week 2: Who we’re waiting for (the shepherd-king). 

Habakkuk — Week 3: How we wait (faith that lives, rejoices, endures) …

… in the joy of the Lord alone.

… by the strength of the Lord alone.

49:00