Selah

Introduction

In this passage we see Habakkuk instruct us to REJOICE AT ALL TIMES! But further, we see a promise of deliverance. Deliverance from sin, deliverance from death, deliverance from the Babylonians, even deliverance from satan; DELIVERANCE IS EMPHASIZED!

There’s a parallel for the book of Habakkuk in many ways- it’s the book of Job. In Job’s struggles he questions God and in Job 40-41, God answers. In Job 42 we see Job’s response. I want to open up our time together with this passage in mind, specifically Job 42:2-5

Stand with me as we read God’s Word together.

Job 42:2–5 CSB

2 I know that you can do anything and no plan of yours can be thwarted. 3 You asked, “Who is this who conceals my counsel with ignorance?” Surely I spoke about things I did not understand, things too wondrous for me to know. 4 You said, “Listen now, and I will speak. When I question you, you will inform me.” 5 I had heard reports about you, but now my eyes have seen you.

There’s a big shift in Habakkuk 3! Habakkuk 1-2 are all about Habakkuk’s questions for God. They are about his heartbreak for Israel, his desire for Israel to experience revival, and his desire to see CHANGE!

In these chapters God answers him telling him that there will be change; but not because of a new king. There will be change because God is going to BRING THE ISRAELITES into EXILE!

Habakkuk is confused and he doesn’t understand (which is actually what God initially tells him in Habakkuk 1.)

In Habakkuk 2:6-20, God declares righteous judgment on the Babylonians. God is using the Babylonians as an instrument of destruction. But God SEES THEIR WICKEDNESS AND HE WILL DESTROY THEM!

This brings us to Habakkuk 3. In Habakkuk 3 we see a PSALM, a PRAYER REALLY of Habakkuk. We are going to split it into two parts- we’ll do one part this week and we’ll finish it next week.

Habakkuk is going to give us an example of how we can and SHOULD, REJOICE AT ALL TIMES!

Main Point: Habakkuk 3:1-15 teaches us how to rejoice at all times!

Today in your bulletin you’ll notice that we’ve got four reasons to rejoice! This passage calls for rejoicing even in hard times.

Body

Check out verses 1-2 with me for Habakkuk’s introduction. Habakkuk 3:1-2

Habakkuk 3:1–2 CSB

1 A prayer of the prophet Habakkuk. According to Shigionoth. 2 Lord, I have heard the report about you; Lord, I stand in awe of your deeds. Revive your work in these years; make it known in these years. In your wrath remember mercy!

Notice the shift in Habakkuk’s tone! He’s like a totally different person as he starts writing this psalm and as he prays!

Instead of confusion, he brings a DECLARATION OF PRAISE!

Instead of doubt, he has a BOLD SONG!

Instead of fear, he has CONFIDENCE!

Instead of questions, he has UNDERSTANDING!

Instead of frustration, he has JOY!

Habakkuk writes his prayer out as a psalm that is labeled a “Shigionoth” or your Bible might translate that as Shiggaion.

It’s a musical phrase that appears twice in the Old Testament.

It appears here and in Psalm 7.

Scholars disagree on what it means- some people think it’s about the tempo that the song should be fast! Other people think that it is calling for a DIRGE, a sad, slow, funeral like song!

Some think that it was a term used to basically say that there was no structure!

But I want to propose to you today VERY BRIEFLY that the term Shigionoth has to do with the format of the psalm, and more specifically, what is emphasized at the beginning and the end. I mentioned last week that THEOLOGY IS KNOWING GOD and this is part of that! We WANT TO UNDERSTAND GOD’S WORD!

See, there’s a parallel between Psalm 7 and Habakkuk 3. In both passages the psalmist (David in Psalm 7, Habakkuk in Habakkuk 3) start with PRAISING GOD AND APPEALING TO GOD’S POWER FOR PROTECTION IN A DIFFICULT TIME!

In both psalms the writers then talk about the coming punishment that the wicked will experience because of God’s JUSTICE, RIGHTEOUSNESS, and POWER!

