The Glory of God is Coming

Habakkuk 3:1–6 NKJV

1 A prayer of Habakkuk the prophet, on Shigionoth. 2 O Lord, I have heard Your speech and was afraid; O Lord, revive Your work in the midst of the years! In the midst of the years make it known; In wrath remember mercy. 3 God came from Teman, The Holy One from Mount Paran. Selah His glory covered the heavens, And the earth was full of His praise. 4 His brightness was like the light; He had rays flashing from His hand, And there His power was hidden. 5 Before Him went pestilence, And fever followed at His feet. 6 He stood and measured the earth; He looked and startled the nations. And the everlasting mountains were scattered, The perpetual hills bowed. His ways are everlasting.

Habakkuk lived during some perilous times. Israel had been divided by civil war into Israel and Judah. Israel had been conquered over 100 years earlier. He lived during the same time as the prophet Jeremiah and the King Jehoiakim. This king was a terrible king. He was the oldest son of King Josiah but was passed over probably because of his unGodly lifestyle. The country suffered a heavy defeat to Egypt and Pharoah Necho II removed Jehoahaz and made Jehoiakim king. So Judah became a tribute state to Egypt. Egypt lost a battle with Babylonia and King Jehoiakim switched allegiances to Babylon. What he did not pay tribute in gold or silver, he sold off the royal family including Daniel as you can read in Daniel Chapter 1.

The book of Habakkuk could easily be a series itself. Habakkuk goes through 4 stages. In stage 1, Habakkuk questions God. Why does God allow the evil to persist? These questions are still asked today. Times have not changed. There is still evil in the world. God is not shocked by our questions. Habakkuk enters stage 2 in Chapter 2:1. Habbakuk does something many people do not.

Habakkuk 2:1 NKJV

1 I will stand my watch And set myself on the rampart, And watch to see what He will say to me, And what I will answer when I am corrected.

He knows God is going to correct him, but he would rather be corrected by God and hear from God then not to hear at all. This is so very important. Having a relationship with God is a 2-way street. It is not us just telling God from our point of view and giving our wants and many times expecting Him to answer in a way we prefer, but also listening to what God would say to us. Are we desperate enough to hear from God that we are willing to have our vision corrected? Our perspective adjusted to line up with His?

The rest of Chapter 2 is stage 3. This is where God is answering Habakkuk. This is prophecy of the destruction of Babylon. Chapter 3 is Habakkuk’s praise to God. We could easily do a series on Habakkuk and maybe some time in the future. This book is relevant to what we see going on in our world today. This prophet mirrors our own questions about the world we see. Habakkuk goes on a journey from looking horizontal to changing his view to vertical. The only thing to improve our world is looking vertically but then acting horizontally.

Chapter 3 is Habakkuk’s prayer and praise of God’s triumph. The word in verse 1, shigionoth, is with impassioned triumph. We need to live in impassioned triumph even if we do not see it yet because we know it is coming.

He reflects on the triumphs and victories of the past. Even in the middle of darkness, we need to remember the light. He is remembering specifically Mt. Sinai and when God came down to man. We see this in Exodus 19:16-19.

It is not enough to remember the past. Sometimes, the past is where we stay. We need to look forward, not just to the miracles of the past, but most importantly, to the miracles of the future.

- Thunderings and Lightnings

The past

Exodus 19:16 NKJV

16 Then it came to pass on the third day, in the morning, that there were thunderings and lightnings, and a thick cloud on the mountain; and the sound of the trumpet was very loud, so that all the people who were in the camp trembled.

The future

Revelation 4:5 NKJV

5 And from the throne proceeded lightnings, thunderings, and voices. Seven lamps of fire were burning before the throne, which are the seven Spirits of God.

- The people come together.

The past

Exodus 19:17 NKJV

17 And Moses brought the people out of the camp to meet with God, and they stood at the foot of the mountain.

The future

Revelation 19:5–6 NKJV

5 Then a voice came from the throne, saying, “Praise our God, all you His servants and those who fear Him, both small and great!” 6 And I heard, as it were, the voice of a great multitude, as the sound of many waters and as the sound of mighty thunderings, saying, “Alleluia! For the Lord God Omnipotent reigns!

The glory of God

The Past

Exodus 19:18 NKJV

18 Now Mount Sinai was completely in smoke, because the Lord descended upon it in fire. Its smoke ascended like the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mountain quaked greatly.

The Future

Revelation 15:8 NKJV

8 The temple was filled with smoke from the glory of God and from His power, and no one was able to enter the temple till the seven plagues of the seven angels were completed.

Revelation 16:20 NKJV

20 Then every island fled away, and the mountains were not found.

God Speaks

The Past

Exodus 19:19 NKJV

19 And when the blast of the trumpet sounded long and became louder and louder, Moses spoke, and God answered him by voice.

The Future

Revelation 21:3–4 NKJV

3 And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God. 4 And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away.”

We have so much to be excited about. The glory of God is coming in a way that no one has seen before. We are not living in a dream world, we are living in reality. We can not live in the past, but allow the victories of the past to be a foundation for what God will do in the future.

Close your eyes. Thank back to the moment you accepted Jesus as your Lord and Saviour. What did you feel? Mediate on that for a moment. Did you feel free? Did you feel alive?

Think to another miracle of divine moment where there is no scientific explanation, no question this was the divine hand of God. What is impossible for God?

Conclusion:

Romans 3:23 NKJV

23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,

Acts 16:31 NKJV

31 So they said, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, you and your household.”

Romans 10:9–10 NKJV

9 that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.