Both of these passages of scripture really emphasize how GOD IS THE POWERFUL SAVIOR!

And then, they both end with a declaration of THANKSGIVING FOR GOD!

Psalm 7:17 CSB

17 I will thank the Lord for his righteousness; I will sing about the name of the Lord Most High.

In Habakkuk 3:16-19 which we’ll look at NEXT WEEK, it’s AN EXTENDED DECLARATION OF THANKSGIVING!

In both of these psalms the writers acknowledge that GOD IS WORTHY OF PRAISE EVEN WHILE THEYA RE STILL STRUGGLING AND HURTING FROM A SITUATION!

So a fair way to say this is that a Shigionoth is a DECLARATION FO PRAISE IN HARD TIMES!

IN THE MIDST OF A WICKED TIME, THIS IS WHERE THE PSALMIST CRIES OUT AND PRAISES GOD!

Friends, let me encourage you- if you’re going through a hard time, turn to passages like this!

And specifically, I want us to notice how Habakkuk begins.

He begins with praise.

He says that he has HEARD THE REPORT ABOUT GOD- He’s heard about God before and now he has EXPERIENCED GOD!

And maybe this is you- you have read the Bible, you have heard about God at church, but you’ve never PERSONALLY EXPEREINCED GOD!

Maybe you’ve never PLACED YOUR FAITH IN GOD! FRIENDS, LISTEN, IT TOTALLY CHANGES EVERYTHING!

That’s what Habakkuk is talking about! Habakkuk says that HE STANDS IN AWE OF GOD’S WORK!

See, before he HEARD THAT GOD WAS GOOD AND THAT GOD WAS WORKING. NOW HE SEES IT!

HE UNDERSTANDS IT! HIS EYES HAVE BEEN OPENED TO IT!

And how? THROUGH THE WORDS OF GOD!

Friends, do you ever consider how powerful it is to HAVE THE WORD OF GOD IN YOUR HANDS RIGHT NOW!?!

Habakkuk’s entire understanding of God changes BECAUSE OF THE WORD OF GOD!

And that sets the stage for the psalm; which is really HIS PRAYER!

Look at this next part- “Revive your work in these years; make it known in these years. In your wrath remember mercy!”

Let’s talk about that for a minute.

First, Habakkuk asks for God to BRING REVIVAL TO the nation of Israel!

THIS SHOULD BE OUR PRAYER TOO!

At some point we stopped praying for this as Christians. As best as I can tell, at some point we almost started (we would never say this out loud) to worry that if our churches grew because people got saved either they would CHANGE- that our churches wouldn’t look the same, or that they would become “institutionalized” instead of real! In some ways it boils down to us worrying that they would stop being what WE WANTED!

But friends, WE SHOULD PRAY FOR REVIVAL!

AND I WANT TO ENCOURAGE YOU THAT IT IS HAPPENING!

Gen-Z has the HIGHEST PER CAPITA CHURCH ATTENDANCE RATES OF ANY GENERATION IN AMERICA! The average Gen-Z church goer attends more worship services a month than ANY OTHER GENERATION!

REVIVAL IS HAPPENING!

And here’s where I think this is so cool.

I mentioned at the start of our series that Gen-Z has a couple big spiritual concerns.

The third most frequently mentioned concern is justice. We talked about that in our first two sermons this series, but do you know what the first two BIGGEST CONCERNS WERE?

It was TALKING TO GOD AND PRAYER!

Let me say this another way- over 61% of Gen-Z (and this isn’t just christians) would say that their biggest spiritual desire is to TALK TO GOD!

Listen, this is symptomatic of a deeper longing that we see consistently in Gen-Z (and remember, I’m Gen-Z! I see this in my own friends. It’s statistically true, but it’s also EXPERIENTIALLY TRUE!)

This generation wants a relationship with God!

We could think about it like this- there’s three things that Gen-Z wants- a Relationship, a cause, and something with purpose to DEFINE THEIR LIFE!

Guess what- REVIVAL AND BRINGING JESUS TO THEM; CONNECTING THEM TO JESUS MEETS ALL THREE OF THOSE NEEDS!

Knowing Jesus gives the BEST RELATIONSHIP EVER!

Following Jesus gives a CAUSE!

And as they follow Jesus, they have a mission- GO AND MAKE DISCIPLES EVERY DAY! THAT’S A BIGGER CAUSE AND MISSION THAN JUST THEM!

So let me plead with each of us; PRAY FOR REVIVAL! MIRROR HABAKKUK’S PRAYER IN VERSE 2!

GOD, BRING REVIVAL TO OUR LAND!

And here’s his second prayer request of God- REMEMBER MERCY AS YOU PUNISH US!

Habakkuk prays for MERCY FROM GOD! HE DOESN’T QUESTION WHETHER OR NOT THE PUNISHMENT IS JUST; he knows that it is. Instead, he just PLEADS WITH GOD FOR MERCY!

LET THE SAME BE TRUE OF US! O THAT WE WOULD BE A PEOPLE QUICK TO CONFESS OUR SINS TO GOD IN REPENTANCE AND THAT WOULD BE QUICK TO PRAY FOR OUR NATION AND FOR GOD’S MERCY UPON IT!

Reason #1- Rejoice because God answers Prayer!

WATCHMEN! INTERCEDE! PRAY FOR REVIVAL, PRAY FOR MERCY AND REPENTANCE!

“Pray Big”- heard this in college and I remember it really challenged me. See, growing up, I didn’t want to put God to the test and I was so focused on not doing that, that I limited what I would pray for!

But that isn’t right! We are called to pray in ALL CIRCUMSTANCES; at ALL TIMES!

Friends, PRAY BIG! Listen; God answers prayers!

Let me give you an example- Dunkirk

British soldiers all trapped in May of 1940. King George VI goes on the radio to address the nation on Friday, May 24 calls for a day of prayer on Sunday, May 26!

Hitler has the British army trapped and could destroy it any minute! BUT FOR SOME REASON HE STOPS!

During that time the British military rebuilt a defensive perimeter.

But it doesn’t stop!

See, the German air force began attacking and the English people kept praying! All of a sudden, bad weather developed for a few days and it STOPPED THE AIR ATTACKS!

At the same time the British government and military leadership commissioned all boats in England to go to Dunkirk to rescue soldiers- that area is known for terrible waves and rough seas. But the seas were remarkably calm!

Friends, 338,000 soldiers were rescued from Dunkirk!

We often hear the speech that Churchill gave- and we might watch a movie, like the 2017 Dunkirk movie, but those leave out a driving force- PRAYER!

Friends, GOD ANSWERS PRAYER! PRAY BIG!

If you read documents from around this time, or listen to sources, the British government hoped to get a small fraction of their soldiers out of Dunkirk- they expected to get 20,000-40,000 soldiers home safely. They never expected to get 338,000 men home!

And here’s the other part of this- PRAYER ALIGNS OUR HEART TO GOD! This is Matthew 6:10

Matthew 6:10 CSB

10 Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

PRAY GOD’S HEART!

And that includes PRAYING FOR REVIVAL AND FOR PEOPLE TO BE SAVED!

Check out verses 3-7 with me. There are 12 things that Habakkuk states about God in this section.

Habakkuk 3:3–7 CSB

3 God comes from Teman, the Holy One from Mount Paran. Selah His splendor covers the heavens, and the earth is full of his praise. 4 His brilliance is like light; rays are flashing from his hand. This is where his power is hidden. 5 Plague goes before him, and pestilence follows in his steps. 6 He stands and shakes the earth; he looks and startles the nations. The age-old mountains break apart; the ancient hills sink down. His pathways are ancient. 7 I see the tents of Cushan in distress; the tent curtains of the land of Midian tremble.

Here’s the twelve things that Habakkuk brings out about God:

God comes from Mt. Paran- that is Mt. Sinai.

See the IMAGE THAT HABAKKUK IS BRINGING TO MIND!

It’s God during the Exodus; it’s GOD INCARNATE COMING TO SAVE HIS PEOPEL AGAIN!

It’s a powerful image and an image of comfort. It’s the OT equivalent to when Jesus says to the disciples, “And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

And right after this image Habakkuk says, “SELAH!”

Selah means PAUSE, BREATHE, STOP AND CONSIDER; REFLECT ON THIS TRUTH!

It’s a word of emphasis that we’ll see a couple times today!

And Habakkuk (the psalmists too) use it to DRAW ATTENTION TO KEY POINTS!

Habakkuk wants this part about GOD COMING FROM MT. SINAI TO BE EMPHASIZED!

He wants the ISRAELITE PEOPLE AS THEY SING THIS AND AS THEY GO INTO EXILE TO REMEMBER THAT THEIR SALVATION IS COMING!

And Cornerstone, I want you to hear that today.

We live as exiles. THE WORLD IS NOT OUR HOME!

BUT OUR SAVIOR IS COMING AGAIN! JUST AS GOD DELIVERED THE ISRAELITES FIRST FROM SLAVERY AND THEN FROM EXILE; JESUS DELIVERED US FROM SLAVERY- to sin- and then HE WILL FROM EXILE!

PAUSE AND CONSIDER THAT!

Here’s the second thing that Habakkuk says- God’s splendor covers the earth!

Then, the earth praises him!

GENERAL REVELATION- GO LOOK OUTSIDE! MOUNTAINS, TREES, CREATION PRAISES THE CREATOR!

God’s brilliance- HIS BEING- is like light! GOD IS PURE!

God is so spectacular that rays- light like the SUN comes from HIS HANDS!- THINK ABOUT THE TRANSFIGURATION!

His hands are POWERFUL!

God controls all destruction!

When God stands the earth SHAKES!

THAT’S BECAUSE OF GOD’S GLORIOUS POWER!

God looks at nations and they are STARTLED!- They are caught off guard because they think that they are getting away with their sin! This is the BABYLONIANS in Habakkuk 2:6-20!

God breaks MOUNTAINS WITH HIS POWER! (HAVE YOU EVER SEEN A MOUNTAIN DESTROYED BECAUSE YOU STEPPED ON THE PEAK? I DIDN’T THINK SO! MOUNTAINS ARE STABLE AND STRONG!)

God moves in POWERFUL AND SOVEREIGN WAYS THAT HABAKKUK ADMITS ARE UNKOWN TO MAN!

And here’s the truth- THAT’S OK! That’s what Habakkuk has learned in Habakkuk 1-2! He’s learned that he DOES NOT, WILL NOT AND CANNOT FULLY UNDERSTAND GOD’S WAYS AND THAT IT IS OK TO NOT TOTALLY UNDERSTAND!

God sends destruction upon the evil (there’s a reference to the people of Cush and the Midianites, two people that at one point trouble God’s people!)

There’s a lot in there, so let me summarize it with three characteristics of God:

God is sovereign (totally in control)!

God is omnipotent (totally powerful)!

God is awe-inspiring (totally worthy of praise for WHO HE IS!)

THIS IS THE GOD THAT WE WORSHIP!

There’s a reason that we see throughout scripture that as people know God more they FEAR GOD MORE!

And I don’t mean fear as in the terrifying Haunted House i went to in Nashville in 2017 where a dude with a chainsaw chased me through like 4 rooms; I’m talking about a holy fear that we experience because we UNDERSTAND WHO GOD IS AND WHO WE ARE NOT!

And friends, as we understand that it changes our lives!

Our second takeaway today really has to do with this life-change that we need to experience.

Reason #2- Rejoice because our Savior is coming!

(Our savior is sovereign, omnipotent, awe-inspiring!)

REJOICE BECAUSE EVEN WHEN EVERYTHING FEELS HOPELESS, WE WAIT FOR JESUS!

REJOICE BECAUSE WE SEE THE POWER OF GOD AND THE GOODNESS OF GOD EVERY DAY! AND IT REMINDS US OF THE PROMISE THAT GOD HAS GIVEN US- THAT OUR SAVIOR WILL RETURN!

Look at Habakkuk 3:8-11 with me!

Habakkuk 3:8–11 CSB

8 Are you angry at the rivers, Lord? Is your wrath against the rivers? Or is your fury against the sea when you ride on your horses, your victorious chariot? 9 You took the sheath from your bow; the arrows are ready to be used with an oath. Selah You split the earth with rivers. 10 The mountains see you and shudder; a downpour of water sweeps by. The deep roars with its voice and lifts its waves high. 11 Sun and moon stand still in their lofty residence, at the flash of your flying arrows, at the brightness of your shining spear.

In these verses Habakkuk shifts his perspective again. Rather than talking from HIS PERSPECTIVE, HABAKKUK TALKS ABOUT GOD’S POWER FROM THE PERSEPCTIVE OF NATURE!

I love how a commentator talks about this passage. He says:

“The rivers, mountains, seas, sun, and moon will all be affected by the Lord’s victorious coming in judgment against sinners and deliverance for His people.”

In other words, HABAKKUK IS SHOWING US THE GRAND SCALE OF GOD’S POWER!

God is going to deliver His people and when He does, it will be unlike ANYTHING ELSE IN THE WORLD!!

There’s two parts to God’s deliverance here. God is going to deliver the Israelites from exile- and there’s a parallel between this and the Exodus- in verse 11- THE SUN STANDS STILL, just like what happens in Joshua 10 when the Israelites are fighting the Caananite kings led by Adoni-Zedek and the sun STANDS STILL!

In Habakkuk 3:11, we see that just as God fought for Israel as they entered the promised land, God IS GOING TO FIGHT FOR THEM AND BRING THEM HOME FROM EXILE!

But here’s the second part of this. As we’ve seen in this passage and honestly the entire book, this fight isn’t just against a physical force. Liek the entire impetus for this attack from Babylon is because of SIN!

There is a spiritual component of it all!

And just as there was a physical deliverance, God also delivers HIS PEOPLE SPIRITUALLY!

Ephesians 6:12 CSB

12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers of this darkness, against evil, spiritual forces in the heavens.

God’s SPIRITUALLY DELIVERS US THROUGH JESUS!

Friends, just as GOD DELIVERED ISRAEL TWICE, WE MUST KNOW GOD WILL DELIVER US TWICE- FIRST FROM THE PUNISHMENT THAT SIN EARNS- that’s been accomplished; that’s done- AND THEN FROM THIS FADING WORLD! (ETERNITY WITH GOD!)

Reason #3- Rejoice because God is VICTORIOUS!

REJOICE BECAUSE GOD HAS WON! REJOICE BECAUSE GOD HAS WON THE BATTLE! HE HAS DEFEATED SIN AND DEATH! And listen, we’re about to see this EXPANDED ON in verses 12-15!

And this theme continues in Habakkuk 3:12-15

Habakkuk 3:12–15 CSB

12 You march across the earth with indignation; you trample down the nations in wrath. 13 You come out to save your people, to save your anointed. You crush the leader of the house of the wicked and strip him from foot to neck. Selah 14 You pierce his head with his own spears; his warriors storm out to scatter us, gloating as if ready to secretly devour the weak. 15 You tread the sea with your horses, stirring up the vast water.

Let me summarize this stanza- GOD IS SAVIOR!

In these verses there are 7 statements of GOD BEING VICTORIOUS!

Here they are:

God marches across the earth- HIS POWER IS ON DISPLAY!

God tramples the nations in wrath

God saves His People

God crushes the leader of the house of the wicked- THEN IT SAYS SELAH! PAUSE, CONSIDER, REFLECT! (We’ll talk more about this in a minute!)

God pierces the leader of the house of the wicked with his own spears

this one is a little different, but warriors of the house of the wicked storm out to scatter, but notice- THEY DO NOT SUCCEED!

God treads the sea- showing AGAIN THAT GOD IS POWERFUL OVER EVERYTHING!

Cornerstone, there’s something really cool going on here. There was a Hebrew literary device called a CHIASM!

Basically, it’s like an arrowhead. If you think about it like this, the first and the last statement have the same meaning, then the second and second to last have the same meaning, then the third and the third to last, and then there’s a middle point!

Writers- especially the Psalmists- used this method to DRAW ATTENTION TO A SPECIFIC POINT OF EMPHASIS!

Let me trace out that point with you.

First, our outer most part- we see it in the first and 7th statement about God- GOD’S POWER IS ON DISPLAY!

Second, GOD TRAMPLES THE NATIONS AND the attack of the wicked does not succeed- GOD’S JUSTICE IS MADE CLEAR!

Third, GOD SAVES HIS PEOPLE AND PIERCES THE LEADER OF THE HOUSE FO THE WICKED WITH HIS OWN SPEARS!

THIS IS ABOUT SALVATION! GOD SAVES!

I don’t want to interrupt this flow too much, but the phrase You pierce his head with his own spears;” should draw our attention to something that happens as Jesus is on the cross.

Satan thinks that he is victorious! After all, Jesus is dying. And when Jesus passes away, Roman soldiers pierce his side with a spear!

THE SPEAR THAT WAS USED TO MAKE SURE THAT JESUS WAS DEAD REALLY SEALED THE FATE OF SATAN!

IT WAS JESUS’S DEATH THAT DEFEATED SATAN BECAUSE WITHOUT HIS DEATH THERE IS NO PROPITIATION- OR PAYMENT- FOR SINS AND WITHOUT HIS DEATH THERE IS NO RESURRECTION SEALING OUR SALVATION!

FRIENDS- GOD USED SATAN’S OWN SPEAR TO SEAL HIS DESTRUCTION!

And this brings us to the tip of the arrow. Habakkuk says, “You crush the leader of the house of the wicked and strip him from foot to neck.”

GOD CRUSHES satan!

Understand that- satan is the leader of the house of the wicked and GOD CRUSHED satan! Genesis 3:15 shows this so well:

Genesis 3:15 CSB

15 I will put hostility between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring. He will strike your head, and you will strike his heel.

And listen, this is the cross! This is the cross! Jesus is struck in his heel (dead for three days) but JEsus doesn’t stay dead; instead, he STRIKES THE HEAD- or as some other translations say- CRUSHES the head of satan!

Friends, Habakkuk 3:12-15 is fundamentally about how GOD SAVES! And as we’ve seen throughout this passage, this salvation isn’t jsut for Israel; it is salvation for you and for me!

God crushed the Babylonians with their own methods through the attack of the Persians. God brought the Israelites out of exile. But don’t miss this! GOD ALSO HAS SAVED US!

GOD RESCUED US!

GOD HAS CRUSHED THE HOUSE OF WICKEDNESS!

That’s what this entire CHIASTIC STRUCTURE POINTS TO! HABAKKUK WANTS TO MAKE THAT CLEAR! THE BABYLONIANS, satan, IT IS ALL DESTROYED!

I can’t help but think of 1 Corinthians 15:54-57

1 Corinthians 15:54–57 CSB

54 When this corruptible body is clothed with incorruptibility, and this mortal body is clothed with immortality, then the saying that is written will take place: Death has been swallowed up in victory. 55 Where, death, is your victory? Where, death, is your sting? 56 The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. 57 But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ!

Reason #4- Rejoice because sin has been defeated!

Jesus has defeated sin and personally rescued us!

GOSPEL!

Rejoice in multiple ways:

KNOW GOD!- BE SAVED!

FOLLOW GOD! (HOW YOU LIVE!)

PRAISE GOD! (HOW YOU RESPOND ON A DAILY BASIS! PRAISE ISN’T ONLY SINGING, ALTHOUGH SINGING IS PART OF IT!)